I think this would be a great book for kids, especially introverted children, to help them identify and understand theirs and others' feelings. But this is also a book adults can relate too as well. Each chapter discusses a particular emotion (from anticipation to anger to joy and more) and the accompanying pictures not only detail the emotions, they'll put a smile on your face. If you are a fan of Marzi's Instagram page, you will adore this book.

A good contemporary novel that‘s a little different than what I‘d normal read, but still enjoyable. I think this would be filed under chick-lit. At times there was too many descriptions and fillers, but the overall story was touching and real.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#netgalley #arc #contemporary

"She was the first woman and the first Muslim to be awarded the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest honor."

I had never heard of Zaha Hadid until this book, but hers is a story to be told. Once again, Little People, Big Dreams proves to be informative for both children and adults.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#arc #netgalley #childrens #bio

Once again Backman eviscerated me. The sequel to Beartown was just as powerful and heartbreaking. Benji owns me heart and soul and it comes as no surprise that I cried multiple times while reading this. This is also a testament to Backman's translator who was able to so effectively translate his words. Backman is easily a top 5 author for me. I cannot wait to see what he writes next.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I don't know why I keep doing this to myself. I want to give young, new poets a chance and I am always looking for new talent, but every time I try them out, I end up disappointed. I think it's great that so many people can turn to writing to express their thoughts, heal from their pasts, and fight for social justices. But this new wave of poets and their poetry seem to read more like diary entries or Instagram posts than poems.

#netgalley #arc

What a way to end a reading slump. I think I‘ve cried in every Backman book. I was extremely close to my grandmother who passed away last year, and though her personality was different than Elsa‘s Granny‘s, their love and relationship were the same.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a powerful little novel, taking place over the course of a few hours. It‘s wild and chaotic and while I was annoyed by some of Lena‘s and Campbell‘s choices, who‘s to say I wouldn‘t have made similar ones at 17 if I was in their shoes.

#netgalley #arc

What a cute and fun romantic comedy! I loved both Emily &Simon‘s character &devoured this book in one day. It‘s the perfect enemies-to-lover romance set w/ a backdrop of a small town &Renaissance Faire. It honestly made me want to move to the closest small town &begin perfecting my (bad) English accent. There were a few serious moments and moments of predictability, but the former only enhanced the story and the latter didn‘t feel too clichéd. 4⭐️

FBI agent Steph‘s son seems to be at the center of a domestic terrorist threat, but she believes he is being set up. I was kept guessing as to who was behind it, which I liked. I didn‘t like Steph as a mother. She constantly left Zach alone and unprotected. Also, what is it with characters having inner psychologists (or goddesses) speak in their heads like a separate entity? Does anyone actually do that in real life?

⭐️⭐️💫

#netgalley #arc

2.5 Stars

Most sci-fi fans are going to love this. Unfortunately, for as interesting a plot as it was, I struggled with the pacing. It's a long book and there were a lot of times I felt that it dragged. I also found Miller's character to be very...odd.

#scifi

I struggled a bit with this one. It took me a while to get into and while I like both Claire and Scott, I had a hard time connecting to their story. I still loved all of the side characters just as much as in the first book and hope Audrey and Clarke‘s story is next.

#netgalley #arc

So I did not like the movie version but am happy to say that I enjoyed the book a lot more. The adage “the book is better” rings true here.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#classic

My second book by KA Tucker, and as amazing as the first one I read. She writes nuanced characters who have great backstories and awesome chemistry. I love that her books are more than just romances.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

#romance

I do love Kleypas‘ historical romances. Devil in Winter did not disappoint.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#24in48 #readathon

Hour 18 romance challenge.
About 20% of what I read each year is romance. It‘s my go to genre when I am stressed. Here are some that I‘ve read this year and liked.

#24in48 #readathon

DNF. Just not feeling this one.

#readathon #24in48 #dnf

Interesting, but a little slow.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#readathon #24in48 #autobiography

Off to a bit of a slow start and have been jumping around to different books, but finished a stack of comics a friend let me borrow! They were good and entertaining.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

#readathon #24in48 #comics #marvel

Finally got my stack for #24in48! Hopefully I get through half of these lol. It‘s almost time!

