This book was a wild ride. I almost wish I read it slower so it could have stayed with me longer.

In a future America, ReInception is a technology used to rewire brain patterns. While this technique started with good intentions, to help people beat addictions, but the government has taken ReInception to extremes: changing the thought patterns of people who don't conform.

The worldbuilding was fantastic. Straus developed a futuristic city with new terminology, dialects, and even a new people group (the Prole), but it all felt natural to me. The fear of essentially brainwashing was imminent and kept the stakes high. And the pacing was so fast that it was so easy to keep turning pages!

Romance has to be well done in books for me to get on board, and I was absolutely rooting for Leandrea and Ward. He was such a lovable and empathetic character. In fact, every side character was well written!

I am ready for book two now please??? When will it be here??

I can't wait to share this story with my future children someday, they are going to LOVE the adventure!

American Stonehenge is a middle grade story about a boy named Jimmy who gets a dog named Andrew on his 9th birthday.

To Jimmy's surprise, he can hear Andrew's thoughts, and Andrew can hear his! Even more amazing, Andrew has been traveling this world for thousands of years and has many stories to share.

When Jimmy's family of archeologists takes a trip to a new historical site that was recently discovered called American Stonehenge, the mysteries become even bigger!

It was SO fun to read this lighthearted and sweet book. It brought back my inner child. The illustrations were absolutely beautiful and made the story come to life. The book also addressed some meaningful topics for kids like loss, cultural differences, and teamwork.

This book is an exciting journey for adults and kids alike. I can't wait for the next installment to see what Jimmy and Andrew get up to next!

Thank you so much to the author for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!

I have very mixed feelings about this book. As a therapist, I was so excited when I got it because I love any book that normalizes therapy, especially groups!

But there were some messages from this book that really concerned me.

I use a lot of DBT in my work, which is all about finding the balance between opposites or extremes (dialectics) in our lives. This is a very important perspective for people dealing with relationship issues, trauma, and mood disorders, etc.

Yet Dr. Rosen and the group embraced a very all-or-nothing approach regarding confidentiality - as in there is none. You should share EVERYTHING with the group, and everything can be shared outside of group with anyone. NOTHING is held back because ALL secrets are toxic.

For instance, when Christie's boyfriend didn't want something shared with the group and Christie told them so, they disapproved and pressured her for weeks saying, "That's toxic!"

While secrets CAN be toxic at times (again, embracing the middle path), this is a nuanced topic. Healthy relationships involve developing trust, creating boundaries, and respecting limits and privacy in appropriate ways.

Unfortunately the lesson of the book wasn't that the uninhibited openness (read: oversharing?) of the group was too extreme - Christie learned that this openness was "necessary"... to the extent that even though her 9-year-old daughter is now asking for her own personal information to be taken off the internet, Christie is refusing because openness is part of her process. Which in my opinion is not okay.

I also disliked how the group seemed to worship Dr. Rosen and expected him to "fix them" by attending several of his expensive sessions each week. When Christie would scold him saying, "You were supposed to fix me," he didn't correct her by explaining the actual role of a therapist in a group. He'd tell her to keep at it.

Ugh. I'm grateful that the people in the group seemed to benefit from one another. And as someone who has led groups, I know how powerful the space can be for healing relationships. But so much about this group did not sit right with me.

I listened to the audiobook through my library and was disappointed that I couldn't get access to the PDF of activities, but the information Allie provided was very helpful. A lot of families could benefit from learning how the sensory system impacts behavior, emotions, and functioning. Allie did a great job breaking down the eight sensory systems in the body to help us understand how they impact daily life. She provided many helpful ideas for fostering sensory integration and modulation- I plan to apply a lot of her tips in my home and counseling practice!

Torie Jean, you are a wonder.

This book tells the story of Evie O'Shea, a twenty-six year old who lives in Paris, dreaming of opening her own pastry shop and falling in love with a present-day version of Gene Kelly. But many things get in the way - her endometriosis and her mom's passive aggressive negativity have engrained in her beliefs that she is unable to be loved.

When Evie reconnects with her lifelong love and current enemy, Liam Kelly, she initially believes that he is out to get her. But when she needs a date to her brother's wedding to appease her controlling mother, who better than her rival Liam to be her fake date?

What ensues is a beautiful story of Evie learning to break down her walls, accept that she can be loved, and consider what dreams are worth following. It is FILLED with hilarious puns, sweet moments, and fun romance tropes.

I absolutely love when a book addresses unhealthy relationship patterns head-on. Torie Jean did an incredible job of showing these characters growing and challenging the dynamics that were entertaining for us readers, but represented underlying pain and hurt. Go Torie go! Therapy win!!

Another piece of the story was Evie's daily fight with endometriosis. I didn't know much of this chronic condition, but I learned a LOT through this read about how it can affect someone physically and emotionally. It was an important topic to include in a romance novel as endo has a big impact on sexual relationships, which is not talked about often. Torie Jean brought her #ownvoices experiences to the table, and I think anyone who lives with a chronic illness or knows someone who does would enjoy Evie's story. I know I did.

Finally, I thought the book also handled well the difficult dynamics of Evie's relationships with her mom and fake-friends who put her down. Evie's journey of learning to love herself despite the negativity she faced was amazing.

Well done Torie Jean. I hope many people get this book on pub day, Sept 20th!!

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review!

This book was so good that I finished it in two days!! A fascinating and quick read. The thought of the "freeze" in which everyone's bodies are frozen in time for thirty days is perfectly terrifying.

I loved James' character, especially how he and his brother were in the foster system, which is a world close to my heart. He was a well-written mix of intelligence, impulsively, and brokenness that often led to poor decision making (and hence an interesting story).

The pacing was often fast and exciting, with some slower parts in the middle where we didn't quite know what was happening. It was fun to be a little lost with James as he tried to figure out what was going on.

Wow, The Thief's Relic by @angelakmorseauthor really blew me away. I had goosebumps at the end!

SUMMARY: While Eamonn didn't want to be a thief, it's all he can do to get by. When he finally finds a way out as a merchant's apprentice, he is ready to live a simple and humble life traveling through Sarieth. But Eamonn doesn't know that he holds a relic, something that can unleash a hidden magic. And if it falls into the wrong hands, all of Sarieth will be at risk.

Eamonn was such a sweet character who desperately wanted to go to school and do good. I was rooting for his goals at every turn, and I felt deeply for him when he had to go against his values to survive.

His story of found family throughout his journey warmed my heart the most. I was so happy to see his mentorship with Dorlyss evolve into a father-son relationship, something Eamonn was always longing for.