Faker by Sarah Smith (ARC Review)

November 7, 2019

Emmie Echavarre is a professional faker. She has to be to survive as one of the few female employees at Nuts & Bolts, a power tool company staffed predominantly by gruff, burly men. From nine to five, Monday through Friday, she’s tough as nails–the complete opposite of her easy-going real self. One thing she doesn’t have to fake? Her disdain for coworker Tate Rasmussen. Tate has been hostile to her since the day they met. Emmie’s friendly greetings and repeated attempts to get to know him failed to garner anything more than scowls and terse one-word answers. Too bad she can’t stop staring at his Thor-like biceps…… Read More Faker by Sarah Smith (ARC Review)

— Adult, book review —

Well Met by Jen DeLuca (Review)

October 28, 2019

All’s faire in love and war for two sworn enemies who indulge in a harmless flirtation in a laugh-out-loud rom-com from debut author, Jen DeLuca. Emily knew there would be strings attached when she relocated to the small town of Willow Creek, Maryland, for the summer to help her sister recover from an accident, but who could anticipate getting roped into volunteering for the local Renaissance Faire alongside her teenaged niece? Or that the irritating and inscrutable schoolteacher in charge of the volunteers would be so annoying that she finds it impossible to stop thinking about him?… Read More Well Met by Jen DeLuca (Review)

— book review, nonfiction —

The Art of Making Memories by Meik Wiking (Review)

October 27, 2019

Every year, we are given a fixed number of days. Some days pass us by without leaving a trace and some days we remember forever. Do you remember your first kiss? Or how the first rays of the spring sun feel? Or how about the best meal you ever had? These memorable experiences are characterized by intensity of perception, depth of feeling, or sense of profound significance causing them to stand out in our mind and involve a heightened sense of wonder and awe… Read More The Art of Making Memories by Meik Wiking (Review)

— ARC review, book review, young adult —

Frankly in Love by David Yoon (ARC Review)

October 22, 2019

Two friends. One fake dating scheme. What could possibly go wrong? Frank Li has two names. There’s Frank Li, his American name. Then there’s Sung-Min Li, his Korean name. No one uses his Korean name, not even his parents. Frank barely speaks any Korean. He was born and raised in Southern California. Even so, his parents still expect him to end up with a nice Korean girl–which is a problem, since Frank is finally dating the girl of his dreams: Brit Means. Brit, who is funny and nerdy just like him. Brit, who makes him laugh like no one else. Brit . . . who is white… Read More Frankly in Love by David Yoon (ARC Review)

— ARC review, book review, young adult —

Permanent Record by Mary H.K. Choi (ARC Review)

October 18, 2019

After a year of college, Pablo is working at his local twenty-four-hour deli, selling overpriced snacks to brownstone yuppies. He’s dodging calls from the student loan office and he has no idea what his next move is. Leanna Smart’s life so far has been nothing but success. Age eight: Disney Mouseketeer; Age fifteen: first #1 single on the US pop chart; Age seventeen, *tenth* #1 single; and now, at Age nineteen…life is a queasy blur of private planes, weird hotel rooms, and strangers asking for selfies on the street.… Read More Permanent Record by Mary H.K. Choi (ARC Review)

— ARC review, book review, young adult —

King of Fools by Amanda Foody (ARC Review)

October 16, 2019

Indulge your vices in the City of Sin, where a sinister street war is brewing and fame is the deadliest killer of them all…On the quest to find her missing mother, prim and proper Enne Salta became reluctant allies with Levi Glaisyer, the city’s most famous con man. Saving his life in the Shadow Game forced Enne to assume the identity of Seance, a mysterious underworld figure… Read More King of Fools by Amanda Foody (ARC Review)

— book review, children's —

When Unicorns Poop by Lexie Castle & Christian Cornia (Review)

October 13, 2019

Celebrate all things sparkly, including unicorn poop, with this rainbow-filled, humorous story! Did you know that when a unicorn poops, rainbows arch across the sky? And when they toot, shiny bubbles float all around! What happens when a unicorn sneezes or spits or cries? More magical whimsy occurs when unicorns do all these things, of course. Just don’t step in their poop-eww!… Read More When Unicorns Poop by Lexie Castle & Christian Cornia (Review)

— book review, young adult —

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow (Review)

October 13, 2019

In the early 1900s, a young woman embarks on a fantastical journey of self-discovery after finding a mysterious book in this captivating and lyrical debut. In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place… Read More The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow (Review)

— ARC review, book review, nonfiction —

Monster She Wrote by Lisa Kröger & Melanie R. Anderson (ARC Review)

October 13, 2019

Weird fiction wouldn’t exist without the women who created it. Meet the female authors who defied convention to craft some of literature’s strangest tales. And find out why their own stories are equally intriguing. Everyone knows about Mary Shelley, creator of Frankenstein; but have you heard of Margaret Cavendish, who wrote a science-fiction epic 150 years earlier? Have you read the psychological hauntings of Violet Paget, who was openly involved in long-term romantic relationships with women in the Victorian era?… Read More Monster She Wrote by Lisa Kröger & Melanie R. Anderson (ARC Review)

— book review, comic/graphic novel, young adult —

Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks (Review)

October 1, 2019

Deja and Josiah are seasonal best friends. Every autumn, all through high school, they’ve worked together at the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world. (Not many people know that the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world is in Omaha, Nebraska, but it definitely is.) They say good-bye every Halloween, and they’re reunited every September 1. But this Halloween is different—Josiah and Deja are finally seniors, and this is their last season at the pumpkin patch. Their last shift together. Their last good-bye.… Read More Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks (Review)