Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This might be one of my all-time most favorite series to read. The Wayward children series is so creative, so original and each of the books is so unique. This one might be one of my favorites in a long time, which is a little odd to say because the subject matter is so tough and so heart wrenching. I really really appreciated the author’s note in the beginning, it allowed me to enjoy the story and be present instead of triggering the whole time.

I felt so much compassion and love towards Antoinette, who loses her father and her life from thereon is never the same. One day, she walks through a door and finds herself in the place where the lost things go. But like all the places in these books, things aren’t what they first seem.

This book is so sad and yet so very beautiful. I really loved the themes around innocence, loss and time.

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

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Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars, rounded up

I really liked this fast-paced story about Catherine who is a nurse at an elderly home and her mother, Ruth. They have been together all their lives and have a very close dependable relationship. Until things start to unravel. Catherine catches her mother in one lie, and then another, until she is not sure she can believe anything her mom says and their paths start forking.

This story goes back and forth between the present time and Ruth’s diary entires about her past. While I liked the diary entries, it felt a bit like telling more than showing so made those parts of the story feel like I was reading someone’s synopsis of a book.

Unlike so many mystery books, this one didn’t have any dislikable characters and I found myself rooting both for the mom and the daughter. I read this one in a single sitting and I am sure you will, too.

With gratitude to netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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The Third Person by Emma Grove
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the story of Emma who is transgender and trying to get approval for hormone replacement therapy. So she starts seeing a therapist and slowly they uncover that she has a history of trauma and Dissociative Identity Disorder. The rest of the book is Emma struggling with her therapist and his lack of professionalism and ability to deal with her disorder (in fact, I’d say the therapist is abusive too often.) and her journey working her way through some of her trauma, etc.

It’s really heart wrenching in parts and really disorienting in others. It made me feel really angry at incompetent therapists who do more harm than good and it also broke my heart completely to read all the trauma she had to endure as a little girl. People can be so very cruel.

Many people commented on how big this book is, since I read it as an ebook I didn’t realize that until I started it but to me, it was a fast and engrossing (and heartbreaking) read.

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