Know My Name

By: Chanel Miller
Published Year: 2019
Pages: 384
Publisher: Viking

Bookshop Barnes & Noble

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): She was known to the world as Emily Doe when she stunned millions with a letter. Brock Turner had been sentenced to just six months in county jail after he was found sexually assaulting her on Stanford’s campus. Her victim impact statement was posted on BuzzFeed, where it instantly went viral–viewed by eleven million people within four days, it was translated globally and read on the floor of Congress; it inspired changes in California law and the recall of the judge in the case. Thousands wrote to say that she had given them the courage to share their own experiences of assault for the first time.

Now she reclaims her identity to tell her story of trauma, transcendence, and the power of words. It was the perfect case, in many ways–there were eyewitnesses, Turner ran away, physical evidence was immediately secured. But her struggles with isolation and shame during the aftermath and the trial reveal the oppression victims face in even the best-case scenarios. Her story illuminates a culture biased to protect perpetrators, indicts a criminal justice system designed to fail the most vulnerable, and, ultimately, shines with the courage required to move through suffering and live a full and beautiful life.

Know My Name will forever transform the way we think about sexual assault, challenging our beliefs about what is acceptable and speaking truth to the tumultuous reality of healing. It also introduces readers to an extraordinary writer, one whose words have already changed our world. Entwining pain, resilience, and humor, this memoir will stand as a modern classic.

First Impressions

Honestly, the cover of this book didn’t do much for me. I saw it on a few lists and felt meh. What ended up drawing me to it was hearing multiple people rave about it and saying it was one of the best memoirs they had ever read. So, not the best first impressions, but a good second impression.

What I thought

Holy cow were people right.

Chanel Miller was the victim of rape in 2015 on Stanford University’s campus. It was the case that took the world by storm. Everyone knew Brock Turner’s name but no one knew Chanel’s. His case had such lasting ramifications and ow Chanel has decided to reclaim her story and tell it all.

I listened to this on audiobook because I wanted to hear her story through her voice. I’m sure it is just as powerful as a physical book, but man did the audiobook hit me. I remember this case so clearly. I was not in college at the time, but was well aware of the turmoil and the lax punishment he received as well as the backlash that followed. This all occurred during the height of the Me Too movement.

This book though shows so much more about what Chanel went through. She starts with the night of her rape and you follow her story through multiple trials. I had no idea that her trial lasted over a year and then she had to wait months after that for his punishment. This book infuriated me on her behalf. I wanted to call for Brock’s defense attorney to be disbarred as well as the judge recalled.

This is easily the kind of book to radicalize people and start a movement. Our so called justice system for victims of sexual assault is appalling. It opened my eyes in so many ways and I feel I need to find a way to support the cause. Also hearing even more about how Brock didn’t take any responsibility for his actions infuriates me. I also was disappointed in Stanford and the lack of action they took on the case. Even hearing how they tried to “rectify” the situation afterwards was disappointing.

This book is not an easy one to read but it is a necessary one. It can be graphic at times but man do I want it to be required reading for all high schoolers. The part that breaks my heart is that the people who need to hear this story most probably won’t read it. But hopefully enough of us can that we can pass along Chanel’s story and fight for the rights of sexual assault victims and believe their truths.

Book Boyfriend

By: Emily Wibberly & Austin Siegemund-Broka
Published Year: 2025
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 384

Bookshop Barnes & Noble

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Jennifer Worth lives to escape into the world of her favorite romantasy series Elytheum Courts, where the romance is sweeping and the men are brave, chivalrous . . . and winged. Newly single and craving connection, she travels to an immersive fan experience celebrating all things Elytheum, only to see the last face she expected—Scott Daniels, her work nemesis, whose disinterest in Jennifer’s favorite series and standoffishness have made their publishing jobs feel like a feuding fae court.
 
Except the Scott she encounters there, in his secondhand cosplay outfit, is . . . different. Swaggering, flirtatious, confident. Unlucky in romance himself and inspired by Jennifer’s love for the swoonworthy men of Elytheum, Scott is determined to remake himself into the perfect book boyfriend.
 
Jennifer has no interest in helping the man who vexes her every workday and dismisses her fictional fantasies, but as the immersive convention activities force them together, they’re surprised to discover magic like none Jennifer has ever read about. But is enemies-to-lovers romance only for books, or can Jennifer and Scott bring the trope to life?

