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The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz
This is a really cute romance. If you like cheese and cheesy love stories you will love this book. In order to be independent and maintain her wealth after the death of her father, Lady Camembert must pretend to be Count Camembert.
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
It’s impossible to do justice to The Water Dancer (2019) in a book review. The story is powerful and haunting, the characters are expertly and thoughtfully portrayed throughout, and the time period and settings are drawn such that I felt that I was viewing the horrors of slavery on a Virginia plantation and experiencing the terrifying dangers of the flight to freedom.
Tom Lake by Anne Patchett
She did it again: with her latest novel, Tom Lake (2023), Ann Patchett has created a story that is accessible, believable, meaningful, and moving, a down-to-earth tale about a family of five, trying to keep their cherry farm in northern Michigan afloat during the global pandemic, the horrors of which are kept at a relatively safe remove.
Margot Mertz Takes It Down by Carrie McCrossen and Ian McWethy
This is a great book for anyone who loved Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu. The main character Margot Mertz is funny, and headstrong. Margot runs a business that cleans up after other people’s digital presence in order to save money to go to Stanford.
Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay
One morning an elevator in a New York skyscraper plunges to the ground, killing four people. The next morning, in a different building, another person dies in an elevator incident. By the third day, when another elevator crashes in a different building, it's clear that these are not accidents. Are these attacks targeted or random? Who is behind these attacks and why and how are they happening? With so much of the city only accessible by elevator, New York City comes to a standstill.
The Fortnight in September by R.C. Sherriff
Due to the encouragement of Kazuo Ishiguro, author of such contemporary works as The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go, I spent some days in August reading R.C.
Illusions of Fate By Kiersten White
This is a paranormal, magic romance about soulmates. Jessamin is strong, smart and independent, she leaves her small island home of Melei for the country of Albion to pursue her studies. She doesn’t want to be tied up in Albion society or meet a gentleman. Jessamin wants to finish her schooling and return to her island home.
A Dreadful Splendor by B.R. Myers
A Dreadful Splendor (2022) by B.R. Myers is a fun blend of mystery and romance, sprinkled with a little bit of spooky.
The Fragile Threads of Power by V. E. Schwab
V.E. Schwab takes us on a deliciously adventurous ride back to the world of The Shades of Magic, where parallel worlds exist and a select few can open doors between them.
My Love Story!!! by Kazune Kawahara and illustrated by Aruko
Takeo Goda, is the kindest soul alive who will literally save kittens and children, but his large and rough appearance is off putting to most girls and adults. Sunakawa, (Suna) is Takeo’s best childhood friend who actually cared about Takeo. Suna is handsome and all the girls Takeo falls in love with hate him, but fall in love with Suna. Until he meets Yamato, a kind, nice girl who likes to bake. Takeo doesn't want to get his hopes up anymore but when Yamato keeps making him cakes, Takeo can't help himself from falling in love.
The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
For the last twenty years, record executive and producer Rick Rubin has significantly shaped the course of hip hop, rock, and popular music, among other music genres. Thanks to his impact on the industry, he was named as one of Time's "100 Most Influential People in the World."
Brave the Wild River by Melissa Sevigny
In 1938, Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter were the first botanists to run the river rapids of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon to Lake Mead. At the time women in science were a rarity. While botany was considered acceptable for women, it was news-making and controversial for women to go on the actual expeditions to collect plant samples.