Seven Exes

By: Lucy Vine
Published Year: 2023
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Pages: 432

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A delightful rom-com about a woman who decides to revisit each of her seven exes, convinced that one of them is “the one who got away.” Seven Exes. Seven Missed Chances. Who was the one who got away? Esther is nearing thirty, with a great job and a flat she shares with her two best friends, Bibi and Louise. But her life is missing that special someone. Tired of being single and sick of bad date after bad date, she thinks she’s found the answer to her romance problem in an old women's magazine. According to the magazine’s dating column, there are seven archetypes a woman will date before finding Mr. Right. It all seems silly at first, until Esther realizes she has exactly seven exes that match the The First Love, The Work Mistake, The Overlap, The Friend with Benefits, The Missed Chance, The Bastard, and The Serious One. Is it so hard to believe that perhaps one of them is The One? Deciding she must have left her true love in the reject pile, Esther contacts each of her old boyfriends. But finding her soulmate isn’t as simple as she hoped it would be. Madness, mayhem, laughs, and tears ensue as she valiantly works her way through her past love life and faces up to her previous mistakes. It’s an odyssey of the heart that will teach her a lot about herself . . . and just might lead her to the man of her dreams.

First Impressions

I found this book in a bookshop at the airport in England. The cover and title immediately caught my eye and when I read the summary I was hooked. It sounded like a cute story with a fun twist.

What I thought

This book was interesting.

Esther has had a string of bad dates. When she and he friends discover an article in a magazine about how everybody has Seven Exes but that one of them is “The One” she realizes that she’s already maxed out on her seven and decides to revisit them. Her two roommates and best friends help her along this mission while she reaches out. As she reconnects with her past, will she discover that one of these guys was her One?

This book was predictable but also had some little twits I didn’t see coming. It had second chance romance, but also had Esther realizing that she broke up with certain people for a reason and that reason wasn’t going to change. Esther was self-involved and a little immature, but showed growth and deeply cared about her friends. It was an interesting dichotomy of a story.

I could see a lot of people disliking Esther because of her immaturity, but for some reason it didn’t bother me? I think the only part I got annoyed with was her slacking off on her duties at her job to pursue this idea that she has to find The One. Well, and maybe that she was trying so hard to convince herself to like some of the guys when it was obvious she didn’t.

I appreciated how the story showed that confronting your past doesn’t always mean that there was a fairy tale you missed but that everyone who comes into your life comes in for a reason. This book felt realistic to me in that she didn’t immediately meet with an Ex and have a whirlwind romance.

The balance for this book was her friendships. While she isn’t always the best friend, her friends also aren’t perfect so it doesn’t get frustrating. I think I was honestly more irritated with her friend Lou and how she treated Esther and their other friend Bibi than I was with Esther when she was lacking with her friendships.

This book as a solid 3.5 stars for me. It was a fun and easy read, but nothing ground breaking. I think if you like the concept of this story then you will enjoy the book. The characters are a bit messy, but that brings a refreshing realism to the romance. I’m curious to check out what else Vine has written.

My Friends

By: Fredrik Backman
Published Year: 2025
Publisher: Atria Books
Pages: 436

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise, and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures.

Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love.

Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes about what she’ll find. Louisa is proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art.

First Impressions

I love Backman’s books. I haven’t read some of his more recent ones because I didn’t love the Beartown series and just haven’t gotten around to Anxious People, so I was excited to get this one. His writing is just so beautiful. I don’t know if his covers are always my favorite, but he will be an auto-read author for me forever.

What I thought

Beautiful as always.

Louisa has always live the painting The One of the Sea. After breaking into an auction to see the painting in person, she gets herself into a little trouble but winds up (legally) with the painting in her possession. She also winds up in the company of one of the teenagers in the painting, though now he is almost 40. They go on a journey together as he teaches her about the history of the painting, the people in it, and the artist who painted it.

