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Truly Madly Guilty examines the ripple effect that one event can have on the lives of a group of people. It also offers a realistic portrayal of the messy relationships between friends and family. At once a family drama and a suspense story, Truly Madly Guilty will ensure you never think about a neighborhood barbecue the same way again.

Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove is a terrific YA fantasy full of intrigue, romance, torment, and fighting the patriarchy. It's tough to summarize without giving anything away, so I will just stick to praise. I loved the main character, Katyani, and what she learns about herself over the course of the book. She feels very relatable and realistic despite the fact that her world involves monsters and magic. I also enjoyed the South Asian mythology. I definitely recommend this for fantasy fans!

A fun cozy, but pretty predictable in terms of who the murderer was. I enjoyed the Leavenworth, WA setting though and all the beer stuff was entertaining!

The latest installment in the Temperance Brennan series, The Bone Code involves a blast from the past as a new case Tempe catches in North Carolina brings back memories of an unsolved murder she and Ryan worked in Montreal 15 years earlier. She ping pongs between the U.S. and Canada as she works to discover how (or if) the two cases are indeed connected.

I always enjoy a new Bones book (although I have to say, I hardly associate these books with the TV show because they are so different)! I thought the secondary mystery/investigation in this story was unnecessary and it somewhat distracted from the main plot, but overall it was a good read. There's not much character development, but perhaps that's not too surprising for the 20th book in a series. I'm still looking forward to more!

Flower and Thorn adds magic to the historical context of India during the time of its invasion by the Portugese in the 1500s. Irinya is part of a nomadic group that travels the grasslands on the edge of a large salt flat called the Rann. Irinya and other young people in her kul go into the Rann to hunt for magical flowers, each of which possess unique properties. When one of the flower hunters finds an especially rare flower that grants considerable power, it sets in motion of chain of events which sends Irinya far from her home to try to save her kul and all of India.

I enjoyed this book, not just because it is an engaging story, but also because I learned more about a time and place I was not very familiar with. There is a fun cast of characters and a well-paced plot. This was my second Rati Mehrotra book and I look forward to reading more!