Sunday, December 31, 2023

One Blood

 

Title: One Blood

Author: Denene Millner

Publisher: Forge Books
 
ISBN: 9781250276193
 
Thoughts: Engrossing family saga with a touch of magical realism, but I wanted more connection between the beginning and end.

Rating: 3/5

Saturday, December 30, 2023

Wednesday, December 27, 2023

The Cartographers

 

Title: The Cartographers

Author: Peng Shepherd

Publisher: Harper Audio
 
ISBN: n/a
 
Thoughts: Imaginative and fast-paced fantasy, but there were just a few questions that I wanted answered.

Rating: 4/5

Sunday, December 17, 2023

Booth

 

Title: Booth

Author: Karen Joy Fowler

Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
 
ISBN: n/a
 
Thoughts: This expertly-crafted historical fiction novel is not about John Wilkes Booth, but about his siblings, which is a rather unique take.

Rating: 4/5

Saturday, December 9, 2023

This Is Not the Real World

 

Title: This Is Not the Real World

Author: Anna Carey

Publisher: Quirk Books
 
ISBN: 9781683692812
 
Thoughts: More intense than the first book, but the nostalgia was lacking and the ending was not very satisfying.

Rating: 3/5

Thursday, December 7, 2023

Tell Me Everything

 

Title: Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation

Author: Erika Krouse

Publisher: Macmillan Audio
 
ISBN: 9781250839213
 
Thoughts: Interesting and intense look at the investigation of rape culture at a university missed with the author's own story as well as relevant historical cases.

Rating: 4/5

Nick and Tesla's High-Voltage Danger Lab

 

Title: Nick and Tesla's High-Voltage Danger Lab

Author: Bob Pflugfelder & Steve Hockensmith

Publisher: Quirk Books
 
ISBN: 9781594746482
 
Thoughts: While this progresses in a logical linear order (at least for an MG book), it seems a little confused as to what it wants to be, other than a story that adds in science experiments.

Rating: 3/5

Bride of the Tornado

 

Title: Bride of the Tornado

Author: James Kennedy

Publisher: Quirk Books
 
ISBN: 9781683693277
 
Thoughts: Highly captivating Midwestern gothic horror.

Rating: 4/5

Monday, December 4, 2023

In Love

 

Title: In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss

Author: Amy Bloom

Publisher: Random House Audio
 
ISBN: 9780593555989
 
Thoughts: Not a cheerful read, but very emotional and honest.

Rating: 4/5

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

The Secret Book of Flora Lea

 

Title: The Secret Book of Flora Lea

Author: Patti Callahan Henry

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
 
ISBN: 9781797155982
 
Thoughts: A historical mystery that will remind you of childhood fantasy novels while explaining the reason a specific trope of them exists.

Rating: 4/5

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Mom in the Movies

 

Title: Mom in the Movies: The Iconic Screen Mothers You Love (and a Few You Love to Hate)

Author: Richard Corliss

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
 
ISBN: 9781476738260
 
Thoughts: Good as a coffee table book, but did not feel as comprehensive as it could have been.

Rating: 3/5

Saturday, November 25, 2023

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Amazing Grace Adams


Title: Amazing Grace Adams

Author: Fran Littlewood

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
 
ISBN: 9781250334152
 
Thoughts: Littlewood manages to pull more feelings than expected from a novel about a woman going through an existential crisis.

Rating: 4/5

Saturday, November 18, 2023

Violeta

 

Title: Violeta

Author: Isabel Allende

Publisher: Random House Audio
 
ISBN: 9780593558850
 
Thoughts: Allende's writing is so powerful that I kept forgetting that Violeta was not a real person.

Rating: 4/5

Stacking the Shelves: 11/5-11/18

 

Won:


The Busy Body by Kemper Donovan

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Curvy Girls Can't Date Quarterbacks

 

Title: Curvy Girls Can't Date Quarterbacks

Author: Kelsie Stelting

Publisher: Kelsie Stelting Creative LLC
 
ISBN: n/a
 
Thoughts: Fun, positive, sweet YA romance, but some of the characterizations were a little too stock.

Rating: 3/5

Friday, November 10, 2023

Bad Summer People

 

Title: Bad Summer People

Author: Emma Rosenblum

Publisher: Macmillan Audio
 
ISBN: 9781250900845
 
Thoughts:  Good beach read with interesting characters, but there was not really the mystery as one would expect from the prologue.

Rating: 3/5

Monday, November 6, 2023

Homecoming

 

Title: Homecoming

Author: Kate Morton

Publisher: Mariner Books
 
ISBN: 9780063020894
 
Thoughts: Almost gothic in feel, this novel of mystery and family secrets is the best I have read all year.

Rating: 5/5

Saturday, November 4, 2023

Thursday, November 2, 2023

The Fraud

 

Title: The Fraud

Author: Zadie Smith

Publisher: Penguin Audio
 
ISBN: n/a
 
Thoughts: This had a strong Dickensian vibe to it (and not just because he was a character), and that made it very hard for me personally to follow.

Rating: 3/5

Stars, Hide Your Fires

 

Title: Stars, Hide Your Fires

Author: Jessica Mary Best

Publisher: Quirk Books
 
ISBN: 9781683693512
 
Thoughts: Rather uneven sci-fi romantic mystery with a choppy plot, little character development, and a "twist" that the characters should have seen much earlier than they did.

Rating: 2/5

Talking at Night

 

Title: Talking at Night

Author: Claire Daverley

Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
 
ISBN: 9780593653487
 
Thoughts: Very melancholic character-driven story that flows in a way that makes it hard to put down.

