🟣 :::READING THREAD::: Week of May 4th

Last week I read Into the Fall by Tamara L. Miller which I think was recommended here. Although billed as a Thriller, it is not. It is more of a mystery. By the end, I just felt so sad and heartbroken for the characters. 3.5/5

Now I'm reading Nobody's Fool by Harlan Coben who is one of our favorite authors.

I read two romance novels and loved both!
Summer In The City by Alex Aster. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Elle has writer's block and has a screenplay do at end of summer. She ends up in New York in an apartment she can't afford and her next door neighbor is "Billionaire Bachelor" Parker Warren her stairwell hook-up from 2 years ago. It's been lovers to enemies since then.
When seeing him again turns into a full night of hate fueled writing, Elle realizes her enemy/twisted muse just might be the key to finishing her screenplay.

Passion Project by London Sperry
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bennet Taylor should be living the best years of her life, but she's failing miserably. Adrift in New York City, she has no direction and no energy to find one.
When Bennet is set up on a first date with Henry Adams, she drunkenly admits she's not ready to love again in fact she has no passion for anything. Henry offers to help Bennet uncover her passion for life..

The last few weeks I read...

Crown Of Blood-The Deadly Inheritance Of Lady Jane Grey, by Dr Nicola Tallis. I read this for a Tudor themed book club I participate in every so often. 5 stars.

Kills Well With Others, by Deanna Raybourn. This is the second in a series. (I can't remember the name of the first one, but I read it and liked it, too). This was fun. 4 stars.

Before We Forget Kindness, by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. This is the third or fourth in the Before The Coffee Gets Cold series of books. About a cafe that you can go back in time, or forward. Bunch of rules...especially before the coffee gets cold. Translated from the Japanese. 4 stars.

Whale Fall, by Daniel Kraus. About a 17 yr old boy who had a fractious relationship with his father, who taught him by how to dive in the ocean. The boy ends up diving to look for his father's remains, and gets into trouble immediately, and has to rely on his wits. It goes back and forth, the present chapters marked by how much oxygen he has left, and the back in time parts, the year. Trigger warning... 3 1/2 stars.

I listened to Henry V, by Dan Jones, read by the author. A biography of the famous victor of Agincourt in 1415. I like listening to non fiction while I'm taking a walk. Its like one of my history podcasts. 4 stars.

I finished By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult. I gave it 4 stars, it definitely made me think. I didn't realize, previous to reading this book, that there is speculation around whether Shakespeare wrote all/any of the plays he is credited with. While this book was not as hard hitting to me as most of her books are, it does open up a bigger conversation around how far we still have to go around gender equality, truly equality in general since the white male still is disproportionately represented.

I started listening to You Killed Me First by John Marrs. I am kind of ambivalent on it currently.

4 Stars for Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry. This book felt like my first summer read of 2025! Emily and Hayden are competing with each other to score the job to write socialite Margaret Ives' biography. They both signed NDAs, and are given separate days to interview her for a month, which leads up Margaret deciding who would write her story. So, we get a story with a story (very much reminding me of Evelyn Hugo) as we also navigate Hayden & Emily's budding romance. However, their relationship almost took a backseat to Margaret's story. Nevertheless, I was entertained and while I guessed a few things, I did not see the big "secret" coming.