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Thank you @NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy of Anxious People by Frederik Backman, this is my honest review.
“People want to be good. Deep down. Kind.” - Chapter 27
I'm finding difficulty putting my feelings together for this one, I have so many. To me deep down, this book highlights the positives in humanity, and exemplifies the truths that we all seek. All of us want to be accepted for who we are and to find kinship in those around us. Every one of us has experienced moments where we are distraught or feel like we've hit the end of the road, moments where we don't quite know what to do or don't want to go on. Backman's book Anxious People takes decisions made in these moments and exposes the importance of these decisions for both ourselves and those our decisions effect.
I loved this book with my whole heart. Backman tends to have this effect on me. His writing style is so light and his thoughts so heavy, that I found myself rotating between outright cackling and tearing up.
This, ooooo, this book! It was a bit of a shocker for me... I picked it based on the cover and ;) title, and had no idea it was a menage a trois romance! That is not what I reach for when I'm looking for some spice, but now, it just might be. It was sweet and spicy, with just the right amount of heat. Don't get me wrong this book was one trope after another, but it was done in such a way that even though I rolled my eyes at EVERYTHING related to the EX-FIANCE, I was also reassured by those hulking muscles owned by not 1 but 2 hunks. Whoa.
Let's just say I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of enjoyment and laughs I got out of this. April, Quinn and Austin are quite a match.
Thanks to @NetGalley for the advanced readers edition of Stroke of Luck and to Opal Crew and St. Martin's Press for making it available.
I took a trip with Lady Evangeline tonight to Cairo and what great fun that was! Burglary at the museum, old lovers turned bad... So much fun!
I really enjoyed every aspect of this book, the stories were short and sweet, full of intrigue and possibility, not to mention humorous. I definitely recommend.
What a welcoming book. I absolutely adored this read. The Biblical excerpts combined with their personal stories and suggested prayers made for me an original take on the daily devotional. Some of us are just finding ourselves and defining our relationships with God. The ladies that put this devotional together did an excellent job of bringing daily prayer to this amateur, for that I'm grateful.
Thank you @NetGalley for the ARC of How God Grows a Woman of Prayer. This was my honest review.
Thank you @NetGalley and @01FirstSecond for the ARC of the Daughters of Ys. This is my honest review.
The Daughters of Ys was a lovely graphic novel, from character design, to scenery, to color it was indeed a treat turning these pages. This story of two Celtic sisters who live in this Atlantian world was a richly foretold folk tale with truths that are self-evident even today. If you enjoy an original story depicted in a unique art format, then you should give this a shot.
I received an ARC of The End of Her by Shari Lapena from @NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The End of Her was overall a disappointment for me. Unfortunately, we just didn't jive. I found the book hard to follow with the overwhelming amount of characters, and the writing style to me seemed 3rd person. When Phillip did this, or Hannah was thinking... You get the drift, I found it difficult to keep histories and characters straight, and was often lost when I had to break and return to the book at a later time. This did get easier as the book went on, which could have been a result of the time I spent consecutively reading it or because I was becoming more and more familiar with the character's personalities. The story that lies within is completely insane. I found myself asking how probable something like this was. Do people and entanglements like this really exist?
Overall, my dislike for this book was based on personal struggle. If you decide to give it a shot, I do hope you enter into the commitment with some patience.
I would like to thank @Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the opportunity to read I Kissed Alice. Here is my honest review.
Adorable!
In the beginning, I thought this was going to be a tropey YA romance full of angst and assumptions and misunderstandings. I was eye-rolling with the best of them when I started Chapter 1, a bit less when I read Chapter 2, and so on. It turned out to be one of the sweetest, most gratifying romances I have read in ages and favorited up there with Simon vs. the Homosapien Agenda.
The characters of Rhodes and Iliana go through tremendous growth in the story arc, and it just made for a wonderfully satisfying story. When these ladies meet online, they fall for each through a webcomic based on Alice in Wonderland; only it's set in space (totally cool), and the Queen of Hearts has fallen for Alice (not too much of a spoiler/also cool). The illustrations of the webcomic in the story support the characters, their drive, and their personalities. I could have read an entire comic about them, and I am still praying that one is coming in the future.
These two ladies who have fallen for each other have no idea that they share a BFF because their online personas are who they are inside, where their gruff exteriors that they show on the outside are always abrasive toward each other. Watching these two round out the edges, let the guard down, and just simply grow into the skin their in was such a treat. I am so thankful that this was recommended to me and that I was able to get my hands on the ARC.
Perfect summer read.
WoW! What a woman!
When I saw this book on @NetGalley after recently seeing Mrs. Pelosi on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, at this time, they were beginning impeachment proceedings on Pres. Trump and I found myself impressed by her, she would not be bated, and she conducted herself with poise. Both rare in this day and age.
