Mahala

A short and sweet novella told from Luka Lowe's POV.

I was really looking forward to this to find out more about who Adele really is and I feel like I got what I was looking for! I've learned reading this series that although I enjoyed the story, I do NOT enjoy journey books. Both the duology and the novella were stories of the characters traveling from one place to another and I found myself many times saying, “GET ON WITH IT.” They felt very tedious. But I enjoyed the story and the characters, which is why I've rated them all pretty well. Particularly with Iron to Iron, I liked reading from Luka's POV for a change and I was happy to finally find out what happened during the first race!

It's a quick easy read for fans of the Wolf by Wolf series.

Puddin' is the companion novel to Dumplin'. Not quite a sequel as it follows different characters that we meet in the first book, but it does take place in the timeline after Dumplin' ends. In Puddin', we follow Millie and Callie, who we meet in the first book. Millie is the epitome of positivity, complete with cross-stitched sayings and seeing the best in everyone. Callie is the opposite, she makes some bad choices, feels like her life is over, and is a classic mean girl.

I adore Julie Murphy. And while this fell short of the feels that I got from Dumplin, this was a cute, sweet, fun read with lots of positivity and life lessons. I definitely related to Millie a lot of the time and I thought Callie was a very real character. She's a mean girl, she's got a tough skin, and it's all because she's insecure. I know SO many people like that. I freakin loved her character development in this story.

There are love interests for both characters, but it wasn't overwhelmingly a romance novel. This book's theme is all about friendship, specifically female friendship. It's also got that coming of age element. And no ridiculous tropes. It has a lot of elements but Julie Murphy pulled it off beautifully, balancing everything. I was looking for a fun read that wouldn't be depressing in quarantine and I definitely got it!

Would I recommend?
If you read Dumplin and enjoyed it, then yes!

3.5/5 stars

This book came highly recommended to me by my best friend who let me borrow it (thanks!) and it had great reviews on Goodreads. I hate to say that I feel alone in my disappointment with this book. I had super high expectations for it, though.

I love the concept of aliens and I love a good alien story, whether it be a book or movie. So I was definitely excited to read this story about an alien who takes over a mathematician's body. Andrew has just solved a math problem that will change the world. The unnamed alien is sent to make sure that doesn't happen. The problem is that the alien starts to understand humanity and isn't sure about completing his mission anymore.

I wanted so badly to love this book. I wanted to feel and see the beauty as the alien was seeing and feeling it. For the most part, I didn't. There were aspects that I really enjoyed and thought were lovely, mostly the relationships aspect. Not necessarily romantically, but just the alien understanding and being involved in human relationships. I really enjoyed reading those progressions. But mostly, the descriptions of the alien falling in love with earth and humanity felt pretentious. It was supposed to be full of meaning and the whole “searching for the meaning of life” thing, but it just felt very surface to me and like it was trying way too hard to be deep. The Humans started out hilarious, I really enjoyed the beginning of the book. But by the end, there was just too much meaning of life fake depth for me. I was really disappointed by it, which made me really sad. I'm apparently too jaded.

Would I recommend?
It's honestly 50/50. Read more reviews and take a chance if it sounds like something you'd enjoy. If anything, it was a quick and easy read!

Looking through reviews on here, it seems I might be the only person who didn't enjoy this book at all. And that is exactly why I never trust Goodreads ratings.

Emmy has known Oliver her entire life. But when Oliver's dad kidnaps him when they're seven, everyone's world is turned upside down. Now they're 17 (?) and Oliver is back. But no one is the same. Can they still be friends, etc, etc, etc. There's a heart on the cover and this is contemporary YA. I'm sure you can see where this is going.

I wanted to give this three stars so badly just because the plot line is finally something not overdone in YA. It sounded so promising and emotional. But I just couldn't give this more than two stars. I just really did not enjoy reading this book. I kind of dreaded it?? I had to force myself to finish because I JUST DNF'd a book. So here we are. The writing style is kind of painful and the romance was SO cheesy at times. I so wish it had been better because the PLOT. Childhood best friend gets kidnapped and then just shows up again 10 years later?! Come on! This had so much potential.

