probablyjenna's reviews
351 reviews

The Bachelorette Party by Carissa Ann Lynch

fast-paced

3.5

Sometimes you just need an easy thriller to enjoy, and this definitely scratched that itch for me. The Bachelorette Party is filled with a cast of unlikable women who head to New Orleans got, you guessed it, a bachelorette party. The descriptions of New Orleans were easily the best part of this book - I love the city & know it well, so it was fun to read about it!

I enjoyed that this book spent the first half building up the characters and their general interactions with one another, and then the second half focused more on the criminal investigation following the murder.

To me, this was brain candy. It was a fun piece of escapism where I didn’t need to think too hard. I had a good time reading it, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a simple, slightly suspenseful story.

The Many Lives of Mama Love: A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing by Lara Love Hardin

5.0

The Many Lives of Mama Love is a tender book that will make you want to live your life in a kinder, more authentic way. This is definitely a book that I will recommend a lot and think about a lot.

From the very first page, I was sucked into Lara’s story and struggles. She writes so openly about the pains of addiction, the pains of trying to be perceived as perfect, and I felt like I was right there with her for all the highs and lows.

When I say this is a tender book, I’m really referring to the way Lara talks about the different people she encounters on her journey, particularly the other female inmates of cell block G. Her writing is filled with empathy, even in moments where she’s been wronged; she shows the inherent humanity of prison life and shines a light on the unfairness of the system, all while centering the people impacted. Her writing style is perfectly suited for this task, and I’m so grateful for her willingness to share her life with us.

At the heart of this story, it is a tale of redemption but also learning that redemption has to come through forgiving yourself. It will break your heart, then build you write back up. Truly cannot recommend it highly enough.

Grateful to the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review; all opinions shared here are my own. 

You Know What You Did by K.T. Nguyen

2.0

This book was just not it for me. There are a lot of reasons why, but I think I’ll set this review up as a what I liked/what I didn’t like format.

LIKED:

• I think Nguyen did a remarkable job forcing readers into the headspace of someone living with contamination/disgust based OCD. It was so uncomfortable being inside Annie’s head; I felt frustrated because I knew I couldn’t rely on her depiction of events, but was so embedded into her thought process that it was hard to see things clearly.
• The overall concept was cool. I liked the idea of a Vietnam war survivor struggling to make a new life in a new country after losing basically everything, and the exploration of how that could manifest mental illness.

MISSES:

• Wow, the teenage daughter was repulsive. As someone who has worked with teens for 10 years, I just could not handle what a rude, thoughtless jerk the 15-year-old daughter was…and how her parents basically just excused it nonstop or blamed it on the mother’s mental instability. Absolutely not. Me and that kid would have been having lots of touchy-feely heart-to-hearts to unpack why she was so hateful.
• Dialogue, in general, was really cringey. The way people spoke was just not natural a lot of the time, to the point where it was distracting (and sometimes funny.)
• The pacing is all over the place. It was hard to follow some events. Parts of the book were really repetitive. The last third of the book felt really disconnected from the rest of it. 
• The twist at the ending was not a good payoff for me. It felt really outlandish and almost cartoonishly evil. That’s just not my taste when it comes to a thriller.

All that said, I dislike a lot of thrillers (despite loving the genre!!!) and could see this working well for fans of Lisa Jewell, Ruth Ware, and Alice Feeney.

I am super grateful to the publisher for allowing me early access to this novel & all of the opinions in this review are my own. 

Hold My Girl by Charlene Carr

fast-paced

4.5

Hold My Girl has me at a strange standstill because all I want to do is talk about it, yet finding the right words feels nearly impossible. No spoilers in this review, but I am going to talk a bit about the book’s content so if you prefer going into something totally blind, tread lightly. Also as a potential trigger warning: I will be discussing aspects of infertility.

It feels as if Charlene Carr split herself open emotionally in order to fully explore the pain, trauma, joy, and fear embedded into the IVF journey. Then, she took those emotions and added a layer of absolute devastation: what if the baby you thought was biologically yours actually was not? Who has more “claim” to the child?

I have never wanted children. I know very little about infertility or IVF, and have never longed for motherhood. Despite being so far removed from the two main characters of this novel, I felt remarkably invested in their experiences. I found myself AUDIBLY responding to moments in the story, feeling the hurt and pain of these characters so fully. They were both frustrating and endearing all at once.

