Kathleen Haagenson

Ellie Brown a former med student turned paramedic is forced to return to the hometown of Broadlands Illinois a place she desperately wants to escape after her father suffers a severe stroke. She returns to help her older sister Amelia with caring for her father. However, her life is upended when she receives a 911 dispatch at her sister's house where it's discovered that both her sister and brother-in-law have been shot after a home invasion leading her sister to remain in critical condition. It's after this tragedy as Ellie tries to piece together what happened that she uncovers secrets and revelations about her family that will test her loyalties leading her to make difficult decisions that will change her future trajectory.

This was my second Emily Bleeker novel and I'm sad to say it wasn't for me. For starters, I felt the story dragged a little in the beginning. It's told in dual alternating timelines with Ellie's POV showcasing events that happened during the discovery of the shooting and Amelia's POV displaying the events that led up to the shooting. I struggled to get pulled into the story because I felt yanked out of the current events following the shooting to flashback to the events leading up to the shooting.

Additionally, I didn't like Ellie or Amelia. I found Ellie to be a little overbearing and aggressive at times for no seemingly good reason. Yet when I felt she could've stood actually to lean into her aggression she didn't and became a little bit of a pushover. Whereas with Amelia I felt she was gullible and spineless when it came to holding her ground with her husband.

Finally, the ending left me dissatisfied as there wasn't a resolution to the events that occurred near the end. And Ellie infuriated me with her actions at the end.

All in all, this just didn't hit the spot for me but I'm looking forward to trying out another novel by Emily Bleeker in the future.

Upon finishing Colored Television I had to take a couple of days to truly digest and comprehend what I read. There were so many emotions and thoughts swirling through my head that I couldn't decipher how I felt about this book and whether I even liked it or not. I'm so glad I allowed myself to truly contemplate this book because after reflecting for a bit I realized that I truly loved and appreciated this book. Even though it was a challenging read due to its unnerving ability to challenge my perspectives and beliefs and expose me to an opposing reality and lived experience. And in my opinion, only a good book written by a talented author can do that.  

I really enjoyed this book and found it so exciting to read. I was anxiously turning the pages eager to see what would happen next.

I loved Seraphine and how stubborn, willful and steadfast she was especially in light of the tragedy and trauma she experienced.

Her friends at the Order of Cloaks were the perfect found family. They supported her always, never judged and had her back. Love them.

Ransom well I liked him in the beginning but towards the end yea I'm good on him and his whack friends too.

This story is mildly predictable but still entertaining with a clever magic system. The world building isn't epic by any standards and borders on a tad bit generic but that's ok because the characters, action and magic made up for it.

4.25 ⭐️

This was truly a heartbreaking and dark crime thriller following a young woman that's targeting homeless men and torturing and murdering them in a horrific manner.

We follow as the police are scrambling to solve this case before Christmas.

I found the police procedural aspect of this story lackluster as I felt their investigative skills did nothing for the case. And the ending was a little too convenient.

Definitely check your trigger warnings because some heavy themes are discussed in this novel.

2.5 ⭐️

This story didn't resonate with me because I couldn't like or even empathize with the main character. The majority of her dilemma was brought on by poor decision making and painting herself as the victim while being obsessed with her adulterous affair. She acted like a prisoner trapped in a loveless marriage and couldn't escape because her daughter wouldn't handle a divorce. HOWEVER found it no problem to sleep with her husband's deranged best friend and blow her family apart contributing to the demise of her daughter's father and creating a public scandal thus harming her daughter and family anyway. Not to mention I figured out the best friend and the husband were the ones that orchestrated the kidnapping by the within the first few chapters. Micah just didn't seem normal his reactions to everything was too calm and calculated. None of his reactions or behavior was close to normal or making any type of sense. And she was too blind to see the obvious 99.9% of the time because she was too caught up in hating her husband and lusting after Micah. She was a wimpy character for me and it was challenging to make it through because of her poor judgment, pitiful discernment, and knowing what was going to eventually happen.

** 2.5 Stars **

A beautiful premise for a story but the execution didn't work for me.

We're introduced to the Edgie Family as they're in the middle of moving on following a tragic accident that resulted in the loss of their eight-year-old daughter Phoebe (Bee). So, the mother decides they need a new start in a new location and decides the family should move. To be able to afford this move they need to sell the family estate in New Hampshire. So, Marie and her husband pack up the three remaining children Hannah, Pen, and Brandon, and travel to the estate to spend the summer renovating and preparing it to be sold.

However, there's one little hitch. Davina Lister, a disfigured army veteran, resides on the property in a small off-the-grid cabin. She received permission to live there from Marie's deceased grandfather and has done so with no issue for over twenty years. The problem is for the Edgie family to sell the estate Davina must vacate the premises. But Davina doesn't want to move.

This private battle quickly becomes public as sides are chosen within the community and the family. Tension reaches a fever pitch until a fateful event decides the future for everyone involved.

