emileereadsbooks's reviews
1113 reviews

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book. 

Personally as an adult I really enjoyed it. I think the characters were plucky, and the sense of imperfect found family I was a fan of. I loved that Josephine’s mom does try and get her to behave. So many middle grade books have children running amuck with no real consequences. I also appreciate that Josephine’s plans to run away and solve things on her own are thwarted forcing her to rely on adults. She does get a hero moment, but still has to suffer consequences there too.

My mixed feelings come from the fact that when I was the age of middle grader, I would have found this book fascinating, but I’m not sure as a responsible adult I can recommend it for a middle grade audience. 

First, there are so many 70s references that will go over kid's heads (some went over my head and I had to look them up). This isn’t a content issue, I just think it might take them out of the story. 

Second, this book deals with HARD topics. Terminal cancer, kidnapping, running cons, absent parents, hoarding, and more. While I’m not for shielding kids from hard things completely, this felt like a lot for this age group. Specifically the kidnapping elements. 

Lastly, the tone felt more mature than a middle grade book. I even looked up if this was indeed middle grade or if it was adult fiction with a middle grade protagonist. Maybe it was the references or the subject matter making me think that, but either way, I would only hand this only to more mature/older middle grade readers.

Overall, if you are planning on handing this to a middle grader, read it prior so you know what you are getting them into and you can discuss it with them.

Content Note: This book loosely follows the kidnapping of Patty Hearst, deals with another kidnapping, terminal cancer, parental absence, childbirth, con men, hoarding, and bullying. 

Thanks to Holiday House for the digital copy. All opinions are my own.

I always appreciate middle grade fiction that takes me to a new time or place. While I have visited Appalachia before in a book, this story felt as fresh as it did familiar. 

The struggle in this community to hold onto to their way of life while also embracing advancement and the ease modern conveniences can bring was powerful and would lead to some great conversations with other readers (of any age) about the benefits and detriments that technology can have.

One thing I love about his book it is feels appropriately written from the perspective of a middle grade girl. Her language and logic felt true to that age and therefore appropriate for middle grade readers. She had to fall under the authority of adults and was made to see their perspectives even when she didn’t agree with them.

This is a book about family, friendship, a way of life, and learning what to hold fast to.   I think it is appropriate for middle grade audiences and is an enjoyable read for any age.

Content Note: depression, grief,  fire/burns, childbirth, premature baby, domestic violence

Thank you to Holiday House for the digital copy. All opinions are my own. 

Picking up very shortly after book 1, this book also continues to pull back the layers and reveal these characters to us in new ways. I loved how Greta was apt to ask for help in her sleuthing this time around and I loved seeing the relationship between her and the detective grow. The reveal was well earned and I am looking forward to book 3!

Thanks to the author for a digital copy. All opinions are my own. 

Greta is the newish librarian in town and when she finds her neighbor dead, she finds herself needing to solve the mystery! I loved how this book has a ton of characters, but they were introduced with so much personality that it was easy to keep everyone straight. The twist at the end had me wanting to speed up the audio so I could listen faster. I immediately picked up book 2.

Thanks to the author for a digital copy. All opinions are my own. 

I'm not sure what to feel about this book. I really wanted to like it, but it just didn't work overall for me. 

What did work for me: 
-Amy Harmon's beautiful writing. She can paint a picture with words that I feel like I can step into. 
-The draw between Butch and Jane. They just fit together. 
-The character of Augustus. I loved him. He was plucky and dear and the perfect addition to this story. 

What didn't work for me: 
-The fact that this love story of Butch Cassidy's wasn't real. The whole time the fact that I didn't really happen just niggled at my brain. 
-The pacing. This book was too slow for me. I was always impatient fort the next thing.

Content Note: This is a fade to black historical romance. There are vague descriptions of sexual assault, mentions of suicide, and gun violence. 

Available on Kindle Unlimited

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing for a digital copy. All opinions are my own.

5 days ago it was like a switch flipped. Brutal murders started happening and it's progressively gotten worse and more chaotic. Now the killers have banded together and have a list of those they are after. So, Jack and his family are on the run. They don't know what caused all this, but they do know to save their lives, they must get out now. 

