Eight Dates and Nights

By: Betsy Aldredge
Published Year: 2023
Publisher: Underlined
Pages: 240

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Two teens with two very different ideas of how to spend Hanukkah learn to work together to save the last Jewish remnant in small town Texas in this cozy holiday romance!

New Yorker Hannah Levin is allergic to exactly two things, horses and tinsel. Unfortunately, she’s surrounded by both this Hanukkah when, thanks to a freak snow storm, she’s stranded in the small town of Rosenberg, Texas, visiting her grandmother, who she hasn’t seen in years due to family drama.

Super lonely, missing latkes and reliable wi-fi, she follows the scent of fried potatoes and wanders into an old deli where she meets the only other Jewish teen in town, Noah, who happens to be equal parts adorable and full of annoying, over the top Hanukkah spirit that he’s determined to share with Hannah, one ugly, itchy Hanukkah sweater at a time.

She makes him a deal, she’ll help him save his family’s deli, which is practically the only Jewish remnant in a town that once had a thriving community of European immigrants, if he’ll leave her to sulk in peace. However, after a spectacularly memorable kiss Hannah wonders if there’s more to Hanukkah, this community, and even her grandmother than she thought.

First Impressions

I discovered this book on a Goodreads list of holiday reads. The cover and title were cute enough to catch my eye and the summary made me put it on hold at my library immediately. It also helped that this was a short read.

What I thought

I wanted this book to be a magical Hanukkah read but it wasn’t quite what I wanted.

Hannah is visiting a small town in Texas to spend a few days with her Grandma. Judaism is very important to her and she has a very specific New York way of celebrating Hanukkah. So, when her flight back to New York is canceled and she’s forced to spend Hanukkah in Rosenblum Texas, it’s up to the only other Jew in town, Noah, to make sure she enjoys Hanukkah.

I loved the concept of this book. 8 Nights of Hanukkah for a cute boy to show a grumpy teenage girl the joys of Hanukkah. However, it was a slight miss to me. I don’t know if it was because it was too short, or if it was just the writing in general. Hannah was a bit uppity for my tastes. In her mind there was only one right way to celebrate the Jewish holidays, and that irritated me. I don’t know how Noah had the patience for her.

I did enjoy Noah and his family’s Jewish deli. I loved learning the Texas history of Jews in the small town as well as the celebration of Jewish and Hanukkah traditions. Plus I love me some matzo balls and if nothing else, this book made me was some really good soup and latkes.

The writing in general just needed to be fleshed out a little more. For example, in the first chapter of the book, Hannah’s luggage doesn’t show up. But year later in the book, she’s talking about her clothes and her suitcase with no mention of how it ended up there. I also had to remind myself Noah and Hannah were teenagers, because some of their relationship views bothered me. There was zero communication between them and they didn’t speak about anything important to them with the exception of their faith and traditions.

It was a quick read, and I have to give it credit for being a cute idea and focusing on Hanukkah. I liked Noah and his family, as well as Hannah’s grandma. I also liked looking forward to a surprise for each night of Hanukkah. I think this book could be adapted really well to be a mini holiday series. If you are Jewish and wan a quick Hanukkah read, this isn’t a bad choice. However, I’ve read a few other ones in the past that I’ve liked a little more.

Book Club Part 2- A Holly Jolly Ever After

By: Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone
Published Year: 2023
Publisher: Avon
Pages: 432

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Kallum Liebermanis the funny one™. As the arguably lesser of the three former members of the boy band INK, he enjoyed his fifteen minutes of fame and then moved home where he opened a regional pizza chain called Slice, Slice, Baby! He’s living his best dad bod life, hooking up with bridesmaids at all his friends’ weddings. But after an old one-off sex tape is leaked and quickly goes viral, Kallum decides he’s ready to step into the spotlight again, starring in a sexy Santa biopic for the Hope Channel.

Winnie Baker did everything right. She married her childhood sweetheart, avoided the downfalls of adolescent stardom, and transitioned into a stable adult acting career. Hell, she even waited until marriage to have sex. But after her perfect life falls apart, Winnie is ready to redefine herself—and what better way than a steamier-than-a-steaming-hot-mug-of-cider Christmas movie?

