I haven‘t finished this yet but I have come to hold Mother Horror‘s opinion in high esteem, and her previous book of recommendations saw me add a number of titles to my TBR list. This is an excellent gateway to new authors and titles and I‘ve already added several new books to my list before I‘m even halfway through. Also the title is everything.

Loved the Jane Austen vibes in this one. I would‘ve been happy with more of the magical realism and I guess I expected it to get darker at some point with Valérie's weird kind of rage but I realize that SMG mixes up her tone book to book, which does keep things intriguing. Excited to read another of her books soon. Also, the cover!

This one was recommended to me by a trusted bookseller and it didn‘t disappoint. I loved the dynamics of the characters and how this community of Vegas locals had their network established to be able to get things handled. I even went right along with the potential twist, unsure how things would turn out. This was a fun quick read and I‘d suggest it for anybody who likes murder road vigilante type stories.

I am really leaning into trip prep. I enjoy learning about a place before I visit, and I like that this one is a pretty efficient summary of the major developments which contributed to the early modernization of Paris. I‘m only a couple of chapters in, but I am looking forward to seeing some of the structures in person and having the background context for major sites in the city.

Am halfway through and can‘t begin to fathom where it‘s headed. I am a big fan of satire but this is so dry I honestly can‘t tell that it is satire sometimes. Never have heard of T.C. Boyle but am enjoying his writing so far. I think I‘m quite over the idea of cricket fritters, though.

I‘ve never read the Welles work which inspired this story so went in not knowing what to expect. I truly enjoyed this one. I liked it better than Mexican Gothic, though I think Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a fantastic writer. I‘ll have to try a third one before I know for sure but she might be one of my current favorite writers. Her world-building has been superb in both books and she writes such strong characters, you really feel invested in them.

Saw this as a staff pick on the west coast then heard it recommended by a trusted bookseller on my coast. I admit, I bought from neither and opted for the audio version from my library‘s digital collection. Enjoyed it, though I do agree it was a bit of a slow burn. I‘ll have to try some of Sarah Gailey‘s other work as well.

A fun little caper, though it won‘t change your life. Picked this up at an indie bookstore in San Diego and as the author is from Southern California I feel like this made a good souvenir.

This was a very pretty book with a lot of repetition. I don‘t know that it added much substance to my life however I did enjoy reading the little blurbs and looking at the pictures, so I guess in that way it was a positive experience. Otherwise I don‘t think this is worth much time or energy, just a little coffee table sort of book.

Doing a bit of prep before travel 🇫🇷✈️🇫🇷