What a lovely melding of stories. The lives of past and present blend together in this story of an Irish village. The characters and atmosphere are superb. I was fortunate to win a give away sponsored by Shawn Breathes Books. @shawnmooney

This was a messy family road trip novel. These complex characters filled the pages with sadness, determination, anger, and regret. However, as the trip progressed, they made room for love. The resolution was a bit quick and frustratingly incomplete. Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for an ARC.

I read books about diseases frequently but still learned things from this book geared towards kids.

Hans Fallada survived Nazi Germany, wrote a novel based on the story of Otto and Elise Hampel in 24 days, and then died before its publication. If that wasn‘t tragic enough, his depiction of the grinding away of morality, loyalty, and self-respect to leave a society immersed in fear and loathing is exceptional.

The author spent the first half of this very angsty story working around a storyline instead of telling it. It should have built suspense but for the most part built annoyance. The last bit was much better.

This sequel is quite fun. The pacing was a bit off and some strings should have been tied up but the friendship was great and the characters were complex. The mythological aspects were interesting. Who hasn‘t thought Zeus an unfaithful putz? Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for an ARC.

Nevermoor is beset by a mysterious illness which causes its victims to become violent and then catatonic. The character growth Morrigan experiences is wonderful. It was a bit of a disappointment to find her friends somewhat sidelined. The war against bigotry and fake news was apropos. Next in the series is due out in May.

“The thing about numpties, Mog, is that they can always find plenty of other numpties to believe their numpty nonsense. You know what they say: You‘re never more than six feet away from a numpty.”—oh, I definitely feel this!

This was a lovely read in a dark time for humanity.

With a wavering timeline and shifting points of view, this was a dark nightmare of Peruvian storytelling. It was somewhat difficult to follow but the claustrophobic terror felt real.

Sad, funny, lovely….emotionally devastating. This was great.

This was interesting but not engaging. The characters resembled game pieces. If there was a plot, it was vague enough to escape notice. The author‘s descriptions of the dust storms were the most visceral and true of anything in the novel.

A magical hotel and animal sanctuary are a fantastic setting for an adventure featuring dragons, trigers, poachers and dark magic. There were a few unanswered questions. The plot was fast-paced. The characters were well rendered.

I am late in reviewing this April ARC. Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing it. In a rather hectic month, this provided the steam, heart, and laughs one always loves in their rom com. It also proved grumpy characters don‘t need to be jerks.

A new detective agency, a treasure hunt, and a few felonies later….This was great fun. There was adventure galore, humor, personal growth, and the mention of lots of yummy food.

This was not my favorite. It was incredibly predictable.

Korman is a reliable good read. Great characters, lots of humor, and some heartwarming moments are his bread and butter.

This is rather strange…haven‘t decided if I like it yet.

April is poetry month and this little story in verse covers many different and serious topics without delving deep enough to become bogged down.

This is an intense and chaotic adventure exploring the perils of the internet: swatting, isolation, extremism, cancelling, and just letting our worst selves out to play. In internet land, there is no making a mistake and learning from it and then we are surprised when this atmosphere pushes people even further into the darker corners. This was almost too intense at times because as crazy as the plot is, it could so easily happen.

This is an intense look at the perils of the internet: swatting, isolation, extremism, cancelling, and just letting our worst selves out to play. In internet land, there is no making a mistake and learning from it and then we are surprised when this atmosphere pushes people even further into the darker corners.

This was a fascinating look at the impact of nature on people‘s wellbeing—physical and mental.

Two knights with different world views are enemies in real life and friends and partners in a popular role playing game. There is a lot to take in but it was a fun way to receive it.

The reader is dropped in to a new land with magical creatures. Some are explained but many are not described at all. The tale drug on a bit and by the time it got to the best bits, I was ready to be done.

It wasn‘t horrible but it was just rather flat.

What is louder than hunger? The voice in his head telling him he is a loser who shouldn‘t eat, doesn‘t deserve to eat. This portrait of a young boy suffering from anorexia and those determined to help him is inspiring. The voice feels genuine and telling the story in verse was genius.

Hunting, trapping, tradition, and a great love between Grandfather and Grandson. The family bonds were lovely. The nature scenes intense. The reason for Ezra being sent to the wilderness seemed almost irrelevant.

This could have been a much more intense story without the flashbacks to the inciting incident. One chapter could have provided that info. Lackluster.

