The Better Liar by Tanen Jones

Synopsis: (Amazon) “Like most of the dead, I want to be remembered.”

Robin Voigt is dead. If Leslie had arrived at her sister’s cramped Las Vegas apartment just hours earlier, this would have been their first reunion in a decade. In the years since Robin ran away from home as a teenager, Leslie has stayed in New Mexico, taking care of their dying father even as she began building a family of her own. But when their father passed away, Leslie received a rude awakening: She and Robin would receive the inheritance he left them together—or not at all. Now her half of the money may be beyond her grasp. And unbeknownst to anyone, even her husband, Leslie needs it desperately.

When she meets a charismatic young woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Robin—and has every reason to leave her past behind—the two make a reckless bargain: Mary will impersonate Robin for a week in exchange for Robin’s half of the cash. But neither realizes how high the stakes will become when Mary takes a dead woman’s name. Even as Mary begins to suspect Leslie is hiding something, and Leslie realizes the stranger living in her house, babysitting her newborn son, and charming her husband has secrets of her own, Robin’s wild, troubled legacy threatens to eclipse them both.

An electric, twisted portrait of sisterhood and the ties that bind, The Better Liar is a stunning debut with a heart-stopping, twist-after-twist finale that will beg the question: How far would you go to get what’s yours?

My Review: This was another quick read that I read back in February (I am awful about updating this, have you noticed?). This one was definitely a ride but touched on some deep topics. One constant theme is depression/post partum and suicide. Having suffered from both (I was diagnosed with clinical depression in 2018), I would understand the emotional roller coaster you can't seem to ever get off. 

I really could feel for Leslie and her struggles as a Mom! It's hard and when you add PPD into it, you really do feel that disconnect with your child. Don't get me wrong, I adore my babies but with PPD sometimes you just check out and half the time you don't even realize you had. 

The twist with Robin/Mary I actually didn't see coming. I mean I guess now that I look back on it, it was pretty obvious but at the time I was like NO WAY! So if you had figured it out 😛. 

This one is definitely worth checking out for yourself!

Book Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

No Judgments by Meg Cabot

Synopsis: The storm of the century is about to hit Little Bridge Island, Florida—and it’s sending waves crashing through Sabrina “Bree” Beckham’s love life…

When a massive hurricane severs all power and cell service to Little Bridge Island—as well as its connection to the mainland—twenty-five-year-old Bree Beckham isn’t worried . . . at first. She’s already escaped one storm—her emotionally abusive ex—so a hurricane seems like it will be a piece of cake.

But animal-loving Bree does become alarmed when she realizes how many islanders have been cut off from their beloved pets. Now it’s up to her to save as many of Little Bridge’s cats and dogs as she can . . . but to do so, she’s going to need help—help she has no choice but to accept from her boss’s sexy nephew, Drew Hartwell, the Mermaid Café’s most notorious heartbreaker.

But when Bree starts falling for Drew, just as Little Bridge’s power is restored and her penitent ex shows up, she has to ask herself if her island fling was only a result of the stormy weather, or if it could last during clear skies too.

My Review: So growing up I love Meg Cabot. I'll admit I read The Princess Diaries well into my adulthood. So I was really excited to see a new Fiction novel by an author I love! But it just fell flat for me. 

The main two characters are Bree, who admittedly is dealing with some major crap, and Drew, who just wants to do what he wants to do when he wants to do it. And the book spends more than 200 pages of them two bickering back and forth with each other. You can tell they like each other, you can tell they're falling hard but like teenagers they spend forever admitting it.

I've said before I am not a huge romance fan but if it's good, I'll definitely read it. I am also someone who hates that slow burn. Like stop fighting the feelings and just go for it! And this book was both of those elements. So I think that is why it just fell flat for me.

Book Rating: ⭐⭐⭐☆

Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid

Synopsis: Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living, with her confidence-driven brand, showing other women how to do the same. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains' toddler one night, walking the aisles of their local high-end supermarket. The store's security guard, seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humilated. Alix resolves to make things right. 

But Emira herself is aimless, broke, and wary of Alix's desire to help. At twenty-five, she is about to lose her health insurance and has no idea what to do with her life. When the video of Emira unearths someone from Alix's past, both women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know about themselves, and each other.


My thoughts: "I think it would be best...if we went our separate ways? And that those paths never again...connected." 

