The Vanishing Half

By: Brit Bennett
Published Year: 2020
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Pages: 343

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' storylines intersect?

Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.

First Impressions

The cover of this book immediately caught my eye. It is so colorful and unlike anything I had seen before. Then with the buzz that this book garnered I knew I needed to check it out. Once I read the summary I was sold. So, pretty much the strongest first impression that you could make.

What I thought

Wow. I totally get the hype behind this book.

Desiree and Stella are identical twins. They grew up in a small town outside of New Orleans called Mallard that is so small it’s not even on a map. The other unique part about Mallard is that it prides itself on being an all light skinned African American community. At 16, the girls run away from Mallard and make a life in New Orleans until one twin decides to move forward in her life as white passing, while the other marries a very dark skinned man and eventually ends up back in Mallard.

The dichotomy of the lives of the twins based off of how the world perceived them was fascinating. This book addresses so many important issues and I feel like it did it so well. Not only does it address racism with black vs white, but racism within the black community as well. There were also storylines dealing with LGBT issues and privilege in general. Truly, the amount that this book tackles is astounding and the fact that it does it so well is even more amazing.

I went into this book not knowing much and was dragged into the word from page one. Both twins end up having daughters and in addition to the book switching between view points from the twins’ perspectives, there are chapters from the daughters’ perspectives too. I loved getting into everyone’s heads because their points of views varied based off of the lives they had lead and it was fascinating.

The writing was so good too. I’m always worried that books that get a lot of hype won’t live up to it and I’ll be disappointed but that was not the case with this book. I flew through it and I will definitely check out Bennet’s past and future works.

The one issue I had with this book was the ending. The entire book you are following the lives of the characters from childhood. Personally, I became very invested in all of their lives and was more than happy to see how they played out. The ending to me felt a little abrupt and unsatisfactory. I would’ve loved an epilogue for each character.

The ending did make me drop this book from 5 stars to 4.5 but overall this is a great book. It is a great book and I kind of wish we had done it as a book club choice because there is so much I would like to discuss. I think it’s a book that’s important for everyone to read to open their eyes to a lot of issues they may not even be aware of. Often times a book that deals with a lot of heavy, serious topics can feel weighed down but Bennett manages to keep this novel light, interesting, and a fun read.

Book Club December 2021- The Holiday Swap

By: Maggie Knox
Published Year: 2021
Publisher: 351
Pages: G.P. Putnam and Sons

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): When chef Charlie Goodwin gets hit on the head on the L.A. set of her reality baking show, she loses a lot more than consciousness; she also loses her ability to taste and smell--both critical to her success as show judge. Meanwhile, Charlie's identical twin, Cass, is frantically trying to hold her own life together back in their quaint mountain hometown while running the family's bustling bakery and dealing with her ex, who won't get the memo that they're over.

With only days until Christmas, a desperate Charlie asks Cass to do something they haven't done since they were kids: switch places. Looking for her own escape from reality, Cass agrees. But temporarily trading lives proves more complicated than they imagined, especially when rugged firefighter Jake Greenman and gorgeous physician's assistant Miguel Rodriguez are thrown into the mix. Will the twins' identity swap be a recipe for disaster, or does it have all the right ingredients for getting their lives back on track?

What I thought

I was excited when Denise picked a holiday story since I am a sucker for all things holiday this time of year. I also am a bit of a softie for stories where people switch places but I’m realizing maybe not when it’s twins.

Cass and Charlie are identical twin bakers. Charlie lives in LA and is a host on a baking competition show where as Cass is hoping to take over the family bakery at their small town in northern California. When Charlie gets a really bad concussion, she begs Cass to take her place so she can keep her job and promises to fill in with Cass’s life because, obviously, how hard could running a small town bakery be. Cass jumps on the chance because she recently broke it off with her longtime boyfriend who just proposed and isn’t getting the hint.

I liked Cass but could not stand Charlie. This whole thing was her idea and she loses her phone on the first day and then just… doesn’t worry about it. Like, she promised Cass she would send her the recipes she created for the show (her job! Which she’s concerned about losing!) and then she just never does. I understand that she has a concussion but this should’ve been the first thing that she did before they even left the parking lot where they swapped. Also, why didn’t they swap phones? Why keep your own phone if you’re trying to pass off your life as someone else?

