Two families, each with their own struggles, become entangled with each other over the years. This book jumps back and forth through years and changes of perspective showing how people, events, and time are connected and bond us all together. Thank you for sharing this with me @CBee , I really enjoyed it.

At the start of the weekend I realized I wasn‘t enjoying any of the books I was reading and bailed on them all which was so not like me. I made it through 50% of this audiobook before admitting that I just didn‘t care about any of it- the characters, the plot, the fact that nothing they did made sense to me. I thought about continuing because I have liked Butler in the past but I was honestly relieved when I gave myself permission to stop.

I needed something completely different from my last reads and this book about a father and daughter living off the grid due to events in his past jumped out at me. After 8 years in the woods strangers cross their paths and their precarious world is threatened. I found this so engrossing as you learn what drove Cooper to choose such an isolated life and see Finch become more curious about what she is missing. A good distraction and a solid story.

Centered around a recent Supreme Court case, this is a look at Native land rights and the myriad of ways the US government has stolen land throughout history and reneged on its promises, including some of the unbelievable current laws that try to keep Native populations powerless. Reading it made my blood boil and I kept wishing more people would read this although I fear those who truly need the history lesson never will.

Thank you so much Amy for the wonderful surprise! I am really looking forward to reading this one (also that cover is just so striking). I hope that you are feeling better and appreciate your kindness so much.

This book! I was so worried that all the hype would lead to my being disappointed but not even close. Martha goes through decades of feeling like she is just not good at living. She sees countless doctors and is given countless diagnoses and prescriptions but she is still the same person who lashes out at those who love her and little joy in the world. She is wholly unpleasant but oh how I felt for her and her family. Tears were shed.

I put this on hold after looking at all the Gaiman on my shelves and thinking “here we go again.”There is much to discuss regarding the art vs the artist but this was not what I was looking for. I found the equivalencies of monsters troubling. Women wanting space from childcare to work given the same consideration as Polanski? To me, it had less real reflection on the potential responsibilities of consumers and more tangents and biographies.

Mattis knows he isn‘t a good worker and that he isn‘t quite as smart as everyone else but it still bothers him that his neighbors all refer to him as Simple Simon. Still he has the birds he loves to watch and his sister who endlessly knits to keep them both fed. However when a stranger arrives Mattis‘s life feels more uncertain. A lovely book about an unforgettable character.

This story of a girl left stranded on a deserted island with her lover and servant started out so slowly I wondered if anything would ever actually happen but once they reach the island I was gripped by the intensity of what Marguerite faces and her ability to survive. The writing was lovely and this fit in nicely with the apparent trend of my reaching for tales of living on remote islands.

The premise made me a little wary even if I do love Hazelwood but I adored it. Two top college athletes find out they share certain proclivities in the bedroom when his ex who is also her teammate declares they should sleep together. Their relationship may start out purely physical but the more time they spend together the more things they realize they share. Reading this had me grinning until my cheeks hurt.

Primarily focusing on three cousins dealing with changes in their lives and their family‘s Chicago restaurant that feels more like home than their actual homes often do after the sudden death of their grandfather. I love a good messy family story and this one was great. Less about overall family dysfunction (although there is certainly some of that) and more about the overlapping lives in a large, caring ,but changing, brood. Definitely recommend.

All 14 year old Adunni wants is to return to school. Instead she finds herself being married off to an old man who already has two wives. Adunni may be naive but she is not going to give up on her dreams easily. As things go from bad to worse and her life changes again and again she persists in believing in herself. This book was not on my radar when it came out a few years ago but I am glad a copy landed in my lap.

An entire book filled with unlikable characters that kept me feeling anxious throughout about the myriad of bad decisions Jane, the main character kept making. And yet I couldn‘t stop reading or rooting for Jane. A book that made me cringe, made me uncomfortable, made me think, and made me wryly chuckle a time or two and one I think I will want to reread. #tob25

I so get the varied opinions on this one. Not a book for everyone. I, however, seem to be drawn to books lately about living in isolation (side effect of reading the news I am sure) and found that I really enjoyed this book about three monks who set out to find the island envisioned in a dream. It is slow but anxiety filled as you see them struggle with the elements and the requires blind obedience to a leader who does not deserve it.

Well this short read was surprisingly delightful!. Glad I just went in with little knowledge because, in all of 69 pages, any assumptions I had made in the beginning were turned upside down in the best way

I did not expect that ending! A quick moving look at the effects of censorship and attempts to control a population‘s thoughts and feelings. Important reading especially considering the state of the world. Dis I love it as much as everyone else seems to? No. #tob25

Denz needs to prove that he is serious enough to take over the family business now that is father is retiring and thinks a pretend relationship is the way to go. Who am I to question his logic when it somehow means spending time with the ex who broke his heart but still makes ir race. A fake dating, second chance romance with a big interfering family and a hero I want to sit around and dissect rom coms with, I had a lot of fun readjng this book.

