So many books, so little time.

June 2025 #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

I don‘t think this is the most well-written of memoirs, but it‘s a gut punch nonetheless. It is a testament to the poor who fight the wealthy man‘s war. I can‘t stop thinking of so many starry-eyed young lovers who are so ill-equipped to be caretakers when the ravages of war takes hold.

Several years back during a read across the USA challenge I realized I‘d never read a book set in Puerto Rico. Ever since I‘ve been drawn to read this location. This was very good story telling using 3 generations to weave together a story of displacement, assimilation, and rediscovering of roots (as well as which roots and why you are drawn to the discovery).

Although this was a HEA summer beach read romance, I thought the romance was secondary to the MC, 34 yo Addison, resetting her life after being tired from her position in Manhattan then soon after inheriting her estranged aunt‘s Fire Island summer home. There were characters introduced unnecessary for the romance but integral to learning about Addison‘s life journey.

May #BookSpin Category: From my Paperback Shelf

Deleting my original comments for this post. My IRL book club (7 present) met to discuss this last night with Amy leading discussion. Her maternal grandfather was one of 93 family members captured from Salonika, Greece and taken to Auschwitz, and 1 of 3 family members to survive (1st wife and 9mo daughter killed upon arrival). He saved all documents from liberation, return to Greece, immigration to America. It made this story so real.

This book is powerful. If one is to judge a book by its bookclub discussion worthiness, this hits every mark. I‘ll be monitoring bookish podcasts so I can be a fly on the wall to those discussions. I could do nothing but read in one setting the trajectories of Cora and her children‘s lives following the 3 distinct names she bestowed on her infant son.

It‘s always great when my 3x3 grid is built entirely of 👍 reads, but I had a clear favorite to garner the tag!

5 ⭐️= Loved It, want to shout out loud about this book! I do/will own/keep a physical copy. A+
4 ⭐️= Liked it, would love to discuss. Solid B
3 ⭐️= Meh, no need to discuss. Avg C
2 ⭐️=Nope D
1 ⭐️=DNF F

What is it about mermaids - they make for such compelling stories? Maybe it‘s the girl power.

Sometimes generational family storylines can be these grand sweeping sagas that I hold off on awaiting the time and mindset. But this one was a quick read with fast pace. Inherited addiction is the antagonist here but the story is also full of hope and repeated forgiveness. I liked it.

As a final book of a series I thought this was a fitting ending - we get Gran‘s full back story and I‘m content with the HEA for Molly and Juan. I might be tempted with another short story installment, but am satisfied to leave the story here as anything more for Molly would be sugar overload.

I don‘t know if any author speaks to my heart as often as Fredrik Backman. The current story between Louise and Ted is so kindhearted and everything one needs in a friend. The backstory set 25 years earlier with four 14yr best friends - all can say is Here Here Here Here. I didn‘t just love this book, I loved every page of this book.

I‘m an auto read for this author and this is a pick with issues. I love the Ontario settings for Carly‘s stories. I enjoyed these characters (the return of Charlie😃) and their backstories. The meet cute between Alice and Charlie was fun. My issue was spending so time in Alice‘s head as she contemplated Charlie. I wanted Alice out of her head and out on that beautiful lake with Charlie.

Sometimes a girl just needs to read a boy book and a good ol‘ western fits that bill. (This is not a story where the indigenous people‘s perspective is considered -so there is that). I saw this movie years back with Leonardo DiCaprio playing the part of Hugh Glass as he‘s viciously mauled by a grizzly bear. But I gotta say, reading an account of that attack might have been even more visceral.

May #DoubleSpin Cat: Pub in Aughts

This story was fun and over-the-top as I‘ve come to expectations with Jesse‘s books. Perhaps my biggest suspension of disbelief though is placing Vera at 61 🤣. I looked up Jesse‘s age (37) thinking surely she can‘t be more than 22 to write a 61 yr old as she does. Nope, and she knows why she‘s writes Vera‘s age as such! Aside from cozy murder there are some serious elements that must leave a lot to consider when writing comedy.

I‘m always intrigued by stories returning the MC to live in their hometown some 10+ years after initially leaving. This was good and hell, I‘d be hard pressed to return if my parents colluded with my sibling(s) to make my life an upstream battle. An interesting sideline is when the story is tabled to allow the reader to consider who it is that gets to define ‘truth‘ and history.

This was all sorts of twisty turns fun. I feel like I should not have liked the MC, Liz, because she was bad. But I found myself entertained and pulling for her.

