Michelle

The publisher note said this book will be the most messed up thing I will ever read. I'm not so sure that's true. I've read and enjoyed a decent number of books that often get labeled as disturbing, and I think this one lacks the haunting quality that some of the others had. But, that said, even if it's not the most messed up, it would still be on the list.

It was alright. Entertaining enough that I finished it in less than a week, and certainly memorable, but probably not a story I'll revisit. And probably not one that I would recommend unless you have a strong stomach.

This was a nice, quick read with an engaging plot and characters that are easy to become emotionally invested in. I would have liked more coyote magic and less beauty pageant stuff, but overall still enjoyable. I would recommend this book to younger readers.

This book did not go in the direction I was expecting based on the summary, which was disappointing. The beginning was fine but by about the midpoint I was getting bored and now I'm still trying to decide if the ending made sense. Ultimately it just wasn't the book I thought it was going to be. It wasn't poorly written, but it just wasn't for me. I might be interested to see what else this author comes up with though.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the advance reader copy!

I really loved the premise of this book. I love television and I find lost media fascinating, so a story about a cast reunion for a show that no one can prove even existed sounded perfect. I also liked how the author included emails, wikipedia articles, forum posts, etc. throughout the text to illustrate the fandom culture surrounding the main characters.

While I did enjoy this book, I think I would have liked it a little better if the mystery was rooted more in reality than the paranormal, but that's just my personal preference. Also I was disappointed that things were never very clearly resolved between Val and Gloria, and I think the epilogue could have done a better job of explaining that. But overall a very interesting read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine for the ARC!

This is definitely the most beautifully-written book about a man involuntarily transforming into a shark that I have ever read.

But seriously, there was so much to love about this book. I've always been interested in stories of metamorphosis, body horror, and what it means to be human, and this is the best one I've read in a while. A unique premise, lovely prose, and I think the cover design is great as well. It's hard to believe this is the author's debut. I hope to read more from her in the future. I'll be thinking about this one for a while.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Element for the advance reader copy!

After putting it off for years, I finally binge-watched The Big Bang Theory in early 2021, quickly became hooked, and have been reading whatever I can about it ever since. 279 episodes and what was already said still wasn't enough for me. So as soon as I heard about this book, I knew it had to get my hands on it, and I'm so happy to say that it did not disappoint.

I consider myself well-versed in the show and its history, and there were still so many previously unheard stories and new fun facts in this book. It was an absolute joy to read all the interviews from the cast and crew, and to see all the behind-the-scenes photos as well. (Also, I lost track, but I got emotional and cried about Shamy at least five times while reading this.) I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who loves the show, or just loves sitcoms and TV history in general.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the advance reader copy!

I only just started reading Samantha Irby's essays earlier this year, but she's quickly becoming one of my favorites. Normally bathroom humor isn't my thing, and there was a lot of it in this book, but here it didn't bother me. It was brutally honest, laugh-out-loud funny, and (sometimes sadly) relatable. My only complaint is that some essays dragged on a little too long (the Sex and the City one in particular). Overall, I really enjoyed this collection.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Vintage for the advance reader copy!

Chuck Palahniuk has been one of my favorite authors for years, though I have not felt that his more recent works have lived up to his earlier writing, so I was both excited and apprehensive when I received this ARC. Especially coming off from his previous novel, Not Forever, But For Now, which I would rank as one of my least favorite, I wasn't sure what to expect here.

But I'm happy to say that I did enjoy this book very much. This felt more akin to his earlier books; while I was reading it brought to mind Invisible Monsters, Rant, and some echoes from his short story Zombie. Definitely this writing style won't be for everyone, but I liked the fast pace and there were some moments of striking imagery that I think will remain in my mind for a long time. I would not say this is a new favorite of mine, and it would probably benefit from a reread, but it was overall good and I would recommend it to other fans of his writing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC!

I'm going to start this out by saying that I cannot be unbiased about Lemony Snicket/Daniel Handler. I read each book in A Series of Unfortunate Events nine times, I skipped school once to go to one of his signings, I wrote about his books for my college application essay (and got accepted), and I've read most of his other work as well. So I went into this book fully planning on loving it and I did.

But, that being said, I don't think I would recommend this book to anyone who isn't already familiar with his other books. I think having that background knowledge is important to appreciating everything Handler details here. I loved getting a look into his mind, learning about what inspired his writing and the events of his life that led him to becoming an author. After being a fan of his for so long, it felt like a great joy and privilege. And I'll definitely be checking out some of the other works he recommended at the end.

A big, big thank you to NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company/Liveright for the ARC!

This book was wonderfully weird. I really liked the premise and writing style, the mix of normal prose and social media posts. I feel like every chapter had at least one line that was strikingly poignant. The only downside was I felt the ending was a bit underwhelming. But overall I had fun reading this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Astra House for the ARC!

I was originally drawn to this book by the description, which reminding me a little of A Series of Unfortunate Events. A story about a young person trying to uncover the secrets kept by the people who raised them, with ties to a mysterious organization. I was not disappointed.

I liked the structure of the two different narratives, one past and one present, running parallel and alternating each chapter and eventually coming together in the end. I liked the puzzles included throughout the book for the reader to try to solve on their own before the story provided the answers, although occasionally the way the answers were worked in felt a bit heavy-handed. Also, I liked how the mystery of Clayton's parentage wasn't so obvious that one would guess it immediately, but also the answer didn't come out of nowhere either. Overall an enjoyable book and one that I will recommend to friends.

Thank you to NetGalley and Vintage Anchor, Doubleday for the advance reader copy!

I was really eager to read this after previously reading Alderman's other book, The Power, and I'm happy to say I was not disappointed. In fact, I think I liked this book even more. The characters were great, the story was delightfully twisty in a way that you can almost but not quite predict, and the themes felt especially relevant now with the rise of AI tech. This is one of my favorite books read so far this year.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC!