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marleed

marleed

Joined April 2019

To this Litten community: I can‘t imagine moving through a pandemic without you!
review
marleed
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Pickpick

This is an intelligent romance where I rooted for both FMC and MMC the entire time. It‘s written in such a way that as the reader I wasn‘t sure if the HEA would end in everlasting love or two great characters figuring out who they are on their own. The supporting characters are also well written, and I expect Reese‘s production team already has the rights to this story.

42 likes1 stack add
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marleed
The Unraveling of Julia | Lisa Scottoline
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Mehso-so

A possible bit of woo woo inner feelings just does not make for great a gothic novel. I thought this was okay though - it‘s a Scottaline ‘ish story, but perhaps more forgettable than memorable than some of her other works.

Dralex090 I have never seen app like this . As a book lover I am excited to be in this app.I am new here. Nice to meet you dear 16h
59 likes1 comment
blurb
marleed
BookSpinBingo | Untitled
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Hmmmm, what to read, what to read📚📖

#BookSpinBingo September 2025 @TheAromaofBooks

Soubhiville I love your photo! 3d
AnnCrystal 💝💝💝. 3d
marleed @Soubhiville @AnnCrystal Ah, thank you. We spend hours in the ‘book room‘ everyday! (edited) 3d
See All 7 Comments
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 2d
marleed @TheAromaofBooks I‘m always grateful you give me the incentive to shop from the bookstore established in my own spare bedroom! 2d
TheAromaofBooks I'm consistently amazed at some of the great unread picks I have in my own house! 😂 2d
Mshookquilts 😂 My daughter and I just finished our personal book club read and we‘re asking the same thing with so many good books on our list. 4h
48 likes7 comments
review
marleed
Full Bloom | Francesca Serritella
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Pickpick

Slow pick here for this genre busting story while I enjoyed much of it other parts never quite came together for me with some characters making little difference to the book‘s ending. There‘s an intriguing touch of magical realism and I get the author stretching that over each aspect of Iris‘ life but concentrating on fewer aspects would have brought more to the best parts of the story.

61 likes1 stack add
blurb
marleed
We Are All Guilty Here | Karin Slaughter
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I tend to be opinionated about details in a thriller so it‘s always fun for me when a thriller wins the tag for my grid!

5 ⭐️= Loved It, would recommend to others. A+
4 ⭐️= Liked it, would love to discuss. Solid B
3.5 ⭐️ = Close to either pick or so-so
3 ⭐️= Meh, no need to discuss. Avg C
2 ⭐️=Nope D
1 ⭐️=DNF F

review
marleed
Seduction Theory | Emily Adrian
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Pickpick

I wasn‘t sure if I would like this - expecting some aging professor unable to resist the allure of young impressionable college student clinging to their every action. But it wasn‘t that, at all and the author could have written married couple Simone and Ethan into a myriad of professional settings and still tell a similar story. It was more about what keeps a couple coupled when their world around them offers temptations.

75 likes2 stack adds
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marleed
Well, Actually | Mazey Eddings
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Mehso-so

Eva was the discarded middle child and negative experiences compound her adult views of self. She needed her own therapy. And no, a meeting with your potential boyfriend and his longtime therapist is not couple‘s therapy (and not recommended IRL)! Eva finds the intestinal fortitude to bring rise her inner badassness but it didn‘t convince me her issues were resolved.

DGRachel Oh definitely not resolved! That girl definitely needs individual therapy. 😅 6d
marleed @DGRachel This is one of those reading experiences where one thing bothered me so much that I found myself unforgiving of things I might otherwise enjoyed. Sending the emotionally scarred FMC to couple‘s therapy with her bf‘s therapist is badly informed - I‘m surprised it got through editing. Hey, even I learned things about what not to do in therapy by reading the tagged🤣 (edited) 6d
56 likes2 comments
review
marleed
Dominion: A Novel | Addie E. Citchens
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Pickpick

This is a quick read at 240 pages but boy does it pack a punch. It was visceral that small southern town feeling where the power is at the pulpit and family reputation is everything - until it unravels.

61 likes2 stack adds
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marleed
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Pickpick

This was not on my radar but I‘m so happy my attention was diverted to it because it was fun - even after finding the resolution complicated for a cozy little murder mystery🤣 I loved Mrs. B and the tenants in her six units making up this sweet Santa Barbara cottage. If this is the first in a series of neighboring supportive sleuths, count me in.

