A fun rom-com that perfectly captures everything we love (do we love it???) and roll (or gauge out) our eyes about reality dating shows.

This was an entertaining, escapist read that doesn‘t take itself too seriously, just as we shouldn‘t with those shows!

The Flynns are not alright! This family brought the dysfunctional and made me laugh a little and cringe a lot the whole way through. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

UN!!PUT!!DOWNABLE!! The queen of plot twists has done it again with this deliciously twisted tale of revenge and a jaw-dropping ending!

Some twists were obvious and inevitable, but the final was sharp and satisfying. Just when you think you've figured it out, Feeney pulls the rug out again. This was a great, keep-you-reading thriller that proves why she remains the reigning queen of the plot twist.

What a great read to kick off the new year!

My last for 2025 and my first for 2026 and it was a banger! Gladiators but with ruthless vampires!

Human-eating zombies.✅
Humans gone mad.✅
The world is in chaos.✅
AND ROMANCE!✅
Yes, please! 😂
Who knew I‘d love a zombie rom-com so much! This was the perfect kind of distraction I needed during the fall of our democracy.

And now I need book 2 to come out like yesterday because that ending left me 😱 🤯😱🤯😱🤯😱🤯😱🤯😱🤯😱

UNPUTDOWNABLE historical fiction!

This is the historical fiction story of that accusation and witch trial. Oh, the feminine rage this read will invoke!

This was laugh out loud hilarious fun fantasy read with demons and omens and evil under lords.

I loved to hate and laugh at Laszlo an 800yr old demon more interested in martinis than mayhem.

And I definitely fell in love with Maggie, a fiercely determined kickass woman that has no time for the chaos that is Laszlo.

I loved it! It was a little too long but still a fun ride.

This was equal parts hilarious, heartfelt, and a whole lot of unhinged in the BEST way!

I ended up loving this flawed hero, dark humor read!

This is a powerful must-read!

At just 13, D. set out alone from Honduras to reunite with his parents in the U.S. Instead, he endured a dangerous journey north, only to be separated from his cousins and detained at the border under the family separation policy. Over 5 months, he documented every moment, the fear, the injustice, the friendships that gave him hope, and the advocate who fought for his freedom.

UNPUTDOWNABLE but oh my geez this is a horrifying, haunting, and devastating read from the very beginning until the very end.
Definitely check your trigger warnings before you dive into this one because once you start you won‘t be able to get away.

You‘ll get some wonderful yummy recipes with this read! 😆 No, really!

Celebrity chef Maria Capello built her empire on charm, talent, and maybe… murder. 👀 Maybe some recipes should never be shared!

Creepy family estate ✅
Missing husbands ✅
Chilling secrets ✅
If you‘re a foodie and a mystery reader this was UNPUTDOWNABLE!

Reading this left me absolutely wrecked. I‘m emotionally drained, disturbed, and deeply moved all at once. It‘s the kind of story that makes you sit in silence afterward, rethinking mercy, judgment, and the power of hope in the darkest places.

UNPUTDOWNABLE! AGAIN!
A gothic horror, Mexican historical fiction, filled with colonial greed, power, family legacy, and a possession.

1765 Zacatecas, where plague forces Alba into a marriage and with her family into a silver mine. What should have been a refuge instead becomes a descent into terror.

The perfect read to open up this spooky season!

Not my favorite Wllingham read but still a great twisty mystery thriller read for the weekend!

Nope. I won‘t be riding a driverless car any time soon!

An interesting read after this administration‘s power play for complete and unfettered dominance of AI.
It‘s one thing to rely on AI to write your email. It‘s quite another thing to rely on a drone full of explosives manned by AI to make a tactical decision determining if it‘s a car full of terrorists or a family of five.

When do say it‘s too much machine and not enough humanity?

A romance read with a little bit of mystery and intrigue. This was a 5🌟 UNPUTDOWNABLE family drama read wrapped in a family inheritance game.

Alice Storm is a MFC you‘ll root for from page one. She‘s fiercely independent and determined to survive a week back on her family‘s private island with the ghosts (and living nightmares) of her past. Oooohhh, that mom of hers was something else! I loved to hate that woman.

This was an UNPUTDOWNABLE 5🌟 read! Grab your tissues…lots of them…and get comfortable for a love story that was made amongst the stars.

Favorite book 2025 (so far).
Grab tissues. Go to your comfy spot. And soak in the beauty that Backman always delivers.

UNPUTDOWNABLE! A great thriller mystery read about a teenage girl raised off the grid in isolation by her father. She begins to unravel the disturbing truths of her past, that leads her on a journey through 1990s San Francisco and the early days of the internet.
Such a great read, especially in the middle of today‘s AI wars and fears.

Did you know that in the late 1860s, a group of freed people from Mississippi established a self-sustaining, cooperative community they called the Kingdom of the Happy Land?

