It‘s always fun a when Christina Lauren takes the reader to Utah for the setting of their romance. Picture if you will this writing team decides to meander into the thriller genre…. Well, it would be something wilder!

I anticipate a heist book to be sharp, funny, snarky - where I root for the criminals to get one over on selfish museum curators hoarding undeserved riches. There‘s story and history here that could work and with tweaking be successfully adapted to screen, but as is, these 5 Chinese-American interconnected Ivy League Gen-Zer‘s desire to return Zodiac Heads to China in exchange for $50 million, fell flat for me.

I trust summer is real again when I begin new Emily Henry book. She has a knack for creating characters I want to read about. I liked this book from the very beginning when she roasted Hallmark movies since this is one of my favorite things to do, as well (whilst I keep watching them I must also admit).

Oh gosh, this triggered memories of my sorrowful years in the aughts. She speaks to how melancholy music (think Leonard Coen) helps listeners give away their own sorrow to a song as a means to move forward. How does she know me and my 60-gig now-powerless I-Pod filled with playlists named PlainSad, PlainGrief, PlainPathetic!? …And recently I told Alexa to play the This Is Us song, Forever Now, on repeat.

I look forward to Jennifer‘s summer-in-the-title books. I dropped pins on twins, Sam and Sarah, and had a blast following the forked roads leading to the interesting characters impacting their lives. …Against 80-1 odds, I watched as Rich Strike won the Kentucky Derby last Saturday so I decided I could imagine this ‘of all the gin joints in all the world‘ story, too! I loved the reactions when Eli‘s story revealed itself.

My first 3x3 grid of each book read the year it was published, and it was a pile of fun! I have to give this grid to the giant pacific octopus, but I might give a shiny tip to the The No-show for a second 5*, as well.

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. Average C
2*=Nope D
1*=DNF F

I have a decades long May obsession (books, documentaries, movie -including foreign) on those who attempt and sometimes succeed at submitting plateaus nearly 5 miles above sea level. In the aftermath of the Mt Everest tragedy of 1996 along with the Three Cups of Tea controversy, it became apparent that climbers, if a family, might be a tad dysfunctional. With that, this fictional thriller almost seems plausible.

This one is a slow pick for me. I thought book one in this series was a hoot and I knew this would be a mad-cap ride of implausible shenanigans. It‘s just didn‘t work for me, as well the fist book. I guess I found humor in Meddy and the aunts hiding a dead body in the background of someone else‘s wedding, but didn‘t enjoy Meddy caught up in craziness on her own wedding day. I did like the ending so the pick won out.

Until nearly the halfway mark this is an incredibly sad family tragedy following a seemingly random carjacking. Then the twists to the story start coming which were so fun to read that I nearly forgot my first emotions. With all the twists, I think it helped that the story was told from a single perspective

This is mood reading book where, depending on the current emotions of the reader, could be either a hit or a dud. Fortunately, the former for me! The reader clearly knows for whom to root, and it has that big city riches and narcissism versus very small town it-takes-a-village work ethic. However, it‘s more sophisticated (and with sex) than your run-of-the-mill Hallmark trope.

This author is among my many auto-read authors. I enjoy reading what‘s inside the head of her characters. While this B&B redo isn‘t my favorite of her books, it‘s still a pick. I was intrigued about her MC as a new lone black female at the publishing co, Tale as Old as Time (lol). The point of the story is what‘s happening at the ‘castle‘ in Santa Barbara, but my favorite parts happened when Izzy (vs Belle) was in her offices in NYC. ↓

The Flatshare is one of my all time favorite romcoms making my anticipation for a new Beth O‘Leary book sometimes too high to meet. This time - I loved it. It‘s a fascinating way to spin a story. I have no problem disliking unlikeable characters in a book, but I‘m always entertained when a story can be told so well with a cast of likable characters. No spoilers so I have to stop typing now!

This was an interesting way to explore racism and micro aggressions in areas where the black community has been systematically prevented the opportunity to succeed - and also, consider the challenge to succeed when not even family members can imagine it possible. The heist was just average though, and I thought the crowding sourcing/fund raising angle interrupted primary aspects of the story. May #BookSpin @TheAromaofBooks

Last year the book that fit my read for ‘most adorable‘ adult fiction was House of the Cerulean Sea. To date for this year, this book looks to earn this 2022 status. I don‘t know how else to describe it except adorable. 50% in and the reader knows what the octopus does and how the story should end. The fun is in reading to the end to find out if and how the author is in sync with octopus of her creation. ↓

Hey, Chicago what do you say! I couldn‘t read a bingo‘s worth of family sagas in a row, but I like placing them in the mix. I loved the Fall 2016 World Series Oak Park setting here and mapped its distance from both Lake Forest and Wrigley Field. It wasn‘t a super exiting book but the family dynamics of the extended Sullivan clan and their 3-gen restaurant was fun to read. Go Cubs Go! ↓

This was a pretty solid grid of goodness. My 5* was a reread, but JVN rounds up to 5* in my Goodreads tracking and that warrants a grid tagging!