With decade old Hollywood history between them, Winnie and Kallum are both feeling hesitant about their new situation as costars…especially Winnie who can’t seem to fake on screen pleasure she’s never experienced in real life. She’s willing to do the pleasure research—for science and artistic authenticity, of course. And there’s no better research partner than her bridesmaid sex tape hall of fame costar, Kallum. But suddenly, Kallum’s teenage crush on Winnie is bubbling to the surface and Winnie might be catching feelings herself.

What I thought

Since it is December, my friends and I decided to throw in a bonus Christmas book for book club this year. If you’ve been a follower for a while, you’ll know that usually, my friends and I will pick a Christmas romance novel that was made into a Hallmark movie, but we don’t usually tie that into book club.

Meghan did a little research and found this one. It is the second in a series, but the first one is a bit spicy. Though I did read it because it kind of killed me to start at book two, even though romance novels don’t really care.

Winnie Baker was supposed to start in Duke the Halls. She was replaced by Bee Hobbs, porn star, due to an accident (this is book 1). When the Hope Channel found out Bee was a porn star, it could’ve been the downfall of the movie. However, they decided to create a new Hope After Dark network, which is basically Hallmark meets Cinemax late night. Since Winnie has an unfulfilled contract, she gets hired to fil the first Hope After Dark movie, a soft core Santa porn. Kallum is an ex-boyband member of the band INK. He is the K, and Nolan, who was in the first book is the N. Isaac also pops in here and there but isn’t in the book much. Now Winnie, whose persona has always been pure and virginal has to do a dirty movie with a man who just had a sex tape leaked.

I joked with Meghan that this book is pretty much sex with a side of Christmas as opposed to a true Christmas romance. Now, it does take place in Christmas Notch, which is the perfect Vermont Christmas town, but the romance itself could be set anywhere any time.

I do enjoy all the characters. Having read the first book, I was excited to get back to some of them. The commentary on purity culture was very interesting. Winnie was a child actress who was groomed to be pure and married her 18 year old boyfriend. Reading about how that impacted her and the thoughts her parents had was gross and infuriating. It was understandable how that influenced her views on sex and relationships.

I do think I enjoyed this one a little more because I had read the first than I would have if I hadn’t. And I will definitely read a third one if there is one. But, when I was reading it on a plane and a random person asked me if I’d recommend it, I hesitated. It’s definitely much more x-rated than other romance novels I read, so if you’re ok with that, then I would. If you prefer more fluffy wholesome Christmas romance, then I would no.

What Book Club Thought

Well, Meghan, Stephanie, and I were the only ones to finish this one. We all agreed that it was cute but not as Christmassy as we wanted it to be. I don’t think I would generally recommend this as a book club pick. Unless you know your members very well. But if you like spicier novels, it might not be a bad choice.

Book Club December 2023- I Have Some Questions For You

By: Rebecca Makkai
Published Year: 2023
Publisher: Viking
Pages: 438

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A successful film professor and podcaster, Bodie Kane is content to forget her past—the family tragedy that marred her adolescence, her four largely miserable years at a New Hampshire boarding school, and the murder of her former roommate, Thalia Keith, in the spring of their senior year. Though the circumstances surrounding Thalia's death and the conviction of the school's athletic trainer, Omar Evans, are hotly debated online, Bodie prefers—needs—to let sleeping dogs lie.

But when the Granby School invites her back to teach a course, Bodie is inexorably drawn to the case and its increasingly apparent flaws. In their rush to convict Omar, did the school and the police overlook other suspects? Is the real killer still out there? As she falls down the very rabbit hole she was so determined to avoid, Bodie begins to wonder if she wasn't as much of an outsider at Granby as she'd thought—if, perhaps, back in 1995, she knew something that might have held the key to solving the case.

What I thought

If this hadn’t been a book club book I would’ve given up before 50% and not regretted it.

Bodie is a true crime podcaster and film professor. When she is asked to return to her old boarding school for 2 weeks to teach two classes, the murder of her old roommate resurfaces and becomes all she can think about. Her senior year, he previous roommate Thalia was murdered. Omar Evans, the black athletic assistant was convicted. Now, 20ish years later, there are a lot of people, including Bodie and a couple of her students, who believe he was wrongfully convicted and want to look into the case.

