babewithabookandabeer's reviews
340 reviews

Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Thank you Knopf and Netgalley for my copy of WANDERING STARS by Tommy Orange, out 2/27/24!

I loved Tommy Orange’s Pultizer Prize-finalist novel THERE THERE and so when I got an email from Netgalley to autodownload his follow-up novel, I’ve never sent a request so fast!!! Orange extends his constellation of narratives into the past and the future, tracing the legacies of the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School through three generations of an Indigenous family.

The beginning of the novel takes place in Colorado with a young survivor of the massacre by the name of Star. He is forced to learn English and practice Christianity at an industrial school dedicated to the erasure of Native history, culture and identity. The next generation follows Charles, Star’s son, who is brutalized by a prison guard and meets Opal Viola. They dream of a future away from the violencde that follows their bloodlines.

In the future of 2018, we meet Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield who is barely holding her family together after a shooting that nearly took the life of her nephew Orvil. This section details opioid addiction, gun violence, depression, racism, self-harm, PTSD and struggling with identity, belonging and loneliness. 

This book is rage-indusing, heartbreaking, devastating and will leave you feeling lost. The writing is gorgeous and mindbending, and a glorious collec tion of the devastating indictment of America’s war on its own people. This book is both a prequel and a sequel to THERE THERE so I would definitely start with that novel before digging into this one. I love that Orange is writing about the depths of addiction when it comes to modern Indigenous life because it is a very under-talked about topic.

Thank you Tommy Orange for writing this superb novel. I hope to see it reviewed, discussed and awarded many flowers.

One of the Good Guys by Araminta Hall

dark funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Thank you Zando Books and Netgalley for my copy of ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS by Araminta Hall, out 1/9/24!

I love a book marketed as a feminist thriller and this was no exception. OOTGG follows Cole, newly separated from his wife. He considers himself “one of the good guys.” He leaves London for a fresh start out in the countryside as a wildlife ranger. He meets Leonora, a reclusive artist living in the cottage next door and is instantly charmed by her as he is navigating his mental health from the ghosts of his failed marriage.

As the two form a new connection, two women activists raising awareness about gendered violence go missing on a cliff nearby. Cole and Leonora find themselves in the middle of the police investigation and media firestorm. Do they know each other that well after all? This book works to answer the question, “If most men claim to be so good, why are most women still afraid to walk home alone at night?”

This book was a PAGE TURNER. Full of gendered cultural insights and sociopolitical themes, I couldn’t put this book down. I love the way Hall incorporated different media formats and perspectives to give us the full, messy story. This was so well written and well researched and I didn’t want the story to end. But when it did, I was amazed at how it all wrapped up. The writing is smart, the characters are fully fleshed out and the plot is unique and explosive. This book is both entertaining and deeply reflective and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a thriller that gives that lil something extra.

Daughter of Mine by Megan Miranda

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Thank you Simon Element and Netgalley for my copy of DAUGHTER OF MINE by Megan Miranda, out 4/9/24! 

One of my favorite thriller writers did it again! This story follows Hazel Sharp, daughter of Mirror Lake’s longtime local detective. When her father passes, he leaves the home unexpectedly to her instead of her two brothers, who are the blood of him while she is not. See, her mother disappeared years ago without a trace, leaving her with her stepfather and his two sons and he raised her as his own.

Now that she’s back in town, the water level in the lake starts to drop and long-hidden secrets begin to emerge, including evidence that could finally explain her mother’s disappearance. 

What a unique premise full of twists, turns and fascinating supporting characters. This wasn’t my favorite Miranda, but I loved the narrator struggling to figure out who she could trust and who she couldn’t. It made for an enticing atmosphere and plot line that keeps you guessing to the very end.

Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Thank you Feiwel & Friends and Netgalley for my copy of WHERE SLEEPING GIRLS LIE by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, out 3/19/24! 

WSGL follows Sade Hussein, a junior at the prestigious Alfred Nobel Academy boarding school after being home-schooled all her life following the death of her father. Before Sade can get acclimated, her roommate goes missing and rumors start to swirl that she had something to do with it.

Sade draws the attention of a group of girls called the “Unholy Trinity,” and as soon as her roommates disappearance starts to become old news, a student winds up dead. Secrets at the academy start to unravel, some even more serious than her own….

This was a VERY entertaining and moving YA mystery. This is dark academia at its finest and a thrilling ride from start to finish. I loved the main character Sade. The pacing goes from a snail’s pace to a ferrari’s whiplash sometimes, but I really enjoyed how Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé laid this story out. I love seeing teenage girls struggle through betrayal, grief and a thirst for revenge. Some of the darker topics are written with such grace and determination, which I think is fantastic for young readers. 

Definitely add this one to your tbr! I’ve added her other novel Ace of Spades to my list. 

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland

5.0

Thank you Netgalley and Random House/Ballantine/Dell for my copy of A SWEET STING OF SALT by Rose Sutherland, out 4/9/24!

This book was AMAZING! A queer reimagining of the classic folktale, “The Selkie Wife,” this book was so unexpectedly glorious. I was unfamiliar with the tale, so it was all new to me and I adored it.

A sharp cry in the night awakens Jean and she finds a woman in labor, drenched to the bone in the sea and bitter cold who is unable to speak a lick of English. She assumes she must be the new mysterious wife of her neighbor Tobias, a loner fisherman. When he stumbles upon her house after she helps his wife give birth, the questions keep coming. Why did he hide her pregnancy? Why has he hidden her away? Why does his wife change demeanor when he’s around?