I really can't explain what I didn't like about this other than the writing style, the parents were absolutely clueless and AWFUL, and Oliver has just come back from being kidnapped and everyone is just pretending nothing happened??? This honestly would have been so much better if it was from his POV or dual POV. Or if it focused on that one aspect. But between Emmy's drama and the side character drama, it was way too much and nothing got focused on. Not to mention that every single “twist” and pain point was SO predictable I couldn't even believe it. It was just really frustrating to read.

TLDR; This is not it, sis.

Would I recommend?
No. Go read a Sarah Dessen or Deb Caletti if you're looking for contemporary YA that will actually make you feel something other than bored and frustrated.

Rich and fabulous Emily asks a fellow mom, Stephanie, for a simple favor: to pick up her son after school and watch him one day. So starts a friendship. Then Emily disappears and Stephanie inserts herself into the mystery, blah, blah, blah. I can't even write a proper synopsis for this convoluted “psychological thriller.”

I watched the movie first and I thought, “Wow, this movie is cheesy but the story could be good. I bet the book is so much better.” Yeah, I was wrong. The movie is so much better. Here's the thing, the story could still be decent. But why is it so cheesy and light? There's really no twists, no surprises. And all the characters are terrible people. Which is, again, fine if written well. I can't really think of anything to say other than there's so much Jerry Springer content that it felt like a VC Andrews but without the good writing. And the ending is so blah.

Update: My husband just stopped by my computer as I was writing this and said I was so mean and that someone put a lot of time into this. Listen, I know they did. I get that it's a debut novel. But I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to write honest reviews. I'm not trying to be mean, I'm sure she's a lovely person and great teacher. But this book is just truly bad. Yikes.

Thanks to my best friend, Chloe, for letting me borrow this and being my personal library in this era of quarantine!

I'm not going to write a brief synopsis in this review because there's so many storylines going on over so much time that I don't even know where to start. So just read the synopsis up top. This is also going to be a short review. The writing was good. There was nothing that stood out to me, but nothing I hated either. And that pretty much goes for the whole plot. I first considered giving this four stars because I enjoyed reading it, but the ending was very underwhelming. It was like there was this lead up and setting the scene for this one moment throughout the whole book and then when it happened, nothing happened. It was just eh. So, weird ending. But I enjoyed getting to know the characters and I always enjoy a good multiple POV. But I ended up giving it three stars just because it was so forgettable. If you ask me what this book was about this time next year, I will have no idea. So that's it. Not great, not terrible plot with not great, not terrible writing.

Would I recommend?
Do you just like reading for the heck of it? Like historical fiction and multiple POV (this is a must)? Then, go for it. If you're looking for your next favorite novel, keep looking.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Bookouture, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A brief synopsis:

Based on the true story of famous Austrian violinist Alma Rose, who was captured by the Nazis in 1942 while trying to flee to Switzerland and sent to Auschwitz in 1943. Upon arrival in Auschwitz, she was chosen to lead the Auschwitz women's orchestra. Once she realizes that she can help the other girls with her position, she dutifully accepts the responsibility.

What I enjoyed:

It was really interesting to me to learn about what was deemed the “elite” in Auschwitz. I enjoy WWII novels and have never read one from this perspective. Being in the orchestra was seemingly a protection from the gas chambers, beatings, shootings. They were the chosen ones of the SS guards, the favorites. They were worthy to stay alive because they could play the music that entertained the guards. Before reading this, I honestly didn't know the orchestras existed or there were camp “elite.” It was kind of bizzare to hear about. I enjoyed learning about something I didn't know so now I can do my own research to find out what was accurate and dig a little deeper into it.


