tracyt223's reviews
1431 reviews

This short novel spans only 3 days, the days before, during and after the wedding of the daughter, Debbie, of a very socially awkward Mother, Gail.  Gail is already having a really bad day, then of all things, her ex-husband, Max arrives on her doorstep and announces that he is staying with her for the wedding. And brings a rescue cat!!!  Then, Debbie shares a secret she's just learned about her husband to be.  This revelation really throws Gail into a tailspin and brings up a lot of long buried issues in her past.  The author really packs a lot into this slim novel and dives deep into love, marriage and family.  It was real and raw, while also being quite humorous at times.  This is my first novel by Anne Tyler, and I definitely want to check out some of her other works!

On a bright spring afternoon, Ciara Fay makes a split-second decision that will change everything. Grabbing an armful of clothes off the clothesline, she straps her two young daughters into her car and drives away. Head spinning, all she knows for certain is that home is no longer safe—and that this time, when she leaves, she must stay away.  Her husband Ryan seems like a good guy on the surface, but he's actually super controlling and constantly gas lights her.  

The story takes off from here and tells of Ciara's struggles to get away from Ryan and start a new life without him.  At times, I felt the tension and uneasiness for her and the kids.  Other times, I was quite bored and felt like the story dragged on.  I considered DNFing a few times, but I just increased the audiobook speed and finished.  I also did not like the whiny voices of the kids, drove me crazy after awhile.  

Overall, the writing seemed good, I just didn't fully connect to the story and found it not really to my taste.  I may be in the minority here because it seems to be getting really great early reviews.  If you like literary fiction, maybe give this one a try.

Thank you to @netgalley, @algonquinbooks and @hachetteaudio for this advance listener's copy in exchange for my honest review.

I felt this was just too much of an agenda.  Did not care for any of the characters at all.

This was just so repetitive!!!  If I heard "I remember" one more time I was going to scream.  The repetition was so distracting that I couldn't get into the story.  I wasn't immediately drawn to the characters either.  

This just was not the book for me. Part One was promising and I was interested to see where it would go. Then we get to Part Two, I found this part extremely repetitive and pretty outside of my comfort zone. The spicy parts were quite graphic and I felt like the same scene played out over and over. It was just over the top and too much for my taste. I probably would have DNF'd if not for the upcoming spoiler discussion on the @sarahsbookshelveslive podcast. Part Three was confusing and an abrupt change at first. Once I figured out what was going on, it did redeem itself a small bit. Overall, just not the book for me. Cannot wait for the discussion and hear other opinions. Salty opinions make for the best book discussions!

 

This was by far my favorite of the books so far!  I'm not sure how there was so much put into this short book!  There was lots of humor, The Drunken Duck and The Reprobates Ten, some seriously laugh out loud moments!  There was also some deep grief explored.  We learn much more about Emma and Maxwell.  The bond between The Tennant, The Vicar, The Duke and Emma solidifies and turns into so much more.  I cannot wait to see where Miss Lion takes us next and how these relationships will play out.  I am so delighted with these journals and wish they would go on forever!  Onto the next!

I continue to find Emma M. Lion witty, humorous and a total delight!  The search for the Julius Caesar tickets was so fun, St. Crispian's never fails to deliver in it's unusual customs and traditions.  The relationships are continuing to deepen and I cannot wait to see what happens with Miss Lion and the crew next!  Onto Book 4!

Abby is back with her classic romcom novella with substance. This one brings us Charlotte and Seth, neighbors who are forced to spend Valentine's Day trapped in their second story apartments after their staircase was removed accidentally. This one was so cute and and literally laugh out loud funny. Her signature wit and humor had me giggling and furiously turning the pages. These novellas are such a tease and always leave me wanting more, but a great hold over until the next full length one comes out. Highly recommend! 

I just found the story really odd and didn't much care about the characters.  The Minnesota winter setting was great though.  Life's too short for books that don't pull you right in!

Andrea Dunlop has a family connection to Munchausen By Proxy (MBP) as her sister has been investigated on charges of MBP twice.  Consequently, her family has been torn apart from the fallout.  She teams up with Mike Weber, a Texas detective who has worked extensively on child abuse cases, especially those involving medical harm.  Together they deep dive three different cases of MBP, those of Hope Ybarra, Brittany Phillips, and Mary Welch.  I was absolutely appalled at their behavior and what they have put these children through.  And what's worse is the behavior of the DA's, judges and those who were supposed to be protecting children.  I can't believe how long it takes to even get a case brought against someone, even when faced with an abundance of evidence of their behavior.  So many times these children are continued to be harmed or even die from this ghastly behavior.  I have always been intrigued my MBP and what makes a person behave in this manner.  It was definitely a chilling account of these poor kids' lives.  Hopefully this will bring a much needed light to these situations and hopefully there will be some changes for the better.

I was gifted an audio copy by @netgalley and @mcamillan audio in exchange for my honest review.  The audiobook was very well done by Andrea.  I will also be checking out her podcast to learn more.  Highly recommend if you have any interest in true crime and child welfare.  It was definitely a binge worthy and I couldn't put it down once I started.