Piranesi by Susanna Clarke 4/5
I almost didn’t make it though Piranesi. I wanted to stop about halfway though, but when I reread the synopsis it made me want to keep going. The middle bits drag. I’m glad I did finish, and I really enjoyed the ending, though I wasn’t blown away by it. I had a general sense of Piranesi’s situation and was correct, though the details about characters at the end made it special.

The Puma Years by Laura Coleman 5/5
Oooh, this book. I listened to the audiobook (read by the author) and it is now one of my favorites.
It is beautifully written: I was disgusted, happy, I laughed, I cried. I have a difficult time with animal stories, even if I know they end well, and while this book is definitely about animals I feel it’s more rooted around Laura and her experiences which made it easier for me to read. Laura was backpacking around South America in her 20’s and was about to head home to England when she saw an ad for a wildlife sanctuary in Bolivia that took volunteers. She arrived to a place with (in my opinion) pretty extreme living conditions but stayed, fell in love with the animals, and kept going back. It is truly a moving and wonderful book and made me questions what I thought were some truths about myself.

The Therapist by B.A. Paris 3/5
I’ve been slowly incorporating a few more mysteries/thrillers into books I read and from a plot perspective I really enjoyed it. I didn’t see the ending coming at all and had fun throughout thinking, “THAT person did it!” then “No, this one did!”
I would have rated it more than 3 stars if I didn’t find Alice extremely frustrating. None of her actions or reasonings made sense to me and that really took away from the story for me.
I received a copy of the audiobook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

We Are What We Eat by Alice Waters 4/5
I absolutely loved the first half of this book. The second drags on a bit and gets a little preachy, so I’ll focus on the first part. This book deeply resonated with me. I feel that most of the problems in the US stem from that fact that this country is too big, it just doesn’t work. This book covers the food portion of that belief and really drives in the “Eat Local” philosophy. Read this beautiful book and let it inspire you to search for the very best ingredients, even if you have to drive longer or stop at more places.

Everything After by Jill Santopolo 3/5
After reading and absolutely loving The Light We Lost, I was disappointed by this one. I still enjoyed it but I felt that Lucy blamed herself for other’s behaviors too much and Rob focused too much on being a big star with Lucy rather than his love for her. Santopolo still did an excellent job of making the reader feel what the characters are feeling and I love a book that can do that. This isn’t a bad book, it’s just not as good as The Light We Lost.

If you would like to following along with what I’m reading as I’m reading it, you can follow me on Goodreads. I also post less favorable reviews there and usually only post ones I’ve liked here.