Loved the crazy premise of this book. Clever and ultimately sweet despite some good and bad husbands. Highly recommend!

Very creative murder mystery with twists and sci fi bits. Like nothing I‘ve read but just loved it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lovely rich people book where they grow more likeable and kinder as they should. Great dialogue and setting! Highly recommend!

Well deserving Pulitzer Prize winner. This short novel is not a quick read as the language is dense and circumstances of the inhabitants on this island off Casco Bay in Maine is a sad story. This novel fictionalizes the mixed race island community of Malaga Island, an existence that was too much for the early 20th century to let alone.

Kevin Wilson is brilliant. He makes very personal stories seem easy to tell successfully. This one is about teen friendships, being awkward, finding comfort in art and that friendship and the challenge to let that go as an adult! Glad to read this one.

O‘Connell‘s account of Malcolm Macarthur‘s crime spree is Dublin in the 80s that left two people viciously murdered is very compelling. The author has ties to the location and kind of stalked him to see if he would submit to interviews to tell his story after his release from prison. But it is also a story of privilege, unengaged parents and it actually led to the demise of the Irish government at the time. So well done. Literary true crime!

Read this on Reese and Jordy‘s recommendation. Great twisty con story- well played and compelling page turning plot. Fun book!

Sigrid Nunez pandemic book throws together unlikely apartment mates and a parrot to explore what being alive in such a strange reality means and how togetherness affects everything.

My top ten for this year. I moved to opposite ends of the country, started a new house, sold and bought a new house so my reading was not near as much as the last few years. I have lots queued up for this coming year. I love the re-set of the New Year. Happy 2024 Everybody!

My last read of 2023 has been on my list all year. My favorite part was about the gaming and I am not a gamer but I identify with the creative process and Zevin gets that really well in this book. I think she was heavy handed with the plot in spots and maybe tried to do too much but overall I was glad to spend time with these characters.

Happy to find a new fantasy world. Story and characters well drawn. Highly entertaining. Hoping the next one will be as good.

Entertaining story of frenemies in the writing world and their experiences publishing. Some stolen content, who should tell stories, and how we are haunted by such decisions. Kind of hateful characters but great plot to address publishing in general.

From the Spy Coast…loved this book. It sets up a great group of ex-spooks for more past meets the present quiet lives in the future. Really fun book.

This protagonist couldn‘t make a good decision to save her life. No one in the Hamptons or friends from the past know her story only minimal pieces. I understand the disappointment in the ending but I think it‘s masterful. All the pieces, all her threats and the results of her decisions come to a head and the ending didn‘t really matter as any one of them could have happened.

This book got better as it went along. Surprisingly nuanced tale of motherhood and its sacrifices. ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Great retelling of the havoc of the crimes surrounding Ted Bundy‘s killing spree but it is told from the strength of the women that got to the truth victims and cut through the subjectivity of the press.

Loved the premise of this novel of interlinked tales of a Western Mass property. Each section was representative of the time depicted and were different from each other. Reminded me of the film Ted Violin. Very clever and well written.

I have spent many hours contemplating the authors subject of this book. What do you do with the artist who is brilliant and who makes meaningful art to you but they have done awful, monstrous things? We have so many examples of this- some cases hard, some much easier. I don‘t agree with some points but she is thorough, persuasive and these chapters seem important and current. I will be thinking about this one for a while!

Another great thriller mystery by Cosby. It‘s a bit graphic of course but the characters are well developed. The crimes are heinous but they address the hate around us.

I just loved this story of a family learning the story of their mom and dad during a magical time and place of youth and acting- the magic of Our Town and The Cherry Orchard. Beautifully paced and written by Patchett! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Loved this SNL romance. I loved all the details of the week with a guest host and it was a sweet character driven romance! 100% enjoyable!

This was a nice light romance. Well written and likeable characters. A little sweet home Alabama in its premise but no complaints there.

Finished this on another rainy Maine day. I enjoyed it despite the characters being difficult. I think it is well written and captured some of the anxiety and pressures Covid put on people and their relationships.

This was such a clever set up for a story about a movie from the real life inspiration through to the aftermath of the movie. I learned a lot and enjoyed these cast and crew members. Sort of a sweet story. Tom Hanks writes beautifully.

Love the format and twists of this story of a con artist. Great summer read! Rigetti makes a great story teller.

Emily Henry is a must read for me but this one wasn‘t all I hoped it would be. My favorite of hers is Book Lovers. I wasn‘t in love with any of these characters and I love Maine but this could have been set anywhere. I know plenty love this one though so this is my opinion only most likely.

I thought this was disappointing. Character development was not great and the plot was over the top. I get what the author was trying but the execution was clumsy.

