I can‘t lie - I didn‘t get it. I started in print and ended in audio. Both formats were a miss for me, but the audio was slightly better.

A most excellent addition to the series. What a gut punch.

I really enjoyed the setting, the love story, and the Wordle bits. (And was pleased I solved many of the Wordles before the MC.)

When I was a horror-loving Heathers-and-The-Craft-fanatic of a teen I would have been OBSESSED with this book.

Gerri from Succession reading to me is the treat I hadn‘t known I needed.

Dizzyingly claustrophobic story of a young mother trying to leave an emotionally abusive partner. (Pictured: the ice cream shop in Skerries the MCs visit in the opening scene)

Dark. Feminist. Gothic. Angry. Dual timelines. Short chapters. Yesssssss

The token genre pick on this year‘s #CanadaReads shortlist. I‘ll bet it gets voted off first or second.

Not nearly as wonderful as Johnston‘s fiction. This was a bit of a slog honestly, and I don‘t have high hopes for it on #CanadaReads. I think it‘ll be voted off first or second.

Holy moly did Ma-Nee live through some terrible terrible shit. Her empathy, compassion, and generosity shine through. I found the tough parts really tough to listen to and so it‘s my third pick for #CanadaReads winner this year.

Im not one to read about estranged mothers so personally this was not a read I enjoyed. I‘d say this is my second choice for #CanadaReads winner for the year. It was pretty straightforward but I think it‘ll resonate with a lot of Canadians. Many of us deeply understand the feeling of not being fully one culture or another.

Having read all of the #CanadaReads shortlist, this is my pick for the 2025 winner. I‘m unsure if it‘s passing similarities to last year‘s winner will hurt its chances (serious social topic + elements of fantasy / social justice). I listened and will have to reread soon - there‘s a lot to unpack with this one.

Thanks #netgalley! I had zero expectation going into this Women‘s Prize longlister and was still surprised how much I liked it. A heartbroken young woman distracts herself from her feelings by taking a job with the UN rehabilitating ISIS brides. It‘s funny, and frustrating, and really made me think.

Bought on a whim. Read in a day. I love a twisty turny political thriller.

It took me three months to read this chunkster. I had (too) high expectations because of how much I love The Magicians trilogy. The first third felt disjointed at times and going was much easier when I moved from book to audiobook. Between a pick and a so so.

Utterly unputdownable.

A most excellent quick read about a man and the two women who love him.

When Maddy learns she has BPD, she needs to learn how she wants to be in the world, overcome self-doubt and fear, and rebuild her family‘s trust in her. This book was nothing short of incredible.

Dan Brown never disappoints. This 1998 thriller about NSA surveillance was clearly ahead of its time.

Three teens return from the dead and are asked to fulfill a series of magical tasks by their music teacher in this slow burning fantasy. I really loved the familial relationships between Daniel and Carousel, Susannah and Laura and Ruth, Mo and Maryanne.

Unexpectedly sad tale of a family whose inability to be vulnerable with each other leads to tragedy.

Another twisty thriller to make the gym more bearable. Not McFadden‘s best.

The gift of the Magi - but make it twisty

I loved the author‘s first book and had high expectations for this one. I LOVE reading about Russian ballerinas. I‘m not sure why, but I feel like I was being kept at a remove from these characters. It was difficult to root for them or empathize.

Read because I keep seeing this book everywhere. Devoured because it was delightfully ridiculously twisty and I had no idea where we were going to end up.

An uneven chunkster about one man in a German settlement in Russia on the banks of the Volga. It couldn‘t quite decide if it wanted to be history, fairytale or magic realism - or maybe was purposefully speaking to these genres and I missed the point.

A well-narrated story of the natural daughter of a scientist who creates human-animal hybrids.

Unlikeable people connected in intricate ways and just generally making the world worse. I‘m not making this sound like the pick that it is.

Absolutely blown away by how much I loved this book. A fantastic tale of two sisters with a long and complex history. There is so much love between them despite their differences.

Purchased on vacay because the tagline is chef‘s 😘

I really didn‘t know what I was getting into from the cover / blurb. This was a lot deeper, darker, and more reflective than I was expecting. I would never have bought it for my MIL for Christmas if I‘d had trigger warnings. Oops - we shall see how she likes it.

What a page turner! The world building was masterful and the stakes consistently high. I loved this story of a group of human scientists taken prisoner by an alien species.

A most excellent holiday travel companion. Loved both narrators. Shades of SA Cosby.

Michael Crichton but make it deep.

Interesting if slight. Off to do a deep@dive into golden moles.

Witchcraft! Forbidden love! Forgotten history! Perilous voyage! This book has it all.

Mike Leigh levels of bleak - exceptionally well done. At first I thought it was a thriller but it‘s more a deep dive into family trauma, poverty, and politics.

Cheers, Littens! Entering this holiday by finishing this one on #netgalley. It had enough ambition for a 500+ page book. The threads came together well and I was entertained each step of the way. Cheers, all!

A light pick. The characters were well-written but the story didn‘t really go anywhere.

I started off not liking how ridiculous the premise seemed and then got sucked in and really enjoyed myself.

This was the only possible book choice for the end of the Eras. A comfort read for any Swiftie.

Having stalled on The Pickwick Papers, I wasn‘t sure how I‘d like OT. I loved the combination of social justice and melodrama. The characterization of Fagin is definitely heavy handed and problematic; that aside I found this a surprisingly engrossing read.

Beautiful book (with lovely thick pages)! My heart breaks for Tarek, Ali, and Rafik.

I found this one hard to get into - and normally I like a dual timeline thriller. It picked up midway through, though I think I‘ll have forgotten all about it in a week or so.

This one was a miss for me. Liked the child characters and not much else - the pacing seemed really off.

This one had a very Amelia Bedelia vibe that I found harder to get behind. Maybe because there was no murder mystery 🤷‍♀️

Devoured in one ridiculous gulp

Most excellent concept. Pretty solid execution.

I was sneakily trying to finish this door stopper at the Roisin Murphy show last night. The book is as good as everyone is saying. I have one teeny quibble about the ending but otherwise it was phenomenal. Up there with Tomorrow x3, Natchez Burning, Birnam Woods and a few select others who live up to the hype.

I‘m forever looking for books featuring lifelong female friendships that speak to me the way Elena Ferrante‘s books do. This comes close.