The month where I don’t read one physical book
Total Number of Books: 18
Total Number of Pages: 5,686
Physical: 0
eBooks: 13
Audiobooks: 5
Favorite (New) Reads of the Month: Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad AND Dances by Nicole Cuffy
eBooks:
Liar’s Beach by Katie Cotugno – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
When It All Synchs Up by Maya Ameyaw – ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
You Wouldn’t Dare by Samantha Markum – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Once More with Feeling by Elissa Sussman – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The New Mother by Nora Murphy – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Last Word by Katy Birchall – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi – ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Dances by Nicole Cuffy – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Better Than the Prom by Lynn Painter – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jana Goes Wild by Farah Heron – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
You Bet Your Heart by Danielle Parker – ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Night in Question by Kathleen Glasgow & Liz Lawson – ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Queens of New York by E.L. Shen – ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
I had two authors redeem themselves to me this month! Once More with Feeling gave a better story and more interesting characters this time around. Unlike Funny You Should Ask, the second chance romance was believable because the characters could return to an already established foundation. You Wouldn’t Dare gave major Sarah Dessen vibes that I just loved. I love a good friend group and I felt that all our characters were unique and interesting. The story of the future step-sisters felt very believable. I would read more books set in this same coastal town. While The Night in Question didn’t wow me as much as The Agatha’s, I did love being back together with the crew and I will definitely return for anymore Agatha’s the authors are planning. I think the plot got a little overcrowded with kind of solving two mysteries simultaneously. Ariel’s story in The Queens of New York was strong enough to have been its own book—if expanded. The exploration of where and how her sister spent her time before her accident, in turn letting Ariel to discover herself, was a very compelling story. The other two stories offered interesting conversations of class and race, but in comparison, they become forgettable and fall flat.Two ballet books in one month, and really only one worth mentioning. Nicole Cuffy’s debut, Dances, was absolutely beautifully written touching topics of race, sex, addiction, and fraught relationships. Moving from past to present as Cece comes into her own as a dancer, a woman, a daughter, and a sister.
Audiobooks:
It’s Okay to Laugh by Nora McInerny Purmort – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
No Happy Endings by Nora McInerny – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Stash by Laura Cathcart Robbins – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Girl Forgotten by April Henry – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I thought about Between Two Kingdoms for weeks after I finished Jaouad’s book. On a very tiny level, I can relate to some of the struggles that come with going through any kind of chronic illness experience. I felt like I was in that hospital room with her. I feel like I’m slowly following Nora McInerny’s life through her writing. Losing her father, her husband, and suffering a miscarriage is a lost that is completely unfathomable. In both It’s Okay to Laugh and No Happy Endings she writes about loss, grief, and the guilt of moving on with quick-witted humor and total honesty.
Lindsay Glenne 