Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow

Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Spectacular!

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When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to Scout Press / Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy of this excellent book.

While this book will undoubtedly get compared (favorably) to ,The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, it will earn many of its own accolades as well.

Zelda is a unique character. Mature - yet childlike in some ways, intelligent - but starkly simple. Due to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome she is limited in some ways. She lives with her troubled brother who is fiercely devoted to her and she to him in return.

Her love of Viking culture is her reference to all things and guide in life. Her quest to be a powerful female Viking warrior brings us along on a memorable journey.

I loved this book and Zelda. I will be recommending this for sure!

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"She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement, " by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey

She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have endless admiration for these two journalists (and ALL journalists!). I thought I had a basic understanding of what was entailed in pursuing and producing a news story, but no, I really didn't. It is much more intricate and exhaustive.

As far as the content....wow. It's worth the read. Weinstein and others with a lot of funds and little regard for women (or men) just take and take and take what they want and often get away with it. I'm glad some of the bastards are being brought to justice as women (and men) take great risks to make their experiences public.

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The Deserter by Nelson DeMille
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm happy to say that this felt like the Nelson DeMille books I used to love. It was refreshing to have a new character although he IS a bit like John Corey 2.0. Don't get me wrong -- I adore John Corey but he began to wear a bit thin and felt almost too slapstick in the last few books.

Brodie is a fresh new protagonist and this was a great adventure! I look forward to more with Brodie and Taylor.

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"The Family Upstairs" by Lisa Jewell

Thank you to Atria Books and Edelweiss + for this Advanced Reading Copy.

This was a winner for me! It opens with a hard draw as Libby Jones receives an inheritance that changes her life immediately. A mansion in Chelsea, London is now hers but with it come endless questions and a mystery to solve that centers around Libby herself.

As Libby investigates, we meet her glamorous and mysterious birth parents, her two siblings who disappeared without a trace, and hear rumors of another family that took over their world. Who were theses people, what happened in this house and where are they now?

Lisa Jewell's latest kept me rapt until the very end.

Hour 12 Audiobook Challenge: #24in48Readathon

#24in48Readathon Hour 12 Audiobook Challenge

Here is my Hour 12 post! My taste in audiobook is pretty varied and ultimately comes down to a good narrator. I recently switched from Audible to Libro.fm.

#24in48 Starts Tomorrow!

The last two times I participated in #24in48 were weekends when my husband and two children were away skiing. Easy peasy! With a quiet house all to myself, I could read #48in48, right?

Well, this summer's readathon does NOT coincide with 3/4 of my family being out of the house and I'll be hard pressed to get the full 24 hours in, but that won't prevent me from trying my best and enjoying a pass to read more than usual.

The two photos below show my stacks that I've prepped. Of course, should inspiration strike (or NOT strike), I might deviate from the stacks and download one of Simon & Schuster's new ARC selections for booksellers (great list this month!) or pick up another #TBR from one of my shelves.

Any of you participating in #24in48readathon? Happy Reading, y'all!

Lauren

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you to Atria Books for the opportunity to preview this book and provide an early review.

Jennifer Weiner, this is a shift from your other books and I like it - I like it a lot!

Mrs. Everything is a story of sisterhood, but also two strong individual stories. Jo and Bethie (at first I wondered if I had stumbled into a Little Women revamp) are two women who travel very different journeys over their lifetime - sisters who are very different but come from the same place and are thus bound together by love. The book covers an interesting arc of time and we see a lot of changes in treatment of women, sexuality, identity...

Trust me, you're going to want to read this. I recommend a reading binge over a weekend with some tea or wine and a lap blanket.


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Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for providing me with an Advanced Reader's Edition of this fabulous novel.

The adjective that keeps coming to mind when I think about how this book made me feel is "comfortable." I'm not 10% satisfied with that, but it is true that I settled in to these characters and this story and just felt...comfortable. That's not to say that sad things, terrible things and melancholy aren't scattered throughout the pages. But the pages are filled with B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L sentences, some I needed to read a few times because they were lovely.

I'm not great at giving a synopsis, so I'll just say that this is about two families and decades of life interwoven between them.

I really loved it.

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Becoming by Michelle Obama
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Let’s invite one another in.”
I couldn’t love this, or her, more.

