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me_alley's reviews
1110 reviews
I Leave It Up to You by Jinwoo Chong
reflective
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? No
4.25
A wild premise-- you wake up after 2 years in a coma. Your parents are in your life again, despite the fact that you hadn't spoken to them in years. The love of your life has moved on and gotten married, the world lived through a pandemic, your job and car are long gone. You are too shell shocked to be grateful to be alive, although you have no memory of driving into the Hudson river.
JJ is insecure and asks all the wrong questions, but he is endearing as he tries to reintegrate into his family and the rest of society. A Japanese-Korean, his family runs a sushi restaurant using Korean influence. His brother is having another child, and his nephew accidentally helps him go viral after awakening from a coma.
There is a little suspense and romance here, it is billed as second chance, but this is more contemporary LitFic.
Themes
-Meaning of Life
-Moving On
-Identity
-LGBTQ main character
-New York/New Jersey setting
-Changing relationships within family
The end is heartwarming. I really enjoyed JJ's journey.
JJ is insecure and asks all the wrong questions, but he is endearing as he tries to reintegrate into his family and the rest of society. A Japanese-Korean, his family runs a sushi restaurant using Korean influence. His brother is having another child, and his nephew accidentally helps him go viral after awakening from a coma.
There is a little suspense and romance here, it is billed as second chance, but this is more contemporary LitFic.
Themes
-Meaning of Life
-Moving On
-Identity
-LGBTQ main character
-New York/New Jersey setting
-Changing relationships within family
The end is heartwarming. I really enjoyed JJ's journey.
Where Do We Go From Here by Nick Alexander
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
You can’t really punish someone’s lack of interest in you. Specifically, you can’t starve people into missing you."</i>
A very readable book with a thought provoking premise. A woman escapes into a rural cottage in the south of France. While there she comes to terms with the trauma she has experienced as she lost her mother, dealt with a rapidly deteriorating marriage, her older children becoming more distant, and the wounds as she worked as an emergency nurse during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Working in healthcare during the pandemic was like living in two different worlds- at the hospital you were seeing people die in front of you, you were protecting yourself and feeling helpless. Like a war nurse, it was easy to become overwhelmed by the unending supply of care. But instead, you would leave a shift, and enter a world where people were blind to the dangers, some of them fighting precautions, and terrified to pass the virus along.
<i> I thought about my job and wished for a moment that I could take my family to work with me, for one day, so they had some conception of what I was dealing with.</i>
So Wendy started staying at her friend Jill's AirBnb. It was empty anyway, she would rather not deal with worrying about the virus and her family's exposure, and it didn't seem like they wanted her around anyway. That's when she saw a photo on Facebook of a lakeside home with the challenge "could you live here with no internet, no people for a year for $100,000". I have seen that before, and when you are knee deep in the stress and pressure of the world, that really seems like a great idea. And Wendy had a small amount of inheritance from her mother, so she quit her job and went to France.
Today I am celebrating, by the grace of God, 14 years of sobriety thanks to AA. This book reminded me how lucky I am to have connection in my life, and how isolation plus trauma plus alcohol is a recipe for a rapidly deteriorating addiction.
Friends, you are not always going to like Wendy as you read this book. And you shouldn't. It is very easy to disconnect and think that numbing your pain is the best way to overcome it. But over time she journals, takes walks, and, apart from the real world, she learns who she is and how she needs to connect with her family and the broader world. I highlighted not only the touching lines but also those that made me laugh. Her relationship with her high school daughter and college son are very relatable.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC. Opinions are my own, I was not compensated for this review. Book to be published April 23, 2025.
A very readable book with a thought provoking premise. A woman escapes into a rural cottage in the south of France. While there she comes to terms with the trauma she has experienced as she lost her mother, dealt with a rapidly deteriorating marriage, her older children becoming more distant, and the wounds as she worked as an emergency nurse during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Working in healthcare during the pandemic was like living in two different worlds- at the hospital you were seeing people die in front of you, you were protecting yourself and feeling helpless. Like a war nurse, it was easy to become overwhelmed by the unending supply of care. But instead, you would leave a shift, and enter a world where people were blind to the dangers, some of them fighting precautions, and terrified to pass the virus along.
<i> I thought about my job and wished for a moment that I could take my family to work with me, for one day, so they had some conception of what I was dealing with.</i>
So Wendy started staying at her friend Jill's AirBnb. It was empty anyway, she would rather not deal with worrying about the virus and her family's exposure, and it didn't seem like they wanted her around anyway. That's when she saw a photo on Facebook of a lakeside home with the challenge "could you live here with no internet, no people for a year for $100,000". I have seen that before, and when you are knee deep in the stress and pressure of the world, that really seems like a great idea. And Wendy had a small amount of inheritance from her mother, so she quit her job and went to France.
Today I am celebrating, by the grace of God, 14 years of sobriety thanks to AA. This book reminded me how lucky I am to have connection in my life, and how isolation plus trauma plus alcohol is a recipe for a rapidly deteriorating addiction.