This book drove me nuts. It was so slow. It also was written like a 400+ page letter to Bodie’s old music teacher who she thinks was involved. Like, the writing style is “Do you remember that? Would you have remembered her?” and it irritated me so much. Makkai would also have Bodie randomly vaguely reference other cases which was confusing. She would be saying something like “Like the one where her boyfriend did it. Like the one where they found a tooth but no hair. Like the one where she said no.” For an entire paragraph. And this happened over and over again.

This book could’ve been significantly shorter and not missed out on anything. I was halfway through the book and they weren’t even halfway through the mini-mester that Bodie was teaching. The second part was slightly better because it was at least getting to some answers, but still left me feeling very unsatisfied.

I think Makkai was trying to write a book that was a commentary on the true crime podcast obsession in America, but instead wrote a self-centered, clueless, over-involved character and made the murder of a high schooler and conviction of a young man who spent 25 years in prison seem cheap.

I disliked the characters, I disliked the story, and I disliked the writing. The only thing I semi-liked was the setting.

What Book Club Thought

Seems like we were all on similar pages. Two of our members hadn’t finished it in time, so we were careful about our discussion to avoid spoilers. But the three of us who did finish all felt similarly about the way it was written. The one positive was that one of our members has read Great Believers by Makkai and said it was written very differently and she much preferred that one. After reading this one I was ready to completely write off Makkai as an author, but I think I’d be willing to give her a second chance if the subject matter sounds interesting. I guess if the summary sounds interesting to you, give it a chance. I do know one person who read it and loved it. But personally, I’d say skip this one and don’t worry about it.

My Year in Audiobooks

In late 2022, I started listening to audiobooks consistently for the first time. I had just gotten a new job with a 40 minute commute and ran through podcasts way too quickly. 2023 was the first full year that I listened to audiobooks. This year I listened to 21 audiobooks! Helped me meet my yearly goal for sure and accounted for 27% of books I read.

When I first got into audiobooks I was only listening to memoirs. The first one I finished this year, which is still one of my favorite books of 2023, was Simu Liu’s memoir. I followed that up with Deaf Utopia, which I also loved. I also adored Hilarie Burton Morgan’s memoir which I read in 2022, The Rural Diaries.

One of my coworkers recommended listening to Finlay Donovan is Killing It, which was my first foray into fictional audiobooks. It was the perfect into. The narrator was great and the story was entertaining and easy to follow. I immediately flew through the series

I then decided to listen to a Taylor Jenkins Reid book on audiobook and loved it. We were reading One True Loves for book club, and I had already read it when it first came out, so I though this was a nice was to re-read a story I had already read

I never thought I would become someone who was this into audiobooks. I think I still prefer memoirs to fictional stories. I think listening to the person who wrote about their life tell their own story is great. Hilary Burton Morgan is one of my favorite ones I’ve listened to as well.

Now, I have had a few audiobooks that I haven’t enjoyed as much. I think it’s extremely important to have a good narrator in addition to being a solid story. I find that I have the best luck if it’s an author I know is good, because I know I’m more likely to enjoy the story itself.

I’m excited to continue my audiobook journey next year. If you’re looking to get into audiobooks, here are my top 5 from this year.

1.      We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story By: Simu Liu

2.       Finlay Donovan is Killing It By: Elle Cosimano

3.       One True Loves By: Taylor Jenkins Reid

4.       Lovelight Farms By: BK Borison

5.       Deaf Utopia By: Nyle DiMarco

The Fairytale Life of Dorothy Gale

By: Virginia Kantra
Published Year: 2023
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 384

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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): A woman learns to follow her own road in this heartwarming novel inspired by The Wizard of Oz by New York Times bestselling author Virginia Kantra.

Dorothy “Dee” Gale is searching for a place to belong. After their globe-trotting mother’s death, Dee and her sister Toni settled with Uncle Henry and Aunt Em in Kansas, where Dee attends graduate school. But when Dee’s relationship with a faculty member, a bestselling novelist, ends in heartbreak and humiliation, she’s caught in a tornado of negative publicity. Unable to face her colleagues—or her former lover—Dee applies to the writing program at Trinity College Dublin.

