Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Y'all, let's talk about this book. It is hauntingly beautiful. It was one of those books I found myself reading as much as I could as I was so drawn into the story, AND it was one I was still thinking about once I turned the last page. I also owe a thanks to NetGalley for putting this on my radar AND giving me early access as I never would have found my way to this one otherwise. So, what's it about? Well, I'm glad you asked. This is the story of two childhood friends who bond over a love of video games. As adults, they go into business together making video games. That said, this is not just a book about video games. It is about the two humans, Sam and Sadie, behind the games. It is about their relationship. It is about how the why behind the games they design. It is about how they handle the reception of their games. It is about how they handle success and sadness and surprise and every emotion in between. It is a beautiful exploration of two people doing what they love with people they love and the challenges that can come with this. I could rave on and on about this one. It's been days since I've finished, and it's still on my mind. Also, I should note I'm not even a gamer, and I would absolutely play all the games they design. Read. This Book. Please.

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Turn Of The Silver Wheel: James Island Trilogy Book II by Shawn Keller Cooper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Turn of the Silver Wheel by Shawn Keller Cooper is the second in a series about three sorority sisters. There are some connections to their collegiate days, but it's moreso about the women they've each grown into which isn't without lots of challenge and hardship. What I love about this series is the realness with which the stories are told. While fiction, the emotions are raw and authentic. I also appreciate that they cover topics that are heavy, but it's stuff that needs to be talked about and explored! Before diving into this one, you definitely need (and are definitely going to want) to check out Drawing Down the Moon just so you can get to know and (then continue to learn through this one) the captivating stories of these women as individual and sisters through the years.

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The Favor by Nora Murphy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Leah and McKenna know one another's lives well. They know the struggles and the secrets most of all. However, Leah and McKenna do not know one another. However, one night McKenna sees something happen at Leah's house, and she knows how it goes because it's her story, too. Not only does she see what's happening, but she decides to take action on Leah's behalf. Y'all, this was a thriller that is also chock full of feels. It's told from three perspectives - Leah, McKenna, and a detective who investigates after things go down - and y'all know how much I love multiple narrators! The advantage of these three narrators is it also lets the reader see the story from all angles, including what's really happening behind close doors. I found the story to be a pageturner because I was invested in what was going to happen to McKenna and Leah as they are each carrying and hiding so much from others. This one is so well told and definitely packs so many thrills. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this May 2022 release!

Content Warning: A central theme of this book is domestic violence.

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Bad Luck Bridesmaid: A Novel by Alison Rose Greenberg
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Above all else, I have to say that what I loved most about the book were the mentions of early 2000s teen dramas from the WB. These shows are very much my jam, so the references were most appreciated. Now, onto the book. This is the story of Zoey who believes she is a literal bad luck bridesmaid as every time she is a bridesmaid, the wedding itself doesn't happen. With this, Zoey has become scared of marriage even when she does find love. The story is about her navigating this challenge and relationships, as well as her best friend's upcoming marriage. Overall, this was a delight of a read. Although I'm not sure I love the ending - even though I had a hunch it might play out as I did!

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The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Y'all, ultimately, this is one of those books where I just wanted more. The premise was so intriguing, and I just wanted a deeper dive into the characters, into the potions, and just into all the things. This is a dual timeline story which is forever my jam. The past focuses on an apothecary who only helps women seeking vengeance and revenge, and the present focuses on a woman who has found her way to England after a betrayal in her marriage and then starts digging into the real story behind this apothecary. She does do some intriguing digging, and there was just so much more to tell about those stories buried in the past!

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The Prisoner's Wife by Maggie Brookes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

During WWII, Bill is a British soldier who has been captured by the Germans who is assigned to work on the family farm of Izzy, a Czech woman. While there, Bill and Izzy fall in love and are secretly married. Not wanting to be separated, they decide Izzy will disguise herself as a man to be with Bill. The story then focuses on what it's like to be a POW and the lengths they go to in order to make sure their secret is kept. Given the subject matter, this was definitely a heavy read (and truth be told, this is an advanced copy I've had from early 2020, and I haven't read it until now knowing it'd be emotional), but also showed a range of emotions as Bill and others try to protect Izzy and survive their circumstances.

