Book Review: "I Could Be Famous" by Sydney Rende

“Money. Fame. The high you get when a group of strangers screams your name with tears in their eyes. The ability to strut around L.A. like you really belong there (most people don’t), like you landed in the exact right spot.”

The quote above describes the characters that some of the stories in this enjoyable debut collection center around. In some cases they’re famous; in others, they’re infamous; and in others they’re either fame-adjacent or wanting to be famous. (The irony is not lost on me that I’m discussing this book on social media for my followers.)

There are 11 stories in this collection. The characters always made me a little bit nervous, wondering what disaster they might cause. But I really enjoyed nearly all of them.

Some of my favorite stories include: “Nothing Special,” about a young woman who becomes friends with a popular influencer yet realizes the life she covets isn’t all that great; “High School Junkie Girlfriend,” in which an aspiring young actress aims for authenticity before her audition for the role of said girlfriend; “The Actor Naked,” which deals with the ways the relationship between an actor and his assistant changes when she sees him naked; and “Monsters,” about a reality TV star who just wants to be loved, but can’t seem to pull it together when she’s not on camera.

I really was impressed with Sydney Rende’s storytelling abilities. All of the stories felt complete and I felt totally immersed in the mini-universes she created. Not all of the characters are sympathetic but they were all fascinating.

Book Review: "Is This A Cry for Help?" by Emily Austin

This was a very moving and thought-provoking book. It felt tremendously current given the issues being dealt with across the country.

Darcy is a librarian at a local library. She loves her job, even if not every patron is kind or appreciative. She and her wife Lou have a relatively idyllic life, complete with two loving cats. Darcy has just returned to work following a medical leave, the result of a mental breakdown after she heard that her ex-boyfriend Ben has died.

She hasn’t seen or spoken to Ben for years, since their breakup. But Darcy feels tremendous guilt and sadness about Ben’s death, the way their relationship ended, and the fact that she was never completely honest with him about her sexuality.

Now that she has returned to work, she and her colleagues start dealing with protestors who believe the library is harmful to children. The leader is a particularly vociferous critic who believes the library shouldn’t carry any materials dealing with sex or race or any of the issues these conservatives believe to be “dangerous.” While Darcy is still a bit mentally unstable, she’s also outraged about this attack on the library.

“I find it grating when attention is focused on seedy, unconstructive things, while so little focus is put on all that’s good.”

Emily Austin skillfully combined grief, love, guilt, and the periodic insecurity we feel in relationships. I definitely cared about Darcy and hoped her life wouldn’t go off the rails as she returned to work. I really loved the way her wife and her colleagues made her feel protected.

Book Review: "Anatomy of An Alibi" by Ashley Elston

“It’s not just the anatomy of an alibi—having someone vouch that you were somewhere else when the crime was committed—but it’s the psychology of it: that that someone is believable.”

I love when a book I’ve been eagerly anticipating by an author whose work I love knocks it completely out of the park. This book has been everywhere on Bookstagram but I finally sat down and read it, and it proved that Ashley Elston’s success writing adult novels was not a one-time thing!

Camille is the daughter of a powerful Louisiana family. Her husband Ben is a handsome lawyer whose representation is sought after by the most powerful people. Not too bad for someone just barely 30!

But Camille is not happy in her marriage. Ben has been spying on her every move, and she’s fairly certain he’s corrupt. Once she has proof, she can divorce him. When she meets Aubrey, who believes Ben is tied to a tragedy in her life, Camille might have found the way to put her plan in motion. She and Aubrey will trade identities for 12 hours, so Ben will think he’s tracking Camille, but she’ll actually be spying on him.

Both women believe they have a foolproof alibi, but that isn’t the case. And they have no idea what they’ve stepped in the middle of.

Every time I thought I had a handle on what was happening, Elston flipped the script. There are a lot of narrators and lots of time shifts (pay attention to the chapter headers) but it all contributes to a crazy puzzle of a book! Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

Book Review: "Cursed Daughters" by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Oyinkan Braithwaite’s debut novel, My Sister, the Serial Killer, caught me by complete surprise when I read it in 2018. I couldn’t wait to see what she wrote next—although she made me wait until the end of 2025! This book is very different from her first but it is more evidence that she is a writer to be reckoned with.

On the day that they bury her cousin Monife, Ebun gives birth to a baby girl. This baby, named Eniiyi, resembles Monife so much, the family is convinced she is the reincarnation of her late aunt. They believe Eniiyi will follow the same path Monife did in life, right down to her tragic end.

