Beach Read (an oldie but goodie) by Emily Henry

Beach Read by Emily Henry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In the past, if you were to ask me what my favorite Emily Henry book was, I would tell you without hesitation that it was this one. When I first read it back when it was released in 2020, I devoured it in one day and LOVED it. However, at that time, I didn't write a review because, well, I really usually only write reviews for books that I read advanced copies of, and this was not one of those.

Recently, I have gotten in the habit of going back and listening to some books that I have loved. I OD'd on political podcasts over the course of the last year, and now I like to spend my driving time listening to audiobooks, and this has given me the wonderful opportunity to revisit some of my old friends like Abby Jimenez's masterpieces and some of my favorites from Christina Lauren, and I have spent the last ten days or so listening to Beach Read. I am happy to report that it is still my favorite Emily Henry book.

Everything I loved about this book is still true. The setting, the characters, the plot...the way this author can just transport me into the middle of her story. The narrator for this audiobook is amazing. And because it had been 4 1/2 years since I had read the book, while I still had the impressions of what I loved about the book, I didn't have total recall of all the details, so rereading it was almost like reading it again for the first time. While Emily Henry has given us some wonderful works in the years since this one, I don't know that any will ever compare to this, my first. I once again give it an enthusiastic five stars and have loved the time I spent immersed in it.

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The Love Haters by Katherine Center (SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!)

The Love Haters by Katherine Center
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

WHAT IS THIS IN MY EMAIL? An invitation to read an advanced copy of Katherine Center’s new book? BRB, I have some reading to do!!

Thank you SO MUCH to St. Martin’s Press (via NetGalley) for not making me wait until May to read this!

There is something about opening a Katherine Center book that just brings a smile to my face. I know that I can look forward to a strong, relatable FMC, a swoon-worthy MMC, and a story that has some meat to it. I have been divorced for over a decade now and have no desire even to dip my toe into the dating scene, but I devour romantic comedies like this one, and once again, this author has delivered.
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Katie Vaughn has been burned by love in the past―now she may be lighting her career on fire. She has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or, at her coworker Cole’s request, take a career-making gig profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West.

The catch? Katie’s not exactly qualified. She can’t swim―but fakes it that she can.

Plus: Cole is Hutch’s brother. And they don’t get along. Next stop paradise!

But paradise is messier than it seems. As Katie gets entangled with Hutch (the most scientifically good looking man she has ever seen . . . but also a bit of a love hater), along with his colorful Aunt Rue and his rescue Great Dane, she gets trapped in a lie. Or two.

Swim lessons, helicopter flights, conga lines, drinking contests, hurricanes, and stolen kisses ensue―along with chances to tell the truth, to face old fears, and to be truly brave at last.
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Less than seven hours have passed since I got the email offering me the opportunity to read The Love Haters, and I just finished it. To say that I accomplished nothing else today is an understatement. I carried my Kindle around the house with me as I did what little I did get done so that I could just keep reading. I loved Katie and found her so relatable, as she struggled with some of the very same things that I have in my past, and I enjoyed so much the dance that she and Hutch did around each other. The supporting cast of characters lent so much to the story, and as always, the research into the details was impeccable...I even learned a little something! All in all, this was an amazing way to spend my afternoon, and the only downside is that I now will have to wait over a year to have another new Katherine Center book to enjoy!

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You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego

You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam for providing me with an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
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When renowned anonymous author J. R. Alastor hires former aspiring writer Mila del Angél to host a writing retreat at his private manor off the coast of Maine, she jumps at the chance—particularly since she has an ax to grind with one of the invitees. The guest list? Six thriller authors, all masters of deceit, misdirection, and mayhem.

Confess the crimes, survive the tropes.

Alastor and Mila have masterminded a week of games, trope-fueled riddles, and maybe a jump scare or two—the perfect cover for Mila to plot a murder of her own. But when a guest turns up dead—and it’s not the murder she planned—Mila finds herself trapped in a different narrative altogether.

One by one, you’ll lose your turn.

With a storm cutting off the island, and the body count rising, Mila must outwit a killer who knows literally every trick in the book.

Until only one of us remains…
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I first was drawn to this book because it reminded me a little bit of the movies Murder by Death and Clue, both long time favorites of mine. Murder, a mansion, writers, games, riddles...all of it seemed to have the makings of a good, twisty story. I have been a casual thriller reader in the past, but this year I have really leaned in and have been tearing through thrillers, and I was looking forward to reading this one when it was released. Reading it before its release date was an unexpected bonus!

