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
I have watched the Vera show for years along with Shetland and the short lived The Long Call. I had read the first book years ago and Vera Stanhope is only in it briefly and the book was long and the writing a little stilted so I didn’t pick up more. Then I thought to … Continue reading
I had no idea who this woman was until I read Birdie and Harlow (I came across this book in the “coming soon” section of the library’s website) but apparently she had a popular blog for a long time that seems to be defunct now. I thought it might be fun to read a light … Continue reading
I don’t even think I realized Exit Interview was about Amazon until I checked it out of the library, it was a “coming soon” title and the author seemed familiar so I put it on hold. The cover should have been a little clue but I think I thought it was just about office work. … Continue reading
I liked the idea of The Summer She Vanished but it could have done with some editing. There was a fair amount of repetition—for example the main character, Maggie, thought things like “why didn’t I think of that” about nearly every revelation. The American characters also used a lot of British terminology like “smallhold” that … Continue reading
I’m not sure this is my usual genre but it looked cute and if Susanna Hoffs can’t write about a one hit wonder than who can? I found This Bird Has Flown to be a little off. Not horrible but some core parts, to me, made little sense. I liked the premise; one does wonder … Continue reading
The Golden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays by Irena Smith was the rare book that really surprises me with it’s content. In retrospect I can see how the title can be read both ways–her life written in the style of college admissions essays or her life in college admissions essays. It is a … Continue reading
Rachel Reads Books 