Posted on by tacklingtbr

January 9 – January 15

New Releases and Publications

Hello, friends – and happy Tuesday! Welcome to another round of new releases that I was lucky enough to get an early copy of, and have either already read or are upcoming on my #TBR.

These books could be gifted from the publisher through sites like NetGalley or Edelweiss+, they could be electronic copies gifted directly to me from the publisher or the author, an early audiobook copy through the publisher or Libro.fm, or even a physical copy that has been sent to me from the author or publisher. I am so thankful for all of the reading opportunities that I am given through these various sources, and I am excited to share these new releases!

In these weekly posts I will include a 20% review if I am currently reading the book, as well as a link to my full review if I have already finished the book. And if I have not yet started the book by the time this is posted, I will leave those spots blank and edit the post to add them in later!

Bad Luck Bridesmaid

Author: Alison Rose Greenberg

Publication Date: January 11, 2022

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Adult

Thanks so much to the author, Netgalley, and St. Martin’s Griffin for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book.

Description from Goodreads:

It’s official: Zoey Marks is the cursed bridesmaid that no engagement can survive. Ten years, three empire waist dresses, and ZERO brides have walked down the aisle.

After strike three, Zoey is left wondering if her own ambivalence towards marriage has rubbed off on those she loves. And when her building distrust of matrimony culminates in turning down a proposal from her perfect All-American boyfriend, Rylan Harper III, she and Rylan are both left heartbroken, leaving Zoey to wonder: what is it exactly about tying the knot that makes her want to run in the opposite direction?

Enter Hannah Green: Zoey’s best friend, who announces that she’s marrying a guy she just met (cue eye roll). At a castle. In gorgeous, romantic Ireland, where Rylan will be in attendance, and Zoey will be a bridesmaid. It’ll be fine.

Okay, the woman definition of fine (NOT FINE).

Determined to turn her luck around, Zoey accepts her role and vows to get Hannah down the aisle—all the while praying her best friend’s wedded bliss will allow her to embrace marriage and get Rylan back.

But as the weekend goes on, Zoey is plagued with more questions than answers. Can you be a free spirit, yet still want a certain future? Can you have love and be loved on your terms? And how DO you wrangle a bossy falcon into doing your bidding?

20% Review:

Okay, I got to the fifth chapter and already fell a bit in love with the male lead. So that’s got to be a new record, right? This book is seriously so much fun so far! So far it’s mostly been Zoey’s inner monologue kind of catching the audience up on the three weddings she’s almost been a part of and her relationships with those three ladies, and honestly it’s been a really charming read so far! I read about the first 25% in one sitting because I was having too much fun and didn’t want to put it down!

Check out my full review here!

Find Me

Author: Alafair Burke

Narrated By: Kathleen Early

Publication Date: January 11, 2022

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Adult

Length: 8 hours and 56 minutes

Thanks so much to Libro.fm and HarperAudio for the gifted advanced audio copy of this book.

Description from Goodreads:

The disappearance of a young woman leaves her closest friend reeling and an NYPD homicide detective digging into her own past in this thrilling mystery full of twists from the New York Times bestselling author of The Better Sister and The Wife.

Some pasts won’t stay forgotten . . .

She calls herself Hope Miller, but she has no idea who she actually is. Fifteen years ago, she was found in a small New Jersey town thrown from an overturned vehicle, with no clue to her identity. Doctors assumed her amnesia was a temporary side effect of her injuries, but she never regained her memory. Hope eventually started a new life with a new name in a new town that welcomed her, yet always wondered what she may have left behind—or been running from. Now, fifteen years later, she’s leaving New Jersey to start over once again.

Manhattan defense lawyer Lindsay Kelly, Hope’s best friend and the one who found her after the accident, understands why Hope wants a new beginning. But she worries how her friend will fare in her new East Hampton home, far away from everything familiar. Lindsay’s worst fears are confirmed when she discovers Hope has vanished without a trace—the only lead a drop of blood found where she was last seen. Even more ominously, the blood matches a DNA sample with a connection to a notorious Kansas murderer.

With nowhere else to turn, Lindsay calls NYPD homicide detective Ellie Hatcher, the daughter of the cop who dedicated his life to hunting the Kansas killer.  Ellie has always believed there was more to the story of her father’s death twenty years earlier—and she now fears that Hope’s recent disappearance could be related.

In pursuit of answers, three women search for the truth beneath long-buried secrets. And when their searches converge, what they find will upend everything they’ve ever known. 

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

Wahala

Author: Nikki May

Narrated By: Natalie Simpson

Publication Date: January 11, 2022

Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Thriller, Adult

Length: 10 hours and 19 minutes

Thanks so much to Libro.fm and HarperAudio for the gifted advanced audio copy of this book.

Description from Goodreads:

An incisive and exhilarating debut novel of female friendship following three Anglo-Nigerian best friends and the lethally glamorous fourth woman who infiltrates their group—the most unforgettable girls since Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda.

Ronke wants happily ever after and 2.2. kids. She’s dating Kayode and wants him to be “the one” (perfect, like her dead father). Her friends think he’s just another in a long line of dodgy Nigerian boyfriends.

Boo has everything Ronke wants—a kind husband, gorgeous child. But she’s frustrated, unfulfilled, plagued by guilt, and desperate to remember who she used to be.

Simi is the golden one with the perfect lifestyle. No one knows she’s crippled by impostor syndrome and tempted to pack it all in each time her boss mentions her “urban vibe.” Her husband thinks they’re trying for a baby. She’s not.