Bette Can‘t wait. I‘ve got a hold on it. 🤞 1w
AnnCrystal 🏵️🤩📚💝. 1w
67 likes1 stack add2 comments
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marleed
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Pickpick

Despite some dragging chapters in this story, the overall plot was interesting I thought I knew how the story would resolve until a twist reminded me about assumptions. Then I was curious if the twist was just for that reminder or if it would alter where I thought the story would go. This story brings up this sort of hierarchy within the East Asian immigrant community to which I was unaware.

64 likes1 stack add
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marleed
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Mehso-so

The cast of characters were few so I trusted Lo to not be among the guilty. Lo makes decisions so bad that her character could easily star in a Hallmark mystery movie series. It was all so hokey but that didn‘t stop me from wanting to know the resolution. It was okay - another author I just can‘t quit.

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marleed
Tartufo | Kira Jane Buxton
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Pickpick

Think casting for My Big Fat Greek Wedding but Italian - in a village where the young no longer desire to reside, and hope lies with a white truffle and recent reading of a fortune teller. It had way too many characters (with great Italian names) for me to track but each added to the humor - as did the donkey, Mauritzio 🫏. Slow pick but I think I‘d have enjoyed it more had I slowed down and absorbed the quirkiness of each character.

66 likes1 stack add
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marleed
We Are All Guilty Here | Karin Slaughter
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Pickpick

Knowing this was the first book in the series, I decided to prioritize characters and their relationships vs the actual mystery to be solved. That was working fine until we got to 12 years later in the story and all of a sudden the mystery became every bit as interesting as the characters. I can‘t wait to continue on with this series.

71 likes2 stack adds
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marleed
Endless Summer: Stories | Elin Hilderbrand
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Pickpick

I read the EH books in random order and this was my penultimate book in her Nantucket canon. It turned out to be a great choice to save as my last physical copy of her books as it‘s a compliation of prequels, sequels, dropped chapters, and reimagined endings of other books. I must say the notes on backside of my index cards helped in enjoying this one.

Aug #BookSpin Cat:pub 2022-23. @TheAromaofBooks

dabbe 😍🤩😍 2w
CoverToCoverGirl Serendipity! 😍 2w
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2w
marleed @dabbe @CoverToCoverGirl @TheAromaofBooks Thanks. I‘m thinking since I don‘t own that last unread book (I believe Book 1) I might just leave it out there. That way I‘ll always have one more of her Nantucket books that I could still read for the first time🤣 2w
71 likes4 comments
blurb
marleed
Finding Grace | Loretta Rothschild
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This grid offers a virtual tie between favorites but the tag goes to the book with a first chapter I believe I‘ll clearly recall for years to come😳

5 ⭐️= Loved It, would recommend to others. A+
4 ⭐️= Liked it, would love to discuss. Solid B
3.5 ⭐️ =Hard decision of pick or so-so. 3 ⭐️= Meh, no need to discuss. Avg C
2 ⭐️=Nope D
1 ⭐️=DNF F

review
marleed
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Pickpick

I noticed Marianne‘s newest book as I was tracking my reread of 100 years of Lenni and Margot. This book is adorable. We should all be so lucky to have an Eddie as our best friend, and if this author chooses to create her stories based on characters whose lives are richer when they befriend someone generations older/younger I will happily keep reading her.

Lesliereadsalot Really liked this one too! 3w
62 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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marleed
Not Quite Dead Yet | Holly Jackson
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Pickpick

Well the first chapter grabbed me and I liked how the story resolved. But oh my goodness Jett‘s head is held together with wire mesh, she has no chance of survival, and my ability to suspend disbelief exploded (oh wait, I think I just punned my post🤣) soon after she woke from a coma. But you do you Jett and go all Colombo and everything 🧐. And yet, I had fun in all my disbelief!

72 likes1 stack add
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marleed
Bombshell | Darrow Farr
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Mehso-so

A teenaged girl is kidnapped in the 1990s and in a matter of weeks sides with her terrorists. To use this storyline I believe significant research into Stockholm Syndrome was needed so the reader understands and fears for and with the FMC. I liked the 2013 aspect but my frustration with the 90s prevailed.