It did take a little bit of time for the action to ramp up in this book, but once it did, I was all in. The twists and turns kept coming, and there were plenty of times that I was truly surprised by what happened next, which is what I think we always hope for when we are reading a thriller. The final twist at the end was not one that I saw coming, and I came away feeling very satisfied with the outcome.

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The Note by Alafair Burke

The Note by Alafair Burke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
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It was meant to be a harmless prank.

Growing up, May Hanover was a good girl, always. Well-behaved, top of her class, a compulsive rule-follower. Raised by a first-generation Chinese single mother with high expectations, May didn’t have room to slip up, let alone fail. Her friends didn’t call her the Little Sheriff for nothing.

But even good girls have secrets. And regrets. When it comes to her friendship with Lauren and Kelsey, she's had her fair share of both. Their bond—forged when May was just twelve years old—has withstood a tragic accident, individual scandals, heartbreak and loss. Now the three friends have reunited for the first time in years for a few days of sun and fun in the Hamptons. But a chance encounter with a pair of strangers leads to a drunken prank that goes horribly awry.

When she finds herself at the center of an urgent police investigation, May begins to wonder whether Lauren and Kelsey are keeping secrets from her, testing the limits of her loyalty to lifelong friends.

What had they gone and done?
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I have been deep in my thriller era in 2024, so I was excited to try out a new-to-me author in the thriller genre. I will definitely check out Alafair Burke's backlist after having read her newest! The Note had some of the elements that really make me appreciate a great novel...a setting that I can imagine myself in the midst of, characters that I really resonate with, enough intrigue and suspense to keep me reading, and twists that aren't so twisty that they feel forced. I enjoyed the friendship among the three FMCs, especially since I was also a summer camp girl in my past and know well the kind relationships that can be forged there. Once I got through the beginning chapters, I settled in and finished the entire book in one sitting. I do have to admit that I figured out who the "bad guy" was a little bit before the big reveal, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the journey to get there. All in all, this was a fun read and one I would definitely recommend to any thriller fan.

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Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young

Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
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High school sweethearts Sarah and Caleb Linwood have always been a sure thing. For the past seventeen years, they have had each other’s backs through all of life’s ups and downs.

But Sarah has begun to wonder . . . who is she without her other half?

When she decides to take on a project of her own, a fundraising gala in memory of her late mother, Sarah wants nothing more than to prove to herself—and to everyone else—that she doesn’t need Caleb’s help to succeed. She’s still her mother’s daughter after all, independent and capable.

That is, until the event fails and Caleb uninvitedly steps in to save the day.

The rift that follows unearths a decade of grievances and doubts. Are they truly the same people they were when they got married at nineteen? Are they supposed to be?

In a desperate attempt to fix what they fear is breaking, Sarah and Caleb make the spontaneous decision to get out of their comfort zones and join a grueling hiking trip intended to guide couples through rough patches.

What follows is a life-affirming comedy of errors as two nature-averse people fight their way out of the woods in order to find their way back to their roots.
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I was a HUGE fan of the book that preceded this one, Out on a Limb, so when I got the email letting me know I was approved to receive an advanced copy of Out of the Woods, I was BEYOND excited! Bo and Win's story was just so much fun, and I was so excited to hear more from Hannah Bonam-Young, who I know is going to be an auto-buy author for me. I started this book sometime this afternoon, and I basically sat on my couch reading it until it was done. Was it just as good as Out on a Limb? Maybe not. Was it still a solid five-star read for me that had me believing in the power of love and HEAs? Absolutely.

Something I loved in this book is the relationships among the minor characters in the book, almost to the point that there was a small ensemble cast of characters that lent a found family element to the book. Found family is one of my favorite book tropes, so I was all there for it, and anyone who has read Out of a Limb knows that found family is a major part of Sarah and Win's story. I loved learning more about their early years, and I loved seeing how people who have known each for so long can continue to grow in their relationships with one another.

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Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to Knopf, via NetGalley, who provided me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
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Gail Baines is having a bad day. To start, she loses her job—or quits, depending on whom you ask. Tomorrow her daughter, Debbie, is getting married, and she hasn’t even been invited to the spa day organized by the mother of the groom. Then, Gail’s ex-husband, Max, arrives unannounced on her doorstep, carrying a cat, without a place to stay, and without even a suit.

But the true crisis lands when Debbie shares with her parents a secret she has just learned about her husband to be. It will not only throw the wedding into question but also stir up Gail and Max’s past.

