This book is described as a satirical tale of the publishing industry. Where the social justice warriors are concerned, there wasn't much exaggeration. It is an uncomfortable look at society in general and humanity specifically, told very well.

That was such a great read. The sentences were so poignant, with the perfectly plucked words that teared me up numerous times.

This book should come with a warning label or two like "not safe to read while drinking hot beverages as you are sure to spit it out as you burst out laughing" or "not safe to read in bed beside a sleeping spouse as you will shake the bed as you attempt to stifle laughter.". I did both and stayed up way past my bedtime to read this. The characters are everything.

I love all her books, but I picked up her YA as a book challenge prompt, and I wish I had picked it up sooner. This is my grief book. She managed to build every emotion and present every stage of grief so poignantly in a Novella length story that I will be recommending to everyone looking for a book on grief.

I had so much hope for this story, but it couldn't even call me to it. I wanted to get into this so bad. I would say I will try again, but I have way too many books to read in my lifetime.

This read gets all the sparkling stars that light up the river through Whisperwood IFYKYK

Fairy tales aren't just for children. they are for everyone who needs magic and sparkles as consolation. And this one will swell your heart before it tears it out, shows it to you, and tucks it back in to live again.

I didn't know what to expect when I chose this book to finish the month. It was good and quite humorous at times, and because my moments of clarity were actually unfounded, suspicion, I was mostly surprised in the end.

I loved the themes of the book. I loved the setting as well. I like being able to catch up with the characters I had already come to know in her previous 2. I thought the long chapters and pacing interfered with the feeling of getting properly immersed. That's just a personal preference.

There were so many moving parts to this book, which the author is so good at pulling off. I did enjoy it, went through it quite quickly, I didn't love it as much as her others. Perhaps I missed the Perez family?

I picked this book up when I did for the sibling relationships and the socialist aspects. It provided quite a bit of insight into both. I liked the growth of all the characters and enjoyed the family dynamics. I would give it 3 stars.

This one is tricky. I thought the problems people submitted were highly relatable. I benefitted from her good advice in response to those letters. For some, I was highly invested, and for some, I was quite bored. It is all in whether you enjoy reading a book in the letter format. It is hit or miss for me. I am eager to see how this got adapted and will be tuning in.
I would still recommend it for the solid, relatable human experience.

Sally Hepworth's novels are always well paced. I fly through her stories, and this one was no different. This one even had bits that got me laughing out loud in public. The ending is nowhere near what I predicted, and I'm still not sure how I feel about it.

This was a completely delightful surprise for me. I had put a hold at the library before having heard more and thought against it. I received the book Friday and couldn't tear myself away from it. It has so many layers to it that evoke a range of emotions. The protagonist was immediately captivating and relatable, chastised for bucking expectations in all her roles , and always dared to hold on to her own will.

I had heard mixed things and picked this up as a second attempt at filling my cozy mystery reading challenge. I did not like the dynamic between the characters at all. I know people said you had to suspend your belief for this book, but that encompassed too much for me. I returned it to my tbr and hope it speaks to me at a different time and mood.

I picked this up for my "cozy mystery" reading challenge. This story appealed to me, but I didn't get engaged enough to care about the characters. I kept ditching it as my hopeful new releases dropped and couldn't get back to this story. I think this is a me problem vs. a book problem.

If Goodreads allowed for half stars, I would give it 3.5. The premise was so interesting. The distinction between art and mapping was something I had not thought about before, and I did learn something. The pacing was inconsistent, as was my engagement. The magic realism was cool. I didn't fully buy into the characters' motivations or the stakes. Then the ending was maddening to me before offering just a glimmer of hope. I'm torn.

The character development is so strong that you become one of the sisters in this character driven story. I had so many feelings as the book sent me through one core human experience after another. The themes that each reader will pull out will seem personal, and for me, there were so many. I stayed up way too late to finish the last half of this book.

This reads like her debut novel The Lost Apothecary in that it isn't fast-paced, but it tells you the story on its own time, and you best be paying attention to all the details so you don't miss anything. I had a vague idea of the infatuation with the mediums in that era, and this really told a story. I was stoked about the subject, too, and am eager to read what she comes out with next.

I don't normally review dnfs. I just quietly press the bail button. I also don't usually dnf a book 3 pages in. That is what happened here. The voice and style frustrated the shit out of me. I could not go further. I don't know that I will pick it up again another day in another mood, but this book put me in a bad mood immediately.

I had been eagerly anticipating this one and was slightly disappointed at first because I felt like I couldn't get immersed. Then, I tumbled down the hole with all the themes, characters, and symbolism. Even if I kinda, sorta thought I had it figured out, the confirmation was a beauty. I should have trusted the journey right from the beginning.

I think I felt all the emotions possible reading this. Mostly anger. It's a powerful story that needs to be told and that the author tells so well.

I always love the protagonists and leading men in Emily Henry's books. I always get suckerpunched in the feels by the character developments and their back stories that hit me where I thought I thought u had healed and scabbed over. Also, she is the Queen of dialogue/banter.

