thereadingraccoon's reviews
1491 reviews

A Well-Trained Wife is a memoir about writer Tia Levings’s life within fundamentalist Christianity and her decision to leave both her faith and her abusive marriage.

Tia Levings was a young Baptist church member in Florida with her family, then a teen bride, and eventually the isolated and abused wife of an increasingly controlling husband and fundamentalist church. Her struggle with being a good Christian, wife, and mother will resonate with many readers, along with the realization that she’s not safe in her marriage. Although Tia’s church and its doctrine aren’t representative of every religion, the reader can clearly see how the laws and interpretations benefit only men, leaving children and women vulnerable. As fundamentalist churches become more and more political, their impact on all American women is being felt, and it’s important to see the roots of their ideology for what they are.

I highly recommend this moving and intense memoir.

Burn is a novel about two men facing nearly impossible odds when the world they know erupts into chaos and violence.

Childhood friends Jess and Storey are on their annual hunting trip in the woods of Maine when they encounter their first destroyed bridge. Every road they travel leads to more burnt homes, dead bodies, and no contact with the outside world. With very little information to go on, they can only assume that the recent demand for Maine’s state secession has turned violent, leaving the two of them stuck in the middle of a civil war.

Despite being mostly a survival story, I found myself highlighting so many thought-provoking passages as Jess muses about his recent divorce and the mistakes he made in his marriage. He also reflects on his childhood, his relationships with his parents, and a forbidden affair as a teenager. I enjoyed the pacing and the details surrounding the survival tactics and didn’t find the action dull or the characters flat. I rooted for them from the beginning and wanted both of them to be able to return home.

Burn manages to be both a character-driven piece on looking back at the past when the odds of surviving the next few days are low, and a plot-driven novel about two men using what they know and relying on each other to get to safety.

Disclaimer: An advanced copy of Burn was provided by NetGalley and the publisher for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Entertaining romantasy. Wasn’t fond of the modern dialogue in the fantasy world and some of the terms used for things (Atlantians?) but interesting concepts and romance. 

The Break-Up Pact is a contemporary romance novel about a twenty-seven-year-old woman who is dumped publicly on a reality show and joins forces with a childhood friend to get revenge.

Childhood friends June and Levi are both dumped publicly—Levi for the film star his fiancée falls for when she’s showing him a NYC apartment, and June when her boyfriend of a decade brings a camera crew home to tell her he fell in love with his reality show costar. Levi is back in their hometown while he figures out his relationship status, which throws him directly in June’s path, even though they’ve barely spoken in a decade. But when the internet sees photos of them together, they are deemed the “revenge exes,” and the extra attention sends customers flocking to June’s failing tea shop and makes Levi’s ex jealous. So, a fake relationship “pact” is hatched. But their past friendship and insane chemistry make it obvious to everyone who knows them (and the reader) that there is nothing fake about the “revenge exes.”

This is a romantic comedy with a fun premise and a slow-burn romance. June and Levi have a strong connection that makes the reader shout, “Just kiss already!” It also explores the more serious topics of grief and loss, as both characters have been mourning the death of June’s sister, Annie, for the last two years, and June tries to honor her memory by keeping the tea shop open. There are a few things that frustrated me, like the characters creating their own roadblocks to “happily ever after,” and there was just something that felt unrealistic and convenient to the plot about their friend group and this small beach town. I also didn’t think it was necessary to give June such a dissatisfying previous decade-long relationship with Griffin (he never said “I love you” out loud the whole time they were together…what?) in order to make things with Levi seem so much better.

Overall, this is a cute contemporary romance that takes the “fake relationship” trope and gives it a fun reason to exist. I wished the characters wouldn’t be so stubborn and clueless sometimes, but it was still an enjoyable ride.

My copy of The Break-Up Pact was provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Book Review: The Singer Sisters by Sarah Marian Seltzer

The Singer Sisters is a novel about women from a musical family, spanning four decades.

