*INSERT VALENTINE’S DAY CONTENT HERE

But Kristin Hannah has done it again! I was UNWELL after reading The Nightingale, and though I was nervous picking this one up (the depressing premise, the heavy themes explored, the Grapes of Wrath flashbacks), I’m so glad I did.

Me: it’s February! All the romance!

Also me: reads two thrillers in a row

Happy Tuesday, from my morning coffee (black because I’m not like other girls), jeans I actually put on (who am I!?), and a pile of books (I’ve only read one pictured - can you guess which one?

I burned through this book quicker than I imagined I would. This story has been done before in different iterations, but I enjoyed the ride all the same!

There are so many books I wish I could experience all over again for the first time.

“To the stars who listen and the dreams that are answered”

Happy Sunday from my ACOTAR print that arrived and I immediately hung up this weekend!

Marriage, relationships, falling in love, what it means to be single, why love runs out, fights that might sound uncomfortably familiar, and the bonds that tie us to the ones we love most.

Much of this book left me breathless. Austin Channing Brown’s concise memoir explores how race and her experience as a Black woman intersects with larger themes of humanity, dignity, the affirming of Blackness, the evangelical church, and where institutional racism persists.

A literary triumph, a pulitzer prize-winning author, a story that spans over millennia. And, I would add, probably not for everyone.

I selected songs that I felt represented the tone of the book as well as the themes: love found and lost, betrayal, Old Hollywood, fame, sacrifice, sexism, tragedy, glamour, beauty, longing, and desire.

This book, like many of Hoovers others, has a through line of heartbreak, seemingly devastating or complicated circumstances, and a connection between MC’s that draws you in close, like you’re listening in on an intimate conversation, careful not to interrupt.

Highly recommend this one! A 5 star-read even though it is truly YA and felt a little young (I sometimes struggle with how to rate YA books!) But the character development and dynamics were as real and authentic as any literary fiction book.

This novella was short and sweet and had Christmas Special vibes written all over it. Honestly, it was the breath of fresh air I needed after ACOWAR. We’d all been to war (yes, I’m including myself) and needed a little break.

An ACOWAR review, but also a bit of a reflection on the first three books in the series as a whole!

ACOTAR was good. Really good! The last 100 pages? I couldn’t move fast enough! But A Court of Mist and Fury was where Sarah J. Maas found her stride, and I could barely keep up!

A really solid 3.5 stars! I think this book is best if you go in blind, so don’t read my review if you don’t want spoilers!

An excellent YA, mystery/thriller layered with a rich exploration of self, community, and the Native experience that is rooted in Ojibwe culture.

I imagined more fluff? Less heart? More style over substance as Paul Hollywood on Great British Bake-off would say? I was WRONG.