Shelf Quest

Paris On Air by Oliver Gee 4/5 StarsOverall, this is a great Paris memoir read that is funny and entertaining. Many parts are cheesy, especially in the audio book version, but if you’re a Francophile and enjoy stories about how expats make their way to Paris then I’d recommend this book. Gee brings a unique angle by giving a bit of background on his career in journalism and how he transitioned into doing The Earful Tower podcast full time, which…

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The Boatman’s Daughter by Andy Davidson 4/5 StarsI’ve never before read a dark Southern magical realism book but that’s what this is and I like it. It takes place within a small area in a bayou which gives it a Gothic feel as well. The synopsis didn’t completely appeal to me but the plot is just a means to explore human nature in a handful of very different, messed-up-in-their-own-way people. This is one of the more unique books I’ve read…

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The Cerulean Queen (The Nine Realms #4) by Sarah Kozloff 5/5 StarsWhat a great ending to the Nine Realms series! After I found the first book, A Queen in Hiding, and thought it sounded like a great book, I was so excited to find out that there would be only four books in the series and that they would be coming out in consecutive months. This makes for such a great reading experience; you don’t have a whole year in…

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Beneath a Ruthless Sun: A True Story of Violence, Race, and Justice Lost and Found by Gilbert King 3/5 StarsThe description of this book led me to believe that it was largely about one woman’s rape, but it seemed to be about everything but that. That crime was used to kick the book off, but then we learned about everyone and their cousin’s family history. Black, white, lawyers, out-of-town military, law enforcement: no one’s history was spared. There is an…

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Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire 4/5 StarsDiscount Armageddon is the first book in McGuire’s Urban Fantasy InCryptid series. Verity Price comes from a long line of cryptozoologists; she is continuing the family tradition in New York City while also pursuing a career as a professional ballroom dancer and waiting tables at a strip club. There’s a lot going on with Verity and sometimes it feels like the author just thought up a bunch of random qualities someone could have and…

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The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo 5/5 StarsI have been on a serious roll this year with great Reese’s Book Club picks. I listened to the audiobook of The Light We Lost and it was both moving and devastating. I feel like this story could be yours, your sibling’s, or a friend-of-a-friend’s. The situation is so relatable and, most importantly, I feel that Lucy’s choices are too. In many books we like to read stories of the lives of…

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A Murderous Relation is the fifth book in the Veronica Speedwell series. From the first book this has been one of my favorite series of all time but this installment proves that it is not immune to the mid-single-digit slump. For me, most series around book 5 or 6 take on a repetitive feel. I get not wanting to change what drew readers to the books in the first place, but no one wants to read the same book seven…

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Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens 5/5This book was certainly a strong start to the year. It made the running list of my favorite books and I’m toying with the idea of rereading it already, less than two weeks after finishing it.I wouldn’t say that this is a completely believable book but it is moving and engrossing. Kya Clark is as poor as you can imagine. She lives in a shack in a marsh on the North Carolina coast…

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The Cactus by Sarah Haywood 4/5 StarsI was attracted to The Cactus because of the cover blurb claiming that “fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine will love” this book. I did really like this book and it does have very similar parallels to Eleanor Oliphant but Susan Green is not quite on the Eleanor Oliphant level. Susan is 45, single, and finds herself unexpectedly pregnant. Everything about her life is very practical and efficient, which I completely appreciate and…

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