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Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am SO glad that I chose the audio format of this book. What an incredible job the cast of narrators did! This wasn't a bunch of people reading the book aloud -- it was truly a performance. The dialogue was emotional, it was conversational, it really sounded like the interview it was supposed to be.

This is the story of "Daisy Jones & The Six," a 1970's-era rock band. The interviews chronicle the band member's beginnings, early careers and how they came to be recording music together. It's also several love stories told in an compelling, emotional, heartbreaking and suspenseful way.

Rumor has it this will be a mini-series...as excited as I am for that, I can see these characters in my mind's eye and like them just that way. The only thing I want is a sequel.

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Winter Solstice by Elin Hilderbrand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this quartet of books about the Quinn family in Nantucket. I'm so sorry to see it end, but I couldn't concentrate on anything else when I knew there was an unread volume out there!

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"Never Have I Ever," by Joshilyn Jackson

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wish that I had a shelf full of unread Joshilyn Jackson novels. If I did, I would squirrel myself away for days and just read non-stop. She is in good company with a few other authors that just feel like home to me: Kate Morton, Diana Gabaldon, Marisa de los Santos, Barbara Kingsolver, Elin Hilderbrand, Ann Patchett, Michael Chabon, Kate DiCamillo.

This book feels like a shift from her other stories: edgier, dangerous. But still, GOOD.

Amy leads a comfortable, safe, vanilla life with a solid husband, children, neighbors that are friends, a hobby that's also a career. But she wasn't always this same Amy, and as her past meets her present, suddenly everything is at risk. Stories like this make me look at my surroundings with new eyes: who around me has secrets that I'd never ever guess?

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Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center

Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

*sigh of contentment*

I wish this happy place could have lasted a bit longer, but once I pick up one of Katherine Center's books, I can't put it down because it is so comfortable and pleasant.

This reminded me a lot of "How to Walk Away," and I mean that in the best sense....in fact there is a link that is a pleasant surprise. Cassie is a kick-ass firefighter and takes pride in being very good at what she does, however the rest of her life is pretty empty. Some unexpected events cause her to make major changes in her life.

There is a great lesson within for everyone having to do with forgiveness and I think I will remember it the next time I need to give or receive some!

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A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: The Poetry of Mister Rogers by Fred Rogers

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: The Poetry of Mister Rogers by Fred Rogers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to Quirk Books for sending me an advance copy of "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.”

As a child of the 70’s, Mister Rogers was ever-present. I didn’t realize how much I had missed him until I read through some familiar, and some new, passages in this book of poetry. His gentle sentiments are needed as well today, especially with loud abrasive technology permeating childhood.

I have wrapped this for my niece for Christmas and I hope she’ll love it as well.

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The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs by Katherine Howe

The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs by Katherine Howe
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thank you to Henry Holt & Co. for the opportunity to read and review this book in advance of publication!

It was fun to revisit the world of Deliverance Dane and descendants. I loved the history of Salem, Marblehead and surrounding areas. The idea of finding artifacts and clues in a generational family home was enticing. However, I found that the believability (yes, I realize that I'm talking about witchcraft here) fell apart in the last few chapters. The scenes when the "recipe" comes together were too fantastical. But all in all, I liked it.

One pet peeve though, the use of the word "slurp" to describe a grown woman, a Professor no less, each time she consumes a beverage is really irritating. Unless she's ACTUALLY making slurping sounds every time she drinks these sodas and coffees....please, don't.

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Stay Up with Hugo Best by Erin Somers

Stay Up with Hugo Best by Erin Somers
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thank you to Scribner and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read and review this book in advance of publication. I wasn't ready to part with June and Hugo just yet, but I enjoyed the brief time I spent with them.

June, an assistant for a late-night show that has just ended its stint, ends up spending a weekend with Hugo, the revered star and her long-time celebrity crush. June is also a comedienne at heart and her internal dialogue -- as well as her external one -- is pretty humorous.

June and Hugo have a lopsided relationship and for me, it was unclear at times who had the power, so to speak. While Hugo could certainly do things to help June financially and with her career, June had the ability to boost Hugo's confidence and ego, which he really needed at times.

I felt the ending was somewhat abrupt and had hopes until the very last paragraph that there would be one more interaction between them, but, alas! It doesn't always work out that way, really.

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