Friends, you are not always going to like Wendy as you read this book. And you shouldn't. It is very easy to disconnect and think that numbing your pain is the best way to overcome it. But over time she journals, takes walks, and, apart from the real world, she learns who she is and how she needs to connect with her family and the broader world. I highlighted not only the touching lines but also those that made me laugh. Her relationship with her high school daughter and college son are very relatable.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC. Opinions are my own, I was not compensated for this review. Book to be published April 23, 2025.
It's Getting Hot in Here by Jane Costello
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Finalllllllly!!! Thank you Zibby publishing, thank you Jane Costello and thank you Book of the Month for a wonderful romcom about a twice-divorced perimenopausal main character! I enjoy a lighthearted contemporary fiction story as much as the next girl out there, and usually that means a romance with a 25 year old character. It feels so good to be seen with a woman of my age.
And it’s not all menopause jokes- plenty of spice (if that’s your thing) struggles with her ex and co-parenting, work stress, and relationship building through strong major and minor characters.
At the end of the day, no matter our age or stage of life, most people are a little afraid that we are unlovable. Books like this give us a flawed but insecure character that we see ourselves in.
It’s British!
And it’s not all menopause jokes- plenty of spice (if that’s your thing) struggles with her ex and co-parenting, work stress, and relationship building through strong major and minor characters.
At the end of the day, no matter our age or stage of life, most people are a little afraid that we are unlovable. Books like this give us a flawed but insecure character that we see ourselves in.
It’s British!
How We Learn to Be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith by Mariann Edgar Budde
reflective
4.75
It’s nearly impossible to rate books like this as anything but 5 stars. Of course I bought this after hearing her sermon at the inauguration. I loved many quotes, particularly what she wrote about Martin Luther king Jr and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
The Strange Case of Jane O. by Karen Thompson Walker
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A haunting, intriguing sci fi/mystery written in a LitFic style, this book came onto my radar as an Aardvark Book Club Selection. The Strange Case of Jane O is one of my top Sci Fi books of 2025, a book that I loved. It is Sci Fi for people who don't usually like Sci Fi, very accessible and such a page-turner!
Jane O had a blackout after dropping her infant son, Caleb, off at daycare. She woke up being roused by a Brooklyn park worker, and did not remember the prior 24 hours. This may be because the day before, she ran into her friend Nico on the street. Which is odd, because Nico died 20 years earlier at 17. Nico is around 37 now and a doctor, which was always his career goal. Nico warns Jane to get out of the city. But why? And is this related to her blackout? How can she prevent it from happening again....and should she?
This is a multi-POV book and alternates with Jane and her doctor, Dr. Henry Byrd, a widower. Henry is writing case notes about Jane, so it has a medical feel, not your typical mystery twists with murders or kidnappings and red herrings. We are, along with Dr. Byrd, determining a diagnosis for Jane. In Jane's viewpoint chapters, she is writing a letter to her son Caleb. Soon it becomes apparent that we may have 2 unreliable narrators.
I think I loved this book because it is just so unique. I would compare it to [b:The Night Guest|127306444|The Night Guest|Hildur Knútsdóttir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1705511514l/127306444._SY75_.jpg|148402278] except with a much more satisfying ending. There is great character development and keeps your interest with lots of dialogue and descriptive setting. The ending is not at all what I expected, but I found it to be truly fascinating. Although Jane is a troubled individual, the reader will find themselves rooting for her.
A great book to get you OUT of a reading slump.
Jane O had a blackout after dropping her infant son, Caleb, off at daycare. She woke up being roused by a Brooklyn park worker, and did not remember the prior 24 hours. This may be because the day before, she ran into her friend Nico on the street. Which is odd, because Nico died 20 years earlier at 17. Nico is around 37 now and a doctor, which was always his career goal. Nico warns Jane to get out of the city. But why? And is this related to her blackout? How can she prevent it from happening again....and should she?
This is a multi-POV book and alternates with Jane and her doctor, Dr. Henry Byrd, a widower. Henry is writing case notes about Jane, so it has a medical feel, not your typical mystery twists with murders or kidnappings and red herrings. We are, along with Dr. Byrd, determining a diagnosis for Jane. In Jane's viewpoint chapters, she is writing a letter to her son Caleb. Soon it becomes apparent that we may have 2 unreliable narrators.
I think I loved this book because it is just so unique. I would compare it to [b:The Night Guest|127306444|The Night Guest|Hildur Knútsdóttir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1705511514l/127306444._SY75_.jpg|148402278] except with a much more satisfying ending. There is great character development and keeps your interest with lots of dialogue and descriptive setting. The ending is not at all what I expected, but I found it to be truly fascinating. Although Jane is a troubled individual, the reader will find themselves rooting for her.
A great book to get you OUT of a reading slump.
The Accidental Medium by Tracy Whitwell
0.25
I got this book as a blind date with a book from Nowhere Bookshop. Always a bit of a gamble.
I couldn’t get past the fatphobia/transphobia/homophobia. No thank you.
