My TBR for #deweysrr2023. I started early bc..sleep...but i will pick up again tomorrow.

This is a new favorite. Set in the 1960's. Middle man mobster gets mixed up in the mob's involvement in the murder of JFK. He is on the run from the mob and runs into a woman and her children running from their own troubles. Everything fun about the 1960's and mobsters. 5 stars.

Gross.....yet entertaining. LOL. A historical look at previous medical and psychological treatments. Some had merit and others were insane. Have a strong stomach for this one!

I enjoyed this one better than his last. Characters were so unreliable and the perfect setting. A falling down mansion (literally) in 1983. Kit, a caregiver, takes the only assignment available to her, caring for an elderly lady who may or may not of murdered her entire family 50 years prior. She gets to snooping about the deaths of the prior inhabitants. Will she figure out the decades old mystery and survive this job? 4 stars.

I never read series. It's a problem I have. However, I can't stop reading this series. I love the wit and banter of the main characters. The plots are mysteries are easy to figure out but they are fun. This time Veronica and Stoker are looking for a missing archaeologist who may or may not of fallen victim to a mummy's curse. I give this one 5 stars

Flight 1421 crashes into the Pacific Ocean. During the evacuation, an engine explodes and the plane is flooded. Those still alive are forced to close the doors The plane sinks to the bottom with twelve passengers trapped inside. Their fate depends on the elite rescue team above water and their own will to survive. It brought on all the Poseidon Adventure feels! Fun fast paced thriller with a tad bit of family drama. 4 stars.

A decent domestic thriller. They are not my favorite but this one kept me turning the page. Gabe and Pippa buy a house on a cliff. Unfortunately it is a place where people come to end their lives. Gabe is usually able to stop them except for this one time. Pippa looks out as the woman falls and Gabe looks suspicious. Now she is questioning everything she saw, her husband and their marriage. 3.5 stars. Triggers for suicide.

Read this fun thriller in one go while on vacation last month.
Publisher: You just boarded a flight to New York. There are one hundred and forty-three other passengers onboard. What you don't know is that thirty minutes before the flight your pilot's family was kidnapped. For his family to live, everyone on your plane must die. Enjoy the flight. So much fun! 5 stars

Interesting look at our fascination with “Momfluencers“ on social media. How they came about, why we are hooked on them, the effects on our idea of what a “good Mom“ is etc.. Quote: “Motherhood is packaged as something you “must do right“. Quote: “We are eager for sources on the right way to do motherhood“. It was a quick read and then I had to go look up some of the Momfluencers that were mentioned in the book. 3 stars

Tragedy strikes a family, bringing decisions to hide the truth and pulling the family into an elaborate web of secret-keeping and lies. It was so so. Slow to read and I really didn't care about any of the characters. 2 stars.

Not my favorite Jodi Picoult book but still a solid 3 stars. Olivia lives a decent second chance at happiness life with her teenage son Asher and her bees. Ash meets the girl of his dreams (Lily) who ends up dead. He ends up accused of her death and a trial ensues. Told from the voices of Olivia and Lily. Triggers for everything pretty much with lots of modern day issues sprinkled in.

A found family multi generational read. Teenage Tom and Senior Maggie need each other to help recover from tragedies in their lives. They just don't know it at first. They soon find a common purpose, along with a rag tag group of friends, to save their community library. 4 stars.

Death Doula Clover hides from living life by caring for the dying. She follows up on a last wish of one of her clients that leads her right to a life of her own. It was and enjoyable 3.5 stars.

This was so much fun. Nighttime skit comedy show writer meets rock star. Instant attraction but it goes nowhere. A few years later they strike up a relationship during the pandemic through email. It was fun, flirty and funny. I really was surprised how much I enjoyed it. I don't really gravitate towards romance reading. I am saying 5 stars.

A sweet found family story. Librarian Sloane befriends senior and difficult Arthur at the Library. One day he doesn't show up. She breaks protocol and tracks him down at home. There they strike up an uneasy caregiver/friendship bringing along other lonely book lovers in process. It was cute. 3 stars

Veronica Speedwell book #2 where she and Stoker team up to solve another mystery and save a possibly innocent man from hanging. I just adore these books. The banter between Veronica and Stoker is amazing. 4 stars.

Six years after the end of the Viet Nam War Hang makes a journey to Texas to look for her long lost brother that she put on a child adoption transport six years earlier. Once she finds him she soon realizes more than miles have separated them. Now they must overcome being raised in different cultures to find one another again. Middle grade. 3 stars.

Great middle grade book about a young girl and her family as they try to navigate a divorce and mental health issues. 4 stars.

Current read.. about half-way through. This books packs a lot of trauma into it...hoping I can make it through. Hanging out tonight getting ready to post the 6 books I read while on vacation the last two weeks.