This story bounces back and forth between the present and the summer when the painting was made and the teens were 14. It’s a fantastically written story of friendship, childhood, grief, and teen angst. I loved seeing the connections between Louisa and the past. She is 18 in the present yet she feels the emotions of someone who lived through that summer which was so sweet.

The way Backman handles grief and trauma is so beautifully done. It never feels like he’s pandering or writing about traumatic events just to get a rise of out his readers. It’s real and grounded and never over the top. I loved getting to know the friends in the painting and felt like I lived that summer with them.

I don’t want to say too much about the tory itself because I feel like what made reading it so good was being on the journey with Louisa and learning about hat summer and the artist with her. The ending was so satisfying and I feel like this is one of those book that is going to sit with me and just continue to have a greater impact on me as it sits with me over time.

The book is a bit slower paced, which is why I couldn’t quite give it 5 stars. I enjoyed the story and I don’t think it necessarily needed to be quicker, but it’s a book I would recommend you read when you’re looking for a book to live with for a little while. Backman hits it out of the park again with this one and if you enjoyed his other books, you won’t be disappointed.

Book Club August 2025- The Good of the Woods

By: Liz Moore
Published Year: 2024
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Pages: 490

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.

As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.

What I thought

This book was on all of the lists last year for best thriller. I knew a coworker who had read it who thought it was overhyped, and I haven’t been as into thriller as I as a few years ago. I was excited but hesitant when one of the girls picked this for book club.

Set in the summer of 1975, a camper at the overnight camp goes missing. The camper is also the daughter of the family that owns the camp and their second child to go missing. Told across timelines, the past tries to solve the mystery of what happened to the Van Laar’s first child, Bear, while the present (1970s) tries to find their second daughter, Barbara.

I loved the setting of this mystery. The 1970s summer camp in the Adirondacks was so well written. I went to summer camp growing up and it definitely brought me back to those vibes. The first part of the book focuses on the present day mystery of Barbara, but then it jumps back and forth across a variety of timelines. I liked the way that the years were marked at the top of the chapters since it showed all possibilities and helped me keep track of where we were in the story.

I think I slightly preferred the mystery of Bear to the mystery of Barbara. But I did like the storyline of Louise, Barbara’s camp counselor, and I loved the female investigator Judyta. It was cool that she was a female investigator in the 70s and while she did meet some adversity for being a woman, it never felt over the top or like it was taking away from the central story.

I definitely semi-figured out the mystery, but not super early and not 100%. The ending was slightly underwhelming but it was satisfying. I wasn’t left a million questions and I also didn’t feel like it got thrown together at the last minute. I also appreciated that it didn’t make me feel like I was dragged in a bunch of different directions just for the sake of giving me as the reader a big twist. I’m excited to discuss this one with book club!

What Book Club Thought

Everyone really loved this one. We all got sucked in and felt like we couldn’t put it down. It was a lot of fun to talk about the theories we had along the way and what surprised us versus what didn’t. It also was nice to discuss because there were a couple of things that each of us interpreted a little differently. I think it would’ve been fun to be able to discuss it as we read as opposed to afterwards, but it was till enjoyable. We talked about how it would be a good mini-series as well as how we would all enjoy a spinoff series following Judyta solving different mysteries.

The Fine Print

By: Lauren Asher
Published Year: 2021
Publisher: Bloom Books
Pages: 448

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Rowan
I'm in the business of creating fairy tales.
Theme parks. Production companies. Five-star hotels.
Everything could be all mine if I renovated Dreamland.
My initial idea of hiring Zahra was good in theory, but then I kissed her.
Things spiraled out of control once I texted her using an alias.
By the time I realized where I went wrong, it was too late.
People like me don't get happy endings.
Not when we're destined to ruin them.

Zahra
After submitting a drunk proposal criticizing Dreamland's most expensive ride, I should have been fired.
Instead, Rowan Kane offered me a dream job.
The catch? I had to work for the most difficult boss I'd ever met.
Rowan was rude and completely off-limits, but my heart didn't care.
At least not until I discovered his secret.
It was time to teach the billionaire that money couldn't fix everything.
Especially not us.

