This was such a feel good, warm and cozy read after a tough week! She‘s a bad ass cattle rancher that finds love after a battle of a divorce. I learned a little something or two about taking care of animals you raise to be our food source and nourishment. Reminded me of our O‘Connor AG students and the work they‘re doing while learning about agricultural practices and business.

If you know me you know my all-time favorite book is COMO AGUA PARA CHOCOLATE - LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE by Laura Esquivel. Reading about the magic that is the Mexican cuisine won me over as a reader.

This book reminded me of it. This is the amazing and heartbreaking and sweet story of both young and now 80yr old Agusta. It‘s a later-in-life love story filled with my favorite, magical realism.

An exploration of motherhood…after a childhood of living through and “surviving”(?) domestic violence. My goodness this was hard to get through. Reading a child‘s plea to her mother to please leave was heartbreaking.
This one made me cry and rage at the same time. My goodness, the things women have to do to keep themselves alive!
“The world is not made for mothers. Yet mothers made the world.”

This is 2 stories in 1. The first story takes place in 1950s Hollywood, where ambition, envy, seduction, and a whole lot of racism swirl around the making of a blockbuster film. The second story is the Bible story itself that‘s being made into a movie.

Sylvia Moreno-Garcia has been a favorite since her MEXICAN GOTHIC book but this one has won my heart as my favorite Moreno-Garcia read!

The pandemic breakout storyline really does grab you by the throat & doesn't let go. This was a horror read with a lot of gore that I thought I wouldn‘t like but surprisingly I did! I was fascinated by the exploration of religious conviction through Sophie's harrowing journey across a virus-ravaged country. This probably won‘t be for everyone as it tackles weighty themes of faith, desire, morality, all along with horror elements!

I‘m not sure how I feel about this one. I loved the beginning. It really gets you in, and you feel like you know exactly what you‘re getting: a murder-who-dunnit. But then it started getting weird. I was so interested to see how this all wrapped up, and it kept me reading. But then the ending was a big ol‘ UGH!!!

I think I liked it enough to give it 4⭐️. I think. I‘M ALL OVER THE PLACE WITH THIS ONE!

This story follows a new mom who, out of necessity, invites her estranged mother into her home, only to discover that old wounds run deep and sinister events soon unfold, blurring reality.

Fast-paced, chilling, psychologically suspenseful with dark secrets slowly unraveling and the line between reality and nightmare blurring with every page - UNPUTDOWNABLE!

GEEZ! Everyone is a suspect - the ex, the current boyfriend, the stranger around the corner, you, me, EVERYONE! Freida does it again with this psychological thriller about finding “Mr. Right” - a literal nightmare! AND HOLY PLOT TWIST! 🤯😱
This will have you questioning every Tinder and Bumble profile, second-guessing every “perfect match”.

Required reading. Equally as important, this should be discussed.

I love Coates's writing. It‘s succinct and impactful, elegant and educational. “Writing is a powerful tool of politics.”

Essential reading in the conversation of the power of narrative and how it shapes our world. It's a reminder that the stories we tell can either free us or bind us, and that the sharing of truth, however uncomfortable, is ultimately the way to true freedom.

UNPUTDOWNALBE! What a thriller of a ride that just keeps you reading and will keep you up all night 😱 with lots of unexpected twists!

🔍 Detective Tess Claibourne faces her worst nightmares as she hunts a new killer mimicking the infamous Father Silence that her detective father helped put away and get sentenced to death.

This was a 5⭐ must-read thriller perfect for spooky reading mood!

Great psychological thriller page-turner! When your overbearing mother goes missing and you‘re the one that finds her bloody shoe you‘re left to go on a chase to figure out what happened and where she went. And that‘s when the suspenseful unraveling of secrets reveal the dangerous underworld your mother was in AND challenge everything you thought you knew about her. Great read!

I think this is my favorite Moriarty read! She masterfully explores how people might react when given a glimpse of their fate—do they fight it, embrace it, or ignore it entirely? The pacing is sharp, the character development is rich, and the story just kept me wanting to read, while wondering what I would do in their shoes. Another UNPUTDOWNABLE read for the year!

Not horror but actually kinda funny. Had some gore and one spicy 🌶️ scene. I loved the main character and her mental struggle. Second book of this author for me and I like her writing!

This Latina librarian living in San Antonio and living with so many doubts had me wrapped up and falling love from the first word! This steamy, heartfelt debut romance with witty banter and irresistible chemistry just absolutely swept me off your feet.

And Theo…swooooooooooon!! The unplanned, no-strings-attached fling between him and Marcela is
🌶️🌶️🌶️YES PLEASE!🌶️🌶️🌶️ with lots of heat in the library stacks and beyond!

UNPUTDOWNABLE! A must-read memoir!
This was heart wrenching, maddening, inconceivable, and mind-boggling.
One chapter hit way too close to home and I was balling. The rest of the book left me with my mouth agape the entire time.
“Today it hit me when he hit me, blood shaking in my brain. Maybe there wasn‘t a savior coming. Maybe it was up to me to save me.” ~ Tia Levings

Hilarious and heartbreaking! One of my favorite reads of the year! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I love stories with the weirdest people who make the best characters and when they come together to tell the weirdest story, which really is an entertaining story, well that just makes for an UNPUTDOWNABLE read! The writing reminded me a lot of Fredrik Backman.