When the high-flying, charismatic Isobel explodes into the group, it seems at first she’s bringing out the best in each woman. (She gets Simi an interview in Hong Kong! Goes jogging with Boo!) But the more Isobel intervenes, the more chaos she sows, and Ronke, Simi, and Boo’s close friendship begins to crack.

A sharp, modern take on friendship, ambition, culture, and betrayal, Wahala (trouble) is an unforgettable novel from a brilliant new voice.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

Posted on by tacklingtbr

January 2 – January 8

New Releases and Publications

Hello, friends – and happy Tuesday! Welcome to another round of new releases that I was lucky enough to get an early copy of, and have either already read or are upcoming on my #TBR.

These books could be gifted from the publisher through sites like NetGalley or Edelweiss+, they could be electronic copies gifted directly to me from the publisher or the author, an early audiobook copy through the publisher or Libro.fm, or even a physical copy that has been sent to me from the author or publisher. I am so thankful for all of the reading opportunities that I am given through these various sources, and I am excited to share these new releases!

In these weekly posts I will include a 20% review if I am currently reading the book, as well as a link to my full review if I have already finished the book. And if I have not yet started the book by the time this is posted, I will leave those spots blank and edit the post to add them in later!

Reckless Girls

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Publication Date: January 4, 2022

Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Adult

Thanks so much to the author, Netgalley, and St. Martin’s Press for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book.

Description from Goodreads:

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Wife Upstairs comes a deliciously wicked gothic suspense, set on an isolated Pacific island with a dark history, for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware.

When Lux McAllister and her boyfriend, Nico, are hired to sail two women to a remote island in the South Pacific, it seems like the opportunity of a lifetime. Stuck in a dead-end job in Hawaii, and longing to travel the world after a family tragedy, Lux is eager to climb on board The Susannah and set out on an adventure. She’s also quick to bond with their passengers, college best friends Brittany and Amma. The two women say they want to travel off the beaten path. But like Lux, they may have other reasons to be seeking an escape.

Shimmering on the horizon after days at sea, Meroe Island is every bit the paradise the foursome expects, despite a mysterious history of shipwrecks, cannibalism, and even rumors of murder. But what they don’t expect is to discover another boat already anchored off Meroe’s sandy beaches. The owners of the Azure Sky, Jake and Eliza, are a true golden couple: gorgeous, laidback, and if their sleek catamaran and well-stocked bar are any indication, rich. Now a party of six, the new friends settle in to experience life on an exotic island, and the serenity of being completely off the grid. Lux hasn’t felt like she truly belonged anywhere in years, yet here on Meroe, with these fellow free spirits, she finally has a sense of peace.

But with the arrival of a skeevy stranger sailing alone in pursuit of a darker kind of good time, the balance of the group is disrupted. Soon, cracks begin to emerge: it seems that Brittany and Amma haven’t been completely honest with Lux about their pasts––and perhaps not even with each other. And though Jake and Eliza seem like the perfect pair, the rocky history of their relationship begins to resurface, and their reasons for sailing to Meroe might not be as innocent as they first appeared.

When it becomes clear that the group is even more cut off from civilization than they initially thought, it starts to feel like the island itself is closing in on them. And when one person goes missing, and another turns up dead, Lux begins to wonder if any of them are going to make it off the island alive.

20% Review:

I am really enjoying this book so far! It was a bit of a slower start than I had expected (I had listened to The Wife Upstairs on audiobook last year, and I seemed to remember it jumping in with a bit more of the tension pretty early on, but that could be due to reasons anywhere between faulty memory or a difference of visual versus audio), but now that I’m getting into more of the story I’m not minding that at all. I really like Lux as a main character, but I’m really glad that we’re starting to get more of a peak into Brittany and Amma’s back stories as well. But above all else now I just want to be reading it on a beach in Hawaii, rather than the rain-drenched PNW.

Check out my full review here!

It Will End Like This

Author: Kyra Leigh

Publication Date: January 4, 2022

Genre: Horror, Young Adult, Thriller, Mystery

Thanks so much to the author, Netgalley, and Random House Children’s for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book.

Description from Goodreads:

For fans of The Cheerleaders and Sadie comes a psychological thriller that reminds us that in real life, endings are rarely as neat as happily ever after. A contemporay take on the Lizzie Borden story that explores how grief can cut deep.

Charlotte lost her mother six months ago, and still no one will tell her exactly what happened the day she mysteriously died. They say her heart stopped, but Charlotte knows deep down that there’s more to the story.

The only person who gets it is Charlotte’s sister, Maddi. Maddi agrees—people’s hearts don’t just stop. There are too many questions left unanswered for the girls to move on.

But their father is moving on. With their mother’s personal assistant. And both girls are sure that she’s determined to take everything that’s theirs away for herself.

Now the only way to get their lives back is for Charlotte and Maddi to decide how this story ends, themselves.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

When You Get the Chance

Author: Emma Lord

Publication Date: January 4, 2022

Genre: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Young Adult

Thanks so much to the author, Netgalley, and Wednesday Books for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book.

Description from Goodreads:

Nothing will get in the way of Millie Price’s dream to become a Broadway star. Not her lovable but super-introverted dad, who after raising Millie alone, doesn’t want to watch her leave home to pursue her dream. Not her pesky and ongoing drama club rival, Oliver, who is the very definition of Simmering Romantic Tension. And not the “Millie Moods,” the feelings of intense emotion that threaten to overwhelm, always at maddeningly inconvenient times. Millie needs an ally. And when a left-open browser brings Millie to her dad’s embarrassingly moody LiveJournal from 2003, Millie knows just what to do. She’s going to find her mom.