First Impressions

I have always enjoyed this married duo’s novels. I was excited to see they were coming out with a new adult novel and intrigued by the concept of a girl who is into romance novels and has the ideal fantasy of a boyfriend in her head.

What I thought

Maybe I shouldn’t have read this after Onyx Storm?

Jennifer works in publishing. She is a romantic and believes her true love is out there. Scott works for the same company and believes Jennifer is living in a fantasy. After he rejected her friendship, they immediately became enemies and have not liked each other for a year. When Jennifer gets broken up with at work, she decides to attend a Romantasy immersive experience her friend helped to create about her favorite book series. She goes to escape her reality for a week and heal, but then her dreams are crushed when Scott, who has forever dissed her favorite series, is there too.

I really wanted to like this book. I have enjoyed so many of their other books but I could not with this one. Part of my issue was the romantasy series stuff. Now, I had just read Onyx Storm which is part of the Emperyium series, so reading about a fact Elytheum series felt too close. It also felt very A Court of Thorns and Roses which did not enjoy. I just felt like I was trying to read two books at once because Jennifer and this experience are so Elytheum heavy, that you feel like you can’t connect with the experience if you’re not an Elytheum fan. Maybe if this had been written more like the book Fan Girl by Rainbow Rowell where in between chapters were snippets of the Elytheum series? That might’ve made it feel more real than Jennifer just referencing it every once in a while.

Also, I am not convinced at all that these people like each other. It’s supposed to be enemies to lovers but I just did not get it. She asks him to get a drink to become friends the first time they meet, he says no, and then they continue to harass each other at work for a full year. Then once they’re out of the work setting at this experience, she finds him attractive? And apparently because he say her checking him out he realized he also finds her attractive? I kept thinking maybe he had had a crush on her the whole time and went to the experience to understand her more and win her over when he came back to work, but that was not the case at all.

She pretty much spends the whole time harping on why she dislikes Scott and it boils down to not liking him just because he doesn’t like her. I don’t find that very solid. I actually ended up skimming the whole second half of the book because I could not with these characters anymore. I found her to be whiney and overly tied into her fantasy world (which all of the characters accused her of) and I found him to be flat and have no personality other than the fantasy character whose traits he was trying to emulate.

I’m so disappointed because I have previously really enjoyed this duo’s books, but the last two have just not done it for me. Maybe their magic has worn off for me? I don’t know. I’d be willing to give them one more shot if the concept strikes me, but definitely not the top of my list anymore.

I think if you are super into romantasy and like romance of convenience this book might be for you. I would not describe it as enemies to lovers and found a lot of it to just be frustrating and annoying. Just not for me.

Christmas at Glitter Peak Lodge

By: Kjersti Herland Johnson
Published Year: 2024
Publisher: HarperVia
Pages: 400

Amazon Barnes & Noble

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Mark the days till Christmas with this feel-good romantic mystery set at a cozy family inn in the snowy mountains of Norway—structured as an advent calendar for your daily reading pleasure.

An old mystery. A tragic accident. Secrets. Confessions. A new beginning.

After a traumatic climbing accident, well-known Alpinist Ingrid Berg has returned to the quaint Norwegian village that her family has called home for generations. She’s now ready to put away her ice axe and take over the management of the Glitter Peak Lodge from her aging grandmother, who's no longer up to the task. With Christmas rapidly approaching, guests are expected from both Norway and abroad, and Ingrid is welcomed as the inn's savior.

But within short order of Ingrid’s return, complications arise. Leaking pipes. Last-minute cancellations. The resurfacing of a long-buried mystery. And the return of two men from Ingrid's past. Will Ingrid be able to keep the inn alive, or will her family's legacy be lost forever?

The ultimate feel-good holiday treat, Christmas at Glitter Peak Lodge explores the healing power of family and home, and the magical bonds of community and traditions. Set up like an advent calendar with twenty-four chapters, each set on a different day in December leading up to Christmas, it can be enjoyed one chapter a day or devoured in one sitting.

First Impressions

I was visiting an independent bookstore and this book immediately caught my eye. The cover is gorgeous. The summary immediately piqued my interest because I love Christmas and Scandinavia. Add in that this is written by a Norwegian author and I walked out of the store with this book in hand.

