If I Loved You in Another Life by David Arnold

I Loved You in Another Life by David Arnold
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Teens will love this time travel and romance of Evan and Shosh. As teens, they have lost ones they love and while Evan has panic attacks, Shosh is drinking in her grief. The stories captivated me, I could not stop turning the pages as I learned more about Evan & Shosh, even better the many periods and the people falling in love with each other. A must read, another great book by David Arnold

View all my reviews

The Probability of Everything by Sarah Everett

The Probability of Everything by Sarah Everett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book so much; you will just have to read it to see why! Middle grade with a math/science female protagonist and so much going on. Highly recommended!

View all my reviews

Silent Bite (Andy Carpenter, #22) by David Rosenfelt

Silent Bite by David Rosenfelt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Narrator Grover Gardner is the perfect Andy Carpenter voice! I love all Andy Carpenter books & audiobooks- I chuckle all the way through, but I love the pace of the plot- Andy doing his best to defend a client, using all the characters that help in the courtroom and interviewing people, taking care of dogs, and loving his life with Laurie and his son (also Tara & assorted dogs). I highly recommend all of Rosenfelts' books in this series & I will also read his others after I am finished!

View all my reviews

Coyote Lost and Found by Dan Gemeinhart

Coyote Lost and Found by Dan Gemeinhart
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Just as I loved The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise so so much, this new Coyote Lost and Found was just as wonderful! Coyote is honest, quirky, brash, and one of a kind. Her latest adventure will involve a journey yet again, fierce, hiding secrets, and sometimes not being nice to Candace, her father's friend & neighbor, along for the ride on Yager during Covid. Readers will love every character on this bus; they support one another, enjoy singing, laughing, and the awesome pets on this trip to find where to settle Coyote's mom's cremated remains. Coyote's insights are hysterical, fierce, and bold and the author treats us to many beautiful, sad and happy times as Coyote and Rodeo remember painfully their loved ones. A must read for all ages!

View all my reviews

Someone We Know by Shari Lapena

Someone We Know by Shari Lapena
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Many thanks to Tara Smith for this suspenseful audiobook, awesomely narrated by Kirsten Power. A neighborhood has someone breaking into their house, there is a murder, maybe 2, and some marital infidelity. The title, Someone We Know, is good on many levels; this is a sizzling mystery, lots of head games, and family drama. A must read!

View all my reviews

Long Shadows (Amos Decker, #7) by David Baldacci

Long Shadows by David Baldacci
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this 7th ad final (?) book in the series! Amos Decker has a new partner and his memory is not what it used to be. There is a murder of a judge and her bodyguard and of course, as Amos delves into the murder he is confounded by the scene. But Amos will not stop until he solves this page turner! Highly recommended!

View all my reviews

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Many thanks to Michelle Romash for continuing to bring this book up through 2023 as one to read. I still cannot stop thinking about it!!! I was so drawn in by William's upbringing (or not), his friend, Kent and others as he played basketball and of course, the Padavano sisters!!! This family has so much history together (while William has none). Julia targets him in college and from there it is Julia and Walter as a couple becoming a part of the Padavano family. But even more, I loved their father, Charlie so much with his poetic soul, calling his daughter Julia (and all the other sisters, Hello Beautiful). This book deals with so much, I could not put it down! I loved the family issues, the basketball theme, so much going on there, and the tenderness of love within all these characters. This will be a favorite book of mine!

View all my reviews

All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I could not put this book down!!! Seeing it on all the book lists, a black sheriff in the town he grew up in- Titus is a formidable law man, having a background of years with the FBI, when a beloved teacher is killed in a school shooting. But as the suspect (Titus is very familiar with him as a law man but grew up with & played football with his father) gives himself up; he says strange things that give Titus pause; and then his deputies shoot him. This opens up a lot of trouble for Titus in a Southern town that tight holds on past prejudices; when the truth comes out after finding evidence in phones, too many do not want to believe the teacher is a murderer and pedophile. I could not stop reading this book; I will definitely be reading S.A. Cosby's other books!!!

View all my reviews

Dear Mothman by Robin Gow

Dear Mothman by Robin Gow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A tough novel in verse about a 6th grade trans child Nora but his close family and friends call him Noah at this request. Noah was best friends with Lewis and they were both trans; after Lewis dies in a car accident, Noah tries to deal with his grief by writing in a journal and leaving it at a favorite tree for Mothman, a cryptid Lewis & Noah believe in. How will Noah survive without his best friend, this is a must read for everyone!

View all my reviews

Forever, Interrupted by Tara Jenkins Reid

Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Many thanks to Kara McBrien for lending me this book! Elsie and Ben's love story was beautiful, sad, and I ached for Elsie in her grief!

View all my reviews

One Summer by David Baldacci

One Summer by David Baldacci
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I LOVED this stand alone novel by David Baldacci!!! Jack and his daughter Mikki were such great characters, they are flawed but sincere going through a very devastating family crisis. I could not put this book down; it beautifully covers death, grief, family and family problems. I loved the resolution of this story of one man's grief and how moving to a summer home changes his life.

