The People We Keep Review

The People We Keep is a moving story about April who leaves behind her home as a young woman to begin a new (and hopefully better) life. We get to see April at different stages of her life and the story telling is beautiful - I loved getting to know each character and Allison Larkin does an amazing job of building out the characters and making them each have strengths and weaknesses. I loved reading this book and I was sad when it ended. I gasped, I cried, I laughed. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a story of hope and finding "your people". The People We Keep is a story that will stick with me and its message will too. It was a great reminder to let people in and trust and find the good in people. Thank you to Allison Larkin, Gallery Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced readers copy.

The Turnout Review

Megan Abbott is one of my favorite authors. Her books are dark, enthralling, and always leave me wanting more of her writing. When I saw her upcoming novel, The Turnout, on NetGalley I immediately requested a copy and was so thrilled when it was approved. I read The Turnout in one night - that isn't because its a short book, but because I literally could not put it down. The characters pulled me in and left me asking "what is going to happen next?". I kept trying to guess the twists and turns but never could and was shocked at the ending. This is dark story centered around two sisters, their family history, and ballet. Megan's writing is beautiful and descriptive - her prose puts you in the same room as the Durant sisters and you feel as though you are living through the story with them. I highly recommend this book, especially if you have Megan Abbott on your TBR list. It is a haunting story that I'm still thinking about today. The Turnout is available on August 3, 2021. Thank you to NetGalley and Pengiun Group Putnman for the ARC.

The Fall of Innocence Aesthetic

Thank you to Penguin Young Readers for the free copy of The Fall of Innocence for this blog tour. I am part of a blog tour for The Fall of Innocence. I loved this book and I can't wait to show you the image that reminded me of the book. The imagery in the book with the black birds was beautiful and I was so inspired Emilia's connection with them.

If you'd like to see previous posts from the blog tour (which I HIGHLY recommend because these ladies are amazing!)

WEEK ONE

June 4 – The Desert Bibliophile – Listicle

June 5 – Reading With Lori – Playlist + Book Aesthetic

June 6 – A Gingerly Review – Review

June 7 – Laura’s Bookish Corner – Author Guest Post: What Inspired The Novel

June 8 – Margie’s Must Reads – Playlist + Review

WEEK TWO

June 12 – HelloJennyReviews – Creative Instagram Picture

June 13 – The Fandom – Review

June 14 – Amber Colored Books – Book Aesthetics

BOOK DESCRIPTION 

The Lovely Bones meets Thirteen Reasons Why in this gorgeous, haunting, and tragic novel that examines the crippling--and far-reaching--effects of one person's trauma on her family, her community, and herself.

For the past eight years, sixteen-year-old Emilia DeJesus has done her best to move on from the traumatic attack she suffered in the woods behind her elementary school. She's forced down the memories--the feeling of the twigs cracking beneath her, choking on her own blood, unable to scream. Most of all, she's tried to forget about Jeremy Lance, the boy responsible, the boy who caused her such pain. Emilia believes that the crows who watched over her that day, who helped her survive, are still on her side, encouraging her to live fully. And with the love and support of her mother, brother, and her caring boyfriend, Emilia is doing just that.

But when a startling discovery about her attacker's identity comes to light, and the memories of that day break through the mental box in which she'd shut them away, Emilia is forced to confront her new reality and make sense of shifting truths about her past, her family, and herself.

A compulsively-readable tragedy that reminds us of the fragility of human nature.

AUTHOR BIO

Jenny Torres Sanchez (www.jennytorressanchez.com) is a full-time writer and former English teacher. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, but has lived on the border of two worlds her whole life. She is the author of Because of the Sun; Death, Dickinson, and the Demented Life of Frenchie Garcia; and The Downside of Being Charlie. She lives in Orlando, Florida, with her husband and children. Follow her on Twitter @jetchez.

The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go Review

Thank you to Gallery Books and Netgalley for my digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go is heartbreaking and heart warming all at once, if thats possible. The story follows Lorraine, her 2 daughters Gina and Vicky, and Gina's daughter May. Lorraine is difficult and harshly judges Gina. May and Gina are each struggling with the loss of Drew, May's father and Gina's husband. Lorraine suffers from a sudden stroke and her daughters end up discovering a family secret that will change everything. Gina will realize that her and Lorraine have more in common than what she realized.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the different female characters and I had a hard time putting the back down because I had to know what happened next. The book has its upbeat, positive moments and there were times I smiled and the next page cried. I think this would be a great mother/daughter read because it is definitely about the bonds of family even things may be strained.

I haven't read any of Amy Reichert's other works, but I am planning on doing so because I loved this book so much. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for heartwarming read.

Campaign Widows Review

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Graydon House Publishing for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was very excited about this book and it did not disappoint. The political campaigns were interesting to follow and the characters were fun and smart.

The book covers the storylines of Cady, Birdie, Jay, Reagan, and Madison. Each character is incredibly well developed and enjoyable to learn about. They also each have a significant other that plays a role in a presidential election, which makes them "campaign widows".  Cady was my favorite character as I found her the most relatable, however, I did enjoy Birdie fabulous lifestyle.

I enjoyed this book so much and it definitely made me laugh. I also appreciated the fact that the author portrayed the sometimes less than glamorous side of running for office and it was refreshing to read the perspective of those who are involved in campaigns because their significant other is and how that effects them.

While there are male characters in this book, I did appreciate how many strong female characters were represented. 

Overall, I really enjoyed Campaign Widows. I think it will make a great summer read and I would recommend it to my friends and family.

The Ensemble Review

I received an advanced copy of this book from Penguin Publishing Group via Edelweiss.

First, can we just talk about how beautiful the cover of The Ensemble is? It is GORGEOUS. 

The Ensemble is a story about four friends as they navigate through the cutthroat world of music. The story covers their relationships with one another and how their lives and interests intertwine.

I have to admit that it took me a while to get into this book, but once I did I was hooked. The story spans over the four friends lives and I never felt that I was spending too much time in one time period. The story is told by the members of the quartet which lends itself to more character development and getting to know each character. 

I was concerned at first that having no music knowledge would hinder my ability to understand this book, but it didn't. In fact, I think it may have helped me enjoy the book more because I was seeing the world of music through Gabel's eyes.

The character development in this book is flawless and the characters are lovable. My only word of caution for those interested in this book would be if you have a hard time keeping up with different narrators or you prefer shorter books with less filler, then I would maybe skip this book. Otherwise, I would highly recommend.

The Ensemble is available on May 15, 2018.

Tin Man Review

Tin Man is a beautiful book. It is a short read but that doesn't make it any less heart breaking. It is hard to describe Tin Man without giving away spoilers and my advice is if you're interested in Tin Man try to avoid any synopsis that is too detailed - let this book be a surprise to you and you will be grateful for it. Ultimately, Tin Man is a story of love and friendship and its complications.

The book is told from different perspectives, but the perspectives are easy to follow and gives the book depth. The different perspectives also allows you to see the characters different points of view.

When I began the book, I thought it would be a story of Ellis mourning his wife and the story of how he lost her but it is so much more than that. That story alone would be heartbreaking, but what emerges from Tin Man is so much more.