If you're looking for a book with commentary about how messed up the government agencies in the United States are and/or why the empowerment of youth (especially BIPOC youth) is crucial, this is the book for you. I enjoyed this title a lot more than I thought I was going to. It actually almost received a five-star rating from me, but I was left wanting more spy/secret agent action within the plot. Yolanda, the main character, joins the FBI as a lawyer. She is sent back to her college town as a spy to keep an eye on a "black extremist group" that is advocating for climate change and racial justice. However, the more time she spends with the group, Yolanda begins to realize that the FBI may have ulterior motives for keeping tabs on them. Overall, this story is a quick read and touches on some really important topics. I encourage you to pick this one up once it is published.
(PUB DATE: 12/29/2020)
(I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed above are my own.)

Alaskan Holiday is yet another cute holiday romance written by Debbie Macomber. However, unlike her other titles, this one does not take place solely in the Seattle area. A fictional small town in Alaska is the setting for this (as you probably could have guessed from the title). So, if you fell in love with the Alaskan wilderness/small-town feel from the Wild series by K.A. Tucker, I would recommend picking up this title as well. Once again, while I loved Josie and Palmer, the love interests in this story, one of the side characters, Jack, made a lasting impression on me. I have come to the conclusion that Macomber is very good at writing lovable characters and have thoroughly enjoyed reading some of her Christmas stories this month.

If there is one thing you should know about me as a reader it's that I am always up for a fairytale or mythological retelling. So, when I saw this book being promoted as a "collection of feminist retellings of traditional Japanese folktales", I knew that I had to read and review this title. Where the Wild Ladies Are is made up of several short stories that eventually interweave with each other as you get further along in the book. It was pretty clever of Matsuda, the author, to make all of the stories set in the same world and it definitely added positively to the reading experience. My one complaint about this story was that the original folktale summaries were all at the end of the book. I wish that I had either known this so I could flip back and forth after reading each story or that they had come directly after the retelling. As someone who is not familiar with Japanese folktales, I didn't really understand where each story came from until I stumbled upon the summaries at the end. Overall, I would recommend this title. It is important to read books set in countries that you do not live in as it expands your knowledge of other cultures.
(PUB DATE: AVAILABLE NOW)
(I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed above are my own.)

This is my last Debbie Macomber holiday book review this year and unfortunately, it was my least favorite of the bunch. This title was first published in 2006 and you can definitely tell it is not a current read. While there is a romance between the two main characters, K.O. and Wynn, there are many problematic themes that overshadow that storyline. The main issue I had with this book is that K.O. focuses so much on her weight. She gains two pounds and acts like it is the end of the world. She immediately goes out to exercise and then does her "trick" of brushing her teeth instead of eating when she is hungry. This is a super harmful behavior/way of thinking to promote and I would love to chalk it up to just being a portion of this book that has not aged well. There are better books written by Macomber to read (in fact I have read and reviewed three more of her titles this month - go check out my previous posts if you are looking for a recommendation) and readers should skip this one.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this one! A Good Girl's Guide to Murder follows Pippa and her journey to find out the truth about a tragic disappearance that occurred in her town years before. There were many twists and turns and I definitely did not guess the ending before it was finally revealed at the end. While there were some scenes that seemed a little too perfect (and they had to be because they provided foreshadowing), I decided not to let that affect my rating of this book. Overall, Jackson, the author, crafted a perfect crime fiction story worthy of a five-star rating!

I hesitated to pick up this book because I had seen so many conflicting reviews of it. However, I am glad I finally did. Doyle addresses so many topics in this memoir that readers from all walks of life are bound to find a chapter or two that resonates with them. For me, I could not really relate to her insights on parenting, as I am not a parent myself. However, other topics she writes about (living with mental illness, wanting to advocate for others, and even challenging religious beliefs) struck a chord with me. Others have criticized this book for being "too whiny" and "being contradicting at times" which I can definitely see. These criticisms are valid, but I would argue that Doyle wrote this book for herself. Sometimes life is contradictory and/or really unpleasant. The fact that she didn't try to polish her thoughts for this memoir actually made me enjoy it tremendously as the writing felt honest.

This was a really cute YA holiday-themed anthology. Overall, I enjoyed most of the stories (I will admit there were a few duds) and am glad I read this title. My favorite story of the bunch was the first one by Rainbow Rowell. Having the best story (by my judgment) be the first story a reader experiences can definitely impact how they view the rest of the collection. If I had put together this book, I probably would have changed the order of the stories for this reason. I was also impressed by Matt de la Pena's story and will definitely seek out more of his writing in the future. My True Love Gave to Me was the perfect book to read right before Christmas and certainly helped me get into the holiday spirit!

The Year of the Witching absolutley blew me away. I cannot believe that this is Henderson's debut novel because the storytelling was just SO good. If you are looking for a dark fantasy story with a badass female protagonist, this is the book for you. I honestly don't know how to properly describe this title without spoiling anything, but I can tell you that this book needs to be added to your tbr list ASAP. (Alexis Henderson - if you're reading this, WE NEED A SEQUEL. I definitely was not ready to say goodbye to Immanuelle and Ezra when this story ended.)

As someone who does not have a religious identity, I was hesitant to read The Book of Longings. However, I want to make this very clear. You do not need to be religious to understand or enjoy this title. The narrator of this story is Ana, a young woman from biblical times who is also the wife of Jesus. Her story shines a light on how women are silenced in the bible and champions the achievements and rights of fellow women. Kidd, the author, did a remarkable job with creating the character of Ana which I think really contributed to this book's greatness. I enjoyed reading this feminist historical reimagining and encourage you to add it to your reading list!

Well... I had planned to read the Divergent trilogy this month, but after getting through the first book in the series, I have decided not to continue. If I really want to find out what happens, I will watch the movies (especially because they have Theo James in them). Overall, the book felt very young. I found myself skimming the pages and just was not invested in the story. I would recommend this book to early high school-aged readers as they will be able to connect with the protagonist and her story more than I could. In the meantime, I will be on the lookout for a more adult dystopian series to read.