The Scarlet Letter is one of my absolute favorite novels, which may be why this book wasn‘t successful for me. The writing was lovely, but I felt it assumed an interpretation of Hawthorne‘s work with which I do not agree. I also felt that Albanese tried to tackle far too much here.

This might not be the most memorable mystery and Poirot is absent for a big chunk of it, but it still ends up being fun.

Enjoyed this one. My only issue is that you could really tell it had 2 authors. I wish that had been smoothed out so we had a bit more cohesion in the narrative.

Two issues with this one: marketing said this was an homage to Golden Age mysteries, so I was expecting something like a Golden Age mystery. While that was there in the setting, this was actually a cozy )which is fine, but not my preference).

Secondly, the way Watson handles 3 points of view made this book feel choppy and disconnected to me, and really dampened my experience.

I do live this series! Only two books left…. 🥲

This is the latest title for one of my book clubs. The story was interesting, but it also felt like a work of hero worship. I‘m curious to hear what the rest of my book club thinks.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is beyond deserving of my rare five stars. What starts as a historical fiction turns into a mystery, which turns into an exploration of generational trauma and family relationships. I could not breathe as I finished this book.

I would press THE POSTCARD into everyone's hands if I could. I can't guarantee that you will like it, but I can guarantee that it will make you think.

Grade: A

Another lovely novel from Alice Hoffman. I felt that this one was written for me as I have always loved The Scarlet Letter and Hoffman uses that work as a basis for this one. My only word of warning is that this is not an “on ramp” for Hoffman‘s work, but rather a gift to those who have read her previous books. #books #bookstagram #magicalrealism #alicehoffman #theinvisiblehour #thescarletletter

This bodes well!

This had the raw materials for a good book, but I feel like it needed a few more re-writes and rounds of editing.

I listened to YOU‘L NEVER BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED TO LACY earlier this year and enjoyed it. This follow up is more of the same, but they‘ve widened the net for their sources. This book includes stories from family friends and will have you simultaneously laughing and gasping.

Like most of the titles on the Booker Award Longlist, I had never heard of this one. However, I was intrigued about this story of a girl and her father who process their grief through playing squash.

The good thing about this book is that it is clear that Mario has the potential to be a fantastic writer. However, I don‘t think she‘s there yet with this book. The language was lovely, but I didn‘t get the emotional deep dive I was looking for.