This book is bright and sweet and fun.
It’s also incredibly frustrating if details are important to you. There are a lot of little inconsistencies; like how long have Theo and Ana been living in Oia? A year? Six months? Two years? That changes several times throughout the book. Is Ana Greek or not?

Making a documentary is not a one week effort, especially not one for television. It’s not something you can just whip up in the mornings and go to work in the afternoon. That bothered me to no end! I wanted to scream about it because unless you only want three shots in your movie.... you need more than a week to make a movie.

I’m a nerd, so looked up Atlantis Bookstore in Oia- it’s real! If you’re ever in Oia, sometime in 2022, you can visit! I was hoping to find a picture of the bunk room because I just couldn’t picture it. No such luck , though.

Love &Olives also made me want three things
•Greek food
•to go to Greece
•to research Atlantis theories

Thank you to Simon Pulse for this advanced copy ✨

CW: drowning, mythology, divorce, panic attack, illness: kidney failure, bipolar disorder, hospital, miscarriage mention

What a stunning book- worth the effort! This will be a book that I will return to again and again to read and ruminate on. Absolutely gorgeous

This book. It’s beautiful. It’s terrible. The research. I want to yell.
This layered story is about a mother, a daughter, a grandfather, love, falling out of love, Japan, law, the unfairness of justice, and images. This book is so carefully crafted, so masterfully woven. Scott brings you to Japan in the early 90’s, letting you feel, smell, and experience everything yourself. If you want to read a well- researched book, this is it. Please read the content warnings for this book, though, as it deals with some heavy topics.

I recommend the audiobook. It’s narrated Emily Woo Zeller and Janet Song, two of my favorite narrators.

CW: infidelity as main theme, murder, death of a parent, divorce, medical, domestic violence, on page sex, suicide mentions, courtroom scenes, religion, rituals

This book would have been so much better without the inclusion of ghosts

Usually I love Backman’s books, but Beartown is just a lot.

It centers around a small hockey community in the Swedish forest. If you know me, you know I’m not really into sports. Beartown is about the darkness a community can hide. There are some things that even endless cups of coffee can’t fix.

CW: Rape as a major plot point, racism, teen drinking, suicide, profanity, fat phobia, racial slurs, suicidal ideation, victim blaming, ableism, pregnancy, assault, guns, child abuse, alcoholism, death of a child, vomit, drugs, bullying, homophobia, panic attacks, sex jokes, grief, death of a partner

This is going to be one of those books I read again and again isn't it? Somehow, McQuiston managed to create this beautiful family, made of messy little humans, a subway line, and pancakes. Yes, this book mainly centers around two women falling in love, but it's also an ensemble book. I wish I could go to the all parties mentioned in this book because they are pure chaos.
August is a relatably awkward character, someone I either am or want to be friends with. Jane would terrify me. Jane would haunt me. I would be in love with Jane, too. Can I run away to New York City and live under a Popeyes and fall in love with a subway ghost?


The senses are used to paint a New York City that can only belong to Jane and August and somehow, we get to experience it, too. The crackly music on the radio, the textures of fabric, the smell of waffle cones and maple syrup, the taste of dollar slices and dumplings and strawberry milkshake poptarts and the softness shorn hair. This book is poetic, but not in language. It's poetic in that it lets you feel, see, smell, taste everything.


CW: Clairvoyance, seance, natural disaster, memory loss, gentrification, anxiety, masturbation, on page sex, drinking, drugs, internalized homophobia, homophobia, arson, profanity, death of family members, missing person, riots/ protests, violence, food descriptions.

CW: Death of a parent, cruel stepparent, parental abandonment, diabetes, cigarettes/ smoking

If you’ve wanted to read Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch but were intimidated by the size, read The Dutch House.
This book is beautiful, lush, and languid, but wraps up neatly. I highly recommend listening on audiobook, if you can.

CW: Rape, victim blaming, drugs, alcoholism, self-harm, suicide, terminal illness, death of a parent, fire/ arson, death threat, teen drinking, teacher-student sexual relationship, homophobia, slurs, anxiety, car accident, gang violence

CW: Iranian Revolution, violence, political unrest, protests, mental illness, loss of child(ren), abortion, Parkinson's disease, depression