When I saw on Netgalley with a release date of August 2024, I requested it without even reading the synopsis. I loved Dark Matter, Recursion, and Upgrade so Blake Crouch has earned his status as an auto read author for me. Since I thought it was a new Crouch novel, I was a little confused because it didn't feel like the same vibe, but it was compelling so I kept reading. It wasn't until I was 75% in and I went looking for clarification on something that I saw that this is a rerelease of a previously self published title. So this book isn't the same kind of speculative sci-fi that I loved in those other novels, but it still has the heart and compulsive plot I love in a Blake Crouch book. 

If I had read the synopsis I might have not picked this one up. If I had read reviews, I likely would have avoided it. But this book, like all the other Crouch I have read, sucked me in. It kept me awake at night wanting to read AND laying in bed scared thinking about what if I was in this situation. I was IN IT. 

This book is gruesome and horrific and graphic. If you have any sensitive reader bones in your body DO NOT pick this up. But l could not look away. I was on the run with Jack and his family and even though I didn't want to see the horrific things they saw, I endured it all with them. 

Thanks to Ballantine Books for a digital copy. All opinions are my own. 

What a blessing this devotional is. I love the way Charles Martin takes these big theological concepts, or these well known stories of Christianity and focuses in or toggles the perspective to get you to look more closely, look differently, and see more clearly God's plan and God's love. The biggest compliment I can give him is her makes the word of God even more accessible to the common man. I think you can be either someone new to Christianity and it's stories, or someone who has some years under their belt in the faith, and you can glean wisdom and understanding from Charles' words and encouragements. This isn't fluffy theology or deeply scholarly in tone. Rather, it's conversational and feels very real lie. Salt of the earth. 

I did this one back and forth between audio and ebook, and I think there is something special about the audio. Charles has such a conversational and humble tone of voice as he reads these devotionals. I wanted to just keep listening and leaning in. He is a gifted storyteller and I'm glad he's using his gifts to further the gospel here on Earth. 

He injects humanity into what sometimes others make feel dry. He makes these people of the Bible more than characters of our history. He makes them relatable and tenderizes or heard towards them because they are us.

Please consider picking this book up this Easter/Lent season. You won’t regret it.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson for the digital copy. All opinions are my own. 

From the moment I met these characters, I loved them. And as soon as they began to interact, their chemistry was palpable. Abby Jimenez has a talent that just leaps off the page! 

The magic of real life love is on full display here. Showing up. Being a safe place to land. Being a place to be yourself. Letting someone into your mess. 

There is a lot to contend with here. (check the content warnings) But the hope of a new life that has a new impossible love story has you rooting for Justin and Emma the whole time. 

Abby Jimenez takes you there in her writing. You feel the wind on your face and the grass beneath your feet as you journey this love story with the characters.

Content Warnings: panic attacks, PTSD, incarceration, anxiety, depression, depictions of undiagnosed mental health issues, toxic mother, child neglect, parental abandonment, open door scenes (1-2, low explicitness), mild language 

I follow Kacie on Instagram so I thought I would enjoy this book, but it really didn't work for me. It was very repetitive and self-help-y. Her voice and her story are drowned by the advice she is trying to give. I would rather have had this book be a straight memoir than travel/advice book. I think the editor did her a disservice here.

Thanks to DK Eyewitness Travel for the digital copy. All opinions are my own. 

This is an example of why I love going into a book mostly blind. I'm sure I read the synopsis of this book months ago when I put it in my TBR, but by the time I picked it up to read, I didn't have any clue what was in store for me. And what a treat of an atmospheric Southern beachy mystery this turned out to be. 

Was this a perfect book? No. Was it an engrossing and entertaining read? Yes. 

In the beginning I was like why are there so many characters?! But as I continued on and the plot thickened, I became more and more invested in who and what and how and why. I was constantly changing my mind about the motives and the guilty parties and that is always the sign of a fun read. 

I will say there were a couple elements of the reveals that didn't hit for me, but overall this was great.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook to review. All opinions are my own.

Content Warnings: infertility, unwanted pregnancy, sexual assault, child drowning, Parkinson's, death, murder, drug and alcohol use.