contemporary fiction – Always With a Book

k2reader December 4, 2024

The Answer is No by Fredrik Backman #bookreview #shortstory

I obtained this e-book through my Kindle Unlimited Subscription. Publisher: Amazon Original Stories Published: December 1, 2024 Summary: In a hilarious short story from New York Times bestselling author Fredrik Backman, the absurdities of modern life cause one man’s solitary world to spin suddenly, and comically, out of control. Lucas knows the perfect night entails just three things: video games, wine, and pad thai. Peanuts are a must! Other people? Not so…

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k2reader November 25, 2024

Feels Like Falling by Kristy Woodson Harvey #bookreview #audiobook #reread

I purchased this audiobook for my own copy. Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio Published: April 28, 2020 Summary: It’s summertime on the North Carolina coast and the livin’ is easy. Unless, that is, you’ve just lost your mother to cancer, your sister to her extremist husband, and your husband to his executive assistant. Meet Gray Howard. Right when Gray could use a serious infusion of good karma in her…

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k2reader October 28, 2024

Natural Selection by Elin Hilderbrand #bookreview #audiobook #shortstory

I obtained this audiobook through my Kindle Unlimited Subscription. Publisher: Amazon Original Stories Published: September 1, 2024 Summary: When her boyfriend bails at the last minute, a New York woman embarks on their couples’ cruise alone to find that maybe the person she was supposed to fall in love with was herself. After a string of bad dates and no prospects, Sophia Othonos has finally hit the jackpot: an actual…

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k2reader September 29, 2024

Once More from the Top by Emily Layden #bookreview

Thank you to Mariner Books, #partner, for an advanced e-copy of Once More from the Top in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Mariner Books Published: September 10, 2024 Summary: A propulsive, layered novel about the meteoric rise of a legendary pop star and the secret she’s kept hidden for fifteen years, for fans of Megan Abbott and Daisy Jones & the Six. Everyone in America knows Dylan Read,…

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k2reader September 25, 2024

The Christmas Countdown by Holly Cassidy #bookreview

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons, #partner, for an advanced copy of The Christmas Countdown in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Published: October 22, 2024 Summary: From the author of The Christmas Wager comes a charming holiday rom-com about a young, recently heartbroken woman who is tasked by her sister to complete Advent calendar challenges in the lead up to Christmas to reignite her belief in herself, the…

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k2reader August 27, 2024

The Same Bright Stars by Ethan Joella #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Scribner #partner, for the advanced copy of The Same Bright Stars in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the audiobook for my collection. Publisher: Scribner / Simon & Schuster Audio Published: July 2, 2024 Summary: Three generations of Schmidts have run their family’s beachfront restaurant, and Jack has been at the helm since his father’s death. He puts the demands of the restaurant above all else, with…

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k2reader August 4, 2024

A Happier Life by Kristy Woodson Harvey #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the ALC and Uplit Reads / Gallery Books #partner, for the advanced copy of A Happier Life in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Gallery Books / Simon and Schuster Audio Published: June 25, 2024 Summary: Present Day: Keaton Smith is desperate for a fresh start. So when her mother needs someone to put her childhood home in Beaufort, North Carolina, on…

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k2reader July 17, 2024

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you Hachette Audio, #partner for the ALC of Part of Your World in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the physical book. Publisher: Forever/Hachette Audio Published: April 11, 2023 Summary: A novel of terrible first impressions, hilarious second chances, and the joy in finding your perfect match. Dr. Briana Ortiz’s life is seriously flatlining. Her divorce is just about finalized, her brother’s running out of time to…

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k2reader June 29, 2024

Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Hachette Audio, #partner for the ALC of Swan Song in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Hachette Audio Published: June 11, 2024 Summary: In the grand finale of “queen of the beach read” Elin Hilderbrand’s beloved Nantucket novels, there’s a new couple in town… and they instantly shake things up. Amid the extravagant parties on land and sea, there’s trouble on the island, forcing Chief of Police Ed…