Amiable Is this supposed to be a fictional nod to the Patti Hearst kidnapping? 3w
marleed @Amiable I think a bit inspired by Patti Hearst kidnapping which is why I felt it was a miss in not digging more into Stockholm Syndrome. 3w
70 likes2 comments
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marleed
The Locked Ward | Sarah Pekkanen
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Pickpick

This was an interesting storyline of two women discovering they‘re twins - one is institutionalized and the other researching her twin‘s guilt or innocence. As intrigued as I was in the plot and where the story was going, I wish I‘d been a bit more interested in the sister themselves.

SilversReviews It wasn‘t bad. 3w
marleed @SilversReviews I really liked the plot and may have loved it had I felt a connection with the twin sisters. 3w
66 likes1 stack add3 comments
review
marleed
Nantucket Nights: A Novel | Elin Hilderbrand
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Mehso-so

Well, this was a strange Mrs. Robinson‘ish story. Mikala really does need better friends. I kept reading but didn‘t enjoy it. It was kind of icky. I‘m glad I didn‘t read EH‘s Nantucket books in publication order as this is Book 2 and I might have given up on the author with this effort. I have two more books to read before I can call the EH Nantucket series complete!

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marleed
You Belong Here: A Novel | Megan Miranda
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Pickpick

I was a graduate of a small college where many students (including me) had legacy reasons to travel afar to experience a place often discussed in childhood. It also means I‘m drawn to books with that small college setting. I even had tunnels connecting all the buildings. Lucky for me me neither fires nor hazing happened within those walls - but we did know the late night path to a freezer filled with sugary goods in the motherhouse 🤣😇

71 likes1 stack add
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marleed
Finding Grace | Loretta Rothschild
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Pickpick

OMG 😱
The first chapter WTF 😳
It‘s the narrator for me. 🤯

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Yes!!!! 😳 3w
marleed @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks At the very least - my favorite 1st chapter of the year to date. 3w
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @marleed I totally agree! My mouth was hanging open!! 3w
68 likes3 comments
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marleed
Before We Forget Kindness | Toshikazu Kawaguchi
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Pickpick

I love this title and just can‘t quit this series. My interest here was in the characters with problematic situations looking inward to consider who they were and what they could have / should have done to make a situation better. My favorite story here was that of the estranged father and daughter.

August #DoubleSpin Category:Pub 2024 @TheAromaofBooks

IuliaC The collection 😍 4w
AmyG I love the collection, too. 4w
marleed @IuliaC @AmyG it‘s such a sweet stack of books. I love owning them. 4w
See All 8 Comments
AnnCrystal Sweet book staging 🤩📚💝 LOVE the miniature 😍💝. 4w
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 4w
marleed @AnnCrystal Thanks! 3w
marleed @TheAromaofBooks I was so excited when you provided me the category to prioritize this book since I‘ve owned it since the day of its American release. 3w
TheAromaofBooks Love it when a plan comes together!! Those covers really are gorgeous. 3w
79 likes8 comments
review
marleed
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Pickpick

You know those times when you just want to read about a lovely dead woman and how the seemingly loving people in her life were creepy AF and everyone is suspect. All this so you can say - Damn girl, you might have all that but I pick way better people than you. Well then, this is a book for you! … I do wonder if we‘ll read more of Detective Jane Salter, I hope so.

SilversReviews Love your comments. 3w
marleed @SilversReviews 🤣🤣🤣 3w
SilversReviews @marleed 😃 😃 😃 3w
66 likes3 comments
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marleed
Culpability | Bruce Holsinger
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This was a decent enough grid with a few I‘ll likely forget about. Interesting to me that my opinion vastly differed on my two AI specific reads. Tagged my favorite.

5 ⭐️= Loved It, would recommend to others. A+
4 ⭐️= Liked it, would love to discuss. Solid B
3.5 ⭐️ =Hard decision of pick or so-so 3 ⭐️= Meh, no need to discuss. Avg C
2 ⭐️=Nope D
1 ⭐️=DNF F

review
marleed
32 Days in May: A Novel | Betty Corrello
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Pickpick

I liked the FMC (mostly) and MMC. However, I wanted to rewrite the way the author portrayed Nadia and her lupus diagnosis because one of my best friends has lived with lupus for 35 years and she does everything for everyone. I live in awe of her spirit. But here‘s the thing, add depression to a chronic illness and it becomes magnitudes more difficult to manage.

review
marleed
Under the Stars: A Novel | Beatriz Williams
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Pickpick

There‘s a mystery to resolve here which accounts for the set up of an 1840s woman surviving a ship wreck and forging life anew. But my interest was the current day story and the relationship between Audrey and her beautiful, acerbic, alcoholic, fiscally irresponsible academy-award winning actress mother, Meredith. They were a hoot.