This was a challenging read. There was a plethora of characters falling in and out of the story and rarely was their end known. Also, there were hallucinations or delusions galore. This was a grim story about a grim time. Apparently, it was a story humanity felt the need to repeat.

Well now. Isn‘t this a timely read. A system set up for anything but justice. A complicit media. Six teenagers in the wrong place at the wrong time and of the wrong ancestry and religion. It started slow with the multiple points of view but the main event brought the intensity and depth of character to the story.

The Amari series has been fantastic. Alston is a genius at devising new challenges to keep the intensity ratcheted up. Each book gets better and the first was amazing. The new characters were great. The heartbreak was real.

Raybourn's Veronica Speedwell series has humor and lively, wonderfully singular characters. Killers of a Certain Age has very bland characters. Female assassins who have aged-out of their jobs at the "museum" fighting against an unknown enemy with an elite force at its disposal. What a great plot. Alas, it was boring. The time skips could have been used in such a way as to make the story more complex; however, mostly they were just tedious.

This was a fun adventure and romance story. It was also completely in the fantasy realm as women were quite independent and society had very little control over them. Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for an advance review copy.

The books tried to warn her…A protagonist struggling with school and all the ways her differences, including ADHD, make her feel like an outsider, kills a monster and learns a big family secret. Imaginative and thoughtful. I do wish there had been more of an ending to this installment. This one was quite abrupt. Thanks to Edelweiss and the Publisher for an advance digital copy.

Shearwater Island will exist forever in my mind. This desolate, cold, and doomed island with its isolated inhabitants, its treasure trove of seeds which hold the hope of a future world, seems as real as Antarctica. Atmospheric, tense, and incredibly well-written, this must be one of the "it" books of the year. Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for an advance review copy.

The author understates the difficulties of her childhood and also her successes. While this indicates an abundance of humility, it also makes it feel a bit dull.

This was a cute story. Ripe for sequels. Fun and flaky and spicy. Thanks to Edelweiss for an advance digital copy.

The Quiet Librarian is a propulsive and intriguing read. It is also highly unrealistic. A librarian has enough funds to own farmland and drop a good chunk of change on surveillance and weaponry at the drop of a hat, all while she is on apparently unlimited leave from her job. Eskens does write fiction. That said, it was a book that was difficult to put down. Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for an advance digital copy.

This was just as atmospheric and sweet as I remembered from my first time reading it as a young girl.

This was the last of my Canada Reads list for this year. It was possibly one of the strangest books I have read. Overall, this list was a bit disappointing. No 5 star reads. Still, an interesting group of books.

This is a sweet, tender look at grief, immigration, high school, and first love. It was fantastic on audio.

The mean-spirited awkwardness of the teen years wasn‘t a favorite. Wes is very unlikable in the first portion of the book. He was violent and a bully. It was almost a DNF. Fortunately, things became more interesting.

I loved the days when we all rooted for the underdog. Korman is a fantastic writer of friendship tales and this is no different.

Death as a romantic is something only the young find possible. The mystery part of the story was somewhat predictable but it was a fun read.

This is not an easy read but it is an inspiring one. Ma-Nee experienced multiple episodes of violence and abuse, racism, homophobia, and homelessness. Her ability to forgive and to release the bitterness and anger towards those who caused her harm is beautiful and hard won. This may not be the best written narrative but it is an amazing one. #CanadaReads

While "You can't kill a man because of the books he reads" is informative, it is also very repetitive. This is a history of many lawyers and multiple dates. Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for an advance review copy.

This is probably fine for a psychological suspense novel. I read it because it is a contender for CanadaReads this year. Is this the book every Canadian should read? Does every Canadian need to think most of the people in their lives are awful and untrustworthy?

This is a unique look at poverty and chronic illness through the lens of a young boy in a fiercely stubborn family of survivors. It is a CanadaReads contender this year. I am not sure how applicable it might be to all of Canada. It would have been nice to hear how the rest of the family made out.

What kind of mother will Lily be to her daughter? Her own mother, Swee Hua, abandoned her daughters and the foreign land she found so cold and unwelcoming. This was a truly beautiful and melancholy story of family, home, and attempts at belonging. The complicated characters were well rendered.

Jimenez always mixes real world problems with her once in a lifetime romance. This time it was almost too much reality. And yet….no one does it better or with more sincerity. Just a beautiful story.Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for an advance copy.