Rating
5 Stars
The Charm Offensive
Alison Cochrun
In this witty and heartwarming romantic comedy, an awkward tech wunderkind on a reality dating show goes off-script when sparks fly with his producer.
The Personal Librarian
Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray
A remarkable novel about J. P. Morgan’s personal librarian, Belle da Costa Greene, the Black American woman who was forced to hide her true identity and pass as white in order to leave a lasting legacy that enriched our nation.
We Are the Brennans
Tracey Lange
We Are the Brennans explores the staying power of shame―and the redemptive power of love―in an Irish Catholic family torn apart by secrets.
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4.5 Stars
The Change
Kirsten Miller
Big Little Lies meets The Witches of Eastwick—a gloriously entertaining and knife-sharp feminist revenge fantasy about three women whose midlife crisis brings unexpected new powers—putting them on a collision course with the evil that lurks in their wealthy beach town.
The Sign for Home
Blair Fell
When Arlo Dilly, a sheltered young DeafBlind man, decides to take a writing course at the local community college, he hires a new tactile ASL interpreter who exposes him to much more than English.
Weather Girl
Rachel Lynn Solomon
In the aftermath of a disastrous holiday party, Ari, a TV meteorologist, and Russell, a sports reporter, decide to team up to solve their bosses’ relationship issues. Between secret gifts and double dates, they start nudging their bosses back together. But their well-meaning meddling backfires when the real chemistry builds between Ari and Russell.
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4 Stars
Atomic Anna
Rachel Barenbaum
From the author of A Bend in the Stars, an epic adventure as three generations of women work together and travel through time to prevent the Chernobyl disaster and right the wrongs of their past.
Sadie on a Plate
Amanda Elliot
Just when Sadie thinks her culinary career is over, she gets a lucky break on her favorite TV show, Chef Supreme. On the plane to New York, Sadie has sizzling chemistry with her seatmate, Luke… who she cannot contact for 6 weeks due to filming.
The Match
Harlan Coben
Found abandoned in the mountains as a boy, Wilde has finally decided to pursue the story of his past – only to end up in the sights of a ruthless killer – as he searches for his birth family.
When I Ran Away
Ilona Bannister
When I Ran Away is an unforgettable first novel about love – for our partners, our children, our mothers, and ourselves – pushed to its outer limits.
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3.5 Stars
Set on You
Amy Lea
A gym nemesis pushes a fitness influencer to the max in Amy Lea’s steamy debut romantic comedy.
Real Easy
Marie Rutkoski
Samantha is a kind-hearted dancer at the Lovely Lady strip club who takes a new dancer under wings. One night, when the new girl needs a ride home, Samantha agrees to drive: a simple decision that turns deadly.
How to Fail at Flirting
Denise Williams
Professor Naya Turner is a bit too tightly-wound and stressed. After her friends’ make her a to-do list to step outside her comfort zone, Naya meets a handsome stranger in the bar… who may just destroy her career.
Yellow Wife
Sadeqa Johnson
Pheby has lived a relatively sheltered like on a plantation, shielded by the master’s sister and her mother’s position. She has been promised freedom on her 18th birthday, but just before she turns 18 she is sent to the Devil’s Half Acre, a jail in Richmond, Virginia.
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How I Rate Books
I provide an overall star rating at the end of reviews. I also conclude reviews with my thoughts on the book in totality.
All star ratings are broken down into the components I consider. These components are different for fiction and nonfiction.
– For fiction: writing, plot, and character development.
– For nonfiction: writing, cohesiveness, and storyline (for narrative nonfiction and memoirs) or organization (for more subject-matter focused nonfiction).
My Star Ratings
I loved this book. It made me think AND feel. I will highly recommend this book to everyone and urge them to read it pronto.
I really enjoyed this book. It made me think OR feel, not both. I would highly recommend this book to nearly everyone.
This is your average book, which I enjoyed. I would recommend it, possible with some caveats.
I thought this book was okay. My overall thoughts can be summed up as meh. I may recommend this book to certain people.
I actively disliked this book or it was highly problematic. I am unlikely to recommend it.
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3 Stars
Portrait of a Thief
Grace D. Li
Five Chinese American college students try to steal priceless works of art from major museums in order to return them to the homeland from which they were pillaged.
Delilah Green Doesn’t Care
Ashley Herring Blake
Delilah Green returns to her hometown to photograph her stepsister’s wedding celebrations. What Delilah doesn’t expect is romance and friendship in a place she hated.
The Book of Cold Cases
Simone St. James
A true crime blogger gets more than she bargained for while interviewing the woman acquitted of two 1977 cold case slayings.
The Night Shift
Alex Finlay
On New Year’s Eve 1999, four teenagers and their boss are attacked in a New Jersey Blockbuster Video. Fifteen years later, four teenagers are attacked at an ice cream store in the same town, and again only one makes it out alive.
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2.5 Stars
The Honey Don’t List
Christina Lauren
A love story about what happens when two assistants tasked with keeping a rocky relationship from explosion start to feel sparks of their own.
Taking Down Backpage
Maggy Krell
In Taking Down Backpage, veteran California prosecutor Maggy Krell tells the story of the battle against Backpage. Through a combination of memoir and legal insight, Krell reveals how she and her team started with the prosecution of street pimps and ultimately ended with the takedown of the largest purveyor of human trafficking in the world.
Winter Water
Susanne Jansson
On the picturesque Swedish island of Orust, Martin is spending the day with his son when he receives a phone call and turns his back for only a minute. In those few moments, his young son has gone missing and his little red bucket is bobbing in the waves. Winter Water is an atmospheric suspense novel about the nature of grief.
Love & Other Disasters
Anita Kelly
On the set of America’s favorite cooking show, two competitors – newly divorced Dahlia and the first nonbinary contestant London – fall for each other.
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2 Stars
Nobody But Us
Laure Van Rensburg
When Ellie and her older boyfriend take their first trip together, an idyllic weekend turns into a nightmare.
The Verifiers
Jane Pek
Claudia Lin is a lifelong mystery reader and a new employee at a company that verifies the identities of its clients’ online love interests. When Claudia’s newest client ends up dead, she takes it upon herself to solve the mystery of her suspicious death.
Cost of Living
Emily Maloney
In Cost of Living, Emily Maloney examines her experiences with our the trouble U.S. health care system from both the perspective of a patient and a caregiver. In doing so, she examines what the health care system costs us – financially emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
Eight Perfect Hours
Lia Louis
Thirty-something Noelle Butterby is on her way back from an event at her old college when she becomes stranded on a highway during a blizzard. All seems lost until Sam Attwood, a handsome American stranger trapped in a nearby car, knocks on her window and offers assistance. What follows is eight perfect hours together, until morning arrives and the roads finally clear. The two strangers part, positive they’ll never see each other again but fate, it seems, has a different plan.
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1.5 Stars
The Tourist Attraction
Sarah Morgenthaler
Nothing is going as planned on Zoey’s dream vacation to Alaska. But a grumpy local may be able to both turn her vacation around and bring some much needed romance into Zoey’s life.
Harlem Shuffle
Colson Whitehead
Ray Carney is trying to establish himself as a business and family man. With cash tight and a baby on the way, Ray is convinced to help his cousin Freddie do one last heist. But can Ray keep himself straight or will this heist get him back in the game or killed?
Read Between the Spines 