My big thumbs up favorite is tagged, and the disappointment with this grid is that I own a physical copy (for now) of my least favorite but not the physical copy (yet) of my favorite🤪

5 ⭐️= Loved It, want to shout out loud about this book! I do/will own/keep a physical copy. A+
4 ⭐️= Liked it, would love to discuss. Solid B
3 ⭐️= Meh, no need to discuss. Avg C
2 ⭐️=Nope D
1 ⭐️=DNF F

I‘ve always been fascinated by the election of a pope. I get this book is fiction, but dang you sure don‘t get to cardinal status by being a meek/humble parish priest. When I think about the billionaires buying themselves a POTUS this book makes me wonder what shady things could be happening now for politics to underwrite some cardinal votes. 👇

I rather loved road tripping with 63yo PJ (who lived a vacant life for the previous 15 years) before he sets out to find the 2nd love of his life with his newfound family to include Pancakes - a death predicting cat😱 I so-so‘d my last post for misery after misery but was immediately immersed in this one with its lovable characters defining this charming and bittersweet story. Strong pick but with a TW for the casual take on death.

I‘m a mood reader but couldn‘t get into this one and backspaced through my reasons because - spoilers. Suffice it to write, there was just too much miserableness for the MC. IE: something small but why was it necessary to repeatedly describe Providence‘s chosen state and city as a location as terrible as where she was raised (and where the story is set) - it was an unnecessary misery.

Well, this was a nice story to satisfy my lust for a little armchair traveling to the Italian coast. I was immediately intrigued by the current day setting with a couple badass female deep sea divers. I wasn‘t convinced the sea witches of 1821 were going to pull me in, but stregheria did it and both timelines had me equally invested.

Even with the antics from three 1%er siblings the writing in this story is sharp and witty enough that I didn‘t bother disliking them. I‘m also intrigued by stories where the delivery of the narrator outshines the characters - and this narrator was hoot. However, I don‘t think this story required 500+ pages and would‘ve liked it more had 100 or so pages been edited out.

We are 1/3 the way through 2025, such a blip of time at this point in my life😂👵 Good thing I have my #indexcard collection to indicate how I utilized that speeding time.

April 2025 #MonthlyWrapUp

For me the first 25% was fine. The middle 50% I forced myself through a 1000 year slog. Then I nearly forgot that drudgery because I loved the last 25% and even went back to some tedious middle chapters that were rather interesting the 2nd time through. Soooo, I guess that‘s a pick 🤣.

I finally read this! Alright, it took me the better part of the month because I opted to read it in bits. The cadence in communication between characters (also the paragraphing) exhausted me just a bit, and I really wanted to appreciate the writing so I was best served by picking this up from my nightstand for limited amounts reading.

May 2025 #BookSpin Category; Pub prior 21st Century @TheAromaofBooks

Had I owned this book and slowly read one story at a time, maybe even doubling back on a couple of them, I would highly recommend this. Curtis writes interesting women with life and experience here. The loaned audiobook is great, but it‘s hard for me to recall short stories when experienced this way. The moment was good though!

Let the early Summer reading begin! And RíEllie wants you to remember that you are never to old for a good bunny story - or four??

May 2025 #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

I‘m several years and books into starting off my summer reading with the newest Emily Henry, and this did not disappoint. It immediately gave vibes of another favorite read which had me quickly realizing the trajectory for the mystery but that didn‘t take away from my enjoyment of this story. …I‘m likely showing my age by favoring the octogenarian‘s storyline🤣👵

It was essentially a tie for who would win my current grid. So I went with a heads or tails flip. Heads (tagged) won the toss!

5* = Loved It, want to shout out loud about this book! I do/will own/keep a physical copy. A+
4*= I liked it, would love to discuss. Solid B
3*=Meh, no need to discuss. Avg C
2*=Nope D
1*=DNF F

I almost skipped this expecting it to be something it wasn‘t. Twenty years after her mother‘s death E.A. took extended time to cross the country via Interstate 10 (a route she made with her mother in 1996 when she was 14) hoping to unravel some mysteries of her flawed mother. But my interest was her fascination with the cities, culture, environment experienced on her road trip. Most of the time I didn‘t even think of her famous last name.

I‘m 20 years into my fascination of movies and books set in India. (It started when my 12yo daughter and I discovered Netflix Bollywood dvds.). I‘m humbled by the culture, history, and religions so unknown to me. Reading Shalini discover Kashmir was interesting and heartbreaking. Heartbreaking because we are not all built with the intestinal fortitude to become the person we truly want to be.

Apr #DoubleSpin Category: Across an Ocean

This so-so rating is a reflection of my mindset rather than the storytelling here. I remained curious at this one until a retreat center ended up being a cult. I‘m so over real life cult figures (even completely unrelated to this story) that I find little entertainment in fictional cults.

In January, I was disappointed reading My Oxford Year when the story didn‘t match the title. Not so here. This book set in the 1920s features four women earning the opportunity to matriculate from Oxford. Each woman has a unique and compelling story engrossed in 1920s culture. It didn‘t feel like a 2025 woman finding herself in 1920 (my pet peeve with HF). It felt like what women able to consider higher education in the 1920s would experience.

In January, I was disappointed reading My Oxford Year when the story didn‘t match the title. Not so here. This book set in the 1920s features four women earning the opportunity to matriculate from Oxford. Each woman has a unique and compelling story engrossed in 1920s culture. It didn‘t feel like a 2025 woman finding herself in 1920 (my pet peeve with HF). It felt like what women able to consider higher education in the 1920s would experience.