I did like both of the love interests but was a bit uncomfortable with them lying to each other. I think I was hoping the swap was going to be more like the movie The Holiday. When I read the summary it didn’t really click that they were going to be posing as each other and that when they fell in love the men would think they were the other sister.

I also enjoyed a lot of the baking aspects. It was fun to hear about the different recipes and the drama behind being a baking show host. If you like the Great British Bake Off I think that you will enjoy that side of the story.

While the book was predictable, I enjoyed how everything played out. There were some moments that were really dumb and I wanted to smack both of the girls, but they didn’t overshadow the book. The ending was also just want I wanted. If you’re looking for a cute holiday romance this one won’t disappoint. I didn’t love it as much as In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren but it was still fun.

A Spindle Splintered

By: Alix E. Harrow
Published Year: 2021
Publisher: Tordotcom
Pages: 128

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): It's Zinnia Gray's twenty-first birthday, which is extra-special because it's the last birthday she'll ever have. When she was young, an industrial accident left Zinnia with a rare condition. Not much is known about her illness, just that no one has lived past twenty-one.

Her best friend Charm is intent on making Zinnia's last birthday special with a full sleeping beauty experience, complete with a tower and a spinning wheel. But when Zinnia pricks her finger, something strange and unexpected happens, and she finds herself falling through worlds, with another sleeping beauty, just as desperate to escape her fate.

First Impressions

My coworker is a huge Harrow fan and was the one who encouraged me to read Ten Thousand Doors of January. I have her second book on my list and didn’t know this one exhisted. When my worker read it and rated it 5 stars, I added it to me list, saw it was under 200 pages long, and she loaned it to me immediately. Also, how beautiful is this cover??

What I thought

Sleeping Beauty is not my favorite fairy tale. I am definitely a Beauty and the Beast kind of girl. I was intrigued by the idea of a short modern day re-telling that involves being sucked into the story.

Since this book is so short, I don’t want to say too much about the actual content, but instead I’ll share about how it made me feel. The writing was just as vivid as Harrow’s debut. I was sucked into the world just as Zinnea was sucked into the magic kingdom.

My coworker had mentioned how good Harrow is at researching the topics she writes about and you could see that clearly in this novel. There was so much history and insight into the lore of Sleeping Beauty that I never knew about before.

As a short story, you need to get drawn in immediately since there’s no time to spare. This was accomplished so well and it held my attention the entire time. I was rooting for our protagonists and wasn’t able to predict exactly how the characters would get to where they needed to.

This is a very well written short story and even though I’m not a Sleeping Beauty fan I was immediately drawn in and it kept my attention from beginning to end. If you’ve never read Harrow’s other books, I just know this one will give you your first taste and you will add her others to your list. Her writing style is magical and I am looking forward to the next book in this series. I hope that she ends up tackling all of the fairy tales!

A Holly Jolly Diwali

By: Sonya Lalli
Published Year: 2021
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 336

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Twenty-nine-year-old Niki Randhawa has always made practical decisions. Despite her love for music and art, she became an analyst for the stability. She's always stuck close to home, in case her family needed her. And she's always dated guys that seem good on paper, rather than the ones who give her butterflies. When she's laid off, Niki realizes that practical hasn't exactly paid off for her. So for the first time ever, she throws caution to the wind and books a last-minute flight for her friend Diya's wedding.

Niki arrives in India just in time to celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights, where she meets London musician Sameer Mukherji. Maybe it's the splendor of Mumbai or the magic of the holiday season, but Niki is immediately drawn to Sam. At the wedding, the champagne flows and their flirtatious banter makes it clear that the attraction is mutual.

When Niki and Sam join Diya, her husband and their friends on a group honeymoon, their connection grows deeper. Free-spirited Sam helps Niki get in touch with her passionate and creative side, and with her Indian roots. When she gets a new job offer back home, Niki must decide what she wants out of the next chapter of her life--to cling to the straight and narrow like always, or to take a leap of faith and live the kind of bold life the old Niki never would have dreamed of.

First Impression

The title is what got me on this book. The cover is cute and fun and festive which didn’t hurt. I also had been hearing a lot about Diwali right when this book came out which felt like I was destined to read it. I’ve also read two of Lalli’s previous novels and enjoyed both of them so I knew this would be a solid pick.

