Currently reading. Saw it on bookstagram & the cover made me buy it. Pretty good so far.

I finished this chunker as part of a buddy read. I kind of dreaded reading it at the start but as I got more into it, I was glad I stuck with it. It's VERY character driven. A beautiful book about classism, racism, family, culture, success, & happiness. I ended up really enjoying this story about a Korean family & community & the complicated relationships that hold us together. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

My January #bookbingo. Not shabby. I managed to get 13 #botm books read. My goal is to work through my backlog. Two bingos and my #bookspin book done! Boom. 💥

@TheAromaofBooks

I hadn't heard of this one but took a chance on it as a BOTM pick. I'm really glad I did. The cultural lore & historical experiences shared through the story were captivating. I loved the way Wurth wrote Kari's character. She was gritty, haunted, & relatable. This book is part folk story, part ghost story, & a great contribution to the perspective on history & trauma experienced by Native Americans that is often missing from so many books.⭐⭐⭐⭐

Not book related. I just wanted to show off my puppies in their new jammies.

I'm not typically a romance reader but I really enjoyed this one. Florence Day is a ghostwriter for a famous romance author. Unfortunately, since a bad break-up, Florence can't write a happy ending. When the dreamy editor who denied her extension turns up as a ghost at her family's funeral home, Florence must decide what one should do when they fall in love with a ghost. The dialogue in this novel was awesome. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I love this. 😆

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I love Emily St. John Mandel. Her books are always such beautiful sci-fi. There's something so familiar about her settings, even when they are in a bleak future. This book starts with Edwin St. Andrew exiled to Canada in 1912, moves to Miriella viewing an art showing in 2020, then Olive on a book tour in 2203, & then brother & sister scientists exploring the possibility that all life is a simulation. A stunning read.

#bookspin square 7. @TheAromaofBooks

So that's gonna be a no. This one just didn't work for me. I was bored. I thought most of the characters were terrible. Truthfully, I didn't care who killed Rhys, I was just upset they didn't off me too before I read this book. Hard pass. ⭐⭐

Meh. I really thought I would enjoy this one but it was just okay. Molly throws a 40th birthday party for her husband Jay. The next morning Jay is found murdered in his study. Molly has secrets but who would kill to expose them? Told in two POVs, I didn't like that each character's POV used "I". It made it difficult to immerse myself with one character. And I found Molly really annoying. I actually hoped the killer would come back & off her. ⭐⭐⭐

This was a twisty, dark thriller. It reminded me of her first novel Pretty Little Wife with a dash of The Collective. I read it in one day. Short chapters made it a quick read. There are multiple POV that didn't always transition smoothly but otherwise, I enjoyed this one. Jessa & Gabby have a complicated history. Their paths diverge after law school but the mysterious deaths of several wealthy scumbags brings them back together. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

For the love of gods... Break it up. 😭

Omg. I was so excited for this ARC but 55% and I'm so bored.

This is one of my favorite reads this year. Five HUGE stars. One of those books you wish you could read again for the first time. Set in England in the 1950's, Tom is a young, handsome cop. He's married to Marion, the woman who has loved him since she was a girl. At this time, Tom meets Patrick who shows him art, theatre, & a new world of possibilities. Beautifully written. Grab your tissues & read this one!

I loved Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstances. It was my intro to magical realism. When I saw Ruth Emmie Lang had a new book out, I had to read it. And it's about sisters. 🥹 This book is beautifully written. A story of two sisters looking for their missing mother while guarding their hearts from abandonment. Not as good as Beasts but a solid ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫. I hated for it to end. ❤️

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ From me. I loved the premise of this book. I loved how all of the characters were connected to each other. The different perspectives transitioned smoothly & moved the story along. The short chapters made it a quick read. I absolutely recommend this one. A thought-provoking, insightful book.

I LOVE dark academia with my whole heart. Sadly, if I had to pick a most disappointing, most anticipated book off of my list, this would be it. While it is DA, whoever decided to compare it to The Secret History and Ninth House should be fired. I felt like there wasn't adequate character development to explain the motives of the characters. Overall, it just fell flat. ⭐⭐💫

This is the factual account of the grave recovery at the Dozier School for Boys by the archeologist that oversaw the excavation team. Her relationship with the victim's families & the survivors of the Dozier School added a unique depth. I thought the technical aspect was interesting as well but she mentions a lot of names & I felt like a lot of the accolades could have been saved for the acknowledgement section. ⭐⭐⭐💫

