Always With a Book

What Happened to the McCrays? by Tracey Lange #bookreview #audiobook

What Happened to the McCrays? by Tracey Lange #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC and Celadon Books #partner for the advanced copy of What Happened to the McCrays? in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Celadon Books / Macmillan Audio Published: January 14, 2025   Summary: From New York Times bestselling author Tracey Lange, a poignant story about the resilience of family, the importance of community, and the magic of middle school hockey When Kyle McCray gets word his…

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A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman #bookreview

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman #bookreview

I purchased this book for my own collection.     Publisher: Atria Books Published: May 15, 2015   Summary: All you need is Ove. At first sight, Ove is almost certainly the grumpiest man you will ever meet, a curmudgeon with staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People think him bitter, and he thinks himself surrounded by idiots. Ove’s well-ordered, solitary world gets a shake-up one November morning…

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Brightly Shining by Ingvild Rishoi #bookreview #translatedread

Brightly Shining by Ingvild Rishoi #bookreview #translatedread

Thank you Grove Atlantic #partner, for the finished copy of Brightly Shining in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Grove Press Published: November 19, 2024   Summary: Brightly Shining is a ‘heartbreaking, funny and philosophical tale about the reality of addiction, the power of dreams and the kindness of strangers’. Christmas is around the corner, and Ronja’s father is out of work again, but it seems that their luck has…

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The Same Bright Stars by Ethan Joella #bookreview #audiobook

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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Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur #bookreview #audiobook

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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Kala by Colin Walsh #bookreview

Kala by Colin Walsh #bookreview

I got this book through the Penguin Readers Rewards Program.  Publisher: Doubleday Published: July 25, 2023   Summary: A gripping literary page-turner from a rising Irish talent in which former friends, estranged for twenty years, reckon with the terrifying events of the summer that changed their lives. In the seaside village of Kinlough, on Ireland’s west coast, three old friends meet for the first time in years. They—Helen, Joe and Mush—were…

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Maame by Jessica George #bookreview #audiobook

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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The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok #bookreview

The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok #bookreview

Thank you to William Morrow, #partner, for an advanced copy of The Leftover Woman in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: William Morrow Published: October 10, 2023   Summary: An evocative family drama and a riveting mystery about the ferocious pull of motherhood for two very different women–from the New York Times bestselling author of Searching for Sylvie Lee and Girl in Translation. Jasmine Yang arrives in New York City from her rural Chinese village…

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Banyan Moon by Thao Thai #bookreview #audiobook

Banyan Moon by Thao Thai #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you to  HarperAudio/Netgalley for the ALC and Thoughts From a Page, Mariner Books, #partner, for an advanced  e-copy of Banyan Moon in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Mariner Books / Harper Audio Published: June 27, 2023   Summary: A sweeping, evocative debut novel following three generations of Vietnamese American women reeling from the death of their matriarch, revealing the family’s inherited burdens, buried secrets, and unlikely love stories.…

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Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark #bookreview

Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark #bookreview

Thank you to TLC BookTours, S&S/Marysue Rucci Books, #partner, for a finished copy of Fellowship Point in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Marysue Rucci Books/ Scribner / Simon & Schuster Audio Published: July 5, 2022   Summary: Celebrated children’s book author Agnes Lee is determined to secure her legacy—to complete what she knows will be the final volume of her pseudonymously written…

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Trespasses by Louise Kennedy #bookreview

Trespasses by Louise Kennedy #bookreview

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. Publisher: Riverhead Books Published: November 1, 2022   Summary: Set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, a shattering novel about a young woman caught between allegiance to community and a dangerous passion. Amid daily reports of violence, Cushla lives a quiet life with her mother in a small town near Belfast. By day she teaches at a parochial school; at night she…

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The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane #bookreview #audiobook

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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Dust Child by Nguyen Phan Que Mai #bookreview #audiobook

Dust Child by Nguyen Phan Que Mai #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC and Algonquin Books, #partner for the finished copy  of Dust Child in exchange for my honest review.  Publisher: Algonquin Books / Hachette Audio Published: March 14, 2023   Summary: From the internationally bestselling author of The Mountains Sing, a suspenseful and moving saga about family secrets, hidden trauma, and the overriding power of forgiveness, set during the war and in present-day Việt Nam. In…

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Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano #bookreview #audiobook

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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A Likely Story by Leigh Abramson #bookreview #audiobook

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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I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai #bookreview #audiobook

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.fm / Penguin Random House Audio, for the ALC and Viking Books, #partner for the finished copy  of I Have Some Questions for You in exchange for my honest review.  Publisher: Viking Books / Penguin Random House Audio Published: February 21, 2023   Summary: The riveting new novel from the author of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist The Great Believers A successful film professor and podcaster,…

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Aesthetica by Allie Rowbottom #bookreview