Dee’s journey to Ireland leads her to new companions: seemingly brainless Sam Clery—who dropped out of college and now runs a newsagent’s shop—is charming and hot, in a dissolute, Irish poet kind of way; allegedly heartless Tim Woodman—who stiffly refused to take back his ex-fiancée—seems stuck in his past; and fiercely loyal Reeti Kaur, who longs for the courage to tell her parents she wants to teach underprivileged girls rather than work in the family business.

In a year of opportunities and changes, love and loss, Dee is mentored by powerful women in the writing program, challenging her to see herself and her work with new eyes. With her friends, Dee finds the confidence to confront her biggest fears—including her intimidating graduate advisor, who may not be so wicked after all.

Faced with a choice with far-reaching consequences, Dee must apply the lessons she’s learned along the way about making a family, finding a home...and recognizing the power that’s been inside her all along.

First Impressions

I am a huge Wizard of Oz fan. I was really excited when I saw the cover of this book and then read the concept and was even more excited. This book would absolutely catch my eye on the shelf. I love the obvious tribute to Wizard of Oz.

What I thought

Dorothy Gale is moving to Dublin to finish her thesis after her relationship with her professor goes down in flames when he used her as his muse for his next hit novel. She moves from Kansas to Dublin completely broken down, only to arrive and find out that what she expected has changed. While there, she meets her Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, and Good and Bad Witches.

I read a review on Goodreads that said that this book was unique enough and good enough that it could’ve functioned without using the Wizard of Oz as a catch and I do agree. I thought the Wizard of Oz nods made for some interesting and fun parts of the story, I do feel it would’ve been just as interesting without it.

The story itself doesn’t follow the Wizard of Oz at all. It just uses some characters as inspiration for the friends and faculty. Sam is a café owner who dropped out of college when his dad died and has always felt he isn’t smart enough- Scarecrow. Tim is ex military and has shut down all feelings- Tin Man. Then we have her two faculty members, Maeve and Glenda- Wicked and Good Witches.

I did love the relationships that Dorothy had. I loved her with everyone and felt like it was so fun to read. I did feel like it was two books in one. There was the first half where Dorothy was alone in Dublin, and then the second half where her sister shows up. I was really busy so I read this book pretty slowly and by the time I finished the book, I kind of forgot a lot of what happened in the first half. There are definitely some storylines that get dropped a little bit which would be my only criticism. Well, that and I didn’t love her concept for her novel. It got a little bit too weirdly close to Oz for me. Almost as if the original author didn’t exist.

Borrow-Beloved

If you are a Wizard of Oz fan and a romance fan, I would highly recommend this book. This is the only semi-love triangle that I have enjoyed. The characters are unique and Dorothy’s conflicts are as well. I haven’t read anything like that and I found myself rooting for Dorothy the whole time. I would only not recommend it to people who are huge fans of Oz and the similarities would bother them. Otherwise, please check this one out!

Murder in the Family

By: Cara Hunter
Published Year: 2023
Publisher: William Morrow Paperacks
Pages: 480

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): SIX EPISODES. ONE KILLER.

It was a case that gripped the nation. In December 2003, Luke Ryder, the stepfather of acclaimed filmmaker Guy Howard (then aged 10), was found dead in the garden of their suburban family home.

Luke Ryder's murder has never been solved. Guy Howard's mother and two half-sisters were in the house at the time of the murder--but all swear they saw nothing. Despite a high-profile police investigation and endless media attention, no suspect was ever charged.

But some murder cases are simply too big to forget...

Now comes the sensational new Netflix series Infamous, dedicated to investigating--and perhaps cracking--this famous cold case. The production team will re-examine testimony, re-interview witnesses, and once again scour the evidence. The family will speak. The key players will be reunited--on camera. The truth will come out.

Are you ready to see it?

First Impressions

I heard about this book on TikTok. The person described it as a murder mystery that you solve in real time along with the investigators. She then went on to talk about how unique the format was. I immediately added the book to my TBR, put it on hold at the library, and then get sad because it didn’t come out for 3 months.

