I gave this book 2 stars. The story was super predictable—I figured out the twist pretty early. But even though I knew what was coming, I still wanted to see how it all played out. The setting was creepy and the vibes were tense, which helped keep things interesting. It’s a quick read, and if you like thrillers with controlling-relationship drama, it might be your thing. For me, it just didn’t have anything new or surprising. I was hoping for more twists or deeper characters, but it was just okay. Not bad, but not great either.

A thought provoking memoir in the condensed form of a graphic novel. The writing is concise yet captivating. I will be adding Bechdel's other graphic novels to my reading list.

Great read especially if you like tennis and relationships! Taylor Jenkins Reid is a lovely author, this is the 3rd book of hers I’ve read.

I have mixed impressions of and feelings about this novel. I found the plot intriguing, and enjoyed Serafina's narrative voice in her alternating chapters, as compared to Sara's, which disappointingly tended to fall more often into cliché turns of phrase. I understand the need to set the characters' "voices" apart and distinguish the eras in which they are living, but wonder if this could have been done with a bit more finesse for Sara's chapters. Some plot revelations were telegraphed and therefore more predictable, while others felt more satisfyingly surprising. At times, the events and interactions themselves seemed to draw on stereotypes, though I appreciate that the author appears to have researched the book quite thoroughly. There were also some unexpectedly graphic passages in the book, so readers who are especially sensitive to intimate and/or violent imagery may wish to be aware of this before reading. Overall, though it would be missing a meaningful modern dimension, I think I might have preferred this as a purely historical fiction novel, set entirely in Serafina's time period. All that said, I would still be interested to read other novels by this same author, in the hopes that they are more of the quality of Serafina's chapters than Sara's.

A friend recommended this book saying it was very funny. I did smile a few times, but I didn’t find it very funny. A woman moves from Kansas into a small oyster shack on the east coast. She becomes very involved with the town government primarily by writing email complaints to the town manager.

A staff pick and a beautifully written short book by poet Aimee N. While not poems, the short stories written about flora and fauna are poetic in nature. The author picks specific subjects that have meaning in her life and intertwines scientific facts with stories about her family as well as about world issues. The stories about the Potoo and the Octopus were favorites.

Really fun read. Plot-driven, moves at a great pace, was everything I’d hoped the book would be. Flashbacks weren’t intrusive to the current plot events, nor too numerous; anytime we departed the main action for some backstory it was equally captivating. This is the kind of book that makes me delighted to know it’s a series.

Once again a book about Gabriel Allon who is a daredevil Israeli spy and assassin. He is married now for a second time. An enjoyable book.

Frog and Toad get so confused. It is very funny

Good book. Fun to read. Great characters. Interesting story line. Great anticipation. Excellent dialog.