In addition to the belief that Eniiyi is fated to meet the same end as Monife, there’s also the family curse: “No man will call your house his home. And if they try, they will not have peace...” This curse has left several generations of Falodun women brokenhearted.

When Eniiyi reaches womanhood, she saves a man from drowning and promptly falls in love with him. She then realizes the curse is hanging over her head. Her only recourse is to search for answers in the older parts of Lagos, to find a way out of her fated predicament. Can she break the curse and have the chance at happiness? Can she free the other women in her family?

There is such a vibrancy to the way Braithwaite writes. The city of Lagos is as much a character as Eniiyi and her family. The book follows each generation’s confrontation with the curse and the tragedy that befell Monife. It gets a little repetitive at times, but it was just so moving.

Book Review: "Chasing Stardust" by Erica Lucke Dean

This sweet, funny, and moving book really warmed my heart. Many of us have imagined what our parents were like when they were younger, but how many of us get a first-hand look?

Zoey is devastated when her beloved mother dies of cancer. She has spent the last few years caring for her, putting her own future on hold while her older sister stayed in college. She knows it’s time to focus on moving forward, but she has one last task to complete for her mom.

Her mother has asked Zoey to spread her ashes following a path between Tennessee and California. Apparently it’s the path her grandmother followed in 1972: David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust tour. Her grandmother G-Lo was more than a groupie—she and the singer slept together, and that’s how Zoey’s mother came to be.

With her mother’s ashes and her diary in hand, driving her grandmother’s old Cutlass, she’s ready to hit the road. But from the very start she gets into trouble and the car breaks down outside Nashville. At an all-night diner she meets Dash, a handsome young man who’s apparently fleeing his domineering father’s expectations. Dash is more than willing to be a partner on this journey.

“How do I explain that I’m having a hard time reconciling Mom’s memories with my own…that with every word I read, my perception of her changes, dredging up emotions I can’t begin to understand. That I’m caught between this unquenchable desire to know everything about her past, and the fear of what I’ll discover if I spend too much time looking.”

As the trip continues, Zoey learns about her mother, grandmother, and herself. I love road-trip books and thought this was an utterly enjoyable read.

Book Review: "The Frequency of Living Things" by Nick Fuller Googins

“I decided right there to play it safe: one full week to detox from my sisters. Because family and opioids really aren’t so different. Both can make you feel great until suddenly they don’t.”

Even though she’s the youngest, Josie has almost always taken care of her older twin sisters, Ara and Emma. Josie is a scientist, organized and levelheaded (at least when it comes to other people’s lives). Her sisters are musicians, so Josie often pays their rent, schedules their doctors’ appointments, and helps with issues related to their band.

The band, Jojo and the Twins, were once a huge, Grammy-nominated success. But their second album remains elusive, and it’s been years since they opened for famous bands. Their lack of progress in recent years is definitely related to Ara’s problems with addiction and dealing with trauma from an assault. Emma feels as if she’s to blame for the assault, so she’s essentially been enabling Ara’s addiction.

But when Ara winds up in jail, it throws Josie and Emma in a tailspin. Emma decides that the band will record a jailhouse album and hopes that preorders will help pay Ara’s bail. But for the first time, Ara decides she wants to kick her drug habit and her reliance on her sisters, both of which are easier said than done.

Their mother Bertie is a famous lawyer and fighter of injustice. She was too busy building a better world for her daughters than actually mothering them. When she is asked to help Ara, she has to decide whether to come back into her daughters’ lives or let them fight their own battles.

I love books about family dynamics and drama, and this one had a lot of it! It’s a powerful read that evoked a lot of different emotions in me. I felt like the book meandered a bit as it provided background into the characters, particularly Bertie, but the story really moved me.

Book Review: "The Storm" by Rachel Hawkins

Batten down the hatches and hold on tight, because this book will blow you away! I’ve been patiently waiting for its release date and everyone’s been loving this, so I’m quite glad it met my expectations.

Geneva is the current owner of the Rosalie Inn in St. Medard’s Bay, Alabama. The inn is actually the only structure to withstand the three hurricanes that struck the town over the decades. It’s been a part of her family for generations, but the costs of keeping it running are starting to wear on her.

When an investigative journalist reserves a room for an undetermined amount of time so he can write a book, Gen is excited about how much this stay will help the inn’s finances. It turns out he’s writing a book about a scandalous murder that happened in town in 1984, when Hurricane Marie washed ashore. The son of Alabama’s governor was found dead and the accused was Gloria “Lo” Bailey, his teenaged mistress.

