I‘m not normally huge on fairies. I really enjoyed the setting of this one though - it was perfect for November.

I am pretty sure the last time I read a Grisham novel was when the movie with Susan Sarandon came out (The Client?). #netgalley gave me the incentive I needed to try another during last week‘s sick day. It felt uneven to me. The first half was pretty gripping and I wanted Simon to run screaming from the widow. Then things took a pivot with the court case and I was way less interested. It was like two different books. 5/10

I started this book immediately after finishing the show Dept Q - which had me rapt. It was maybe too soon to visit the same storyline again but I really enjoyed the book too. So grim.

A compulsive and morally complex work with thriller elements. It‘s rare I‘ll read 400 pages a day, but I couldn‘t put it down.

Alluring cover. Intriguing world-building. Quirky gargoyle sidekick. Sweet budding romance. Devastating villainy. I‘m in for Book 2.

I have read a fair number of Follett‘s books and this one was good but not great for me. For a book about Stonehenge, it wasn‘t Stonehenge-y enough for me. Absolutely loved the audiobook narration by Richard Armitage though. A high so-so, soft pick

A snail biologist takes on sex work to fund her mobile lab. And then things got really interesting. One of my top three reads this year.

I‘ll read anything Boulley writes. I wanted more of the MC reuniting with her family and the ending felt a bit rushed, but I still loved it.

Love fake dating but werewolf sex scenes apparently give me the ick 🤷‍♀️

I am utterly the target audience for this book. (Pictured here in our Moscow apartment just 2 years after the book was set). It‘s such an incredible (yet true!) story about a very unstable period of Russian history. With Muppets.

What an absolutely gorgeous love story. Edgar sees ghosts and keeps himself at a remove from the world as a result. Jamie creates haunted houses. They both have trauma to work through and they absolutely belong together.

Scratches the True Crime itch without any of the oogey feelings about sensationalizing a person‘s horrid death.

Raise your Vitamin Waters, there‘s a new Gossip Girl in town.

Things were bad and then they worse, then wayyyyy better, then wayyyyy worse. I loved it. Szalay‘s super sparse writing makes this an easy read despite the heaviness of some of the subject matter #manbooker25

Nena is the headstrong daughter of a landowner. She loves Nestor, a vaquero. Their romance is the central plot of the book. Vampires and political tensions feature less prominently. A strong pick.

I very much enjoy hockey romance. My favourite part is always when the hockey player realizes they need therapy and goes to therapy. If you write a hockey romance and the hockey player gets mental health support, I‘m pretty much guaranteed to love it.

Absolutely not for me. I‘m a no on the reverse harem, a no on hot for teacher, and a yes on the Hunger Games-y vibes of the first 1/3.

There are few things as delightful as a new Osman novel. Was the mystery his best? No - but I don‘t think it mattered a whit because the book was so like a warm hug.

Amy, a middle-aged, cuckolded, stepmother and dog rescuer with a relatively privileged life travels to Georgia on a whim to find a lost dog / find herself / avoid dealing with her possibly over marriage.

A tender love story between a sentient alien plant named Stasia and a trans man named Graham. Also a cracking alien invasion story. Huge thanks to #netgalley for access to this audiobook. The solo narrator ably did this chunky page turner justice.

Fact: we‘re six in to the series. Either you devour it, or you don‘t. I do.

A sweet romance. He was an apple farmer who made a rolling ladder for his home library. He would‘ve been perfect had he not made a hybrid using a Delicious x Pink Lady Apple. Unforgivable to this apple connoisseur

A timely read about unpleasant characters with unfortunate logic. I‘d say this barely hangs together as a novel and praise the writing and evocative characters- especially Lenny. The first and last sections are super tight but there‘s a lag in the middle.

#netgalley gave me early access to the audiobook. The narrator was incredibly easy to listen to and it was a short meditative listen about the hidden depths of a nail salon owner known as Susan. Because it wasn‘t a plot driven novel I‘d be more inclined to recommend it in print.

I so appreciate #netgalley giving me early access to this prequel by one of my favourite favourite authors. I LOVE Bunny and wasn‘t sure it needed a prequel - the work speaks for itself. For the first third of the book - when the Bunnies tell their side of the story - I thought my suspicions were true. Once Aerius (the OG himbo bunny) starts telling his story, I was hooked back in. Not as comfortable with dark ambiguity as its predecessor still 👍

A bittersweet account of one manchild dealing with a breakup he didn‘t want and didn‘t see coming.

A super odd choice of commute listen on my part. Centred around the question, “Why do you write?” Toews delves into her family trauma and her joys, her past, her community. I loved it. It was very short.

Culpability relied a bit too heavily on coincidence toward the end and was a smidge more heavy handed than I‘d like, but was still an excellent, timely read. Lots of good bits about raising teens. Lots of thought-provoking arguments for and against AI.

I bought this YA fantasy for the incredible cover. Dani escapes after being wrongly imprisoned and seeks revenge. I liked the magic system and was blindsided by the twist.

I do not know why I continually do this to myself. I‘m not the target audience for dead estranged dad books.

Imagine Joe from YOU as a geriatric woman who just wants to retire from the murdering already. She has bingo to play and snacks to make for church socials. Yeesh - can‘t an old lady get any peace?

I guessed every twist and devoured it anyway.

A light pick. I liked how Jones took us through Jade‘s trauma and how it made her incapable of seeing her own strength and potential to be a ‘final girl.‘ The action - when it got going - was great. It just had a smidge too long a fuse.

Beach witches in Greece.

I feel conflicted about even admitting I read this. A paparazzo‘s take on making a living stalking Britney Spears and - while he quit and reflected - he‘s still making money off Britney Spears. And I read it. Why? I despair. 😔

I adore Heather O‘Neill‘s brand of gritty whimsy. In this book the Montreal Metro was the star. Though I must admit there was also writing good enough to make me cry.

A quiet coming of age story that kept feeling like it was going to be incredibly special but never quite got there for me.

I had never read a polyamorous romance before and I was curious. This is also the smuttiest book I‘ve ever read. A bit too spicy and at least one too many men. I did love Cay and Jake‘s relationship.

The dark side of reality TV but make it fiction

I can‘t believe how little I‘ve read in August. I bought this book for $10 from Indigo thinking it looked like a quick, fun, summer read. The opening third is very dark. Then it becomes more of a traditional quest tale. I liked it, but not as much as I‘d expected to.

I got into it, and it still wasn‘t his best. I agree with other Littens that Holly didn‘t quite read like Holly all the time, the Barbara storyline seemed to strain credulity (but i went with it), and the Chris/Chrissy storyline felt a bit off - like King was unintentionally punching down in 2025(?). Not sure if it was a pick or a so so.

While I am the target audience for a Kevin Wilson book, I‘m definitely not the target audience for any book involving estranged families coming together. This was that and it was okay and sometimes good and then it ended too abruptly.

A perfect cozy escape - adorable baby dragons, minimal conflict, romance, brief fake marriage, baked goods. Will read more.

Enjoyable family saga

I love the way Allende tells a story - making the political very personal. This isn‘t one of my favourites of hers. While I was riveted by the civil war scenes, the story ended abruptly. It felt unsatisfying.

Almost Shakespearean in its tragic inevitability. I could not put it down.

A young woman gets a second chance at life and love in Amsterdam.

I really enjoyed this AI-themed cosy mystery.

My sky high expectations were simply too high. Love Riley Sager books, but guessed too many twists and turns to feel satisfied.

My favourite romance novel is a queer romance with elite athletes - one of whom seriously needs therapy to work through their shit before they can sustain their relationship. This is that. Also F1 ish.