Blissfully Blended Bullshit. Rebecca Eckler. 2019. Dundurn. 280 pages. [Source: ARC provided courtesy of NetGalley]. As someone in a blended family, I appreciated Eckler’s humorous approach with this book. I read this book as a bit of a “what to expect when you’re blending families,” because she tackles a lot of the big and small questions — dealing with exes, connecting with step-children, finances, etc. S...
Odd One Out. Nic Stone. 2018. Crown Books for Young Readers. 320 pages. [Source: Public library.] I intentionally started Nic Stone’s latest without reading about it. I didn’t read reviews, I didn’t even read the synopsis on the jacket. Like Angie Thomas, she is an author whose books I will read without a prior question. I am grateful I came into this book with no preconcieved notions, no expectations for content, no &...
He’s Just a Friend. J. Nichole. 2019. Not the Last Page. [Source: Kindle Unlimited.] I’m a sucker for a good buddies-turned-bae romance, and He’s Just a Friend is exactly that. Brooklyn and Josiah have been thick as thieves since they were kids. They’ve held each other down through the good and the bad, but have never taken it any further. They’ve batted away the usual comments about them really wanting to ...
The Woman in the Window. A.J. Finn. 2018. 448 pages. William Morrow. [Source: Public Library.] I picked up The Woman in the Window mostly on a whim. My local library has a program titled “My Lucky Day,” which features new and/or trending titles. They’re given placement right in the center of attention — at the checkout desk so you can’t miss them. The catch? You only get them for 2 weeks, no renewals, and...
White Like Her. Gail Lukasik. 2017. Skyhorse Publishing. 316 pages. [Source: personal copy.] We all think we know who we are. We all believe what our parents tell us about our families. Sometimes what they don’t tell us is the real story. On its surface, White Like Her is one woman’s dogged journey* to learn about her family’s history. What sets it apart is that Gail Lukasik’s journey is predicated on sifting through the secrecy...