This was my first nonfiction November read & it set the bar high. Check the trigger warnings. The author weaves her personal story into the story of Ricky Langley who she finds out the law firm she is interning for is representing in his death penalty defense. Marzano-Lesnevich knows she is against the death penalty so why is this case so hard? It was raw. It was real. I thought both stories were told without overlooking details in either. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was hesitant to read this one because it had been described as having a lot of techy & gamer content. I am glad I have this one a chance. I absolutely loved it. The story was relatable, beautiful, & believable. The characters felt imperfect & real. An amazing book about friendship & love & growing up. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

How is this a debut?! Virginia Hartman is giving me total Barbara Kingsolver vibes. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel about a young woman living her dream in DC before family duties call her home. This novel explores loyalty, the role of a daughter, relationships, & legacies. It was beautifully detailed & I was blown away. I can't wait to read more from this author. ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

I didn't expect to like this one. Most hyped books don't end up working for me. But this one has me! I am so glad I waited to read it until the sequel was right around the corner! While Alex was tough to like as a character, I thought Bardugo balanced her nicely with Dawes & Darlington. It's graphic & gritty & has all the dark academia vibes. I loved it so much that I had my daughter read it & then pre-ordered two copies of Hell Bent. ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

I thought this book sounded so interesting. The way Jason ultimately becomes "the last victim" of John Wayne Gacy, Dahmer, Ramirez, etc. is pretty interesting. But the editing is poor. The writing is simplistic. I did not care for the author in the least. He's arrogant, homophobic, & kind of a douchebag. The scene he describes at Menard CC being left alone in Gacy's cell... First he confuses a legal visit booth & a cell. Second, I work for IDOC?

Well, hmm. This one was really good for the 1st half. It told a story about a boy named Christopher & the strange fixation he develops on The Mission Street Woods. I was hooked as the past & present events began to merge & Christopher's experiences became more alarming. I loved the evolution of the supporting characters. The 2nd half of the book took a religious turn & I lost interest. But I had read too far to DNF. ⭐⭐⭐Maybe it's too smart for me?

Can I get a recommendation? For those of you that have read either or both of these Grady Hendrix books, which one should I read first? 👻

I've seen mixed reviews for this one because of the ending but I really enjoyed it. The book is obviously inspired by the JonBenet Ramsey case. It's just as twisty with as many possible suspects as its inspiration. Margot, a reporter, returns to her hometown to take care of her widower Uncle Luke who is suffering from early onset dementia when a young girl from a nearby town goes missing. Great debut. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Based on all the recommendations, I was really expecting to like this book a lot more. Something about it is very familiar. It kind of reminds me of Imaginary Friend. I don't know. The pacing was slow and it felt, to me like it needed more revision because it became very redundant. I expect horror to be sort of slow to create tension but this pushed past that to the point that it slogged a bit. Overall, ⭐⭐⭐

This was my favorite book of the summer. At just over 200 pages, it packed in a lot of story & a lot of feelings. The story takes place in the summer of 1999 on the Southside of Chicago. Fe Fe Stevens lives with her mom & older brother in the Robert Taylor Homes. Before the summer ends, Fe Fe's life & community will have been changed forever. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a bittersweet book that brought me to tears. I do love a book that makes me cry. Greta takes an Alaskan cruise with her father shortly after the death of her mother. The story is about grief, loss, love, & healing. A refreshing book that spares us an unlikely happy ending. Greta's strained relationship with her father, Conrad, was tender & painful & authentic. A really touching & beautiful novel. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

My bff said whatever grand idea I had for pictures is cancelled.🤣

This is definitely a plot driven book & I NEED character development. I thought this book took forever to get going. I struggled to connect with the characters. I did love Nana & the rhymes used to explain different elements in the story. This is probably just not a good match for me. ⭐⭐💫 #catsoflitsy #catsy #littenskittens.

So remember I posted about how this book was getting a ton of attention on Booksta. There is a reason! It was so good.

The book opens with 11-year-old Thomas Leon Ware standing trial for a triple murder. The reader is privy to Tommie's thoughts. Not the least of which is Tommie asking himself, "Am I going to tell the truth?"

I loved it & fell asleep reading it. Finished it the next morning!! Absolutely recommend! ⭐⭐⭐⭐?

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Initially I was not interested in this book because of the cartoonish cover. I received a copy as a gift & dutifully read it. Well, slap me with a tentacle. This was easily one of the best books I've read this year. The imperfect characters melted my heart. I would never have thought a book with an octopus as a narrator could move me like this. I was wrong. The story of Tova & Marcellus's friendship was just what I needed without knowing it.