The biggest surprise for Gen is that Lo comes to the inn with the author, as they’re collaborating on telling her story. Lo says she’s returned to St. Medard’s Bay so she can finally prove her innocence, but is that the truth? As long-hidden secrets start to reveal themselves, Lo’s motivations are definitely questionable.

But there’s another hurricane headed for town, and this one could be the biggest one of all. Can Gen figure out what happened all those years ago—and who was responsible—before she winds up in harm’s way, one way or another?

Rachel Hawkins’ books don’t disappoint, and this one definitely got my pulse racing! The narrative shifts between the present and the past, when each of the other hurricanes hit town. There are secrets nested within secrets, and I couldn’t wait to see how it all ended up.

Book Review: "Alice Rue Evades the Truth" by Emily Zipps

I bought this at Thunder Road Books last week. I mean, when a book is described as a sapphic homage to While You Were Sleeping, it needs to be picked up immediately.

Alice works nights as a lobby receptionist for an office building. One night, Nolan, the handsome man on whom she has had a crush, collapses in front of her. She frantically calls 911 and gives Nolan CPR, which she doesn’t think she’s doing right anyway.

The good news is that Alice saved his life. The bad news is that Nolan’s family is mistakenly told that she’s his girlfriend. (Somehow the EMT told the hospital and…) Nolan is in a coma, but his family wants to know everything about Alice—how long they’ve been dating, etc. Seeing how happy his family is keeps Alice from telling the truth.

There’s one other complication: Alice feels immediately drawn to Van, Nolan’s gorgeous butch sister. But giving into her feelings for Van would be essentially cheating on a comatose man. And what happens when the truth comes out? It all seems like too much of a risk.

“What exactly is the protocol for when your fake-boyfriend’s hot sister and her dog walk you to your door after you leave his hospital room?”

If you’ve seen While You Were Sleeping, you pretty much know the path the story will take. There are some serious emotions afoot here, as well as dealing with unresolved trauma and fear. But the banter, the steam, the crazy family, and Frank the dog make the book so worthwhile.

Book Review: "The Mad Wife" by Meagan Church

“‘We call this hysteria.’ He said it so matter-of-factly. I didn’t feel hysterical, and I wanted to tell him that, but I feared that anything I said would only prove his point. Instead, I smiled and nodded. He packed up his bag and continued, saying, ‘I see this in women such as yourself all the time, this housewife syndrome. You’re a bit tired, doing a lot around the house. Not really feeling like yourself. Finding yourself a bit moody like your kids.’”

I’ve been meaning to read this book for a while. I had a feeling it would be a powerful one, but wow. (Kudos to Meagan Church for an introductory note that says, “If you find the pages growing heavy, if the emotions press too hard against your heart, please know you have permission to set the book down. Step away, take a breath, and return only when you’re ready.”)

Lulu tries hard to be a model housewife of the 1950s. She knows what her responsibilities are: keep her husband happy, take care of her young son Wesley, clean the house, cook meals, and be a fabulous entertainer. And as the so-called Queen of Molded Food, her gelatin salads and desserts are the envy of all.

Following the birth of Lulu’s second child, everything starts to unravel. She’s not sleeping, she’s tired all the time, and she’s just not happy or in the mood to be the perfect housewife. When new neighbors move in across the street, Lulu becomes fixated on the wife, Bitsy.

The more difficult it is for Lulu to pull herself together and be happy, the more scrutiny she finds herself under. And as she uncovers secrets about Bitsy, she starts to worry if she’ll face the same fate. But what’s true and what has Lulu invented in her mind?

This book really packs an emotional punch. It’s sad to think that this was (and in some cases, still is) the reality for women in the 1950s. I absolutely felt for Lulu and rooted for her to have a happy ending. Definitely a thought-provoking read!!

Book Review: "Famous Once" by Jane Green

This was one of the Amazon First Reads for January. Jane Green’s writing is so lush and evocative, and she always captures the time period of her work and the setting so effectively.

In the 1970s, Astrid Lane was one of the hottest models in the world. Everyone knew her face and her name, and she was often found in the company of the world’s most glamorous stars. When she fell for rockstar Callum Blake, it was a fairytale match, and Astrid was more than happy to step away from her career to raise the couple’s daughter, Zara.