I had no idea what outcome I wanted; logically, the decision seemed simple to me…and as a deeply logical person, that’s usually where I land. Yet, the magnitude of the situation compounded with the insecurities caused by infertility made it difficult to see things logically. Katherine, the main character, was not just fighting for her child; she was also fighting AGAINST so much of the stigma that surrounds IVF, made even more challenging considering her identity as a Black woman navigating predominantly white spaces.

Then there’s Tess, who also isn’t just fighting for her child; she is also fighting to be seen as something beyond a “failure” - a word she largely assigns to herself due to her infertility.

Y’all really just need to read this one. The concept is fascinating, the emotions are BIG, and Carr clearly writes from a place of deep knowing. Anytime an author is willing to get this vulnerable with readers I am instantly won over. 

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

Shirley Jackson is the queen of subtle creepiness, and wow does she deliver in this short book!

This is a fascinating character study, and one that will definitely stick with me. I recently decided to add this to my 9th grade English curriculum for next year, and I cannot wait to unpack it with my students (and of course we’re going to read it in October for the vibes.)

Mary Katherine is such a strange, well written character, and the subtle mystery of what really happened to her family truly had me hooked! 

Rabbit Hole by Kate Brody

fast-paced

5.0

Rabbit Hole is being marketed as a twisty mystery, but that just isn’t right. This is not your average page turning thriller, or even a typical novel of suspense. This is a portrait of grief, and a deep dive into how the hole someone leaves behind can sometimes widen as the year go on. 

Kate Brody is not afraid to be visceral in her descriptions; there is no looking away from the ugliness of Teddy Angstrom’s struggle as she falls down the same rabbit hole of research that ended with her father ending his own life. Teddy isn’t always likable - she makes terrible choices, steers into her own destruction, and allows herself to get carried away. I loved the rawness of her portrayal; I felt as close to her as you can get with a fictional character.

But again, this isn’t really a mystery. It is truly a character study of how Teddy copes with the disappearance of her older sister and the way that event had ripple effects throughout her family. There are elements of mystery that kept me glued to the page, and I found myself spiraling into different theories right alongside Teddy at times.

As a light trigger warning, there are some upsetting moments with animals. One of the key storylines is about an aging dog who has just been diagnosed as terminal. None of it is gratuitous, but if you’re sensitive to stuff like that tread carefully.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book and will be eagerly awaiting whatever Kate Brody writes next.

The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor

fast-paced

4.5

This is a super powerful book about what self love truly means. I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by the author, and I highly recommend that! I think this is book is a really lovely reminder of how even though it can be difficult to exist in a world that often tells us we aren’t enough, we all have the power to radically love ourselves anyway. 

Penpal by Dathan Auerbach

2.5

This probably should have remained a CreepyPasta 😅 but it definitely was an entertaining read. I was simply distracted by the many plot holes & forgotten threads. 

So essentially: did I enjoy reading this? Yeah!

Do I think it’s a good book? Not really lol

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

5.0

A classic for a reason. This is a really beautiful story about a woman’s desire to live an authentic life, despite the expectations of society.

Zora Neale Hurston’s writing is a gift to us all. Her ability to showcase the spoken language of southern Black folks from the time period, interspersed with her own introspective musings through Janie’s inner dialogue, is simply masterful work. My grand plan is to someday add this to my 9th grade English curriculum someday after I reread it a few times; Hurston’s writing deserves to be taught by someone who understands its nuance, and I look forward to being on that level someday. 

O Pioneers! by Willa Cather

5.0

I read this with the intent of possibly adding it to my 9th grade English curriculum; I read My Antonia as a high schooler myself many moons ago and honestly hated it 🤣 but really needed a short book written by a woman to add to my classes.

And…wow! I love this story so much. From the opening pages that feature a little boy trying to get his cat out of a tree, to the final pages that felt like closing the door on a major saga rather than a 110ish page novel, I was hooked. 

I’m amazed at the amount of life Cather covered in this book. Even more than that, I am absolutely obsessed with Alexandra. All the characters in the book are fascinating in their own rite, but Alexandra’s story as a successful woman running a farm honestly blew me away. I’m really excited to add this to my curriculum and see what conversations it generates with my students!