What I thought

This book was so fun!

Infamous is a true crime documentary investigating a 20 year old murder. The step-son of the man that was murdered is a film maker and he is the one leading this forward with the Infamous director. This story is told in scripts from each episode. You get the information as the investigators who were selected for the show get the information. There are also chapters that are news articles, text messages, and internet message boards.

I couldn’t put this book down. It moved quickly and had more than one twist. It’s hard to say whether or not I liked any of the characters because there is a sense that you never truly get to know them, but I enjoyed their interactions on the show.

My only issue with this book is that it felt like there were one or two twists that were a bit too much. Like the end was twist after twist after twist to the point where I was like “really?” It did get me though! And if you know anything, you know that I judge mysteries on whether or not I was able to figure them out.

Personally, I loved the format. I thought it was well done. The only time it didn’t work for me was right at the end. I was left a little bit confused and wanted to confirm whether or not what I thought happened really did. I would definitely read more of these. But I do wish it had been able to address the negatives of true crime and the impacts on the families a little bit more.

I don’t want to say too much about this book because I don’t want to accidentally give anything away. The pace was quick and the story was well thought out. I will definitely go back and read some of Hunter’s earlier reads. If you enjoy murder mysteries and have been looking for something a little different, I highly recommend picking this one up.

Bittersweet in the Hollow

By: Kate Pearsall
Published Year: 2023
Publisher: G.P Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Pages:384

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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): In rural Caball Hollow, surrounded by the vast National Forest, the James women serve up more than fried green tomatoes at the Harvest Moon diner, where the family recipes are not the only secrets.

Like her sisters, Linden was born with an unusual ability. She can taste what others are feeling, but this so-called gift soured her relationship with the vexingly attractive Cole Spencer one fateful night a year ago . . . A night when Linden vanished into the depths of the Forest and returned with no memories of what happened, just a litany of questions--and a haze of nightmares that suggest there's more to her story than simply getting lost.

Now, during the hottest summer on record, another girl in town is gone, and the similarities to last year's events are striking. Except, this time the missing girl doesn't make it home, and when her body is discovered, the scene unmistakably spells murder.

As tempers boil over, Linden enlists the help of her sisters to find what's hiding in the forest . . . before it finds her. But as she starts digging for truth--about the Moth-Winged Man rumored to haunt the Hollow, about her bitter rift with Cole, and even about her family--she must question if some secrets are best left buried.

First Impressions

The cover is not my favorite. I was offered this book for review and almost turned it down based off of the cover. The summary though sounded intriguing. While it’s not normally what I’d gravitate towards, I thought it would be nice to have a spookier read in October so I was looking forward to it.

What I thought

There is a lot that goes on in this book.

Linden is one of 4 sisters and all the sisters have special abilities. Linden’s is the ability to taste people’s feelings. They live in an Appalachian town of Caball Hallow. A year ago, Linden went missing for 24 hours and she has no memory of that night. Now on the anniversary of her disappearance, another girl goes missing. She and her sisters decide to find out the truth.

First of all, the history and lore of this book is a lot. There’s an entire Moth Winged Man legend which you sort of get dropped into. The powers of the James family sort of gets explained a little more but not fully. I felt like I was dropped into the middle of the story and was constantly trying to get my bearings. I also never quite understood the point of Linden’s power? Like, it never really came in handy for anything. It only ever was negative when she realized she could accidentally bake her feelings to influence the people who ate her food.

This book was also way too long. Around half way through I got so annoyed that I skimmed/speed read the second half. I was curious enough to want to find out who murdered the other girl, who kidnapped Linden, and how Cole was involved, but not enough that I wanted to devote hours to finding out. When I did find out what happened, it was exactly what I had predicted with the exception of one element that got so weird that if I hadn’t lost interest before, I would’ve then.

 I think that Pearsall really needed to cut back on the lore and mythology in the book to really focus on what was necessary to the story. It seems like this is the first in a series and so I wonder if she was trying to set up for other books, but it was a lot.