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Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool by Emily Oster
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Emily Oster was an Instagram follow I found my way to via one of my favorite podcasts, Pantsuit Politics. I've found her to be so helpful in navigating the pandemic and being a new parent. With that, I was so excited to see she'd written books. Being six weeks into being a mom, this was a really, really helpful read. What I appreciate about this is that it's not a book telling you what you should and must do, rather it's giving you data to make the most informed decision for you. It's also written in a way that makes it very digestible and easy to understand. This is a book I see myself referring back to, and I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series as my kiddo grows!

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Tangerine by Christine Mangan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Y'all, this was a book where I so badly wanted to insert myself in the story to clarify what was happening for the characters. This thriller is built around an unhealthy and obsessive friendship. What's unique about it is that it's told from the perspective of both friends. This means as the reader you are privy to literally all the things that are happening between Alice and Lucy, including what they each don't know. Alice is in Morocco with her husband when her estranged college friend Lucy shows up. As the story goes, things happen in the present, and it also revealed what happen between the women in the past. Again, you read this from both sides, so you are able to see intent and impact quite clearly. This means this was a book where I audibly said, "Seriously?" and "Wait, what?" on more than one occasion as I kept reading because I needed to know what was going to happen next.

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Snowbound by Ann M. Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Everything I have ever needed to know about winter weather is in this book.

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A Duet for Home by Karina Yan Glaser
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a book that explores housing insecurity through two kids who find themselves in a homeless shelter. Tyrell has been at the shelter for some time, whereas June finds herself there after the impact of a family tragedy. The story focuses on how they each navigate this environment and reality. Their situations become more complicated when the city decides to change their approach to their shelter and the city's homeless population. What the story then spotlights is how these policies cause more harm than good. The book does a really outstanding job of using the realities of the characters to explain the realities of these issues beyond the story. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this April 2022 release.

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In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Y'all, this one was quite the ride. I read this one in a day (literally) because I was so drawn in how this was all going to play out. The story focuses on Nora who is unexpectedly invited to Clare's hen party (aka bachelorette). The unexpected part is that Nora and Clare haven't connected in a decade. Nora decides she'll go. The story then flashes between the present where something has happened, but it isn't immediately revealed just what that is, and the hen party leading up to whatever IT is. This was just masterfully done. The suspense was in trying to figure out what happened, as well as figuring out why and how relationships got strained. I just needed a good page-turning thriller, and this was so much of that!

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Friends and Strangers by J. Courtney Sullivan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Being swept away by a captivating fiction read was just what I needed this week. I adore the way this author can write characters, and that is what made me devour this one. With this, I won't say I loved the characters (and that also wasn't what the author was going for) - definitely some difficult choices made along the way, however wanting to see how these choices played out is what kept me turning the pages. The story focuses on Elisabeth, a new mom who is navigating life in a new place that she isn't loving, and Sam, the college student babysitter she hires. The story follows their interactions as well as the other relationships they form and maintain. It's really a story about the dynamics in each of these women's lives for better or for worse - and lots of the latter.

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Great or Nothing by Joy McCullough
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Y'all, retellings of classic can be tricky territory. As a reader, I try to judge books in this genre on its own merits, while also keeping the source material in mind. For this, it's a retelling of Little Women during World War II. What's unique and adds so much to the voice of this one and really connects to the original is that each of the four March sisters are written by a different author. I also appreciated that this really centered the different roles that women played in the war and how had the March sisters been in this time where they would have fit in. This both held the spirit of the March sisters/Little Women, while also writing a piece that centered four women navigating love, family, friendship and wartimes together and apart. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this gem!