What I thought

I really enjoyed the first half of this book, and I was ok with the ending, but the middle portion (or maybe the 3rd quarter?) was where I had a little issue.

When Niki gets let go from her job, she decides to jump on a plane to India to attend her best friend’s wedding. While there, she meets Sam who she immediately falls for. But he lives in London and she’s in Seattle. Will this just be a holiday romance? Or will it be able to blossom into something more?

For the first part of this book I really liked Niki. I felt she was a strong character who, while having doubts about her identity (always wondering if she’s Indian enough) she never came across as weak to me. Then in the second half of the book I feel like she was a completely different character. I got very annoyed with the conflict. I know that every romance story has to have a conflict, but I wasn’t crazy about this one. Maybe it was also because the love story played out so quickly?

The rest of the characters I liked the entirety of the book. I liked Sam and his chemistry with Niki. I really loved Niki’s parents. And I also liked Niki’s friends. Her sister I was a bit iffy about, but that’s how it’s supposed to be so I’m ok with that.

I did enjoy the was that Indian culture was written about in this story. I feel like I learned a lot about Diwali as well as some of the classism that exists. It was interesting seeing Niki struggle with being Indian in America vs being Indian in India.

While I got a little annoyed with the journey, I appreciated the ending. It felt realistic and I liked that everything wasn’t fixed with a magical snap of the fingers.

Even though I had a few issues with this book, it didn’t impact my overall enjoyment. I would say it’s more of a 3.5 than a solid 4, but I liked the cultural aspect of it a lot. I have enjoyed a few of Lalli’s other books and feel she is a solid writer. The story was fun and unique and I enjoyed reading it at this time of year.

By The Book

By: Amanda Sellet
Published Year: 2020
Publisher: Clarion Books
Pages: 384

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): As a devotee of classic novels, Mary Porter-Malcolm knows all about Mistakes That Have Been Made, especially by impressionable young women. So when a girl at her new high school nearly succumbs to the wiles of a notorious cad, Mary starts compiling the Scoundrel Survival Guide, a rundown of literary types to be avoided at all costs.

Unfortunately, Mary is better at dishing out advice than taking it—and the number one bad boy on her list is terribly debonair. As her best intentions go up in flames, Mary discovers life doesn’t follow the same rules as fiction. If she wants a happy ending IRL, she’ll have to write it herself.

First Impressions

This cover immediately got me. It is just way too cute. The title also sucked me in as I am always drawn to books about books and readers. When I read the summary I knew that it was a book that was going to be right up my alley. When I needed a good quick summer read, this one immediately jumped to the top of my list.

What I thought

Oh yes. This book was so cute!

Mary is the second youngest of 5 and the youngest girl. Right before the beginning of the school year, her parents tell her that the progressive private school she’s been going to has closed and she has to go to public high school for her sophomore year. Not sure how to navigate the high school scene, Mary uses her knowledge of books to lead her through life and eventually help give advice to her new found friends. But when the people in real life don’t turn out like those in the books she has read, she learns that life is a lot harder than it seems.

I think a lot of people might find Mary unrealistic and naïve but I kind of related to her. I often find myself using knowledge I’ve gained from the mass amount of reading I do and applying it to real life. Now, I don’t tend to categorize real people as literary characters, but I understand where she’s coming from.

I also loved the friendship storylines and how it grew. Making friends is hard and I appreciate that Mary feels awkward making friends and doubts the friendships at first. But I also appreciate there isn’t any of the stereotypical conniving teenage girl drama. They’re all genuinely nice kids who don’t have any motives other than wanting to be friends.

And Alex? I was immediately in love. Swooned and taken in by his charm for sure. He was so fun and I almost wish he had been around a little bit more.

While I did appreciate the literary references, sometimes it did become a bit much. Mary seemingly knows every literary classic and can recite parts of the story off the top of her head. Now remember, she’s only 15, so it seemed a bit much to me. Then again, her parents are literary professors so it’s not completely implausible.

What made this book stand out from other YAs for me (besides the literary element) is that it seemed real. Nothing seemed overly dramatic or over the top and I appreciated that. I loved all of the relationships and found every storyline was a fun one. I would gladly read books about any other characters that appear in this one.