TheBookgeekFrau My copy should be delivered tomorrow--can't wait! 1mo
marleed @TheBookgeekFrau I had a fun reading this. Months ago I read a book Beatrix authored with two other writers and I was disappointed in the result. I was so happy to realize that effort didn‘t reflect on Beatrix‘s solo efforts. 1mo
TheBookgeekFrau @marleed I love her books! I tried one she wrote with co-authors--The Glass Ocean--and found it disappointing too. 1mo
marleed @TheBookgeekFrau For me it was the tagged. I guess we‘ve learned to stay away from her collaborations. 1mo
TheBookgeekFrau @marleed We have! 🙌🏼 1mo
59 likes5 comments
blurb
marleed
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I seldom get through this many books in a month. I guess my #indexcard collection is my distraction from heat.

MemoirsForMe 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 1mo
AnnCrystal
👏🏼🤩Excellent👍🏼 work 🎨💝📚💝.
(edited) 1mo
CoverToCoverGirl Wonderful!🤩😍 1mo
51 likes4 comments
review
marleed
Passion Project: A Novel | London Sperry
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Pickpick

A failed date turned insta-friends that comes full circle with, of course, the required conflict of an HEA romance. This was a good read.

70 likes1 stack add
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marleed
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Mehso-so

This style of writing didn‘t quite work for me. The nameless MC goes through a lot but seemed emotionally detached from the experiences she recounts- blindsided by infidelity, cancer. Thank god for best friends🥰 …My sincere wish for anyone facing divorce is they are no longer in love with their spouse.

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marleed
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Pickpick

This was a cute predictable romance that and I liked the main and side characters. I wish there were more ways to get to the HEA without an intelligent FMC finding her heart and head twisted amuck as she falls for the one who is obviously Mr Right. But does it stop me from reading romance HEAs? No. No it does not 😁

AnnCrystal 😂👌🏼😍📚💝. 1mo
57 likes1 comment
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marleed
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Mehso-so

I‘m that mom - as excited as my kids when a new movie was released in the Toy Story or Night at the Museum franchises. I also love to stare at paintings in an art museum. So count me in on a grown-up version of inanimate characters coming to life at night. …I liked the idea of what this story might be more than what it was. The characters aren‘t particularly memorable and the Covid aspect also threw me off.. 👇

marleed This seemed a fun excuse to include my local art museum in the background (Nelson Atkins Art Museum of Art — KCMO. Yes, those are giant shuttle cocks🤣) 1mo
Ruthiella My mother has admitted that she loves animated movies and always took us (and then later the grandkids) eagerly to the newest one because she wanted to watch them too. 😅 1mo
AnnCrystal 👏🏼😉👌🏼 There's an age limit on animation??? My mom and I were never informed 😂💝💝💝. 1mo
marleed @Ruthiella @AnnCrystal i absolutely loved the movie theatre experience with my kids. What I didn‘t know at the time was what a huge influence movie scores would be to my son‘s memories of childhood. 1mo
AnnCrystal 😂💝 @marleed throughout my childhood and adulthood our movie nights were spent at home with our VHS/DVD...grand 📺🎬🤩🍿😋fun. 1mo
52 likes1 stack add5 comments
blurb
marleed
BookSpinBingo | Untitled
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Without video it‘s hard to see the success of our many hours of board book dominos, but hopefully this pic provides proof of the fun

August 2025 #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

DrSabrinaMoldenReads How does this work? 1mo
TheBookHippie ♥️ 1mo
AnnCrystal 🆒👏🏼🥳👍🏼💝💝💝. 1mo
See All 6 Comments
marleed @DrSabrinaMoldenReads They are small sturdy board books and easily stand on any side (we) cautiously align them so that one will tip the next. Then we (grandson) have a count down and tap the first book. Over and over and over… 1mo
marleed @TheBookHippie @AnnCrystal Thank you - any way I can to get grandkids to love books! 1mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 1mo
53 likes6 comments
review
marleed
On Fire Island | Jane L. Rosen
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Pickpick