#readathon

While definitely interesting, this wasn‘t what I expected when I went into it. This reads as a part-memoir, part-biography of women who obsessed over crime. This will appeal to the niche of true crime lovers who are fascinated by those who take their devotion a step further.

#netgalley #arc #truecrime

It took me about 60pgs to get into this, but once I did I thoroughly enjoyed this heartfelt contemporary novel. What I thought would be a cute &quirky romance turned into a novel about rediscovering oneself, friendship, and trust. I loved the slow burn of the romance, especially because Tiffy had such a toxic relationship prior to this. She &Leon have things going on in their personal lives &their support of each other was sweet &amazing. 3.5⭐️s

My biggest issue with this book is that I didn‘t like the romance and since it‘s primarily a romance, this was an issue. Isabella and Cinaed come together so quickly and don‘t really have time to get to know each other that it was hard to but the connection they supposedly had. Politics played a major role in the plot which was an rare addition to a historical romance, I thought.

⭐️⭐️💫

#netgalley #arc #historicalromance

In present time, four of the cutthroat employees are locked in an elevator in what they assume is a team building exercise in the form of an escape room. Years prior, Sara worked for Stanhope along with the four trapped in the elevator. What begins as an exciting and strenuous first job in finance soon devolves into a toxic and maybe even dangerous job. This is not nearly as suspenseful and thrilling as I‘d expected, but it was still enjoyable.

It was great to be back in the life of Don Tillman. He‘s just as honest, literal, and funny as he was in previous books. This time he‘s navigating life as a dad to an 11 year old.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#netgalley #arc #contemporary

Beautiful cover for what I am sure some will find as a beautiful story, but I struggled with this one. Katie (Liz) has a traumatic event happen that is somehow related to her sister but it takes most of the book before we figure out exactly what that is.
While I liked parts of her story &thought it well written, I didn‘t really care for Katie &after so many chapters of not finding out what happened with her sister, I stopped caring about that too.

June Stats

Lots of romances this month and catching up with my Netgalley backlog. Also a lot of 3 star reads. Pretty much sums up June too lol.

#stats

I spent most of this book waiting for something to happen. It felt like we were always on the verge of something but then it would peter out. Near the end the action started and then it lived up to it‘s romantic suspense genre. However, I do wish Lilah and Connor would have worked through the past & their issues a little better. It seems as if they just swept everything under the rug all because of being each other‘s first loves.

#arc #netgalley

This is more of a family drama than a mystery/thriller. The matriarch of a family seemingly commits suicide. While the police work to figure out of it was foul play or not, the narrative goes between alternating POV of mother and daughter-in-law, past and present. It was a decent family drama but I was expecting more of a mystery book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#netgalley #arc

A cute contemporary romance.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

#romance

A great little prequel novella to The Illuminae Files. This is basically AIDIN‘s origin story. I loved it.

A slow burn psychological thriller that has you questioning whether or not the main characters are sane or if they are losing touch with reality. After Kate‘s mom is murdered she begins receiving threats from the supposed killer. She heavily relies on Blaire, her estranged BFF to help figure out who close to her could be the killer and stalker. I was able to guess the main culprit early on but that didn‘t detract from the enjoyment of this novel.

Completely disturbing, bordering (for me) on horror. A group of adolescent girls and two teachers are stuck on an island where they are infected with the Tox, something that causes deformities in the form of abnormal things. The writing is great but the subject matter was not for me as I have a queasy stomach when it comes to gross things. Still a higher rating b/c if this had been my type of novel, I would have loved it.

#arc #netgalley

I really enjoyed this sports romance! Especially b/c it‘s clear Martin understood football and didn‘t just use it as a way to make her hero look better by being an athlete.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#romance #sportsromance

The majority of the time Ana and Merrick were searching for clues and trying to solve a puzzle. Along the way they meet so many gods and goddesses from different mythologies that your head spin. But what made it so hard to read was how much Ana obsesses over her crush on Merrick. I think if perhaps Analiese Rising only focused on one mythology or didn‘t mention how cute Merrick was every other page, this could have been more successful.

#arc

I think I like this one more than the first! Rosamund and Daisy (the two little girls) stole my heart and made me laugh. And I loved both Alex and Chase.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#historicalfiction #romance

Wow, I devoured this book. I started during work (don‘t judge) and rushed home to finish it in evening. There was something about it that just resonated with me.

