I would like to thank BookBrowse and Penguin Random House for an Advanced Readers Copy of Day in exchange for an honest review.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel! I loved the format, three sections, April 5th, 2019,introducing us to the family. April 5th, 2020, the pandemic section. And April 5th, 2021, the aftermath of the pandemic. At first, I was apprehensive about going there. I was thinking, is it too early to revisit this incredibly stressful time? But just one paragraph into section two, April 5th, 2020, and I was totally in!
I was so invested in the family. I especially loved the section when Robbie was with the children, Nathan and especially Violet. I just loved Violet!
The prose was so beautiful, and I found myself rereading sentences just because they were so beautiful!
I look forward to seeing the author at my local independent bookstore event in November.

Thank you to BookBrowse and Mariner/HarperCollins for this Advanced Reader's Edition.
I'm sorry to say but this book was not as interesting as I thought it would be. I was hoping for something more steeped in Vietnamese culture and history. But what I got was a story of a dysfunctional family that could have been from anywhere, from any culture. I love stories that take place in other countries, I'm particularly interested right now in Vietnam. I will be traveling there soon. I thought this would be a good book to learn more about the war from the point of view of Minh.

Maybe I missed something, but I never really knew why Minh settled in Florida and why she purchased the Banyan House.

Goodreads gives this book 4.45 stars, which is incredibly high. It will be interesting to see the rating once the book is published. The writing was good, some very beautiful sentences. I just am not that excited to recommend to other readers.

I would like to thank Bookbrowse and Penguin Press (imprint of PRH) for an Advanced Readers Copy of Our Missing Hearts.
I'm very conflicted. This book was a bit of a departure from the author's previous two novels and I was taken aback at first. I loved both previous novels so much! On the other hand there is a very important message here that this very popular author can use for the greater good in our country. We need more authors writing books that bring to us a voice for the voiceless. This book discloses the racism and hate that has been bubbling to the surface in the United States for years and where it may lead in the near future.
I'm conflicted because I was expecting something along the lines of Little Fires Everywhere and boy was I caught of guard with this dystopian novel. I'm not usually a fan of dystopian fiction. But this novel held my attention and I suspect will be a big bestseller. The more readers pick this up I hope the message is heard loud and clear and there is no better author than Celeste Ng to do just that!

This book was brought to my attention by Bookbrowse. It was offered as an ARC for First Impressions, where members can request a book that they would like to read and review. I know next to nothing about Argentina and nothing about it's Dirty War of the 1970s. My favorite genre is Historical Fiction and the synopsis intrigued me. I was hooked from the beginning. The book has dual timelines, 1973-1976 and 1998 which went seamlessly back and forth with each storyline equally compelling. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough!

I'm excited about this new voice in literature bringing stories from Argentina and look forward to Andrea Yaryura Clark's next novel.

A big Thank You to Bookbrowse and Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this amazing book!

I loved Daisy Jones & the Six and went into this one excited. The first section with Mick and June was the most interesting alternating back and forth with the Riva siblings. But once it got to part two with the party I lost interest. So many characters dropped in that I didn't really care about. And what was up with Casey? Long lost sibling with really no time to build an emotional connection to her. And the climax with the fire just fizzled out. I Was really anticipating a real wow moment at the end.

I loved The Space Between Us so naturally I was excited to pick up A Secret Between Us! It did not disappoint.
Here is my review:
Thrity Umrigar remains one of my favorites authors. I read all her books! I was introduced to this author with her novel The Space Between Us which remains one of my all time favorite books. The Secrets Between Us is a sequel and reunites us with Bhima the main character in The Space Between Us. She is a character that I love. She is a feisty older Indian woman living in the slums of Mumbai and her life is heartbreaking. In The Secrets Between Us Bhima befriends Parvati and even older and bitter woman living in an even worst place then the slums. At first they dislike each other, their friendship grows very slowly and it is peppered with bickering that can make you laugh. But their lives are sad and we learn how they each ended up poor and lonely as the women's secrets are revealed as the novel progresses. I'm hoping Thrity Umrigar will continue and make this a trilogy. If you haven't read her books and enjoy reading about India and the culture I recommend all her books!
I do recommend that you read The Space Between Us first as characters reappear in Secrets.

