Umm, could someone please explain A House at the Bottom of a Lake to me? Because I sure as hell don’t get it. Admittedly, that could just be me. This could be another Bunny situation going on, where I’m just not existential enough to understand what I just read. What's A House at the Bottom of a Lake about? This novella by Josh Malerman (of well-deserved Bird Box fame) is a horror story. Kind of. It's about two teenagers row out...
Two people in two days told me to read The Midnight Library, and I'm rather glad they did. I'm also glad that I listened to them. What's The Midnight Library about? This unique, thought-provoking novel by Matt Haig maintains a "road not taken" approach. It's about a suicidal woman, Nora, who's magically transported to the "midnight library," a place where each book contains the story of the life she could have lived if she had...
I never really think of December as a spooky time of year. But, author Cassandra Parkin manages to change that with her book The Winter's Child. What's The Winter's Child about? The Winter's Child is full of twists and turns, ghostly premonitions and ghastly visions as main character Susannah waits for her long-lost -- and possibly deceased -- son to return to her on Christmas Eve. Soon, Susannah starts seeing things that...
Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe is as wonderful and lovely as its book cover. Please read it. There. DONE! Book review complete. Oh, okay. I suppose I should tell you a little more about why I blazed through this utterly charming novel by Heather Webber.
What's Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe about? Anna Kate Callow unexpectedly inherits her grandmother’s adorable Blackbird Café, on the stipulation that she uproot her life and move to...
The Lost Apothecary is one of my favorite books of 2021. BOOM! I’ve said it. What's The Lost Apothecary about? There's a lot of story packed into The Lost Apothecary. This novel explores two timelines. There's 1700s Nella, who runs an apothecary shop that sells poisons for women to use against the awful men in their lives, and 12-year-old Eliza, who helps in Nella's shop. And, then there's present-day Caroline, who's visiting...
I uttered "What the fuck?" an unprecedented number of times while reading Bunny. That’s pretty much the only reaction you can have to this novel by Mona Awad. It's a complete What the actual eff??? ride from beginning to end. What's Bunny about? Bunny takes place at a prestigious art school. There’s a pack of hoity-toity, grad school women there who behave like middle schoolers; they roam around in a pack, affectionately...
In Five Years isn't the book I thought it'd be. In a good way. Everyone seemed to be reading this Rebecca Serle novel last year during quarantine, so I was excited to score a copy from my library as quickly as I did. I'd just read two heavy books back-to-back, and I wanted -- nay, needed -- a fun, breezy women's fiction/romance to lighten up my mood. Well. In Five Years was NOT the book to pick up for that. But, I'm glad I read it anyway....
House of Salt and Sorrows is aptly named: there's a heck of a lot of Salt, and there's way more sorrow than necessary plaguing the Thaumas family. The more you read, the more you're like, Sheesh, hasn't this family been through enough??? What's House of Salt and Sorrows about? House of Salt and Sorrows is author Erin A. Craig's reimagining of the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. We...
Little Darlings by Melanie Golding is So. Freakin’. GOOD. I’m not usually a fan of stories that blur the line between supernatural and psychotic – is there really something otherworldly going on, or is the main character just crazy? – but Little Darlings may be one of the best exceptions I’ve ever come cross. What's Little Darlings about? I raced through Little Darlings in about two days. I read for hours, got about four hours...
Aunt Dimity and The King's Ransom is cozy AF. I know, probably not how you expected me to begin this book review. Especially with the name "Aunt Dimity" in the title. But, "cozy AF" is the best way to describe this light, cute, and almost wholesome mystery. It begins with a cozy family living in a cozy Cotswold village. *swoon* Main character Lori is overstressed, so her too-perfect-to-be-true husband books them a romantic weekend away at a...
