A good start to the year.
Total Number of Books: 15
Total Number of Pages: 4,525
Physical: 1
eBooks: 9
Audiobooks: 5
Favorite (New) Reads of the Month: The Getaway List by Emma Lord AND Everything/Nothing/Someone by Alice Carrière
Physical:
The Year After You by Nina de Pass – ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
This was an average YA read. It was a sad and guilt-ridden story about a girl who believes she’s the one who killed her best friend and is sent to an international boarding school to process that grief.
eBooks:
The Fortune Seller by Rachel Kapelke-Dale – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Still Point by Tammy Greenwood – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ellie Haycock Is Totally Normal by Gretchen Schreiber – ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Mile High by Liz Tomforde – ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Right on Cue by Falon Ballard – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Even If It Breaks Your Heart by Erin Hahn – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Getaway List by Emma Lord – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Come & Get It by Kiley Reid – ⭐️⭐️
I really wish I loved Ellie Haycock Is Totally Normal. Exploring the rare chronic illness VACTERLs, Ellie wrestles with keeping her “sick” life separate from her “normal” life and unfortunately her character was insufferable. Of course, as a teen who has been sick her entire life, she’s kind of justified in her feelings, but she treats everyone around her like shit. Chronic illness rep and the supporting characters were A+, main character, not so much. My biggest disappointment was Come & Get It by Kiley Reid. I loved her debut, Such a Fun Age, but she really hit a sophomore slump. It was boring and dragged on for so long. It should have narrowed its focus to only having one or two points of view. I felt like I was following 10 different storylines that didn’t connect well. Emma Lord is always a slam dunk for me. Her main characters are oozing with personality and The Getaway List is no different. Riley and Tom are probably her sweetest couple yet and the friend group she surrounds them with her chef’s kiss. I think The Heiress is my favorite of Rachel Hawkins’ books. The setting was so atmospheric and addicting to read. I loved the family drama with twists and turns of a plot that I din’t see coming.
Audiobooks:
All the Fighting Parts by Hannah V. Sawyerr – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Forever is Now by Mariama J. Lockington – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wallflower at the Orgy by Nora Ephron – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Everything/Nothing/Someone by Alice Carrière – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Forever is Now by Mariama J. Lockington was an extremely honest portrayal of agoraphobia and anxiety. It also highlighted the mental health struggles living as a black person in America. All the Fighting Parts by Hannah V. Sawyerr was about a girl who was sexually assaulted by a beloved pastor in her community. Both of these novels-in-verse were tremendously powerful. Everything/Nothing/Someone by Alice Carrière was a harsh and raw memoir of the daughter of a distant artist mother and a European father as she struggles with addiction and mental illness. Alice couldn’t believe much of her own memories of her adolescence. Doctor’s were constantly gaslighting her and throwing different medications down her throat leading to psychosis and admittance to many treatment centers.
Lindsay Glenne 