This book is definitely a slow burn, but the payoff is worth it. I love a sweet, gay love story! I’m so happy I stumbled upon this book. Definitely add it to your queer tbr!!! I loved the ending so much!! Everything about this book is too, too perfect.

The Clinic by Cate Quinn

4.0

Thank you to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for my copy of THE CLINIC by Cate Quinn, out 1/23/24!

This thriller is set at a remote rehab clinic. It follows Meg, who pops too many pills and catches cheaters at casinos, who discovers her famous sister Haley has been found dead at this clinic. With whispers of suicide or an overdose, Meg doesn’t believe it. So, she checks herself into the rehab to find our firsthand what happened.

While she battles her own addiction, she tries to figure out who she can trust as she seeks out the truth. This book is very readable, but it is ABSURD! I read it super fast because the chapters are short and choppy, but some of the female characters were hard to distinguish which made the plot twist less fun than it could have been.

Definitely interesting to learn that the author spent her own time at a rehab clinic, making some of the experience authentic and believable. The acknowledgements section is superb. The twist just makes you suspend all disbelief and I couldn’t get past it. Definitely a unique setting and story, so I’ll give her that!

Bad Men by Julie Mae Cohen

funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Thank you Abrams: Overlook Press and Netgalley for my copy of BAD MEN by Julie Mae Cohen, out 5/7/24!

Not gonna lie, the cover got me to read. But the writing got me to stay and finish. What a FUN thriller! Every second was a ball. Saffy Huntley-Oliver is a glamorous and smart socialite, and she also kills men for fun! For 15 years, starting with her pedophile stepfather, she has tracked down rapists, domestic abusers and murderers and killed them as her lil side hobby. Leading this double life has left her a lil lonely. She thinks she’s finally found a good man - Jonathan Desrosiers, a true-crime podcaster who cracks cold cases and brings justice to forgotten victims.

But wait. A decapitated body shows up on his doorstep the day after his wife leaves him, making him the chief suspect. Saffy does whatever she can to find the real killer and get her man! This book is FUNNY. It is so hard to put down because Sally is a hoot from start to finish. If you liked the book/show YOU or DEXTER, you’ll love this one!

It’s refreshing as a thriller because yes, people get murdered, but it’s not so dark and depressing as it usually is. It’s also nice to follow a protagonist (antagonist?)  who isn’t drunk and stupid all the time. It’s weird, but you really root for the sociopath in this one. Well, at least one of them. Highly recommend if you’re looking for a fast-paced thriller you can read in one sitting.

Real Americans by Rachel Khong

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Thank you Knopf and Netgalley for my copy of REAL AMERICANS by Rachel Khong, out 4/30/24! 

Rachel Khong blew me away with her novel GOODBYE VITAMIN a few years ago, so when I got the chance to read her new novel early, I jumped at the chance. And to no one’s surprise, this was my favorite novel I read last year. It is beautiful. Khong has created a sweeping generational novel that goes from China to New York to the West Coast and I never wanted it to end.

She makes the reader ask the question, “How far would you go to shape your own destiny?” Are our futures inevitable? What makes us who we are? With a dash of medical drama and science fiction thrown in, I couldn’t put this book down. It starts on the precipice of Y2K with Lily, an unpaid intern at a media company. She meets Matthew. He is easygoing, attracgtive, a native East Coaster, white and a rich heir to a huge family fortune from a pharmaceutical empire. Lily was raised in Tampa, by two scientists who fled Mao’s Cultural Revolution in China, and she’s flat-broke. Alas, they fall in love.

Then, we swing to 2021 and follow Nick. He is isolated and lives with his single mother. He can’t shake the sense she’s hiding something. The opportunity comes up to find his biological father and this journey causes a massive disruption and changes everything he thought he knew.

The final narrator and sweeping story is incredible and I don’t want to spoil anything, so please just read this amazing novel! Khong is marvelous at creating characters with so much tenderness. She makes unique feelings become universal. Her prose is so immersive, you feel like you are existing right along these characters. And she packs so much into a book: class differences, political hardships, anxiety, lonliness, love. 

I cried multiple times and wanted to live in this story. I hope you read and love it as much as I did! I am buying a copy to keep on my shelves forever.

While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence by Meg Kissinger

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

“But I was learning that you can’t fast-forward through grief or read a CliffsNotes version of your life and expect to make peace with it.”

What a sad, sad book. Thank you Netgalley and Celadon Books for my copy of WHILE YOU WERE OUT by Meg Kissinger, an intimate family portrait of mental illness in an era of silence. Out now!

It follows the Kissinger family, who from the outside seemed to live a charmed life. With eight kids and two loving parents, they were highly involved with their Catholic church and spent summers at Lake Michigan and loved each other.

Behind closed doors, mental illness was rearing its head. The mother was heavily medicated and in and out of the hospital for anxiety and depression. The father was manic and prone to violence. Multiple children were diagnosed with bipolar disorder and chronic depression. Two children end up taking their own lives and Meg details her famiy’s shame and silence around these acts. 

I think anyone who grew up in the late 1900’s and early 2000’s know the exact feeling. Sadness? Wanting to die? Wanting to give up? You just don’t talk about it. This book is incredibly intimate and a devastating portrayal of what not talking about it does to a family. Kissinger goes into details with her investigative journalism background about our country’s flawed mental health care system and the consequences of deep-rooted shame and ignorance of trauma. 

I loved this book. It is so important and it is incredible that Kissinger found the strength to put it all out in the open to hopefully help another family find the courage to talk about it. What a thought-provoking memoir, highly recommend.