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thereadingraccoon's reviews
1496 reviews
Empresses of Seventh Avenue: World War II, New York City, and the Birth of American Fashion by Nancy MacDonell
informative
slow-paced
4.0
Empresses of Seventh Avenue is a non-fiction deep dive into the role of the United States in the business of fashion, particularly in the first half of the twentieth century. As the wars in Europe raged, designers, editors, journalists, department store managers, and other tastemakers in the U.S. stepped up and finally gave Paris serious competition.
This is a fascinating read, filled with details about the private and professional lives of women who aren’t famous outside of their field. It’s really interesting to see how far the U.S. has come—from mostly copying French designers to a country that creates and cultivates its own talent. I recommend it to anyone with an interest in fashion as both an art and a business.
🎧 Audiobook Notes: This book is narrated by Gail Shalan, who does an excellent job with the narration, including the pronunciation of French words and names.
Disclaimer: An ALC (advanced listening copy) of Empresses of Seventh Avenue was provided by Macmillan Audio for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This is a fascinating read, filled with details about the private and professional lives of women who aren’t famous outside of their field. It’s really interesting to see how far the U.S. has come—from mostly copying French designers to a country that creates and cultivates its own talent. I recommend it to anyone with an interest in fashion as both an art and a business.
🎧 Audiobook Notes: This book is narrated by Gail Shalan, who does an excellent job with the narration, including the pronunciation of French words and names.
Disclaimer: An ALC (advanced listening copy) of Empresses of Seventh Avenue was provided by Macmillan Audio for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The Monstrous Kind by Lydia Gregovic
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The Monstrous Kind is a young adult fantasy novel about a seventeen-year-old girl trying to survive in an alternate England plagued by both monsters and the plotting of the elite class.
Merrick is enjoying the social “season” with family friends in New London when she’s called home because her father has died. Her older sister Essie is their father’s heir, and with his death, the title and power will be transferred to her. But only a series of sentries and lanterns hold back the mist that contains deadly phantoms, and the fail-safes around Merrick’s lands are failing. When Essie goes missing, Merrick teams up with the scarred and mysterious sentry Killian to try to find out who took Essie and why the phantoms keep slipping past their security.
The Monstrous Kind had a nice pace and enough mystery and action to keep me interested. I thought the monsters and dystopian aspect of the plot were intriguing, and although I did figure out some of the secrets before Merrick did, I still look forward to finding out more about this world if there is a sequel. I liked Merrick as a character but felt like she needed rescuing more and more as the book went on. She started off as a good shot and the bolder of the two sisters, but by the end, she seemed a little more like a “damsel in distress,” easily fooled and manipulated by others.
As for the writing, the author relied too heavily on similes and metaphors, with almost every page containing one or two. The opening two paragraphs contain four similes right off the bat, and the book has nearly nine hundred uses of the word “like” (yes, I did a word count), most of which were used as part of a simile. I hope if there is a sequel that the author relies on these less, as they bog down the book in unnecessary detail.
Overall, The Monstrous Kind is an enjoyable YA fantasy with some exciting action and a small romantic subplot.
Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Merrick is enjoying the social “season” with family friends in New London when she’s called home because her father has died. Her older sister Essie is their father’s heir, and with his death, the title and power will be transferred to her. But only a series of sentries and lanterns hold back the mist that contains deadly phantoms, and the fail-safes around Merrick’s lands are failing. When Essie goes missing, Merrick teams up with the scarred and mysterious sentry Killian to try to find out who took Essie and why the phantoms keep slipping past their security.
The Monstrous Kind had a nice pace and enough mystery and action to keep me interested. I thought the monsters and dystopian aspect of the plot were intriguing, and although I did figure out some of the secrets before Merrick did, I still look forward to finding out more about this world if there is a sequel. I liked Merrick as a character but felt like she needed rescuing more and more as the book went on. She started off as a good shot and the bolder of the two sisters, but by the end, she seemed a little more like a “damsel in distress,” easily fooled and manipulated by others.
As for the writing, the author relied too heavily on similes and metaphors, with almost every page containing one or two. The opening two paragraphs contain four similes right off the bat, and the book has nearly nine hundred uses of the word “like” (yes, I did a word count), most of which were used as part of a simile. I hope if there is a sequel that the author relies on these less, as they bog down the book in unnecessary detail.
Overall, The Monstrous Kind is an enjoyable YA fantasy with some exciting action and a small romantic subplot.
Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The Champions by Kara Thomas
dark
mysterious
tense
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? No
4.0
Disclosure: a free audiobook listening copy (ALC) of this book was provided by Penguin Random House Audio for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The Champions is a contemporary young adult thriller about a high school newspaper reporter who stumbles on to a series of secrets involving the football team.
Hadley has only been at Sunnybrook High School for a year but she’s already a contender for the newspaper editor. But first she has to write a story about the champion football team the Tigers. But almost immediately she begins to receive anonymous emails telling her to give the story to someone else and not to go to the football game afterparty. The team and the coaches will do anything to keep their secrets even if it means hurting their own and Hadley finds herself right in the middle.
The Champions is a high school mystery and amateur detective story wrapped up in the toxic masculinity and the unfair privileges of athletes.
It has an exciting pace and a likable and smart main character that doesn’t give up. I recommend it to readers that enjoy contemporary mysteries revolving around teenagers and high school.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Audiobook notes: the audio version of The Champions is narrated by Brittany Pressley who does an excellent job with the youthful energy and voice of the main character.
You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Q. Sutanto
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
* Disclosure: A free audiobook listening copy (ALC) of this book was provided by Penguin Random House Audio for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
You Will Never Be Me is a domestic suspense novel about two former friends and “mommy influencers” whose rivalry takes a dangerous turn.
When Meredith and Aspen meet, they are single in L.A. and just starting out as social media influencers. Meredith is the more successful of the two and helps her new friend navigate the world of algorithms and hashtags. But once Aspen meets her husband and starts a family, she quickly surpasses Meredith in followers as a popular “momfluencer.” Tension and jealousy begin to build between the two, and soon they are locked into a dangerous game of revenge.
This is a juicy and dramatic story with no relatable or likable heroines. Both women are selfish and image-obsessed, which makes them terrible friends and even worse mothers. I needed a little more background on both characters and someone to root for, but a reader looking for a twisty read set in the world of TikTok and Instagram will probably enjoy the ride.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Audiobook notes: The audio version of You Will Never Be Me is narrated by Eunice Wong and Risa Mei, who do an excellent job and have distinct enough voices to make each character’s POV clear.
You Will Never Be Me is a domestic suspense novel about two former friends and “mommy influencers” whose rivalry takes a dangerous turn.
When Meredith and Aspen meet, they are single in L.A. and just starting out as social media influencers. Meredith is the more successful of the two and helps her new friend navigate the world of algorithms and hashtags. But once Aspen meets her husband and starts a family, she quickly surpasses Meredith in followers as a popular “momfluencer.” Tension and jealousy begin to build between the two, and soon they are locked into a dangerous game of revenge.
This is a juicy and dramatic story with no relatable or likable heroines. Both women are selfish and image-obsessed, which makes them terrible friends and even worse mothers. I needed a little more background on both characters and someone to root for, but a reader looking for a twisty read set in the world of TikTok and Instagram will probably enjoy the ride.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Audiobook notes: The audio version of You Will Never Be Me is narrated by Eunice Wong and Risa Mei, who do an excellent job and have distinct enough voices to make each character’s POV clear.
We Love the Nightlife by Rachel Koller Croft
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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? No
4.0
We Love the Nightlife is a contemporary paranormal fiction novel about a female vampire desperate to escape her “maker” after over forty years of deadly control.
When twenty-three-year-old Amber met the glamorous Nicola in a disco in 1979, she was new to London, bored in her marriage, and stunning on the dance floor. Nicola had to keep her at any cost, even if it meant asking her new best friend to give up her human life for the eternal beauty of being a vampire. But over forty years later, Amber feels increasingly manipulated and betrayed by her maker and wants to be free. But can she stay one step ahead of Nicola?
We Love the Nightlife is an exciting and glamorous novel about two women who were once the best of friends but slowly dissolve into a toxic relationship. Despite the drama of wealth, blood, and the endless party, at its core, this is a novel about freedom and living life on your own terms, even if it means leaving someone you love.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Disclaimer: An advanced reader’s copy of We Love the Nightlife was provided by Berkley for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy by Tia Levings
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
A Well-Trained Wife is a memoir about writer Tia Levings’s life within fundamentalist Christianity and her decision to leave both her faith and her abusive marriage.
Tia Levings was a young Baptist church member in Florida with her family, then a teen bride, and eventually the isolated and abused wife of an increasingly controlling husband and fundamentalist church. Her struggle with being a good Christian, wife, and mother will resonate with many readers, along with the realization that she’s not safe in her marriage. Although Tia’s church and its doctrine aren’t representative of every religion, the reader can clearly see how the laws and interpretations benefit only men, leaving children and women vulnerable. As fundamentalist churches become more and more political, their impact on all American women is being felt, and it’s important to see the roots of their ideology for what they are.