This has been on my TBR since it was published. Finally got to it. I enjoyed it despite the animal abuse. I knew it was coming though...because circus.. Story of Jacob who joins a Depression era circus. He recalls that summer and all its horrors as an old man. It was enjoyable. I give it 3 stars.

Slow start but the tension is real. Almost had to put it down several times. Anna recovering from a car wreck suffering from amnesia trying to find herself with the help of her overly cautious hubby. Livvy, a new Mom struggling to find her new role in the world with her overly controlling hubby. Two women who collide in a great twist at the end. I kind of saw it coming but it was still done well. I am saying 5 stars. Trigger - domestic violence.

1939 Two young girls are sent from London to the countryside. To cope with the war they invent a secret world. The youngest goes missing. 1960 Hazel trying to live her life while blaming herself for her missing sister. A package arrives at her bookshop with a magical tale about the secret world they invented. This leads her on a quest to determine if her sister is really alive. 3 stars. Overwritten and many convenient loose end tie ups. 3 stars.

Not my favorite of hers. The MC was on my nerves the whole time. After surviving attempted murder Brooke moves away and tries to create a life for her and her son. When her parents die she returns home to try to create a better life. Brooke is a really poor decision maker and ends up putting herself and her son in harms way. Don't be like Brooke. Definitely don't take a job in a prison where your attempted murder is held. Eye roll. 2 stars.

Not a bad thriller. Great characters. Some ok plot twists that kind of came from left field but still enjoyable. A story of a group of kids that grow up in a sketchy care home. Some vanished during their time there. Some were taken away to work for an agency. Others made it out and had successful lives. That is until someone starts targeting them for something that they did while living there. Something bad enough to get them killed.

That was cute and heartfelt. The cozy mystery part had a lot of plot holes but the characters and banter between the characters was great. 60 year old Vera has a failing tea shop. She opens it one day and finds a body. Not thinking the police can solve the murder she sets out to do it herself. Along the way she meets a cast of characters and they quickly become family as she tries to determine which one of them was the murderer. 4 stars.

Someone get me a Chinese Grandma or Auntie like Vera stat.....I need her structure, support and her cooking in my life! I am half way through this and I am in love with this cozy mystery and Vera!

This was beautifully heartbreakingly good. 5 🌟 read. The story of a serial killer waiting for his execution. Told in alternating chapters from his pov and from the pov of women known to him or affected by him. I liked the idea that no one is wholly good or wholly evil. We are made up of our experiences and the experiences of those around us. It made me 😢

This was pretty good. 4 stars. Cozy mystery so didn't take much brain power and the characters were not too complicated. Which is good because there were a lot to keep track of. Some nice little twists in the plot. Plot is a murder mystery at a baking competition. Think The Great British Bakeoff meets Clue! I listened to it on audio while out and about today. Narration (a cast) was decent with only one annoying narrator. Lol

Excellent fun. The author speaks directly to the reader in this murder mystery involving a family always surrounded by lots of death and mystery. You may need a character map to keep all the family members straight. Somewhat of a book in a book situation. 5 stars

Izzie is trying to finish high school and trying to live with the night that changed her life. A night that landed her in foster care and her Mom in prison. Her foster parents include her in a project of working to catalog items found at an old insane asylum. There she comes across the diary of Clara. 1920's flapper Clara is admitted wrongfully to the asylum and desperately wants to get out to return to the love her life.

That was fun! The snark and banter kept me flipping pages. Loved the chemistry between the two main characters. Victorian scientist Veronica is in danger but she does not know why. She is put under the protection of Stoker, a haunted man with a past. They must determine who is after Veronica before they both end up dead. I am not a big series reader but I could see myself continuing on in this series. 5 stars easy!

I like to read a few Christie books a year. I enjoy them but I am never blown away by them. This one features Miss Marple but she is not as present as I expected she would be. She solves the mystery but it seems like it is done off scene. It was enjoyable 3 stars.

Last person in the world to read this, i think. Lol. It was good. I figured it out, but it was still suspenseful. 3.5 stars.

Not much more to say beyond what everyone else has said. Excellent. I will say I am glad I read Dopesick by Beth Macy just a couple months ago. Her nonfiction work/look at the start of the opioid epidemic in America parallels with this story well. Heartbreaking. Demon Copperhead is a 5 star read and well deserved recipient of the Pulitzer Prize.

Excellent 5 star read. Murder/mystery/coming of age story. 15 year old Travis lost his mother when he was an infant leaving him with an abusive father to raise him. The town rumor mill gets Travis wondering if there was more to her tragic death than he thinks. Told from the viewpoint of his best friend looking back on that time in the late 60's early 70's. Great dialog and full of heart. Mystery easy to figure out but there is a twist.