Rating: 4/5

Monday, October 30, 2023

Cults

 

Title: Cults: Inside the World's Most Notorious Groups and Understanding the People Who Joined Them

Author: Max Cutler & Kevin Conley

Publisher: Gallery Books
 
ISBN: 9781982133542
 
Thoughts: Insightful and disturbing look into some of the world's most infamous cults.

Rating: 4/5

Thursday, October 26, 2023

Late Bloomers

 

Title: Late Bloomers

Author: Deepa Varadarajan

Publisher: Random House
 
ISBN: 9780593498026
 
Thoughts: Delightful story about four family members learning about love in all it's forms.

Rating: 4/5

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Notes on an Execution

 

Title: Notes on an Execution

Author: Danya Kukafka

Publisher: Audible Audio
 
ISBN: n/a
 
Thoughts:  I enjoyed the characters and their development, but some parts of the story seemed to be left hanging or go against previous events.

Rating: 3/5

1984

 

Title: 1984

Author: George Orwell

Publisher: Penguin Books
 
ISBN: 9790141036144
 
Thoughts:  The concepts Orwell presents are well-thought-out and terrifying realistic, but it felt a little more like a fictionalized dissertation than an actual story.

Rating: 3/5

Friday, October 20, 2023

Beasts and Beauty

 

Title: Beasts and Beauty: Dangerous Tales

Author: Soman Chainani

Publisher: HarperCollins
 
ISBN: 9798200743568
 
Thoughts:  A dark and melancholic collection of fairy tale retellings.

Rating: 3/5

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

The Princess and the Fangirl

 

Title: The Princess and the Fangril

Author: Ashley Poston

Publisher: Quirk Books
 
ISBN: 9781683690962
 
Thoughts:  A fun, geeky retelling of The Prince and the Pauper even if the reason for the switch is rather thin.

Rating: 4/5

Saturday, October 14, 2023

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Work It Out

 

Title: Work It Out: A Mood-Boosting Exercise Guide for People Who Just Want to Lie Down

Author: Sarah Kurchak

Publisher: Quirk Books
 
ISBN: 9781683693921
 
Thoughts:  Excellent and slightly irreverent look at exercise with mental health in mind.

Rating: 4/5

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

The Book of Gothel

 

Title: The Book of Gothel

Author: Mary McMyne

Publisher: Redhook
 
ISBN: 9780316393119
 
Thoughts:  Rich retelling of the origin of Gothel from Rapunzel, but the frame story, while immensely fascinating and atmospheric, was not needed.

Rating: 4/5

Monday, October 9, 2023

The Elenium

 

Title: The Elenium

Author: David Eddings

Publisher: Del Rey
 
ISBN: 9780345500939
 
Thoughts:  Excellent high fantasy trilogy, even if the third book does devolve into a political numbers game for quite a few chapters.

Rating: 4/5

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store

 

Title: The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store

Author: James McBride

Publisher: Penguin Audio
 
ISBN: n/a
 
Thoughts:  There were a lot of characters, and the narrator's sonorous voice lulled me so much, that I had trouble remembering who was who and what the connections were, so that hindered my enjoyment.

Rating: 3/5

Saturday, October 7, 2023

Thursday, October 5, 2023

Hanging with Vampires

 

Title: Hanging with Vampires

Author: Insha Fitzpatrick

Publisher: Quirk Books
 
ISBN: 9781683693413
 
Thoughts: This is a fun and informative guide for middle graders interested in an introduction to vampire lore.

Rating: 4/5

Sunday, October 1, 2023

The Anomaly

 

Title: The Anomaly

Author: Herve Le Tellier

Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio
 
ISBN: 9780593501139
 
Thoughts: I am not sure if the original, the translation, or the narration made the story boring, but something did, and there was actually so many plot points that should have made it exciting.

Rating: 3/5

Sunday, September 24, 2023

The Whispering Dark

 

Title: The Whispering Dark

Author: Kelly Andrew

Publisher: Scholastic Press
 
ISBN: 9781338809473
 
Thoughts: There was an interesting concept here, but the story was riddled with holes, either hastily patched or just plain ignored, and the characters were unevenly developed and often lacking likeable features.

Rating: 2/5

Saturday, September 23, 2023

Romantic Comedy

 

Title: Romantic Comedy

Author: Curtis Sittenfeld

Publisher: Audible Audio
 
ISBN: n/a
 
Thoughts: Fun, escapist read that still shows all the very realistic aspects of life and love.

Rating: 4/5

Sunday, September 17, 2023

Sex Cult Nun

 

Title: Sex Cult Nun: Breaking Away from the Children of God, a Wild, Radical Religious Cult

Author: Faith Jones

Publisher: Audible Audio
 
ISBN: n/a
 
Thoughts: Fascinating and disturbing look at growing up within the Children of God.

Rating: 4/5

Friday, September 15, 2023

Oak Avenue

 

Title: Oak Avenue

Author: Brandi Reeds

Publisher: Amazon Originals
 
ISBN: n/a
 
Thoughts: Good bones for a creepy, haunted house story, but it really needs to be developed into a full-length novel.

Rating: 3/5

Saturday, September 9, 2023

Beasts of a Little Land

 

Title: Beasts of a Little Land

Author: Juhae Kim

Publisher: HarperAudio
 
ISBN: 9780063093607
 
Thoughts: With a story that takes place overtime, there are often many characters who are somewhat difficult to keep straight, as happens here, but what made it a little more difficult were some of the creative choices the author made that I could not follow as I could not see the reason, which may be because I was listening to the audiobook.

Rating: 2/5

Stacking the Shelves: 8/27-9/9


Bought at Barnes & Noble:


The Steel Prince by V. E. Schwab


Night of Knives by V. E. Schwab