Okay. Wow. Do people actually act this way? Because no one I know has and I think that makes me incredibly lucky! I felt that Emira came off kind of standoffish and flippant towards Alix. And I felt that way about everything. Even when Alix was tried to make things okay (and yes I admit for all the WRONG reasons!) she was still standoffish. And Alix, oh. my. god. The obsessivness drove me nuts. Her obsession with Kelley after she found out he was dating Emira. Get. Over. It. Girl. I almost felt bad for her...until she showed her true colors and then I felt bad for feeling bad! 🤣I never liked Kelley and felt he was just as obsessed as Alix was! So I was glad he didn't have a good outcome but I do agree with Emira, neither person actually changed. 

Overall though I think this was a great pick by Reese's Book Club, seriously the best one to kick 2020 off with! An amazing debut novel by Kiley Reid and I hope we continue to see great things from her! 


Book Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✯

Lovely War by Julie Berry

Synopsis: They are Hazel, James, Aubrey, and Colette. A classical pianist from London, a British would-be architect-turned-soldier, a Harlem-born ragtime genius in the U.S. Army, and a Belgian orphan with a gorgeous voice and a devastating past. Their story, as told by goddess Aphrodite, who must spin the tale or face judgment on Mount Olympus, is filled with hope and heartbreak, prejudice and passion, and reveals that, though War is a formidable force, it's no match for the transcendent power of Love.



My Review:  So I read this book as my first ever Buddy Read and wow. I am still blown away from this book. This was my first read of 2020 and it was the BEST one to start off the year with! This book as it all: romance, mythology, historical setting with current events of the time. And it's all wrapped up into a beautiful love story. The chapters are all POV but it never gets confusing which person is telling their side of the story (if you're like me and eventually stop reading the chapter headings). It's just an absolute gem! 

I was really happy to finally have a historical fiction novel set during WW1. I feel like we have so many WW2 books that it's becoming a bit overdone, so this was already a positive for me. I had no idea this had any mythology at all in it so the retelling of the story by Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares and Hades was a pleasant surprise. I also really liked how the author touched on some hot topic happenings to keep the book as accurate as she could. She talked about how the African American regiment was treated during this time. She talked about how the soldiers with PTSD were not, and still aren't if I am being frank, getting the treatment they need and deserve. Rarely does a book elicit tears and this one had me bawling in the break room at my work.

If this book has been on your radar, check it out. If your book hasn't been on your radar, get it on there. And then check it out. This one is one that can't be missed and won't disappoint.

Book rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Royal Nanny by Karen Harper

Synopsis: Based on a seldom-told true story, this novel is perfect for everyone who is fascinated by Britain’s royal family—a behind the scenes look into the nurseries of little princes and the foibles of big princes.

April, 1897: A young nanny arrives at Sandringham, ancestral estate of the Duke and Duchess of York. She is excited, exhausted—and about to meet royalty. . . .

So begins the unforgettable story of Charlotte Bill, who would care for a generation of royals as their parents never could. Neither Charlotte—LaLa, as her charges dub her—nor anyone else can predict that eldest sons David and Bertie will each one day be king. LaLa knows only that these children, and the four who swiftly follow, need her steadfast loyalty and unconditional affection.

But the greatest impact on Charlotte’s life is made by a mere bud on the family tree: a misunderstood soul who will one day be known as the Lost Prince. Young Prince John needs all of Lala’s love—the kind of love his parents won’t…or can’t…show him.

From Britain’s old wealth to the glittering excesses of Tsarist Russia; from country cottages to royal yachts, and from nursery to ballroom, Charlotte Bill witnesses history. The Royal Nanny is a seamless blend of fact and fiction—an intensely intimate, yet epic tale spanning decades, continents, and divides that only love can cross.

My Review: If you're a royal family fanatic, like I am, this very fiction novel is rather cute. It follows Ms. Lala through her years as Prince George V children's headnurse. For those that need a refresher, his children are Queen Elizabeth's father, uncles and aunt.

I rated this one 3 stars because I didn't love it but I also didn't hate it either. It was just a book I read. I did like the flow and I liked the romance bit added with the main character. I loved the royal family being the center of the novel. I love how they added the events with the Tsar and Tsarita but I am also a Romanov fanatic almost as much as I am a royal fanatic. But it wasn't something that made me feel anything or wanting more. 

Book rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Know My Name by Chanel Miller

Synopsis: She was known to the world as Emily Doe when she stunned millions with a letter. Brock Turner had been sentenced to just six months in county jail after he was found sexually assaulting her on Stanford's campus. Her victim impact statement was posted on BuzzFeed, where it instantly went viral--viewed by eleven million people within four days, it was translated globally and read on the floor of Congress; it inspired changes in California law and the recall of the judge in the case. Thousands wrote to say that she had given them the courage to share their own experiences of assault for the first time.

