I love it when a book not only meets your excited expectations, but actually exceeds them. That's what happened with Emily Henry's Beach Read, a sweet romance about two rival authors trading genres for a summer. Although this novel wasn't on my radar, as soon as it appeared as a pick for Book of the... Continue Reading →
Like so many people around the world, I adored Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians trilogy and the movie adaptation of the first book. (The second movie should be filmed in 2021, and I can't wait to see it, too!) Naturally, I was super excited when Kevin's new book, Sex and Vanity, was announced, and I... Continue Reading →
I'm a sucker for a good haunted house story. While I'm a fan of horror movies in general, my favorites are always set in spooky old mansions that may or may not be inhabited by ghosts. So when I found out Riley Sager's new book would be a haunted house story, I was thrilled. I... Continue Reading →
One of my most anticipated books this year was Alex North's second novel, The Shadows. I loved his first book, The Whisper Man - which I just read in May - and had high hopes for the followup. I'm happy to report that he did not disappoint! Summary The Shadows follows two closely connected timelines.... Continue Reading →
I was introduced to Silvia Moreno-Garcia through her 2019 novel, Gods of Jade and Shadow. I loved that book, and was thrilled to learn of her upcoming 2020 books, Untamed Shore and Mexican Gothic. The former came out in February, and now Mexican Gothic is available and already charting high on bestseller lists. My Book... Continue Reading →
One of my most anticipated books for Spring 2020 was The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. I was thrilled when it was a Book of the Month pick in June, and with the attention on #BlackLivesMatter and the need for antiracism gaining traction recently, now felt like the ideal time to read it. Summary The... Continue Reading →
Like so many people across the US, I've spent the past six weeks (and counting) feeling disheartened by the ongoing police violence against and murders of Black people and those of other minorities. Seeing the new surge of support for action to help #BlackLivesMatter has been inspiring. This growing movement is what finally spurred me... Continue Reading →
A few weeks ago, I fell into a vortex of finding books to recommend to my younger sister. One of those was Felix Ever After, a YA book by Kacen Callender. But though I originally wanted to get the novel for my sister, the story looked too good for me to pass up. I ordered... Continue Reading →
One of my selections from June's Book of the Month options was the debut novel from Megha Majumdar, A Burning. Set in India, this work of literary fiction tackles difficult themes that are all too relevant today. Political and social commentary collide when an act of terrorism leads to an innocent woman's arrest, and readers... Continue Reading →
The Girl with the Louding Voice - the debut novel from Abi Daré - was one of my most anticipated books of winter 2020, and I was thrilled when it was a pick for Book of the Month in February. I just spent the last few days with it, and I can say it more... Continue Reading →
I don't know about you, but after three months of this pandemic, I've gotten pretty good at self-isolation - largely thanks to my endless TBR pile! If you're looking for some good summer reads to get you through the heat waves, look no further. After sifting through all the upcoming releases, here are 33 of... Continue Reading →
Late last year, I picked up Candice Carty-Williams's debut novel, Queenie, from Book of the Month. I held off on reading it, waiting for the right time, and with all that's been happening these last few weeks, that time officially arrived. Queenie was more relevant than I'd even anticipated, and I encourage all of you... Continue Reading →
It's been a long time since I learned anything related to science. Other than a small handful of college courses, I haven't studied the subject with any regularity or seriousness since high school. But despite the long absence, I'm still fascinated by science, and decided it was high time I revisited it. To ease me... Continue Reading →
Just a few weeks ago, I found out that I won an Advanced Reader's Edition of Her Last Flight by Beatriz Williams. This is the first physical book I've ever won from a giveaway on Goodreads - thank you, Goodreads, William Morrow, and HarperCollins! I finished Beatriz Williams's 2019 novel, The Golden Hour, right before beginning Her Last... Continue Reading →
It was almost exactly one year ago that I picked up the Book of the Month edition of The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams. I'd been wanting to read something by Beatriz Williams for a few months - all of her books look intriguing - and when it was a June pick on BOTM, I... Continue Reading →
The first I ever head of Alex North's debut novel, The Whisper Man, was when it was a Book of the Month selection last August. Instantly, I knew I needed to read it - the cover and synopsis both alighted my imagination, and I love anything scary, especially if it might be supernatural. So I... Continue Reading →
Jessie Burton's The Miniaturist is one of those books that was on my radar for a long time before I finally got it. Its peculiar cover and intriguing title both caught my eye, and it went onto my long list of wanted books. Fast-forward five years, and I finally bought it as a gift for... Continue Reading →
Two years ago, my mother gave me a Kindle, thinking it would help with my book obsession. While I haven't slowed down with procuring physical books, I have added audiobooks to my world. After listening to my first audiobook, The History of Spain: Land on a Crossroad, I decided to dive into one of the... Continue Reading →
Continuing in my reading journey through history, and following two books set in the early 1600s (The Familiars and The Mercies), my next book took me to Iceland in 1686. I first discovered Caroline Lea's The Glass Woman when I was perusing Barnes & Noble shortly before the holidays. I'd hoped to get it as... Continue Reading →
I have a goal for myself this year to travel more of the world through the books I read. I've read novels set in places as far apart as Ecuador, Nigeria, and Japan, but there are still so many countries I've never visited - in real life or even in my books. One day in... Continue Reading →
Three months ago, I was visiting my sister in Limerick, Ireland when we popped into a book store. (We actually went to several book stores during my visit; I have an obsession!) I decided I needed to get a book (or 10) as a souvenir, and the first one I chose was Stacey Halls' debut,... Continue Reading →
When I was younger, I always had a strong preference for reading books in which the main character was my age or slightly older. As a teen, a lot of books I read were about 16-year-olds… but then once I reached 17, I didn’t want to read those anymore. Instead, I wanted the protagonists to... Continue Reading →
It was 2013 when I first learned about the infamous Elizabeth Báthory. My boyfriend (now husband) had introduced me to a Swedish metal band called Ghost, and their first album featured a song called "Elizabeth." I had no idea who the titular Elizabeth was, but then my boyfriend explained about the serial killer countess who... Continue Reading →
A week ago I finished Madeline Miller's Circe; immediately after, I dove right into The Silence of The Girls by Pat Barker. The two novels have much in common. Both were published in 2018, both were Book of the Month selections, and both center on famous figures from Greek mythology. More so than Circe, The Silence of... Continue Reading →