What I thought

Ingrid has come home to Glitter Peak Lodge after experiencing an avalanche that ended her climbing career. This book takes place over the 24 days of December leading up to Christmas and follows Ingrid, her grandmother, and other residents and workers at Glitter Peak Lodge. Each chapter is one day of December.

I loved the format of this book, but I think, unfortunately, some of it was lost in translation. Literally. I think that the flow of this book got lost given that it’s translated from Norwegian. I think the translator did the best they could, but sometimes it felt a little choppy. And maybe that’s the way the original author wrote it? But also it just felt like sometimes I was jumping from one thought or character to the next with little to no transition.

I also kind of found Ingrid to be insufferable? I didn’t mind her at first but by the end she was my least favorite character. She has her reasons for being the way she is given some of the tragedy she’s experience, but at one point I got really frustrated with the way that she handled things and everyone seemed to be ok with it.

The other difficulty I had was I expected this book to be more focused on the romance and the hotel and it ended up having a bit of a mystery and a drama. I didn’t mind it. In fact, I think it ended up saving the book a little bit. But I didn’t expect it so I had to readjust what I was getting from this book.

The setting of this book is the clear winner. The side characters are also a delight. If you can kind of get over Ingrid and her grandma, I think this could be a fun read for you. I wanted to like this book so much more than I did, but something about it didn’t work for me. I did love learning about Norway at Christmas and think if that’s interesting enough to you, then you should pick this one up.

Let's Call Her Barbie

 By: Renee Rosen
Published Year: 2025
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 432

Bookshop Barnes & Noble

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

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): She was only eleven-and-a-half inches tall, but she would change the world. Barbie is born in this bold new novel by USA Today bestselling author Renée Rosen.

When Ruth Handler walks into the boardroom of the toy company she co-founded and pitches her idea for a doll unlike any other, she knows what she’s setting in motion. It might just take the world a moment to catch up.

In 1956, the only dolls on the market for little girls let them pretend to be mothers. Ruth’s vision for a doll shaped like a grown woman and outfitted in an enviable wardrobe will let them dream they can be anything.

As Ruth assembles her team of creative rebels—head engineer Jack Ryan who hides his deepest secrets behind his genius and designers Charlotte Johnson and Stevie Klein, whose hopes and dreams rest on the success of Barbie’s fashion—she knows they’re working against a ticking clock to get this wild idea off the ground.

In the decades to come—through soaring heights and devastating personal lows, public scandals and private tensions— each of them will have to decide how tightly to hold on to their creation. Because Barbie has never been just a doll—she’s a legacy.

First Impressions

A historical fiction about the creator of Barbie? Heck yes! The cover is perfection and I was so excited to learn more about the history of Barbie.

What I thought

This book was everything I wanted it to be.

Ruth and her husband Elliot are the creators of Mattel. When Ruth comes up with the idea for Barbie, none of the men understand or believe in her. However, she convinces them to take the risk. After a lot of struggle creating the doll itself, Ruth, Elliot, and their designer Jack have a lot more to contend with to maintain her success.

I think what fascinated me the most about this book wasn’t Barbie herself but was Ruth. She was a Girl Boss back in the 1950’s. She helped her husband and his friend create Mattel and it would never have been created nor been successful without her as the driving force. It was empowering to watch her own the boardroom and have people respect her. It was infuriating to see her get taken down because she was a strong woman as the success of the company grew.

The first half of the book was uplifting and interesting. I loved seeing them work through all of the problems of manufacturing Barbie as well as the environment of Mattel in the 50s. The second half of the book was a crush of reality. Greed and sexism taking over to destroy what could’ve continued to be magic.

Most of the characters in this book are based off of real people. There are two characters who are fictional and one of them is a secondary character. I did appreciate her as a character though because I felt like she brought some depth to the story and allowed certain aspects to be told in a way that works better on paper.

Rosen writes historical fiction so well. She stays factual while keeping it entertaining and always writes about strong women in history. I like that she’s not always writing about wars or torn times, but about women who were smart business women. I think a lot of her books would be inspirational to young women and I would love to share this book with high schoolers.

This book was so different from most historical fiction I’ve read. Rosen does a great job with modern-historical fiction and this book was another hit out of the park. Especially with the current Barbie-mania this book is fascinating.