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k2reader June 25, 2024

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.fm / Macmillan Audio, for the ALC and St. Martin’s Press, #partner for the finished copy of The Rom-Commers in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio Published: June 11, 2024 Summary: She’s rewriting his love story. But can she rewrite her own? Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies―good ones!…

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k2reader June 24, 2024

Anna Bright is Hiding Something by Susie Orman Schnall #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you BookSparks, #partner for the advanced copy of Anna Bright is Hiding Something in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the audiobook for my personal collection. Publisher: Spark Press / Dreamscape Media Published: June 4, 2024 Summary: The Dropout meets Inventing Anna in this cinematic and page-turning summer read! A ripped-from-the-headlines story set in the glossy offices of Silicon Valley startups and NYC new media, Anna Bright Is Hiding Something explores our…

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k2reader June 14, 2024

The Sixth Wedding by Elin Hilderbrand #bookreview #audiobook

I borrowed this audiobook from the library. Publisher: Hachette Audio Published: June 29, 2021 Summary: A sequel to the number one New York Times best seller 28 Summers – Jake McCloud returns to Nantucket for Labor Day weekend 2023, this time without Mallory. My thoughts: I somehow missed this sequel to 28 Summers when it came out. I loved 28 Summers and even though it’s been a while since I read that…

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k2reader May 20, 2024

Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you Hachette Audio, #partner for the ALC of Part of Your World in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Hachette Audio Published: April 19, 2022 Summary: After a wild bet, gourmet grilled-cheese sandwich, and cuddle with a baby goat, Alexis Montgomery has had her world turned upside down. The cause: Daniel Grant, a ridiculously hot carpenter who’s ten years younger than her and as casual as they come—the complete…

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k2reader April 15, 2024

The Winners by Fredrik Backman #bookreview #series

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. Publisher: Atria Books Published: September 12, 2023 Summary: Over the course of two weeks, everything in Beartown will change. Two years have passed since the events that no one wants to think about. Everyone has tried to move on, but there’s something about this place that prevents it. The destruction caused by a ferocious late-summer storm reignites the old rivalry…

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k2reader March 27, 2024

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the ALC and Atria Books #partner, for the finished copy of Expiration Dates in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Atria Books / Simon & Schuster ALC Published: March 19, 2024 Summary: Being single is like playing the lottery. There’s always the chance that with one piece of paper you could win it all. From the New York Times bestselling author of In…

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k2reader February 7, 2024

When We Were Bright and Beautiful by Jillian Medoff #bookreview #audiobook #backlistreview

Thank you Libro.fm / Harper Audio, for the ALC and Harper, #partner, for an advanced copy of When We Were Bright and Beautiful in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Harper / Harper Audio Published: August 2, 2022 Summary: The acclaimed, bestselling author of This Could Hurt returns with her biggest, boldest novel yet–an electrifying, twisty, and deeply emotional family drama, set on Manhattan’s glittering Upper East Side, that explores the…

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k2reader January 20, 2024

Here in Avalon by Tara Isabella Burton #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the ALC and SimonBooksBuddies / Simon and Schuster / Netgalley, #partner, for the advanced copy of Here in Avalon in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Simon & Schuster / Simon & Schuster Audio Published: January 2, 2024 Summary: A New York City fairy tale about two sisters that fall under the spell of an underworld cabaret troupe that might be a…

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k2reader January 3, 2024

Us Against You by Fredrick Backman #bookreview #series

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. Publisher: Washington Square Press Published: March 5, 2019 Summary: The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and Beartown returns with an unforgettable novel. Have you ever seen a town fall? Ours did. Have you ever seen a town rise? Ours did that, too. A small community tucked deep in the forest, Beartown is home to tough, hardworking people who don’t expect life…

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k2reader December 19, 2023

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim #bookreview #audiobook

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Sarah Crichton Books / Macmillan Audio Published: April 16, 2019 Summary: A literary courtroom thriller about an immigrant family and a young single mother accused of killing her autistic son, Miracle Creek is a powerhouse debut about how far we’ll go to protect our families, and our deepest secrets. In rural Miracle Creek, Virginia, Young…

