Thoughts: I don’t usually read the fantasy genre but I was surprised how hooked I am and ready to dive into the rest of the series. The first ACOTAR is essentially a retelling of beauty and the beast, but the relationship and friendship dynamics very much reminded me of Vampire Diaries. I went into this skeptical on how invested I would be and when finishing it was so mad at myself for not already having the second one with me to start right away. The rest of the series gets better and better each book and the world and story she creates absolutely enthralls you.
Summary: A Court of Thorns and Roses follows the story of Feyre (who is a huntress) and how her life changes when she is impisoned in the kingdom of her enemy, much to her shock and despair. Thus begins the love/hate type relationship between the two main characters, Feyre and Tamlin.
Thoughts: This has possibly replaced The Wedding Date series as my favorite romcom book. Shay and Dominic work for a public radio station in Seattle and are thrown into the opportunity to host their own show. The catch is that the show is about dating advice from two ex’s, which they aren’t. They agree to lie about their relationship and host the show anyway to save their jobs. The story is relatable, funny and cliche in all the ways you want from a romcom, run don’t walk to get this!
Summary: Shay Goldstein has been a producer at her Seattle public radio station for nearly a decade, and she can’t imagine working anywhere else. But lately it’s been a constant clash between her and her newest colleague, Dominic Yun, who’s fresh off a journalism master’s program and convinced he knows everything about public radio.
When the struggling station needs a new concept, Shay proposes a show that her boss green-lights with excitement. On The Ex Talk, two exes will deliver relationship advice live, on air. Their boss decides Shay and Dominic are the perfect co-hosts, given how much they already despise each other. Neither loves the idea of lying to listeners, but it’s this or unemployment. Their audience gets invested fast, and it’s not long before The Ex Talk becomes a must-listen in Seattle and climbs podcast charts.
As the show gets bigger, so does their deception, especially when Shay and Dominic start to fall for each other. In an industry that values truth, getting caught could mean the end of more than just their careers.
Thoughts: Absolutely loved this book! I’ve had it on my want to read list for a while but deciding to pull the trigger this weekend when grabbing some new books and I’m glad I did. Finlay is a single mom struggling to get by with her writing career. While discussing the latest plot of her book with her agent she is mistaken for a contract killer, and then accidentally becomes one. The book is entertaining, comical with just the right amount of suspense.
Summary: Finlay Donovan is killing it . . . except, she’s really not. She’s a stressed-out single-mom of two and struggling novelist, Finlay’s life is in chaos: the new book she promised her literary agent isn’t written, her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling her, and this morning she had to send her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an incident with scissors.
When Finlay is overheard discussing the plot of her new suspense novel with her agent over lunch, she’s mistaken for a contract killer, and inadvertently accepts an offer to dispose of a problem husband in order to make ends meet . . . Soon, Finlay discovers that crime in real life is a lot more difficult than its fictional counterpart, as she becomes tangled in a real-life murder investigation.
Thoughts: If you’re looking for a good mystery without too much of a Gone Girl factor, this is perfect. Hal gets a letter stating that her grandmother has died and is requested to be present for the reading of the will. She assumes it’s a mistake as her mother always told her they had no other family, but decides to go anyway as she is desperate for a way to pay of her debts. Upon arriving at the house she realizes the dynamics and history of this family offer a lot more questions than answers on how she ended up here.
Summary: On a day that begins like any other, Hal receives a mysterious letter bequeathing her a substantial inheritance. She realizes very quickly that the letter was sent to the wrong person—but also that the cold-reading skills she’s honed as a tarot card reader might help her claim the money.
Soon, Hal finds herself at the funeral of the deceased…where it dawns on her that there is something very, very wrong about this strange situation and the inheritance at the center of it.
Thoughts: I really expected to enjoy this more than I did. The story takes place at an all girl boarding school in CT where just before the school year accusations are published in the paper against a teacher. Each chapter is narrated by a different student which makes it a little hard to follow and to become invested in any of them.
Summary: A keenly perceptive coming of age novel for fans of Sally Rooney, Curtis Sittenfeld, and J. Courtney Sullivan, All Girls follows nine young women as they navigate their ambitions and fears at a prestigious New England prep school, all pitched against the backdrop of a scandal the administration wants silenced.
But as the months unfold, and the school’s efforts to control the ensuing crisis fall short, these extraordinary girls are forced to discover their voices, and their power.
A tender and unflinching portrait of modern adolescence told through the shifting perspectives of an unforgettable cast of female students, Emily Layden’s All Girls explores what it means to grow up in a place that promises you the world––when the world still isn’t yours for the taking.
Thoughts: This was my BOTM pick for March and I really enjoyed it. Nella runs an apothecary in the 1700s with two rules, the poisons must be used on men and the names will be recorded so it’s part of someone’s history. In current day London Caroline is on her anniversary trip, alone, and starts to unravel the history of the hidden apothecary.
