I will say this didn‘t grab me right away. However, I do think this was building in a way such that you don‘t realize it, and then when it implodes, it happens so fast you feel like you can‘t keep up, but it is also so amazing and satisfying that it‘s darn near brilliant, and then that ending. Jewell drops that holycrapwhatjusthappened at the very end, and then well shoot, now the book is over and you are just left alone with your thoughts.

This is such a great collection of stories, and I think they should be essential reading to everyone. This collection contains stories from powerhouses such as Jesmyn Ward, Tayari Jones, and Jacqueline Woodson, just to name a few. I loved each and every one of these, and took away something different from them all.

I LOVED this book, it kept me guessing until the end. It was very well done, and I liked that the reader was kept in the dark for a while so that we were learning things as Abi was in some regards. I came to love this family, despite their flaws, and was hoping for a miracle at the end. I was tearing up as this was over, which is pretty rare for a thriller.

A stunning, heartbreaking, beautiful book that focuses on Anna Roux, who struggles with anorexia. The author does a beautiful job at capturing the struggles that people go through, whether it is anorexia, bulimia, depression or any other type of disorder. She also perfectly captured the struggles and frustrations that loved ones go through as well.

This was an interesting story, but one that was very hard for me to follow. There were many characters introduced all at once, so I was grateful for the family tree at the front of the book. The narrative switches from past to present and character to character so often that it is hard to keep up. There were many points of sarcasm that I really enjoyed, and this book is meant to be taken lightly. It‘s not for everyone but some will really like it.

The book‘s focus is on the 1986 Los Angeles Library fire, along with an overall history of libraries. The 'true crime' portion related to the actual fire itself. I couldn‘t believe it took so long to get to a full-on fire, or that the library‘s set up made it difficult for fire fighters to get in and fight the fire, or that the building was so outdated that this was probably a long time coming anyway. I loved this book and could not put it down.

Holy moly this book. It is very well done, and where most non-fiction books can get dry by the end, this one picks up steam and my heart was pounding until the end. The last 75 pages are riveting as if you are reading a spy thriller but nope, this is real life. Thank goodness for reporters like Carreyrou that were not assuaged by Theranos' bullying, and kept at this fight to help those that worked at Theranos finally have their voice be heard.

This second book did not disappoint! I am loving the Quinn family and all of their problems! Again this left in a cliffhanger, so even though the holidays are technically coming to an end, I will probably have to finish this series.

Ohhh mama this was good!! Great way to end my 2018! This author duo has got.it.down. I enjoyed their first book but LOVED this one, read it in a day! It started off strong, and started to lull just a wee bit and then BOOM here is a twist and it never stopped from there! This is a great psychological thriller that kept me guessing on a couple of things, and I love when authors can do that.

This was a good follow up to Stillhouse Lake, I stayed up late to finish this one and here‘s to hoping I don‘t have any bad dreams tonight! I really enjoyed this one, and was pleased how it all wrapped up. I thought the author did a great job here with everything. It drug a little for me with the Connor / Brady storyline, but I understand what she was trying to do with it. Overall I am loving this series, and I can‘t wait for the third next year!

This was a powerful little punch of a book, so beautifully written and thought provoking. And be prepared, Woodson delivers a sucker punch at the end that is gut wrenching but over so fast that you are sitting there in tears like whaaaat?! Loved it.

Really enjoyed this one, very glad I made time for it this year! Recommend you fit it in if you can!

This was powerful, one of the best memoirs that I have read all year, and is a brave, raw, much needed book. Kiese‘s way with words in communicating exactly how he was feeling at such a young age, as well as the why behind his struggles really blew me away. He works through it though and also holds the reader accountable to do better, giving his mama credit for helping him see that although there is work to be done, it can be done. Heavy, indeed.

Winter Street is book 1 of 4 that focuses on the Quinn family. The father owns the Winter Street Inn in Nantucket, and this book centers around this and gets us introduced to the family. They are all a hot mess, but I say that in a loving way as they are a family that I would love to be a part of, because through it all they truly love each other, despite their flaws. This book is short but was satisfying. Highly recommend for holiday reading.

Unfortunately this one did not do it for me. I thought the writing was well done, but I could not get behind all of the abuse. The book is pitched as a world where women do not feel safe, however the main person causing the problems was the mother. The father was a huge problem too, but the book makes it clear that men are to be feared. I had to keep reading to see how this would end, but not because I was enjoying it.

LOVED THIS!! It does not have to be read during Christmas, FYI, but is a wonderful love story told through letters during WWI. Beautiful.

I have read so many amazing books this year, and this one isn't even my normal genre. Skies. Loved, loved, loved. I was rooting for everyone in this book - Zelie, Amari, Tzain, and Inan. I loved these four, and oh Inan, my heart went out to him so much. Tomi really captured the struggle and pain of wanting a father's acceptance. She also had such great character development for each of these four, and I enjoyed going on this journey with them.

I cannot recommend this enough. I loved this book, Michelle is vulnerable, strong, funny, and finds her voice while with a very strong husband who supports her one hundred percent. I miss them so much!!

Backman literally can do no wrong. This was a novella, but was excellent and in a short amount of time he is once again able to craft a beautiful story. Love love love.

This was not an easy read but it was just absolutely excellent. Highly recommend to everyone as it is still so relevant today, and there are so many lessons to be learned in here. Will be thinking about this for weeks to come.

Oh how I loved this book. It should be read by everyone, period. It is gritty, raw, heartbreaking. And real. I appreciated the perspective from someone who lived under Pablo‘s reign of terror. Chula‘s experiences and subsequent reactions / thoughts to them were heartbreaking, and I just wanted to hug her. I cannot recommend this one enough.

Needed this to get me out of my reading slump. I enjoyed all of these with All the Names for God and Manus being my favorites.