Food and memory are uniquely entwined. This is a sweet story of a father-daughter owned restaurant / food detective agency.
Food and memory are uniquely entwined. This is a sweet story of a father-daughter owned restaurant / food detective agency.
A most excellent dark sci fi technothriller. Highly recommended.
Deeply traumatic family saga meets dark occult horror.
A gorgeous meditation on community, grief, belonging, aging in place, gentrification. I think this one will go far in the Canada Reads debates this week.
Podcaster Bodie returns to her former boarding school and wades deep into the murder of her former roommate.
An Indigenous hockey player, journalist who has written a survival memoir, and an unfaithful university professor‘s lives Intersect in interesting ways in this horror / police procedural
The girl from a propaganda poster grows up and is tasked with finding a missing girl. I was hooked.
I‘m not mad on faeries and saw every twist coming; still really enjoyed this one.
A one sitting whiplash inducer. There were all the twists and turns and I was there for some of them, but not all.
11 hours flew by #audiostitching to this unputdownable tale of an orphan poet obsessed with having a meaningful death after losing his mother in a planet crash when he was an infant.
Weird vibes for a lunch break read. Was ALL in until the ambiguous ending.
This is my second Michaelides and my second so so.
My journey with both was the same: sucked in, frantically turning pages, too convoluted, disinterest and sped read to the end.
I appreciate Land‘s giving public voice to single mothers living in poverty. Each family has its own story to tell, and I didn‘t find this chapter of Land‘s story as interesting as the last. A soft pick.
It was fine, I guess. The narration was good and the chapters were short.
Lots of books I feel ambivalent about lately. While I liked a few characters in this one, the book felt too overstuffed to pack much punch. Just me?
Quick but deep lunchtime read about a middle grader and their family attending a silent meditation retreat.
I have a few questions about this one. First I‘m curious why it‘s been marketed as short stories when it holds together as a novella. Second, why Canada Reads shortlist this year? I‘ll be keen to see the debate on how this book moves us forward and how long it takes for the thematic/setting twinning with Scarborough to come up.
The Witness Blanket has just arrived at our Library. I‘m somewhat overwhelmed by it and this book helps make sense of some of those feelings.
With the snow here in Vancouver, I‘ve been tearing through books. Started this one on Saturday expecting it to last the week, but I quite simply couldn‘t put it down. The reviews calling it a Shakespearean thriller are spot on. So so good.
Elsa is a gifted pianist who choked during a Rachmaninov concert. Disgraced, She‘s become a private piano teacher who sees her double regularly as she bounces about Europe. The writing is lovely - as Levy‘s always is. Recommended.
Two snow days this week meant I had loads of time to read this fascinating book about an aging poet collaborating with AI to write a poem.
My expectations for this sequel were sky high and so the novel felt a bit short. I missed Juan, found Molly‘s rhymed wisdom a bit twee-er than previously, but thoroughly enjoyed the mystery.
I liked the characters and the pacing, but the climax was historically inaccurate and that didn‘t sit well with me. Between a soft pick and a so so.
I read this in the context of the Canada Reads shortlist. I‘m not sure it brings much (anything?) to the discussion and am curious about what arguments its champion brings forward. The ending was very rushed IMHO, but I adored the description of place and Dirty Dancing vibes.
I like this series - but why do they all end on cliffhangers?!?!
Always lovely and cozy stepping into this world. I missed the friend group in this volume and enjoyed the deepening of the boys‘ relationship.
I usually don‘t love a full cast recording, but this true crime podcast inspired story really worked as an audiobook. The twists and turns were relatively easy to guess, and the ending wasn‘t my favourite, but I still loved the ride.
My partner recommended this to me and I‘ve recommended it to my teen, who described it as “like Freddy Kruger” - which it kind of was and wasn‘t. Either way I enjoyed it.
Young widow Bria works hard to open a B&B in Positano to honour her late husband‘s dream. A murder in the building threatens these plans so Bria decides to investigate. I liked the characters and didn‘t guess the murderer.
An insightful, painful, hopeful look into a piece of art created from artifacts from each of Canada‘s residential schools.
A soft pick and an easy read. An engaged couple each try and decide if they should actually get married as their wedding date looms.
A gorgeous book about parenting a new adult AND a travelogue of a second Camino. There were a few moments where I wished AM and Sam were more aware of their privileges; but in all AM is incredibly emotionally aware and it makes for compelling reading.
This quick read simply wasn‘t for me. The twists were predictable and the ending was too pat. I had no time at all for the Anthony storyline.
What a gorgeous book for my first read of 2024! Sigrid spends the early days of the pandemic house sitting a parrot and living with a stranger. Some gorgeous passages and the writing felt true to how quarantine felt to me - both its privileges and its effects on our thoughts.
I thoroughly enjoyed this historical fiction chonkster about the woman who brought the Stanislavsky method to China and her inevitable downfall at the hands of a longtime rival. The writing is almost breezy despite the sometimes heavy subject matter. Highly recommended.
The birthday dozen!
Acevedo is an excellent storyteller and very good at creating memorable characters. Despite the predictable ending, I enjoyed this one.
There was a lot I loved about this book: the post apocalyptic setting, the effect of worldwide scarcity on the rich, the incredible descriptions of the food. I wasn‘t as keen on the ending - which seemed abrupt and too pat - but I‘d definitely read more by this author. A soft pick.
Picked this one up today during a visit to my favourite bookstore #munrosbooks
Historical gothic horror set in Mexico? Yes please! I thought Andres (the hot priest character) was more interesting than the Beatriz - but I enjoyed reading about them both. It was creepy and exorcisty
This was my Christmas Eve present and I tore through it. My family chose well. Happy Holidays all!
Lightning quick Sleeping Beauty retelling that made good company while I wrapped.
Images like the page above bring me right back to the two years I lived in Portugal. Loved this book about realizing there‘s more out there than one‘s own small town. Also loved Raquel‘s growing awareness of the world around her and the possibility of love.
If you are looking for a novel made of interconnected short stories that reads like poetry, this one‘s for you. I‘ll definitely reread it.
Little Free Library find that is once again off into the world. In general I don‘t like stories of estranged families coming together again to make themselves whole. Also this one had way too much telling and not enough trust in its readers.
I bought the book for its striking cover. I picked it up in December hoping for a bit of romance. I was completely sucked into Olga‘s story: her business, her relationships with her brother and mother, and yes, her love life.