There’s Steph, a still-aspiring stage actress and receptionist at a talent agency. There’s Farrah, ethereal dance teacher who clearly doesn’t have the two left feet Millie has. And Beth, the chipper and sweet stage enthusiast with an equally exuberant fifteen-year-old daughter (A possible sister?! This is getting out of hand). But how can you find a new part of your life and expect it to fit into your old one, without leaving any marks? And why is it that when you go looking for the past, it somehow keeps bringing you back to what you’ve had all along?

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

The Sunny Nihilist

Author: Wendy Syfret

Narrated By: Jean Ann Douglass

Publication Date: January 4, 2022

Genre: Nonfiction, Philosophy

Thanks so much to Libro.fm and Chronicle Books for the gifted advanced audio copy of this book.

Description from Goodreads:

A positively rebellious take on a traditionally negative philosophy offers an antidote for our anxious times.

Career success, a beautiful life, a beautiful Instagram account—what’s the point? In a world where meaning has become twisted into a form of currency that everyone is very keen to cash in on, journalist Wendy Syfret invites you to change the way you think about the way you think.

In her seminal work, The Sunny Nihilist, Syfret presents the optimism in Nihilism, encouraging us to dismantle our self-care and self-centered way of living and accept a life more or less ordinary. Syfret re-examines the meaning of worth, value, time, happiness, success, and connection, and guides us towards the alternative path of pointless pleasure.

When you let go of the idea that everything must have purpose, you will find relief from stress, exhaustion, and anxiety. Most importantly, you can embrace the opportunity to enjoy the moment, the present, the chaos and luck of being alive at all. The Sunny Nihilist is an inspiring call to action and survival adaptation for modern life.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

Posted on by tacklingtbr

October 3 – October 9

New Releases and Publications

Hello, friends – and happy Tuesday! Welcome to another round of new releases that I was lucky enough to get an early copy of, and have either already read or are upcoming on my #TBR.

These books could be gifted from the publisher through sites like NetGalley or Edelweiss+, they could be electronic copies gifted directly to me from the publisher or the author, an early audiobook copy through the publisher or Libro.fm, or even a physical copy that has been sent to me from the author or publisher. I am so thankful for all of the reading opportunities that I am given through these various sources, and I am excited to start sharing these new releases!

In these weekly posts I will include a 20% review if I am currently reading the book, as well as a link to my full review if I have already finished the book. And if I have not yet started the book by the time this is posted, I will leave those spots blank and edit the post to add them in later!

Heartbreak for Hire

Author: Sonia Hartl

Publication Day: October 4, 2021

Genre: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Fiction

Thanks so much to the author, Gallery Books, and Netgalley for the complimentary advanced electronic copy of this book.

Description from Goodreads:

Brinkley Saunders has a secret.

To everyone in the academic world she left behind, she lost it all when she dropped out of grad school. Once a rising star following in her mother’s footsteps, she’s now an administrative assistant at an insurance agency—or so they think.

In reality, Brinkley works at Heartbreak for Hire, a secret service that specializes in revenge for jilted lovers, frenemies, and long-suffering coworkers with a little cash to spare and a man who needs to be taken down a notch. It might not be as prestigious as academia, but it helps Brinkley save for her dream of opening an art gallery and lets her exorcise a few demons, all while helping to empower women.

But when her boss announces she’s hiring male heartbreakers for the first time, Brinkley’s no longer so sure she’s doing the right thing—especially when her new coworker turns out to be a target she was paid to take down. Though Mark spends his days struggling up the academic ladder, he seems to be the opposite of a backstabbing adjunct: a nerd at heart in criminally sexy sweater vests who’s attentive both in and out of the bedroom. But as Brinkley finds it increasingly more difficult to focus on anything but Mark, she soon realizes that like herself, people aren’t always who they appear to be. 

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Check out my review here:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things

Author: Amanda Lovelace

Publication Day: October 5. 2021

Genre: Poetry, Nonfiction, Adult

Thanks so much to the author, Andrews McMeel Publishing, and Netgalley for the complimentary advanced electronic copy of this book.

Description from Goodreads:

in her new standalone poetry collection, flower crowns & fearsome things, bestselling & award-winning poetess amanda lovelace explores the complexity of femininity through alternating wildflower & wildfire poems.

within these pages, you will find that each of us has the ability to be both soft & fierce at the same time. there is no need to choose one or the other.

20% Review:

Since this is such a short collection of poetry, it is very easy to read in one sitting, so I don’t have a 20% review for this one – but feel free to check out my full review at the link below!

Check out my review here!

Bad Fat Black Girl: Notes from a Trap Feminist

Author: Sesali Bowen

Narrated by: Sesali Bowen

Audio Publication Day: October 5, 2021

Genre: Nonfiction, Autobiography, Memoir, Feminism, Gender

Thanks so much to HarperAudio and Libro.fm for the complimentary advanced audio copy of this book.

Description from Goodreads:

From funny and fearless entertainment journalist Sesali Bowen, Bad Fat Black Girl combines rule-breaking feminist theory, witty and insightful personal memoir, and cutting cultural analysis for an unforgettable, genre-defining debut.

Growing up on the south side of Chicago, Sesali Bowen learned early on how to hustle, stay on her toes, and champion other Black women and femmes as she navigated Blackness, queerness, fatness, friendship, poverty, sex work, and self-love. 

