Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am a sucker for Groundhog Day stories and I love watching characters pay attention and learn and grow from experiences. Sometimes the trope can get old but in this story it’s done wonderfully well and there are parts that are so tender, so beautifully touching that this story will stay with me for a long, long time. It’s about fitting in, about family and sisterhood, about doing what we think we should vs what we want, it’s about sacrifice.

Sometimes a story comes along that feels so deeply profound in its impact on me and makes me feel so tender and so seen and so deeply touched. This was such a story for me. I don’t know if it will have an equivalent impact on others but I am so grateful that I read this book and I won’t forget it anytime soon.

with gratitude to netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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The Eden Test by Adam Sternbergh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a wild ride. It’s one of those stories where nothing is as it seems and the whole time you’re thinking that something more is going on but you can’t figure out what.

This is the story about a couple where the wife signs them up for a week-long couple experience to help strengthen their marriage. But the tests and trials seem way over the top. The town is very unfriendly to the visitors and some weird, creepy folks are hanging around.

It’s a fast paced story that you will read quickly. There are a lot of trigger warnings so if you’re sensitive to most issues around domestic turbulence, I would not recommend this one. But otherwise, it’s a fast and enjoyable read. And if, like me, you sometimes prefer to listen, the audio is excellent!

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

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Never Lie by Freida McFadden
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

another fast-paced thriller. twisty with characters you’ll love to hate.

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One of the Girls by Lucy Clarke
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

fast paced thriller, women with secrets. it was ok. enjoyed reading it while i was reading it. will likely forget soon but if thrillers are your thing, this one is fun.

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French Holiday by Sarah Ready
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this delightful and fun book while I was lying in bed with COVID and it was the perfect distraction. It’s a delightful and fun romance when two people who don’t like each other are in the same “mansion” which is mostly dilapidated and are stuck having to make it work. Of course it ends the way romances do but there are some fun surprises along the way.

If romance is your genre, you will enjoy this one!

with gratitude to Swift & Lewis Publishing and netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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The Beauty of Rain by Jamie Beck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the story of two sisters, one whose life is irrevocably changed by an accident that killed her husband and son almost a year ago and the other whose family looks “perfect” but is unraveling slowly at the seams as she tries to save her sister, become a partner at her law firm and also be the best mom all at the same time.

There is so much in this book about grief, our sense of self and how it gets wrapped in others, about regret and remorse and marriage and having a child with needs. The characters are real and raw and the look inside their lives is open and earnest.

I loved the characters and even though i can nitpick at parts of it, I really loved this story, too.

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

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