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. Average C
2*=Nope D
1*=DNF F

With all the female-centric WWII historical fiction out there my TBR stack is tall. However, I can‘t resist getting to a KQ book asap because her women and their part in history is so interesting. …To separate fact from fiction and an explanation of the Ukrainian MC referenced as Russian, I‘d recommend reading the author‘s note first. …I did think this love story was heavy handed when there is so much more that made Ludmilla intriguing.

Johnathan Van Ness makes me smile. He wants every human to be kind and comfortable in their own skin. He‘s worked hard to find joy and peace with his non-binary self. His perspective is important and I‘m so glad it‘s out there for the world to consider. I know I‘m better for respecting what JVN has to say.

More entries for my #indexcard collection! This month I somehow managed to read down slightly more books from my shelves than reaching for shiny new 2022 entries. But these cards, they don‘t care where or how I experience a story, and that‘s kind of why I love creating them.

April 2022 - #MonthyWrapUp

One of these days I‘ll read about a fictional Instagram influencer with millions of unknown followers and freebies because she‘s beautiful, flawed, hardworking, as well as genuinely kind and honest. This isn‘t it, the MC is nether kind nor honest, but it is a wild ride of an insta-mom cautionary tale.

1. Frees my soul - great question! it‘s the books that make me know I‘m now a better person for having read them.
2. Littens - You are my people!
3. Love that Story by JVN. My copy just moved from waiting status 7-weeks to available soon! I guess I did my part in the wait-line for the library to justify more purchases!
#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

I‘m overwhelmed juggling a pile of new library books, estimated availability of soon to 3 weeks. I want to read them asap since more books with May pub dates have my attention! So, I‘m going to pretend I own everything here, utilize my library, and mentally deduct $ from the tax predicament I found myself in this month. I‘m going to need many library books for this deduction :(

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

I like the topics in this books a bit more than the steam - a suffragette woman fighting particularly for a married woman‘s right to retain her own money and not be owned by a man for whatever purposes he saw fit, and a roque who sympathizes and supports the plight of women. The books are just a bit too long for me making the banter grow old. Still a pick because I knew what I was getting into with book two.

I don‘t read a pile of supernatural books , but I thought this book was great. I appreciated the story was not burdened with a pile of extraneous characters just to confuse the whodunnit aspect, and I really liked Michael. …And according to my grandkids the boogey man is real and not their unexpected sunglassed uncle peaking out the door of a house they were just in!

Three timelines and one dress reimagined for the life the brides who wore it. This switched quickly between timelines but I liked the stories in all three - 1958, 1982, 2020 and had fun reading it. ↓

Well props to the author because this is a miserable example of family yet somehow I was engaged and intrigued to read to the end to discover who was the worst of the lot.

My leopard-print caftan is ironed, martini glass is dusted, and I have the gin. I‘m headed out for dry vermouth, tonic water, and olives. I host my book club discussion of The Guncle tonight, and I‘m so excited. I loved reading this book for a second time. When I reread a book I‘m forever humbled at what I forgot - even when I gave it 5* the first time through!

I wasn‘t quite ready to read this wondrous piece of fiction inspired by the author‘s IRL experiences with Carrie Fisher and her mother. Their deaths were still too heartbreaking then. . However, this week I host The Guncle for my IRL bookclub and thought I might add to the discussion by reading the work of Rowley‘s husband, as well. Oh my goodness, I was ready to read it now and loved it!

I feel so on target when I have a grid ready for a Sunday post - as it it‘s a blank slate for the week ahead. The tagged, oh my gosh, no other book had a chance to get this grid‘s tag - I loved this book!!

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. Average C
2*=Nope D
1*=DNF F

I‘m a hard core fan of Daisy Jones so tread softly into other music industry fiction fearing the story won‘t compare to DJATS. But this one is a very different type of story where music was the backstory, and I liked it. It was a bit predictable but sometimes that‘s okay. I thought the ending was fun.

I saw the poor ratings on this so went to goodreads and read some 5* reviews to set a positive stage for my experience. Well, nice try. I like the MC as Lou in 1930s LA, and I was very intrigued by the history in that time and place. I didn‘t understand the time travel aspects until it was too late. I also think I should have come away with some new perspective on the last crazy few years in America, but that was lost on me too.

Last summer I read The Float Plan expecting a quick,easy read and was pleasantly surprised by the complexities of story and characters. I couldn‘t wait to dive into the journey of Anna‘s sister Rachel. There is no need read Book 1 to enjoy Book 2 of this sister series, but they are both great.

