Definitely a #BorrowNotBuy unfortunately I did buy but at least only digitally. It isn't terrible but I had a few issues: an entire friend group being willing* to start swinging together seems unlikely; the relationships in the book (save G & Norah) superficial; the swinging scenes more awkward than sexy; if not advertised as an Emma retelling I doubt I'd have noticed. Pros: the characters are likeable; descriptions of various NYC locales vivid.

This was powerful and heartbreaking and hopeful. In addition to painting a picture of what it is like to be DeafBlind this is about friendship and love and the right to make choices for oneself. It's about how the right support- or any support, really- can change a life.

What now??

Here's my July #BookSpin @TheAromaofBooks ❤🤍💙

The beginning and end of this book were both really good but it dragged in the middle. I liked how it wrapped up (despite it being hard to believe) so I'm calling it a pick but it's a soft one for me.

The weather has cooled so my audiobook and I are enjoying a little porch time. 😊

I'm still not a fan of short stories so, while I thought these were good, I wanted more of some of these characters. Sugar Babies, Sabrina And Corina, and All Her Names were my favorite but I thought they were all well executed. All the stories were about loss and struggle and they all made me think. Several of them I believe will stay with me for a long while.

This homage to the Frick Collection is told in two timelines: in 1919 Lillian, a celebrated model, runs from scandal & becomes Helen Frick's private secretary during a tumultuous time for the family; in 1966 Veronica's first modeling job is set at the Frick where, locked in during a storm with archivist Joshua, she stumbles across clues to a 50 year old mystery. Solid characterizations, lush descriptions, & a couple mysteries make this a pick.

This was wild and far-fetched and kinda fun. TW for suicide. Don't skip the author's note.

This is a character driven book which moves gently but surely through the canals of the English countryside. It's a story about kindness and friendship and pausing to assess one's life before deliberately starting down the next path. It's beautifully descriptive while being both soothing and uplifting but in a serious way; this is not fluffy. An excellent second book by this author.

The accuracy! (I do appreciate ebooks though)

*swoon
Yes, please!
📷: pinterest

#BOTM box arrived 😊

This is a social media cautionary tale. I might have felt a touch more sympathy for Lauren if she hadn't disregarded advice about being safe online from nearly every person she talks to- including herself, when lecturing her daughters! This kept me entertained but mostly because of the sheer number of messed up people in it. The reveal, & how the troll came to be in Lauren's sphere, was far fetched. I was far more interested in Cleo than Lauren ⬇️

I enjoyed the other books by her I've read but this one I loved! All the rom-com references (book and movie), two people whose jobs (and thoughts and lives) are shaped by love of books, wonderful secondary charactors, and an adorable, punny small town all came together into something that simply worked for me. And let's not forget Charlie Lastra, a prince among men and new leader of my #litcrush list!

Finally read this after saying, for weeks, I was going to & it was underwhelming. I really liked the beginning. Travis's voice & story had me hooked but then we lost his POV. I was still ok with that because I figured the new people would collide with him & blend all their stories. And they did! But the way it happened was pretty weird. Also, the source of the "rot" was clear from early on so that reveal lost something for me. Spoiler below ⬇️

Yay for the 2nd of the month! I love #BookSpin #DoubleSpin day! @TheAromaofBooks

In the present, Lizzie is best friends with Dudley whose wife Amelia dies by falling down a flight of stairs. In the 16th century, Amy, wife of Elizabeth I's "favorite," Lord Dudley, dies by falling down stairs. Can a few characters with paranormal gifts break the pattern? This requires great suspension of disbelief but I enjoyed it.

Here's my #BookSpin list for June @TheAromaofBooks (JUNE! Seems incredible that we're nearly in June already.)

Beatrice takes over her late brother's research & discovers 1- there may be a sinister reason the Plague hit Siena much harder than surrounding towns & 2- she is strongly drawn to a painter who lived there in the mid 1300s. She (somehow) travels back to that time & finds friendship, a new career, & love, while thwarting crimes committed against her beloved & solving the Plague mystery- though unable to prevent the devastation. #BorrowNotBuy

I couldn't put this down but it was deeply disturbing. 😱

This reads a bit like a fairy tale (evil aunt, ruined castle, magic diary, mysterious neighbor, secret garden) but IMO it doesn't lean in to that enough so that it's hard to place it in a genre box. Often that's intriguing but not this time. This wasn't bad but it certainly wasn't special.

Three couples are setting of for their annual holiday when the husbands are all delayed so the wives go for the 1st night alone. When they arrive they find a note, purportedly from the fourth wife in their group whose husband has recently died, saying she is going to kill one of their husbands. Their remote location has no cell service and they are cut off by a storm so panic ensures. Next day one of the men turns up so they all head back to ⬇️

I'd have liked this more if it wasn't a retelling. At first I liked matching up names & events to P&P but, as usual for me with YA books, I got annoyed at the love lives of HS kids. If this had simply been about Zuri, her sisters, her love for her neighborhood, & her desire to go to college to come back & serve that neighborhood I'd have loved it. And I might not have found Zuri so irritating. As is, my #unpopularopinion is that it's overrated.

