Kathy_H

"But as each new tune struck up, there was a burst of new rhythm, new response, new joy at the business of being alive."

I'm torn about my rating...I am closer to 4 than 3, but not quite. It took me awhile to get into #feast, but I did and thoroughly enjoyed it. Such great writing, with luscious descriptions of food. Our main character Minha has an overwhelming ability to taste and sense food and is forced into being a poison-taster for Duc Nicolas, so while we get those descriptions, we also experience her senses of distaste and disgust at the overly seasoned food (and having to eat SO much of it!). She is a runaway, and although she finds shelter at the Duc's estate, she also finds resentment and dislike from the estate's chef and laundress, who are both cruel unhappy people.

But this is only part of Minha's story. We are taken back to her early childhood, when her mother mostly resents her, too. Minha goes to live with her grandparents, and while her grandfather is kind and loving, her grandmother is not. She runs away from that home, too.

Many things happen to Minha along the way, and she is a sad character. I enjoyed some parts of her story more than others, and although there are a few too many coincidences (some predictable, some not), I found myself thinking of her once I finished the book. I appreciated sharing her journey. To sum, I found the writing really good, but think the book could use some editing. I also found a few plot points to be a bit contrived.

Thanks to @bookbrowse First Impressions program for the advance copy. Much appreciated!

"But now, as she stood in front of me, I could feel the desperation. It rolled off her in waves, palpable."

3/5 stars.

What I liked:
1. the setting in a summer camp was terrific. You've got the woods and camps always seem fraught with danger, not to mention creepiness.
2. although the "I'm returning to my past to find out who murdered..." trope is kind of tired, I think Bozeman does a good job with turning it into something a little new.
3. some real good twists coming at you by the end that sort of make up for #1 below.

What I Didn't:
1. see above quote. I found the writing to be a bit juvenile at times, and Greer ("Little G"? really) to be an immature drama queen. To wit: "Maybe it was the old-school, Southern girl in me, but I wanted some admission of his feelings or intentions before I just let him hold my hand in the dark." Okay, you're in your mid-20s and have standards about hand holding?
2. Would like to have seen/experienced more of Greer's mom, Anita, as well as the other adults. They are mostly shadowy figures until the end.
3. Didn't really get the obsession with Stephanie and Margo. Was it b/c Greer had grown up isolated at the camp? That set up also struck me as a little weird, and would've liked more background. See above drama queen/immature.

Overall compelling, but not my favorite read of 2026.

NOTE: I received an advance reader copy of #summersneverover through my membership at @bookbrowse.

I enjoyed #themidnighttaxi, graciously given to me by @bookbrowse in exchange for an honest review. While I did find the writing and dialogue to be quite juvenile, Siri and her friends - Amaya and Alex - are good characters, and it's fun "watching" them solve the mystery (think Scooby Doo). I also appreciated Siri's internal monologue, and the author gives her backstory as appropriate. We learn how her brother's death has affected her, her parents and their home lives. She didn't strike me as a plus 25 year old (again, the writing...) but it seems churlish to criticize a character so full of heart.

A quick, lighthearted (despite the subject matter) read.

"'But isn't that one of the great things about fiction?' he says. 'It's an escape. Somewhere to go when you don't want to be where you are.'"

I ADORED #thisbookmademethinkofyou by @libbypagewrites. It's an ode to readers, lovers of books, books, bookstore and even libraries. Matilda (Tilly) Nightingale is grieving the death of her husband, Joe. Joe, seemingly the most intuitive and thoughtful husband ever, has left Tilly a year of books. (Such a terrific idea!!) Each month, she visits Book Lane, the bookstore owned by Alfie Lane, to pick up the book and letter that Joe has left for her. Would you be surprised if I told you that every book Joe has picked is absolutely perfect? Tilly's favorite childhood book b/c Tilly has not been reading during Joe's illness. A book about running b/c that was something Tilly and Joe used to do together. A cookbook b/c Tilly can't cook. The books encourage Tilly to travel. And travel she does - to Paris, to Tuscany, to New York...and to Scotland for camping ("'I hate camping. Houses were invented for a reason.'") - after quitting her job.