I highly recommend this moving and intense memoir.
Tia Levings was a young Baptist church member in Florida with her family, then a teen bride, and eventually the isolated and abused wife of an increasingly controlling husband and fundamentalist church. Her struggle with being a good Christian, wife, and mother will resonate with many readers, along with the realization that she’s not safe in her marriage. Although Tia’s church and its doctrine aren’t representative of every religion, the reader can clearly see how the laws and interpretations benefit only men, leaving children and women vulnerable. As fundamentalist churches become more and more political, their impact on all American women is being felt, and it’s important to see the roots of their ideology for what they are.
I highly recommend this moving and intense memoir.
Burn by Peter Heller
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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? No
4.0
Burn is a novel about two men facing nearly impossible odds when the world they know erupts into chaos and violence.
Childhood friends Jess and Storey are on their annual hunting trip in the woods of Maine when they encounter their first destroyed bridge. Every road they travel leads to more burnt homes, dead bodies, and no contact with the outside world. With very little information to go on, they can only assume that the recent demand for Maine’s state secession has turned violent, leaving the two of them stuck in the middle of a civil war.
Despite being mostly a survival story, I found myself highlighting so many thought-provoking passages as Jess muses about his recent divorce and the mistakes he made in his marriage. He also reflects on his childhood, his relationships with his parents, and a forbidden affair as a teenager. I enjoyed the pacing and the details surrounding the survival tactics and didn’t find the action dull or the characters flat. I rooted for them from the beginning and wanted both of them to be able to return home.
Burn manages to be both a character-driven piece on looking back at the past when the odds of surviving the next few days are low, and a plot-driven novel about two men using what they know and relying on each other to get to safety.
Disclaimer: An advanced copy of Burn was provided by NetGalley and the publisher for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Childhood friends Jess and Storey are on their annual hunting trip in the woods of Maine when they encounter their first destroyed bridge. Every road they travel leads to more burnt homes, dead bodies, and no contact with the outside world. With very little information to go on, they can only assume that the recent demand for Maine’s state secession has turned violent, leaving the two of them stuck in the middle of a civil war.
Despite being mostly a survival story, I found myself highlighting so many thought-provoking passages as Jess muses about his recent divorce and the mistakes he made in his marriage. He also reflects on his childhood, his relationships with his parents, and a forbidden affair as a teenager. I enjoyed the pacing and the details surrounding the survival tactics and didn’t find the action dull or the characters flat. I rooted for them from the beginning and wanted both of them to be able to return home.
Burn manages to be both a character-driven piece on looking back at the past when the odds of surviving the next few days are low, and a plot-driven novel about two men using what they know and relying on each other to get to safety.
Disclaimer: An advanced copy of Burn was provided by NetGalley and the publisher for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
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? No
4.0
Entertaining romantasy. Wasn’t fond of the modern dialogue in the fantasy world and some of the terms used for things (Atlantians?) but interesting concepts and romance.
The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? No
3.75
The Break-Up Pact is a contemporary romance novel about a twenty-seven-year-old woman who is dumped publicly on a reality show and joins forces with a childhood friend to get revenge.
Childhood friends June and Levi are both dumped publicly—Levi for the film star his fiancée falls for when she’s showing him a NYC apartment, and June when her boyfriend of a decade brings a camera crew home to tell her he fell in love with his reality show costar. Levi is back in their hometown while he figures out his relationship status, which throws him directly in June’s path, even though they’ve barely spoken in a decade. But when the internet sees photos of them together, they are deemed the “revenge exes,” and the extra attention sends customers flocking to June’s failing tea shop and makes Levi’s ex jealous. So, a fake relationship “pact” is hatched. But their past friendship and insane chemistry make it obvious to everyone who knows them (and the reader) that there is nothing fake about the “revenge exes.”
This is a romantic comedy with a fun premise and a slow-burn romance. June and Levi have a strong connection that makes the reader shout, “Just kiss already!” It also explores the more serious topics of grief and loss, as both characters have been mourning the death of June’s sister, Annie, for the last two years, and June tries to honor her memory by keeping the tea shop open. There are a few things that frustrated me, like the characters creating their own roadblocks to “happily ever after,” and there was just something that felt unrealistic and convenient to the plot about their friend group and this small beach town. I also didn’t think it was necessary to give June such a dissatisfying previous decade-long relationship with Griffin (he never said “I love you” out loud the whole time they were together…what?) in order to make things with Levi seem so much better.
