A quick review of The Ascent by Allison Buccola Continue reading
Category Archives: review
Other People’s Houses by Clare Mackintosh
I was really looking forward to Other People’s Houses. I ended up getting an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher but I had pre-ordered it because my local libraries don’t always carry her books. I really enjoyed the first (and second!) book in this series (and her other books) but this one was a little … Continue reading
Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth
Mad Mabel was a delight! I was hopeful because I loved the cover and I’ve enjoyed other books by Sally Hepworth. I was not disappointed. The side characters from her aunt and her neighbors were a lot of fun. They all felt fully fleshed out and just odd enough to be interesting but not too … Continue reading
Hunger Like a Thirst: From Food Stamps to Fine Dining, a Restaurant Critic Finds Her Place at the Table by Besha Rodell
I had high hopes but Hunger Like a Thirst didn’t flow well and was frustrating to read.. It was largely chronological but then she’d throw in some random essays Her mother left her minor sister with them early in their marriage and her career and then didn’t give them financial support. I would have liked … Continue reading
Everyone is Lying to You by Jo Piazza
If it wasn’t for some dark themes I would have thought this book was written for children. The writing is very simplistic. Everyone’s thought process is very black and white. The bad men are very bad. The influencers are all liars. The prairie is vast. It is an odd choice to write about influencers when … Continue reading
A Beautiful Family by Jennifer Trevelyan
This may be my favorite book of 2025 so far! I loved the New Zealand setting. I felt like I was eating sausages right along with them. It did a great job of having a child narrator without it feeling childish or too all knowing. It really hit all the parts of childhood—family dynamics and … Continue reading
We Don’t Talk about Carol by Kristen L. Berry
I enjoyed We Don’t Talk about Carol but at times it was a bit convoluted and sprawling. I’m not sure if the pregnancy storyline was needed or fit. It took away momentum from her family of origin story, the story of these missing Black girls and the investigation. I liked the main character and she … Continue reading
You Belong Here by Megan Miranda
You can always count on Miranda to have a busy plot with a lot of characters but to tie up loose ends. This book was no different. I enjoyed the townie vs college dynamics and how she touched on being a relatively young mother of a college student when some of her peers have elementary … Continue reading
Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman
Laura Lippman’s fixation with weight is in full effect in Murder Takes a Vacation. It was brought up so many times. It was a major feature of her Tess Monaghan books as well but it seems to have escalated. Who talks about their weight that much to strangers? And friends? She had virtually no other … Continue reading
food / food writing / memoir / review
The French Ingredient: Making a Life in Paris One Lesson at a Time by Jane Bertch
I thought this would be a fun foodie memoir to read during a difficult time (my father-in-law just died and my dad is freshly out of the hospital after a long stay) but The French Ingredient: Making a Life in Paris One Lesson at a Time by Jane Bertch was a big disappointment. For some … Continue reading
Rachel Reads Books 