Maybe 1 in 50 books I read is a political thriller - there‘s just so many books and genres out there! In a political thriller I‘m fairly confident the hero of the story will survive but anyone else might be dead by any chapter‘s end. Often, like this one, I just want to get to the end to see who gets to enjoy a good stiff drink in the epilogue!

I‘m giving this a pick mostly for the effort I made in order to understand it. I was lost in the audio and think I‘d have benefitted from a physical copy. It took me listening a second time around to understand the story. I remain confused as to why some aspects of the story were included. Other parts were fascinating - Lamanites - are you kidding me - ugh :(

This book is a celebration of family. So much stuff happens in life, and at the end of the day there‘s just a few people in our lives with whom we can be completely who we are in all our messiness. We are fortunate when falling out of love can sometimes circle back to something that is family.

I was anticipating this 2022 book since last December when I spent a weekend researching books coming out this year. It‘s compared to Me Before You which had me suffering all sorts of emotions back nearly 10 years ago. I liked this one but felt it lacked a quirky character giving the reader a moment of respite from the serious content. Still a pick and makes me think about the issues an end of life doula could face.

I loved revisiting this little basement cafe. It‘s such a sweet time travel series about a second chance to say the right thing. In the last book I was obsessed (if given this chance) with the all the ways I might keep my coffee hot for a longer time, but this book explained intricacies in the rules - and I just have to respect them. The best friend story, and the guilt of the adoptive father brought me to tears.

I loved this (even the interruptions in the story to relay ASL tips and historical commentary). I wanted to slow down my reading to sit in this story, but I had to know what I‘d learn/consider next. I‘m humbled by how many things I never considered in the deaf community! I hope this books finds great success because it‘s an important conversation. ↓

I‘m happy with the collection of books in this grid. I‘ll be thinking about the tagged for a long time, and it made me realize as I move through the aching loss of my sister, it‘s music rather than our shared food where I find my comfort.

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. Average C
2*=Nope D
1*=DNF F

Gosh teenage angst combined with grief over the loss of a parent just isn‘t fair. Then throw in learning that grown-ass adults who should know better and do better are racist specifically toward you. Can I just give KB a hug!? #BookSpin @TheAromaofBooks

A couple chapters in and I googled the author to put a face to this memoir. Well… I‘m showing my age because I had no idea Michelle was a successful musician as well as a writer. I loved this book. Moving through grief through the food of your loved one gave me From Scratch vibes, which I also loved. And again my age - I can relate to her mom‘s 1990s Mary Englebriet collection ;)

I‘m always intrigued when a family‘s life‘s work - cartography- is something that was never even on my radar. Googling about phantom settlements was a fun rabbit hole, as well. This gets a pick from me, the story was good even though I thought the magical was heavy-handed as the end neared.

This is creative storytelling - how in the world (past, present, and future) does this author have this unique ability to spin a story!? I thought I‘d struggle to read from AD 1 to 2080 but I was fascinated to read this unnamed traveler move through time and space to discover what changed, what stayed the same, and also what evolved as the story moved forward.

April #AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville
BookSpin #DoubleSpin number 1 @TheAromaofBooks

I can‘t resist a book about books even though I‘m not going to love every story I get my hands on. This HEA ending was obvious up front but still fun to read the story unfold. One issue for me though was inconsequential filler characters superfluous to the story. ↓

This was an emotional book for me, and I‘m glad I read it because the innocence and honesty of children made this heartbreaking. I do recognize how implausible it would be for such a friendship to unfold in this horrific place and respect the critics who disagree with the setting used to this story. April #AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville

March 2022 #MonthlyWrapUp and more entries for my #IndexCard collection. The quick notes on the back have triggered my own memory of reading a book more times than I want to admit ;)

This started out as an entertaining romcom, but I was somehow expecting more. Then, the more came! I have little experience with the history and culture of Puerto Rico whether in Brooklyn or Puerto Rico itself so I appreciated both the contemporary story and the history told through the life of the MCs parents.

This month I charted the publication dates of my unread books. While it‘s true my books older than 10 yrs and 5 yrs require a good pair of hiking boots, my mountain of unread books accumulated in the last 5 years requires an oxygen mask! it would take nearly 3 months of 20 to handle 2020 alone! This list is all from this decade - even ‘22 to ease the burden what I didn‘t read before ‘23! #BookSpinBingo April 2022 @TheAromaofBooks

I have no memory of how this book found it‘s way to my shelves, but I‘m so glad it did. It‘s an interesting story about letting go of the heavy baggage that weighs down our lives. I couldn‘t help but consider my own journey and the things I shed - a big-ass house when I realized it was turning me into the curator of a life I had already lived.

Often I read books with a similar theme so it‘s fun to come across a story unlike anything I‘ve read before. This was that kind of book. …As a woman I‘m fortunate to live some 800 years after this cloister of nuns and wonder what readers will think of our world in 800 years.