The Briar Club

By: Kate Quinn
Published Year: 2024
Publisher: William Morrow
Pages: 432

Bookshop Barnes & Noble

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Washington, D.C., 1950. Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the heart of the nation’s capital, where secrets hide behind white picket fences. But when the lovely, mysterious widow Grace March moves into the attic, she draws her oddball collection of neighbors into unlikely friendship: poised English beauty Fliss whose facade of perfect wife and mother covers gaping inner wounds; police officer’s daughter Nora, who is entangled with a shadowy gangster; frustrated baseball star Bea, whose career has ended along with the women’s baseball league of WWII; and poisonous, gung-ho Arlene, who has thrown herself into McCarthy’s Red Scare.

Grace’s weekly attic-room dinner parties and window-brewed sun tea become a healing balm on all their lives, but she hides a terrible secret of her own. When a shocking act of violence tears apart the house, the Briar Club women must decide once and for all: Who is the true enemy in their midst?

What I thought

Kate Quinn is one of my favorite authors. I originally picked The Alice Network 6 years ago for book club and we’ve all been fans ever since. I think as a book club this is our third Kate Quinn book we’re reading together.

The Briar Club is a little different from Quinn’s other historical fictions. Alice Network, Huntress, and Rose Code all followed wars and historic events and how women played their roll. This story follows a group of women who live in a boarding house in Washington D.C in the 1950’s. When Grace moves into the Briar House, the residents don’t talk to one another. The landlady of the house is grumpy with a ton of rules and her children Pete and Lina are unhappy and isolated. Grace brings everyone (minus the landlady) together with Thursday night dinners.

Each chapter follows one of the residents of the Briarwood house, with a snippet in between from Thanksgiving night in 1954. I didn’t realize that this story had a bit of a murder mystery to it which was really interesting. The story starts from Pete’s perspective which was interesting and a little sad. I think Nora was my favorite resident, followed by Grace and Fliss. Bea and Claire were mediocre to me, with some exciting pieces, and Reka bored me. Arlene I hated.

On a personal note, the thing I struggled with this book was the size of the chapters. Because each chapter was about a resident, they were long. I much prefer shorter chapters because I find it difficult to stop mid chapter unless there’s a clear stopping point.

I found the background of the history of the 1950s and McCartheyism to be interesting. I liked that this book as about women on the street and not women in the war. More of the heroic everyday hero as opposed to a superhero.

What Book Club Thought

Everyone loved this one! We all agreed that Nora’s chapter was our favorite whereas Reka’s was our least favorite. There also was some agreement about how we would’ve rather had shorter chapters with chronological story telling as opposed to each chapter being solely from one resident’s perspective. We also enjoyed talking about what our theories were when we knew two people had died but didn’t know who had died yet. This was really a fun book club discussion because not only did we get to talk a lot about the book, but we were able to talk about the history and the facts of those events that we hadn’t really known about previously.

First Love Language

By: Stefany Valentine
Published Year: 2025
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Pages: 304

Bookshop Barnes & Noble

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

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Taiwanese American Catie Carlson has never fit in with her white family. As much as she loves her stepmom and stepsister, she yearns to understand more about her culture and find her biological mother.

So Catie is shocked when an opportunity comes knocking on her Her summer spa coworker, Toby, says he’ll teach her Mandarin. In exchange, she needs to teach him how to date so he can finally work up the courage to ask out his crush. The only problem is that Catie doesn’t actually have any dating experience. But she can fake it.

With her late father’s copy of The Five Love Languages and all his annotated notes, Catie becomes the perfect dating coach. Or so she thinks. As she gets dangerously close to Toby and to finding out what really happened to her biological mom, she realizes that learning the language of love might be tougher than she thought.

First Impressions

Love the cover! It’s so pretty. My friends even complimented I when they saw me reading it. I was immediately intrigued by the summary too. It sort of reminded me of the Netflix show XO, Kitty with her wanting to find out about her mom from another country. I also was intrigued by the concept of setting up dates based off of the 5 Love Languages.

What I thought

I liked this book much more at the beginning than I did towards the end.