A tragedy sets up this story of how a family copes. Beautifully written and great narrative told through different generations and points of view. Ben and Waldo were particularly interesting.

I loved the narrator — he guided the plot as he is a writer of how to right a mystery. It was interesting though a bit convoluted but loved the format and setting.

I actually loved this feminist story set in India. A nice quick read with great friends and the best dog ever!

I was very disappointed with this book described as unputdownable but I shouldn‘t have finished. The pacing was weird and I didn‘t feel like there was a twist- maybe I just figured it out early. Didn‘t even feel creepy. A miss for me.

Loved this book. It transported me to a small town in India full of caste, religious and gender struggles. The characters were great, including the rescued dog, Bandit! So glad I found this tale of surviving and thriving with the help of your friends!

Loved this clever graphic novel about exercise, aging, life‘s troubles, relationships, creativity and philosophies. Bechdel is a honest viewer of life.

Diaz creates a wonderful structure to explore the truth of a financial power couple who went through the ‘29 crash. However it evokes the period beautifully and explores stereotypes of gender, power, class and intelligence expertly! Great reading start for 2023!

I finished this book on my plane ride. Honestly this was so well imagined and terrifying. I loved this author‘s voice and the family these people found from each other.

Third installment in this series which ended as if we should‘ve expect more. I like the characters and premise of an author getting caught up with bad people but this one felt a little more forced than the first two - the set up really dragged this time. So a pick for me but less so than other two.

This was very good. Reid seems to know how to invent a great story and let it seem like it‘s telling itself. Evelyn and her biographer juxtaposed nicely. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I enjoyed the first one but I really didn‘t need more from this family. I finished but this one while it can stand alone was not for me,

Another book long waiting tbr— fantastic study of a year in the 30s in New York and a look at what people do to endure, to “improve” themselves. Great mostly likeable characters from all classes and circumstance. Everyone of them was more complicated than they seemed and while the theme of class was very important, not all assumptions of how people behave are. I loved the references to art and culture of this era. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The was on my bookshelf forever. There were times I was very disturbed by this tragic event but I thought that it was well done focusing on the outsider who was likely the most reliable. All had their issues but sometimes it is something simple that drives the action. The reason for the accident tragic and simple.

A strange gothic tale- kind of a combination of Rosemary‘s Baby, Yellow Wallpaper and the Ruins. Noemi is a brave heroine but what a strange group of people and the property- creepy haunted house!

October was a great reading month! I had five incredible choices and the rest were right behind. Starting in the mythology retellings and Ng‘s new book-wow plus Strout is a national treasure. Carrie Soto and Violin Conspiracy were both about passions of mine. I have a state of Maine theme right now and Killers, Kiss Curse and Nora were all perfectly fun- particularly Nora. Loved all the characters in those books. On to November!

This was fun. The plot was a little thin but the characters immensely likeable. Not sure I will read the next installment but I love this world of Graves Glen and Gwyn is a perfect witch!

Strout is masterful at expressing the deepest feelings about relationships through sparse prose and simple ordinary day to day dialogue. Her observations ring so true and through Lucy we identify with all of our anxieties and feelings through this pandemic. Really a wonderful book!

Another surprisingly delightful romance. I loved that the main character struggled with her ending with her new screenplay but the ending of this book is just perfect! For the bit when she seemed to be ghosted it made no sense. Ah but a happy ending for sure!

I finally got to read this wonderful retelling. It was beautiful and full of character development. I loved the narration perspective and the kind love in this book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another great family saga set in Midcoast Maine! Loved the accuracy of location and the well developed family members and those surrounding the family. This book takes a secret and spins it out revealing differences in class and how decisions effect everyone. Great ending. Moore is great with kids! They kind of steal the show with their letters to dad.

This book was so well written. A young black man grew up in NC with an extraordinary talent and passion for music and playing the violin. He also had a beautiful kind and wise grandma who had her pop-pop‘s fiddle that she gave to him that she encouraged him to play to make her proud. The story is about the extraordinary challenge of racism in music and life and also how money changes everything. Ray was a wonderful protagonist. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is about the greatest female tennis player and her comeback. It was also about love, loss, family and ambition. I played competitively through college and played 4 x a week into my late 30s, and TJR did the tennis writing so well and technically accurate. If you aren‘t a tennis fan it still would be compelling I believe. This book felt like it was written for me. Thank you! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A beautiful reality based dystopia where nationalism takes over a Chinese become the scapegoats. This is a story about a mom‘s love for her son and how reluctance to be involved can turn to a need to tell the stories of those affected by hatred. This book is very quiet but the violence is quite disturbing. Ng is a tremendous writer who understands the importance of words in society.