This is an ode to fairytales reminding me of The Lion Witch and Wardrobe but instead there‘s a magical forest that leads to an enchanted land. There‘s fantasy, mystery, with a dash of family psychological drama. Because what life doesn‘t have a little of all that!

I loved Shaffer‘s first book THE WISHING GAME! Shaffer is now an automatic author for me.

UNPUTDOWNABLE from the very first page! A great debut thriller read. Highly recommend!

Emily Henry can do no wrong. 😍🥰FIGHT ME! 🤨
And she did what she does so well again with this swoooooontastic romance read that paid a special little homage to librarians. I absolutely fell in love with these two loveably flawed characters. Miles is a Hotty-McHotty!!!
I loved the message reminding us that even in the darkest of times there‘s always room for hope.

I LOVE ROMANCE READS and this one is a hilarious and heartwarming ode to the genre. Emma is a screenwriter with a passion for crafting the perfect rom-com. When she lands the dream job of rewriting the script of her idol, the cynical Charlie Yates, sparks fly…literally and figuratively! The banter between Emma and Charlie is pure gold, with a delightful enemies-to-lovers dynamic!

UNPUTDOWNABLE! TRIGGER WARNINGS! SICK! TWISTED!
Geez, this book was one of the most twisted pieces of writing I have ever read. This author needs some psychological help. AND I LOVED EVERY PAGE OF IT!

UNPUTDOWNABLE read, set in 1950s America!
Loretta Davenport is a young mother and wife to Pete, an ambitious assistant professor at a Bible college. Their seemingly idyllic life takes a sinister turn when a local girl is murdered, and Loretta begins to receive messages from the beyond.
This is a 5 🌟, must-read for horror, paranormal thriller readers!

This offers a refreshing take on adoption narratives, challenging the stereotype of pain and regret. I loved it!
I loved the children characters and their quirkiness. I loved the back and forth, very frank, hilarious conversations. Her twin ten-year-olds, with their witty banter and unexpected insights, provide comic relief amidst the chaos. I was laughing out loud one moment and contemplating different perspectives and profound truths the next.

5🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 and 5🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ for this swoon-worthy read!
It gave “Waiting to Exhale” vibes with Soledad‘s journey from the wreckage of a shattered life to phoenix rising celebrating self-love, reinvention, and the courage to love again. And the romance…WHOA WHAT A ROMANCE! 🥰
If you love reading Tia Williams and Colleen Hoover, then Kennedy Ryan is a definite must-read author as well!

A raw, honest, and emotional novel in verse that ultimately feels like a triumph while shedding light on a painful journey towards self-acceptance.

Sometimes, it's only through books that we (kids) can find this.

Take care of your heart! 💗
Do what brings you joy! 💖

What a suspenseful mystery rollercoaster ride! The snark was everything and the mystery made it unputdownable. You‘re left questioning everything and everyone and guessing until the very end with this one!

5🌟 must-read for your book club! And it‘s the GOOD MORNING AMERICA book club pick for March 2024.

Kristin Hannah did it again with an extraordinary story of WOMEN HEROES during the Vietnam War. I loved how Hannah captured the essence of the time with the music of the time that we all know and love.
A 5⭐️ tribute to the forgotten sacrifices of WOMEN WHO SERVED even though many said for years, “there were no women in Vietnam.” A sad read of a time marked by turmoil but so important to share especially during the upcoming Women‘s History month.

Wait a minute!!!! I‘VE GOT SOME PROBLEMS AFTER THIS ONE!!!
This was a quick and entertaining psychological thriller that revolves around some teachers and students at Caseham High School. WARNING: lots of cringe with this one if you‘re an educator!

What a swoon-worthy, irresistible, 🌶️🌶️🌶️ sexy 5🌟 read! With a little bit of jazz and the Harlem renaissance as well as modern day Harlem, mixed with a little bit of magical realism and a whole lot of romance.

I love family sagas but this one just didn‘t do it for me. It was all over the place and so was I while reading. 2⭐️

4⭐️ read that explores identity, family, and, of course, what every family has, long-buried secrets!

As a fact-checker Gabby DiMarco believes in verifiable truths but those beliefs are rocked when a genealogy test uncovers a sister she never knew existed, a family she never knew she belonged to. Or does she?

A sad read but it also keeps you reading until the final secret revealed!

UNPUTDOWNABLE! This one started off with a bang from the get go - a psychological suspense, horror, nerve-shredding page-turner that keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole way through!!
Mom sees danger. Mom rushes to protect her children. Mom spends the whole time struggling to protect her children and just be heard by e everyone that should be listening. And it was maddening but made for a great read!