“Pelosi's style was always poised, consistent, slow to speak, and quick to listen. Confidently in control and yet demanding in her expectations.”
I will not pretend to be up on politics; with conditions such as mine, I tend to avoid media and other triggers that tend to send me ‘down the rabbit hole.' While reading, I found myself enjoying the frankness and feeling of camaraderie the authors were able to exhibit. With their constant references to ‘sis' and ‘Queen,' it was easy to feel like you were a part of this voyage.
“...as a Queen of the Resistance, she is courageous in her endeavor to pull in light and hope, and set America back on a moral course.”
My only hang-up with this read was how towards the end when referencing the POTUS; there was a bit of smack talk. Even though throughout there was a tone of bringing about the end to the patriarchy, these last pages or so, there did seem a bit excessive.
Finally, I'd like to thank @NetGalley for this beautiful read that they provided in exchange for an honest review. LMK any questions, I enjoyed this and thought you would too.
Paul Tremblay's writing is propelling, it's a heightened ride from beginning to end. For me, it's a challenge to continually read his books as they plunder into my deepest fears, in this case, a viral infection spreading from animal to human. They are all too real, and the small community in which this story takes place could be the one you or I live in, this could happen to you (or me). Do not look at the length of time it took me to read this and determine it could not have been good, look at the time it took me to read this and know that every third chapter or so, I HAD to put it down because my anxiety was so heightened by the events therein that I was constantly on the verge of panic. It's that good, Tremblay is that good.
If you've never read him and this book hasn't released yet (July 7, 2020) add it to your TBR and pick up his book Cabin at the End of the World. Another amazing apocalyptic read about a home invasion. Terrifying.
ARC provided by William Morrow. This is an honest review.
This was my first Darcy Coates book, and it both did and didn't meet my expectations. I am not the biggest fan of gothic period romances, and going in this felt exactly like that. A ‘forced' marriage due to crumbling circumstances, a strange rich man with a dark demeanor and mysterious home, willing to save her family from destitution. I was eye-rolling with the best of them. This book surprised me, not only did the home and budding relationship meet my expectations, but in the paranormal aspects, it quite exceeded them in what turned out to be a very entertaining and chilling read. So hey in the long run, mayhap I won't judge a book based on others that burnt me, perhaps, just perhaps, I'll give more a chance because of this one.
The book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I had never heard of a bully romance before this popped up in my Goodreads feed, (thanks Astrid), and even though this one also had the stepsibling trope as well I dove in... Curiosity and Cats and all that... Overall it was a bit much I'm all for the misunderstood MC with a dark brooding past, but this guy was a complete dick to this girl! I'm not saying he didn't have valid reasons, kudos to the author on that, but for fox sake give a girl a break.
I have to say I am literally torn, I really enjoyed the authors writing style, she has a good story here, romance, intrigue, mystery. BUT, there was too much
Feminist stitches is a must-have for lady stitchers, beginner or advanced cross-stitchers will appreciate this kit. Not only does it come with the supplies to do two of the projects, but it also has ten additional patterns! All of them are fun and colorful, one of my favorites was on that said “Not Your Babe.” with a border that repeats NOPE, BYE. I love it. I quite literally stitched that one for my husband! I promise with patterns like “I Dissent” and the graveyard of gender roles you won't be disappointed. So go out there and “Smash the Patriarchy” by ordering this book and getting your stitch on.
ARC received by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Riley Sager is one of my favorite up and coming authors, I say up and coming because his newest book (releasing June 30th) is only his 4th book published under this name. His books are creepy and occasionally horrifying, but also completely believable. It's that realism that makes his books stand out. They are average people put in extraordinary circumstances, and his latest read Home Before Dark is no different. In it, we meet Maggie Holt, a home flipper and designer, who has grown up in the shadow of some horrible event that her family has profited from. We go into the story and slowly fall down the rabbit hole, as Maggie comes to terms with the event that changed the course of her family's life. Through her return to the presumably haunted Baneberry House, we find out through alternating chapters what really happened to her family. Is the home haunted from all the previous tragedies, does Mister Shadow come with a warning or threat, are her parents right when they tell her not to return, that it isn't safe for her there? You'll have to read this one to find out, all I can say is... Every house has a
story.
Thank you to Dutton Book and NetGalley for my advanced copy of Home Before Dark, this book was received in advance for an honest review.
The Code for Love and Heartbreak is an adorable coming of age YA romance. This book took a bit for me to get into, the characters were childish and the motivations were unclear to me, but the story had such a fulfilling ending that I can't not recommend this. If you love awkward characters, you're going to devour this book.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of The Code for Love and Heartbreak. This was a well-done story and I'm thankful for the opportunity.