The first half of this book was interesting enough. If you are into this kind of book, maybe you’ll do better with it than I did. I got annoyed with the characters and the writing at halfway and then skimmed, but the idea was enough to make me curious so I’ll give it that.

Book Club November 2023- Hello Beautiful

By: Ann Napolitano
Published Year: 2023
Publisher: The Dial Press
Pages 416

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): William Waters grew up in a house silenced by tragedy, where his parents could hardly bear to look at him, much less love him. So it’s a relief when his skill on the basketball court earns him a scholarship to college, far away from his childhood home. He soon meets Julia Padavano, a spirited and ambitious young woman who surprises William with her appreciation of his quiet steadiness. With Julia comes her family; she is inseparable from her three younger sisters: Sylvie, the dreamer, is happiest with her nose in a book and imagines a future different from the expected path of wife and mother; Cecelia, the family’s artist; and Emeline, who patiently takes care of all of them. Happily, the Padavanos fold Julia’s new boyfriend into their loving, chaotic household.

But then darkness from William’s past surfaces, jeopardizing not only Julia’s carefully orchestrated plans for their future, but the sisters’ unshakeable loyalty to one another. The result is a catastrophic family rift that changes their lives for generations. Will the loyalty that once rooted them be strong enough to draw them back together when it matters most?

Vibrating with tenderness, Hello Beautiful is a gorgeous, profoundly moving portrait of what’s possible when we choose to love someone not in spite of who they are, but because of it.

What I thought

I was a little hesitant when I found out this book was the pick. I’m always a bit wary of books that are the most popular of the year. Especially Oprah’s picks for whatever reason. We’ve read a few books for book club that the public has raved about and they’ve typically fallen a little short for me. My mom had also recently checked out the book and didn’t have anything positive to say and neither did one of my coworkers.

Hello Beautiful follows a family of sisters and one man over a span of about 40-50 years. It starts with alternating perspectives between William and Julia and eventually Sylvie and Alice. William had a broken childhood. He was lost until he found Julia. But with Julia comes her family and her 3 sisters. One day, William breaks and thinks he’s going to be left to himself, but he ends up being brought into the family he married into against all odds.

This book is kind of hard to review without giving too much away. The one big thing is I will mention a severe trigger warning for suicide and depression. I enjoyed the first parts of this book and found William to be interesting albeit odd, Julia to be a little pushy and delusional, and Sylvie to be the one I connected to the most. I loved reading about the relationships between the sisters and how William was trying to fit in. The book takes place in Chicago, mostly at Northwestern University, which I enjoyed, since I’m from nearby.

When we hit the point in the book where [spoiler] William attempts to take his own life, I struggled a little bit. I was previously married to someone who had severe depression so a lot of this book hit a little too close to home. As a result, I also hated Julia. I sympathized with her and how she responded, but also wanted to slap her. From that point forward, reading Julia’s chapters was a chore. I was grateful when her chapters got replaced with her daughter Alice.

There is a lot in this book. My coworker didn’t enjoy it because it felt too literary for her, and I would agree that if you don’t enjoy a book that is a bit pompous in its writing style, you won’t enjoy this one. My mom didn’t enjoy it because it was predictable and slow, to which I would say, this book isn’t trying to surprise anyone and it’s about whole live and definitely reads that way. I could’ve done with some pruning of certain events and reflections. The final 50 pages I found myself skimming over certain paragraphs just because I was ready to get to the end and find out what happened. In the end, I was between a 3.5 or a 4 for rating this book, but the ending felt like a let down after spending so much time with these characters, so I ended up more of a 3.5.

What Book Club Thought

Everyone enjoyed it overall and it did make for a really good discussion. We all did have a good laugh because out of the 5 of us it hit on 3.5 of our large life tragedies. We all hated Julie, felt iffy about Will and enjoyed Sylvie and the other sisters. It was interesting because one of my friends took issue with the fact that it was described as an homage to Little Women but truly had nothing to do with Little Women. Which is interesting because I had paid zero attention to the description.

I would say if you enjoy slower and sadder novels, this one is well written. I understand why its gotten a lot of hype. However, if death, grief, depression, or suicide are big triggers for you, please avoid this one.