I would like to petition the courts to return to May, please? I am not ready for November in any way, shape or form. I have, as a show of good faith, made a #BookSpin list but I respectfully request we rewind to before the summer started. Thank you for your time.

Abbi Waxman has been one of my favourite authors since I picked up the Bookish Life of Nina Hill. Going back to her early work has been on my list for years and I am so happy I finally got to this one. It‘s just lovely - sweet and funny and a little irreverent… It‘s everything I want and more.

My June #BookSpin and Roll 66 for #Roll100 that I actually read in June!

Did we need a sequel to Brooklyn? No. Did this really need to pick back up with the same characters versus creating a new cast of characters? Also no. I didn‘t care so much about Eilis in this but I was captivated by Jim and Nancy. I would have happily taken just their story.

It‘s a #RandomClassics miracle! I finished Evelina!
I ended up restarting it a couple of weeks ago on a long hike with a different narrator and that made all the difference! I quite enjoyed this and I think I‘ll probably pick up a little print version sometime in the future.

My unread #Roll100 books are really starting to pile up - so I‘m not subbing anything in for the roll I‘ve already read. Hopefully, I can pick these up at some point. They are both on my kobo which is perfect because we‘re travelling this month but I never end up reading as much as I hope.

This might be my favourite Hallett yet? She‘s such a master at constructing an interesting mystery and then presenting it in just the most imaginative way!

We played a fun little game before the silent reading part of Silent Book Club this month. People LOVED the stickers and it made the game pretty lively when it was time to steal from each other!

Just the kind of book I love for October and while it had some good twists, I called the who pretty early on. The how and why was fun to see unravel, though.

Another of my #trappedinaspookyhouse reads, chosen for me by @GHABI4ROSES and organized by @PuddleJumper

Mostly I got this because I love The Lazy Genius Podcast and I wanted to support Kendra. But as with anything, there were a few gems to take away.

My July #BookSpin that I actually read in July and has been sitting in a pile of books to post to Litsy since then.

This took me an oddly long time to get into but it did pick up and I really liked the direction Connally took the story. I don‘t think I‘ll continue with the series, though.

One of my #trappedinaspookyhouse reads - thanks for picking it for me, @GHABI4ROSES and to @PuddleJumper for organizing!

Is it just me or was the big twist pretty obvious? It was still a good page turner, though!

Happily, I found this one less predictable than The Plot but also, it‘s incredibly far fetched. But there were a couple of real laugh-out-loud moments and overall, I enjoyed it!

I‘m settling in for the #CozyReads readathon @Bookwormjillk is hosting this weekend. I have an ambitious stack but it‘s a long weekend so hopefully I make some good progress!

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What was this book trying to be? If it wanted to be a psychological thriller, it didn‘t need about 50% of the pop star stuff. And if it wanted to be an insider‘s glimpse at a pop star‘s rise, the mystery was distracting. And ultimately, the “secret” and its fallout got zero attention (and frankly, completely unbelievable)

Thank you @Bookwormjillk for hosting the #CatsAndDogs readathon this weekend! My devil dog had surgery on Thursday so we are camped out on the sofa all weekend while she recuperates so I‘m hoping to get through this stack plus my Three Musketeers chapters for #RandomClassics

(Also, I can‘t believe my dog didn‘t wake up while I was balancing books on her!)

I would have liked to spend more time with the passengers. I just didn‘t really like Cherry or her story for the first half of the book! So I could have done with less Cherry and more with Allegra, Paula, and Leo in particular.

Look at me with my #BookSpin list ready to go before the numbers are pulled! Not sure how we got to October so quickly but at least I‘m ready for something.

Ah, October. One of the best months of the year to have a beautiful stack of #roll100 books that I‘m super excited about that I won‘t pick up because I‘ve put too many books on hold at the library.

Jumped into one of my #trappedinaspookyhouse books a bit early.

Happy to have this one off my shelf. It was a perfectly fine story with the humour you expect from the Ferguson brothers but it wasn‘t enough for me to keep going with the series.

If you were sucked into the Rogers family drama with Martha‘s infamous tweets, you need to grab this impeccably researched story on the complete and utter disaster that has become the Rogers family. This absolute train wreck of a story is fascinating - though the tail end with the Competition Bureau gets a little dry.

#audiohiking as we continue to prepare for our Mont Blanc Trek next fall

Sutanto is just so good at making you just keep turning those pages. It's easy to figure out early on that the timelines don't quite match up so you just want to see where they come together. And then when you hit the 50% point and things really shift? Well, just make sure your afternoon is clear.

A bit slow in the beginning and a bit fast at the end but Morris comes through with another winner. She does such a great job with character building, even the side characters you don't spend much time with. Add that on to a really bizarre situation and you've got a page turner!

This was not the Elin Hilderbrand for me. Turns out, I do not like books where the focus is an affair. I did like the parts about the gala, Claire‘s glass blowing, Gavin, and Siobhan but really did not like the Claire/Lock storyline. I would have DNFed if it wasn‘t for the Elin H project.

Uh oh, @wanderinglynn … You‘re out for a hike & take a wrong turn! You stumble on an old ramshackle house and the door creaks open as you approach. You poke your head inside but just as you do, a gust of winds comes, pushes you inside and slams the door shut. You can‘t get it open again! There‘s a carrier pigeon that you send for help but you‘ll be here a while. Happily, there‘s a stack of books to read while you wait.