First Impressions

I heard about this series constantly on TikTok. Honestly, the cover didn’t appeal to me very much when I saw it digitally. In the store I was much more interested. I don’t know if I would’ve picked it amongst other more colorful covers, but it is unique. Honestly, what ended up convincing me to read it as that it was on a $5 shelf at a local bookstore!

What I thought

I can definitely see the appeal of this series and I wasn’t disappointed.

Rowan is the youngest of 3 boys who are heirs to the Dreamland fortune. When their grandfather passes away, he leaves them each a letter with conditions to how they would inherit their fortune. Rowan’s task is that he must present a life changing idea for Dreamland to a board in 6 months after working as the directory. While there, he meets and hires Zahra to help to create this idea. But he is surprised to find he is extremely attracted to her and feeling feelings he hasn’t felt in a long time.

This book is, obviously, the billionaires trope but also has some grumpy/sunshine as well. I wouldn’t say it’s quite enemies to lovers since Zahra likes Rowan pretty much immediately, but he definitely resists his feelings a lot longer than she resists hers. I appreciated the depth to this story that I didn’t expect. I didn’t realize that there was going to be a lot of backstory to Rowan’s childhood. However, this makes me look forward to reading the other two books in the series. Zahra’s character also had a bit of meat to her and her background which I also really enjoyed.

The one thing that felt a little odd at times is how much this book and Dreamland is supposed to be the Disneyland empire. I feel like if I was a little more of a Disney adult that I would’ve loved it more, but sometimes it took me out of the book. I also didn’t expect it Rowan’s company to be a Disney knockoff when I first picked up the book. Honestly, if I had known that I might’ve picked it up a bit quicker.

Rowan and Zahra have good chemistry. It is a bit insta-love for my tastes, but their banter made me like them a lot. This book is very spicy, so if you’re not into that then I would say don’t read this one. It was interesting that they kissed really early on but then didn’t kiss again for a while. I liked that it showed they had that physical attraction but that wasn’t the basis for their relationship.

This book was a solid 3.5 romance read for me. I liked the couple a lot as well as the background for the characters. It also is a series I want to continue. Something about the book wasn’t a full home run for me, but it was still very enjoyable and didn’t feel like a 450 page book. If you like spicier romance novels with a grumpy/sunshine trope this would be a solid book to pick up. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

All This and More

By: Peng Shepherd
Published Year: 2024
Publisher: William and Morrow
Pages: 469

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): From the critically acclaimed, bestselling author of The Cartographers and The Book of M comes an inventive new novel about a woman who wins the chance to rewrite every mistake she’s ever made… and how far she’ll go to find her elusive “happily ever after.”

But there’s a twist: the reader gets to decide what she does next to change her fate.

One woman. Endless options. Every choice has consequences.

Meek, play-it-safe Marsh has just turned forty-five, and her life is in shambles. Her career is stagnant, her marriage has imploded, and her teenage daughter grows more distant by the day. Marsh is convinced she’s missed her chance at everything—romance, professional fulfillment, and adventure—and is desperate for a do-over.

She can’t believe her luck when she’s selected to be the star of the global sensation All This and More, a show that uses quantum technology to allow contestants the chance to revise their pasts and change their present lives. It’s Marsh’s only shot to seize her dreams, and she’s determined to get it right this time.

But even as she rises to become a famous lawyer, gets back together with her high school sweetheart, and travels the world, she begins to worry that All This and More’s promises might be too good to be true. Because while the technology is amazing, something seems a bit off.…

Can Marsh really make her life everything she wants it to be? And is it worth it?

Perfect for fans of Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library and Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life, bestselling author Peng Shepherd’s All This and More is an utterly original, startlingly poignant novel that puts the reader in the driver’s seat.

First Impressions

This cover is very intriguing. I was immediately drawn in. I loved The Cartographers by Shepherd and was curious when I read that this book was for readers who enjoyed The Midnight Library. The funny thing is it also said for people who liked Life After Life which is infamously one of my book club’s least favorite picks. I knew I needed to read it when it was available at my library.

