Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang

Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you to Atria Books via NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
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Julie Chan has nothing. Her twin sister has everything. Except a pulse.

Julie Chan, a supermarket cashier with nothing to lose, finds herself thrust into the glamorous yet perilous world of her late twin sister, Chloe VanHuusen, a popular influencer. Separated at a young age, the identical twins were polar opposites and rarely spoke, except for one viral video that Chloe initiated (Finding My Long-Lost Twin And Buying Her A House #EMOTIONAL). When Julie discovers Chloe’s lifeless body under mysterious circumstances, she seizes the chance to live the life she’s always envied.

Transforming into Chloe is easier than expected. Julie effortlessly adopts Chloe’s luxurious influencer life, complete with designer clothes, a meticulous skincare routine, and millions of adoring followers. However, Julie soon realizes that Chloe’s seemingly picture-perfect life was anything but.

Haunted by Chloe’s untimely death and struggling to fit into the privileged influencer circle, Julie faces mounting challenges during a weeklong island retreat with Chloe’s exclusive group of influencer friends. As events spiral out of control, Julie uncovers the sinister forces that may have led to her sister’s demise and realizes she might be the next target.
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I really enjoyed this debut novel from Liann Zhang, but I am having trouble putting into words the reasons I did. It's described as a thriller, but it's not one of those twisty, turny psychological thrillers that you want to race to get to the end of. This book is quite a ride, however, and the plot includes some timely commentary about the electronic world we are living in and the focus we all place on our status in it. It was darkly funny, bent reality almost to the breaking point, and made me uncomfortable in a good way. It was a great way to spend a rainy Saturday off.

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February and March Wrap-ups

 Well, I think it's becoming obvious that I won't be writing individual wrap-ups for February and March, so since neither month was a blockbuster, I thought I would just do a combo. I warned y'all last month that the political goings on here in the US derailed my reading life after the inauguration, and that was very true in February, and although I started to get back on track in March, I didn't really hit my stride until this month. I am in the midst of a very strong reading month right now, and I am looking forward to sharing all about it when April is over. Until that time comes, here's the breakdown of February and March.

In February, I read a total of seven books, and that was a total of 2680 pages. Three of those books were audiobooks, however, which totaled 46 hours of listening time. Of those 46 hours, 21 hours were Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. Generally, I only listen to audiobooks in the car, but I don't spend 46 hours every month in my car. Kingsolver's book was amazing and easily my favorite of the month, and I spent a large amount of time outside my car listening to it as well. If you have it on your TBR list, I would really encourage you to listen to it because the narrator is amazing and really added something to the experience that reading it on my own would not have had. The good news for me in February is that I read and listened to some winners. Five of my books were five-star reads, and I gave the other two four stars. 

One of the books, Back After This by Linda Holmes, was an advanced copy I received through NetGalley and was reviewed here. Two of the books I borrowed from the Free Library of Philadephia via the Libby app. Two of the audiobooks were from Audible, and the third was from Spotify with my Spotify Premium subscription. The final book was a Kindle Unlimited selection, my first of the year, which makes it seem like I am wasting money on that KU subscription, but I have a large list of KU picks on my TBR list and dreams of getting to them someday, so I am going to set a goal of reading two KU books per month starting in May and continuing through the rest of the year. 

Speaking of monthly goals, April has been the first time ever that I made a TBR list for the month, which is an idea I got from a couple of BookTok content creators I have followed in the past, and it has gone really well! I tend to lean into the "mood reader" vibe, but that means that I end up amassing a huge TBR list that I never get to while reading Libby books instead or buying books and reading them immediately or having preordered books appear on my Kindle from my autobuy authors as I fall further and further behind, etc. I made a 25-in-25 challenge in my reading journal this year to work on this, and it is April 18, and of those 25 books, I have read...two. So I decided this month that I would pull some books from some different lists together and make myself a TBR list. It includes NetGalley offerings that have to be reviewed this month, Libby books that I have to finish before they are due back to the library, picks from that 25-in-25 list, books that fulfill the categories in the Goodreads bookmark challenges, and choices from my Book Bingo and the RAD Reading Challenge. This month, there were sixteen books that I put on that list, and I have read 12 of them so far! I am taking a look at all of those lists and putting together May's list right now, and I am feeling excitement about some of those choices from my back list and less overwhelmed by the sheer number of books sitting on it.

And on to March...in March I read 11 books! Better! The total page count was 4219 pages. However, two of the books were audiobooks from Audible that totaled 22 hours and 22 minutes. Two of them, Any Trope But You by Victoria Levine, reviewed here, and Swept Away by Beth Leary, reviewed here, were NetGalley offerings. Three were books I borrowed from the Free Library of Philadelphia via the Libby app. The rest were books I purchased on my Kindle. And one was written by the first author I have ever met in person, which was a fun milestone for me!

