This book has romance; funny moments; and sweet, small-town charm. It's structure is a chronological tapestry of quiet, day-in-the-life vignettes of Jane, an elementary school teacher who lives in Boyne City, Michigan. Jane goes through an on-and-off-again relationship with the handsome, charismatic Duncan, a woodworker who has an ex-wife he's still pretty close to and who has also slept with many women in the town. Jane's mother is eccentric to say the least, while Jane has a soft spot for Jimmy, the intellectually disabled son of an older woman in town.

While this book is getting raves on here, I, unfortunately, could not get into it. I've never read Heiny before, so maybe it's just a matter of author preference? I do enjoy "quiet" novels that celebrate the beauty and fun of ordinary life, but I couldn't connect with the characters in this one, particularly Jane. She seems to only show true emotion when she's feeling put-upon, upset, or frustrated...which is often. And yes, that can be true-to-life, but I think when it comes to creating a character for me as a reader to "root" for, I need someone who's a bit more hopeful. I also thought Duncan wasn't a compelling love interest. Yes, he's sweet, helpful, and handsome, but his strong feelings against marriage and true intimacy) felt lacking to me. Plus, we don't really get to "see" Jane fall for him or see how their relationship grows. And, I know she provides some humor, but Jane's mom grated on my last nerve.

Again, I think my lack of enjoyment might just be that even with ordinary novels set in small towns, I need more "oomph," from both the characters and situations. If you're looking for a soothing, easy-to-read, small-town character piece, this might be it. And, just an FYI, the "Duncan is a philanderer" plot point touted in the description is not as prevalent as it's made out to be, so if romances with a hero with a wandering eye annoy you, don't worry about that here.

This YA romance is fun and chockfull of literary references. A tad too long at 369 pages (when did romances have to go past 300?!), it's still funny, relatable (yes, even for this middle-aged lady!), and charming. Mary Porter-Malcolm is a VERY bookish teen who always seems to be the odd girl out. Devoted to classic novels, she looks at life through the lens of the characters and storylines in the books she adores. It's through this pursuit that she becomes friends with some of the popular kids at her new public school and the foursome create the Scoundrel Survival Guide--a list of literary lothsarios to avoid. Meanwhile her friends are determined to get Mary a date to the winter formal. Will she fall for the cad-like charms of Alex Ritter, the class' Vronsky (the scoundrel who seduces Anna Karenina)?

Even though Mary is like a 46-year-old in a 15-year-old body (she sounds a lot like me at times!), she's such a great character. As a reader you love seeing her break out of her shell and enjoy the first blushes of love. And as a reader who loves to read, you really enjoy the lit references (lots of mentions of A Room With a View, one of my favorite books AND movies). I also loved how each of her friends had different personalities, but were collectively so good with her. Yes, she's not a typical teen, but they celebrate that and want to help her open up a bit, not become a totally different person. No ridiculous teen nastiness...it's refreshing. Alex is a great male lead, too. Of course he has a heart of gold beneath the smoldering. But it's so fun watching each of them peel away each other's layers to reveal their smitten hearts.

I really liked this one. Cute, funny, sweet, romantic. If you're looking for an enjoyable escape (with a gorgeous cover) put this book on your radar.

Fiction and nonfiction books about immigration have flourished in the last few years since the topic has been so fraught in relation to our country's political landscape. This book again puts a human face on this issue, in this case using the characters of several women all struggling with their lives, identities as immigrants and women, and their relationships with family members and friends. It's short but very powerful.

The novel covers the lives of women in two families, starting in 19th-century Cuba through modern-day Miami. Each female protagonist is vividly drawn and even those whose stories only get a chapter or two are so vibrant, as a reader you form an attachment, celebrating their triumphs and mourning their tragedies. I was especially drawn to Jeannette, an addict trying to get her life together, but still haunted by not only the present, but also the past, particularly Ana, her neighbor's daughter who is taken by ICE and the grandmother in Cuba she's never known.

These two family trees grow with love, family, loss, hurt, pain, and hope. This book broke my heart, while also warming it with the resilience these women display as they go through the brokenness of the human experience, especially in relation to this prevalent issue, as well as the role of women in family and society in general. It's visceral and powerful.

This delightful young-adult read reimagines the beloved novel's narrative in a fun, new way. I loved it (to be honest, it was a soothing follow-up to the engrossing but emotionally fraught Of Women and Salt).

This book takes place during the same time period as the original, but Lizzie is a teen who--while still feisty, judgmental, and strong-willed--wants to become a barrister in her father's firm, Longbourn and Sons (which has no sons). When Charles Bingley is accused of the murder of his brother-in-law Mr. Hurst, she's determined to find the real killer. Using logic--to secure the goodwill of her father, who has promised to go against the societal conventions of the time and allow her to work in his firm if she proves her mettle--she sets out to solve the case. The one handsome, brooding thing in her way? One "Fitz" Darcy, the barrister-in-training for Pemberley and Associates, the firm Bingley hired to take his case.