I didn‘t. I do now!

This was a great historical fiction read that gives you a little glimpse into the Kingdom of the Happy Land, a historical community formed by people who dared to dream beyond survival.

UNPUTDOWNABLE! I didn‘t think I‘d love this one as much as I did but it was soooooo goooooood!

I loved the family drama and mystery—it made the book absolutely UNPUTDOWNABLE! 5⭐️ read! #aapiheritagemonth #reneeahdieh #parkavenuebook #aapibooks

These women are living a life of being used, silenced, hidden, or punished for wanting more. I loved that this was not just about monsters, it‘s about what women become when they are denied their voices for too long.

UNPUTDOWNABLE!! Another great thriller mystery that absolutely hooked me. A debut novel about family trauma, forgiveness, and survival, wrapped inside a suspenseful mystery.

Providence Byrd is a fighter! She returns home to search for her missing mother (even though her mother never really loved her) and faces the abusive father she‘s always feared, and the tension between her and her sisters is heartbreaking.

I can‘t remember the last time I read a fantasy book, it‘s been so long. This one did NOT disappoint! It‘s action-packed, has vampires and humans, and an aching romance in a world where you have to be ruthless to survive.

UNPUTDOWNABLE!!! A 6🌟read!!
S.A. Cosby is another automatic read author for me. Whatever he writes, I will read it. He has outdone himself with this Godfather-inspired Southern crime epic. It's gritty and gruesome, and he writes that kind of horror so poetically. This has his signature razor-sharp prose and morally complex characters, that gives us a story that‘s both deeply intimate and cut-throat explosive. 🔥

What truly stole my heart was the love story Katie finds with herself. As someone who‘s battled body image issues since the day I first saw my own reflection in the mirror this resonated with me so deeply! Seeing Katie own her power and learn to look at herself with compassion and confidence struck a deeply personal chord. I found myself nodding, tearing up, and re-reading the author‘s note like it was a love letter written just for me.

Emily Henry does it again! This is now my FAVORITE Emily Henry read! A great dual-layered story that‘s equal parts mystery and romance.
I loved that this book is truly two stories in one. Margaret‘s story reminded me of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. And I loved the slow-burn romance between Alice and Hayden. An absolute 5⭐️ must-read!

As someone who has lost a parent to dementia, reading this was both heartbreaking/validating. So many emotions—grief, guilt, helplessness, & the anger that simmers when you feel you‘re losing someone in slow motion. There were scenes that hit so close to home. But there was also comfort seeing those feelings on the page—proof they‘re not just mine. That I‘m not alone. That‘s the power of books—remind us of our shared humanity.

A ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read - brutal, brilliant, and heartbreaking!

This was a gut-wrenching, razor-sharp addition to one of my favorite series ever, that left me emotionally wrecked. Go read it right now!

Sometimes, a book finds you. That‘s the magic they possess. The perfect book for you can arrive at just the right moment, wrapping around your heart and holding space for the emotions you carry that can somehow weigh heavy and need a place to rest. This is one of those books.
This is my second Bastone read and she‘s instantly become an automatic-buy-author for me!

I love John Green's Non-Fiction more than his Fiction. I learn so much while being thoroughly entertained!
​
Green, a passionate advocate for global healthcare reform, shares the poignant story of his friendship with Henry, a young tuberculosis patient from Sierra Leone. The book blends personal anecdotes with a powerful history of tuberculosis, revealing how social and healthcare inequities contribute to its devastating global impact.

A perfect historical fiction read for Women‘s History and Black History Month that shines a long-overdue spotlight on Lizzie McDuffie, an unsung heroine of the Civil Rights movement.

As a maid in FDR‘s White House, Lizzie refused to be confined by her station, and found a way to boldly advocate for Black Americans and ensure their voices reached the highest office in the land. 👏🏻

In families like these, secrets are sacred, and silence is the ultimate bond. 4⭐️ #jordysbookclub #mysterythriller
#readingrecommendation
#readingrecs

UNPUTDOWNABLE histfic read that takes you back to the heart of the Harlem Renaissance, highlighting the life & legacy of Jessie Redmon Fauset—a literary powerhouse often overshadowed by the very writers she helped shape. She played a pivotal role in discovering and promoting legendary voices like Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Nella Larsen.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #historicalfiction #HarlemRenaissance #harlemrhapsody

“There‘s power in a book” is a great way to describe this spoke, highly uncomfortable story about young girls reclaiming their power in a society intent on silencing them. I loved it enough that I wanted b by to read it slower to stay in that story longer. s, they burned women.” - witch hunts were never about witches, but about silencing women.

Surprisingly, this is my first Alice Feeney book and it was a gooood one! First 5⭐️ read of the year!

This was a twisty good psychological thriller with a lot of beautiful ugly and I loved every bit of it!