My favorite book of the month was The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston, which is not a big shock. I had heard so many amazing things about this book, and I have loved the other two books I have read by Poston. I have become a big fan of this magical realism genre that Heather Webber and Rebecca Serle do so well, and Ashley Poston has become another favorite for me in this realm. I am eagerly looking forward to her 2025 offering, Sounds Like Love.

I think that's all I've got for March! April, as I have mentioned, has been a big one so far, but part of that is because I am finishing up two weeks of PTO this weekend. My family took a big vacation to Walt Disney World and on the Disney Wish, and I spent a good portion of my time on the cruise sitting on our cabin's verandah or on the sun deck with my Kindle in hand. During our nine-day vacation, I managed to finish seven books! I also was on a social media break while on vacation, and I have decided to continue that now that I am home. Facebook and Instagram do not make my brain feel good at all, and being off of those two apps has not been as difficult as I thought it would be. Now, I was on vacation, so it would make sense that it would be easier to stay occupied with things other than scrolling on my phone, but I still had plenty of down time. And with social media out of the picture, I definitely found other things to do that did not make my brain feel the way that social media does...like reading! 

Happy reading!

Summer in a Bottle by Annie Rains

Summer in a Bottle by Annie Rains
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
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In this tender, uplifting novel for fans of Josie Silver and Rebecca Serle, a young woman returns to her North Carolina hometown hoping to make new memories, but finds history repeating itself—literally . . .

Dumped by her fiancé, opinion columnist Lyla Dune returns to small-town Echo Cove to heal, and to help her parents prep their house for sale. When she decides to open a time capsule she buried in high school, past memories lead her to a diary filled with memorable moments from the last summer she spent at home, right before college. Some of the events feel like they happened yesterday. That’s normal. Not so normal is that they actually start happening all over again . . .

Lyla gets a flat tire in the same spot and is saved by the same person. The same movie is playing at the theater. Her house has the same leak it once had. As her current summer increasingly mirrors that last one, Lyla worries it will end just as disastrously: with a category 3 hurricane—and with losing Travis, the best friend she was always secretly in love with. If only she hadn’t been too scared to admit it.

She revisits other fears too, like the fear of rejection that led her to abandon her passion for fiction writing. And when she reconnects with Travis, Lyla becomes certain that unless she does what her younger self was unable to do, she’ll suffer the same regrets. But if this time around she can gather her courage, maybe the life that was falling apart when she arrived will fall back together—even better than before.
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Annie Rains is always good for an enjoyable story that offers plenty of romance but much more than that, and her newest offering is no different. Lyla finds herself back home, a little bit down on her luck and at loose ends, and she isn't sure how she will be received. She has burned some bridges, and she is feeling some trepidation about reconnecting with the people of her past. And then she finds herself experiencing some major déjà vu.

This is a fun book, with a little bit of magic thrown in. There are some more serious plot points (CW: child loss), but for the most part, I found it be very uplifting. The central romance plot is satisfying, and even more satisfying for me was the strong theme of second chances and women's friendships. As we head into summer, this book is the perfect read for anyone who has ever wondered what would happen if you had the chance to go back and right old wrongs or redo some things from your past, as well as anyone who is looking for a warm, feel-good story complete with more than one HEA.


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The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick

The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
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Margaret Ryan never really meant to start a book club . . . or a feminist revolution in her buttoned-up suburb.

By 1960s standards, Margaret Ryan is living the American woman's dream. She has a husband, three children, a station wagon, and a home in Concordia--one of Northern Virginia's most exclusive and picturesque suburbs. She has a standing invitation to the neighborhood coffee klatch, and now, thanks to her husband, a new subscription to A Woman's Place--a magazine that tells housewives like Margaret exactly who to be and what to buy. On paper, she has it all. So why doesn't that feel like enough?

Margaret is thrown for a loop when she first meets Charlotte Gustafson, Concordia's newest and most intriguing resident. As an excuse to be in the mysterious Charlotte's orbit, Margaret concocts a book club get-together and invites two other neighborhood women--Bitsy and Viv--to the inaugural meeting. As the women share secrets, cocktails, and their honest reactions to the controversial bestseller The Feminine Mystique, they begin to discover that the American dream they'd been sold isn't all roses and sunshine--and that their secret longing for more is something they share. Nicknaming themselves the Bettys, after Betty Friedan, these four friends have no idea their impromptu club and the books they read together will become the glue that helps them hold fast through tears, triumphs, angst, and arguments--and what will prove to be the most consequential and freeing year of their lives.
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I have read many of Marie Bostwick’s books in the past and always enjoyed them, so when I found this on NetGalley, I was quick to request it. I don’t read a lot of historical fiction, and I have never (although I am a feminist) read The Feminine Mystique. However, I think the impact Betty Friedan had on women’s realization that there was more to life than what they found in their roles in the family is pretty well known.