Her love of trap music led her to the top of hip-hop journalism, profiling game-changing artists like Megan Thee Stallion, Lizzo, and Janelle Monae. But despite all the beauty, complexity, and general badassery she saw, Bowen found none of that nuance represented in mainstream feminism. Thus, she coined Trap Feminism, a contemporary framework that interrogates where feminism and hip-hop intersect.

Notes from a Trap Feminist offers a new, inclusive feminism for the modern world. Weaving together searing personal essay and cultural commentary, Bowen interrogates sexism, fatphobia, and capitalism all within the context of race and hip-hop. In the process, she continues a Black feminist legacy of unmatched sheer determination and creative resilience.

Bad bitches: this one’s for you.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Check out my review here:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

A Carnival of Snackery

Author: David Sedaris

Narrated by: David Sedaris & Tracey Ullman

Audio Publication day: October 5, 2021

Genre: Autobiography, Memoir, Nonfiction, Humor

Thanks so much to Hachette Audio and Libro.fm for the complimentary advanced audio copy of this book.

Description from Goodreads:

There’s no right way to keep a diary, but if there’s an entertaining way, David Sedaris seems to have mas­tered it.
 
If it’s navel-gazing you’re after, you’ve come to the wrong place; ditto treacly self-examination. Rather, his observations turn outward: a fight between two men on a bus, a fight between two men on the street, pedestrians being whacked over the head or gathering to watch as a man considers leap­ing to his death. There’s a dirty joke shared at a book signing, then a dirtier one told at a dinner party—lots of jokes here. Plenty of laughs.
 
These diaries remind you that you once really hated George W. Bush, and that not too long ago, Donald Trump was just a harm­less laughingstock, at least on French TV. Time marches on, and Sedaris, at his desk or on planes, in hotel dining rooms and odd Japanese inns, records it. The entries here reflect an ever-changing background—new administrations, new restrictions on speech and conduct. What you can say at the start of the book, you can’t by the end. At its best, A Carnival of Snackery is a sort of sampler: the bitter and the sweet. Some entries are just what you wanted. Others you might want to spit discreetly into a napkin.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Check out my review here:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

My Monticello

Author: Jocelyn Nicole Johnson

Narrated by: Aja Naomi King, January LaVoy, Landon Woodson, LeVar Burton, Ngozi Anyanwu & Tomiwa Edun

Audio Publication Day: October 5, 2021

Genre: Short Stories, Fiction, Historical Fiction

Thanks so much to Macmillan Audio and Libro.fm for the complimentary advanced audio copy of this book.

Description from Goodreads:

A young woman descended from Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings driven from her neighborhood by a white militia. A university professor studying racism by conducting a secret social experiment on his own son. A single mother desperate to buy her first home even as the world hurtles toward catastrophe. Each fighting to survive in America.

Tough-minded, vulnerable, and brave, Jocelyn Nicole Johnson’s precisely imagined debut explores burdened inheritances and extraordinary pursuits of belonging. Set in the near future, the eponymous novella, “My Monticello,” tells of a diverse group of Charlottesville neighbors fleeing violent white supremacists. Led by Da’Naisha, a young Black descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, they seek refuge in Jefferson’s historic plantation home in a desperate attempt to outlive the long-foretold racial and environmental unravelling within the nation.

In “Control Negro,” hailed by Roxane Gay as “one hell of story,” a university professor devotes himself to the study of racism and the development of ACMs (average American Caucasian males) by clinically observing his own son from birth in order to “painstakingly mark the route of this Black child too, one whom I could prove was so strikingly decent and true that America could not find fault in him unless we as a nation had projected it there.” Johnson’s characters all seek out home as a place and an internal state, whether in the form of a Nigerian widower who immigrates to a meager existence in the city of Alexandria, finding himself adrift; a young mixed-race woman who adopts a new tongue and name to escape the landscapes of rural Virginia and her family; or a single mother who seeks salvation through “Buying a House Ahead of the Apocalypse.”

United by these characters’ relentless struggles against reality and fate, My Monticello is a formidable book that bears witness to this country’s legacies and announces the arrival of a wildly original new voice in American fiction.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Check out my review here:

(This will be added at a later time, once I have finished this book!)

Posted on by tacklingtbr

September 26 – October 2

New Releases and Publications

Hello, friends – and happy Tuesday! Welcome to another round of new releases that I was lucky enough to get an early copy of, and have either already read or are upcoming on my #TBR.

These books could be gifted from the publisher through sites like NetGalley or Edelweiss+, they could be electronic copies gifted directly to me from the publisher or the author, an early audiobook copy through the publisher or Libro.fm, or even a physical copy that has been sent to me from the author or publisher. I am so thankful for all of the reading opportunities that I am given through these various sources, and I am excited to be sharing these new releases!

In these weekly posts I will include a 20% review if I am currently reading the book, as well as a link to my full review if I have already finished the book. And if I have not yet started the book by the time this is posted, I will leave those spots blank and edit the post to add them in later!

No One Goes Alone

Author: Erik Larson

Audio Publication day: September 28, 2021

Genre: Horror, audiobook, fiction, mystery

Thanks so much to Random House Audio and Libro.fm for the complimentary advanced audio copy of this book.

Description from Goodreads:

From New York Times bestselling author Erik Larson comes his first venture into fiction, an otherworldly tale of intrigue and the impossible that marshals his trademark approach to nonfiction to create something new: a ghost story thoroughly grounded in history.