Told with deep sensitivity and a tart sense of humor, full of the joys and heartbreaks of love and marriage and family life, Three Days in June is a triumph, and gives us the perennially bestselling, Pulitzer Prize–winning writer at the height of her powers.
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Anne Tyler is such a special kind of writer because she can take such ordinary subject matter and weave it into a beautful story. This book takes place the day before, the day of, and the day after Gail's daughter's wedding. How much of consequence can really be crammed into that story? But in telling the everyday story of everyday people doing everyday things, Tyler somehow crafts such a lovely tale, and at the end of it, I just found myself wanting to read more of these wonderful stories. It looks like 2025 is going to be the year of Anne Tyler for me because I have only read one other of her books, so I am lucky enough to have many more to explore. I am not even kidding you when I tell you that I read the last words, CLASPED MY ACTUAL HANDS OVER MY HEART, and said aloud in my living room that was empty except for me and my dogs, "Oh, perfect," as I teared up a little bit. So obviously this was a five-star read for me.

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Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh

Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
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Something is wrong with Ruby Johnson.

A former resident of the ultra-elite Manhattan upper class, Ruby now works as a maid in the type of houses she used to live in. Unassuming, she sees everyone’s dirty secrets from the inside of their beautiful, renovated brownstones. But when Ruby witnesses a murder, she has wicked plans in mind that don’t involve telling the authorities the truth.

Eddie Flynn, streetwise ex con-artist-turned-defense attorney, is the only lawyer in New York City willing to take on hopeless cases. And none is more hopeless than John Jackson’s—the gun that killed his neighbor found, with Jackson’s DNA, in his own home. Flynn and his unconventional team will need to use every trick they know to keep an innocent man from being locked up. But to save his client’s life, Eddie must first protect his own, as the scariest organized criminals in the city are out for his head.
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I first heard of Steve Cavanagh just this year when his breakout hit Kill For Me, Kill For You was all over BookTok and Bookstagram. I read it and loved it, so when this book showed up on NetGalley, I was quick to request it for review. I found out it was the eighth in a series and was a little hesitant to jump right into the middle of Eddy Flynn's world, but I did a little research, and the general consensus was that it would be okay to take this book on as a standalone. And I have to say that I agree. Cavanagh gives enough of Flynn's backstory in the book that, even not having read any of the prior seven books, I was able to enjoy every bit of this book and this character. And I now will look forward to going back and reading the rest of the series (but this time in order).

Cavanagh crafts a suspenseful and complicated tale, and you definitely have to pay attention because there are a lot of moving parts, but if you can hang in there, they conclusion is very satisfying. He has a way of writing characters that are very...human. I really enjoyed getting to know their layers and their motivations for acting the way they did. My brain remained engaged for this entire book because there were no freebies...every single twist was one I did not see coming. I look forward to reading more from this author and will continue to look for opportunities to spend time in the worlds he crafts.

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The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
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Stephanie and Jasmine have nothing and everything in common. The two women don’t know each other but are on the same plane. Stephanie is on a business trip and Jasmine is fleeing an abusive relationship. After a few days, they text their friends the same exact messages about the same man—the messages becoming stranger and more erratic.

And then the two women vanish. The texts go silent, the red flags go up, and the panic sets in. When Stephanie and Jasmine are each declared missing and in danger, it begs the questions: Who is Trent McCarthy? What did he do to these women— or what did they do to him?

Twist upon twist, layer upon layer, where nothing is as it seems, THE BUSINESS TRIP takes you on a descent into the depths of a mastermind manipulator. But who is playing who?
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I have a lot of good things to say about this book. The premise was intriguing, and the first two-thirds of it really had me zipping along, eager to see what was going to happen next. It is told from multiple points of view (many, many points of view), which was initially difficult for me to get used to, but once I did, I appreciated hearing the story from so many characters' viewpoints.

Unfortunately, the characters were just so unlikeable, and so many plot points became so far-fetched that the story fell apart a little bit for me. I once had a beloved English teacher tell our class, "It's fiction; accept it." However, so many events fell into place so conveniently in this book that it was difficult for me to do that in this case. Once we got to the big twist at the end, it was hard to suspend my disbelief enough to find satisfaction in the conclusion of the story. Still, it was an enjoyable read, and I will be interested to see what we see from this author in the future.

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Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone

Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and The Dial Press for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
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How do you find yourself after you lose the one you loved the most?

Grieving the loss of her best friend, a young woman’s life is turned upside down when she meets a grumpy stranger who swears he can help her live again, in this heartwarming, slow-burn romance by the author of Ready or Not.

Lenny’s a bit of a mess at the moment. Ever since cancer stole away her best friend, she has been completely lost. She’s avoiding her concerned parents, the apartment she shared with her best friend, and the ever-laminated “live again” list of things she’s promised to do to survive her grief. But maybe if she acts like she has it all together, no one will notice she’s falling apart.

