Giving this a 4.5/5, rounding up to 5 for Goodreads.

Wow.

At first I thought that it was going to just be another stereotypical man gets kidnapped, has to find is way home from some strange place story.

However, I was wrong.

This thriller + alternative world mix was perfectly done.

The way that Jason got back to his family, genius. The ending? Different than what I had first expected and I LOVED it.

If you like thrillers, give this a shot!

A woman with agoraphobia is alone in her house with just a cat, a renter, Merlot, and medicine. A family moves in across the park that will rattle her life and bring some stark revelations in her life and theirs.

I’m giving this a solid four stars for all of the twist and turns that happened within the plot. I found myself actually saying “WHAT!?!” out loud, which doesn’t happen often with thrillers for me. I saw the ending coming about 70% into the story and found it a bit predictable. I feel like the ending could’ve had more substance as well to further build the plot.

I recommend this to anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers with turning plots. If you’re someone who doesn’t enjoy reading about alcohol abuse or prescription medication abuse, maybe choose another one.

My one complaint is I’m tired of authors using women who have mental illnesses and abuse alcohol as their protagonist.

5 stars. I could not put this one down!

Etaf Rum shares an eye opening story told from the perspective of three Palestinian women all from the same family, but through the voice of two of the narrators, we hear of the life of a fourth woman in the family. All of them navigating life in Brooklyn.

Three generations: Fareeda, the mother, Sarah the daughter, Isra the daughter-in-law, and Deya, Isra’s eldest daughter and Fareeda’s granddaughter.

Three family secrets that’s Fareeda as fought to cover up and two of those are ones that Deva pushes to uncover.

Isra marries Fareeda’s eldest son, Adam and leaves all she knows behind to move to New York for what she thinks may be a different, more freeing life. She bares the shame from Fareeda and her friends for having four daughters, but what will this drive her to do? What will happen?

If you haven’t read A Woman is No Man, I suggest that you do so ASAP. This is truly one of favorite reads of 2019 so far.

Five stars.

While I usually read WW2 historical fiction books that are mostly centered out of the camps, I enjoyed reading from the perspective of all three women. I recommend listening to the audiobook for at least part of the book as three different women narrate for the three different perspectives.

Kasia, a woman who was arrested as a teenager in Poland as a political prisoner and then operated on at Ravensbrück. Later on she’ll have to adapt to life after the war.

Herta, a German surgeon who works at Ravenabruck and is later tried for her crimes. I grew to hate her and found myself reading her chapters quickly.

Caroline, an American working in the French consulate in NYC with ties to France. She’ll do anything to help those in need.

Following these women that were based off of real people through the camps, love, and life after the camps made for an eye opening experience to a sometimes untold and forgotten part of the war.

I read this for #readwithJenna with Jenna Bush Hager.

The Skinner family is a family touched by tragedy, mental illness, and drug use. When they lose one of their own, at least one of them will unravel a little bit.

I enjoyed following along with Fiona and her family, but I felt that some of the spin off plot lines were unnecessary and that more could have been done with the protagonist.

A good read to start off the summer!

This Murderino is so proud of Karen and Georgia and what they've built. The movement they have started.

I was tearing up by the end of the book. I chose to listen to the audiobook after finding that my pre-order would not be delivered until Friday and it did not disappoint.

Listening to Karen and Georgia read their book aloud, made me feel like I was once again listening to a podcast episode. I felt happy, welcomed, and understood.

Karen's section on her mom having Alzheimer's hits home as someone with family members that have and/or had Alzheimer's. Georgia's section on meeting Ray Bradbury after his books helped her fight her eating disorder, is a dream. It's not often that people get to meet their favorite favorite author who helped changed their life.

With cameos from Paul Giamatti, Marty and Elvis, this audiobook is a murderino's dream.

Quotes to come once I receive my copy so that I can ensure the quotes are correct.

SSGDM and Stay out of the Forest

Listened to the Audiobook.

This is the first TJR book that I have read or listened to.

I enjoyed the different voices for each of the band members and digging into the ins and outs of a band in the 70s. This book is different than other books that I usually pick up, but I can see why so many people love it.

I look forward to reading more TJR books in the future.

Triggers: substance abuse, abortion

This book was: heart wrenching, depressing, lovable, and just downright amazing.

The main character, Jude, has been through a lot in life. More heart wrenching things than someone should have to go through. These events resulted in him participating in self harm and believing that he wasn't worthy of love. Throughout his life, he will find the love of family through friends and his adopted parents, Harold and Julia, and a relationship with his friend Willem.

I couldn't help but fall in love with the relationship of Jude and Willem, it was truly a relationship that Jude deserved. The friendship between Jude and Andy was truly something above a doctor and patient relationship, but it was obvious that Jude needed someone that cared about him more than just a doctor.

There were a few times that I said out loud, "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO THE READER?". However, even though I still felt the same way at the end of the book, I couldn't help but realize that this book is a true masterpiece.

I think that A Little Life will be a book that later generations will call a classic. This book was a fantastic buddy read and would also be a good read for those who want to read a specific kind of book for Pride month.

Thank you, Hanya, for giving us Jude, Willem, JB, and Malcom. For breaking my heart. For making me want to throw this book at the wall. This was truly a masterpiece and it just may be one of my top ten books of all time.

Triggers: Self-harm, suicide, domestic abuse, and sexual abuse.

Quotes:
-"If you love home — and even if you don't — there is nothing quite as cozy, as comfortable, as delightful, as that first week back. That week, even the things that would irritate you — the alarm waahing from some car at three in the morning; the pigeons who come to clutter and click on the windowsill behind your bed when you're trying to sleep in — seem instead reminders of your own permanence, of how life, your life, will always graciously allow you to step back inside it, no matter how far you have gone away from it or how long you have left it."

-"You pounce upon the happy moments, you hold them up as proof — even though that one moment cannot compensate for all the other moments, the majority of moments. See? This is why it's worth living. This is why I've been making him try."

-"The thing he hadn't realized about success was that success made people boring. Failure also made people boring, but in a different way failing people were constantly striving for one thing — success. But successful people were also only striving to maintain their success. It was the different between running and running in place, and although running was boring no matter what, at least the person running was moving..."