The Knave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

i read both of these back to back which was likely a mistake.

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The Song of Stork and Dromedary by Anjet Daanje
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It’s been a long time since I read a 700+ page book with my eyes. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book the moment it came out because I had read so much about it and I wanted to read it so badly. And it so so did not disappoint. I will say that I think the descriptions I’ve read, for me, didn’t really do it the kind of justice that connected with me.

Yes this book starts as being about two writer sisters (likely modeled after the Brontes) and there’s a lot about them in the beginning. But the structure is really like a collection of short stories with super short chapters weaved in and the we progress in time with every story. As we get closer to modern day, the connection to the original characters gets more tenuous. In fact, I think that’s one of the reasons the last story was my least favorite.

While most of the stories are about sisters, some are also about brothers, and some are siblings. There’s a lot of death in the book. There’s a lot about marriage. A lot about being a woman. A lot about identity and belonging and autonomy. Every story was unique and incredible in its own way.

Even though I wish there was one more circle back to the original sisters at the very end, and even though I didn’t love the last story as much as I did the others, this book will stay with me for years to come.

And since I read it, I also reread many parts on audio and I was so worried it wouldn’t hold up its magic but it absolutely does. It’s perfect on audio so if you’re into audio, you have a winner here! Henrietta Meire does the most incredible job.

with gratitude to netgalley and Brilliance Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Tear Me Apart by J.T. Ellison
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Fast read but only mildly interesting and I have already completely forgotten about it… eh!

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The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joël Dicker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book more than I thought I would. I had it checked out and returned it to the library many many times, and finally it was time apparently. I am so glad it was. This book was fun and clever and twisty and enjoyable. I loved it.

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Luna, Phoenix, Queen by Julie Orringer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is absolutely fantastic. Very likely to be one of my very favorites from this year. I loved the way it was structured: this read to me like connected stories but each story has a different character’s POV and goes forward in time. It was just absolutely perfectly written with each character telling you more about the other characters and peeling another layer of the onion for you so that you could easily fall in love with them bit by bit. It’s absolutely magnificent.

with gratitude to netgalley and Knopf for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Switzy by Emma Cline
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It appears I am always in the minority when it comes to Cline. It might be that her style just doesn’t speak to me. Even though this was interesting as a concept, I just didn’t really care for it. Eh.

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