I read this series in 2-3-1 order. I liked this book because I read B2&B3 first. Here MC Jules,37, has died at the onset, and we read her non corporeal summer hovering Fire Island. I wished it remained focused on her grieving husband but he shared equal pages with a pile of secondary characters. As an initial read this would bore me, but as the series last it provided backstory on characters showing up prominently in later installments.

review
marleed
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Mehso-so

I‘ve not given AI attention so I decided to read two new novels on the subject. I didn‘t give this book justice reading it on the heels of Culpability. This one focuses on AI in healthcare but the story got too big - the tech stuff too techy, the bad are really bad, the results are devastating, and good lord don‘t let the AI‘s grow a pair (arms and legs, I mean😳). Also, the character conversations were stilted and poorly written.👇

marleed I do like Avery though a will continue to check in on her adventures. 1mo
58 likes2 stack adds1 comment
review
marleed
Culpability | Bruce Holsinger
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Pickpick

This is a family drama and we read the some benefits and concerns of this AI incorporated world we are headed into at full speed ahead. It was presented in a way that just made me realize, yep, it‘s time for me to pat attention to our new reality. I followed it up with Oprah‘s interview of the author which makes the book even more compelling.

marleed The backdrop of my post is my shameless excuse to include my beautiful bouquet of flowers my son gave me yesterday! 1mo
kspenmoll Gorgeous flowers! Great son! 1mo
Texreader Gorgeous 🌹 1mo
See All 8 Comments
marleed @kspenmoll @Texreader It‘s worth a birthday every year if only for a bouquet of flowers beyond anything I might grab for myself at the grocery store 🤣💐 1mo
Reggie Those flowers are beautiful! 1mo
AnnCrystal Happy Birthday Flowers 😍💐🥳🎂 Beautiful Sweetness 💝💝💝. 1mo
marleed @Reggie @AnnCrystal Thank you! For many a year my bd stood alone amongst my family on this month. But now it is on the very heel‘s of grandsons - Sparky turning 2 and Canon 3 with the 3 yo‘s event hosted at my house and backyard by his corporate event-planner mom. So for my bd, my best day is sleep and that free loaded up Starbucks venti dirty chai! 1mo
AnnCrystal That's Fantastic @marleed grandchildren are the greatest gifts 🥳🎂💝. 1mo
77 likes5 stack adds8 comments
blurb
marleed
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From an A+ to a B- ratings. That averages out quite nicely for a 3x3 grid. Tagged my favorite!

5 ⭐️= Loved It, would recommend to others. A+
4 ⭐️= Liked it, would love to discuss. Solid B
3 ⭐️= Meh, no need to discuss. Avg C
2 ⭐️=Nope D
1 ⭐️=DNF F

Note: To equate quarter ratings to A+ thru F scores, 3.5 is a waffle: 3.5 👍leans B-, 3.5 so-so leans C+

review
marleed
Intermezzo | Sally Rooney
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Pickpick

Sally Rooney‘s books are not easy reads. She has a knack for creating characters that have been thrown curveballs sucking the joy out of their lives. She considers the individual journeys through grief of two emotionally distant brothers following the death of their father. Peter‘s experience with the two women in his life felt raw and real to me. I really liked the ending.
July #BookSpin Category: Over 475 pages

Ruthiella Perfect background for the book! 👍 1mo
BarbaraBB Love the composition 💛 1mo
See All 7 Comments
Lesliereadsalot Really liked this one too! 1mo
nanuska_153 I just bought this the other day 1mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 1mo
Eva_B I was just debating whether to read this next after I finish my current read. (edited) 1mo
74 likes1 stack add7 comments
review
marleed
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Pickpick

It‘s hard to like a book when you don‘t particularly like any of the characters and you‘re a hard no on the choices made. But this book is very well written and it does give you things to ponder when group friendships are so dear and treasured.