Absolutely stunning debut novel. Definitely check the trigger warnings. Perish tells the story of Helen Jean, the matriarch of the Turner family. It explores how her choices & actions have consequences that reach far beyond her & how her trauma is experienced by her children & grandchildren.⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Picked up new books at Parnassus. The tagged book is one I hadn't heard of before but was displayed as being written by a local author so I grabbed it.

First stop on our Nashville trip! So excited!!

Not book related but we finally got to take our first family vacation since COVID. And we're having a blast!

This one missed the mark for me. I didn't find the main character, Amaya, particularly interesting. Khaavi was a much more interesting character. The chapters from her viewpoint in the last quarter of the book were the best, in my opinion. I found her perspective more enjoyable. I feel like some of the threads, like the mysterious Alexander, would have been fun to explore. ⭐⭐⭐

I wasn't sure I would like this one based on the reviews. I'm grateful I didn't let them scare me off. I thought this was a really interesting book. It explores the topics of privilege, power, feminism, sexuality, and age in a thoughtful way. I thought this was a bravely written book in a world of #metoo feminism. I'd love to hear your thoughts! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Okay, so hear me out... I really liked this one in the beginning but the more I read it, the more I felt like I had read it before. Then it hit me: My Friend Anna. Once that got in my head, I felt like the surprise of Cat's identity was spoiled. Although there are glaring differences, specifically the ending, the book lost its luster when I couldn't shake the deja vu feeling. 🫤 ⭐⭐⭐ I know art imitates life or whatever but this was too close.

This one is available on NetGalley as a Read Now for any Sally Hepworth fans. I'm a huge fan of SH but I don't really enjoy ebooks. Well. Guess who restarted their NetGalley account for this book? 💙💙

This book has been getting a lot of attention on booksta so I went ahead and bought it. I haven't seen much on Litsy about it.

I loved Dark Matter and Recursion. Blake Crouch was my introduction to sci-fi. My expectations for this novel were EXTREMELY high. Unfortunately, this didn't live up to the magnificence of his previous novels. I feel like it was a little more drama heavy & had elements that felt like Lee Child when describing fight scenes. It was still great just not mind-blowing like I had hoped. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Another memoir but it was my #bookspin square 14 so I'm glad to have read it. Can someone please remind me that I don't care for memoirs 95% of the time? I keep doing this to myself. This reminded me a lot of House of Sticks. While I think it's important to read about experiences that I will never have in order to be culturally aware, I just don't love memoirs. I usually find myself thinking, "This should have just been a personal journal." ⭐⭐⭐?

This was my least favorite book so far this year. I didn't like the flat characters & there was absolutely no plot to the book. I am actually mad that I read this. 😂 It was like a trashy soap opera & I could not have been less impressed with this softcore smut masquerading as a thriller. ⭐💫
👎🏽

I have a final paper due for the semester. I am so unmotivated to complete what is a completely silly assignment. Rewarding myself by writing one section & then reading 50 pages of my current read.

Does anyone else do this? 🤣

119 days until graduation! 🎓

After loving Prodigal Summer, I followed y'alls recommendations & picked up the tagged book. I was a smidge intimidated because it's over 500 pages but in the end 500 pages felt like not enough. I really enjoyed the multiple POV's & the setting that was detailed as is the author's style. I highly recommend checking it out if you've had it on your shelf. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I hadn't read any Megan Miranda books until this year. Now, I've read all six of these & really enjoyed them all. My favorites were All the Missing Girls, The Girl from Widow Hills, Such a Quiet Place, & The Last to Vanish the most. She is a great thriller author especially if you aren't into blood & gore. This newest book from her was definitely ⭐⭐⭐⭐ from me. Twisty & tense with great scene setting.

I have read many reviews where people say this isn't Sally Rooney's best novel. I have only read Normal People other than this one but I found I enjoyed this book quite a lot. I thought the writing was intelligent & wished I had friends to unravel the world in letters with. I related to the insecurity that the characters felt & the disenchantment they experienced with modern society. The character development was outstanding as to be expected.⭐⭐⭐⭐

I am so hit or miss with memoirs. I liked this one though. It was a good story & helped provide me with perspective that I don't have. The experience of an immigrant Chinese-Vietnamese girl trying to maintain her culture while simultaneously becoming American was eye-opening. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

There is something about the way that this author writes his female main characters that I do not care for. I think some male authors write well from the female perspective & some do not. His previous book left me feeling the same way about the tone of his protagonist. Also, this book was super repetitive. It was like there was a challenge to see how many times the word monozygotic could be used. Not my favorite. ⭐⭐💫