I loved every one of these characters. They were complex and broken and so so real. They dealt with the hand life gave them the same as so many of us would do: bravely one day, in denial the next, taking two steps forward and one step back.

#netgalley #arc #contemporary

A sci-fi thriller with tons of twists. This book is dense; there is so much going on that at times I felt a little overwhelmed. But it was definitely worth it. We follow our two main characters, Billy, a NYPD detective, and Helena, a scientist intimately involved with the False Memory Syndrome. Knowing much more than that would spoil the wild ride that is Recursion.

#netgalley #arc #scifi #thriller

I bought this after I saw high praise for it from a few people but the cover initially turned me off so I put it on my shelf for a few years. However, I ended up enjoying it. All of our favorite fairy tale characters are in exile in New York, living hidden lives while they long to return to their magical lands. This first volume revolves around a crime.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

#graphicnovel #fantasy

May Stats.
This may be my slowest reading year of the past decade. I‘m struggling to find books I love and it‘s taking forever to finish the ones I start. Mostly 3 ⭐️ reads this month; a few 3.5 or 4 ⭐️s.

#may #stats

If you‘re looking for a good history of serial killers book, I‘d recommend Harold Schechter‘s The Serial Killer Files. This was my second book of Vronsky‘s and I just couldn‘t get into it. I wasn‘t a fan of the writing and I found the beginning to be a little posturing in regards to his many accidental run ins with serial killers.

#netgalley #arc #truecrime #dnf

Cute and fun with a touch of angst. Interesting premise and good use of the enemies-to-lovers trope. I liked Layne‘s 21 Wall Street Series better, but this was still a quick, easy read that had you turning pages and escaping for a few hours.

#netgalley #arc #romance

A fun romantic comedy with a older brother‘s best friend trope. There were times I wish the characters were a little more fleshed out (Travis‘ backstory in particular), but overall a good read. Once they get together it is steamier than the cover leads you to think. My first Tessa Bailey, but not my last!

#netgalley #arc #romance

A pretty light-hearted family drama about three sisters who own a wedding planning business and discover love around the same time. The two main characters are Marisol and Pearl, the oldest and younger sisters respectively. There‘s family conflict and a little bit of drama but overall it displays the closeness sisters share even when they‘re fighting.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#netgalley #arc

About time I read this one. Northrop‘s story is sad and infuriating.

A happy ending to an at times saddening tale. The science behind the notes being sent back in time isn‘t really explained, but the great portrayal of friendship and love make up for it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

#manga

I struggled a bit w/the alternating story lines at the beginning of the story as it was hard to get invested in either story line. However, once we got to the meat of both stories, I became immersed in them.

Alternating between WWII &present day, we read of Ada, a talented violinist &German Jew, &the latest case of Liam &Cat-a land dispute in Italy.

Balson does a great job at slowly unraveling both stories &then bringing them together.

#arc

I struggled a little with this a little. The story started out slow for me and a lot of the time Olive annoyed me. It was clear that her strong dislike of Ethan (and his apparent reciprocation of the feeling) came from misunderstandings and lack of communication.

However, with the bright cover and enemies-to-lovers trope (one of my favorite), this is a good beach read that you can escape into for a little while.

#netgalley #arc #romance

3.5 Stars

The Rook blends fantasy, sci-fi, action, and more into an exciting novel about Myfanwy, a woman who wakes up with no memory of her past self. Through letters her previous self wrote (knowing this was to come) and through her own investigation, Myfanwy works to figure out who wiped her memories and tried to kill her. It‘s not an easy task considering she works for an elite government agency that deals with the paranormal.

Backman‘s foray into non-fiction show a more humorous and light side to him than I‘m use to with his fiction books I‘ve read. He perfectly balances humor and heartfelt moments. It‘s cute and funny with moments of poignancy. The love Backman feels for his son (and wife) is evidently clear and his passion for life shines through as well. I loved his vignettes about life, love, and everything in between. A great, short read.

#netgalley #arc

Between visiting my grandpa, starting a new job, and going back to school, April was an abysmal reading month for me. I‘m hoping now that I‘ve settled some I‘ll be able to get back on track with my reading goal.

#aprilstats