ChaoticMissAdventures I love the cover! 1mo
BarbaraBB I just bought this one. Glad you liked it! 1mo
marleed @ChaoticMissAdventures I totally read this one based on cover alone! 1mo
marleed @BarbaraBB It‘s a reminder of why I love to read fiction - pondering a fictional situation where IRL I‘d have a very strong opinion. 1mo
BarbaraBB Well said and I couldn‘t agree more! 1mo
66 likes1 stack add5 comments
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marleed
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Pickpick

Last year I discovered a 5⭐️ read was
languishing on my bookshelves (The Good Left Undone) so I purchased this book without reading beyond title and author. I was so surprised because I wasn‘t expecting this to be funny but it was. My DNA tell me my ancestry is 99.999% of Celtic blood, but when I read about Italian families with parents, aunts, uncles, siblings and cousins - I just want in!🇮🇹

AnnCrystal 99.999% of Celtic blood 🤩👍🏼🆒💝... watching/reading about Italian or even Greek families are usually fun...and makes me wonder why we all can't have that huge family in the single household or nearby in the neighborhood kind of craziness 😂💝. 1mo
marleed @AnnCrystal I‘m left to imagine that tiny percentage of Nordic blood is some hunky Viking who had a wild night with an Irish lass before making his way back home 🤣 1mo
AnnCrystal @marleed I've imagined similar in my ancestry 😂, we can dream 😉👌🏼💝💝💝. 1mo
74 likes5 stack adds3 comments
review
marleed
The Homemade God | Rachel Joyce
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Pickpick

This was a very different story than the Harold Fry series, but I was engrossed in the lives of the Kemp siblings. It‘s an interesting study of who siblings become as adults when their only parent is a narcissist (btw, that word never used in this book), and how hard and long those children work to be seen by that parent.

66 likes4 stack adds
review
marleed
These Summer Storms | Sarah MacLean
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Pickpick

It‘s another 1%‘er family drama on another New England ocean estate so of course I‘m here for it. I especially liked the dynamics between MC Alice with Jack and with her bff, Gabi. …But you know in singing competitions when judges tell a contestant they've proved they can sing making so many vocal gymnastics unnecessary? This suffered similar writing gymnastics reading the MC‘s thought and too often immediately countered with a taming thought.

willaful Oh no, she's caught Mary Balogh disease... 2mo
marleed @willaful Did I just google Mary Balogh - why yes I did! 2mo
willaful @marleed She's written some absolutely fantastic romance but developed the most annoying page-filling habit of the MC thinking and then countering over and over and over and... 2mo
See All 6 Comments
marleed @willaful Oh I‘m so glad I‘m not alone in picking up on it. It‘s a humorous writing style but was so overused that it became distracting rather than funny. 2mo
Reggie I‘m all about the rich people drama. Stacked. 2mo
marleed @Reggie Me too - so silly that I‘m so entertained by it. 1mo
75 likes2 stack adds6 comments
review
marleed
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Pickpick

I know so little of the foodie-famous, and my TV has never landed on the food channel. Until this was placed in my LFL last February had Ina Garten‘s name come up on a multiple choice question, I‘d have picked C) Swedish climate activist. And for Barefoot Contessa B) drag queen. …I‘ve recently discovered I love foodie memoirs and this further confirms - I loved it!

Suet624 Interesting. I generally shy away from food books/memoirs. Glad to hear this one is worth checking out. 2mo
bookandbedandtea Great photo! 2mo
marleed @bookandbedandtea Thank you! Sometimes my grandkids toys make great props! 2mo
See All 9 Comments
marleed @Suet624 I think I‘m intrigued maybe because a life filled with joyful meal prep and beautiful results is so different than my own experiences that I can‘t help but be intrigued. 2mo
Suet624 @marleed I understand and am very similar. I rarely had the time to care about meals while working and raising four kids. Now, after the kids are gone, I wonder about trying to make cooking more enjoyable. 2mo
MemoirsForMe Oh, I must check this one out! You may also enjoy Ruth Reichl. I loved 2mo
marleed @MemoirsForMe Ohhh, I read and loved Save Me the Plums and will check into Ravenous - thanks! 2mo
marleed @Suet624 We see each other 👀🤣 2mo
68 likes9 comments
review
marleed
Spectacular Things | Beck Dorey-Stein
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Pickpick

This book had Reese Witherspoon bookclub seeped into every page of this homage to women‘s soccer and sisterhood. It screams (or many be kicks⚽️) to be adapted to a limited series, and I‘m casting Elle and Dakota Fanning as the sisters. This is a very different story but did give off some My Sister‘s Keeper vibes - if anyone remembers that book from 20 years ago.