What I thought

This book is definitely unlike any I’ve read before.

Marsh is the Season 3 contestant on a show called All This and More. The premise of the show is that quantum bubbling allows a person to try out whatever possibility for their life that they want within a bubble, and then choose which one is perfect for them. Now it is Marsh’s turn, but things aren’t turning out quite like she expected.

This book is sort of written like the Choose Your Own Adventure books of my childhood. You do have the option to read it straight from cover to cover until you get close to the end of the story. My issue that I’ve had with this style of story since I was a kid is that I don’t want to feel like I missed anything. So, of course, I read this book from cover to cover. I do think there is a way that you could essentially read every chapter even with jumping around, but I just went straight through. There were a few chapters right at the very end that were repetitive because they brought you back to the season finale, but I didn’t mind because I wanted to know every possibility.

It was so interesting to see all the different variations of life that Marsh could try and how things would play out. The problems that the bubble was having was sort of predictable to me. I had a feeling pretty early on that I knew what was going on and ended up being mostly right, with maybe a few minor details I didn’t flesh out.

I really enjoyed this entire story and couldn’t wait to see what Marsh was going to do next. The one thing I really didn’t like was the ending. There are three options that you can choose from and I read all three of them and only kind of liked one of them. I do think this could be a fascinating book club book but don’t know how it would work as an audiobook.

I am a sucker for “what if?” stories and this one was done in a unique way that kept me interested. I liked Marsh and the concept of quantum bubbling. I would 100% watch the reality show if it was real. I do wish it had a bit of a nicer ending but I also understand that it’s kind of a comment on society and how if you continually look for perfection you may never find it.

How to Sell a Romance

By: Alexa Martin
Published Year: 2025
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 384

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Emerson Pierce loves everything about being a kindergarten teacher except the painfully low salary. It isn’t until she hears about Petunia Lemon—an opportunity to sell makeup products, make some extra money, and meet a group of skin-care aficionados—that she begins to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Sure, it sounds a little too good to be true, but what’s the worst that could happen?

Investigative reporter Lucas Miller didn’t always have a chip on his shoulder…until his wife joined Petunia Lemon, drained their savings, and filed for divorce. Now he’s a little bitter, a lot single, and determined to expose the company. After infiltrating their largest convention yet, the last thing he expects is to lose sight of his mission for one night with the gorgeous woman at the bar.

When Emerson and Lucas learn that she’s his daughter’s teacher, they decide to ignore their scorching chemistry. Until things with Petunia Lemon turn downright diabolical and Emerson turns to Lucas for help. They work together to bring the company down but can the two come out on top in this pyramid scheme of love?

First Impressions

This is not my favorite cover. I honestly would’ve passed it by if I didn’t know the author. Luckily, I really enjoy Alexa Martin so that overruled the cover. I think the summary would’ve caught my eye slightly more if I hadn’t previously read an MLM scheme book and felt meh about it.

What I thought

This book was cute!

Emerson is a kindergarten teacher. As is well known, teachers don’t make much money. When her principal invites her to a multi-level marketing skin care company event she decides to join up. After a few months with the company she realizes it might not be what it seems. On the night of the first event, she also had a one night stand with a very handsome stranger. They part on some rough terms and she gets the surprise of the lifetime when he turns out to be the father of one of her kindergarten students for the new school year.

Let’s start with what I enjoyed about the book. I really loved Emerson and Luke. I thought their romance was sweet, if a little bit quick on his end. I also just really liked Emerson. I thought that while she was a little naïve, she was genuine and kind. The romance side of the story was definitely my favorite. I liked the tension of him being the father of one of her students as well as some of the drama with his ex-wife.

The MLM portion of the story was a little harder for me. Earlier this year I read an MLM story that was a bit more of a murder mystery and the concept of these two stories with the “evil” skin care company preying on women just felt a little too similar to me. I get that these companies aren’t great and are lying to their companies, but these stories make them feel extremely evil.