Ok, my main issue was that I couldn't connect with the characters. This was perhaps for two main reasons. First, there are too many alternating first-person viewpoints. Every family member had a viewpoint and then we also got Davina's viewpoint. While I love first-person narrative I would've preferred a third-person narrative for this particular story since there were multiple characters.

Second, I didn't like the characters. I know some stories create unlikeable characters intentionally because they serve a specific purpose. But, I don't believe the goal of the author in this story was for me to hate almost every character.

I detested Marie and felt she was a raging bitch for 90% of the book. The reason the conflict with Davina reached the epic levels it did was because of her excessive aggression, anger, and attitude when speaking with Davina. I understand she's grieving and not healthily processing her grief but that doesn't give you a pass to be unnecessarily rude in delicate situations and expect a positive outcome.

The husband was a wimp and allowed his wife to walk all over him. He wasn't active in the decision-making process for example when she brought up moving he just went along with it even though it would stretch their budget and he didn't want to move. He was weak and ineffective when he spoke with Davina about relocating. And he had absolutely zero authority with the kids it was always Marie. I had no respect for him.

Brandon was a spoiled, disrespectful child. He got a pass on much of his poor decision-making and horrific actions.

While I empathized with Davina's situation she also was problematic. You're on someone else's property illegally. You don't have a leg to stand on. Digging your heels in and being difficult because of a promise from a deceased man that wasn't written down is ludicrous. She could've worked towards finding a way to ease the tensions of this situation as well but instead played the victim.

The ending was not truly satisfying either. Marie's character arc felt fake. Davina's happy ending was ok I guess. However, the aspects of how certain things went down involving the relocation didn't feel plausible.

Overall I just didn't like these people and didn't fully enjoy my time in this story.

An amazing character driven story about a college professor named Phoebe who finds herself in the midst of an unexpected turn in her life and how this propels her to make a life altering decision that will forever change her.

This insightful story explores some complicated themes pertaining to grief, infidelity, infertility, depression, and suicide. And it handles these complex topics with wit and dark humor making this story not as heavy as it could've been.

Phoebe's journey of self discovery and actualization was beautiful like a caterpillar that becomes a butterfly. It's easy to root for this woman and want her to overcome the challenging circumstances in her life.

A touching and thought provoking story.

This was an interesting an honest account of one woman's struggle to come to terms with her husbands pursuit of an army career and how it impacted their relationship. 

We see the beauty of community as Simone connects with other army wives as they help and support each other with accepting and loving with husbands that had difficult and dangerous professions. 

We also see the challenges of marriage when placed under extreme conditions such as a spouse or partner being continually deployed and not present in the home and how that impacts marital relations. 

As a woman who struggles with ADHD this book was so eye-opening. To understand that while there is a genetic predisposition to this condition environment and attachment play a role in this as well. Which makes so much sense looking back at my formative years.

I also appreciated his insight on medication and how care should be given when prescribing medication. That it's not a magical solution for ADHD but part of a comprehensive and integrative approach to treatment.

I was also encouraged to know that much of what I've been prioritizing the past few years addressing my past trauma, emotional dysfunction and becoming more self-aware and accepting of myself are key tools in helping to heal and manage symptoms in adulthood. So, I'm on the right track!

This gave me Gossip Girl but make it murder vibes. I mean the story was ok but it just didn't hit the mark for me.

And I really disliked Jessica and how I was force fed to see her as this morally grey, dark villainous character through her assertions and conclusions about herself instead of the author allowing her actions and behavior to speak for her.

I don't like this tactic it comes off as false and ruins the magic like I'm capable of seeing and discovering this for myself.

3.5 ⭐️

I found this novel to be a heartwarming story focused on female empowerment and the importance of taking ownership of your narrative, nurturing your passions, and knowing your identity. 

While there were a few hiccups with the plot and character development this was a spectacular read. 
Barbe-Nicole Clicquot is a badass and I want to learn more about this woman and her impact on the history of the wine industry. And somehow I need to get my hands on a bottle of Veuve Clicquot!

For my full review check out my blog!
https://www.kathleenhaagenson.com/the-champagne-letters-by-kate-macintosh/

The mysterious bonds and attachments the Haddlesley siblings had to the bog, their family legacy and each other was such an interesting topic to explore in regard to family legacies, sibling dynamics and the quest for individuality. 

I'm a sucker for slice-of-life character-driven novels and Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop is a complete vibe and I'm soaking up every bit of this cozy warm hug of a story.

I appreciated the cast of characters and how they had such impactful relationships helping each other navigate difficult life challenges, circumstances, and phases of life. I loved the thought-provoking conversations concerning work-life balance, finding joy and purpose in your life outside of career aspirations, and overcoming past insecurities to become present and confident in the life you live now so you can bravely pursue a better future.

I seriously feel reading this book at the end of the year was perfect timing as I feel so inspired and motivated to pursue my life with full abandon and chase my dreams and passions creating a life that makes me joyful and content. An amazing piece of literary fiction!

