I am always impressed when people write memoirs like Ambition Monster that make them out to be horrible people. It’s an interesting kind of honesty. Sure she is calling herself a “monster” but clearly it is supposed to be tongue-in-cheek. I think she came by her personality naturally because her family, particularly her mother, sounded … Continue reading
I had requested this from NetGalley but wasn’t selected so I am happy the library ordered it. The Night of the Storm was a mixed bag. The setting— a hurricane headed for and then hunkering down in Houston, Texas—was fun and different. I liked the time spent on family and cultural dynamics. However, there were … Continue reading
Snacking Bakes was a little repetitive and contradictory at times. The author lists espresso powder and malted milk powder (in detail) twice in her pantry chapter, just a few pages apart. The author makes a big deal about how you never have to refrigerate the dough when making cookies after going on about how tiny … Continue reading
All the Little-Bird Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow Continue reading
I was impressed with Silverton’s confidence in The Cookie…! In the introduction she talks about how she took the “perfect” peanut butter cookie recipe from a former employee (Roxana Jullapat)’s yet up published book and made it even more perfect! She then took her doctored recipe to her agent and pitched a book about making … Continue reading
I have been working my way through all the Ann Cleeves novels as audiobooks. Wild Fire is the last Shetland book. The series isn’t as fatphobic as her Vera series but I do think Cleeves tells on herself a lot in her books. Perez is a real jerk to boss and fling Willow! I have … Continue reading
I don’t read a ton of rom-com type books but I liked Josie Silver’s first book and much like Beth O’Leary I keep reading her subsequent books and they are fine but never quite as good. A Winter in New York seemed like a good seasonal read. I don’t like reading about Christmas or snow … Continue reading
Gilly Macmillan’s books are generally pretty fun so I was looking forward to The Manor House. I do enjoy books set in weird giant houses in England! This one focused on two couples–one living in a garish smart house on the former grounds of a historic house the other couple lived in. Lots of twists … Continue reading
I want to say upfront that I received an ARC of Lost to Dune Road from NetGalley so I’m hoping the mistakes are fixed before publication. I was excited to see Kara Thomas back! I still think her YA is a little more solid than her adult fiction but this was a good start to … Continue reading
I wanted to love Dolls of our Lives! I am a little older than the women who wrote this and didn’t know anyone who could afford these incredibly expensive dolls growing up but we all read the books so I was pretty familiar with the dolls. The catalogue was something I rushed to the mailbox … Continue reading
Rachel Reads Books 