In 1964, Judie Zingerman’s life changes when young singer-songwriter Dave Cantor joins her family for dinner one night. Although Judie’s family is rooted in music, a path of college, marriage, and kids is the only acceptable option for a good Jewish girl from Massachusetts in the 1960s. Instead, Judie runs off to New York City to begin her life as a singer-songwriter. Judie’s encounters with love, loss, marriage, and motherhood shape her music and eventually that of her children. Her daughter Emma struggles to step out of her parents’ shadow as she tries to find her own voice in the music industry as the world moves toward the twenty-first century. The Singer Sisters is told through the alternating voices of the women in Judie’s family as they explore love, family, and music, and try to forgive each other for the past.

The Singer Sisters is ultimately a novel about women finding their voices in art and what it means to be a family. I enjoyed the book from beginning to end, and I think readers will find it very realistic and relatable.

🎧 The Singer Sisters is narrated by Helen Laser, Barrie Kreinik, and Stephanie Németh-Parker. All the narrators do an excellent job with the voices of the women, embodying different generations and personalities.

Disclaimer: My copy of The Singer Sisters was provided by Macmillan Audio for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Guardians of Dawn: Ami is the second book in the young adult fantasy series Guardians of Dawn.

The story picks up where Zhara left off, expanding on the character of Ami, a teenage scrivener who cares for her mentally ill father while hiding her affinity for magic. When she is recruited to transcribe texts by a mysterious masked figure known as “The Beast” at the local monastery, they discover that the blight and undead caused by demon energy are drawing ever closer.

Despite being Ami’s story, there is plenty of interaction with Zhara, Han, and the Bantang Brothers from the first book, who provide moments of levity. The book mostly follows a “quest” or journey-type plot, which, I admit, is not my favorite style of storytelling. There are moments of excitement and danger, but overall, the drawn-out travel and lack of romantic chemistry between the main couples made the book feel slower and longer than its 368 pages.

While there is plenty of world-building and political intrigue, I found myself losing interest in the details because the characters, tortured by their unique magical abilities, secrets, and pasts, weren’t always enjoyable to read about.

I recommend Guardians of Dawn: Ami to fans of the first book in the series and anyone who enjoys quests and plots with minimal romance. The ending sets the stage for the next installment in the series.

My copy of Guardians of Dawn: Ami was provided by NetGalley and Wednesday Books for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This young adult horror anthology puts diverse characters in the main roles with the “white guy” as the first victim.

Goulfriends Online Blog by Terry J. Benton-Walker - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This story sets up the book, explaining that there will be thirteen stories in the collection based on the movies a fictional filmmaker made before his disappearance.

All Eyes on Me by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A girl trying to break up with her boyfriend ends up with a flirty female clown in a hall of mirrors.

Hedge by Kalynn Bayron - ⭐️⭐️
I had problems focusing on this one. Two brothers return to the creepy topiary garden where their dad disappeared.

The Golden Dragon by Kendare Blake - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A girl finds out what her friends and the boy she likes really think of her when they take her to a haunted Japanese garden. This one was one of my favorites in the collection.

Best Served Cold by H.E. Edgmon - ⭐️⭐️
A Native American boy has a stomach-turning interaction with a serial killer and cannibal. This one was just too disgusting for me.

The Protégé by Lamar Giles - ⭐️⭐️
A boy is asked to watch a mysterious box for his neighbor and gets pulled into a group of evil magicians. I couldn’t get into this one.

Docile Girls by Chloe Gong - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Perfect for fans of teen slashers. A group of high schoolers decorating for a dance get picked off one by one. I enjoyed this one.

Gray Grove by Alexis Henderson - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Two girls visit an old slave plantation looking for answers about a teenager’s disappearance decades earlier.

Everything’s Coming Up Roses by Tiffany D. Jackson - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A teenager’s letters to an unnamed pen pal slowly reveal her dark side. One of the best stories in the collection.

Heaven by Adiba Jaigirdar - ⭐️⭐️
Usually post-apocalyptic stories are my favorite, especially if there is a lot of government corruption and secrets, but I couldn’t get into this world or the characters.