Pioneering psychologist William James leads an expedition to a remote isle in search of answers after a family inexplicably vanishes. Was the cause rooted in the physical world . . . or were there forces more paranormal and sinister at work? Available only on audio, because as Larson says, ghost stories are best told aloud.

A group of researchers sets sail for the Isle of Dorn in the North Atlantic in 1905 to explore the cause of several mysterious disappearances, most notably a family of four who vanished without a trace after a week-long holiday on the island. Led by Professor James, a prominent member of the Society for Psychical Research, they begin to explore the island’s sole cottage and surrounding landscape in search of a logical explanation.

The idyllic setting belies an undercurrent of danger and treachery, with raging storms and unnerving discoveries adding to the sense of menace. As increasingly unexplainable events unfold, the now-stranded investigators are unsure whether they can trust their own eyes, their instincts, one another—or even themselves.

Erik Larson has written a terrifying tale of suspense, underpinned with actual people and events. Created specifically to entertain audio listeners, this eerie blend of the ghostly and the real will keep listeners captivated till the blood-chilling end.

Featuring Erik Larson reading his Notes for a Narrator.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have started reading this book!)

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

Cloud Cuckoo Land

Author: Athony Doerr

Audio Publication Day: September 28, 2021

Genre: Fiction, historical fiction, sci-fi, fantasy

Thanks so much to Simon Audio and Libro.fm for the complimentary advanced audio copy of this book.

Description from Goodreads:

Thirteen-year-old Anna, an orphan, lives inside the formidable walls of Constantinople in a house of women who make their living embroidering the robes of priests. Restless, insatiably curious, Anna learns to read, and in this ancient city, famous for its libraries, she finds a book, the story of Aethon, who longs to be turned into a bird so that he can fly to a utopian paradise in the sky. This she reads to her ailing sister as the walls of the only place she has known are bombarded in the great siege of Constantinople. Outside the walls is Omeir, a village boy, miles from home, conscripted with his beloved oxen into the invading army. His path and Anna’s will cross.

Five hundred years later, in a library in Idaho, octogenarian Zeno, who learned Greek as a prisoner of war, rehearses five children in a play adaptation of Aethon’s story, preserved against all odds through centuries. Tucked among the library shelves is a bomb, planted by a troubled, idealistic teenager, Seymour. This is another siege. And in a not-so-distant future, on the interstellar ship Argos, Konstance is alone in a vault, copying on scraps of sacking the story of Aethon, told to her by her father. She has never set foot on our planet.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have started reading this book!)

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

Posted on by tacklingtbr

September 12 – September 18

New Releases and Publications

Hello, friends – and happy Tuesday! Welcome to another round of new releases that I was lucky enough to get an early copy of, and have either already read or are upcoming on my #TBR.

These books could be gifted from the publisher through sites like NetGalley or Edelweiss+, they could be electronic copies gifted directly to me from the publisher or the author, an early audiobook copy through the publisher or Libro.fm, or even a physical copy that has been sent to me from the author or publisher. I am so thankful for all of the reading opportunities that I am given through these various sources, and I am excited to start sharing these new releases!

In these weekly posts I will include a 20% review if I am currently reading the book, as well as a link to my full review if I have already finished the book. And if I have not yet started the book by the time this is posted, I will leave those spots blank and edit the post to add them in later!

Black Nerd Problems

Author: William Evans and Omar Holmon

Audio Publication Day: September 14, 2021

Genre: Nonfiction, Essays, Humor

Thanks so much to Simon & Schuster Audio and Libro.fm for the complimentary advanced audio copy of this book.

Description from Goodreads:

*A Book Riot Most Anticipated Nonfiction Book of 2021*

The creators of the popular website Black Nerd Problems bring their witty and unflinching insight to this engaging collection of pop culture essays on everything from Mario Kart and The Wire to issues of representation and police brutality across media.

When William Evans and Omar Holmon founded Black Nerd Problems, they had no idea whether anyone beyond their small circle of friends would be interested in their little corner of the internet. But soon after launching, they were surprised to find out that there was a wide community of people who hungered for fresh perspectives on all things nerdy, from the perspective of #OwnedVoices.

In the years since, Evans and Holmon have built a large, dedicated fanbase eager for their brand of cultural critique, whether in the form of a laugh-out-loud, raucous Game of Thrones episode recap or an eloquent essay on dealing with grief through stand-up comedy. Now, they are ready to take the next step with this vibrant and hilarious essay collection, which covers everything from X-Men to Breonna Taylor with insight and intelligence.

A much needed and fresh pop culture critique from the perspective of people of color, Black Nerd Problems is the ultimate celebration for anyone who loves a blend of social commentary and all things nerdy.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I’ve finished reading this book!)

Assembly

Author: Natasha Brown

Audio Publication Day: September 14, 2021

Genre: Literary Fiction, Contemporary

Thanks so much to Hachette Audio and Libro.fm for the complimentary advanced audio copy of this book.

Description from Goodreads:

Come of age in the credit crunch. Be civil in a hostile environment. Go to college, get an education, start a career. Do all the right things. Buy an apartment. Buy art. Buy a sort of happiness. But above all, keep your head down. Keep quiet. And keep going.

The narrator of Assembly is a black British woman. She is preparing to attend a lavish garden party at her boyfriend’s family estate, set deep in the English countryside. At the same time, she is considering the carefully assembled pieces of herself. As the minutes tick down and the future beckons, she can’t escape the question: is it time to take it all apart?

