I read this for my book club, and it was a cozy, lesson heavy story with very endearing characters. I wasn't drawn in quickly but then read the rest in one day. It is a heartwarming story about found family with romance, so that's always a comfort read in these times.

I can tell the author took great pleasure in writing this generational tale for her own catharsis, complete with Easter eggs from The Change. It's the kind of book you cocoon yourself under a blanket with snacks to read for the weekend.

I couldn't read this book after sunset because I am a chicken, and it had maximum creepiness on every page, but I also appreciated the metaphors the author employed within the themes of the story.

The kind of tale that absorbs you and infuriates you all at once. The writing placed you there, firmly settled in her psyche, seeing things as she sees it and feelings as she feels it. All of it. And such a satisfying ending.

The emotions from this story are hard to explain. It is the sort of book that builds empathy. The character's pain sits in the chest while you are drawn in. The matriarchal community comes through strong, just as the characters must be. The hope that comes through their ceremonies is beautiful and awe-inspiring. I'll be reading the rest of this trilogy but need some space between.

I read this in high school, and then it was chosen for my book club. That famous first line could have you fooled and hoping for a great adventure. I had no trouble reading it in school because it was past 1984 and hadn't happened. The themes are too on point. I tried to get beyond the 14th page but couldn‘t. Not in this world 41 years later.

I'm not 100% sure I caught everything that was going on there, and yet, it was understood. For the most part. The structure is very unusual, but I was relieved by how short it was.

This was so well written it pulverized my heart over and over. I can't quite imagine the hurt and anguish they can impart onto each other but would have loved to have been part of the love.

I read this book in one sitting. I loved the concept, the premise, and the structure chosen to tell the story. I pondered reading each life separately rather than the narrative order. The writing was exquisite, I often reread a line just to taste it.

What an enormous tale of a small human life in all its fumbles and glory, missteps, successes, love, and pain. I don't know what makes me love epistolary novels so much, likely a nosey curiousity, but this one was unbeatable.

The drama and secrets in this family saga did not disappoint. The romance elements gave me the ick in some ways (the amount of growling and rumbling, for instance), but I still found it entertaining. I enjoyed the voice with the bracketed thoughts, and the ending was very satisfying.

Holy shit, what a complex tangled web of a story. The main character angered me at times, but I can‘t imagine how this would go any other way. There were many emotions throughout, from wonderment to anguish and relief and curiosity. My heart was harnessed on the Rollercoaster. This one will stay with me for a while.

A family drama with such moral intrigue around AI. This one is impossible to nail down and rave about in 451 characters. The relationships were raw and real. The story was told through the dad/husband point of view, the interiority honest and clear, but the other characters are well understood fulsome throughout.

This was longer than it needed to be, but it finally picked up halfway through. Some lines felt repeated, and the protagonist got on my nerves sometimes. Usually, I like this author's works. This one went on too long. The extra twists became tiresome rather than thrilling.

This was a well written book about a cast of characters whose connection unfolds slowly into a high concept story that can be debated at length. Would you take the opportunity to sleep away your grief? It was a heavy book that I needed to interrupt with a humorous one, but it will make you think and feel all the feelings.
Pic is of today's reading views.

Sophie Irwin's 3rd novel delivers 1 laugh minimum per page, as did her other two. Hers are not the kinds of books you can read late at night unless you have your own room, nor in public if you are easily embarrassed when you laugh to tears. With all that, there are still some great themes and plots to keep you engaged and characters to keep you invested.

I liked the insider view of influencer culture, especially how it outlines the hypocrisy of the tradwife accounts (that I did not know about until I followed the author). It was a good twisty, turny story with surprises to the very end. The story grabbed me and kept hold of me.

I liked how there was a mysterious vanishing in each timeline, but it didn't grab me and keep me there. The writing was good, but there were unanswered questions at the end.

This was chosen by my book club. Oof I feel like I know what the author was trying to break through the 4th wall and I would prefer she not talk to me at all as she (and most of the other characters) were insufferable. I am definitely not the reader for this.

There are some elements I love in this book, like the boisterous family and all the supporting characters. I also liked the love interest despite the odd description of his eyes. I didn't like the protagonist, and I hated the typical genre specific 3rd act obligatory breakup here. The Q&A with the author as extra content framed the protagonist in a more forgiving lens. The elements I did like make it squeak into a Pick.

I went into this understanding what the plot was, rescuing a woman lost on the AT which I wasn't sure would grab me. The story grabbed me because of the characters and how the author chose to introduce them, whether through interviews or POV chapters. I liked the motherhood theme that ran throughout even more. And I like the soft message of interconnectedness in humans and trees.

This book has a little something for everyone: a murder to solve, puzzles to ponder, magic, and you can choose your own adventure! I can not believe Bianca wrote this twisty, intricate tale completely from the seat of her pants (as in no outline!) And the themes! This book is an entire experience.

Romance between two competing booksellers? Sign me up. It was a good enemies to lovers with glimpses into the writing of the genre itself. It was very entertaining, and my husband caught me smiling a couple of times as I was reading it. So that's likely a better endorsement than all these extra words.

This is the quintessential TJR read, which means there is a languid build-up where she grabs our hand to take us with her as she sets the scene. Then, without warning, you are invested in these lives. You love who they love, dislike those that do them wrong, and mostly shatter when they do. This story will be tucked away inside me for a long while.

These characters were rich in flaws, and the time jumping timeliness came together, like pulling a thread all the way through. It is amazing how she can keep it all straight, tantalizing the reader with just enough to get you hooked and kept focused on the story. The descriptions made me yearn to be staring at the English Channel(this is from France).