View all my reviews

Iveliz Explains It All by Andrea Beatriz Arango

Iveliz Explains It All by Andrea Beatriz Arango
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this debut novel in verse which do well with middle school and YA with the issues (PTSD, death, grief, anger, mental illness) Iveliz presents. Iveliz has a journal which the reader knows is from her heart and since her father's death, which she blames herself for, she is suffering, feels she can't talk to anyone (especially Mami) and even though she looked forward to a newer better year in 7th grade, she has run ins with friends and family and school. I rooted for Iveliz to share her burdens with others like her psychologist, friend Amir and her grandmother. A must read!

View all my reviews

As Bright As Heaven by Susan Meissner

As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Narrated by: Cassandra Morris, Tavia Gilbert, Jorjeana Marie, Abigail Revasch, this historical fiction novel takes place in Philadelphia 1918 as the Great War rages but Spanish flu pandemic also adds to the deaths. A family moves from Quakertown PA to take over the uncle's funeral parlor and reeling from the death of their 6 month old, the Bright family tries to adjust to this new life/new home as the flu hits. I loved the Bright girls and the way they matured in the story, growing stronger in their beliefs, love life and the family undertaking business. This is one of the Albright College Book Club read recommended by Deb Tarrant! I loved this story!

View all my reviews

When Sea Becomes Sky by Gillian McDunn

When Sea Becomes Sky by Gillian McDunn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved McDunn's book about the special bond between a brother and sister. Bex and Davey love exploring the salt marsh every summer; when they find a hand of a sculpture sticking out of the water mystery abounds as this duo deal with the drought, the purchase of their beloved marsh, and how each strengthens the other. I loved each and every word in this middle grade stunner. Characters were real, the setting--gorgeous even though there is a drought and the plot so strong, magical, beautiful and sad. A must read for all!

View all my reviews

Should We Stay or Should We Go by Lionel Shriver

Should We Stay or Should We Go by Lionel Shriver
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My friend highly recommended this book since we both have parents in their 80s & Shriver concocts short stories about the many ways Cyril & his wife Kay will be leaving the world. I just did not enjoy this premise at all. And with it taking place in England, the Brexit & Covid just fell flat and became repetitive without endearing me to the story. So, no answers here for this reader...should we stay?

View all my reviews

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Narrated by: Brittany Pressley, Jennifer Jill Araya, Gary Tiedemann, Jesse Vilinsky, I listened and did not enjoy the mystery aspect of this audiobook. I loved the narrators but the constant repetition of thoughts, words, etc. found this listener longing for the resolution which I thought took too long to finally get to! I just did not find many characters believable and the mystery was just too bizarre. The plot was not believable to me.

View all my reviews

The Aquanaut: A Graphic Novel by Dan Santat

The Aquanaut: A Graphic Novel by Dan Santat
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this winner of the Nerdie 2022 Graphic Novels- Sophia misses her dad who died in an underwater accident but she still has the water park, Aqualand, her dad and uncle created to wander around in...until the Aquanaut appears and there is a race to save Aqualand and the sea creatures living there. I loved the fantasy aspect, the sea creatures inhabiting the dive suit, the many places they go (school, Aqualand etc) while trying to save the theme park animals. Middle grade readers will tremendously enjoy this graphic novel, highly recommended---awesome illustrations, too!

View all my reviews

The Guncle by Steven Rowley

The Guncle by Steven Rowley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Awesomely narrated by the author, Steven Rowley, Guncle is Patrick, a retired gay actor, who is asked by his brother after his wife's death to care for his 2 children while he is in rehab. What follows is his niece, Maisie and his nephew, Grant moving into his Palm Beach home as they all struggle with the death of his best friend (and also a partner who died in a car accident) & the kids beloved mother. I loved Patrick's theatrics and his growth. The plot, characters & setting were all stellar. Such a great read!!!

View all my reviews

All the Broken Places by John Boyne

All the Broken Places by John Boyne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Many thanks to Milly Neff for recommending this awesome Holocaust book! Oh boy, I loved this novel, but I really tried to like Gretel Fernsby, but her life, her history, her personality kept me reading---but I did not really like her throughout her life from childhood to adulthood. I loved 91 year old Gretel though and this book moved back and forth in time, so chilling, haunting, and sad. Gretel's past has tormented her whole life but as the 91 year old now living in England, I loved these parts of the book most because Gretel has become a caring, forthright, dame who befriends a new family in her complex that calls upon her (demands) to question her own guilt, complicity, and all that she has spent her life running from and can she really help protect violence? A must read!

View all my reviews

All My Rage by Sabaa

All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a haunting must read! I could not stop listening to narrators Deepti Gupta, Kamran R. Khan, and Kausar Mohammed as the tale of 2 teens who have grown up together and life comes crashing down when Misbah, Sal's mother dies, his father is drinking, and secrets Sal is keeping from Noor break them apart. The racism, the abuse, and secrecy were so profound and sinister, that the regret the characters suffer is just so sad. A must read for all!

View all my reviews