This book was a fun, quick read with enjoyable characters. I flew through it and it stuck in my brain when I wasn’t reading it. Mary is an easy character to root for in all of her awkward and nerdy glory (but not over the top awkward and nerdy). I highly recommend this book to people who enjoy high school stories with friendship as the main focus and love secondary. It was a delight to read and I look forward to other books by this author.

Book Club November 2021- The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

By: Stuart Turton
Published Year: 2019
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Pages: 438

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Aiden Bishop knows the rules. Evelyn Hardcastle will die every day until he can identify her killer and break the cycle. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest at Blackheath Manor. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others. With a locked room mystery that Agatha Christie would envy, Stuart Turton unfurls a breakneck novel of intrigue and suspense.

For fans of Claire North, and Kate Atkinson, The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a breathlessly addictive mystery that follows one man's race against time to find a killer, with an astonishing time-turning twist that means nothing and no one are quite what they seem.

What I thought

This was my book club pick. I’ve had it on my to-read list and just hadn’t gotten around to it but when I was looking for a book to pick it just felt right.

Evelyn Hardcastle is going to die and it’s your (the narrator’s) job to figure out who the murderer is. You have 8 hosts you will inhabit to relive the same day 8 times. If you don’t figure out who the murderer is by the end the day in your last host, you will start over again from the beginning with no memory of your last attempt.

This is going to be one of those books that’s hard to review because I don’t want to give anything away. It’s party mystery and part fantastical fiction with every page drawing you in further. You definitely feel a bit disoriented when the book starts, dropped into the first host with no idea going on, but it really puts your into the mindset of the narrator. Throughout the book you only know as much as he does at the time he is inhabiting that host. It’s nothing like I’ve ever read before and it was fascinating.

I will say because of the confusion the first 50-100 pages move a little slower. It wasn’t until then that it got to the point where I couldn’t put the book down and proceeded to read in hour long chunks until I finished. After the fourth (I think technically it’s the fourth) host is inhabited is when pieces of the mystery really tart to be explored and I just wanted to keep reading to find out who was going to be the next host and who killed Evelyn. Would the main character be able to save her? Save himself? Save anyone else?

It’s been a while since I’ve read a true mystery, let alone one that had me guessing until the end and that I couldn’t put down. And this isn’t a short book either! I will warn it is intricate and it has an element of magic? Fantasy? Not quite sure what to call it but basically, just go into it knowing that while the story couldn’t happen in real life (I mean… obviously… you can’t inhabit someone else’s body), the murder itself still ties to the real world.

I greatly enjoyed this book from start to finish. The style, story, and writing, were unlike anything I had read before. To not just hold my attention for 400+ pages but to keep a vice grip on it should say enough. I look forward to reading Turton’s newest mystery, but this is the kind of book that has given me a book hangover and I need to just sit for a day in its awe.



The Fastest Way to Fall

By: Denise Williams
Published Year: 2021
Publisher: Berkley Romance
Pages: 384

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape of form influenced my opinion of this novel.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Britta didn’t plan on falling for her personal trainer, and Wes didn’t plan on Britta. Plans change and it’s unclear if love, career, or both will meet them at the finish line.

Britta Colby works for a lifestyle website, and when tasked to write about her experience with a hot new body-positive fitness app that includes personal coaching, she knows it’s a major opportunity to prove she should write for the site full-time.

As CEO of the FitMe app, Wes Lawson finally has the financial security he grew up without, but despite his success, his floundering love life and complicated family situation leaves him feeling isolated and unfulfilled. He decides to get back to what he loves—coaching. Britta’s his first new client and they click immediately.

As weeks pass, she’s surprised at how much she enjoys experimenting with her exercise routine. He’s surprised at how much he looks forward to talking to her every day. They convince themselves their attraction is harmless, but when they start working out in person, Wes and Britta find it increasingly challenging to deny their chemistry and maintain a professional distance.

Wes isn’t supposed to be training clients, much less meeting with them, and Britta’s credibility will be sunk if the lifestyle site finds out she’s practically dating the fitness coach she’s reviewing. Walking away from each other is the smartest thing to do, but running side by side feels like the start of something big.

First Impressions

Cute cartoon-y covers will get me every time. I also love a good unforbidden romance so I was sucked in by the summary. I was excited to get a chance to read this one.