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k2reader December 19, 2023

Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.fm / Simon & Schuster Audio, for the ALC of Little Monsters in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the print book for my own collection. Publisher: Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster Audio Published: June 27, 2023 Summary: From the author of the bestselling memoir Wild Game comes a riveting novel about Cape Cod, complicated families, and long-buried secrets—for fans of the New York…

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k2reader November 27, 2023

Beartown by Fredrik Backman #bookreview #series #backlistreview

Thank you Atria Books, #partner, for the finished copy of Beartown in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Washington Square Press Published: March 23, 2021 (Originally Published 2016) Summary: From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anxious People, a dazzling and profound novel about a small town with a big dream—and the price required to make it come true. By the lake in Beartown is an old ice rink, and in…

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k2reader November 4, 2023

Maame by Jessica George #bookreview #audiobook

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio Published: January 31, 2023 Summary: Maame (ma-meh) has many meanings in Twi but in my case, it means woman. It’s fair to say that Maddie’s life in London is far from rewarding. With a mother who spends most of her time in Ghana (yet still somehow manages…

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k2reader October 15, 2023

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you PRH Audio for the ALC of Happiness Falls in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the print book for my own collection. Publisher: Hogarth / Random House Audio Published: August 29, 2023 Summary: When a father goes missing, his family’s desperate search leads them to question everything they know about him and one another–both a riveting page-turner and a deeply moving portrait of a family in…

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k2reader September 28, 2023

The Museum of Failures by Thrity Umrigar #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC and Algonquin Books, #partner for the finished copy of The Museum of Failures in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Algonquin Books / Hachette Audio Published: September 26, 2023 Summary: An immersive story about family secrets and the power of forgiveness from the bestselling author of Reese’s Book Club pick Honor When Remy Wadia left India for the United States, he carried his…

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k2reader May 21, 2023

The Half of It by Juliette Fay #bookreview

Thank you William Morrow, #partner, for the finished copy of The Half of It in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks Published: April 11, 2023 Summary: One perfect night. Forty years of buried hurt. One chance to make it right. Can the past ever be fixed? With humor, heart, and grace, USA Today bestselling author Juliette Fay delivers an immensely satisfying page-turner, perfect for fans of Josie…

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k2reader May 13, 2023

Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden #bookreview #audiobook

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Ecco / Harper Audio Published: August 25, 2020 Summary: A groundbreaking thriller about a vigilante on a Native American reservation who embarks on a dangerous mission to track down the source of a heroin influx. Virgil Wounded Horse is the local enforcer on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. When justice is…

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k2reader May 11, 2023

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin #bookreview #bookclub #reread

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. Publisher: Algonquin Books Published: December 2014 (first published April 2014) Summary: A. J. Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. He lives alone, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. But when a mysterious package appears at the…

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k2reader May 9, 2023

The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the ALC and @BookClubFavorites & Scriber #partner, for the advanced copy of The Half Moon in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Scribner / Simon & Schuster ALC Published: May 2, 2023 Summary: From the bestselling author of Ask Again, Yes, a masterful novel about a couple in a small town who must navigate the complexities of marriage, family, and longing. Malcolm Gephardt,…

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k2reader May 5, 2023

The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange #bookreview

Thank you Celadon Books, #partner for the advanced copy of The Connellys of County Down in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Celadon Books Published: August 1, 2023 Summary: From Tracey Lange, the New York Times bestselling author of We Are the Brennans, comes The Connellys of County Down: a story about fierce family loyalty, good intentions gone awry, and the consequences of improbable love. When Tara Connelly is released from prison after…

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k2reader April 26, 2023

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano #bookreview #audiobook

I purchased this book and audiobook for my own personal collection. Publisher: The Dial Press / Random House Audio Published: March 14, 2023 Summary: From the New York Times bestselling author of Dear Edward comes a poignant and engrossing family story that asks: Can love make a broken person whole? William Waters grew up in a house silenced by tragedy, where his parents could hardly bear to look at him, much less love…