Something else I thought the author did well was, from what little I know, she did her best to keep Alma true to Alma. I personally felt that Alma wasn't a likable character. But she wasn't just a character, she was a real person. And from the little amount that I've read about her, it seems she was a little harsh and pretentious at times, just like she comes across in the book. There was some inaccurate media circulated about her after the war was over and I appreciated that Midwood did the research to stay as true to Alma as possible.

What I didn't enjoy:

There were two major things that really turned me off to this novel and are what made me give it three stars. First, I felt that the portrayal of the Nazis was almost soft. I know there were SS that were not evil, but it seems that Alma met every single one. At times, it was almost sympathetic or understanding to some of them. I just really felt like it was an unfair and privileged portrayal of them. And at the times when she was angry or upset about something they did, the emotion just wasn't there. Infamous Dr. Mengele was prominent in the novel, and I never once felt fear or anger towards him. He was kind to Alma. I have no idea how much of this is true, and I don't think it's possible for us to know. But it just felt wrong to portray so many of the Nazis in a soft, almost favorable light.

The second and worst problem for me was the absolute pointless inclusion of a love interest. A completely fictionalized love story incorporated into it. It felt almost disrespectful to me. This woman is in a concentration camp fighting for her life and the lives of the girls in her orchestra. Is that not enough of a story? Is a story only a story if there's a love interest? It felt gross and wrong. It wasn't her real story. Not even close. But the second half of the novel suddenly turned into will their love be a strong enough force to save them? Yikes. Just yikes. It was extremely disappointing and honestly turned me off to reading any more of this author's books.

Would I recommend?

Honestly, no. If you want to read a WWII book, I definitely have some recommendations that are better, just ask. If you want to learn more about Alma Rose, she's an important part of history and I recommend doing so, but do your own research.

Find my reviews here.

This is a novel about Sophie Applebaum, a woman from a Jewish family in Pennsylvania. In the same style as the Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing, Sophie's life is told in a series of stories from her childhood to her late 20s/early 30s. I'd say this isn't necessarily a coming of age story, but more like a finding out who you are story.

After reading the Girl's Guide, I immediately added The Wonder Spot to my TBR and for the first time ever, my local book store had what I was looking for the first time I checked. So of course I had to pick it up. My new favorite writing style is just Melissa Bank. I've never read anyone or anything quite like her. It makes me feel soft and warm and safe. I can get lost in it and just be comfortable. Seeing her grouped into chick lit is painful, tbh. This isn't chick lit, it's prose. It has substance.

I love that Bank doesn't just focus on the love interests like many books do. Yes, Sophie dates and falls in and out of love. But she also has a career that she falls into and can't get out of. And she has complicated family relationships that I related to, especially the strained relationship with her grandmother. Sophie has complex friendships that evolve over time for better or worse. I particularly loved reading about her friendship evolution with Dena. The emotions and feelings were portrayed in a way that I deeply understood and felt. It made me uncomfortable in the best way. Sophie and her family could be any of us and our families, that's how realistic she is. I absolutely adore Melissa Bank and hope to always read more from her.

Favorite quote: “I felt sure that everyone was looking at me and then realized that no one was, and I experienced the distinct shame of each.”

Would I recommend?
Yes, with no exceptions. It's not for everyone, but it's worth a try.

Years ago, I really wanted to read this book. Top of my TBR. I couldn't wait to be inspired. But I never got around to picking it up. Then I started hearing the bad reviews of Rachel Hollis and her books. But I really am not someone that likes to just believe everything I hear, even and especially if it's overwhelmingly negative. Cancel culture is so real, and the tiniest misstep can spark it. It's kinda crazy. I wanted to give this book a chance and not start by focusing on those negative opinions so I went into this thinking I was going to prove everyone wrong.

