The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young 5/5 StarsThis was my first read of 2024 and it was an amazing one. I read other reviews to make sure we’re talking about this and it seems like we are: this is an absolutely beautifully written magical realism mystery time-travel-gone-wrong love story. I feel like there’s nothing more I can say that the synopsis doesn’t cover that also wouldn’t have spoilers. I love the story. Moments from it came back to…
Book two in the Emily Wilde series. After reading and loving the first book, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries, I was so happy to be approved to review this one as well. It’s becoming a great end-of-year tradition for me!I love the same things about this book that I did with the first: the journal format, traveling (though there wasn’t much of that here so kind of had a gothic feel to it), and the world and creatures of the…
The Witch and the City by Jake Burnett 100/5 Stars The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods 2/5 StarsI like the idea of this book. A man (Henry) looking for a bookstore he went into once but cannot find again for some reason and a woman (Martha) building a new life after fleeing a violent relationship. There’s another timeline, Opaline’s, where we learn more about the bookstore, but her depressing story along with Martha’s are about a downer and a half…
Incidental Happenstance by Kim DeSalvo 5/5 StarsAbout a third of the way into this book I sent it to one of my best friends because I knew she would love it as much as I was, and finishing the rest of the book didn’t disappoint at all. This is a perfect book for any (former or current) teenage girl who had a crush on a celebrity, especially if they were in a band. On Tia’s first solo social outing since…
This book!! This book! Here, now. What a world. This started out as a read-at-bedtime book but I found myself thinking about it throughout the day and it became a daytime book too. This book is such a fountain of delights that I feel I need to read it again and again to appreciate it all. The more I think about it the more clever it gets. The ending a succession of fireworks. You’ve probably already read the synopsis so…
The Flowers of Provence is a stunning photography book reflecting Jamie Beck’s relationship with flowers during the time she has spent in France. Unlike her first book, An American in Provence, this one has very little writing; a lengthy introduction is followed by a tutorial on preserving flowers and tips for cutting and preserving flowers at home. If you’re looking for a photography book, the instructions are an added bonus. If you’re looking more for information on flowers found in…
This book has a lot going for it. It is written in the first person and Anisa, the main character, has one of the strongest voices I’ve read. I can’t recall being taken out of the story or not feeling like a close friend was confiding a big, secret story in me. I really like the author’s writing style and the characters feel well developed to me. The essence of the book, the story of The Centre, was such a…
The Child Thief by Brom 2/5 StarsI like the idea of exploring the origin story of a dark, true-to-the-original Peter Pan. I would have liked for the majority of the book to be about that with more details of the past and a magical/faerie way of life. Instead this book was entirely sad: bad things happening to bad people and horrific descriptions that felt gratuitous. It also jumped around in time and was difficult to follow that because there wasn’t…
The Little Village of Book Lovers is an extraordinary story. It’s the first book I’ve ever started rereading immediately, and I haven’t reread that many books overall because it feels like there are too many books out there waiting to be read. What I love most about this book is the unique perspective of Love. The entire book is Love telling the story, with some points-of-view of an ancient olive tree; both of which Marie-Jeanne has a special connection with….
Deerskin by Robin McKinley 5/5 StarsThis book cements my new obsession with the fantasy genre, and I love that this is a historical fantasy/magical realism combination. Lissar had a really weird upbringing for a princess; after her mother dies it nose-dives and she ends up fleeing her home with her beloved dog and best friend, Ash. The experience they have in the mountain cabin is, though still a very difficult time for them, a magical realism cozy transformation of my…