A quirky little book with both humor and serious undertones. Reminded me a lot of Fredrick Backman‘s writing.

I have quite a few of McMahon‘s books on my TBR pile, but this is only the 2nd one I‘ve read. After feeling lukewarm about a previous one of hers, I loved this one! Sort of thriller/mystery/horror with some supernatural thrown in, but also not really truly fitting in to any of those categories accurately. Regardless, this one really pulled me in.

Erik Larson is one of the few non-fiction authors that I tend to return to. But…this one missed the mark for me and was my least favorite so far. I found it tedious and rather dull, and had trouble keeping up with all the names. I guess I was expecting more of a climax that never came.

It seems you can‘t go anywhere without seeing or hearing about Colleen Hoover these days. I‘d not read anything by her previously, but I kept hearing good things about this and Verity. And then my book club chose this, so…here we are. I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it. It also is a good book for discussion.

The format of this one was a bit odd and took some getting used to, but overall I liked the book. But it was sad, and I‘m not sure how I felt about the ending.

I was just “meh” on this one, not because of the somewhat controversial subject matter, but because it just seemed too slow-moving and it dragged for me. I was ready to move on after about halfway through, but I kept going until the end. I mostly enjoy Melanie Benjamin, but this one wasn‘t my fave.

Really loved this! Picked it up in hopes of immersing myself back into the world of Harry Potter. It was all that and more. Really think that audio is the way to go with this one, as listening to Tom read his own story was just wonderful.

I got the best new ornament from my bestie this week! 😍

Not my typical read, but this was for book club and the timing seems apt (though probably better in January or February, when I really struggle to get through the months). Not a bad read, but what really kept me going was the audiobook reader, Rebecca Lee. Something about her voice was very compelling.

Who else has seen the movie?
I‘d recommend NOT. It was awful.

I love Sarah Winman‘s writing. But oh, this one is sad.

I was suitably impressed by this lesser-known YA title. It‘s sort of a mystery/thriller and it kept me guessing.

I really like Lesley Kagen — she‘s one of my favorite lesser-known authors. I‘m still making my way through her books. And this one was decent, though probably my least favorite of the ones I‘ve read so far.

My first Sandra Brown. I didn‘t even know there was such a thing as romance thriller, but I guess that‘s a genre and I guess that‘s what this was. If it hadn‘t been so unbelievable, it probably would‘ve rated a little higher. Maybe.

Anyone who reads audiobooks knows the reader/narrator can make or break a book. I bailed solely due to the fact that I just couldn‘t continue to listen to this one. Ugh. Which is a shame. It may very well have been a good book. 🤷🏼‍♀️

For an abridged audio, I thought this was pretty good. This one was tough to read in some parts, but I thought it was better written than a previous one by Slaughter I read a few months ago.

Actually rating this somewhere between a pick and a so-so. This author has had so much hype, so I think I was expecting more. I liked the atmosphere, but I felt it was missing something. It never really grabbed me like it had hoped. This was Towles‘ first novel, so maybe A Gentleman in Moscow is better?

I‘m giving this a pick because it was a good story. However, there was something about the writing that felt….unpolished. And I don‘t think it‘s a spoiler to say the ending was open-ended, leaving me to wonder what exactly happened to the main character. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I was left with a big question mark.❓🤷🏼‍♀️

Another winner from TJR! So far I‘ve loved them all and can‘t pick a favorite. 🤩

Kate Morton is one of my very favorites, and I had been putting this one (her most recent) off for a while until just the right time. It had all the Morton qualities I love, though this was probably my least fave of hers. But I will still read anything she writes. Looking forward to her next release due out next year!

I rarely bail on books, but this was my second bail in as many weeks. I‘ve not read an Elizabeth George in many years, but I remember enjoying them way back when. I was hoping to become re-acquainted with Inspector Lynley and Co., but this story goes off in a whole other direction and just wasn‘t grabbing me.

I thought I‘d give it a go, but I didn‘t make it past the 1st disc. Just kind of weird.

This was not my first Bohjalian read, but I think it‘s the one that‘s most familiar to people and would probably be considered his breakout novel, thanks, I suspect, to Oprah. Somewhat controversial and a good book for discussion. I wasn‘t necessarily sold on the choice of narrator, but good book nonetheless.

I see lots of mixed reviews on this one and I understand why. At its heart it was a decent story and I thought the writing itself was also fine. But I loathed the main character and had trouble getting past that. Lots of possible triggers in this novel. They didn‘t bother me, but might others. I am curious to see the upcoming film with Mila Kunis though.

I know I‘m in the minority here, but I didn‘t love this book. Yes, it redeemed itself in the second half and ultimately was a feel-good novel with a lot of nice messages, but the first half was so utterly ridiculous that I almost gave up. That annoyed me. Some quirkiness is okay. But this was a little too over the top for me.