Catie’s dad passed away 2 years ago and she currently lives with her adoptive mother and step-sister. When they have to move from San Francisco to Salt Lake City for the summer, Catie decides it’s time to get in touch with her Taiwanese mother’s side and see if she can find out more about her. Unfortuantely, she does not speak Mandarin anymore and she doesn’t know anyone in Salt Lake. When she gets a job, she becomes friends with the owner’s son who speaks Mandarin and is willing to teach her, if she will teach him how to go on dates. She finds her dad’s copy of the Five Love Languages, and even though she has no dating experience, she lies to Toby and uses the book to help teach him how to date.

There was a lot that went on in this book for being under 300 pages. I liked the beginning of the story because I enjoyed the teen angst of being dropped in Salt Lake in a community you no longer relate to and no friends. Catie’s adoptive mom’s family is Mormon, so there is a lot of discussion about Mormonism and how strict the church is.

Catie’s dad met and married her birth mom in Taiwan, but they divorced and she moved back to America with her dad. She kept in touch with her mom for a little bit but then eventually they stopped talking when she was little. She never asked her dad why they divorced or why her mom wasn’t in contact with her, so a lot of this story is Catie trying to figure that out. I would say that is the majority of the story and a little less so the fake dating.

I did like Toby and I liked when they went on dates. I didn’t like how easily things seemed to fall into place. Catie never planned these dates. She would just wing them in the moment and they always turned out perfectly. I would’ve appreciated if she had put at least some sort of effort into the dates.

I also understand that this is a YA novel, but I felt like the romance was so flat. Like, at one point she just goes “oh my God I love him.” Even though they have only known each other maybe a month? Like, they’ve never dated or kissed or anything and she decides that’s love? And then a little later, her sister and cousin say “Dude. Toby loves you too.” And immediately Catie goes ‘Oh my God he dose love me. Hoe could I have no seen it? There’s no way they’re wrong about this.” So it was a little bit too insta-lovey for me and I didn’t like how quickly she just decided that yes, they are in love and it’s the truth. I know I’m no longer a teen, but even back the I don’t think I would’ve decided I was full on in love with someone I had a crush on.

I think the author bit off a little more than she could chew given this was a debut novel. Between the Mormonism, the divorce, the cancer, the love, the abandonment and the move it was a lot going on. Not that that’s not necessarily realistic, but I just think there was a lot that got left behind.

This book is fine. I think it’s obvious that this is a debut novel. Maybe I would’ve enjoyed it more as a teen? I wanted more about the romance of the five love languages than of Catie researching her family history. Which was also left with an unsatisfactory ending. I think I would recommend this book more for young teens or even middle grade than I would older teens.

Accidentally Amy

By: Lynn Painter
Published Year: 2025
Publisher: Lynn Kirkle
Pages: 320

Amazon Barnes & Noble

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

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): IT STARTED WITH A CUP…

Isabella Shay is usually a very honest person.

But when she’s running late for her first day at a dream job and the barista yells for “Amy” 3x with no answer, she does the unthinkable.

Izzy takes that PSL.

It’s the exact drink she ordered and paid for, only waaaay further ahead in the line, so she mutters “I’m Amy” and grabs the cup.

But when she turns around and runs directly into the most attractive man she’s ever seen, spilling the drink all over his GQ shirt and tie, she ends up having the ultimate meet-cute. Sparks fly and things feel beyond promising until he says the words, “See you tomorrow, Amy.”

Uh, oh – she’ll definitely have to straighten him out the following day.

Only when she gets to her new office and meets the VP of her department, it is none other than Blake Phillips - the hottie from Starbucks. And the man might’ve been charming to “Amy,” but he is an arrogant grump to Izzy, an arrogant grump who dos not find her explanation funny at all.

First Impressions

I recently read The Love Wager by Painter and really enjoyed it. When I was offered to review this book it was almost an immediate yes for me because of that. The cover is cute but not my favorite. The summary on the other hand I was super into. I love a good meet-cute misunderstanding.

What I thought

Izzy is running late for her first day at her new job. While waiting for her Pumpkin Spice Latte, an order is called for Amy for the exact same drink. After a couple of minutes, Amy doesn’t claim her drink, so Izzy grabs it and pretends to be Amy. However, she immediately crashes into a gorgeous man who flirts with her. As she leaves he says goodbye to Amy and Izzy realizes her mistake. A few hours later, she runs into the coffee shop man again. And then a third time when he is introduced to her as her boss. Blake at that moment learns that Izzy isn’t who she said she was and becomes upset that she lied. Izzy then makes it her mission to become Blake’s friend anyway.