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k2reader March 13, 2023

A Likely Story by Leigh Abramson #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the ALC and Atria Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of A Likely Story in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Atria Books / Simon & Schuster ALC Published: March 14, 2023 Summary: The only child of an iconic American novelist discovers a shocking tangle of family secrets that upends everything she thought she knew about her parents, her gilded childhood, and her…

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k2reader February 23, 2023

Someone Else’s Shoes by Jojo Moyes #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Viking Books, #partner for the finished copy of Someone Else’s Shoes in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the audiobook for my own collection. Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books / Penguin Random House Audio Published: February 7, 2023 Summary: A story of mix-ups, mess-ups and making the most of second chances, this is the new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jojo Moyes, author of Me Before You and The…

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k2reader January 30, 2023

A Light in the Forest by Melissa Payne #bookreview #audiobook #bookclub

Thank you Brilliance Audio for the ALC and Get Red PR , #partner, for the advanced copy of A Light in the Forest in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Lake Union Publishing / Brilliance Audio Published: December 13, 2022 Summary: From Melissa Payne, bestselling author of The Night of Many Endings, comes an emotional and suspenseful novel about the weight of secrets and the healing power of friends and…

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k2reader January 26, 2023

Sam by Allegra Goodman #bookreview

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. Publisher: Dial Press Published: January 3, 2023 Summary: What happens to a girl’s exuberance and wonder as she becomes a woman? This unforgettable portrait of coming-of-age offers a powerful reflection on class, addiction, parenthood, longing, and ambition. There is a girl, and her name is Sam. She adores her father, though he isn’t around much. Her mother, Courtney, struggles to…

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k2reader January 21, 2023

Aesthetica by Allie Rowbottom #bookreview

Thank you to TandemCollectiveGlobal, Soho Press, #partner, for a finished copy of Aesthetica in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Soho Press Published: November 22, 2022 Summary: In a debut novel as radiant as it is caustic, a former influencer confronts her past—and takes inventory of the damages that underpin the surface-glamour of social media. At 19, she was an Instagram celebrity. Now, at 35, she works behind the…

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k2reader December 27, 2022

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Random House Publishing Group/Netgalley #partner, for the advanced copy of Mad Honey in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Ballantine Books / Random House Audio Published: October 4, 2022 Summary: A soul-stirring novel about what we choose to keep from our past, and what we choose to leave behind. Olivia McAfee knows what it feels like to start over. Her…

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k2reader December 21, 2022

Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak #bookreview #audiobook #backlistreview

Thank you Berkley, #partner for the finished copy of Seven Days of Us in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Berkley Books / Penguin Audio Published: October 17, 2017 Summary: It’s Christmas, and for the first time in years the entire Birch family will be under one roof. Even Emma and Andrew’s elder daughter—who is usually off saving the world—will be joining…

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k2reader December 21, 2022

The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews #bookreview #audiobook #backlistreview

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, #partner for the finished copy of The Santa Suit in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio Published: September 28, 2021 Summary: From Mary Kay Andrews, the New York Times bestselling author of Hello, Summer, comes a novella celebrating the magic of Christmas and second chances in The Santa Suit. When newly-divorced Ivy Perkins buys an…

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k2reader November 29, 2022

A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the ALC and Scribner #partner, for the advanced copy of A Quiet Life in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Scribner / Simon & Schuster ALC Published: November 29, 2022 Summary: From the author of A Little Hope—a Read with Jenna Bonus Pick—comes an enormously powerful and life-affirming novel about three individuals whose lives intersect in unforeseen ways. Set in a close-knit Pennsylvania suburb in…

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k2reader November 14, 2022

We Are the Light by Matthew Quick #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the ALC and Avid Reader Press #partner, for the advanced copy of We Are the Light in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster ALC Published: November 1, 2022 Summary: From Matthew Quick, the New York Times best-selling author of The Silver Linings Playbook, made into the Academy Award-winning movie starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, comes a poignant…

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k2reader November 3, 2022

We Spread by Iain Reid #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the ALC and @BookClubFavorites & Gallery/Scout Press #partner, for the finished copy of We Spread in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press / Simon & Schuster ALC Published: September 27, 2022 Summary: A new work of philosophical suspense. Penny, an artist, has lived in the same apartment for decades, surrounded by the artifacts and keepsakes of her long life. She…