Break Through Our Skin by Naseem Jamnia - ⭐️⭐️
A teenage museum intern who works with ancient relics gets even with the boss she hates. I didn’t enjoy this character.

Wasps by Mark Oshiro - ⭐️⭐️
A girl’s Brooklyn home is not for sale, and the greedy developers find out the hard way. I had a hard time focusing on this story.

Hell is Other Demons by Karen Strong - ⭐️⭐️
A girl gets invited to a demon raising and things go sideways. This one didn’t keep my interest.

The Road to Hell by Terry J. Benton-Walker - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A couple tries to fix up an abandoned Florida mansion, their teenage son in tow, only to have the sentient evil that lives in the home become obsessed with the boy.

The Wedding People is a contemporary novel about a suicidal woman who ends up entangled in a wedding event at an upscale Rhode Island hotel.

Phoebe Stone is alone, divorced, and has a dead cat in her basement when she walks off her job as an English professor and checks into the posh Cornwall Inn with no belongings except for her cat’s pain medication, which she intends to use to kill herself. But the rest of the guests are there as part of a million-dollar, six-day wedding celebration for a local couple, Gary and Lila. When Phoebe impulsively confesses her plans in the elevator, the bride isn’t having it. Over the following days, Phoebe will look back on her childhood, the loss of both her parents, infertility, and the heartbreaking end of her marriage as she suddenly finds herself entwined in the lives of “the wedding people.” As the bride and groom and the various guests confess their own feelings and experiences, Phoebe will find herself living and connecting with people for the first time in years after the isolation of Covid and the depression following her divorce.

This is a fantastic novel with both sad and deeply touching moments and snarky humor. I laughed out loud several times at the antics of the various family members and the bride’s lack of boundaries and her singular focus on having the perfect wedding. I recommend it alone just for the scene where the rented vintage wedding vehicle has to be replaced after it’s assaulted. I loved how Phoebe got a second chance at living through these strangers and the message of how no one is quite what they seem.

The Wedding People is an unforgettable novel, and I look forward to reading more from Alison Espach.

Narrator notes: The Wedding People is narrated by Helen Laser, who is the perfect voice for Phoebe, Lila, and the various wedding guests.

My audio copy was provided by Macmillan Audio for review purposes, but all opinions are my own.

Book Review: The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Mathieu

The Faculty Lounge is about what happens to the staff of a Texas high school after a substitute teacher passes away on the couch in the break room.

When a former teacher and substitute is found dead in the faculty lounge, the aftermath affects everyone from the principal to the custodian. Using different points of view, the author shows us the private lives of the adults responsible for ushering in the next generation of citizens. These inner lives are touching, relatable, and often humorous. I think readers will identify with this diverse group of people, especially if they have any connection to a school or education.

I highly recommend this entertaining and heartfelt read.

4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My review is based on a copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Love of My Afterlife is a contemporary romantic comedy with a supernatural twist.

After twenty-something Delphie chokes on a microwaveable hamburger alone in her apartment, she finds herself in an afterlife waiting room. She’s just beginning to accept that she’s dead with the help of her “Afterlife Therapist” Merritt when a gorgeous man (Jonah) with whom she has instant chemistry pops into the waiting room with her. But he’s just visiting, as his body is back in London, alive but under anesthesia. Delphie is able to negotiate a deal with Merritt using a loophole to go back to Earth. Merritt’s terms are a ten-day quest to get a voluntary kiss from Jonah; only then can she stay on Earth. But even after returning to her apartment alive, she realizes that finding a man named Jonah in London is harder than it sounds, and Delphie needs the help of her grouchy downstairs neighbor (Cooper) to get some leads. Delphie spends the next ten days running all over London, pushing herself out of her comfort zones, and building connections with her neighborhood to find Jonah.

This is a cute and romantic story about how you can find yourself when you are supposed to be looking for someone else. After relentless bullying from a former friend and abandonment by her parents, Delphie is alone in the world but unable to recognize the opportunities around her. I actually found myself laughing out loud at some of her antics, and I loved the chemistry between her and Cooper.

I really enjoyed this one and look forward to more books by Kirsty Greenwood.