Honest, thoughtful, and passionate book reviews and recommendations.
★★★★
Christina Lauren’s Twice in a Blue Moon is the absorbing, lovely story about two young people who fall in and out of love in London on a vacation and find themselves working together years later, with a second chance at love.
Thanks to Booksparks for the free copy!
Continue reading “Twice in a Blue Moon: Christina Lauren”★★★
Jess Kidd’s Things in Jars is a curious, fiercely unique story of a female detective in Victorian London who, with the help of a ghostly sidekick, is on a mission to uncover the whereabouts of a potentially supernatural young girl.
Thanks to Atria for sending me a free advanced copy!
Continue reading “Things in Jars: Jess Kidd”★★★★
Isabel Allende’s A Long Petal of the Sea is the masterful, at times protracted, saga of a family’s survival and tribulations from the Spanish Civil War through political unrest in Chile and beyond.
Thank you to Random House for sending me a free copy of this book!
Continue reading “A Long Petal of the Sea: Isabel Allende”★★★★★
Kiley Reid’s Such a Fun Age is the
Thanks to Putnam for the free book!
Continue reading “Such a Fun Age: Kiley Reid”★★★★★
Jess Ekstrom’s Chasing the Bright Side: Embrace Optimism, Activate Your Purpose, and Write Your Own Story is a wonderfully uplifting, joyful, and honest exploration of the ways in which entrepreneurs and go-getters of all kinds and in all stages can stay positive, live a life with purpose, and achieve their dreams.
Thanks to the amazing author, Jess, for sending me a free copy of her book!
Continue reading “Chasing the Bright Side: Jess Ekstrom”★★★★
In Garth Greenwell’s searingly personal and super sexy Cleanness, an American reflects on the time he has spent abroad as a teacher in Bulgaria, with particular focus on his emotional and sexual experiences.
Thank you to FSG for the free book!
Continue reading “Cleanness: Garth Greenwell”2019 is gone (like, way gone – better late than never!), but the stories that I read in Q4 will stick with me for a long time. I had a slower reading quarter, which isn’t surprising given football season, holidays, and the general sense of laziness that comes with less daylight. I’ll be giving you all the info on the books I read in October, November, and December here, but don’t forget to take a peek at my favorite books of 2019, too!
★★★★★
Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy is an utterly astounding account of the heinous ways in which the American justice system gets incarceration and the death penalty so wrong – disproportionately in the lives of disenfranchised and marginalized people.
★★★★
Tanen Jones’ The Better Liar is a deceptive, edge-of-your-seat domestic thriller about a woman who will go to great lengths to claim her inheritance.
Thank you to Random House for the free advanced copy!
Continue reading “The Better Liar: Tanen Jones”★★★★
Miranda Popkey’s Topics of Conversation is a particularly distinctive collection of conversations between women painting a portrait of female desire, love, shame, and much more.
Thank you to Knopf Publishing for the free book!
Continue reading “Topics of Conversation: Miranda Popkey”