4 star read. Not my favorite of his but still really good. A book about a boy growing up with robots and the quest they must go on to save his "father" It is reported to have been loosly based on Pinocchio but i also feel it has Wizard of Oz, Murderbot Diaries, The Brave Little Toaster and The Search for WondLa vibes/ references.

Nope..DNF..The MC bakes pies to kill people “who deserve it“ but only “the men who deserve it“. Since when did the feminist movement become synonymous with the vigilante movement? Yes I know women have suffered since the beginning of time at the hands of men and this is a work of fiction “to blow off steam“. It just wasn't for me I guess. “An eye for an eye and world goes blind“ - Gandhi

I enjoyed this tale about a boy, a talking cat and their quest to save books. Rintaro loses his grandfather and inherits his small bookshop. He is living a hikikoimori lifestyle hiding in books. A grieving Rintaro meets a talking cat who helps him work through his grief and learn the power of books and how they can help him connect with others. Favorite quote - “Empathy, that's the power of books“. Translation was choppy but ok. Cat annoyed me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this eARC of My Goodbye Girl.
Tess, a writer and Simon, a scientist meet by chance on a plane and there is instant attraction. They continue to arrange to meet all over the world. Will they have what it takes to make it work beyond brief meet ups or will their pasts doom them to be alone forever?

1940's Colorado rural community is home to teenage Victoria Nash who is living/and caring for her widowed father, war veteran Uncle and troubled brother. Her life is very secluded and controlled. She meets a mysterious young drifter and they start a relationship with consequences. A book about loss, love and finding the courage to follow your heart. 4 stars.

Book haul. I had some gift cards to use up. Book shopping really is hard. The anxiety is real. I want all the books but my wallet, small house and spouse have limits. What if i choose wrong? #decisionfatigue #iprefermylibrary #firstworldproblems

Beautiful! A true work of art. In this book there are multiple characters/plots woven together to form an intricate story about trees/nature. An environmental philosophy work of fiction. It looks at how trees work, why we need them, what they mean to us, what horrible things we are doing to them, and who is trying to save them. I enjoyed some of the story arcs more than others but it was amazing. 4 stars.

NonFiction/ Memoir . Cute and full of heart. A scientist is given a baby owl to raise for life. It is about their life and bond and you learn some about owls also. It found it to be interesting, sometimes funny, sometimes sad. It made me tear up! 4 stars.

Unreliable characters + woods+ tension+ McFadden's typical banana pants crazy twists= a ton of fun. I say 4.5 stars. Almost a 5 but the twist/ ending lacked a bit of something.. still fun though

This was kind of dark for a cozy. Dark subject matter and dark relationships. Abby inherits a boatload of money so she buys a huge house on a beautiful cove with plans to turn it into a vacation destination. Someone else has other plans and keeps leaving disturbing signs that she needs to keep out. The main love interest was a bit red flag disturbing to me (imbalance of power) and there was animal abuse/harm. Like I said... dark cozy? 3 stars

I am trying to catch up posting my April books. In April I concentrated on environmental / ecology fiction/ non fiction. I picked this up as a middle grade fiction rec. It is for kids written in the 1950's. Keeping that in mind an adult reader can suspend reality and enjoy it for its magic and creativity. A young budding naturalist/survivalist leaves home to live in the woods for a year. I really enjoyed it. It was fun. 4 stars.

Nonfiction environmental philosophy book about trees. A look at how they are connected, supportive and misunderstood. I enjoyed this on audio. It was relaxing. Like a walk in the woods. Even with some of the science terms that were over my head. Hard to rate this but for the bits of knowledge and the relaxation it provided I would say 3.5 stars.

It was ok. I mean it is a cozy. They are supposed to be easy to figure out, overly sweet and cute. I think of them as pallat cleansers. Abby moves with her boyfriend Brad for a new start. In exploring her new town she starts to have visions from times past. She and her new friend Ned start to investigate her new found abilities and the mystery around the family she saw in her vision. I felt it got better as it progressed.

I am conflicted. I didn't hate it, but I thought it could be wrapped up a bit tighter. It just kept going and going with unnecessary plot lines/points and I felt no connection to any of the characters. 5 young women writers get invited to an eclectic authors estate for a writing retreat. It all starts to go downhill in bizarre ways pretty much on day 1. I will round up to 3 stars.

Ashlyn discovers two unpublished books that seem to tell the same doomed love story but from vastly different viewpoints. Her psychometric abilities tell her there is more to these two lovers' stories than what is written. She embarks on a quest to figure out the truth. This gets 2.5- 3 🌟 from me. I enjoyed one timeline over the other. Also, there was no chemistry between Ashlyn and her love interest.