That didn't work out. I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author. Her personality really shone through in her narration. And frankly, I feel like we wouldn't be friends. And this is really no fault of hers, but our personalities just don't mesh. I'm not a “HEY, GIRL, HEY” type of person. It really seems that Rachel is. I tried to keep an open mind, however. But as it went on, it just became increasingly clear that this was written for one particular audience. The basic middle class Gen X (possibly older milennial) straight white woman. I truly can't imagine anyone else relating to this book. I would LOVE to be proven wrong, seriously.

I didn't realize this was so very Christian before I read it either. I assumed it'd just be your run of the mill “I did this and you can too” self-help book. No. About a million times she mentions faith, Jesus, etc. Nothing wrong with that if that's what you believe, but again, written for a very specific audience and excludes a huge population. This is probably my bad for not researching it more beforehand. No biggie.

At first, I thought people were being too harsh on Hollis in their reviews. But when I got more than 30% in, I understood what they meant when they talked about her incessant humblebragging. This woman invented humblebragging, I think. And I drew the line when she got to the chapter about not taking no for an answer. Like, ok sis, we understand you're persistent. That's a great quality to have. But to full on attribute your success to “not taking no for an answer” and literally nothing else?? And to take a step farther and have the audacity to say that other people aren't successful solely because they “took no for an answer????” Please. It's too much. I really hope I don't need to explain all the things wrong with this because, geez, it's a laundry list. There's also a hint of racism and ableism sprinkled in at the end, just for a little spice.

I'm giving this two stars instead of one because I'm sure it wasn't easy to share the trauma of going through the adoption process. And props to her for that. But yikessssss @ the rest.

I had zero expectations because I do judge books by their cover and, frankly, I don't like this one. I assumed this would be your run of the mill beach romance. I was right and wrong. It's a beach romance, but not the cheesy run of the mill variety.

Jake and Mallory end up bonding one night in 1993 because “the dog chased the cat chased the rat.” A series of events left them alone in her cottage on Nantucket on Labor Day weekend. They have other commitments and life happens, but they vow to spend every Labor Day weekend at her cottage no matter what.

This is the story it sounds like it would be. It is. But what I loved about this was the atmosphere. I've never been to Nantucket and know nothing about it but I felt like I was there with them. The sun and salt air. And I felt so connected to the characters, Mallory in particular. They felt like real people. And we can't deny the pop culture references in the characters, UDG = AOC, red lipstick and all. It brought it all down a notch and made it somewhat satirical and not so heavy. Whether that was the goal or not, I'm not sure. But I enjoyed it.

Despite my prejudgement, here I am on a Friday at work crying at the end.

These are the stories that make me love Moriarty. This is probably my favorite second to Big Little Lies. I'd just about given up on her to be honest. I was disappointed by her last few books I read. But I needed something available right away on Libby so I gave it a shot. And clearly ended up reading it within 2 days. Such a sweet, easy read. Not for everybody obv but I really enjoyed it.

Appalachia is my home. I've never been all that interested in the history of it, but recently I've started to become curious about the heritage I used to be embarrassed by. I decided to seek out written works of the history of Appalachia in hopes of learning more about what was unfortunately not passed down to me generationally.

Let's start with the good. I started out hopeful with this book, and I did find many portions of it informative. I enjoyed reading the interviews and Appalachian life stories.

Unfortunately, that's about it. I guess the authors thought we didn't need the female perspective, because they interviewed many people, but very very few women. It started out with interesting notes about culture and history that were fading in modern day Tennessee. But then it seemed like they ran out of things to talk about, because they started romanticizing things that have clearly seen improvements like wooden bridges. They even talked about how frightening and dangerous they were to cross, but then said “those were the fun days.” Older does not always equate to better. There were a lot of reaches like this in the 2nd half of the book.

And then there was this: “Here lurked danger in natural abundance and in Indian tribes who viewed the intrusion of Europeans as a dark and dangerous time in their existence.” First of all, Native Americans. They were here first. And they didn't just “view” it as a dark and dangerous time, it WAS.