This book started out strong. But somewhere around page 300 I lost interest and skimmed the last 70 pages.

The parts about publishing were very interesting. Also Ekong trying to navigate life in NYC as a foreigner from Nigeria was excellent and I wished more of the book was dedicated to that. But the bedbugs creeped me out and it went on way too long for me. I'm sure the author had a reason but it was lost on me. I really enjoyed Say You're One of Them and was excited to receive this ARC and I want to thank BookBrowse and W.W. Norton & Company

2.5 stars. I read and loved Tangerine. So I was excited to get an opportunity to read and review Palace of the Drowned, to be published in June 2021. I have traveled to Venice twice and I thought the description of the city was spot on. So atmospheric! However the characters were hard to warm up to. Frankie was just not that interesting and Jack, why name a female character Jack? It was distracting to me. All in all an ok read. I'm just tired of the stereotypical weak female in distress storyline. Thank you to Bookbrowse and Flatiron books for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Bookbrowse and Algonquin for an Advanced Readers Copy of At The Edge Of The Haight in return for an honest review. This book was not for me. I never connected with any of the characters and ended up skimming the last 10 pages. I think this book is better suited for young adults.

3.5 stars. This book started out strong for me. I’m familiar with Mt. Pleasant South Carolina where the characters live, which made it easy to visualize. The book club read a lot of books that I have read. So it brought back memories of books I read in the 1990s. And I love a book about books. But the author lost me when one of the women mentioned in a chapter early on in the book that Gazpacho is an Italian soup. It’s actually Spanish. Was the author trying to show that these women were uneducated? Or was it an author mistake? Then there was a scene in a bank where the bank president actually recommended that Patricia and James Harris deposit cash under $10,000 so it’s not reported to the government. As a banker myself that is not something a bank person would ever suggest it’s actually called structuring which could impose penalties to the employee and the bank. However it was never mentioned that this bank person knew this and was basically a crook himself, which I could have been on board with. The banker was never mentioned again. Nitpicking here? Maybe. But these little inaccuracies were enough to make me take a step back and reevaluate the book. Though the scary scenes where definitely scary and bloody at times, it did keep my interest. I did find myself turning the pages to find out what happened next. If you are looking for a scary read for Halloween with vampires stick with Salem’s Lot by Stephen King. But if you are looking for quirky fun I recommend this book.

This is one of the best books I've read in a long time! The author Nguyen Phan Que Mai is a poet and it shows in her beautiful prose. Growing up in the 70s I'm fully aware of the horror that is called the Vietnam War. I've read books about the War but from the American perspective this book brings us the struggles of Vietnam starting with the Land Reform, Communists rule and finally the Vietnam War through the eyes of a North Vietnamese family, Dieu Lan her six children and her granddaughter Huong. The story weaves back and forth in time as Dieu Lan tells her granddaughter of the families struggles. At times hard to read and I had to put this book down because the story was so tragic. Vietnam came to life to me as I was reading I could see the lush landscape, smell the food and unfortunately feel the heartbreak of war. I highly recommend this book and I think it will be on allot of Best of Books 2020. At least I hope so! I would like to thank BookBrowse and Algonquin Books for this Advanced Readers Copy. And the opportunity to do a First Impressions Review.

I'm a huge fan of Anne Enright. One of my all time favorite books is The Gathering. I've also enjoyed The Green Road and The Forgotten Waltz. So when this book was offered as a First Impression Review on BookBrowse I jumped at the chance. At first I was uncertain if I was going to like this book, it felt different from her other novels but I kept reading and after a few pages into the book I was unable to put it down! The character of Katherine O'Dell was engrossing. Yes maybe a bit stereotypical of an actress, eccentric and always playing a part. But I loved her!
I would recommend this book to book clubs. Lots to discuss such as the pros and cons of the life of an actor, mother and daughter relationships and the choices people make and why, to name a few. I would also recommend this book to all Anne Enright fans.

I very much enjoyed this book. I read this at a slower pace than usual just to enjoy each chapter. As someone who loves Paris and the river Seine it was a real treat to read this book!. The authors passion for France and the Seine is very much apparent in her prose. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about France and Paris and anyone who is planning on traveling to the most wonderful city in the world!