This story within a story about librarians covered a story I didn't know. The characters didn't feel well-rounded or realistic, and the war was the only real conflict. I enjoyed the contemporary timeline more than the historical one.

An uplifting story about fate, found family, and finding yourself...and love. It was cute and entertaining, but I bet I enjoyed it more by reading it while in Paris.

Reading this in Paris truly added the extra magic to the story! I went to Shakespeare and Company and couldn't imagine sleeping there. I saw Olympia and felt how one could be taken in by the need to know it all. I didn't seek the cuisine quite deliberately because...gross lol iykyk I'm eager to read the next one the author is writing right now!

Wow! What an experience. Beautiful darkness, heart rendering hopefulness. All the feelings conjured at once with his unexpected metaphors. His descriptions other worldly, and the soul-leaving- body word choices he put together to make this book will make me remember it forever.

This story was stunning. The writing was exquisite. It was both relatable to every woman and eye-opening.

This book was equal parts encouraging and maddening due to the subject matter. I was quick to connect to the characters, and their trials enraged me, just as I also cheered them on as if their successes were personal victories. The ending was heartwarming and full circle.

This was her best book of the three. This tale provided escapism to Positano, magic, romance, friendship, historical fiction, and intrigue peppered with karma. What is not to love? The research was evident, and the characters are interesting and alluring.

I read this because my bookclub chose it. Despite the over-use of expressions and bothersome and repeated description of the characters, their struggles, and stakes, I was engrossed. But I am not at all satisfied with the ending with so many loose ends.

This was a two for one love story with some intrigue. I truly enjoyed it and all the characters. While I enjoyed the end, I wish it was not the shortest chapter. I didn't want it to end. I am invested.

This was a quick and enjoyable read. I liked the unusual family dynamics and so was willing to suspend my belief in all these relationships remaining in tact. I liked the characters and their personal motivations/ journeys. I'm happy to hear it will get adapted, and for bonus content, I discovered a new artist, Noah Kahan, from her acknowledgments.

As a mood reader craving something dark, this delivers in spades. I like retellings, even when I am not familiar with the original fairy tale. I enjoyed the writing and was surprised by the underlying narcissistic abuse, gaslighting, and resulting behaviour of those being abused. I felt it on all on a personal level and wondered if I was imagining it. The blending of the retelling, themes, and plot were quite genius, and there was humour.

I devoured this book in two sittings only because it was midnight on a work night when I hit 200 pages. Many emotions circled through as I read this story as it completely pulled me under. The power women took back despite the little power they had was a testament to their strength.

I had this on my tbr for a while and needed exactly this kind of story, and I wasn't disappointed. I even stopped on the side of the road to grab a coffee and get back to the book. The ending was exactly as it needed to be instead of tied up with a pink bow. I will be reading more from this author.

The setting, the premise, and the lyrical prose were all there for me, but somehow, this story never grabbed me and pulled me in. I strangely can't even pinpoint why or where it failed me personally since it is good storytelling.

I felt like this one went on too long. I can't get too much into what I did or didn't enjoy without spoilers, and I don't want to do those either. The ending is what earns the 3 stars from me. I liked the premise but didn't love this as much as her others.

The time and setting were done perfectly. The writing was truly outstanding in getting us in the protagonisist pov. In her under-developed mind, that naturally makes a short-sighted sense of things, you still root for her and her quest. You understand the feelings of each character even when you don't agree with them.

This was the softer story I needed following The Hunger Games. It was a heartfelt story that had me running to it every time I was forced to do other things. Even if my suspicions were confirmed, the journey to get there was well worth the trip.

Another brutal visit to Panem. These books always have me blowing through them. This one explains why Haymitch is the way he is when we first meet him. I pictured a young Woody Harrelson (from Cheers) until I couldn‘t anymore as I got further in the story, and in my mind, he aged instantly.

I loved this story and the themes that weaved through. Even as I guessed a few of the links and the stories possibilities, her wonderful writing kept this story vivid and drawing me back to my kobo each time I had to do something other than than reading. This one will have me gushing for a while.

The writing was so precise it put you in place the entire time. Discomfort, anxiousness, overwhelm, all of it felt alongside the protagonist. The concept was very intriguing, but so damn scary if you allow yourself to think about it a bit further. Like the moment of denial at the cusp of a catastrophe. You need to be in high spirits not to be too affected by the story. That speaks to the writing.

While I read this in two shirt sittings from the edge of my seat, the ending was not a satisfying one. There are many points of view all in one chapter, and somehow, you aren't ever lost as to whose part it is you are reading.

At the end of every story, I asked "and?", "so?" They were character driven and mostly mundane. The writing kept me plowing through but there were a few stories I read diagonally.

Marie Benedict is an auto-buy author for me. This one wasn't my favorite of hers, but I think it would hit it out of the park for readers of mysteries like Agatha Christie, who is one of the characters in this book. I like how it is based on a real cold case. The feminist angles appeal to me as much as the treatment of women as disposable angers me.

The second book of the duology keeps you on the edge of the seat the first book set you upon. Both books had me audibly gasping in public. It was so tense my Fitbit asked me how I was feeling more than once. I will read anything from this author.

This was a love story for the middle agers. I loved it because I understood the characters on the deepest level even if our life troubles weren't the same at all. I went through every emotion and felt I was there with these new Palm Springs found family. The story was able to compete with this view and win my attention. The last line of the book made it to my commonplace book.