If you’re anything like me, you need some comfort in your life and quite urgently. If you do, consider The Baby-Sitters’ Club, the new series on Netflix, a prescription-strength balm for the soul. It will ease your tired mind and your sore heart and make you feel hopeful for what is to come. First a little background. Books were my first real friends. Hell, they still are my friends. And it started with Sweet Valley … Continue reading The Baby-Sitters Club (Netflix 2020) →
I try not to be overly hyperbolic in reviews and recommendations; after all, “this is the best book I have ever read!!!!” loses its impact if it’s my go-to phrase for any enjoyable read. So when I say that Milla Vane’s A Touch of Stone and Snow is the best fantasy romance I have ever read, I’m not exaggerating. It is perfect from chapter one and — defying all known logic — continuously surpasses itself … Continue reading A Touch of Stone and Snow by Milla Vane →
I’ve been following Mikki Kendall for years on Twitter and appreciated all the knowledge she’s shared for free on that hellscape of a platform. So I was more than a little excited when Hood Feminism dropped earlier this year. Because I’ve been following her for so long, I don’t know that any of the concepts in it were entirely new for me, but I learned a lot because of the time and attention given to … Continue reading Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall →
I love a good heist story: Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s 8, (we’re pretending the other Oceans in between don’t exist), The Italian Job, the TV show The Catch, all of them are my catnip. It’s no wonder I absolutely loved To Catch an Earl since it’s a love story about a thief and the man charged with catching her. It’s a heist story, and a game of cat and mouse all in one. It’s just wonderfully, … Continue reading To Catch an Earl by Kate Bateman →
Content Warning: Child abuse, sexual abuse, attempted suicide, torture (all off the page) Every moment of this book made me feel better. I’m in an ocean of chaos at the moment (as many of us are*) and this book was the door to which I clung in these frigid waters. Did it magically solve my problems? No. But as with all the best escapist fiction, it made me feel like things would be okay again … Continue reading Two Rogues Make a Right by Cat Sebastian →
Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed is a delightful YA graphic novel about Diana (Wonder Woman) and her coming of age. In this story, Diana leaves behind the Amazon island of Themyscira on her sixteenth birthday in an attempt to help a raft of refugees during a storm. Her journey takes her from the open ocean to a refugee camp in Greece and then to New York City where she plans to attend university. Diana learns about … Continue reading Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed by Laurie Halse Anderson →
Since the beginning of May, I’ve been hanging out with Murderbot. I read the four novellas in the Murderbot Diaries series, then this novel, in one long reading marathon. After mainlining the series, I went back to the start and read all five of them again. Then I listened to the audiobooks. That kind of repeated deep-dive rarely happens to me. If you’re not familiar with the Murderbot series, it’s hard sci-fi set in a … Continue reading Network Effect by Martha Wells →
CW: Self-harm, suicidal ideation, abortion It’s difficult to review a book that is so, so good, but you don’t want to reveal too much for fear of ruining it for others. The Guest List is one of those books; it’s a thriller that is so superbly plotted that I’m afraid to say anything about it because I want other readers to enjoy every reveal as much as I did. I just want to shove it … Continue reading The Guest List by Lucy Foley →
CW: racism, homophobia The first time I saw this cover, I fell in love. Then I read the blurb and knew I had to have it. Check it out: Liz Lighty has always believed she’s too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it’s okay — Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their … Continue reading You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson →
I adored this book. But it wasn’t always an easy read. It’s a book drowning in grief and desperation, finely wrought and deeply felt, and it’s an understatement to say that at parts it was so good and so sad and so precise in its pain that I was simply made of tears. So fair warning, if your heart can’t handle a story of surviving the unexpected loss of a parent, there’s nothing wrong with … Continue reading Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo →
Content warnings: Both the hero and heroine have troubled pasts, including loss of parents, abuse, and infidelity. Also, the hero is REALLY into researching suicide cults. While this book is surprisingly sweet and light, and none of these things are described in detail, there is plenty of darkness in the backstory, so proceed accordingly. I took one look at the blurb for Beach Read on NetGalley and one-clicked so hard that they could probably hear … Continue reading Beach Read by Emily Henry →
