Book Review - Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Synopsis: Between the real and the imaginary, there are stories that take flight in the most extraordinary ways.

Right off the coast of South Carolina, on Mallow Island, The Dellawisp sits—a stunning old cobblestone building shaped like a horseshoe, and named after the tiny turquoise birds who, alongside its human tenants, inhabit an air of magical secrecy.

When Zoey comes to claim her deceased mother’s apartment at the Dellawisp she meets her quirky and secretive neighbors, including a young woman with a past, two estranged middle-aged sisters, and a lonely chef, and three ghosts. The sudden death of one of Zoey's new neighbors sets off a search that leads to the island's famous author and to a long-estranged relative of the sisters.
Each of them has a story, and each story has an ending which hasn't yet been written.

My Thoughts: I loved so much about this story...the main thing it being set in my home state of South Carolina! I literally had to go in search of Mallow Island and see if it actually existed because the author made it seem so doggone real and I never have heard of dellawisp birds and had to look them up as well. Such beauties they are!

Right from the start as Zoey arrives at The Dellawisp and takes over her mother's condo I was immersed into her and the other residents lives. One of them drops dead on her first day and the story just picks up from there as mysterious things begin happening from night shadows and theft to ghosts and cornmeal!

Definitely had some twists I didn't see coming!

A story of mothers and love, loss and letting go, and just simply trying to find your way in a hard world.

#sarahaddisonallen #otherbirds #stmartinspress

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Book Review - The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Synopsis:  There’s a cottage on a cliff. Gabe and Pippa’s dream home in a sleepy coastal town. But their perfect house hides something sinister. The tall cliffs have become a popular spot for people to end their lives. Night after night Gabe comes to their rescue, literally talking them off the ledge. Until he doesn’t.

When Pippa discovers Gabe knew the victim, the questions spiral...Did the victim jump? Was she pushed?

And would Gabe, the love of Pippa’s life, her soulmate...lie? As the perfect facade of their marriage begins to crack, the deepest and darkest secrets begin to unravel.

My Thoughts: I love stories by Sally Hepworth and enjoyed this one but I did find it a bit dry in places and another thing this started out so strong and then got sort of repetitive which slowed me down and took me a while longer to read than it should have. I'm not saying it was bad at all! I can't really even put my finger on what bothered me....but I do think most of it was I would grow so impatient with Pippa. So naive and I can't even say I liked her. Towards the ending I can really say she just didn't impress me much at all. She came across as a silly pitiful woman who always needed saving/coddling.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

#netgalley #stmartinspress #sallyhepworth #thesoulmate



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Book Review - The Last Word by Taylor Adams

The Last Word by Taylor Adams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Synopsis:  Emma Carpenter lives in isolation with her golden retriever Laika, house-sitting an old beachfront home on the rainy Washington coast. Her only human contact is her enigmatic old neighbor, Deek, and (via text) the house’s owner, Jules.

One day, she reads a poorly written—but gruesome—horror novel by the author H. G. Kane, and posts a one-star review that drags her into an online argument with none other than the author himself. Soon after, disturbing incidents start to occur at night. To Emma, this can’t just be a coincidence. It was strange enough for this author to bicker with her online about a lousy review; could he be stalking her, too?

My Thoughts: Really makes one think about the reviews they leave! LOL-kidding but seriously I found this to be quite a fast paced psychological read! Without all the daily distractions I could have easily read this in a sitting it was really good and a page turner.

Emma was such an awesome character to get to know. I enjoyed that she had a backbone and not a poor defenseless woman persona. She stood her ground no matter how afraid she was and still thru it all was able to concentrate on what needed to be done to survive next.

I enjoyed the isolation of it all. That is fast becoming one of my favorite tropes. Maybe a scene or two was a bit predictable but still very entertaining and suspenseful! Loved It!

Thank you to the publisher and author for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

#WilliamMorrow #TaylorAdams #TheLastWord



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Book Review - Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Synopsis:  On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn't heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom. These friends, intimates since childhood, borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo. Overnight, the world is theirs. Not even twenty-five years old, Sam and Sadie are brilliant, successful, and rich, but these qualities won't protect them from their own creative ambitions or the betrayals of their hearts.

Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a dazzling and intricately imagined novel that examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love. Yes, it is a love story, but it is not one you have read before.

My Thoughts: Okay so I guess I'm in the minority here because I just didn't get the hype. It was just okay for me. I was actually loving the beginning but as the story moved on into the making of the games and all the game talk I got quickly bored because while I love playing games I am not that big of a gamer. I guess that was where it lost me but I really didn't have a care for any of the characters either so it could have been a bit of both.

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 #Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group #GabrielleZevin #Tomorrow,andTomorrow,andTomorrow

 

Book Review - Super Easy and Delicious Air Fryer Recipes by Emily Paster

Super Easy and Delicious Air Fryer Recipes: Nutritious and Delicious Ways to Cook Your Favorite Food with Your Air Fryer by Emily Paster
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Synopsis:  Turn your air fryer into the most versatile and oft-used appliance in your kitchen arsenal All the recipes in Super   Easy and Delicious  Air Fryer Recipes  use easy-to-find ingredients and feature short prep times and fast cook times.

My Thoughts: I rarely used my air fryer because things I cooked in it usually came out soggy or just not tasted like I wanted but when I came across this recipe book I decided to give it another go and not only are there some nice easy recipes in here to try but also loads of tips for beginners and the like to air frying. I couldn't believe I could cook biscuits in an air fryer and was pleasantly surprised at not only how simple it was but how great they tasted! Another thing my family and I enjoyed trying out was the apple fritters! Yummmm!

#netgalley ##SuperEasyandDeliciousAirFryerRecipes

Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Book Review - Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Synopsis: From the New York Times bestselling author of Dear Edward comes an emotionally layered and engrossing story of a family that asks: Can love make a broken person whole?

William Waters grew up in a house silenced by tragedy, where his parents could hardly bear to look at him, much less love him. So it’s a relief when his skill on the basketball court earns him a scholarship to college, far away from his childhood home. He soon meets Julia Padavano, a spirited and ambitious young woman who surprises William with her appreciation of his quiet steadiness. With Julia comes her family; she is inseparable from her three younger sisters: Sylvie, the dreamer, is happiest with her nose in a book and imagines a future different from the expected path of wife and mother; Cecelia, the family’s artist; and Emeline, who patiently takes care of all of them. Happily, the Padavanos fold Julia’s new boyfriend into their loving, chaotic household.

But then darkness from William’s past surfaces, jeopardizing not only Julia’s carefully orchestrated plans for their future, but the sisters’ unshakeable loyalty to one another. The result is a catastrophic family rift that changes their lives for generations. Will the loyalty that once rooted them be strong enough to draw them back together when it matters most?

Vibrating with tenderness, Hello Beautiful is a gorgeous, profoundly moving portrait of what’s possible when we choose to love someone not in spite of who they are, but because of it.

My Thoughts: This was a very emotional story. I was sad and angry so much while reading it. I held a deep anger towards William's parents for basically denying him the love, comfort, and joy he so desperately deserved. I understand they were hurting but they still had an obligation to him and because of what they lacked in giving him he grew up alone and unloved and it caused so many mental issues for him.

He finally found his love in basketball and met Julia whom I developed a strong disliking to very quick because she always had to have things her way with him with her family/sisters. She was just a bossy person and drove me nuts.

It's not a book for everybody and not everybody will enjoy it. I myself had to read it between other books because I couldn't bear the emotions or sports talk for long periods but I still am happy that I read it and think it was beautifully written.



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#dialpress #annnapolitano #randomhouse