The Gifts that Bind Us
More cults and high stakes.
*The Gifts That Bind Us* by Caroline O’Donoghue was my most anticipated 2022 release and my high expectations were met!
Meet Me at the Wedding
Meet Me at the Wedding is the final book in Georgia Toffolo’s Meet Me romance series. The word that comes to mind most in this book (and greater series) is “cute.”
Meet Me in Tahiti
Even though my expectations were abysmally low, I was curious and I bought the book.
The Dark Queens
Easy to read and informative, The Dark Queens is my favorite non-fiction book of 2022 so far.
Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter
I was hoping for a vibe similar to The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock and it delivered. The story revolves around Eliza Brightwell, the daughter of a prominent pearler in Western Australia in the 1890s searching for her missing father after he has been presumed dead.
An Unkindness of Ghosts
I am already a fan of Rivers Solomon’s writing, having read Blood is Another Word for Hunger and Sorrowland, and loving them both. I was so excited to read An Unkindness of Ghosts and ended up loving it even more.
Pandora
I was so excited to receive this excerpt of Pandora and was only disappointed that it was only an excerpt. The excerpt ended on a cliffhanger and I had to wait for the book to come out to continue! The writing and characterization are great so far and I have every faith that it will continue to be a great read.
Plain Bad Heroines
Plain Bad Heroines had me hooked from the first page. The writing style grabbed me immediately, as I love an omniscient narrator who hints at future disaster. I especially loved the recurring motif of yellow jackets and the disaster and menace they bring. It reminded me of the theme of bees in The Starless Sea but perilous instead of wholesome.
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea
I really enjoyed this book and so rated it 4 stars. The setting is magical and the characters have great depth. The plot follows a classic hero’s journey arc with plenty of surprises and action. The first chapter throws the reader right into the story and there is never a dull moment.
Pandora’s Jar
Natalie Haynes' nonfiction writing style is informative, but not long-winded. Haynes gives the women in the famous Greek myths the attention and nuance they have always deserved while keeping a sense of humor. There were several passages that were funny and I appreciated the humor in the often bleak subject matter. This is a nonfiction companion to the fiction trend in recent years to give the women of the Greek myths retellings featuring them and giving them their due.
The Dust Never Settles
The Dust Never Settles follows a newly pregnant Anaïs who travels to her ancestral house in Peru which sits above the capital city of Lima. This premise sounded fascinating so I immediately requested the ARC from Netgalley and they were kind enough to oblige me.
The Paris Apartment
I read and loved Lucy Foley's other books, The Hunting Party and The Guest List, so when I saw that she had written another book I pounced on it.
The Ladies of the Secret Circus
The soul of Benito Mussolini was reincarnated as a circus monkey…it’s a no from me.
The Island of Missing Trees
It is no secret that Elif Shafak is my favorite author and The Island of Missing Trees keeps proving why. As always, the descriptions and imagery are rich and immersive and the explorations of identity are nuanced and thoughtful. In this book, we follow Ada, a teenage girl in London, living with her Greek Cypriot father and mourning her recently deceased Turkish Cypriot mother. There is another timeline set in the midcentury, which shows the early lives of Ada's parents and their struggles to cross the Green Line in Nicosia.
Ace of Spades
The story revolves around Devon, a dedicated musician, and Chiamaka, a driven queen bee, who are the only Black students at their fancy private school. Then, like "A" in Pretty Little Liars, anonymous texts from "Aces" start circulating at school which dredge up Devon and Chiamaka's dirty secrets.
Medical Bondage
Gynecology is hugely important as a field, and also to me personally because I have endometriosis. As important as it is, it is just as important, if not more so, to confront the history of gynecology and how the field started and evolved into its current form.
The Cult of We
A small subset of its staff, though, were wary. One former manager recalled being told to "drink the Kool-Aid," in a positive way. He was confused: Did these millennials not know about the 1970s cult and ensuing mass suicide that had inspired the term?
A Short History of Coffee
A Short History of Coffee is exactly what it sounds like and I really enjoyed reading it.