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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The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton #bookreview #audiobook

The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC and Grand Central Publishing, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Light Pirate in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Grand Central Publishing / Hachette Audio Published: December 6, 2022   Summary: For fans of Station Eleven and Where the Crawdads Sing comes a hopeful, sweeping story of survival and resilience spanning one extraordinary woman’s lifetime as she navigates the uncertainty, brutality, and arresting beauty of a rapidly changing…

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A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella #bookreview #audiobook

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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We Are the Light by Matthew Quick #bookreview #audiobook

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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Broken Summer by J.M. Lee, translated by An Seon Jae #blogtour #bookfeature

Broken Summer by J.M. Lee, translated by An Seon Jae #blogtour #bookfeature

Thank you  @OTRPR & Amazon Crossing, #partner, for the advanced copy of Broken Summer in exchange for my honest review.  Today, I’m so happy to be a tour stop on the blog tour for Broken Summer. Thank you OTRPR for inviting me to participate. I have a book spotlight today — see what the book is about and what others have to say about it. I love translated books and…

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Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine #bookreview #bookclub

Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine #bookreview #bookclub

Thank you Libro.fm, #partner for the ALC of Woman of Light in exchange for my honest review. I purchased this book for my own collection.  Publisher: One World / Random House Audio Published: June 7, 2022   Summary: A dazzling epic of betrayal, love, and fate that spans five generations of an Indigenous Chicano family in the American West, from the author of the National Book Award Finalist Sabrina & Corina…

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Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez #bookreview #audiobook

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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Shadows of Pecan Hollow by Caroline Frost #bookreview

Shadows of Pecan Hollow by Caroline Frost #bookreview

Thank you William Morrow, #partner, for the finished copy of The Shadows of Pecan Hollow in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: William Morrow Published: February 8, 2022   Summary: It was 1970 when thirteen-year-old Kit Walker was abducted by Manny Romero, a smooth-talking, low-level criminal. Longing for the family and security she never had, she allowed herself to be coddled and groomed into Manny’s partner-in-crime. Before long, Kit and…

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Metropolis by B.A. Shapiro #bookreview

Metropolis by B.A. Shapiro #bookreview

Thank you Algonquin Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Metropolis in exchange for my honest review.  Publisher: Algonquin Books Published: May 17, 2022   Summary: From bestselling author B. A. Shapiro, a gripping novel that follows six mysterious characters whose lives intersect when a tragedy occurs at the storage facility where they all rent units. In Metropolis we meet six unforgettable characters who never would have met if not for their…

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Review: Caul Baby by Morgan Jerkins

Review: Caul Baby by Morgan Jerkins

Publisher: Harper Published: April 6, 2021 Source: Personal copy   Summary: New York Times bestselling author Morgan Jerkins makes her fiction debut with this electrifying novel, for fans of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Jacqueline Woodson, that brings to life one powerful and enigmatic family in a tale rife with secrets, betrayal, intrigue, and magic. Laila desperately wants to become a mother, but each of her previous pregnancies has ended in heartbreak. This…

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Review: The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Review: The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Publisher: Celadon Books Published: May 31, 2022 Source: ARC Paperback via Publisher   Summary: From the New York Times bestselling author of The Plot, Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Latecomer is a layered and immersive literary novel about three siblings, desperate to escape one another, and the upending of their family by the late arrival of a fourth. The Latecomer follows the story of the wealthy, New York City-based Oppenheimer family, from the first meeting of parents…

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Review: Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka (audio)

Review: Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka (audio)

Publisher: William Morrow/Harper Audio Published: January 25, 2022 Source: Print – ARC Paperback via William Morrow / Audio – ALC via Netgalley   Summary: In the tradition of ‘Long Bright River’ and ‘The Mars Room’, a gripping and atmospheric work of literary suspense that deconstructs the story of a serial killer on death row, told primarily through the eyes of the women in his life – from the best-selling author of ‘Girl in Snow’.…

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Review: Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland

Review: Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks Published: June 1, 2021 (First published July 2020) Source: Saichek Publicity   Summary: Over the course of one summer that begins with a shocking tragedy, three generations of the Adler family grapple with heartbreak, romance, and the weight of family secrets in this stunning debut novel that’s perfect for fans of Manhattan Beach and The Dollhouse. Atlantic City, 1934. Every summer, Esther and Joseph Adler rent their house…

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Review: Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson (print/audio)

Review: Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson (print/audio)

Publisher: Scribner / Simon & Schuster Audio Published: August 3, 2021 Source: Print – ARC Paperback via Publisher / Audio – ALC via Publisher   Summary: An epic, immersive debut, Damnation Spring is the deeply human story of a Pacific Northwest logging town wrenched in two by a mystery that threatens to derail its way of life. For generations, Rich Gundersen’s family has chopped a livelihood out of the redwood forest along…

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