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!
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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!

Great psychological thriller page-turner! When your overbearing mother goes missing and you‘re the one that finds her bloody shoe you‘re left to go on a chase to figure out what happened and where she went. And that‘s when the suspenseful unraveling of secrets reveal the dangerous underworld your mother was in AND challenge everything you thought you knew about her. Great read!

I think this is my favorite Moriarty read! She masterfully explores how people might react when given a glimpse of their fate—do they fight it, embrace it, or ignore it entirely? The pacing is sharp, the character development is rich, and the story just kept me wanting to read, while wondering what I would do in their shoes. Another UNPUTDOWNABLE read for the year!

Not horror but actually kinda funny. Had some gore and one spicy 🌶️ scene. I loved the main character and her mental struggle. Second book of this author for me and I like her writing!

This Latina librarian living in San Antonio and living with so many doubts had me wrapped up and falling love from the first word! This steamy, heartfelt debut romance with witty banter and irresistible chemistry just absolutely swept me off your feet.

And Theo…swooooooooooon!! The unplanned, no-strings-attached fling between him and Marcela is
🌶️🌶️🌶️YES PLEASE!🌶️🌶️🌶️ with lots of heat in the library stacks and beyond!

UNPUTDOWNABLE! A must-read memoir!
This was heart wrenching, maddening, inconceivable, and mind-boggling.
One chapter hit way too close to home and I was balling. The rest of the book left me with my mouth agape the entire time.
“Today it hit me when he hit me, blood shaking in my brain. Maybe there wasn‘t a savior coming. Maybe it was up to me to save me.” ~ Tia Levings

Hilarious and heartbreaking! One of my favorite reads of the year! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I love stories with the weirdest people who make the best characters and when they come together to tell the weirdest story, which really is an entertaining story, well that just makes for an UNPUTDOWNABLE read! The writing reminded me a lot of Fredrik Backman.

This is an ode to fairytales reminding me of The Lion Witch and Wardrobe but instead there‘s a magical forest that leads to an enchanted land. There‘s fantasy, mystery, with a dash of family psychological drama. Because what life doesn‘t have a little of all that!

I loved Shaffer‘s first book THE WISHING GAME! Shaffer is now an automatic author for me.

UNPUTDOWNABLE from the very first page! A great debut thriller read. Highly recommend!

Emily Henry can do no wrong. 😍🥰FIGHT ME! 🤨
And she did what she does so well again with this swoooooontastic romance read that paid a special little homage to librarians. I absolutely fell in love with these two loveably flawed characters. Miles is a Hotty-McHotty!!!
I loved the message reminding us that even in the darkest of times there‘s always room for hope.

I LOVE ROMANCE READS and this one is a hilarious and heartwarming ode to the genre. Emma is a screenwriter with a passion for crafting the perfect rom-com. When she lands the dream job of rewriting the script of her idol, the cynical Charlie Yates, sparks fly…literally and figuratively! The banter between Emma and Charlie is pure gold, with a delightful enemies-to-lovers dynamic!

UNPUTDOWNABLE! TRIGGER WARNINGS! SICK! TWISTED!
Geez, this book was one of the most twisted pieces of writing I have ever read. This author needs some psychological help. AND I LOVED EVERY PAGE OF IT!

UNPUTDOWNABLE read, set in 1950s America!
Loretta Davenport is a young mother and wife to Pete, an ambitious assistant professor at a Bible college. Their seemingly idyllic life takes a sinister turn when a local girl is murdered, and Loretta begins to receive messages from the beyond.
This is a 5 🌟, must-read for horror, paranormal thriller readers!

This offers a refreshing take on adoption narratives, challenging the stereotype of pain and regret. I loved it!
I loved the children characters and their quirkiness. I loved the back and forth, very frank, hilarious conversations. Her twin ten-year-olds, with their witty banter and unexpected insights, provide comic relief amidst the chaos. I was laughing out loud one moment and contemplating different perspectives and profound truths the next.

5🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 and 5🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ for this swoon-worthy read!
It gave “Waiting to Exhale” vibes with Soledad‘s journey from the wreckage of a shattered life to phoenix rising celebrating self-love, reinvention, and the courage to love again. And the romance…WHOA WHAT A ROMANCE! 🥰
If you love reading Tia Williams and Colleen Hoover, then Kennedy Ryan is a definite must-read author as well!

A raw, honest, and emotional novel in verse that ultimately feels like a triumph while shedding light on a painful journey towards self-acceptance.

Sometimes, it's only through books that we (kids) can find this.

Take care of your heart! 💗
Do what brings you joy! 💖

What a suspenseful mystery rollercoaster ride! The snark was everything and the mystery made it unputdownable. You‘re left questioning everything and everyone and guessing until the very end with this one!

5🌟 must-read for your book club! And it‘s the GOOD MORNING AMERICA book club pick for March 2024.

Kristin Hannah did it again with an extraordinary story of WOMEN HEROES during the Vietnam War. I loved how Hannah captured the essence of the time with the music of the time that we all know and love.
A 5⭐️ tribute to the forgotten sacrifices of WOMEN WHO SERVED even though many said for years, “there were no women in Vietnam.” A sad read of a time marked by turmoil but so important to share especially during the upcoming Women‘s History month.

Wait a minute!!!! I‘VE GOT SOME PROBLEMS AFTER THIS ONE!!!
This was a quick and entertaining psychological thriller that revolves around some teachers and students at Caseham High School. WARNING: lots of cringe with this one if you‘re an educator!

What a swoon-worthy, irresistible, 🌶️🌶️🌶️ sexy 5🌟 read! With a little bit of jazz and the Harlem renaissance as well as modern day Harlem, mixed with a little bit of magical realism and a whole lot of romance.