Anyway, I learned a little, but was disappointed by a lot.

I've been wanting to read this one ever since I read Wild and fell in love with it. Cheryl Strayed definitely has a way with words. I took this book and the advice offered in it with a grain of salt because as the author herself states, she has no technical qualifications to be giving advice. That being said, I viewed this less as a self-help book and more as a collection of experiences and stories from which to draw meaning ... or not. Whatever floats your boat. It seems that Cheryl is a highly empathetic and wise person, having truly meditated on and learned from her own experiences. She shared beautiful sentiments and made me want to change my life, just a little.

My favorite section was That Ecstatic Parade. It really fit where I am in life. And probably not in the way you're thinking if you've read this. But in the advice she gives.

This is basically a GOT fanfic. The male lead's name is like ~barely~ changed from the actual actor's name. I don't even really have an opinion about that, just making a statement.

This was ✨ok✨.
I'm annoyed because some parts of it were cute and made me want to like it. Unfortunately, most it was cheesy and cringey and over dramatic. Like, the characters are almost 40 and upset and worried about SILLY things. Adults acting like teenagers. The entire plot could've been avoided with a simple NDA.
And I'm all here for body neutrality and the like, but some of this felt a lot like, as another reviewer mentioned, getting “woke points” online.

It was also one of those books, like most romances to be honest, where you absolutely know exactly how the conflict/climax of the story is going to go. So you're basically just waiting the entire book for it to happen and hoping there's some decent dialogue or spice along the way.

I just wish it was more cute, less try-hard.
I'm not ready to give up on cartoon cover romances entirely yet. It took me too long to force myself to even try one. But I need recommendations for the BEST ones. If I don't like those, I'm just not the intended audience.

As someone that hated American History in school, I never thought I'd enjoy a book about Thomas Jefferson (or his daughter), though I do enjoy historical fiction. I only read this on the high recommendation of a friend, a new friend that I didn't want to flat out refuse. So I decided to give it a shot and I'm SO glad I did. I couldn't put this book down, reading every spare minute. It's narrated by Patsy Jefferson, President Jefferson's oldest daughter, and covers almost her entire life. It's a side of American History I've never heard and I found it riveting. The author really knew how to make the story come to life and not burden it down with too many lengthy political sentiments or boring details like some history books. Granted, this is somewhat fictionalized but draws closely to the facts of their lives. Every time I HAD to sit my book down, I was just constantly thinking about what was going to happen next in her life. I was not disappointed but very pleasantly surprised!

I was just casually shopping at my local used bookstore when I stumbled on this book. I've seen quite a few photos and reviews of Smith's books so I figured I might as well give it a go. I didn't really have any expectations going into it.

It had the feel of Sarah Dessen book, but not as much substance. The characters were okay, the storyline was okay, the whole thing was overwhelmingly okay. Some parts were really cliché, but that's to be expected. Nothing really stood out to me at all. The writing style was good. It was just sort of typical, rather forgettable for me. I felt like she tied up the end very nicely though, I was impressed with that.

As an extra note, I think the covers and fonts of Smith's novels are adorable. I'll probably try again with another of her books eventually, just because I like to give everything more than one chance before writing it off completely.


I would recommend it for lovers of contemporary YA!

First of all, I'm mad no one told me this story was based around the Loch Ness monster, Nessie, and I'm personally offended. If you know me, you know I'm obsessed with Nessie and I would have read this a long time ago. When my husband got down on one knee and proposed to me, I was talking about Nessie, in case you need proof of my obsession. ANYWAY, that's why I picked this up. I was strolling through the bookstore and got to the Sara Gruen section. I've not read any of her books but I've obviously heard of her. So I just decided to read the synopsis on the book jacket. You guys don't know how fast I bought this as soon as my eyes saw the words “Loch Ness monster.” I didn't even read the rest of the synopsis.