Assembly is a story about the stories we live within – those of race and class, safety and freedom, winners and losers.And it is about one woman daring to take control of her own story, even at the cost of her life. With a steely, unfaltering gaze, Natasha Brown dismantles the mythology of whiteness, lining up the debris in a neat row and walking away.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished reading this book!)

Apples Never Fall

Author: Liane Moriarty

Audio Publication Day: September 14, 2021

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

Description from Goodreads:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Liane Moriarty comes a novel that looks at marriage, siblings, and how the people we love the most can hurt us the deepest

The Delaney family love one another dearly—it’s just that sometimes they want to murder each other . . .

If your mother was missing, would you tell the police? Even if the most obvious suspect was your father?

This is the dilemma facing the four grown Delaney siblings.

The Delaneys are fixtures in their community. The parents, Stan and Joy, are the envy of all of their friends. They’re killers on the tennis court, and off it their chemistry is palpable. But after fifty years of marriage, they’ve finally sold their famed tennis academy and are ready to start what should be the golden years of their lives. So why are Stan and Joy so miserable?

The four Delaney children—Amy, Logan, Troy, and Brooke—were tennis stars in their own right, yet as their father will tell you, none of them had what it took to go all the way. But that’s okay, now that they’re all successful grown-ups and there is the wonderful possibility of grandchildren on the horizon.

One night a stranger named Savannah knocks on Stan and Joy’s door, bleeding after a fight with her boyfriend. The Delaneys are more than happy to give her the small kindness she sorely needs. If only that was all she wanted.

Later, when Joy goes missing, and Savannah is nowhere to be found, the police question the one person who remains: Stan. But for someone who claims to be innocent, he, like many spouses, seems to have a lot to hide. Two of the Delaney children think their father is innocent, two are not so sure—but as the two sides square off against each other in perhaps their biggest match ever, all of the Delaneys will start to reexamine their shared family history in a very new light.

20% Review:

This book really jumped right in to the drama! We are getting a bit of a duel timeline, with the main timeline being after Joy goes missing, and some chapters jumping back in time to various points in the year prior. I’m really enjoying the main timeline, which has most of the action at this point – some of the chapters in the past are a bit slow, but I’m hoping that those will pick up some speed when it gets closer to her disappearance. I can’t wait to see what the answer to the mystery ends up being! Also – highly recommend the audiobook, if only for the awesome accent.

Check out my full review here!
Posted on by tacklingtbr

February 7 – February 13

New Releases and Publications

Hello, friends – and happy Tuesday! Welcome to another round of new releases that I was lucky enough to get an early copy of, and have either already read or are upcoming on my #TBR.

These books could be gifted from the publisher through sites like NetGalley or Edelweiss+, they could be electronic copies gifted directly to me from the publisher or the author, an early audiobook copy through the publisher or Libro.fm, or even a physical copy that has been sent to me from the author or publisher. I am so thankful for all of the reading opportunities that I am given through these various sources, and I am excited to start sharing these new releases!

In these weekly posts I will include a 20% review if I am currently reading the book, as well as a link to my full review if I have already finished the book. And if I have not yet started the book by the time this is posted, I will leave those spots blank and edit the post to add them in later!

The Spinster and the Rake

Author: Eva Devon

Publication Day: February 9, 2021

Genre: Romance, Historical Romance, Regency

Thanks so much to the author, Entangled Publishing, and NetGalley for the complimentary advanced electronic copy of this current read.

Description from Goodreads:

The marriage game is afoot in this clever blend of My Fair Lady meets Pride and Prejudice with a twist!

Edward Stanhope, the icy Duke of Thornfield, likes his life in a certain order. Give him a strong drink, a good book, and his dog for company, and he’s content. But when he goes to his library and finds a woman sitting in his chair, petting his dog, what starts as a request for her to leave quickly turns to a fiery battle of wits, leading to a steamy kiss that could ruin them both if they were caught.

So of course, damn it all, that’s when Edward’s aunt walks in, and thereafter announces Miss Georgiana Bly is the future Duchess of Thornfield.

Georgiana was content to be a spinster, spending her days reading and working to keep her family out of debt. But now her days are spent locked away with a growly duke, learning how to be the perfect duchess, and her nights spent fighting the undeniable attraction to a man who was never meant for her.

As their wedding day approaches, the attraction between them burns hot and fierce, but is it enough to melt the duke’s chilly facade?

20% Review:

The scandal starts on page one, so I got sucked in to this one really quickly! I’m really enjoying the story and the main characters so far, and I’m hoping to finish it in the next day or two!

Check out my full review here!

Never Enough

Author: Mike Hayes

Publication Day: February 9, 2021

Genre: Nonfiction, Autobiography/memoir

Thanks so much to the author and Celadon Books for the complimentary advanced copy of this book! This one is definitely on my list for the next few weeks.

Description from Goodreads:

In Never Enough, Mike Hayes—former Commander of SEAL Team TWO—helps readers apply high-stakes lessons about excellence, agility, and meaning across their personal and professional lives.

Mike Hayes has lived a lifetime of once-in-a-lifetime experiences. He has been held at gunpoint and threatened with execution. He’s jumped out of a building rigged to explode, helped amputate a teammate’s leg, and made countless split-second life-and-death decisions. He’s written countless emails to his family, telling them how much he loves them, just in case those were the last words of his they’d ever read. Outside of the SEALs, he’s run meetings in the White House Situation Room, negotiated international arms treaties, and developed high-impact corporate strategies.