I couldn’t get past the fatphobia/transphobia/homophobia. No thank you.
Back After This by Linda Holmes
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The Good Samaritan by Toni Halleen
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I have one beef with this book, and it's only the cover and blurb. This book is a multi-POV suspense novel, and it is a good one. But the marketing, cover, blurb, make it seem like a thriller, and those seeking a murder or kidnapping or twisty plot are going to be disappointed in the plot development and ending.
This book is a lot more subtle. You are going to get hints at how the book develops, and it goes in a different direction that I thought it would.
Multi-POV
Matthew, a divorced professor who lost his son in a drowning accident 7 years ago when his son was 4. He teaches sociology, and the events of the book end up being a sociology experiment. Matthew is father to
Claire, a teenager who works part time at a bagel store and has a crush on a troubled boy.
Kira, a social worker who is chasing after Seaver. Like most social workers, she is over worked and underpaid but with a good heart. A former foster kid herself, she isn't the most interesting character but her presence is necessary to move the plot forward.
Seaver, a 12 year old foster kid trying to find his addict mom. We don't know what he is running from.
The story begins with a hailstorm and Matthew finding a body, which ends up being Seaver. He is suffering from hypothermia and Matthew decides to drive him to the hospital. Then Seaver wakes up and refuses to go to the hospital and sprints away. What Matthew decides to do in most situations are very driven by the tragedies he has had in his life, and this is interspersed with his tenure track. His daughter, Claire, is smart yet a bit insecure. I enjoyed all of the POV and read this pretty compulsively. It is intensely readable and a good beach read for someone who wants a suspenseful read without all the violence.
This would be a good pick for a book club as it is a sociology experiment and lots of "what would you do" in the situation type conversation starters.
This book is a lot more subtle. You are going to get hints at how the book develops, and it goes in a different direction that I thought it would.
Multi-POV
Matthew, a divorced professor who lost his son in a drowning accident 7 years ago when his son was 4. He teaches sociology, and the events of the book end up being a sociology experiment. Matthew is father to
Claire, a teenager who works part time at a bagel store and has a crush on a troubled boy.
Kira, a social worker who is chasing after Seaver. Like most social workers, she is over worked and underpaid but with a good heart. A former foster kid herself, she isn't the most interesting character but her presence is necessary to move the plot forward.
Seaver, a 12 year old foster kid trying to find his addict mom. We don't know what he is running from.
The story begins with a hailstorm and Matthew finding a body, which ends up being Seaver. He is suffering from hypothermia and Matthew decides to drive him to the hospital. Then Seaver wakes up and refuses to go to the hospital and sprints away. What Matthew decides to do in most situations are very driven by the tragedies he has had in his life, and this is interspersed with his tenure track. His daughter, Claire, is smart yet a bit insecure. I enjoyed all of the POV and read this pretty compulsively. It is intensely readable and a good beach read for someone who wants a suspenseful read without all the violence.
This would be a good pick for a book club as it is a sociology experiment and lots of "what would you do" in the situation type conversation starters.
Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou
challenging
funny
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I purchased this book as a "blind date with a book" from Nowhere Bookshop. Like most blind dates, it can be fun and sometimes even memorable. I like the challenge of reading something that I normally wouldn't pick up.
Disorientation is cross-genre; romcom and millennial malaise at times, while also walking the line of LitFic. I think it is probably a little too silly and satirical for the typical Litfic reader and too hard handed with the lessons learned for the typical romcom reader. Ingrid is a little unfocused, she is on her 8th year of her dissertation and agrees to write on a Chinese poet. Ingrid is American and her heritage is Taiwanese, so she is no stranger to micro aggressions and in how whiteness is seen as default. She has a white fiancé, Steven, whose presence felt superfluous.
The book is readable but probably too long, I wanted more dialogue for character development and to get into the setting. I appreciated the turns that the book takes, the plot itself is good and well-paced with several reveals and changes in direction. Overall we are engrossed in a world that asks more questions of it than it answers.
This would be a good book club selection as the motivations of the characters give us lots of question. You can examine the ideas and themes and relate them to how we all experience racism and the way whiteness is centered in our society.
Disorientation is cross-genre; romcom and millennial malaise at times, while also walking the line of LitFic. I think it is probably a little too silly and satirical for the typical Litfic reader and too hard handed with the lessons learned for the typical romcom reader. Ingrid is a little unfocused, she is on her 8th year of her dissertation and agrees to write on a Chinese poet. Ingrid is American and her heritage is Taiwanese, so she is no stranger to micro aggressions and in how whiteness is seen as default. She has a white fiancé, Steven, whose presence felt superfluous.
The book is readable but probably too long, I wanted more dialogue for character development and to get into the setting. I appreciated the turns that the book takes, the plot itself is good and well-paced with several reveals and changes in direction. Overall we are engrossed in a world that asks more questions of it than it answers.
This would be a good book club selection as the motivations of the characters give us lots of question. You can examine the ideas and themes and relate them to how we all experience racism and the way whiteness is centered in our society.