I loved the ending to this major story arc!

This is the third book in the young adult, dystopian Shatter Me Series and in my opinion, these books just keep getting better! I would give this book a six out of five stars if I could. It really tugged at my heart strings. I had those moments where I just had to sit there and process what just happened. One of the highlights of this book is how friendships truly start to develop. What I love about this series is its great balance between romance and friendship. As much as I’m a sucker for a good romance, seeing strong friendships bloom always brings a smile to my face as a reader. Although the Shatter Me series includes six books, it can be seen as two separate arcs: the first three form one complete phase, while the next three begin a new chapter in the story. Ignite Me wraps up the first era beautifully and Restore Me kicks off what feels like a whole new storyline. If you read the first two books, definitely read this one!

I wanted to read this book because I have in the past watched the reality show surrounding this family. I also followed news stories and social media about them and wanted to get a different perspective about events from the daughter who wrote the book.

This book was very disappointing to me. It was entirely too long and drawn out. The characters (especially the main one Olivia) was annoying and held no accountability to her own faults. The plot got more and more ridiculous and should have been solved easily if people just communicated. Lastly the agenda pushing was over the top, it made the book even harder to get through.

This is the fourth book in The Thursday Murder Club Mystery series. The club consists of a group of friends who live in a retirement community and solve murder cases together. This book has a more somber tone than the first three books, which, despite being about murders, were quite funny. Besides dealing with murder, this book has a lot to say about Alzheimer’s and its effect on the individual, caregivers, and friends.

I really enjoyed the beginning of this biography, but it slowed significantly later on. Dani was raised in an orthodox Jewish family. As an adult, she takes a DNA test and discovers that her biological father was not Jewish. This completely alters her image of herself, and she proceeds to investigate how it is possible that her dad is not her biological father, and her parents, no longer alive, never told her. It turns out that she was conceived in the early time of artificial insemination, when little was known about it. She attempts to find family who can help her understand her history, and to find her biological father. Add a star or 2 if you or someone close to you has an unknown parent.

I have loved every book that I've read by Kristin Harmel and I loved this one too. Set primarily in 1940's Paris, it bounces to 2018. The story line is different than most WWII books. The characters were interesting and likeable. I'd love to see a present day sequel.

Molly Jong-Fast created a “can’t look away from this vessel careening rapidly toward a cliff kind of memoir.” I would never have guessed that life with Erica Jong, the author of The Fear of Flying, and lovely celebrity of the 70’s could have been such a mess . What’s even more unbelievable is that the author and celebrity is still alive in 2025. There is so much name dropping in this Memoir of a Daughter, one might suspect that the work is actually fiction. I remember reading novels by Molly’s grandfather, Howard Fast, in the 70’s. Molly wails that she could never get enough time with her mother who is still raging alcoholic. Molly also identifies as an alcoholic and talks about her drug use in the past but says she has been sober for some 20 years. She works as a journalist and political pundit, has a wonderful husband and three terrific kids and actually acknowledges that her life is a form of normal. There is love on every page of this book or I might have simply put it down with all the sadness that also occupies almost every page.

This was strange in the best way — atmospheric, a little eerie, and hard to put down. Some parts dragged, but overall it was good.

Ruth Franklin did a lot of research to fill in the gaps about Anne Frank's life and death, Anne's writing and rewriting of the diary, Anne's father's editing of the diary through the years, and Ruth discusses the plays, books and movies based on Anne's life.