“Sadness can consume a person if it is allowed to linger too long. It takes root and buries itself inside a person's soul, until every thought is too heavy, too painful to think.”

This is a love story that captures the magic of the season and reminds us all that the best gifts are the ones you never saw coming. Another stellar holiday romance read, filled with humor, heat, and heart. It gave everything I want in a Christmas rom-com - a swoooooooontastic main character in Wilder, lots of sizzling chemistry, and just the right dash of holiday cheer! 4 festive ⭐️ 4 hot 🌶️

Fredrik Backman can do no wrong. He writes dysfunctional outcasts the best and I love reading the mess he comes up with. Go read this fun short story!

A bittersweet, delightful second-chance romance read filled with loss, trauma, lots of laughs, and some 🌶️🌶️🌶️ romance! Sounds like a perfect read, eh? Yes! For me it was a great little rom-traum of a read!
Maddie was uber annoying at first but Dom saved her 😆 and made me love her and them together midway.

Rebecca Yarros knows how to do romance and I am here for every single sappy, sexy love scene and every twisted, messy love story between two tortured, guilt ridden people. Not the dragons. She can keep the dragons! But I‘ll take a Hudson Ellis every time because this Hudson Ellis and second-chance romance story is sooo swoooon worthy hot! 5⭐️ 3🌶️

This was such a feel good, warm and cozy read after a tough week! She‘s a bad ass cattle rancher that finds love after a battle of a divorce. I learned a little something or two about taking care of animals you raise to be our food source and nourishment. Reminded me of our O‘Connor AG students and the work they‘re doing while learning about agricultural practices and business.

If you know me you know my all-time favorite book is COMO AGUA PARA CHOCOLATE - LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE by Laura Esquivel. Reading about the magic that is the Mexican cuisine won me over as a reader.

This book reminded me of it. This is the amazing and heartbreaking and sweet story of both young and now 80yr old Agusta. It‘s a later-in-life love story filled with my favorite, magical realism.

An exploration of motherhood…after a childhood of living through and “surviving”(?) domestic violence. My goodness this was hard to get through. Reading a child‘s plea to her mother to please leave was heartbreaking.
This one made me cry and rage at the same time. My goodness, the things women have to do to keep themselves alive!
“The world is not made for mothers. Yet mothers made the world.”

This is 2 stories in 1. The first story takes place in 1950s Hollywood, where ambition, envy, seduction, and a whole lot of racism swirl around the making of a blockbuster film. The second story is the Bible story itself that‘s being made into a movie.

Sylvia Moreno-Garcia has been a favorite since her MEXICAN GOTHIC book but this one has won my heart as my favorite Moreno-Garcia read!

The pandemic breakout storyline really does grab you by the throat & doesn't let go. This was a horror read with a lot of gore that I thought I wouldn‘t like but surprisingly I did! I was fascinated by the exploration of religious conviction through Sophie's harrowing journey across a virus-ravaged country. This probably won‘t be for everyone as it tackles weighty themes of faith, desire, morality, all along with horror elements!

I‘m not sure how I feel about this one. I loved the beginning. It really gets you in, and you feel like you know exactly what you‘re getting: a murder-who-dunnit. But then it started getting weird. I was so interested to see how this all wrapped up, and it kept me reading. But then the ending was a big ol‘ UGH!!!

I think I liked it enough to give it 4⭐️. I think. I‘M ALL OVER THE PLACE WITH THIS ONE!

This story follows a new mom who, out of necessity, invites her estranged mother into her home, only to discover that old wounds run deep and sinister events soon unfold, blurring reality.

Fast-paced, chilling, psychologically suspenseful with dark secrets slowly unraveling and the line between reality and nightmare blurring with every page - UNPUTDOWNABLE!

GEEZ! Everyone is a suspect - the ex, the current boyfriend, the stranger around the corner, you, me, EVERYONE! Freida does it again with this psychological thriller about finding “Mr. Right” - a literal nightmare! AND HOLY PLOT TWIST! 🤯😱
This will have you questioning every Tinder and Bumble profile, second-guessing every “perfect match”.

Required reading. Equally as important, this should be discussed.

I love Coates's writing. It‘s succinct and impactful, elegant and educational. “Writing is a powerful tool of politics.”

Essential reading in the conversation of the power of narrative and how it shapes our world. It's a reminder that the stories we tell can either free us or bind us, and that the sharing of truth, however uncomfortable, is ultimately the way to true freedom.

UNPUTDOWNALBE! What a thriller of a ride that just keeps you reading and will keep you up all night 😱 with lots of unexpected twists!

🔍 Detective Tess Claibourne faces her worst nightmares as she hunts a new killer mimicking the infamous Father Silence that her detective father helped put away and get sentenced to death.

This was a 5⭐ must-read thriller perfect for spooky reading mood!