The Collective by Alison Gaylin: Camille is grieving the death of her teenage daughter who passed 5 years ago and is still so angry because the person she believes hurt her is alive and thriving. After one of her breakdowns goes viral, she ends up in a group on the dark web named ‘he Collective”. It’s a group of grieving mothers like herself and they are freely sharing their revenge fantasies. As Camille commits to the group, it’s looking less like a fantasy and she’s realizing her actions may not just be an exercise. I could not put this down but it’s safe to say this book was not at all uplifting but it was gripping. 5/5 Stars
Book Lovers by Emily Henry: Nora is a badass book agent, fully devoted to her clients and family. So far she’s been unlucky in love as she’s not the chill girl next door. She’s a true New Yorker, loves her botox, impractical shoes and has a no nonsense personality. She agrees to spend a month in Sunshine Falls, NC with her little sister Libby, since she feels like she’s been a bit distant. While on vacation she keeps running into Charlie, a book editor from New York she didn’t have the best relationship with. They bicker a lot but the attraction is still there. This was a very cute romance and I enjoyed it. 3.5/5 Stars
Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough: Emma can’t sleep and her 40th birthday is approaching. The age her mother fully lost it and tried to kill her older sister. Emma has always been afraid of inheriting her mother’s mental illness and the closer she gets to her birthday, the more her life seems to be spiraling. This book was very stressful to me and I had to take breaks while reading it. At times I felt like the narrator was unreliable but it all ended up making sense at the end, so I think it’s a good read overall. 3.5/5 Stars
This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub: Alice is not completely satisfied with her life and her dad is dying. On her 40th birthday she wakes up the next day but she’s 16. Her dad is young and healthy again and she hopes to make some changes to improve her current life. This book was so interesting, touching and I don’t want to ruin the plot. This book was a good reminder to be present in life and fully enjoy the company of your loved ones. 4/5 Stars
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus: Elizabeth Zott is a Chemist in the early 60s but thanks to sexism finds herself doing a cooking show on daytime TV and she’s also a single mom. The beginning of this book was upsetting because there’s a sexual assault scene, but it was such a great read. This book was a bit heavy too but there’s a good resolution at the end. 4/5 Stars
On A Night Like This by Lindsey Kelk: Fran’s life is pretty much in auto mode, she’s not happy in her relationship or career. When she takes a personal assistant job for a celebrity client, she’s excited to travel again but her boyfriend is not happy and refuses to discuss it with her. When Fran crashes a glamorous ball she runs into Evan, she can’t deny the attraction to him but she has a boyfriend and Evan proposes that they have a great time at the ball without exchanging personal informations. This had more depth than the usual romance novel, which seems to be the norm for this author. 3.5/5 Stars