I also got a little frustrated with how easily Emerson got sucked into the company even with her friends telling her not too. Personally, another struggle for me was her principal. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve had personal experiences with a manipulative and evil principal, but reading that storyline was a little stress inducing for me. I was a little frustrated with Emerson for trusting her principal to the extent of signing up underneath her in this company even with evidence directly in front of her as to how greedy of a human she was.

This one was closer to 3.5 stars than a true 4 for me, but I rounded up. I really liked the majority of the storylines in this book and Martin’s writing was fun. I think she’s a great romance author and I really enjoy her books. However, the MLM/principal storyline was a little over the top for me and kind of knocked the book down slightly. I think if you haven’t read a similar story, you will likely enjoy this more than I did.

Bones at the Crossroads

By: LaDarrion Williams
Published Year: 2025
Publisher: Labrynth Road
Pages: 529

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this novel.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): It's his freshman year at Caiman University, and all 17-year-old Malik wants to do is be a normal college student. Go to parties, choose a major, talk to girls, and learn some new magic. 

But instead, he's reeling from a summer of discovery, loss and betrayal, and still uncovering the truth about his powers and his legacy as the descendant of a powerful magical lineage. The family he only just discovered is already fractured beyond repair, and the mother he thought he knew—and risked everything to find—might be the biggest danger to the new life he's building. Malik is trying to find his footing in a world threatened by intertribal tension and the rising power of the Bokors. But how he can he use his power to protect a world he's not sure he'll ever fully belong to...

In a wholly unique and electric saga of magic, heritage, and community, Malik confronts the dark cracks of the magical world, and the darkness in himself.  Exploring the roots and secrets that connect us in an unforgettable contemporary setting, this heart-pounding fantasy series is a rich tapestry of atmosphere, intrigue, and emotion.

First Impressions

I was offered the chance to review this book before I read the first in this series. I had had the first book on my TBR list for a while and was very excited. I don’t personally love the cover art and wouldn’t be drawn to it just on sight alone. After reading the first book, I was slightly less excited to read the second but I was curious where it was going to end up.

What I thought

Sigh. I want to like this series so much.

This book picks up right about where the last one left off. Malik is starting his fall semester at Caiman University. Kumale, Alexis, and Malik’s mom are all missing and Mama Aya is dead. While Malik is dealing with the death of his grandma and the evil of his mom, he also has to battle with being a normal college student.

My biggest issue with this book is how similar it feels to other magical books I’ve read, specifically Harry Potter. There is an entire (unnecessary) storyline about the Homecoming at Caiman and it feels like it’s pulled straight from the Triwizard tournament and ball from the 4th Harry Potter. Chancellor Taron’s mom feels like a knockoff of Umbridge while Taron feels like a weaker version of Dumbledore. I got to a point where I just started skipping pages about the Homecoming because of how pointless it was. I get that Williams is using it as a storyline to address homophobia and mental health in the Black community, but when your book is 500 pages long do you really need 200 pages to be focused on that?

Malik’s love life also drove me nuts. I did like Dominique, though I don’t fully trust her, but him still being hung up on Alexis was so odd to me. I didn’t understand him falling so completely in love with her in the first book, so him still being hung up on her rather than feeling betrayed made no sense. I also do like D-Low, Malik’s roommate, but Savon is supposed to be Malik’s friend and he turns on him pretty quickly when he gets elected to the Homecoming Court.

Now when we look to theactual magical part of the story, I’m still confused as to how this world functions. Malik seems to be this all powerful magic wielder who develops powers at convenient times. His grandma somehow gifts him her magic when he dies too which makes him even more magical? I sort of started to understand his mother’s evilness, but then the way to handle it confused me again. There is also a scene where Malik gets blamed for murdering other students that felt so similar to the scenes in Harry Potter where Harry is put on trial and then has to flee with his friends.