But fame took its toll, and when Astrid and Callum’s marriage fell apart due to his infidelity, Astrid became addicted to drugs and alcohol, leaving young Zara to fend for herself.

Years later, Astrid lives a quiet life as a caterer, and has a somewhat-estranged relationship with Zara. But when a retrospective of 1970s music and fashion raises the profile of the stars of that time, Callum is back in the spotlight. His life is the subject of a podcast, but of particular interest is a tragedy that happened all those years ago.

Zara, who is a globetrotting reporter, wants to dig into the tragedy, even if it might unearth information that could damage her father. Astrid becomes a target of threats to keep any information she has a secret, which includes hours of audio recordings Callum made for her through the years. Zara and Astrid pore over these recordings and other memorabilia, and the truth is finally uncovered.

I thought this was a good story, but it was a little too short to feel complete. Everything was treated with a broad brush rather than detail, but I would love to see this expanded into a novel.

The story will be released 2/1/2026.

Book Review: "The Trip" by Audrey J. Cole

In the immortal words of Keanu Reeves, “Whoa!” This fast-moving book was wild. This is now the second book of Audrey J. Cole’s that I’ve read and I can say one thing unequivocally: her books should come with a defibrillator!!

In high school, Palmer, Beth, Courtney, Gigi, and Emma were inseparable. Sure, Courtney was a bit of a mean girl at times, but she was kind and generous at others. Before they graduated, Courtney suggested they go on a weekend camping trip, with hiking and rafting. Yet only four of them returned. Courtney fell into the river and could not be rescued.

Questions about what happened on the camping trip followed the girls everywhere. They couldn’t seem to shake the cloud of suspicion they were under. While Palmer and Beth kept in touch, for the most part they all drifted apart.

Twenty years later, Gigi is a popular influencer, married to a hotel mogul. She invites the others on a yacht trip on the Pacific, to end in San Diego. Palmer’s marriage has just ended and she’s struggling emotionally, so Beth convinces her to come on the fully paid trip. And then the four of them can pay tribute to Courtney.

It’s not long before they’re sailing directly into a storm. The power and radio go down and the captain is missing, so they’re left with the first mate, who doesn’t seem to know the first thing about sailing. And then they find a note which brings the memories—and the secrets—from that camping trip back into the light. What really happened that weekend? Who was responsible? No one is above suspicion, and they all could be at risk.

The book shifts between high school and the yacht trip. None of the characters appears particularly sympathetic, and I had no idea whom to trust or root for. The twists came as fast as the waves and the storm! I needed a reminder of why I never want to go on a cruise, so thanks, Audrey!!

Book Review: "Meet the Newmans" by Jennifer Niven

As someone who grew up watching family sitcoms, from The Brady Bunch to Good Times, Family Ties to Full House, I absolutely loved this book. Jennifer Niven wrote one of my all-time favorite books—All the Bright Places—and I’m so glad to read her again!

The Newmans—Del and Dinah, and their sons Guy and Shep—have been a part of the public consciousness for years. The real Newman family plays themselves on their popular sitcom, and are America’s favorite television family. Every problem is solved in less than 30 minutes.

But it’s 1964, and the televised Newmans have gotten out of touch with the world around them. Their ratings are awful, sponsors are withdrawing, and it’s possible that the show might be canceled at the end of the season. And while the future of the show is up in the air, the real-life Newmans are in freefall as well.

When Del, who runs all aspects of the show, gets into a car accident and is placed into a medical coma, the show has two more episodes in the season. Dinah decides she’s going to handle it, so she hires a strong-willed reporter named Juliet to write the script for the finale with her. But Juliet will only do this if Dinah is willing to break the Newmans out of their bubble of perfection. Both women want to write a script the world will remember.

As Dinah takes control of the show, she discovers some secrets her husband has been hiding. Older son Guy has a secret too, but will it be exposed by the tabloids first? And Shep, the heartthrob, is finally realizing his charm can only get him so far. Each of the Newmans are ready for life after the show—but first they want the finale to succeed.

While Niven has said the book was inspired by 1950s stars Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, it also reminded me of the movie Pleasantville. For the first time, Dinah is confronted with the realities that women face in society as exposed to the “ideal” she portrays. I found this funny, emotional, and thought-provoking, and I’m so glad I met the Newmans!!

Book Review: "The Flightless Birds of New Hope" by Farah Naz Rishi

“Aden Shah’s parents flew before they died, and even he couldn’t miss the morbid punch line in that. After all, no one loved birds more than the Shahs.”