Leo is an obituary writer so when his wife, a well known marine biologist, is diagnosed with cancer he processes by pre- writing her obituary only to discover most of what he knows about her is a lie.This book doesn't know if it wants to be family drama or domestic thriller. Ultimately I feel it works best as the former despite there being several mysteries to unravel.

A day off between jobs, a spring snowstorm, a good book...ah
I liked this remix of the March sister's story. Enough was the same that one could certainly feel a Little Women vibe but there were plenty of differences (even beyond being the story of a recently emancipated Black family) that made this book stand on its own. As always, I like a book which leads to research & this had me looking up the Roanoke Freedmen's Colony which was new to me.

For me, this was between a pick and a so so. The story about the murder of Cameron Young, and the question of Victoria's guilt, was interesting. Much more interesting than Avery/Claire's ponzi scheme father IMO. So this was half good and half blah. 🤷‍♀️

In the future predictive software maps out every detail of a person's life & that of their descendants. A woman is on trial for selfishly becoming pregnant w a child who may negatively affect the future. The jury are those whose families will be affected by the Viper (viable person) for better or worse & they must vote to decide if she'll be allowed to give birth or if the pregnancy must be terminated.
Fascinating & disturbing! Not in database.

Aaron Falk is coming back!

Nine people around the country receive a list of names in the mail (including their own) and start dying one by one. They have never met and seem to have no connection at all so why is this happening? This was interesting and kept me reading but it isn't my favorite of his books. I'll explain in a spoiler comment ⬇️

This dystopian story doesn't sound nearly as far-fetched as it should. #ThePrynneViper is not in the database.

This was cute, as all of her audiobooks have been. My favorite is still Sweet Talk but this was very enjoyable. (This title was not in the database so I tagged my fave.)

Dahlia & her siblings were brought up isolated, homeschooled on murder documentaries & stories of serial killers. Her twin Andy was desperate to get away & begged her to leave with him until he finally ran away on their 16th birthday. Dahlia has tried to find him for 10 years years & when the kids are called home at their father's death she hopes he'll be there too. Instead his body is discovered (not a spoiler) in the plot meant for their ⬇️

It's a glorious morning for reading outside

I can't think of anything to say about this that isn't a spoiler so I'll just say I liked all three female leads AND the man this story revolves around. One could nitpick a few things but I enjoyed the journey so I won't bother.

I was excited to read this but struggled to finish it. Most of the story is about Alice & her daughter Penn who are descendants of Eleanor Dare. I might have enjoyed their story more if I hadn't expected this to be more about filling in the details of Eleanor & her descendants up to Alice. Eleanor's story doesn't even begin until more than halfway through and, other than a list of names, there were no stories between Eleanor's daughters & Alice.

This Prime First selection sounds great!

Looking forward to this month's books @TheAromaofBooks

Book shopping while visiting our daughter and son in law in Virginia. 🥰

Here is my #BookSpin #DoubleSpin list for May @TheAromaofBooks

It pains me to say it but I am not enjoying this. Back to the library it goes.

I guess #ConArtistLit is having a moment. 🤷‍♀️ I kept marveling at Lora's naivete and wondering what she would do when the rug was pulled out from under her, then- that ending! I didn't actually like the way it ended but I was definitely surprised. This was entertaining, I'll give it that but IMO it's a #BorrowNotBuy

10 years ago Maggie opted to be a surrogate for Chip and Donovan. The men were thrilled with their twins and have been loving fathers ever since. But now DNA testing, done on a whim, has thrown them all into a tailspin as something unexpected is revealed. This examines what makes a family. Is nature or nurture more important? There are no easy answers here but I liked the decision that was made in this story.

Pros: I learned things about Nigeria I hadn't known; all the siblings had distinct personalities and related to Hannah differently; Hannah consistently stood up for herself.
Cons: the writing felt immature; I kept wanting more depth and felt a little let down by the lack.

A year ago Cleo's abusive BF drowned on a group rafting trip. Now someone has set up a scary scavenger hunt taking her back through their relationship. Is it one of the friends she's grown away from in the past year or could Declan still be alive? This book is certainly creepy but it deals with some heavy topics too. Of course, true to YA, the MC takes some unnecessary risks, and no one wants to involve any adults, but it was pretty good.

Perhaps it will be clearer later but I think it's kind of weird that social media posts from this minor character are sprinkled throughout this book. Esp since they're blank. Maybe it's because I spend too much time scrolling Instagram but every time I come across one of these it feels like an error and pulls me out of the story.

This is beautifully written. I liked both girls and kept hoping for some kind of happy ending- though I couldn't imagine what that would look like. Turns out the author knew all along that none of them would come out of this whole.
Weirdly, the other book I picked up today also deals with a secret daughter.
@TheAromaofBooks This is my #BookSpin for April.

It's been too long since my last pedicure! I'm really looking forward to this. 😊

Yes please

First, this book was too long & takes forever to come to the point. However, I LOVED the Fabulous Four & wanted to live w them in intellectual splendor. The central problem of Cassie's old undercover identity popping up in a real (dead) person was interesting & creative. I loved seeing Frank in this as I had just read his story and it was good to see him purely through professional eyes. Bottom line: I really enjoyed the ride but the resolution ⬇️