Like I said, I WANT to like this series. I just find it to be unnecessarily long, overly complicated, and unoriginal. The first quarter of the book did interest me because it felt like we were getting more history but then it dove headfirst into the unnecessary Homecoming storyline and didn’t get back to the magical part until the final quarter and by that point I was over it. I won’t be picking up the remaining books in the series.

Book Club July 2025- Homegoing

By: Yaa Gyasi
Published Year: 2016
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Pages: 305

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A novel of breathtaking sweep and emotional power that traces three hundred years in Ghana and along the way also becomes a truly great American novel. Extraordinary for its exquisite language, its implacable sorrow, its soaring beauty, and for its monumental portrait of the forces that shape families and nations, Homegoing heralds the arrival of a major new voice in contemporary fiction.

Two half-sisters, Effia and Esi, are born into different villages in eighteenth-century Ghana. Effia is married off to an Englishman and lives in comfort in the palatial rooms of Cape Coast Castle. Unbeknownst to Effia, her sister, Esi, is imprisoned beneath her in the castle's dungeons, sold with thousands of others into the Gold Coast's booming slave trade, and shipped off to America, where her children and grandchildren will be raised in slavery. One thread of Homegoing follows Effia's descendants through centuries of warfare in Ghana, as the Fante and Asante nations wrestle with the slave trade and British colonization. The other thread follows Esi and her children into America. From the plantations of the South to the Civil War and the Great Migration, from the coal mines of Pratt City, Alabama, to the jazz clubs and dope houses of twentieth-century Harlem, right up through the present day, Homegoing makes history visceral, and captures, with singular and stunning immediacy, how the memory of captivity came to be inscribed in the soul of a nation.

Generation after generation, Yaa Gyasi's magisterial first novel sets the fate of the individual against the obliterating movements of time, delivering unforgettable characters whose lives were shaped by historical forces beyond their control. Homegoing is a tremendous reading experience, not to be missed, by an astonishingly gifted young writer.

What I thought

I can’t even really remember how this book crossed my radar. I just remember reading the summary and hearing rave reviews so I added it to my list. I had previously read Transcendent Kingdom b Gyasi and was underwhelmed but this one spoke to me. Especially as a Book Club choice.

This story starts in the 18th century in Ghana following two (unbeknownst to them) half sisters. One is married to an English general while the other is sold into slavery. The novel follows each of these familial lines through their offspring until the early 2000s. The story starts with a chapter from Effia’s perspective, then movies to Esi’s. From there, each chapter alternates between Effia’s descendants and Esi’s.

I didn’t pick up on the format of the story before I started reading it, so I was a little confused when the third chapter started with a completely different character in a new timeline, but I got used to it pretty quickly. It’s almost like a novel of short stories but there is a thread that connects every other chapter. I am a little surprised by how much I enjoyed th format since I don’t usually enjoy short stories, but I think Gyasi does an amazing job of still making it feel like one cohesive novel.

I almost feel like I’m not going to do justice talking about the importance of this book. It was fascinating reading about Ghana and their struggles against British Colonialism balanced against the slavery and Civil Rights movement in the US. I initially expected this story to tell more about how staying in Ghana was all roses and sunshine while the family line that was sold into slavery was all hardships and struggles. However, I was very surprised. The story showed struggles and successes on both sides.

While I don’t know if I would’ve appreciated reading this book in high school, it very much feels like a story that should be read and deeply discussed in high school. There are so many threads and lessons I want to analyze. I’m glad that I picked it as a book club book so that I have people to discuss it with!

What Book Club Thought

Book club all really seemed to enjoy this one! It was so nice to be able to discuss the history and growth of each of the familial lines. The interesting thing was that we did have a discussion about the audiobook versus reading the physical book and decided this was one of those rare occasions where reading the physical book made a difference/was a little easier. The physical book has a family tree at the beginning, and while I didn’t reference back to it, other book club members found it helpful to keeping everyone straight. I think this is one of those few books that lives up to its hype! I would highly recommend reading this one. It might seem a bit dark or heavy based off of the description but it definitely is not.