When Aden gets word that his parents have died in a freak accident, he leaves Chicago to head for his childhood home in New Hope, Pennsylvania. It’s been years since he’s been home or spoken to his family, but as the executor of his parents’ estate, he has to put his feelings aside.

His return is met with anger from his younger siblings, Aliza and Sammy. Aliza has essentially raised Sammy, since their parents were often traveling or neglectful. Aden must also confront one of the main reasons he fled home 10 years ago: Coco Chanel, his parents’ prized Major Mitchell’s cockatoo. Coco got more attention than anyone else in the Shah household.

Frayed by grief, anger, and resentment, one night Aden opens Coco’s cage and lets her fly away. Of course, when his siblings panic about Coco’a disappearance, the three of them hit the road to find her and bring her back home. They follow her tracking chip and tap into a vast network of bird watchers to try and find her.

But what they figured would take just a few days at most turns into a cross-country road trip where everything that can go wrong does. Along the way, they argue, reopen old wounds, and try to process their grief and anger toward one another, their parents, and life in general.

This is a powerful meditation on grief and resentment as well as growing up knowing you’ll never be as important as your avian sibling. I just felt everything repeated itself too much—the failed rescue attempts, the rehashed arguments, and the crazily farcical incidents that arise. The characters’ growth arc took a bit longer than necessary, but the emotions were still very palpable.

Book Review: "Just Watch Me" by Lior Torenberg

This book was an all-out wild ride. Reading it was like watching a car crash—it made me wince and cringe a little bit, but I absolutely couldn’t look away. Thanks so much to Avid Reader Press for the complimentary advance copy!

Dell’s life is out of control. She’s just gotten fired from her job at a smoothie place and she’s not sure how she’s going to be able to pay her bills. To top it off, her sister Daisy has been in a coma and the hospital wants to either take her off life support or transfer her to home care. For that, she’ll need $14,000. Quickly.

With no income source except selling plants online, she decides to turn to live-streaming to raise money. Under the user name @mademoiselle_dell, she mocks, cajoles, and even begs her followers for money to help Daisy. And then she decides to start a 7-day, 24-hour livestream.

But if you want to keep your viewers engaged all that time, you have to give them content. Dell discovers—despite suffering chronic stomach pain—that she can eat hot peppers, so she encourages people to donate money for her to eat them. She becomes obsessed not only with how much money she’s raising, but also with her ranking among other streamers.

The pressure of living life online starts to get to Dell. She doesn’t really know how to sustain her followers except to get increasingly more outrageous. And as she battles online trolls and deals with frayed relationships with her mother and her next-door neighbor, it appears that Dell hasn’t been quite honest. With anyone.

The book follows one week of Dell’s live-streaming, with a section for each day. You know she’s going to have consequences to deal with, but how bad will it be? Can she save her sister? Can she eat even hotter peppers? I wanted to shake Dell more than a few times, but I couldn’t turn myself away from her story.

This book will publish 1/20.

Book Review: "Recipe for Trouble" by Dylan Morrison

As I was reading this fun, sweet, and swoony rom-com, I really wished it was adapted into a movie. The chemistry between the two main characters was adorable and intense.

Ben is a video editor for a multimedia company. He’s good at his job, although he hates it and his colleagues don’t make him feel like he’s a part of the team. He’s a fairly solitary person and he’s tried to convince himself that’s fine.

One day he gets a request from someone in another part of the company to help with a video. Apparently Ben is told it’s a disaster. And that couldn’t be more accurate. It’s a cooking demonstration, and while the chef is clearly knowledgeable (and very hot), he’s an absolute mess in front of the camera.

Ben makes Pete, the chef, look like an expert. He does such a good job that the powers that be want Pete to host more videos. Pete does not want to, but he has no choice, so Ben starts to collaborate with him to help Pete adjust. The more time they spend together, Ben starts to understand what makes Pete tick, and Pete can somehow charm cranky, cynical Ben.

As the chemistry between them intensifies, the videos they produce garner more and more viewers. But when outside forces threaten to sabotage their work and their burgeoning relationship, both will need to prove what they’re made of—and whether the two of them together can truly be a recipe for success.

There was so much I loved about this book—the banter, the cooking, the supporting characters, and, of course, Ben and Pete. I will admit I didn’t quite understand Pete’s major hangup which seems to hang over them, but I was rooting for both of them to stop flailing about. This really made me grin like an idiot.