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The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First, in full disclosure, I usually don't read books this long. However, the way Kate Quinn writes her fiction, once the action begins, the pages just glide by. This one did take me a bit to get hooked, and once I was, I HAD to know what happened and who was responsible. The story focuses on three women who are quite different, but connected by serving as codebreakers during World War II. They become friends, however there is a second timeline/storyline where the women are no longer close, but have been brought back together. For each of these women, in both the past and present, their story is emotional in a different way as they also do the work of codebreaking. These feels are what drew me in (and kept me in) this one. This is a fascinating story, y'all, but also one that is heartbreaking at time, so definitely read, but be ready for the rollercoaster ride!

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Stay Awake by Megan Goldin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Y'all, talk about a wild ride. This is one I couldn't read fast enough because I HAD to know what was going on! The story begins with Liv Reese waking up in the back of the cab with a bloody knife. She has no idea where she is, or what got her in that cab, and she has messages written in ink pen all over her hands, but also no clue what they really mean. What Liv does remember is her life two years ago, including her job, her roommate, her apartment, and her boyfriend. She tries to reconnect with these people and places, but things seem to have changed. This one is a masterfully written thriller as there are three storylines going - the present day with Liv, a detective trying to piece together a murder that connects to that knife Liv had, and Liv's life two years ago. The reader has access to all three of these storylines, AND you are living the story through the gaping holes in Liv's memory. Something has happened in the past and present, and the slow burn with which these truths are revealed are just so darn good. I needed a good pageturner in my life to kick off 2022, and this just knocked that out of the park. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this thriller that's sure to get people talking!

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The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As I think about how to review and explain this book, there is one phrase that comes to mind - It's complicated. This is a book about relationships written by an author who is a master at writing about them. With that, the layers of this one are a lot to take in. The book begins with a COVID spin focusing on a young couple, Gabe and Ruby, who has decided to get married after spending lots of quarantine time together. They want to get married at her family's beach house in Cape Cod. The story quickly expands out beyond Gabe and Ruby. There's Ruby dad and stepmom, her stepmom's twin brother, her biological mother, her grandmother, and Gabe's mom. Turns out, each one of these humans has a big secret they're hiding. Choosing to reveal what they're hiding will have big repercussions for the other humans in the story. The story kept me reading as these secrets were shared with the reader, and I wanted to know if/when others were going to find out. This one had some unexpected twists which definitely made me feel some kind of a way as a reader, AND I won't say much about them in my review as that's part of the experience of reading this one. This was quite the ride y'all, and it's definitely worth taking that ride on. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this upcoming release!

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Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives by Mary Laura Philpott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is an essay collection that found its way into my life at the exact perfect time. This is an essay collection that primarily focuses on the author's experience in two ways - First, there is her role as a parent. She talks about the struggles, challenges, realities and loves of what it means to do this. Second, she just talks about what it means to navigate the emotions of being human. This is just the most masterful exploration of the author's life told in such a real and honest way. As a new parent, her reflections especially resonated with me. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this masterful and beautiful collection.

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Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love by Jonathan Van Ness
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After watching the most reason Queer Eye season, I decided to read this one. When it first came out, I hadn't knowing it was full of feels that I wasn't quite ready to get into. Reading now, those feels were definitely there. This book is full of all the JVN we have come to know and love - literally you can hear JVN reading it to your in your head. It's also full of so much raw authenticity, and JVN doesn't hold back any part of his story here. It was a fun read, but also powerful and emotional.

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Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Adler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

High school as an actual experience? Not so much my thing. High school romance in books? Almost always my jam. This is a spin on the cheerleader and quarterback romance. Amber is a cheerleader who aspires to be cheer captain. Part of this means she's hiding part of her identity. She also cheers for a football team that is terrible. Then a new quarterback shows up to take over after the starter is tragically killed in a car accident. Jaclyn (Jack) Wilson relocates to the town to take on the role. She is meant with lots of resentment and people who want to see her fail, except Amber who falls hard. The story is then one of budding romance, of fitting in, and just navigating all the high school things. Overall, it was just a delight of a YA read!

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Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I needed something "light" (aka not a thriller) to start the new year, so I found this that's been on my "want to read" list for ages. This one was part romance, but also part feels. It was a love thriller in that I NEEDED to know who SN was and couldn't turn the pages fast enough to figure it out!

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