I loved this new twist on the classic tale. The crackerjack romantic tension between Lizzie and Darcy is still there, as are the other plot points we love--Wickham's deviousness, Jane's sweetness, Mrs. Bennett's daffiness, and Mr. Collins's creepiness. The changes that are made serve the new story and didn't take away from my thorough enjoyment. This was another young-adult novel that charmed me with its cleverness and romance. If you're a fan of P&P or just fun mysteries with a romantic bent, pick this one up. The planned sequels--Sense and Second Degree Murder and Manslaughter Park--will definitely be auto-buys for me.

Wow, what a book! The human experience--with all its hurts and joys--being navigated by relatable characters or even characters just relatable by a sliver of what they celebrate and suffer can make for a great story. And when it's in the hands of a talented writer, it makes for phenomenal fiction. We Begin at the End is such a book.

Walk is the sheriff of his hometown of Cape Haven, California. Walk's anticipating the return of his childhood best friend, Vincent, whose is being released after 30 years in jail for a crime he committed as a teen. Vincent's ex-girlfriend, Star, is as emotionally tortured as Vincent and both seem determined to self-destruct. Star's oldest child, Duchess, is a foul-mouthed teen who is as abrasive and angry to everyone in her orbit as she is doting and fiercely protective of her younger brother, Robin. How these characters deal with the tragedies of their pasts and the reverberations those tragedies have on their presents are riveting. I read this book in a day--it's that good. And Whitaker's prose is a marvel of evocative descriptions and complex characterizations that impress upon your mind and heart long after you're finished reading. Highly recommend.

Listening to Thomas--a senior writer for Elle.com and pop-culture super-fan--read his collection of essays about his experience as a gay, Black man growing up in Baltimore and navigating issues of race, sexuality, and life in general was both enlightening and enjoyable. He's hilarious (one essay is entitled, "Molly, Urine Danger Girl") and his humor and truth-telling about his experiences make you laugh while you feel for the prejudice and hardships he had to navigate. If you need a laugh, this audiobook will bring many of them.

When this preordered audiobook popped up on my phone as "ready-to-read," I started right away. I've been waiting for this one!

And, great news! It's as compelling and wonderful as I thought it would be. Michelle Zauner, solo artist who performs indie-pop music as Japanese Breakfast, wrote an essay for The New Yorker in 2018 with this same title. It was so popular, she got a book deal from it and expanded the essay into a memoir detailing her complex yet powerful relationship with her Korean mother, who passed away in 2014 at 56 from cancer.

Her honesty about their connection and how it was fostered through their mutual love of Korean food--which she gets in a Korean food store called H Mart--is something many can relate to. I remember specific moments with both my grandmother and mother based on what we were eating at the time. Still, the anecdotes she shares, through the lens of a Korean-American daughter living in America with a Korean mother, are enlightening, emotional, and heartwarming. I have to say, eating octopus tentacles as they are still moving is something I won't soon forget. This memoir has it all: humor, humanity, and heart.

Michelle does her own narration, which adds even more emotion to the memoir. You can tell she's a singer based on her lovely voice!

I highly recommend this one. Such a wonderful "listen."

Bees have always been more of a nuisance than cool creature to me, but this book has helped change my perspective and foster respect for these surprisingly organized and female-oriented species. All hail the Queen of the Bees!

I’ve been reading a lot of intense (but good!) books lately, so this charmer was like a ray of sunshine. Plus, it organically incorporated some truly cool and eye-opening facts about bees (author Garvin is a beekeeper). Here’s a short synopsis courtesy of the publisher:

I adored this book! Alice is a middle-aged woman who’s lost her parents and husband, but has found a measure of solace in beekeeping. Yet, she’s still mostly alone. When she almost ends up hitting a mohawked boy in a wheelchair on the side of the road, her life truly starts to change. The boy, Jake, has his own wounds. After a fall at a party, Jake has to learn how to live his life as a paraplegic. His angry, volatile father further affects Jake’s sense of self, family, and coping with his new reality. Recruited by Alice to help at her farm with her beehives, Jake seems to find the purpose and place his life’s been lacking. Harry, another young man who’s emotionally damaged and lost, also ends up at Alice’s farm. The friendships forged between this trio form the emotional core of the book. While the specific character narratives and the environmental storyline about harmful pesticides doing serious damage to the orchards and bee populations do speak to serious issues—it’s ultimately a story about love. This sweet and heartwarming story reminds us that, like real life, love, friendship, and forgiveness have the ability to soothe the emotional wounds of tragedy and the challenges of life. It’s also a love letter to bees and the invaluable place they have in the life cycle of our environment.

If you’re looking for a bookish pick-me-up or just a charming story that reminds us how humanity can heal, this is the book for you.

Much thanks to @NetGalley and @DuttonBooks for the free eBook in exchange for an honest review.