Book Review: "Dead Money" by Jakob Kerr

My first read of 2026 was a twisty thriller-ish mystery about the multibillion-dollar machinations of the tech industry and the double crossing that occurs in the thirst for power and money.

Mackenzie Clyde is more than a fixer. A trained attorney, she’s worked her way up to be the director of investigations for one of the biggest venture capital firms in Silicon Valley. She makes problems—and problem clients—disappear before they harm the firm’s investments.

But then Trevor Canon, CEO of Journey, one of the hottest startups, is found murdered and his assets are frozen. It just so happens that her boss and his firm are the biggest investors in the startup, so getting answers ASAP is crucial. Mackenzie gets a role as an “advisor” to the investigation, which means she has to collaborate with the FBI, who aren’t the most forthcoming.

Everyone’s a suspect—the other executives at Journy, other venture capitalists, even organized crime. Because the murder—and the motive behind it—is about more than money. And Mackenzie doesn’t know whom to trust—or if she’ll be left out to hang when the truth is uncovered.

“It was much simpler, she thought, to see the world for ‘what it could be’ if you never had to actually experience the world as it was. It’s a lot easier to be a visionary when you’re at the top of a skyscraper than when you’re battling for elbow room on the street.”

This is an interesting read which gets a bit technical from time to time. There were definitely lots of twists and red herrings that kept me guessing. I would’ve liked a little more action, but I still couldn’t stop reading.

The Best Books I Read in 2025...

Happy New Year! I can't believe that 2025 has come and gone. It was an interesting year, for sure!

As some of you may be aware, in June I fell and wound up fracturing my hip and my pelvis in multiple places. I was in a lot of pain and I really couldn't move much, but I had trouble focusing, so it took a while for me to get back into reading. So while my total of 339 books is lower than the last few years, I'm not disappointed by it. (I know some of you are rolling your eyes at the book total anyway, lol.)

Choosing my favorite books of the year is always a challenge given how much I read. I usually make a first pass and then have to whittle the list down to a more manageable number. This year I chose a top 25 and then an additional 15 books that I really wanted to call attention to. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts about this list and what your favorite books of the year were!

The Top 25

1. Life, & Death, & Giants by Ron Rindo: If I could give this book 10 stars, I would. This was an emotional and thought-provoking read with some of the most memorable characters, and I was all choked up at the end.

2. The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff: This was a beautifully written, powerful, and emotional debut novel. It’s an exploration of the myriad ways people we love impact our lives and it really struck a chord with me.

3. Don't Tell Me How to Die by Marshall Karp: This book was totally not what I was expecting but it was utterly fantastic. You may think this book is primarily a family drama, and while there are some elements of that, be ready to be thrown some curves.

4. The Future Saints by Ashley Winstead: Each of Ashley Winstead's books is totally different. It’s a book about grief, loss, love, family, and hope, as well as fighting for your dreams. It will publish 1/20/2026.⁣

5. My Friends by Fredrik Backman: I’m a huge fan of Fredrik Backman’s, and he sure knows how to make me cry!⁣ You can obviously tell from the title that this is a book about friendship, but it is also a story about loss, loneliness, the love we feel in our souls, and the joy when that love is reciprocated.

6. The Sideways Life of Denny Voss by Holly Kennedy: This was such a wonderfully special book with one of the most memorable narrators I’ve found in a long while. It's full of humor, emotion, and charm, and it’s very heartwarming. Check out the world from Denny Voss' perspective.⁣

7. I See You've Called In Dead by John Kenney: I often say that what makes a 5-star read for me is a book that moves me and makes me think. This book is definitely one of those.⁣ I couldn’t have loved it any more if I tried. It’s beautifully written, sarcastic, and packs such an emotional punch.

8. Night Watcher by Daphne Woolsoncroft: I was hooked from the very first lines of this book. As the host of a true crime podcast, Daphne Woolsoncroft knows her stuff and she has created one terrific page-turner. The book definitely got my heart rate up!!

9. Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston: There's just something about the way Ashley Poston writes. I cannot get enough of the way she sprinkles her romances with magical realism as well as humor and such gorgeous emotion. ⁣⁣With this book, I found myself highlighting so many quotes and definitely getting choked up.

10. When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy: This book scared the crap out of me, grossed me out on occasion, and broke me emotionally. Horror is definitely not a genre I read much of, but this is easily one of the most powerful and memorable books I’ve read in some time.⁣