Harisa

This had everything I love in a book. Great writing, a sci fi element, a mystery element all in a general fiction book that explores society, motherhood, and government work!

3.5 rounded up!

This was a strong okay. 2.5 stars, surface level. Katie was by far the worst character.

Overall an interesting book but a bit dry and too academic for me. Took me way too long to get through this

Very melodramatic but that wasn't a bad thing! There were a few small continuity errors but otherwise the writing was very strong. I was into the family backstories and everything else. However, I had a hard time with the party boy “reformed” and everything being so easy for him. He kept saying he “worked” for it but he really didn't. Also Sloane saying this couple is “completely unexpected” is funny bc they're literally from the same socioeconomic class in NYC....its not that unexpected.

This might be a me problem bc I already have a hard time with billionaires and this made it even more difficult. There was also a random scene and Sloane being embarrassed she couldn't cook/bake and that insecurity was just..unnecessary? Like why? She is such an accomplished woman and it was annoying she resorted to that for Xavier of all people. I understand adding depth to a strong character by adding insecurities but I think Sloane just got too much and it took me out of the story.

Omg and the third act breakup and the entire getting back together??? Rough.

I had a really hard time not comparing this to the first book I read by this author and it just wasn't as good. I found myself being a bit bored and missing the drama of the other one. Timeline wise this book is definitely first though!

2.5 rounded up. I think I liked Lundy so much I had a hard time switching it to something else. Found it hard to connect with this one.

This was super good! Very misleading title and cover haha but very action pact and plot heavy book. Lost a star for a bit of a convenient ending but overall a good book and I'll be reading more from
The author.

Very short but definitely packs a punch.

This was interesting but feels SOO dated already based on the amount of early 2000's lingo. I didn't grow up in the evangelical world but entered it on my own as a young adult. I find this very surface level (unfortunately) and she didn't really deep dive into theology or real beliefs in various religions or denominations which was hard for me as someone who cares about that.

“52 churches in 52 weeks” a book available on Amazon did a better job of at least trying to explain theology and is a similar book.

In addition, I had a truly difficult time with how much she couldn't get passed the way she interpreted everything in her own centric way based on how she grew up. Even the way she matter of factly talked about different Bible verses and stories was just...very consistent with her personal brand of Christianity and she seemed to claim it for all Christianity. Again, just a bit surface level for me and the tone of the book just didn't work for me.

2.5 rated up because it's a memoir so I have to give credit where credit is due for her opening up like this.

This was incredibly strong. The third act breakup was very predictable and the only reason why it lost a star.

I've been a slower reader than usual but it looks like I'm back!! Yesterday was a very heavy errand day (and I took a long walk!) so I finished this all in 2 days. I thought it was really good, interesting, and thought provoking. I read a decent amount of non fiction and this was very well written and flowed well. Impressed with the authors writing style.

2.5. Had a lot of potential but not enough was explored, kind of a surface level book

I'm actually very surprised by how much I liked this but I really did!! Great pacing and well written

Unfortunately another book that started out strong but lagged then fizzled out for me. I do appreciate the way this author writes fully fleshed out Christian characters and not caricatures though!

This was very good and the plot unfolded very very well. I'm very impressed

This was really good! Writing was great and character development for our main two characters was also good.

It has the slow burn romance of a cozy but the creepiness and true crime aspect of “criminal minds” + it's set in prohibition era Philly. Overall very good read.

This started out pretty good then fizzled out to pure boredom. Absolutely not what I was expecting from the series title. So so repetitive. Not swoony at all.

3.5 rounded up bc I loved this heroine

This was so good!! I would categorize this as a cozy.

I've been doing a terrible job of reviewing books (even though it was a NYE resolution to at least add one sentence per review).

I want to say I found this book really interesting and incredibly well written. I don't agree with everything the author said but I always like looking for new perspectives and enjoyed the nuance she wrote about in various issues. I've since read that she has publicly retracted some of the nuance but I'm rating this book based on JUST the book.

Her description of motherhood also made me cry and overall I thought this was a very good read.

This was ROUGH but I think it was a me issue. I keep trying to be a fantasy girlie and I am not. I need to accept this.

I liked the atmospheric tone and gothic vibes but that's about it unfortunately.

Very good. the writing here really works for me

Another one where I didn't really like the characters.

This one didn't work for me unfortunately. The set up was cool but the characters and the reason they didn't like each other didn't work for me.