#trappedinaspookyhouse

Oh, I wanted to love this. It‘s Flavia, after all! But it was only okay. A lot of filler, a weak story line, and one particular event that has got to be pandering to readers versus what Bradley actually wanted to do with the overarching story.

But I loved seeing Flavia and Dogger and even Mrs Mullet again so it gets a pick!

Well, the good news is I followed this instalment MUCH better than the last one. The other good news is it‘s funny and ridiculous and entertaining. The other other good news is another body shows up at the end, setting us up for Book 5. Or… is a body supposed to be bad news? I think it‘s bad news for Finlay, good news for her fans.

I‘m not sure I understood the why of this enough? Was there backstory I missed on why lifting was a thing? It felt like the world was maybe just different enough from ours that I needed a bit more. But that being said, like always, Ishiguro created this world that was familiar enough to understand but different enough to freak me out about the future, putting me a bit off kilter, which is so wonderfully disturbing.

#audiohiking

I feel like I figured out the first twist really early on but the second was one you couldn't see coming - because Vaughn plops this event down into the book and there's just a major plot hole in how it's possible it could even have happened.

Roll 14 for #Roll100

It took me a minute to figure out what was going on and I liked the balance of the unravelling of Ady and her mother‘s history, the fight against the Confederates, and the relationship between Ady and Lenore. Such great characters in a really compelling story!

A slow burn that‘s more about the characters than the situation at hand.

How incredibly fascinating! I love that Benedict partnered with a Murray to bring this story to life, it was a better book because of her perspective & expertise.

Enthralling and infuriating

What a hot mess (and not in a good way…) It was too long and weird shifts in the writing style throughout. But it was great to finally get it off the shelf!

Roll 41 for #Roll100

Mr. & Mrs. Smith meets romcom! A total page turner, I would have devoured this in one sitting, if I could. Brazier is definitely an author on my auto-read list now.

Maybe I should have peeked before I wrote my #BookSpin list out! Not that I‘m not excited for these but some of these books have been languishing on my list since Jan and I was hoping I‘d clear a couple of them. I know, I know - I can just read them, I don‘t have to wait for their numbers to come up. Just keep your logical thinking to yourself, please.

Packed full of interesting studies & examples! This isn't a topic you see much about and Pink handles it with his typical curiosity. This had such a risk of being maudlin but it's actually quite positive and uplifting. Worth the time!

My March #DoubleSpin that I finished in April and am finally reviewing now.

What happened to the boy who wasn‘t chosen? This short little novel tells us exactly how Martin Hill‘s life turned out after he lost the roll of Harry Potter to Daniel Radcliffe.

I loved this. It was funny and thoughtful and a little sad and a little happy. This is only my second Foenkinos but I‘ve really enjoy both so I should find more!

My August #DoubleSpin

So this was certainly a perfectly fine book but it didn‘t live up to the hype. Great writing, good story but just left me a bit flat at the end.

It was nice that this mystery wasn‘t a murder. But I felt Gray really dwelled on the potential relationship between Jonathan and Juliet to the detriment of the mystery. It just squeaked into a pick for me.

I'm not sure how much of this I'm taking away and keeping but the case studies were interesting. There is a "confession" at the end that I think should have been upfront, as it may have changed how I took in the information.

What I love about Riley Sager is it looks like he‘s just phoning it in by just making shit up to suit his plot but then he just flips it around and pulls a very clever and plausible resolution out of a hat and I have to stop yelling at him to stop being so lazy.

Well, that was aptly named.

I did find the resolution with the Richardsons rushed, a little more on it would have been nice. But otherwise, this was just what I wanted from Hilderbrand‘s last Nantucket novel. Juicy and fun!

September #Roll100 is looking good! The Lido is one of my unread Book Spin picks from earlier this year so that‘ll be nice to knock out two things with one read. Nudge might be a brainful but Wallbanger should balance that nicely!

There's a quote about Yeoungju's home in the book that I feel really sums up this book, too - "Yeongju's home felt like an extension of her - somewhat lonely, but a reassuring presence nevertheless."

There are some weird side paths taken in this but the way the cast of characters expanded as the chapters passed was lovely.

Ooh, this sounds fun! Thanks for hosting, @puddlejumper!

Just over a third of my TBR are mysteries/thrillers so that's what I've put on my list for #trappedinaspookyhouse. Looking forward to the fun!

Such a good book! It‘s pretty clear from the second chapter where the book is headed but the point is how these characters get to point B, not what point B is. And that journey is so interesting. I did get lost in time once or twice but I didn‘t let that hold me up from enjoying the narrative Peters wove.

A few days after finishing, I need to look at the synopsis again to remember what this was about but it was classic Henry - always a good time, though not always memorable.

This very much gives Before The Coffee Gets Cold vibes and I'm here for it. The food descriptions will make you hungry but the stories of the people looking for them will fill your heart.

This was really quite beautiful & moving. The characters are so perfectly flawed and even though I am neither a young woman who works in a retirement home nor an old woman who lives in one, I felt like I could still relate.