Over his many years of leadership, he has always strived to be better, to contribute more, and to put others first. That’s what makes him an effective leader, and it’s the quality that he’s identified in all of the great leaders he’s encountered. That continual striving to lift those around him has filled Mike’s life with meaning and purpose, has made him secure in the knowledge that he brings his best to everything he does, and has made him someone others can rely on.

In Never Enough, Mike Hayes recounts dramatic stories and offers battle- and boardroom-tested advice that will motivate readers to do work of value, live lives of purpose, and stretch themselves to reach their highest potential.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Check out my full review here:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

Possession

Author: Katie Lowe

Publication day: February 9, 2021

Genre: Thriller, Mystery

Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the complimentary advanced electronic copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

The past haunts her. The present hunts her.

Conviction @ConvictionPod · 1m
The investigating officer: “I’ve seen a lot of homicides in the years since, but…that’s the one that keeps me up at night.”

The husband’s best man: “They had everybody fooled. Or at least, she did. But I always knew something was off.”

Hannah, the wife: “I told you. I don’t remember anything. I don’t know.”

That’s all to come, this season, on Conviction. Get ready for our most twisted season yet.

~~~

Ten years ago, Hannah’s husband was brutally murdered in their home, and she (conveniently) doesn’t remember a thing about that night. But the police charged someone else—a stranger—and put him away for life. And Hannah packed up her six-year-old daughter and left London behind.

But now her hard-won countryside peace is threatened. Conviction, a viral true crime podcast known for getting cases reopened and old verdicts overturned, has turned its attention to Hannah’s husband’s murder for its new season. They say police framed the man who was found guilty, and that Hannah has more suspicious secrets than just her memory loss: a history of volatility; citations at the clinic where she worked as a psychiatrist; dependencies on alcohol and pills; and a familicidal grandmother, locked away in a Gothic insane asylum until her death. As Hannah loses the trust of everyone she loves, the only person she feels she can confide in is a former colleague, Darcy, who’s come back into her life—but who may have motives of her own. But Hannah can’t tell even Darcy her deepest secret: that she’s still tormented by the memory of her husband and the crater he carved through her life.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Check out my full review here:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

The Paris Library

Author: Janet Skeslien Charles

Publication day: February 9, 2021

Genre: Historical Fiction

Thanks so much to Libro.fm and Simon & Schuster Audio for the complimentary advanced audio copy of this book!

Description from Goodreads:

Based on the true World War II story of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris, this is an unforgettable story of romance, friendship, family, and the power of literature to bring us together, perfect for fans of The Lilac Girls and The Paris Wife.

Paris, 1939: Young and ambitious Odile Souchet has it all: her handsome police officer beau and a dream job at the American Library in Paris. When the Nazis march into Paris, Odile stands to lose everything she holds dear, including her beloved library. Together with her fellow librarians, Odile joins the Resistance with the best weapons she has: books. But when the war finally ends, instead of freedom, Odile tastes the bitter sting of unspeakable betrayal.

Montana, 1983: Lily is a lonely teenager looking for adventure in small-town Montana. Her interest is piqued by her solitary, elderly neighbor. As Lily uncovers more about her neighbor’s mysterious past, she finds that they share a love of language, the same longings, and the same intense jealousy, never suspecting that a dark secret from the past connects them.

A powerful novel that explores the consequences of our choices and the relationships that make us who we are—family, friends, and favorite authors—The Paris Library shows that extraordinary heroism can sometimes be found in the quietest of places.

20% Review:

(This will be added at a later date, once I start reading this book!)

Check out my full review here:

(This will be added at a later date, once I have finished this book!)

Posted on by tacklingtbr

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

Harper Audio – Review: 5 Stars

Thanks so much to the author, Libro.fm, and William Morrow Books (Harper Audio) for the complimentary advanced audio copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner } All of my reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on Goodreads.

TW : death, murder, suicide, self-harm, revenge, drowning, kidnapping, hazing, abortion, infidelity, “boys will be boys” mindset

I have always been a big fan of Agatha Christie, and this book gave me so many Agatha Christie vibes! It was a really interesting mystery with a weird mix between a slow-burn of a story but still a fast-paced novel that I just didn’t want to put down.

One thing that I really loved about this story was all of the different points of view that we got. This is one of those murder mysteries where just about everyone that you meet could have had some sort of motive. And yes, at times that can seem pretty coincidental like “oh, you had a problem with this person that would be enough for a motive? Wow, so do I! How crazy is that?” But it’s a wedding, so it makes sense that all of the people there would be connected in one way or another, right? So the setting made that a bit easier to get past for me. It made it really fun and thrilling to listen to because even once you found out who the victim was (oh yeah, worth noting that for the first 2/3 of the book they’re just referring to a body, and you don’t find out who it is until much later) there were so many different ways that the story could go that I wanted to keep listening to find out what would happen next.

So let’s talk audio books. This book was PHENOMENAL on audio! Books with tons of different POVs like this one can sometimes be really hard to follow (seriously though, there were so many, you got the bride, the bridesmaid, the best man, the wedding planner, a guest, and I think another one or two) particularly on audio, but this one was done in such a smart way. There were different voice actors/narrators cast for each character’s point of view, and so even if you didn’t remember exactly which voice was the bride and which voice was the bridesmaid, I found it really easy to keep track of which voice was telling which part of the story. And the entire cast did so well, the different voices and the inflections, everything was just really well done. As much as I’m sure this book is a good physical read, I would almost recommend the audio book over the print copy, just to really throw yourself into the middle of the mystery with this amazing cast.