I was first introduced to this author TJ Klune by reading the cerulean sea. I love that book so much that clone became an auto became not just an auto read but an auto by author for me. My problem is I haven‘t liked his subsequent books nearly as much as the cerulean sea. I like this one but think I like Klune is best when he uses a lighter touch to say a lot, and this one was heavy.

I‘m such a mood reader and I‘m sure I could sit with this book at another time and be completely entertained. American Anna moving on her own to London with the city itself very nearly a character is right up my alley. I just found every turn in Anna‘s story to be too predictable so I got a bit bored with this particular story.

Well this was an interesting part fantasy, part maybe (with a little tweak) almost horror story. Anytime souls are integral to a story my creep factor rises and I start thinking HP death eaters.

This is a pick with issues - I liked how it ended. I‘ve read most of Jennifer‘s books and always appreciate how she builds an interesting FMC whose physical appearance wouldn‘t put her in the running to replace Margot Robbie in a Barbie movie. But geez, this was brutal (TW to those whose families made them feel invisible for who they were). I just wanted to reach in the pages, befriend Cassie, and convince her she mattered.

This is an easy plck for me and I‘m now curious to read more about the London fog of 1952. I‘m humbled I never realized the Lake District was a treasured place of British beauty. I like the story, it was unique and on the light side of historical fiction. I do think the story would have benefited by sharing Clara‘s PoV with alternating chapters from Bronwyn.

I considered dropping a quarter point from the tagged for a solid A (questioning if author took enough responsibility for her own actions) but went with 5⭐️ because of the changes I need to make in my own habits after reading this.

5* = Loved It, want to shout out loud about this book! I do/will own/keep a physical copy. A+
4*= I liked it, would love to discuss. Solid B
3*=Meh, no need to discuss. Avg C
2*=Nope D
1*=DNF F

I never quite knew who the MC was until I realized the focus would remain on three POVs as one goes missing on the Appalachian Trail of Maine. There is a mystery here but mostly it serves as the catalyst to reveal the life stories of those 3 women each with ownership to that mystery. …I can imagine this as a book Jenna‘s production company might adapt for screen.

This story pulled me in from the beginning and never let go. It was another one where I had no idea the middle or end, and that‘s always a fun book experience. I‘m fascinated by this writing. There were several opportunities for tiffs based on poor choices by characters to take control of the story, but the author opted against that kind of conflict. And 👏 for the nod to Lawrence, Kansas - Rock Chalk!

Oh gosh, a family caring for their parent with early onset dementia must be a difficult test of family strength. My parents and two siblings have passed away (none with dementia) I know we would not have been that unit who could live together as adults (ailing parent or not). I‘m fascinated by families, even fictional, who make the attempt. Oh yeah, there‘s a love story here too - and a greatly named dog!

Last week I watched the adaption of this book on Netflix with a visiting sister. It was a fun romance and when I saw it was inspired by a book I immediately checked Libby and it was available after a short hold. I spent yesterday with the book and liked both - even the differences. Where the movie is a romance the book is more contemporary fiction (pub 2013). Had all aspects of the book been adapted it would require a limited series.

I am the person who‘s never experienced an illegal drug for fear I will be the one who becomes immediately and forever addicted. So Amy‘s manner of unlocking the traumas of her past is a no-go for me personally. But my own issues faded for Amy as she convinced of the freedom in knowing her truth .

Last weekend I noticed a brand tote for the first time, I don‘t remember discussing it, but since then my feeds are full of Bogg Bags advertisements. I told my DIL that my phone was crawling into my head. …So is it a stretch my phone charging at my night stand could soon steal my dreams for profiling? Damn😱

Beth O‘Leary is an auto read romance writer (I have several) for me. I really liked this one. A romance has to have conflict, and I did not anticipate the resulting conflict here - so points for that!

I wouldn‘t consider this a love story had the words not been in the title. The unnamed bisexual MC holds a fascinating PhD from UCLA and has dual citizenship (she born in USA, her father in Iran). What I found interesting was the MC having reason to quickly get to Iran and then deciding whether or not she wanted to stay in Tehran on her own and make a life as a single woman there. It wasn‘t the crux of the story, but I wish it would‘ve been.

Yikes - attracted to and corrupted by power. I‘ve long been losing respect towards those running Facebook/Meta. But after reading this - ‘losing respect‘ forget that semantic of charity. I‘m disgusted by the powerful people that were and are behind Facebook/Meta. …This book is powerful and I applaud Sarah‘s courage to write it (even though she bears some responsibility for what she coordinated in the name of job security/health insurance).

I have neither finished a book in the last week, nor scrolled through Litsy - I miss you and need both of these things in my life! I did sneak my March #indexcard effort a into my closet for a quick pic 🤣

March 2025 #MonthlyWrapUp