The only gigs she can handle right now are temporary babysitting jobs, and she just landed a great one, helping overworked, single mom Reese and her precocious daughter, Ainsley. The only catch: Ainsley’s uncle, Miles, always seems to be around, and is kind of. . . a walking version of the grumpy cat meme. Worse – he seems to be able to see right through her.

Surprisingly, Miles knows a lot about grief and he offers Lenny a proposition. He’ll help her complete everything on her “live again” list if she’ll help him connect with Ainsley and overcome his complicated relationship with Reese. Lenny doubts anything can fill the void her best friend has left behind, but between late night ferry rides, midnight ramen, and a well-placed shoulder whenever she needs it, Miles just won’t stop showing up for her. Turns out, sometimes your life has to end to find your new beginning.
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I heard all the buzz about Cara Bastone's last book Ready or Not on the socials, so when I saw Promise Me Sunshine come up on NetGalley, I was quick to request it. After reading Ready or Not, I was even more excited to read this new offering, and I was looking forward to making it my first read of 2025. No regrets at all.

As in her previous offering, this author has given us characters who are just so likeable. Lenny is so real and flawed and messy, and I just wanted to crawl into the pages of the book and give her a big hug. Miles is everything. The story manages to be both deep and meaningful while also being fun and lighthearted. The subplots are fully developed parts of a beautiful whole, and the entire thing is was just an amazing start to me reading year.

I am excited to see there is a back catalog of books from this writer, and I look forward to adding her to my list of auto-buy authors. Big thanks to social media for sending her my way!

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Bloggity-Blog-Blog-Blog

 In 2024, I read 155 books. I have been a reader for as long as I can remember, but 2024 was a year like no other for my reading journey. The last year I read anywhere near as many books as this was the year I broke my wrist and was out of work for about eight weeks (2013), when I read 132. "What changed this year?" you (if anyone ever reads this) might ask. Well, back in April, I bought a stand for my Kindle and a clip-on remote page turner, and suddenly I went from reading five books in March to 19 books in April. Apparently, having to hold the Kindle in my hand and tap the screen to turn the page was the thing that was holding me back? In any case, my reading took off, and my initial Goodreads Challenge goal of 50 books for the year was achieved by the middle of June. I upped the goal to a lofty 150, and then later in the year scaled it back to 125 when I didn't think I was going to make it. Well, I ended up reading 25 books in December, which brought me to that final total of 155. One book was a Baby-sitters Club nostalgia re-read and three of the books were novellas, but I still read 151 full-length novels throughout the year. Some people run marathons and raise children. I read books.

I belong to a couple of online book clubs through social media, and at the end of the year, people shared their reading totals, and it was amazing how many people felt some kind of way about the people who read higher numbers of books throughout the year. First of all, there are the anti-trackers. "Reading is not a competition." "I don't track my books." "I just read for fun." To me, there is a little bit of an air of superiority in some of those posts, honestly, as if I am being judged for setting a goal, one that I have been setting every year since 2013, and taking enjoyment in trying to accomplish it. And then there are the disbelievers. "There's no way you can read that many books." "Don't you have a job?" "How do you even remember the books you read?" "Is that all you do?" "Did you just read a bunch of children't books?" Some of the people who shared their achievements read greater than 300 books last year, which is an amazing feat. However, maybe they are homebound. Maybe they are retired. Maybe they have no family. Maybe they read as part of their job. I happen to work three days most weeks and then prefer to spend most of my free time at home, and I have always been a fast reader. I don't read the kind of books that you have to remember. When I am reading a book, I really am enjoying it. However, most books I read are books I am enjoying while I am reading them. They are fun while they last, and when they are over, it's time for a new book. 

Anyway, one exciting part of becoming a prolific reader is having the opportunity to receive advanced reader copies (ARCs) of favorite authors' books (and some newly discovered authors' books) and review them before their publication date. Never in a million years did I think I would become someone who got to do something like that. I mostly post my reviews on Goodreads and occasionally on social media, but I am going to start posting them here as well, in the event that this blog ever gets any kind of following, so that the authors and publishers who are so kind to share their books with me can get a little bit of exposure here as well. Most often, I get these advanced copies through my participation in NetGalley, but on occasion, I get advanced copies emailed to me directly from the publisher, and for someone who loves reading as much as I do, there is nothing more exhilarating. 

In 2025, I really plan to lean in to my identity as a reader, and so far that has meant creating a reading journal, making a commitment to read and review every ARC I received in 2025, and maybe growing my book-themed sweatshirt collection. I used to worry that reading as a hobby was not "enough," but now that Bookstagram and BookTok have exploded so much, I realize what I wish I had been able to see all along. If staying at home with my dogs and my Kindle are what makes me happy, that is all I need. I don't need to be someone I am not. I can just be happy to be me.