I‘ve enjoyed other Vreeland novels I‘ve read in the past. They‘re a bit slow-moving but she does a good job with historical fiction. But I just found that this one was dragging along TOO slowly and I really didn‘t like the character of Clara and found myself not looking forward to resuming the story. So, I bailed.
I didn‘t realize Vreeland had passed away in 2017.
R.I.P. Susan 😢

I liked this, though wouldn‘t say I loved it. It‘s sort of a coming-of-age YA novel with a mix of good stuff and bad stuff all happening at once. Sort of.

I don‘t really get the negative reviews for this one. Yes, it‘s very different than The Girl on the Train, but I think it held its own. Lots of characters to keep track of, however, and most of them unlikeable. But it mostly came together at the end.

I *think* I mostly liked this. I‘d read that the plot was similar to that of the Manson murders, but this is more of a background story from the point of view of a young girl exposed to the fringes of a commune. It was not bad, but I was expecting more “action” I guess. The murders in this story were more of an afterthought and mentioned only minimally toward the end.

Blake Crouch has become one of my favorite authors. Was excited to dig into this one and it didn‘t disappoint! It was a page turner and I flew through this one!

I loved how each generation of women were woven together to create the story. But the book was short, and while that made it an easy read, I felt like some of the storylines were cut short, leaving me wanting more.

#unpopularopinion

Most people seem to find this laugh-out-loud funny. I didn‘t . I felt like she was trying too hard. I get that there are serious undertones here and I respect that Lawson was trying to balance the seriousness with the humor, but it didn‘t work for me. Maybe wrong place, wrong time for me. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I liked this for the most part, mostly due to the historical fiction aspect. The dual timelines sort of worked, though I was much more into the WWII timeline than the 1980‘s one, surprisingly. I felt like it was missing something, though can‘t put my finger on what exactly.

I think I was hoping for more nostalgia with this, and there was some of that, but not as much as I craved. It was more a recollection of events and then an analysis of how each impacted society. Not bad, but not as immersive as I‘d hoped.

I‘ve read enough of King to realize he doesn‘t always write in “typical” Stephen King style, and this was one of those. Definitely not my favorite of his. Fortunately, it was one of his short stories, so not too much time was wasted.

Mixed feelings here, but ultimately there was more to like than to not like, so I‘ll go with a pick. I didn‘t care for the paranormal portions of this…the story could‘ve held its own without them. The more I read, the more I disliked the character of Billie. The ending….there was closure, but yet not. Not sure how I felt about that.

It‘s not every day you read a fictional story about the family left behind when someone is swept away in a tornado. I thought this had a lot of potential, but it was often too bogged down with unnecessary detail. Ultimately, I felt a stronger bond with the town itself than with the characters.

I feel like this is a hard book to describe. It‘s both simple and complicated, yet easy to read. A mix of sci-fi, time travel, and pandemic all rolled into one coherent story. I wish it had been longer, because I was left wanting more.

The bare bones of this story had promise, but the execution was lacking. It was an okay story, but it seemed like the author was trying to throw too many things in here and it dragged on, despite the story taking place all within one day. I doubt that it will stick with me.

This was an abridged audio, so a little choppy at times, but overall not bad. I doubt that it will stick with me though.

The thing I love about WWII novels is that they are all different — they all tell their stories from a different perspective. This was no exception. I‘m anxious to see the upcoming Netflix adaptation.

There‘s a lot I could say about this book that I don‘t have the space for here. Based on its reviews, it seems everyone else loves this book. I didn‘t. 😕
I tend to shy away from Christian fiction, not because of subject matter, but only because I‘ve never seen what I would consider a well-written one. I thought this would be the exception, but it wasn‘t. I was rolling my eyes frequently.
I watched the movie afterward. It was better.

Picoult never disappoints with the controversial subject matter. Didn‘t care for the music selections between chapters, but otherwise, the audio was good!

I don‘t live in KY or OH, but I do live in a neighboring Midwestern state, and sadly, much of what was portrayed here accurately describes many in my community as well. It pisses me off, to be perfectly honest. I don‘t have the answers as to how to fix things, but I fear that things will get worse before they get better. If nothing else, this is a good book to instigate some serious discussions.

I‘ve really enjoyed Krakauer‘s other books, but this one fell flat for me. Maybe it was the abridgment, maybe it was Krakauer‘s monotone reading voice, maybe it was something else. It just didn‘t pull me in like his others. 🤷🏼‍♀️

This was a fun, quirky book. Never thought I could get into a book about sourdough bread and robotic arms, but I did!

I know I‘m late to the party with this one. And this is probably an #unpopularopinion, but I was a little disappointed. Maybe it was due to all the hype, but it felt flat to me. I wavered between a pick and a so-so. Still a good book, but not as great as I was expecting.