Bostwick tells the story of four very different suburban housewives brought together by geography and bonded by what first is a “little” book club but then becomes so much more with such beauty and care and humor. Each women’s story is very different from the other, but the lengths they are willing to go to for each other shows how strong female friendships can hold us up and carry us through all the stages of life. I found myself feeling a full range of emotions, celebrating victories for the women and shedding a tear on an occasion or two. This book is definitely one that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys strong female characters, historical fiction of a period that is perhaps not often written about, and an uplifting story that celebrates the strength of women coming together in community.

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Summer Light on Nantucket by Nancy Thayer

Summer Light on Nantucket by Nancy Thayer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
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A touching novel about parenthood, first love, family bonds, and rekindled relationships from the New York Times bestselling author and beloved Nantucket storyteller Nancy Thayer.

Blythe Benedict is content. Her life didn’t end when her marriage did. In fact, she’s more than happy living in her comfortable house in Boston, working as a middle school teacher, and raising four wonderful children. With three of her kids in the throes of teenagerhood and one not too far behind them, Blythe has plenty of drama to keep her busy every single day.

But no amount of that drama could change the family’s beloved annual summer trip to Nantucket. Blythe has always treasured the months spent at her island home-away-from-home, and has fond memories of her children growing up there. But this summer’s getaway proves to be much more than she bargained for.

Yes, there are sunny days enjoyed at the beach. But Blythe must contend with teenage angst, her ex-mother-in-law’s declining health, and a troubling secret involving her ex-husband. Meanwhile, Blythe reconnects with her first love, her former high school sweetheart Aaden. But their second-time-around romance becomes complicated when another intriguing man enters the picture.

It’s all a bit out of Blythe’s comfort zone. This particular island summer may not be as relaxing as Blythe had hoped, but she’s never felt that life has given her more than she can handle—especially when she has the love and support of her family around her.
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Every summer, I look forward to a new Nancy Thayer novel. After all, what summer would be complete without a trip to Nantucket, if only in my mind? Her ability to capture the beauty and magic of this island (which I have never actually visited) is a delight. I also look forward to the relationships she writes so well, whether they are romantic relationships or friendships or family relationships. She has a real ability to capture the day-to-day nuance in the interactions between people and make them come alive.

That being said, this one was a little less interesting of a story for me. While it still had all the elements that make Thayer’s books special for me, I found myself caring just a little bit less than usual about the love story than I usually do. It wasn’t enough to make it a bad read for me or for me not to recommend it…fans of this type of book will still really enjoy it. But it was not a one-sitting book like so many of Thayer’s books have been in the past. Still, I would give it a solid four stars and recommend it to fans of women’s fiction who enjoy Elin Hilderbrand, Mary Alice Monroe, Dorothea Benton Frank, and similar authors.

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The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner

The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
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Cassie and Zoe Grossberg were thrust into the spotlight as The Griffin Sisters, a pop duo that defined the aughts. Together, they skyrocketed to the top, gracing MTV, SNL, and the cover of Rolling Stone. Cassie, a musical genius who never felt at ease in her own skin, preferred to stay in the shadows. Zoe, full of confidence and craving fame, lived for the stage. But fame has a price, and after one turbulent year, the band abruptly broke up.

Now, two decades later, the sisters couldn’t be further apart. Zoe is a suburban mom warning her daughter Cherry to avoid the spotlight, while Cassie has disappeared from public life entirely. But when Cherry begins unearthing the truth behind their breathtaking rise and infamous breakup, long-buried secrets surface, forcing all three women to confront their choices, their desires, and their complicated bonds.

With richly developed characters, a nostalgic nod to the pop culture of the 2000s, and a resonant tale of ambition, forgiveness, and family, The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits will captivate readers from the first note to the final encore. Whether you’ve followed Jennifer Weiner for years or are discovering her for the first time, this book is a must-read for music lovers, fans of sisterly dramas, and anyone who cherishes a great story of second chances.
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Jennifer Weiner's novel Good in Bed was life-changing for me, and I have continued to read and enjoy every book she has written. I was a little worried about this one because I am not a huge music buff, and it was clear that the music industry was going to be a major plot point...would this be too central to the story to hold my interest? I don't even watch shows like American Idol and The Voice. I listen to podcasts and audiobooks in my car.

Well, it turns out I did not need to worry. This was a story about so much more than music. It was about family and sisterhood and finding yourself and losing yourself and finding yourself again. It was about making mistakes and redeeming yourself. I just finished it, and I have to admit that the words were blurry because my eyes were filled with tears...the ending of this book was one of the most satisfying I have read in a while. I loved it.

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