The Switch by Beth O’Leary book review and audiobook review. Thank you Flatiron Books for the ARC giveaway win and Netgalley for the audiobook ALC. Review… The Switch is told in alternating POVs between granddaughter, Leena, and grandmother, Eileeen. I loved how effortlessly and subtly O’Leary switches the voice between a 29 year old and a 79 year old woman. It’s a sweet and cozy read that transports you back and forth from an English country village to life in London. If you’re expecting this book to have a lot of romance, I’d recommend adjusting your expectations. This is more of a story about the love of family (across three…
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Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson
Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson – the sequel to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. Pip is back and this time she has a podcast! US vs. UK editions… I read A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder in March and loved it! When I noticed Good Girl, Bad Blood on the Blackwell’s website (free shipping to the US!!), I was so excited. I anxiously went to find the US pub date and was a bit confused when I couldn’t find anything about it. So here’s where it gets a bit odd… I read the US edition of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and the story takes place…
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Across the Winding River by Aimie K. Runyan
Across the Winding River by Aimie K. Runyan book review. Thank you so much to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for the free review copy! This is a beautiful story about love and courage. Review… Across the Winding River is a multi POV/timeline WWII Historical Fiction that takes us from San Diego to Germany. It follows Beth in present day, trying to learn more about her father, Max, in the few months they have left together. Max is finally ready to share the secrets he has held onto since the war. We’re also introduced to Johanna, a German woman trapped in a regime she wants no part in. What worked…
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Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel
Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel Review. Thank you Atria Books and Netgalley for the free review copy! This is such a fun summer read about family – the one we’re born into and the ones we choose. Summary from the publisher… Bridget and Will have the kind of relationship that people envy: they’re loving, compatible, and completely devoted to each other. The fact that they’re strictly friends seems to get lost on nearly everyone; after all, they’re as good as married in (almost) every way. For three decades, they’ve nurtured their baby, the Forsyth Trio—a chamber group they created as students with their Juilliard classmate Gavin Glantz. In the intervening…
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The Heir Affair by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
The Heir Affair by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan Book Review. Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for the free eARC; all opinions are my own. Picking up where The Royal We leaves off, we’re back in the lives of Bex, Nick, Freddie! Summary from the publisher… After a scandalous secret turns their fairy-tale wedding into a nightmare, Rebecca “Bex” Porter and her husband Prince Nicholas are in self-imposed exile. The public is angry. The Queen is even angrier. And the press is salivating. Cutting themselves off from friends and family, and escaping the world’s judgmental eyes, feels like the best way to protect their fragile, all-consuming romance.…
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The Mountains Wild by Sarah Stewart Taylor
The Mountains Wild by Sarah Stewart Taylor book review. Thank you so much to Minotaur Books for the free review copy; all opinions are my own. The Mountains Wild is available TODAY! Review… I inhaled The Mountains Wild over the weekend and I’m thrilled that this is the first in a new series! Set primarily in Ireland, this atmospheric mystery is unputdownable. The story is told in dual timelines between the disappearance in 1993 and the present day in 2016. There are fantastic characters and I loved the resurfacing of them from the past to the present. I’m always drawn to books with a strong setting and you certainly find…
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A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer Book Review – A YA fantasy retelling of Beauty & the Beast. Book One in The Cursebreaker series. Review… This book is YA fantasy and outside of what I normally read. I’d likely not have tried the series if it wasn’t raved about by people whose opinions I really value. I was intrigued by how many friends and reviewers love these books, but don’t typically read fantasy. I panic bought this the week my bookstore was closing due to COVID (as if I don’t have enough books at home) and I’m so glad I did! Harper is one of the most…
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Summer at Meadow Wood by Amy Rebecca Tan
Summer at Meadow Wood by Amy Rebecca Tan. This has been one of my most highly anticipated books of 2020. I read Tan’s debut novel, A Kind of Paradise, earlier this year and absolutely adored it. It has been one of my favorite books so far this year and I’m glad that Summer at Meadow Wood will make it onto that list as well. Summary from the publisher… Vic Brown did not want to go to camp this summer. Even though it’s nice being back with her friends at Meadow Wood, Vic still can’t forget about the secret reason her mom wanted her and her brother out of the house—or…
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The Telephone Box Library by Rachael Lucas
The Telephone Box Library by Rachael Lucas Book Review. A cute and cozy story that takes place in The Cotswolds! Summary from the publisher… The Cotswolds: the perfect retreat for a stressed-out teacher. And Lucy has found just the right cottage for a bargain rent. All she has to do is keep an eye on Bunty, her extremely feisty ninety-something neighbour . . . With her West Highland terrier Hamish at her side, Lucy plans to relax and read up on the women of nearby Bletchley Park. But the villagers of Little Maudley have other ideas, and she finds herself caught up in the campaign to turn a dilapidated telephone…
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A Kind of Paradise by Amy Rebecca Tan
A Kind of Paradise by Amy Rebecca Tan Book Review. This has been one of my favorite books so far this year! Summary from the publisher… Thirteen-year-old Jamie Bunn made a mistake at the end of the school year. A big one. And every kid in her middle school knows all about it. Now she has to spend her summer vacation volunteering at the local library—as punishment. What a waste of a summer! Or so she thinks. A Kind of Paradise is an unforgettable story about the power of community, the power of the library, and the power of forgiveness. Review… I literally hugged this book when I finished it, because it’s pretty…