Three women in three different times all dealing with harm caused by men from accusations of witchcraft, to marital abuse, to strangers lying in wait in the dark. Their stories are morose and without nuance.The writing was lovely but not enough to satisfy me. I have wanted to read this one for quite some time but am left underwhelmed.

It has been quite a week. If tomorrow weren‘t Friday I might cry. Thankfully I‘ve had this soapy book about figure skating to distract and entertain me. Secrets, scandal, romance, and sequins abound on every page and I enjoyed every dramatic moment of it.

A memoir about finding out that your child and your spouse are transgender and that names and pronouns may change but love doesn‘t.

I enjoyed the story this book was trying to tell about two boys from different backgrounds who become college roommates and keep growing closer and the joy and loss they experience. However I did not like the writing style at all. The dialogue all felt flat and unnatural and everyone had the same voice and there was a lot of telling and not showing with the relationship development. It made it had to become emotionally invested.

Well, I suppose it had to happen eventually. I have now encountered a book by Everett that I did not love. This James Bond style caper on nothingness was too forcefully clever for me and I lost patience early on. Still planning to read his entire backlist.

Gabriel is a 16 year old American living in Chile. He has his two best friends, a new girlfriend, and no desire to ever leave Chile and return to the US. Then there is a coup… Told from three different perspectives (although I found each of them less compelling than the first) this was a really great read that managed to combine coming of age with political turmoil an engaging and moving way. Why was this not on the TOB shortlist?

18 year old Manod lives on a small Welsh island whose population is steadily decreasing as people leave for easier lives on the mainland. She is smart and dreams of more than a life where her only future is marriage. When strangers arrive to study the island Manod is both drawn to them and dismayed at how wrong they are about her home. A quiet novel with a unique and complicated heroine, this was easy to finish quickly but left much to consider.

This book made me want to cancel my lunch plans yesterday and stay home all day and read. I am so glad the higher praise Wait get on Litsy convinced me to give her another try after not loving another of her books because this story about a young mother and her daughter‘s journey through their involvement with a cult was fantastic.

A coming of age story about a trans woman in Madrid, from the opening sentence I knew this was going to an unforgettable read. Bursting with love and pain, this journey from a confused child to a woman who has been guided by the kindness and understanding of the community she finds was beautifully told. These characters leapt from the pages, from Eugenia to Margarita. They broke my heart and repaired it into something stronger.

A novella about a woman who goes along with her partner‘s desire to have a child even though she doesn‘t want to be a mother. Her intentions are good but of course everything changes in their lives. Powerful emotions run throughout these pages, from isolation to desire and back again. An undeniably strong story that I liked but didn‘t quite love.

A human girl raised by a Vampire, a tournament where the prize is a wish granted, alliances made with those she isn‘t sure she can trust, challenges that test every part of her,and of course an attraction that she would very much like to deny, is it any wonder that I devoured this book like candy? Perfect for the mood I was in and I am trying to not immediately jump into the sequel.

I would‘ve skipped over this one if it hadn‘t been on the #tob25 shortlist and I would have missed out big time. A coming of age story about Adina, a girl who never quite fits in. She knows why she is different, she is an alien sent to earth to report to her superiors. It sounds gimmicky and in other hands it could have been but instead this is a story that balances the loneliness and the beauty of growing up and experiencing the world. Loved it.

I hope that you had a wonderful birthday @wanderinglynn and I appreciate your celebrating with us in such a fun way. This book is currently the one I most want to get my hands on.

As someone who frequently struggles with short stories I was ambivalent about this #tob25 title. Lots of love on Litsy for it but I often find short stories unsatisfying. Not the case here. Each story feels well fleshed out and complete with enough time to break my heart or make me feel as if I had walked with the characters and understood them in a slice of their lives. I loved the connections between stories. Great addition to the short list.

Reggie! You spoiled me rotten with this package- an amazing selection of books and more Reese‘s than I could fit into the photo ( I also honestly ate some immediately). This was so thoughtful and generous. I was truly overwhelmed by your kindness. I am so grateful.

Emma has reached one year of sobriety in AA. Instead of feeling like a completely different person she still has struggles like how to tell her coworkers she doesn‘t drink, how to handle her relationship with her alcoholic father,, and on top of it all how to even think about dating again. Yes there is a bit of romance and a bit of comedy but this is really the journey of a character finding confidence in herself in this new chapter of her life.