I flew through this book. It read more like a novella to me than a novel which was interesting. This is an insta-love kind of book but they both acknowledge it so I was more ok with that. They state multiple times that they shouldn’t have feelings this strong after knowing each other for such a short period of time. I honestly could’ve used an extra 100 pages of this book. I would’ve like a little bit of a slower burn. A longer period of time for Izzy to win Blake over and some more of his brothers too.

Their banter was top tier, and we know I love some good banter. Blake is like my dream man. He’s a little grumpy but has a heart of gold. He never allowed his grumpiness to become mean. He’s also a cat guy. Izzy is goofy and word vomits constantly. I liked her relationship with her cousin and again, wouldn’t have minded a few more scenes with the two of them.

This book was such a fun ride. I can see people not enjoying it because they might feel it’s not fleshed out enough, but I liked having something fun and straight forward. I also think sometimes Izzy’s goofiness comes off a little immature but it made me giggle. If you don’t mind a little insta-love and like cheesiness, I would pick this one up. If not, this one is not for you.

2024 Reading Round Up

It’s that time of year! I already did a post about my favorite read from each month of 2024, but now it’s time to look at some of my stats from the year.

I love looking back at my authors each year to see if I was better about reading more diversely, but first I’ll start with some general reading stats. In 2024 I read a total of 76 books. I was down a little from last year, but I did have one month where I was sick and read zero books. 46 of the books I read were physical books, 19 were audiobooks, and 11 were digital/e-reader. I did read less audiobooks and digital books this year which was interesting. The majority of the books I read were still between 300-499 pages with 15 books being less than 300 pages and 4 books being more than 500 pages. My average rating dipped a bit this year. Last year I had an overall rating of 3.82 but this year it was 3.71. I also only had 9 5 star reads which is 5 less than last year. I had 7 books under 3 stars compared to 10 from last year. Finally, the month that I read the most this year was May! I’m a little surprised because it’s usually the summer.

Now for the fun part

For 2023

Black- 9

Asian/Indian- 12

Latinx- 1

White- 42

Male- 5

For 2024

Black- 5

Asian/Indian- 11

Latinx-2

White- 39

Male- 9

 I did have a lot of repeat authors on my list this year. For example, I re-read the Book of Life series by Deborah Harkess which is 5 books as well as 3 books by Lucy Score and 3 books by Ashley Poston. It looks like my diversity dipped again. I thought I had made more of an effort to read diversely, but I guess I did not. I did at least get around to reading a couple of books by diverse authors I’ve had on my shelf, but I really need to make this a goal for next year. I do know a couple of books already that are by black authors that I intend on reading, so hopefully that will help.

Since I talked about my favorite books in a previous post, I will share what my bottom 4 books are here. I debated doing 5, but honestly, some of my other lower ranked books I don’t even remember, so I just wrote the ones I remember why I disliked them so much.

My least favorite book and one that I did not finish was Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. I really wanted to like this book because I had heard so many good things about it and I love the concept. I absolutely could not stand the writing. It felt so misogynistic to me. The other book I did not finish this year was The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo. I was so excited for this book since I really enjoyed Ninth House by her. However, I could not get into this one. I didn’t like the characters at the beginning. In fact, I can’t really remember much about this book given how little I read about it.

These are my other least favorite reads of 2024:

West Side Love Story by Priscilla Olivieras

This was a book I got for free from Amazon Reads. It just was soooo slow to me. I remember the characters really getting on my nerves.

Sula by Toni Morrison

Admittedly, this is probably because I’m not the target audience for this book. I read this along with the Well Read Black Girl account as a book club of sorts. I did not understand the appeal at all.

The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore

This book has the cutest cover and has been getting so much hype on the internet. I listened to it and found the characters insufferable, immature, and the writing to be poor. I don’t understand how this series has the internet in such a choke hold.

The interesting thing about this year’s reads is that even though I had less 5 star reads this year, I feel like some of them are going to be lifetime favorites. I also discovered some new favorite authors this year like Ashley Poston. In fact, I read 37 new to me authors this year.

I’m excited to see what 2025 has in store for me. I hope I can keep my intention of reading more diverse reads next year and not dip for the 3rd year in a row.