70 likes1 stack add
blurb
marleed
Maine Characters: A Novel | Hannah Orenstein
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Had this book been set a bit to the south in Nantucket I‘d of bet money it was authored by Elin Hildebrand - her style of conflict, characters, and resolution. The story wrapped up too HEA for real life but was nonetheless a satisfactory read with two 31 yo 1/2 sisters meeting for the 1st time (one a secret love child) following the death of their dad There‘s love interests too, but seemed like side characters to better understand the sisters.

65 likes2 stack adds
review
marleed
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Pickpick

It was difficult to read the heart wrenching early chapters detailing how Corby ended up in a state prison. If you can get through those chapters (I almost couldn‘t (toddler girl/boy twins in my world), there is a reset as we read Corby navigate his next three years. Beautiful story. Ohhhh, I‘m gonna need a minute 😭

Amiable Just finished this last night —I‘m right there with you emotionally! 2mo
peaKnit You said it so well. 2mo
marleed @Amiable @peaKnit I think my heart is bruised after this one. 2mo
peaKnit I gasped out loud 2-3 times…some real gut punches. 2mo
Suet624 Wally Lamb 💕 2mo
91 likes5 stack adds5 comments
review
marleed
Bug Hollow | Michelle Huneven
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Pickpick

My favorite genre - family drama (or comedy) gets the tag on this 3x3

5 ⭐️= Loved It, want to recommend it to others. A+
4 ⭐️= Liked it, would love to discuss. Solid B
3 ⭐️= Meh, no need to discuss. Avg C
2 ⭐️=Nope D
1 ⭐️=DNF F

Note: To equate quarter ratings to A+ thru F scores, 3.5 and 3.25 both garner a C+, but 3.5 represents my quandary when I can‘t decide between a pick or a so-so!

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marleed
Foul Play in La Playa | Amy Patricia Meade
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Oh my goodness @BookmarkTavern - is that an ocean I spy on your post!? @Amiable tagged me for @Chrissyreadit ‘s #ocean scavenger hunt. I‘ve been monitoring Litsy for a new ocean view and #tagyoureit 🌊. I hope you get want to play along and search for the next beautiful ocean view!

Chrissyreadit 🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊 2mo
kspenmoll Sorry I did not see this! 🤪 2mo
BookmarkTavern Oh how fun! Off I seek! 💙🌊💙 2mo
marleed @kspenmoll 🤣🤣🤣 2mo
57 likes4 comments
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marleed
Songs of Summer | Jane L. Rosen
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Pickpick

Oh what a tangled web we weave (adoption, bio parents, 2nd marriages, lovers to step siblings, bffs who feel like siblings, cute lifeguard sleeping with siblings) but easily loosened to end in the relationships making this a super cute HEA. Also, piles of music references and chapters given track numbers named after songs! Fire Island was a fun setting with early shout outs to Ohio which might be fun for some readers.

marleed In spring I read Book 2 (from my physical shelves) of this Fire Island series having no idea it was part of a series. Just as I posted I realized through GR that this book was released earlier that week! Now I have a hold on a Book 1. Books 2 and 3 are essentially stand alone stories with book 3 just mentioning the characters in Book 2. So I‘m curious who gets the origin story! 2mo
58 likes1 comment
review
marleed
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Pickpick

It‘s Brooklyn for me in this one. In my reading imagination I‘ve grown up here - tried Manhattan for a quite some time l but ultimately settled back in Brooklyn 🤔 So of course I‘m a fly on the wall of this May Mother‘s group. Uncovering the real lives of the women turned out more interesting to me than the actual thriller aspect of the story.

July #DoubleSpin Cat:Mystery/Thriller. @TheAromaofBooks

AnnCrystal 🤩🥀💝. 2mo
marleed @AnnCrystal Sometimes a dead 🥀 is just the perfect prop 🤣 2mo
marleed @AnnCrystal When posting I noticed that Kerry Washington‘s production company purchased the rights to this book back in 2017 and she was set to star. It would have been fun to read this imaginary Kerry as the MC. I googled and there‘s not much info beyond 2017 so the plan must be have fallen through. 2mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2mo
AnnCrystal @marleed beautifully immortal 🥀...love casting actors and actresses while reading characters.

Terrible when movie projects fall through. Been waiting for the return of Grimm for years...still waiting..
2mo
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