Our Missing Hearts by Celeste NgAsian American LiteratureOctober 4, 2022Penguin Audio Review by Jen I’ve always been a bit of a news junkie and as part of that, have paid attention to politics. I actually used to work in news until I got so burned out by the bad news. I was in DC on 9/11, that did me in. It’s tough these days. Constant chaos, angry voices, and spending a few minutes on social media is the equivalent of doom scrolling for me. If you’ve watched, listened to or read Continue Reading
Audio Review: All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn GreenwoodAudible StudiosComing of Age FictionAugust 9, 2016 Review by Jen All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood is a tough book to take. And… I couldn’t put it down. The story is well written, the main characters are damaged, sad, and strong. Where to start? First, the audiobook is just amazing. The voice actor, I think, has the best range of anyone I’ve ever heard. She was perfect. Wavy is a child. She’s been bounced Continue Reading
Audio Review: The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah PekkanenMacmillan AudioDomestic ThrillerMarch 8, 2022 Review by Jen This book should become a series. One of the MCs is a therapist with an unconventional approach to helping her clients. I need more of this character! The Golden Couple is a psychological thriller that follows the marriage troubles of a couple, the Bishops, who are beautiful, live in Washington DC and seem to have it all. Marissa is the owner of a cozy Continue Reading
Audio Review: Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins ReidSports FictionRandom House AudioAugust 30, 2022 Review by Jen I LOVED Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid!! I listened to this one and was absolutely addicted from beginning to end. In fact, here’s my headline on TJR’s latest, If Netflix turns this into a limited series, it will do for tennis what The Queen’s Gambit did for Chess. It’s that freaking good! And, could the timing be any better with Serena on her farewell tour and the US Continue Reading
Audio Review: Lightlark by Alex Aster
Lightlark by Alex AsterDark Fantasy for TeensRecorded BooksAugust 23, 2022 Review by Jen When I first started listening to Lightlark by Alex Aster, I had no idea of the controversy around the book, the author and TikTok. I did hear about the book from BookTok and was super intrigued. I’ll spill the tea in a minute, but first my review. Every 100 years the island of Lightlark invites six leaders from the six different cursed realms to compete against each other to break the original Continue Reading
Melinda’s Audio Minis: We Were Dreamers by Simu Liu & Ruthless Women by Melanie Blake
We Were Dreamers by Simu LiuMemoirMay 17, 2022, by William MorrowAudio ARC Review by Melinda I’m a big fan of celebrity memoirs, particularly when listening to an audiobook with the celebrity narrating themselves. It always lends more of a personal tone to the book and makes it feel more like the celebrity is just sharing stories with you one-on-one. We Were Dreamers is narrated by Simu Liu and he tells his background as a child of immigrants, and how that shaped his childhood and Continue Reading
Audio Review: The Break Up Artist by Erin Clark & Laura Lovely
The Break Up Artist by Erin Clark and Laura LovelyContemporaryJune 9, 2022, by Audible OriginalsAudio ARC Review by Melinda The Break Up Artist is a debut by co-authors Erin Clark and Laura Lovely, who have an interesting background of their own. Clark is a nonfiction writer, a world champion para-pole athlete, a circus aerialist, and a pilot. Lovely is a romance author, a playwright, a pinup performance artist, and a tech founder. The two met and became the comedy duo Flaming Mermaid Continue Reading
Audio Review: The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
The Woman in the Library by Sulari GentillSuspenseJune 7, 2022, by SourcebooksAudio ARC Review by Melinda I’m always looking for good thrillers, and I think they can be difficult to find. It takes someone really talented to build the suspense necessary to keep a reader invested in the plot, and then even more difficult to have a twist that no one sees coming. The Woman in the Library does the next to impossible and has high tension, a unique format, and is completely addictive. I Continue Reading
Jen’s Mini Reviews: Books by Lydia Michaels and Meagan Brandy
Love Me Nots is the third book in the Jasper Falls series. It can be read as a standalone and I haven’t read or listened to the other two books. No issues catching up with characters or complicated backstories. Go for it! I must be on a small-town romance binge because this is the third one in a row for me- and they’ve all been excellent! Perrin is a small town bar owner. She and her sister own the business and Perrin has big plans to expand. She’s also had her fill of heartbreak Continue Reading
Audiobook Review: Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Adler
Home Field Advantage by Dahlia AdlerContemporary YAJune 7, 2022, by Wednesday BooksARC Review by Melinda Home Field Advantage is a twist on the classic love story between the High School Quarterback and the Head Cheerleader. Jaclyn (Jack) Walsh is recruited to play football at Amber's high school but Jack doesn't exactly fit in right away. The previous quarterback was killed in a car accident and everyone looks at Jack as a not-nearly-good-enough replacement for him. So things are super Continue Reading