CONFESSIONS – Catherine Airey

When I saw Catherine Airey’s Confessions (1.14.25 Mariner Books) being compared to The Goldfinch, I groaned.  I’m serious. I audibly groaned. I think The Goldfinch is one of the more overrated novels of my time, and I still hold the opinion that the story deserved to have someone different tell it, someone with a lessContinue reading “CONFESSIONS – Catherine Airey”

BRAIDING SWEETGRASS – Robin Wall Kimmerer

One of my 2025 resolutions is to read more non-fiction and to use mundane tasks as opportunities to be more intentional with my time.  Enter audiobooks (and laundry!).  My first read of the year was Robin Wall Kimmerer’s 2013 release, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants (Milkweed Editions). Kimmerer, aContinue reading “BRAIDING SWEETGRASS – Robin Wall Kimmerer”

SONGBIRDS – Christy Lefteri

“One day, Nisha vanished and turned to gold. She turned to gold in the eyes of the creature that stood before me. She turned to gold in the morning sky and in the music of the birds.” I ended my 2024 having read 68 books – far less than my goal, but considering the wayContinue reading “SONGBIRDS – Christy Lefteri”

SOMEONE LIKE US – Dinaw Mengestus

“You look for ruin. And if you can’t find it, you make it.” My top read of the year came as a surprise right at the tail end of December. I was gifted Dinaw Mengestu’s Someone Like Us (Knopf 2024)  by the publisher earlier this year. With life in the way, I didn’t get aroundContinue reading “SOMEONE LIKE US – Dinaw Mengestus”

A NOVEL LOVE STORY – Ashley Poston

I’m likely not the best person to listen to when it comes to reviewing romance.  That said, I tried really hard to like Ashley Poston’s A Novel Love Story (Berkley 2024), but it fell way flat for me.  The premise is cute enough – a woman who loves romance novels heads to a cabin forContinue reading “A NOVEL LOVE STORY – Ashley Poston”

THE MOST WONDERFUL CRIME OF THE YEAR – Ally Carter

While heading home for Christmas, I decided to listen to an audio book.  (I usually get one or two audio books in a year, but it’s really not my reading preference.) I settled on Ally Carter’s The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year (Avon 2024), and I’m so glad I did.  What a delicious holidayContinue reading “THE MOST WONDERFUL CRIME OF THE YEAR – Ally Carter”

THE NIGHT TIGER – Yangsze Choo

While I have all three Yangsze Choo novels on my TBR, I opted to read The Night Tiger (Flatiron 2019) first.  As the story of the ghost bride is referenced in this novel, I should have likely read Choo’s debut before The Night Tiger, but I don’t think it was necessary.  (That may change onceContinue reading “THE NIGHT TIGER – Yangsze Choo”

THE DAVENPORTS: MORE THAN THIS – Krystal Marquis

I really thought The Davenports was going to be a continued series, with each subsequent novel a deep dive into one of the Davenport siblings (with a branch out for Amy-Rose and Ruby Tremaine), but it would seem the second installment, The Davenports: More than This (Dial Books 2024) seems to wrap all the storyContinue reading “THE DAVENPORTS: MORE THAN THIS – Krystal Marquis”

THE RESURRECTIONIST – A. Rae Dunlap

“… he was my North Star whenever the darkness of doubt threatened to envelop me. When I could not tell my dreams from wakefulness, he remained my touchstone and my Truth; a glimmer in his eye and a quirk of his lips were are that it took to make me feel manifest, whole, and worthy.”Continue reading “THE RESURRECTIONIST – A. Rae Dunlap”

THE GOD OF THE WOODS – Liz Moore

“It came from the Greek god Pan: the god of the woods. He liked to trick people, to confuse and disorient them until they lost their bearings, and their minds.” “Something about her looks immortal…a spirit, an apparition, more god than child.” Liz Moore’s The God of the Woods (Riverhead Books 2024) is in myContinue reading “THE GOD OF THE WOODS – Liz Moore”