Summary: Hidden in the depths of eighteenth-century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientele. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary’s fate is jeopardized when her newest patron, a precocious twelve-year-old, makes a fatal mistake, sparking a string of consequences that echo through the centuries.
Meanwhile in present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, running from her own demons. When she stumbles upon a clue to the unsolved apothecary murders that haunted London two hundred years ago, her life collides with the apothecary’s in a stunning twist of fate—and not everyone will survive.
With crackling suspense, unforgettable characters and searing insight, The Lost Apothecary is a subversive and intoxicating debut novel of secrets, vengeance and the remarkable ways women can save each other despite the barrier of time.
Thoughts: I ordered this right after finishing The Switch because people said The Flatshare was even better. I really enjoyed it but disagreed with most that it was the better Beth O’Leary novel. Tiffy needs a new apartment after being broken up with and decides to move in with Leon. Leon works nightshift so they agree to share the apartment (and bed) and set a schedule to not cross paths or meet.
Summary: Tiffy and Leon share an apartment. Tiffy and Leon have never met.
After a bad breakup, Tiffy Moore needs a place to live. Fast. And cheap. But the apartments in her budget have her wondering if astonishingly colored mold on the walls counts as art.
Desperation makes her open minded, so she answers an ad for a flatshare. Leon, a night shift worker, will take the apartment during the day, and Tiffy can have it nights and weekends. He’ll only ever be there when she’s at the office. In fact, they’ll never even have to meet.
Tiffy and Leon start writing each other notes – first about what day is garbage day, and politely establishing what leftovers are up for grabs, and the evergreen question of whether the toilet seat should stay up or down. Even though they are opposites, they soon become friends. And then maybe more.
But falling in love with your roommate is probably a terrible idea…especially if you’ve never met.
Thoughts: I loved this book and it has the perfect set up to be a series so I’m excited to see it’s happening. The story is narrated by Will who has spent her recent years as an assistant to a private investigator. We start off learning how she came to work for Lillian and then she tells the story of a high profile murder they solved. I love a good mystery book and this being centered around two qualified women instead of the typical grumpy man and and a random female sidekick was great.
Summary: It’s 1942 and Willowjean “Will” Parker is a scrappy circus runaway whose knife-throwing skills have just saved the life of New York’s best, and most unorthodox, private investigator, Lillian Pentecost. When the dapper detective summons Will a few days later, she doesn’t expect to be offered a life-changing proposition: Lillian’s multiple sclerosis means she can’t keep up with her old case load alone, so she wants to hire Will to be her right-hand woman. In return, Will is to receive a salary, room and board, and training in Lillian’s very particular art of investigation.
Three years later, Will and Lillian are on the Collins case: Abigail Collins was found bludgeoned to death with a crystal ball following a big, boozy Halloween party at her home—her body slumped in the same chair where her steel magnate husband shot himself the year before. With rumors flying that Abigail was bumped off by the vengeful spirit of her husband (who else could have gotten inside the locked room?), the family has tasked the detectives with finding answers where the police have failed.
But that’s easier said than done in a case that involves messages from the dead, a seductive spiritualist, and Becca Collins—the beautiful daughter of the deceased, who Will quickly starts falling for. When Will and Becca’s relationship dances beyond the professional, Will finds herself in dangerous territory, and discovers she may have become the murderer’s next target.
Thoughts: If you’re looking for a fun lighter read I definitely recommend this! It’s a great twist on essentially The Holiday and the townspeople and side characters remind me of Gilmore Girls (which is high praise from me.) This was the ideal book to mix in after reading something heavy and was a lifetime movie in all the right ways without getting too cheesy.
Summary: When overachiever Leena Cotton is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, she escapes to her grandmother Eileen’s house for some long-overdue rest.
Eileen is newly single and about to turn eighty. She’d like a second chance at love, but her tiny Yorkshire village doesn’t offer many eligible gentlemen.
So they decide to try a two-month swap.
Eileen will live in London and look for love. She’ll take Leena’s flat, and learn all about casual dating, swiping right, and city neighbors. Meanwhile Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire: Eileen’s sweet cottage and garden, her idyllic, quiet village, and her little neighborhood projects.
Thoughts: I won’t lie, this wasn’t my favorite Kristin Hannah book. The story itself is of course beautifully written which is what I think made it hard to read for me. The story follows a family living through the dust bowl and their travels west to try to create a better life for themselves. The story is incredibly moving, especially the ending, but the middle part gets very dark and was hard for me to read more than chunks at a time. Focusing on the strong female impact during this time in our country was incredible to read though and important to highlight.
Summary: Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman’s only option, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. With her reputation in ruin, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she barely knows.
By 1934, the world has changed; millions are out of work and drought has devastated the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as crops fail and water dries up and the earth cracks open. Dust storms roll relentlessly across the plains. Everything on the Martinelli farm is dying, including Elsa’s tenuous marriage; each day is a desperate battle against nature and a fight to keep her children alive.
In this uncertain and perilous time, Elsa—like so many of her neighbors—must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west, to California, in search of a better life for her family.