That said, it turns out our protagonist, a spoiled rich brat from the United States named Maddie, her husband, Ellis, and their always attached to them friend, Hank, set off to find Nessie and prove to Ellis's dad that he's of some sort of worth after he gets cut off from family money. Spoiler alert: he's not. They're all spoiled, rich, brats with zero personality. I almost didn't even want to read it because of how awful they were. This is also all happening during WWII, so that brings in another set of circumstances.

I'm glad I powered through my first impressions. I legit could not put this down, but at the same time, I read it slowly because I didn't want to leave their world. The character development is great. The secrets revealed throughout are just enough to keep you interested, even though they're nothing groundbreaking. The female friendships are thriving. And although it turned out the book wasn't actually about baby Nessie, she does have some cameos, which I was super into. And the romance involved was SO good. I'm SO picky about the romance bits of books because most of it is unrealistic or cheesy, but I was INTO IT, y'all. Give me this book all day every day. It doesn't have great reviews, and I'm really not sure why. I thought it was captivating and I'm giving it five stars because I can't think of a single reason not to. Which is a big deal. If you keep up with my reviews at all, you know I rarely give anything five stars, even if I really like it.

Would I recommend?
Do you like historical fiction? Yes, friend, yes.

I started reading this book with even lower expectations than I had the The Selection. I don't generally love second (or third) books. I just haven't had good luck with them maybe, especially when it comes to YA dystopia. Thankfully, this book was no worse than the first in the series. Although, I don't think it was any better either.

I actually debated not posting a review for this book because I could say the same thing I said about The Selection. I didn't love the story or the characters. I honestly hated America more in this one. To keep it spoiler free, I'll just say the first half of the book and on and off throughout, she is infuriating. While reading, I exclaimed “Are you kidding me?!” out loud multiple times. Despite that, I kept reading. There really isn't much to the story. It's kind of a fluffy series, one that echoes the plot of all other YA dystopia.

In fact, I couldn't probably tell you how the series ends right now. But for some reason beyond me, I haven't given up yet. I plan to keep reading. I believe (although this is all of her work I've read) that Kiera Cass is a good writer. I do appreciate her writing style, otherwise, I would have given up long ago. All in all, the book was okay, but nothing I'd reread.

This is not even a coherent review so don't expect it to be. It's just a spilling of my guts, I apologize. Please read this book. I can't even say how happy I am that I finally purchased a copy of this book. I've seen it around the YA community and just assumed it would be another contemporary YA book, nothing wrong with that. But no, this book is beautiful, absolutely incredible. Not only is the prose-like writing style enchanting, the story itself is seriously breathtaking. I want to lay down on the fluffiest comforter in a field and cry and laugh and clutch this book to my chest. I want to own every copy ever printed and simultaneously I want to give a copy to everyone I see and urge them to read it ASAP. I cried on and off through Part 1 and just when I thought it couldn't get better, here comes Part 2. Oh. The emotions in Part 2. I sobbed constantly until the end, and even after that. My glasses fogged up and I couldn't see from crying so hard. There were multiple time I had to lay the book down and just cry for a few minutes until I could pull myself together enough to continue without ripping my own heart out. Overwhelming grief and love felt through words typed on paper. ???? I have no real words right now. I already want to read it again. And again and again, like Lennie did with Wuthering Heights.

In summation, if you haven't, read this book please.

I wanted so badly to love this book. I've seen rave reviews, I LOVE the title and cover, the synopsis sounded good. But I didn't love it. Honestly, it tried so hard to be beautiful and poignant and literary that it kind of became the opposite. It ended up being torturously slow and descriptive. In the end, I felt like I ~should~ be devastated or overwhelmed with emotion but I was just left lacking any feeling at all. It's like the author tried so hard to sound poetic and beautiful that they forgot there was supposed to be a plot. And it's disappointing because it's not like it's not beautiful writing. It is. It has the potential to be amazing, but unfortunately it was not. And I'm really sad about that. 2.5/5 stars.