Now she reclaims her identity to tell her story of trauma, transcendence, and the power of words. It was the perfect case, in many ways--there were eyewitnesses, Turner ran away, physical evidence was immediately secured. But her struggles with isolation and shame during the aftermath and the trial reveal the oppression victims face in even the best-case scenarios. Her story illuminates a culture biased to protect perpetrators, indicts a criminal justice system designed to fail the most vulnerable, and, ultimately, shines with the courage required to move through suffering and live a full and beautiful life.

Know My Name will forever transform the way we think about sexual assault, challenging our beliefs about what is acceptable and speaking truth to the tumultuous reality of healing. It also introduces readers to an extraordinary writer, one whose words have already changed our world. Entwining pain, resilience, and humor, this memoir will stand as a modern classic.

My review: "How quickly victims must begin fighting, converting feelings into logic, navigating the legal system, the intrusion of strangers, the relentless judgment." When a woman is assented, one of the first questions people ask is, "Did you say yes?" This question assumes that the answer is always yes, and that is her job to revoke the agreement."

So I don't believe in reviewing memoirs. Like yeah talking about different aspects of the story sure but giving it a rating? No. So there will be no rating from me except to say this book was so important and such a deep emotional read. 

I wasn't going to read this honestly. Truth be told, I didn't even know this was Emily Doe. I knew a bit about Brock Turner case and what I do know, I wasn't pleased. But the Bookstagram world has been talking about this for awhile and my work had it, so I snagged it. And I am so glad I didd. Rarely do we hear from the victim. Rarely do we get an intimate detail of what they overcame. We can assume, sure. But we have no idea. And honestly, we don't need to know their personal details. But it takes immense courage to let those feelings out to the world. Especially in a time when victims are rarely heard and victims are scrutinized at every turn.

If you've been debating on reading this one, do it. Prepare to be angry, sad, annoyed, infuriated and everything in between. But  her message is so important to victims out there: you're not alone 💓

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

In addition to writing reviews because I like to but also for my bookstagram community, one of the projects at work is writing book reviews for our Facebook page. The patrons seem to really love it because they eventually come to a standstill with their reading and don't know where to go next! The patrons are already really receptive about this new addition to the website and it makes me happy to know that my opinion is reaching out to people! 

This book was the first one I reviewed and man...was it a tearjerker.

Synopsis: Nuri is a beekeeper and Afra, his wife, is an artist. Mornings, Nuri rises early to hear the call to prayer before driving to his hives in the countryside. On weekends, Afra sells her colorful landscape paintings at the open-air market. They live a simple life, rich in family and friends, in the hills of the beautiful Syrian city of Aleppo—until the unthinkable happens. When all they love is destroyed by war, Nuri knows they have no choice except to leave their home. But escaping Syria will be no easy task: Afra has lost her sight, leaving Nuri to navigate her grief as well as a perilous journey through Turkey and Greece toward an uncertain future in Britain.

Nuri is sustained only by the knowledge that waiting for them is his cousin Mustafa, who has started an apiary in Yorkshire and is teaching fellow refugees beekeeping. As Nuri and Afra travel through a broken world, they must confront not only the pain of their own unspeakable loss but dangers that would overwhelm even the bravest souls. Above all, they must make the difficult journey back to each other, a path once so familiar yet rendered foreign by the heartache of displacement.

Moving, intimate, and beautifully written, The Beekeeper of Aleppo is a book for our times: a novel that at once reminds us that the most peaceful and ordinary lives can be utterly upended in unimaginable ways and brings a journey in faraway lands close to home, never to be forgotten.

My review: This deeply emotional story follows Nuri, a former beekeeper, and Afra, his blind wife, as they escape their war torn country of Syria. Not only does this story show us their harrowing escape from Aleppo but also their lives as they seek asylum in the UK. It's a book about loss, danger, suffering and heartbreak. 

I really enjoyed this book. While yes this is a work of fiction, this is a very real story. Something similar was and is happening in Syria. Christy's writing made you feel real emotion. There was so many times I put the book down and just thought "wow" or hugged my kids. There were moments where I had to take a walk to process the horror they are suffering. This one just reminded me of how fortunate I am to be living the life I am. But it also made me angry that this is even going on.

I will recommend this book over and over again. It is a heavily emotional read but the chapters are pretty quick and short. It's a book I feel would and should strike up some dialogue about what's going on in the world. 

Book Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