4 Stars. It’s been quite a while since I read any books in this series because I somehow missed that a fourth one existed! I can’t say that there was a whole lot going on here, plot-wise. There were a few things but they felt and largely turned out to be low-stakes. Mostly I just enjoyed re-visiting Weezie […]
Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan: Book Review
4 Stars. I’m not a huge romance reader and even less of a young adult romance reader but I’ve watched my share of rom-coms and this is a rom-com with the cutest of meet cutes. I adored it. And what reader could resist its charms? Dash and Lily’s paths cross when Lily leaves a red notebook with a dare hidden […]
A British Girl’s Guide to Hurricanes and Heartbreak by Laura Taylor Namey: Book Review
4 Stars. Now, hang with me for a minute here. Flora is a difficult character. I struggled a bit with her, to be honest. She’s really prickly and she can get a little too self absorbed at times. I understand that she’s suffered an unimaginable loss but watching her repeatedly push away people who genuinely care for her got to be […]
The Ashford Affair by Lauren Willig: Book Review
3 Stars. I am a surprisingly big fan of Ms. Willig’s Pink Carnation series for someone who doesn’t consider herself a fan of romances. But the witty banter, intrigue, and Napoleonic settings sucked me right in. I inhaled that entire 12-book series and wished for more. The author’s newer books look more serious to me so I’ve […]
The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian: Book Review
4 Stars. There’s not really much I can say about this without giving anything way. The tension relentlessly builds all the way through to an amazing ending that left me flipping back through the pages […]
The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine: Book Review
3 Stars. So, I have a problem with these “Girl” or “Woman” books that have been everywhere the past several years. Do we have a genre name for them yet? You know the ones. Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and on and on and on. I just can’t get into them. I loathe the characters. That’s exactly the point, but when I don’t like […]
Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher: Book Review
4 Stars. I read quite a few books by Rosamunde Pilcher when I was in my late teens and twenties but I haven’t read much of her work since then. But somehow I stumbled on this title when I was looking for Christmas-y books that weren’t too sentimental. That’s just not my taste. But Rosamunde Pilcher seemed like a safe bet. And […]
Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen: Book Review
5 Stars. In my zeal to read a new book by Sarah Addison Allen, I found that I had inhaled this book in two sittings. Oops. No savoring the prose here. But a friend had sent me an ARC so I feel the need to write a more reasoned review and I wanted another chance to take my time with the book anyway. So I’ve read this twice within […]
A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey: Book Review
4 Stars. I don’t read a lot of contemporary young adult fiction because I don’t have a lot of patience for the drama. Lila starts off with plenty of drama. She came across to me as pretty self-absorbed. But she grows. She starts to see that yes, she’s had a spring of heartbreak by anyone’s standards. But it could be worse. She […]
Book Lovers by Emily Henry: Book Review
4 Stars. I usually like to read “fluffy” books when the weather is warm but somehow I’ve been reading some pretty heavy titles lately. I asked for recommendations and Shelleyrae at Book’d Out suggested Book Lovers. It was just what I needed. I’m not a huge romance reader, but I do enjoy the occasional romantic comedy and this […]
Hello, Star by Stephanie V. W. Lucianovic: Book Review
5 Stars. What a lovely book! It’s a realistic story but the illustrator captured the girl’s excitement in touches of whimsy throughout. The soft focus of the artwork gives the book the feel of a dream, even while the girl/woman is working hard to do real things. One spread near the end gives me goosebumps. I especially love […]