What I thought

Britta is a journalist and she is writing a column about her journey with the FitMe app. Wes is the owner of the app and when looking for a distraction, he decides to get back into the coaching side and ends up being Britta’s coach. Their chemistry is undeniable from the minute they start talking while they both deal with the potential ethical dilemmas they both face.

I really did love Britta and Wes as well as their chemistry. The first half of the book had me completely sucked in. Britta was a lot flirtier with her coach than I probably would’ve been, but I appreciated his responses. He didn’t immediately flirt back, but tried to keep things professional by joking back and giving coaching advice. But you could still feel that he wanted to flirt back which I appreciated it.

I don’t know what it was exactly about the second half of the book but it slowed down a bit for me. Maybe it was because I was waiting for the conflicts I knew were coming and it seemed like it took a while to get there? I do feel like 400 pages was a bit long for this story and some parts could’ve been trimmed to keep the pace going strong.

This book dealt a lot with body image and acceptance as well as eating disorders and exercising. I felt like the author dealt with these problems very well, even if they aren’t things I can completely speak to. Not to say I haven’t had issues with body image and acceptance, but I’m an average size person and I would say I’ve had average size problems. Britta is plus size and she talks about the struggles of being a fat woman going to the gym, joining a fitness app, dating, shopping, and so much more. Her written pieces are done so well and I wish that her column had been a real thing.

If you’re looking for a standard, solid romance novel, I would recommend this one. The chemistry between the two characters jumps off the page which is what makes it so solid. I might have enjoyed it a little more if I had read it in the summer or if it had been a little shorter, but it was still very enjoyable and I was rooting for Britta and Wes the entire time. Even if I did get a pit in the bottom of my stomach knowing the trouble they’d get into.

Book Club October 2021- The Lost Apothecary

By: Sarah Penner
Published Year: 2021
Publisher: Park Row
Pages: 301

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them—setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course.Rule #1: The poison must never be used to harm another woman.
Rule #2: The names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary’s register.

One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose—selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women who would kill to be free of the men in their lives. But when her new patron turns out to be a precocious twelve-year-old named Eliza Fanning, an unexpected friendship sets in motion a string of events that jeopardizes Nella’s world and threatens to expose the many women whose names are written in her register.

In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. When she finds an old apothecary vial near the river Thames, she can’t resist investigating, only to realize she’s found a link to the unsolved “apothecary murders” that haunted London over two centuries ago. As she deepens her search, Caroline’s life collides with Nella’s and Eliza’s in a stunning twist of fate—and not everyone will survive.

What I thought

The cover of this book has been catching my eye since it came out. I was excited when Meghan picked it as a book club book so I could finally read it.

This is a book of two, or even three stories. Two stories occur in the 1700s, one about an apothecary and the other about a servant girl. The other story occurs in present day. The apothecary doesn’t just dispense healing remedies but also poisons. And only with the purpose of killing men. The servant girl walks into the apothecary to pick up one of these poisons for her mistress and their stories begin to intertwine. Present day follows Caroline on vacation in London when she finds a mysterious bottle with nothing on it other than a small etching. Determined to figure out where and when this bottle came from, she begins to unravel a mystery that was never solved.

The first half of this book was a bit slow. I enjoyed it, but it felt like it was taking me a while for such a short book. The second half of the book I couldn’t put down. I liked the ethical conundrum of Nella’s (the apothecary) shop. It felt kind of Dexter-y where murder is justifiable because it’s against bad people. I also really enjoyed Eliza, the servant girl, and how her innocent curiosity balanced out Nella’s pessimism.

Caroline’s story in present day was intriguing as well and definitely where I wanted to be during the first half of the book. I was just as intrigued by the lost bottle and where it came from as Caroline was. She also is dealing with her own marital troubles and I was curious to see how that was going to play out.

This story was a unique mystery that was being solved on both ends. The true unraveling doesn’t happen until the second half of the book but if you can enjoy the curiosity of the first half you will be well rewarded.

What Book Club Thought

Due to some scheduling conflicts we weren’t able to have a true book club this month, but we did discuss it informally. We all really enjoyed the book but agreed that the first half was slower than the last and up until the second half of the story we didn’t care much for what was happening in the past. There were definitely some twists and turns and I think if we had had more time to discuss everything that happened it would have made for a good discussion. I would definitely recommend checking this book out, especially if you can talk about some of the craziness with someone. It was a quick read and thought not completely what I expected, very enjoyable.