Well you certainly know how to brighten a Monday @CBee ! Thank you so much for the surprise! This book looks so good and it being added to my long weekend TBR. You are the best!

Essie is a teen who has grown up on reality TV show centered around her religious family. Now 17 and pregnant, her mother and the production crew want to plan how best to handle her but Essie has her own plan. I liked this book so much more than I suspected I would! Told in three perspectives which added more substance to what could have just been a light page turner. I rooted for Essie to finally get the escape she needed.

A short, autobiographical story that packs a punch. I haven‘t read Kinsella in years but I am so glad I picked this up. A author receives a devastating diagnosis and faces medical challenges, the need to share painful news with her children, and the worst kind of uncertainty. I definitely shed some tears.

There are lines and moments that this book that made me want to love it but overall this #tob25 title left me cold. An incredibly unreliable narrator reflects on his upbringing by his immigrant Ethiopian mother and her life long friend who may be his father . There is a lot about the immigrant experience that was well conveyed but everything else was too much of a jumble to make me care. This wouldn‘t have made my shortlist.

Breakups can make anyone go a little crazy but that doesn‘t mean I want to spend a lot of time reading about the mindset of a wallowing and completely unself-aware man trying to figure out his life after the unexpected end of his relationship. Hearing the other side of the story was clever but too little, too late to make this a pick.

When Zora chooses to stay behind in Sarajevo in the Soring of 1992, letting her husband escort her mother to the safety of England, she has no idea what the future had in store for her or her city. As the war escalates she and her community must find impossible levels of strength and resilience. This book was quick to read but I know many of its scenes will linger in my mind.

This was a light pick for me. I found myself wishing that McCannon had just written a straightforward memoir because this book trying to be two things at once meant neither aspect was totally satisfying. The interviews with other exevangelicals felt less in depth than I would have liked and the book never seemed to delve into Information I didn‘t already know. It was still interesting and thoughtful and j am glad I listened to it.

Nothing will ever be able to compete with the Thursday Murder Club but this was still fun and I will absolutely check out the next book in the series whenever it comes out.

This book is a lot. There is a lot going on, a lot of it is quirky, a lot quirky but there is also a lot of heart and charm as well. Once you find your footing you get swept away as part of the chorus of voices in the vivid town setting as the Starling family deals with issues big and small that threaten to divide them. I had to go to work today with only twenty pages left to read and raved home to finish it.

Veterinarian Dimpna returns home after more than two decades after both her parents end up suspects I a murder. She finds her father struggling with dementia, her brother avoiding her, and the past she desperately wanted to leave behind not at all ready to let her go. Lots going on in this mystery set in Ireland@and I appreciated all of the secrets and twists and characters I hope see more of in the following books.

Another ebook sale on a book that I keep seeing on everyone‘s favorites of 2024 lists in case anyone still needs to pick it up.

When a man chokes on a grape during his daily commute other passengers spring into action to save him starting a chain of actions that take them far away from being just strangers. This was a perfect palate cleanser- light, charming, and heartwarming

I really wanted to finish this one last night but just couldn‘t stay awake so I was happy I woke up with enough time to get an hour of reading in before work.i don‘t think I would have picked up this book without all of the praise on Litsy. It was everything everyone said it was -a joyful balance of a closed door mystery and romance. I enjoyed every page.

I can see why there is so much love for this book. It is a heart wrenching story of two best friends whose lives are shaped when one of them is abducted by a serial killer but it more the story of devotion and deep love than it is a thriller. There are so many amazing characters and beautiful moments. At 600 pages it did seem long and at times a little too much. I said, “What now?!” more than once but would quickly be put back under its spell.

A book topping many a Litten‘s top reads of 2024 list (it is certainly high on my list) and the ebook is on sale for $1.99 in case anyone has been waiting to grab a copy.

Out 4/15/25. A true crime writer in need of a second chance agrees to ghost write a book about the abuse that took place at an orphanage. Accounts vary but she is sure there is more to uncover. The more she digs the more the past creeps into the present, murders included. This was a really absorbing debut with a flawed but strong main character and a mystery that wouldn‘t let me rest until it was solved. Highly recommend.

Married couple Millie and Stan head to Africa on safari m. Stan doesn‘t want Millie to come along. He doesn‘t really want Millie at all any more but once they embark the oddest thing happens, Millie no longer cares what Stan wants. She comes into her own with new friends, new talent, and new love. That is just the start of their journey.After reading Mrs Caliban I knew I needed to read more by Ingalls. This was just as strange and marvelous.