Iโve somehow never read any of V.E. Schwabโs books, and I consider myself to be a constant reader who loves fantasy. Vicious served as a nice introduction to her work. Alternating between the bookโs present-day and flashbacks throughout various charactersโ lives, the plot moved along quickly […]
Greenteeth by Molly O’Neill: Book Review
What an absolute delight! I just texted my sister to recommend Greenteeth to her. I wrote, โItโs an old school fantasy/fairy tale. It felt a little retro in a time when fantasies are either urban fantasies or sprawling epics with 50,000 characters and entire magic/religion/political systems […]
Amari and the Despicable Wonders by B. B. Alston: Book Review
4 Stars. I dinged book two of this series for being a little too reminiscent of Harry Potter. I still see direct parallels between a lot of the plot points in this book and The Wizarding World but I must not have cared as much this time around. Itโs been two years since I listened to Amari and the Great […]
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett: Book Review
Every time I read a book by Ann Patchett, I wonder why I donโt read her work more often. Sheโs a thoughtful, beautiful writer. I guess Iโm spreading out the love by reading her books slowly. This book is an exploration of family relationships and the bonds between siblings and between parents and […]
The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai: Book Review
3 Stars. I’m not a foodie but my husband is so I thought he would like this book as a road trip listen. It’s a cozy, gentle read with lots of descriptions of Japanese food (and even one Italian dish) that probably leave real foodies drooling. That’s not me so I missed a lot of the appeal of the […]
Noir by Christopher Moore: Book Review
4 Stars. I have loved and laughed out loud at Christopher Mooreโs earlier work but Fool, Sacre Bleu, and Secondhand Souls did not do much for me. I had pretty much decided that I would stop reading his books. Then I was scrolling through my husbandโs TBR looking for a book we could both listen to on […]
Amari and the Great Game by B. B. Alston: Book Review
3 Stars. This series is still a lot of fun but it feels a little too directly derived from Harry Potter. Thereโs a game between magicians, a character who is very reminiscent of Dolores Umbridge, and more that I wonโt mention because of spoilers. Iโm trying to convince myself that a lot of these are just […]
The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan: Book Review
3 Stars. I adored Dash & Lilyโs Book of Dares, the first book in this series. Dash was just enough of a curmudgeon and Lily was a delight. They were quirky together, they had funny friends, and seeing their relationship develop against the backdrop of Christmas in New York was the stuff that holiday rom-coms […]
Christmas Bliss by Mary Kay Andrews: Book Review
4 Stars. It’s been quite a while since I read any books in this series because I somehow missed that a fourth one existed! I can’t say that there was a whole lot going on here, plot-wise. There were a few things but they felt and largely turned out to be low-stakes. Mostly I just enjoyed re-visiting Weezie […]
Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan: Book Review
4 Stars. Iโm not a huge romance reader and even less of a young adult romance reader but Iโve watched my share of rom-coms and this is a rom-com with the cutest of meet cutes. I adored it. And what reader could resist its charms? Dash and Lilyโs paths cross when Lily leaves a red notebook with a dare hidden […]
The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae: Book Review
4 Stars. Confession: I didnโt know who Issa Rae is when I picked this up. Iโm only vaguely aware of pop culture at the best of times and influencers or even show writers and producers are just not on my radar. I donโt remember why I added this to my list but Iโm glad I did because it was so funny!
Iโm […]