A Romantasy read w/werewolves & vampires & one of my favorite spicey authors! A PARANORMAL ROMANCE w/a Vampyre 🧛‍♀️ bride & an Alpha Werewolf 🐺! This is filled w/politics, love, loyalty, & sacrifices but also all the stuff we love Ali Hazlewood for! I‘ll read anything Hazlewood but this one is my absolute favorite now!

February is the month of love and friendship AND OUR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY! And so the obligatory romance reading has begun. And if it‘s written by Christina Lauren then you know it‘s going to be all the 💕😍🥰😘💗
This is a cute novella about an accidental email to a stranger that leads to so much more.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned! Pero una Latina enojada es peor que todos los demonios en el infierno!

Xochitl Gonzalez does it again! Another great read from her! This story is set in the world of art in 1985. It goes back and forth from the tragic death of Anita de Monte and the struggles of Raquel, a third-year art history student in 1998. Art history, love, power between the genders, and a vengeful ghost!

Such a great read about unlikely friendships and second chances. This author, Sean Dietrich, is known as “Sean of the South”, because he writes stories that capture the essence of Southern life and the human spirit. And he definitely does with this one. I loved reading the “note from the author” in the back just as much as I loved this story.

UNPUTDOWNABLE!!!! What a read I just couldn‘t put away filled with family secrets, intrigue, inheritances, and the haunting legacy of Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore. Yup, that‘s how many husbands Ruby went through! Ruby is an enigma and there are unsettling revelations all throughout this read that definitely keep you reading.
Obviously, it reminded me a lot of THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO but, dare I say it, THIS WAS BETTER!

Julie Chavez is an elementary librarian that shares this heartwarming, humorous, candid memoir about the challenges of motherhood, mental health, and self-discovery. This was a very relatable read all about navigating the chaos of family life, work life, all while trying to find joy along the way.

I‘m #currentlyreading FIRST LIE WINS and it‘s a twisty good one!

What a great conclusion to this intense love story that started with book #1 DIVINE RIVALS!
The first book was all about the beautiful love story between Iris and Roman and, I admit, I wanted more of that. This one was more about the war brought on by the evil, childish god throwing a temper tantrum destroying the world and killing people along the way.
I didn‘t LOVE this one as much but it was still a great read that kept me reading!

UNPUTDOWNABLE! What an emotional read about the intricacies of brotherhood, resilience, adolescence, self-discovery, and the good, the bad, and the ugly of family. Starts in the 1970s but goes through the 80s in a Mexican American family. Pedro and Daniel go through so many challenges, navigating a world that often misunderstands and rejects them.
This was a difficult read but the storytelling is tender and powerful.

The 🌶️ was very 🔥🥰🤩 but the main male character was sooooo criiiiingy! 😣
Short little novela gets ⭐️⭐️⭐️ with 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️!

A memoir that shares the challenges faced by a U.S.-born daughter of immigrants when her parents were forced to return to Mexico and stayed in the US…alone…without her family. I can‘t even imagine! I love how Gutierrez shares the complexities of being both brave and “selfish”. This is a deeply personal account of her experiences as she grappled with family separation and navigated the complexities of teenage life all while trying to “make it‘.

Starting off the new year with a bang of a read!

Aidan Thomas is a seemingly ordinary man but instead has a chilling double life. This is a PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER about a serial killer told through the voices of those closest to him - his 13yr old daughter, his girlfriend, and the victim he‘s spared. What a suspenseful debut for this author!

I really loved how complicated and real the relationships were in what I thought was going to be a cutesy, Lifetime movie-like read this was going to be. The mother-daughter relationship struggling through growing up and letting go really resonated with me, obviously.
A nice surprise of a read!

UNPUTDOWNABLE!!! 5 star read!
Set 1789 Maine, by the frozen Kennebec River. This is a historical fiction, mystery inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife and healer.

There‘s a murder investigation, challenges to societal norms, a beautiful love, and a bad ass strong woman at the lead. I loved every part of it!

This was an UNPUTDOWNABLE fictionalized version of the serial killer who loved to hunt young women and then decided to defend himself in court, only to get a cult following of women fawning for him. Sound familiar? I loved that this was told from a survivor's perspective, rather than The Defendant.

“Take two alcoholics—-one with bipolar and the other with crippling anxiety and let them have eight kids in twelve years: What could possibly go wrong?”

This was a heartbreaking memoir that shares the harrowing experiences of a family grappling with mental illness -from her heavily medicated mother to her manic and sometimes violent father, and siblings dealing with bipolar disorder and depression.
My goodness this family had their fair share!

Wrapping up spooky season with a great gothic, mystery story of murder, obsessive love, and the dark secrets beneath the surface of a small Louisiana town.

While there were moments when the pacing felt a tad uneven, with occasional lulls in the story it was still a great read that reminded me a lot of WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING.

A gothic sporror novella retelling of Edgar Allen Poe‘s THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER. A slow burn that turned out to be a pretty great read!

What is sporror = spore-horror - a subgenre where mycelia and mosscaps become a driving force of terror, death, and destruction. 🍄😱 I learned about that on TikTok! 😂