emileereadsbooks's reviews
1113 reviews

This book should have been catnip for me. A Civil War spy novel? Yes please! About the first female Pinkerton spy? Sign me up. But it was more like… maybe?! 

I did like Kate as a character and her arc throughout the story. I really enjoyed the scenes that involved spy craft. However, I never felt immersed fully into the narrative. The rest of the book felt disjointed. And then it just… ended. 

I did like the theme throughout the book of how knowing people lets you see them as more than the labels the world places on them. That alone would make for a great book club discussion.

Content Warning: Open door (vague, non graphic), Language, war and death, prejudice

Thanks to Libro.fm, Atria, and Simon Audio for the book. All opinions are my own.

This is the kind of book you read next to water under the sun. Or that will transport you to that fictional place.

The best romances deal with love and loss, difficult and easy. And this book definitely falls into that category. I like how forthright Ethan is. I like how Ali has to deal with her choices and see the consequences of her actions. I love how they both are most themselves with one another. 

I loved this book having 30 something year olds falling in love and dealing with the elements of real life, kids, neighbors, jobs. Those details grounded the story in a way that allowed the frothy love story to be appreciated even more.

Content Warnings: death, divorce, grief

Thanks to Putnam Books for the digital copy. All opinions are my own. 

 I flew through this book. Kristy Woodson Harvey has a way of transporting you in her novels to these ocean side places where you can smell the fish being fried and the saltiness in the air. 

There is a lot going on in this story in both timelines. And the way the characters have to deal with real life issues is definitely fodder for book club discussions. I overall really enjoyed this book, even if I don't agree with all the choices each character made.

If you are looking for a book that will transport you while also making you consider the choices and how they shape our lives, check this one out.

Content Warnings: religious prejudice, terminal illness, death of a parent, suicide, dementia, infidelity 

Thanks to Simon Audio and Gallery Books for the audiobook. All opinions are my own.

This book is for people who love cozy mysteries full of abundant descriptions and interpersonal relationships and a slow reveal. This is the most intricate book in the series, but you still get to sit and chill with your favorite characters.

Thanks to Bantam for the free book. All opinions are my own.

This book is for people who love cozy mysteries full of abundant descriptions and interpersonal relationships and a slow reveal. 

This book is for people who love cozy mysteries full of abundant descriptions and interpersonal relationships and a slow reveal. 

I went on an emotional journey with this book. Not just with the characters, but with how much I liked it. I took a little bit to find my footing in listening. 

This book in the beginning is quite fantastical. It felt to me like it was setting up another world, but in the end the world you find yourself in isn't that different than the real world. That is to say: I didn't love the first half of this book, but the second half picked up the pace and worked for me. 

This is a dark humor middle grade book and will only work for more literary readers.

Book elements: Slaughterhouse,  Bullying, Outcast, Orphans, What is *magic*, Identity, Self actualization, What a soul needs, Middle school kisses

Thanks to Macmillan Kids, Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) for the book. All opinions are my own.

I have *complicated* feelings about this book. But I think that is kind of the whole point of this story. But even though there is a resolution, it left me with a longing for more peace. Which life doesn't always give us. And I think is part of the point. 

This book is very heavy in dealing with the loss of a sibling in childhood. But to add to that there is an over the top cruel bully and a suicide attempt by an adult that add to the extreme heaviness of the story. I think that's why when I finished the book I was still weighed down by the sheer weight of sadness within. There isn't enough of an upswing for me. The bully doesn't get her comeuppance. The adult suicide plot is a side plot in the third act and doesn't get enough of a conclusion, especially for a middle grade novel. 

This book does explore grief in a really interesting and honest way, but I would find it very difficult to press this into the hands of a middle grade reader. I am normally drawn to middle grade fiction because there is always such hope in these stories, but this one didn't give me that same hopeful satisfaction.

I will say the prose is lovely in this novel. The descriptions of nature are vivid and the way poetry is weaved into he narrative flows nicely. 
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This is a middle grade book that deals with some heavy topics. Depression, suicidal thoughts, child drowning, and bullying/blackmail are all found within. 

Thanks to Shadow Mountain for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.

Elements of this book: Montana, Latina main characters, Sibling loss (drowning), School choir, Bullying, Counseling through trauma, Friendships, Community, Set in March

I think this book is well written. The author's note reveals that it is well researched. It covers a lot of ground. And I do love the theme of providing hope where needed, but in a market oversaturated with WWII books, this one just didn't stand out.

Thank you to Hanover Square Press for the book to review. All opinions are my own.

The fact this is based on a real dog that was launched into space makes it so much more interesting! 

However, the perspective of a dog was hard to ground myself in. The writing was very choppy, maybe to represent the personality of the dog, but it was too much for me. I never could get fully in the story.

The "religion" of the dogs via the Dogstar is interesting. Depending on my kid and how solid their Christian faith is would determine whether of not I let them read this one.

This is a book about living your truth despite outside influence. What a great topic to discuss with the kids in your life. This is definitely one I would want to read alongside a middle grader and discuss if I out it in their hands.

Thanks to Macmillan Kids for the book to review. All opinions are my own.