Overall I would highly recommend this book. Sure there were a few parts that were a little bit slower for me, but for the most part I thought it was just a really well written visit to the old days of the classic whodunnit thrillers. And seriously, listen to this one on audio. You absolutely will not regret it. I think the perfect way to listen to this book would be on a stormy winter/autumn night next to a roaring fire place, hearing the rain outside against your windows. It feels absolutely worthy of “a dark and stormy night.”

Posted on by tacklingtbr

The Switch by Beth O’Leary

MacMillan Audio – Review: 4 Stars

Thanks so much to the author, NetGalley, Libro.fm, and MacMillan Audio for the complimentary advanced audiobook in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner } All of my reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on my blog at tacklingtbr.home.blog

TW : loss of a family member, cancer, grief/mourning, infadelity

This book was so much fun to listen to! Think of The Holiday, but a young woman switching places with her Grandmother. What could possibly go wrong? It turns out, nothing! It’s just a good time for everyone. The audiobook itself was immensely enjoyable, as well, since there were two lovely narrators – a young woman playing Leena and an age-appropriate woman playing her Grandmother Eileen. I loved this, because I always find it silly when there are twenty-something year old actors or voice-actors playing roles of grandparents, when there are so many lovely and age-appropriate men and women that could do the roles just as easily! Plus, you can’t go wrong with both actress’s adorable accents! Everyone loves an English accent, right? It’s not just me?

Getting into the characters, I really loved both of these women. The story is told in alternating chapters between each of their points of view, so we get to see the adventures that each of them go on during their swap, and I loved both of their storylines! Although, I have to say, listening to Eileen while she is on the hunt for a man, online dating, and having sordid sexual affairs, was really fun in my opinion. You don’t very often get to hear about women above about 40 falling in love at all, let alone having any sort of sexual relationship, so I thought it was very different and enjoyable as a story here. Both of these women are sassy, and stubborn, and have a matching quick tongue that they are not afraid to use! I must say, though, I think Eileen was my favorite of the characters. I want to be her when I grow up. Seriously, you go Eileen! Although, elderly and eccentric Letitia may be a close second for me!

I will also say that I really loved the more serious, almost underlying, storyline involving both of them as well as Leena’s mother/Eileen’s daughter Marian mourning the loss of Leena’s sister Carla. They all three of them feel the loss in very different ways, and deal with the grief in very different ways as well, and it was really sweet watching how their relationships with each other grew as they learned how they could slowly work through their grief together.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. And would really recommend the audiobook to those wanting to read it! I would say that this book is perfect for a relaxing Sunday morning with a cup of coffee and a puzzle or a coloring book or something else that may seem equally silly but will be nice and relaxing while you listen!

Posted on by tacklingtbr · 1 Comment

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

Dreamscape Media – Audiobook Review: 5 Stars

Thanks so much to the author, Libro.fm, and Dreamscape Media for the complimentary advanced audio copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner } All of my reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on my blog at tacklingtbr.home.blog

TW : estranged parent, discussion of cancer

This book was so much fun! As far as tropes go, fake-dating to real-romance isn’t one that I typically go out of my way to reach for, but I tend to read a good amount of them anyway. And this was a really fun example of it! This book made me laugh out loud in more than one place, and it gave me feels in a few other places as well.

The characters are far from perfect, but that is what I loved so much about them. Luc is a deeply flawed and troubled character, but it made him so much for fun to read than someone that you can only aspire to relate to. As for Oliver, he is the type of character that on the surface seems perfect but slowly becomes less perfect as the book goes on, which was also really fun. I thought that the chemistry was pretty believable, even if the arrangement that began the relationship seemed less than realistic. But as less-than-realistic as it could be, there were enough moments that felt really, truly raw and human that it made the relationship so much more believable, and that made it something that as I listened I needed to learn more about and see what happened next for them.

Let’s talk secondary characters. Luc’s mom (and his mom’s curry, equally a character in my eyes) almost stole the whole show for me. The scenes at her house were just so funny! It really felt like I remember feeling when I would bring boys home for dinner with my family – it was embarrassing, it was silly, and sometimes it was even difficult to get through. These scenes read just those same ways, and made them some of my favorite parts of the whole book!

Luc’s friends are also very big parts of the story, but they weren’t always quite as much fun as his mom was, at least in my opinion. You could tell that Luc had pushed his friends to the side a bit in recent years, and maybe hadn’t fostered those relationships in a healthy way, and so his friends seemed a bit “over it” with everything until the end of the story. I think we’ve all had at least one friendship where that has happened – maybe you or your friend got really drawn in to a relationship, and by the time that relationship ended the friendship had suffered because of it. That made the friendships feel fairly realistic, but it just wasn’t as much fun to read as the mom scenes. And that’s nothing against the writing, only saying that until the relationships with his friends thawed a bit (I would say about 3/4 of the way through the book) they just weren’t the characters whose scenes I looked forward to. Except for Alex, Luc’s innocent and incredibly gullible co-worker. He was hilarious and I want to know everything there is to know about him.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this story! I would recommend reading it, but I might specifically recommend the audiobook – the narrator’s voice was so soothing and nice to listen to, and his different voices to make each of the characters distinctly different were really great. Also, bonus point, if you listen to the audio you get to listen to the British accents. Which is always a good thing in my book! I think that the perfect setting to listen to this book in would be on an afternoon that you decide to take a long drive through somewhere beautiful just for the fun of it.