Audiobook mini-review: The Midnight Library

Author: Matt Haig
Publication date: August 13, 2020
Genre: magical realism, contemporary, fantasy
My rating: 4.5/5 stars

Do you ever read a book that deals with a topic that is really close to your heart, and all you can think when you read it is some sound of internal shrieking because somebody gets it? Because…yeah, that pretty accurately sums up my feelings on The Midnight Library, a story about depression, second chances, and the impact of even the smallest choices. As is typical for me, this audiobook review is going to be very short, sweet, and concise, because let’s face it–audio reviews can be hard to write. Let’s go.

Audiobook mini-review: The Guest List

Author: Lucy Foley
Publication date: June 2, 2020
Genre: mystery/thriller
My rating: 4/5 stars

Lately, I’ve been trying to diversify the genres that I read. This has included joining in a monthly horror read hosted by Melanie at TBR and Beyond, as well as picking up the occasional thriller and some historical fiction, to complement my usual contemporary/literary/YA/fantasy/nonfiction/poetry. (I’ve also been dabbling in some MG and even trying a romance once in a while–yes, I know, shocking! My opinions on those romances, though, are…less shocking, if you know me. But that’s a story for another day.)

All that is to say, this book, being a thriller, was a little outside my wheelhouse. I gave this specific one a shot because my friend M at Storme Reads a Lot was pretty psyched when it won the Goodreads Choice Award for the Thriller category last year, and…I guess I generally like to defer to those with more expertise when trying a genre that they know much better than I do? Their enthusiasm sold me on it.

Cool, enough rambling. Let’s make this actual review short, sweet, and to the point:

The Astonishing Color of After – review

Author: Emily X.R. Pan
Publication date: March 20, 2018
Genre: young adult, contemporary, magical realism, fantasy
My rating: 4/5 stars

In four words, this book is: beautiful, painful, vibrant, and important. I must admit, I had to stay up two hours past when I planned to go to bed in order to finish this one. It wasn’t because it was a page-turner; truly, I wanted to go to sleep and resume it in the morning. But it brought up some really vivid memories and deeply intense feelings of pain and sadness that I thought I was past by now. I needed to get to the end, because I knew I wouldn’t sleep well if I went to bed in that emotional state. It took some processing, and while I expected it to be good, it was even more devastating than I expected a book about a girl and drawing and a magical bird and mental illness and suicide and family and friendship to be.

When the Stars Lead to You – launch party!

Way back in May or June, I went to an event hosted by Epic Reads, with a couple authors talking about their recently-released books. At the event, I also met an author who was just there to observe and support some friends, an author with a book coming out later this year. I added it to my Goodreads TBR and made a mental note to keep my eyes peeled for it.

Well, folks, that author was Ronni Davis, that book was When the Stars Lead to You, and that release date was yesterday.

And, because Ronni lives in Chicago, my fantastic local bookstore, Anderson’s Bookshop, hosted a release party for her.

World Mental Health Day – 8 Books Depicting Mental Illness

As you all may know, I am a huge advocate for mental health awareness. So when I saw a post on Rae’s Reads and Reviews all about books featuring mental illness, since today is World Mental Health Day, I realized I could easily do the same. Here are some of my favorite books about various mental health conditions. (And you should definitely check out Rae’s list as well, because we only have one book in common!)