6

This emotional and thought-provoking read explores the boundaries of a new marriage and the extent of loyalty and responsibility when it comes to sacrificing one's best interest in favor of another's. It also explores the consequences of racial profiling, false imprisonment, and the emotional and mental toll this can have on a person ultimately destroying their life. 

At its core Give Her Credit is an inspiring story of what happens when women work together to topple misogyny and sexism in the male-dominated industry of business, banking, and finance. And I'm all for learning more about women's place in history and how feminism and the women's rights movement paved the way for women to occupy places and spaces they were once denied. 

I would've enjoyed learning more about the experiences of the Black women who were a part of the Women's Association and how this bank opening not only helped White women when achieving equality and financial freedom but minorities and marginalized people as well. We didn't get enough of these stories and insights which would've expanded this story and highlighted why Colorado's Women's Bank was different because it supported people from these communities. Marking it as one of the few banks that truly sought to pursue equality for all. 

I truly don't get the hype with this one. I mean it started out strong I was giggling, kicking my feet and screaming.

A haunted house with a sordid history and creepy things happening like a record player starting to play music on its own and lights that turn on by themselves? Yes, sign me up!

This was such an enjoyable read. It delivered all the chills and thrills I was seeking. As always Sager can hook me within the first few sentences and I've fallen headfirst into whatever fictional world he's created.

Additionally, I like the book within a book aspect and found it super fun. I also really liked the main character Maggie and her quest to uncover what really happened the night her family left. And the ending was perfect. I had my suspicions and they were confirmed.

All in all, this is a solid spooky little read.

Check out my full review on my blog: https://www.kathleenhaagenson.com/home-before-dark-by-riley-sager/

A thought-provoking and enlightening read. As a person who never really paid attention to politics and foreign policy this was eye-opening.

I have a better understanding of what our primary motivations are concerning foreign policy and how it's not based on democracy but the desire for power and domination which is controlled by the wealthy elite and how our policies and legislation often reflect their interests to make more money and obtain more power.

Of course this is just one of the many points that were mentioned and discussed in this book but it's the one that really stuck out to me.

Also how the public's views and opinions regarding American aggression towards other countries and questionable alliances are dismissed and not taken seriously by our governing bodies. And how they'll craft a particular narrative to sway public opinion to their side while omitting the truth about their true motivations and behaviors.

It is so true that we the citizens should do the work to educate ourselves and utilize our privilege, and constitutional rights to work towards making changes to this system, improving our communities, supporting the marginalized and disenfranchised and impacting our local and federal governing bodies.

I'm speechless. This beautiful macabre story has left me utterly brokenhearted in the best way possible.

And the prose was perfection! It pulled me in from the first sentence. CH Drews crested this rich dark atmosphere that reads like a grim fairy tale.

And Andrew and Thomas. The love and angst that exist between them is so palpable and intense it makes my heart ache. How they were able to complement each other and make space for their darkness and inner demons was so tender and raw.

There's so many different themes explored in this story from sexuality, identity,and grief. The way this story was woven to encompass these themes and craft such a mesmerizing and dark tale is exquisite. Love love LOVED this book!

The writing style was not it for me very dry and clinical lacking emotion. Then the sexualized descriptions of all the female characters really grated my nerves. The final straw was when the main character became stupid revealing details about an open case to a stranger because he had the hots for her. 

I enjoyed this story very much despite Mallory getting on my nerves a little bit but sometimes you need the protagonist to do crazy things to push the story along. So in that case she did her job.

I appreciated how quickly Mallory identified that something was up with Teddy and was adamant about getting him help and getting to the bottom of what was going on. I didn't have to read pages upon pages of her being in denial or oblivious. I like when protagonist are sharp and quick to jump into action.

While I didn't completely work out the twist I knew something was off and suspected something out of the ordinary to be at play.

The ending was super tense but I found the conclusion of events to be quite satisfying.

Unfortunately, this was just mid for me. The writing style lacked emotion and depth. It felt a little bit like an outline of events. The characters were okay but came across as flat and dispassionate. It made it difficult for me to feel anything about the story and events transpiring.

The pacing was interesting it kind of felt all over the place and I couldn't catch my bearings. The shifts between past and present events were confusing as they would randomly occur without warning or proper transition.

Also, the way events unfolded with many of the twists felt unremarkable to me. There wasn't much buildup or suspense surrounding them they just occurred in the middle of the story and bam it was over.

The ending was ok. We got a resolution to events and a final reveal but again it was so anticlimactic. This just didn't work out for me at all.

For my full review check out my blog post: https://www.kathleenhaagenson.com/things-we-do-in-the-dark-by-jennifer-hillier/

This is an interesting and beautifully illustrated backstory for one of my favorite villains.

An emotional, dark, and challenging read exploring ecological collapse in a post-apocalyptic world as the remaining survivors struggle to survive and find a sanctuary while battling the elements and a depraved society

This story is a bleak and honest exploration of a dying water-laden world in which the grief and childhood trauma of three estranged sisters following the death of their father leads them to the discovery of long-hidden secrets that threaten to rip them apart in more ways than one.