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k2reader October 8, 2022

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC and St. Martin’s Press #partner, for the finished copy of The Bodyguard in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio Published: July 19, 2022 Summary: She’s got his back. Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindergarten teacher than somebody who could kill you with a wine bottle opener. Or a ballpoint pen. Or a dinner napkin. But the…

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k2reader September 16, 2022

All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Harper Audio / Netgalley for the ALC and William Morrow / Netgalley #partner, for the advanced copy of All That’s Left Unsaid in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: William Morrow / Harper Audio Published: September 13, 2022 Summary: For fans of Everything I Never Told You and The Mothers, a deeply moving and unflinching debut following a young Vietnamese Australian woman who returns home to her family in the…

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k2reader August 29, 2022

The Third Way by Aimee Hoben #bookfeature #authorinterview

Thank you GetRedPrBooks & She Writes Press #partner, for the advanced copy of The Third Way in exchange for this feature. Today, I’m happy to be featuring this book, which published last week. Please see what others have said about the book and learn the inspiration behind the book. Publisher: She Writes Press Published: August 23, 2022 Summary: A college student with a fear of public speaking finds herself…

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k2reader August 19, 2022

A Summer to Remember by Erika Montgomery #bookreview #audiobook #backlistbook

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, #partner for the finished copy of A Summer to Remember in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio Published: May 11, 2021 Summary: For thirty-year-old Frankie Simon, selling movie memorabilia in the shop she opened with her late mother on Hollywood Boulevard is more than just her livelihood–it’s an enduring connection to…

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k2reader August 17, 2022

She’s Up to No Good by Sara Goodman Confino #bookreview #audiobook #bookclub

Thank you Brilliance Audio for the ALC and GetRedPR and the author, #partner, for the finished copy of She’s Up to No Good in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Lake Union Publishing / Brilliance Audio Published: August 1, 2022 Summary: For two women generations apart, going home will change their lives in this funny, poignant, and life-affirming novel about family, secrets, and broken hearts by the author of For the…

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k2reader August 13, 2022

A Little Hope by Ethan Joella #bookreview #audiobook #bookclub

This book is from my personal collection. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Scribner / Simon & Schuster Audio Published: November 16, 2021 Summary: An “immersive…illuminating” (Booklist) and life-affirming novel following the residents of an idyllic Connecticut town over the course of a year, A Little Hope explores the intertwining lives of a dozen neighbors as they confront everyday desires and fears: a lost love, a stalled career, an…

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k2reader July 21, 2022

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez #bookreview #audiobook

This book is from my personal collection. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Flatiron Books / Macmillan Audio Published: January 4, 2022 Summary: A blazing talent debuts with the tale of a status-driven wedding planner grappling with her social ambitions, absent mother, and Puerto Rican roots, all in the wake of Hurricane Maria It’s 2017, and Olga and her brother, Pedro “Prieto” Acevedo, are bold-faced names in…

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k2reader June 30, 2022

When We Let Go by Rochelle B. Weinstein #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Brilliance Audio for the ALC and @GetRedPrBooks & Lake Union Publishing, #partner, for the finished copy of When We Let Go in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Lake Union Publishing / Brilliance Audio Published: May 17, 2022 Summary: A moving novel of family and forgiveness and of hope and healing by Rochelle B. Weinstein, the USA Today bestselling author of This Is Not How It Ends. When Avery Beckett…

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k2reader June 22, 2022

She Wouldn’t Change a Thing by Sarah Adlakha #bookreview #paperbackrelease

Thank you @suzyapprovedbooktours and Forge Books, #partner, for the paperback copy of She Wouldn’t Change a Thing in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Forge Books Published: June 7, 2022 (first published August 2021) Summary: Sliding Doors meets Life After Life in Sarah Adlakha’s story about a wife and mother who is given the chance to start over at the risk of losing everything she loves. A second chance is the last…

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