Reading this big one while visiting some islands kept me absorbed in the story. It isn't a light-hearted read, but I read it quick enough anyway. I learned plenty of things that I didn't know about a woman I was not aware of before. This story about strength, resiliency, and womanhood is a must read.

This was entertaining to read while on a ship, which made me like it more than I would normally. It was the typical enemy to lover trope that I read right after I read a friend to lover trope, so I will be diving into a meatier story next. Reading spots were prime though!

A book for everyone's travels! I wasn't the only one reading it on the flight to Miami, let's just say, and I felt an immediate bond over our taste in books. I liked the heavier themes hiding under the carefree travel read.

There were tears with this one despite how hard I tried not to. It got me in the feels for sure. And I mean...can you imagine having trees become whatever story you wanted to read? The imagery fills my heart.

I really liked the themes in this book but was frustrated with the ending and felt it negated the well woven themes.

I really liked the way this story was told. It captured me pretty quickly, but the pace wasn't maintained. I wonder if the end is giving way for a sequel. I would give it 3.5 stars if I could.

This was a great character study into siblings that dispels the idea that they are automatically best friends or even like each other out of the familial bonds. Each flawed character was written in a way that cracked their motivations, wants, and goals wide open to the reader. This is a character story and not a plot driven story. It is a story about people handling or mishandling a variety of situations and interactions.

Kudos to this amazing author for being able to write from these difficult and opposing points of view in such a trustworthy way. I learned things I did not know about the Mitford family in history in a way that exposed very complicated family dynamics. She explored the idea of a political divide in a family in such a way that really makes you think. I think it was good but I didn't love it like her others.

This may be a weird word to choose for a book review, but I am going to use it anyway. This story was a delicious read. The characters and complicated relationships, the plot, all of it is simply delicious.

I loved the characters, Annie's character arc was fabulous. I know some readers have been turned off by her seemingly incessant self-loathing, but I saw it as pretty realistic, which made her development even more glorious. I chuckled at least once per page, so that also helps to crank it from 4 to 5 stars for me.

I must confess that I have never read The Scarlett Letter more than the coles notes in school. This retelling or telling from her pov made me really love and appreciate the story. It was such a powerful story that weaved together many social injustices and inequalities.

A hell of a debut with so many twists and turns! The back story was done so well. The details are written in a way that you know them to be true but not so complicated that you have to look it up to understand.

This book was a fantastic start to the new year. A mystery and a magical love story. It was wonderfully atmospheric and kept a great pace.

This one took me a long while to get into. I didn't find there was enough magic to be magical realism. There were some character developments that kept me going to find out what was next, and the ending chapters brought this up from a pan to a so-so.

The perfect words were chosen and written in a perfect order to display the complicated relationships and the feelings when a parent dies in such a relatable way to me.

This book was everything I needed it to be when I needed it most. Though I had seen this author on a show and had been reading her posts on Instagram, this book was my real introduction to her words that make me want to read all of the words she has ever written.

This was the second book in a series of five, it looks like. While I didn't find it as funny as her first, I am still invested in Diane enough to keep reading. Very relatable character that you can cheer for and hold your breath as you think she is about to go the wrong way, exhaling when she course corrects.

As usual, Fiona Davis teaches me something I don't know while entertaining me with an immersive tale. I love her writing and her focus being on famous NYC buildings with history.

This had all the hokey holiday themes, the romance, the protagonist blossoming trope you expect from a holiday read. It also has a very cool history of time, place, and love. This book was my first five star in a month.

This chilling story within a twisty mystery is pretty good. It gave extra context that I thought was told in an original way. I will certainly check out the authors' other works seeking this kind of originality.

This book!!! It took a while to get into and up until 80% in, I was convinced it was 3 star max. Then, in the last 20%, it pulls out your heart and stomps it into the mud, only to give it back to cracked. How is this heartache boosting up the enjoyment of this story? I don't know. It just makes the story.

I really enjoyed this story, crossing between the contemporary family's story line and with old letters between twin sisters of an earlier time. The letters really made you know those characters just as much as the protagonist and I had built up some false hope for the endings so I was sad that it didn't go the way of my imagination but it did end with some great fuzzy feelings!

I tried this on audiobook for the first time because Lauren Graham read it. This was such a comforting book with a touch of magic realism that I could not have read earlier in my grief process after losing my own mother.

This book is hard to describe in that it was pretty good, had some great sass and riveting parts to it that had me racing through some chapters but it never grabbed me by the ankles and dragged me in.

This is an emotional roller coaster. Only get on if you think you like roller coasters. There were times I was just plain frustrated then I climbed far up only to plummet farther down and in some parts I found myself upside down. That's it. That's my review.

I read this for a reading challenge. I love their books but I wasn't in a rush to pick this up based on the synopsis. 4 stars for pulling me right into this story that I didn't think I was interested in and making me root for the characters and feel like I was on the edge of a cliff wanting to find out what happened next.

The story was so engaging that you want to know the whole story but the writing had me struggling through.

It was a bit longer than could hold my careful attention steadily which means I think some minor details were missed. But I have to say that while it was a solid 3 star till 78% in, it did climb to 4 stars for the end. I was excited to see there is a Novella that follows. Worth the read.