Tilly's world prior to Joe's illness was fine. Or so she thought. Her grieving year allows her to see herself clearly for the first time, maybe reevaluate herself, things she thought were constants that might need to change. She makes new friends, finds enjoyment in new (and old) things, has new experiences, and finds a new love. It's not easy, and Ms. Page does a terrific job of showing Tilly's grief, her conflicting feelings about life moving on without Joe, and her existential angst.

But, the books! I love that a good bit of the story is centered around the fabulous Book Lane bookstore. Alfie, the owner, is a fabulous character. I love the list of books that open each chapter. Alife is forced to do some changing, too, and he carries his own grief. And Alfie gets Tilly. "Smiling is tiring. 'You don't have to smile if you don't feel like it. Not with me anyway.'"

Take this journey of a year and books with Tilly and Alfie. "Getting back into reading feels like stepping inside the house of a beloved friend she hasn't seen for a long time. It feels like coming home." Indeed.

I'll be giving copies of this book to all of my book-loving friends. Thanks so much to @bookbrowse and @netgalley for the early copy and the chance to read this lovely novel.

“The world will always bring you back into perspective, if you only bother to let it.”

Even though there is quite a bit of contention throughout the wonderful new novel #buckeye by Patrick Ryan @patrickryannyc, the journey still feels like a warm hug. I loved these characters, and the time I spent with them. Some (Becky, Felix) more than others (Cal, Margaret) but loved them just the same. #buckeye is one of those big-hearted, sprawling novels that you can’t wait to get to, stay up late to read and have the worst hangover when you’re done. I finished last night, and am still thinking about the Jenkins's and the Salts.

Cal Jenkins and Margaret Salt are drawn to each other, mostly b/c of individual crises. Crises that may not seem earth-shattering or life-changing, but to them, they most certainly are. I can understand the choices they make at this time. However, their actions have wide-reaching consequences, and like dominoes, cascading effects, over multiple lives. It seemed to me that how they dealt with these effects spoke to their integrity. Yet it could be that it is easier for the Cals of the world vs. the Margaret's, and maybe Cal had a softer place to land. There is definitely some gender-inequality here in the 1950s.

Still, it was hard to understand Margaret, despite what I knew about her.

“Over and over, she’d learned that what the dead most often conveyed was love and forgiveness.”

So there, I think is my lesson – in forgiveness.

Do yourself a favor, and jump into this novel. It’s fabulous.

P. S. Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC.

"If you ever want to see how wonderfully complex the human mind is, all you have to do is look at the periodic table."

#nexttimewillbeourturn is my introduction to @jesseqsutanto. I loved the story and its focus on females – and fighting the patriarchy, fighting the life parents want for us, fighting to be true to oneself…which may be the hardest one of all.

At times, I found Magnolia to be so clueless and frustrating, but kept reminding myself of her environment, where even her fully-educated doctor mother couldn't practice much medicine at her own clinic. I also did not see much character development with Magnolia's parents, particularly the father – they seemed to be stock stereotypes within the Chinese-Indo community or her husband, Patrick.

I very much enjoyed the stories of Magnolia, Iris and Ellery, however. Sutanto does a nice job of conveying their feelings, frustrations and limitations placed upon them by society, and who they love. Where I struggled was with the writing. It was sophomoric, sometimes clunky and cringey, including the dialogue. Once I even checked the blurb on Goodreads because I wondered if I were reading YA (not that there's anything wrong with that!). There was inconsistency with Magnolia – one minute she is in love with Patrick and the next, not so much. I get that she was young for a good part of the story but the wishy-washy continued until the end of the novel, when she seems to finally GET it.

Again I reiterate that I enjoyed the story very much. It had some twists I did not see coming, and ultimately was a story of love and hope. It was also a fast read, despite the heavy subject matter. Suntanto also does a good job with her scenes of queer romance, fleeting though they be.

Thanks to @bookbrowse for the opportunity to read an advance galley.