Overall, this is a cute contemporary romance that takes the “fake relationship” trope and gives it a fun reason to exist. I wished the characters wouldn’t be so stubborn and clueless sometimes, but it was still an enjoyable ride.
My copy of The Break-Up Pact was provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Childhood friends June and Levi are both dumped publicly—Levi for the film star his fiancée falls for when she’s showing him a NYC apartment, and June when her boyfriend of a decade brings a camera crew home to tell her he fell in love with his reality show costar. Levi is back in their hometown while he figures out his relationship status, which throws him directly in June’s path, even though they’ve barely spoken in a decade. But when the internet sees photos of them together, they are deemed the “revenge exes,” and the extra attention sends customers flocking to June’s failing tea shop and makes Levi’s ex jealous. So, a fake relationship “pact” is hatched. But their past friendship and insane chemistry make it obvious to everyone who knows them (and the reader) that there is nothing fake about the “revenge exes.”
This is a romantic comedy with a fun premise and a slow-burn romance. June and Levi have a strong connection that makes the reader shout, “Just kiss already!” It also explores the more serious topics of grief and loss, as both characters have been mourning the death of June’s sister, Annie, for the last two years, and June tries to honor her memory by keeping the tea shop open. There are a few things that frustrated me, like the characters creating their own roadblocks to “happily ever after,” and there was just something that felt unrealistic and convenient to the plot about their friend group and this small beach town. I also didn’t think it was necessary to give June such a dissatisfying previous decade-long relationship with Griffin (he never said “I love you” out loud the whole time they were together…what?) in order to make things with Levi seem so much better.
Overall, this is a cute contemporary romance that takes the “fake relationship” trope and gives it a fun reason to exist. I wished the characters wouldn’t be so stubborn and clueless sometimes, but it was still an enjoyable ride.
My copy of The Break-Up Pact was provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The Singer Sisters by Sarah Seltzer
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? No
4.0
Book Review: The Singer Sisters by Sarah Marian Seltzer
The Singer Sisters is a novel about women from a musical family, spanning four decades.
In 1964, Judie Zingerman’s life changes when young singer-songwriter Dave Cantor joins her family for dinner one night. Although Judie’s family is rooted in music, a path of college, marriage, and kids is the only acceptable option for a good Jewish girl from Massachusetts in the 1960s. Instead, Judie runs off to New York City to begin her life as a singer-songwriter. Judie’s encounters with love, loss, marriage, and motherhood shape her music and eventually that of her children. Her daughter Emma struggles to step out of her parents’ shadow as she tries to find her own voice in the music industry as the world moves toward the twenty-first century. The Singer Sisters is told through the alternating voices of the women in Judie’s family as they explore love, family, and music, and try to forgive each other for the past.
The Singer Sisters is ultimately a novel about women finding their voices in art and what it means to be a family. I enjoyed the book from beginning to end, and I think readers will find it very realistic and relatable.
🎧 The Singer Sisters is narrated by Helen Laser, Barrie Kreinik, and Stephanie Németh-Parker. All the narrators do an excellent job with the voices of the women, embodying different generations and personalities.
Disclaimer: My copy of The Singer Sisters was provided by Macmillan Audio for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The Singer Sisters is a novel about women from a musical family, spanning four decades.
In 1964, Judie Zingerman’s life changes when young singer-songwriter Dave Cantor joins her family for dinner one night. Although Judie’s family is rooted in music, a path of college, marriage, and kids is the only acceptable option for a good Jewish girl from Massachusetts in the 1960s. Instead, Judie runs off to New York City to begin her life as a singer-songwriter. Judie’s encounters with love, loss, marriage, and motherhood shape her music and eventually that of her children. Her daughter Emma struggles to step out of her parents’ shadow as she tries to find her own voice in the music industry as the world moves toward the twenty-first century. The Singer Sisters is told through the alternating voices of the women in Judie’s family as they explore love, family, and music, and try to forgive each other for the past.
The Singer Sisters is ultimately a novel about women finding their voices in art and what it means to be a family. I enjoyed the book from beginning to end, and I think readers will find it very realistic and relatable.
🎧 The Singer Sisters is narrated by Helen Laser, Barrie Kreinik, and Stephanie Németh-Parker. All the narrators do an excellent job with the voices of the women, embodying different generations and personalities.
Disclaimer: My copy of The Singer Sisters was provided by Macmillan Audio for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.