Audiobook: Great Big Beautiful Life

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by Emily Henry
Read by Julia Whelan
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is some swearing, including multiple f-bombs, and some fade-to-black sex. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Alice desperately wants the job writing the biography of one of the last, and most reclusive, members of the influential Ives family, Margaret. She’s taken the time to find her, hunt her down, and desperately wants to tell her story. The problem: Margaret has also invited Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hayden Anderson, and is making them compete for the job.

It’s all fine and good when Alice thinks Hayden is stuck up and mean, but the more she gets to know him, the more she is attracted to him, and this job – this competition – is standing between them. How can she get the job of her dreams if the man of her dreams is standing in the way?

First: I’ve known Whelan is an incredible narrator for a while, but every time I listen to a book she reads, it hits me fresh. She’s one of the best in the business, and she made this book POP. I’m sure I would have liked it had I read it, but I loved listening to the way Whelan interpreted the text. She is so good at not just voices but also capturing the nuances of each character.

As for the book, it’s not my favorite Henry – that’s still Book Lovers, though I should reread it and see if it holds up – but it’s a solid book. There’s a romance in there, though I think (much like Funny Story), it’s taking a back seat to Margaret’s story. That one, of regret and bad choices, and lost loves, is really the heart of the book. The rest is just filler and fluff. And you know what, I didn’t mind one bit. Henry writes less good books, but never an outright bad one. And I’m here for everything she writes.

Though maybe I need to start listening to them, instead?

Monthly Round-Up: 2025

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If I’m being totally honest, my favorite this month was listening to The Dream Thieves on audio. It was such a wonderful experience, and Maggie’s words are so…. Steifvatery. But, since I don’t want to pick a reread as a favorite (and because if you read a T. Kingfisher book, you must pick it), my favorite this month is this one:


Hemlock & Silver

Like all of the other Kingfisher books I’ve read, this one is just delightful in so many ways.

As for the rest:

Middle Grade:

The Deep Dark (audiobook)
J vs K

Young Adult:

The Dream Thieves (reread) (audiobook)
Tess of the Road (reread)

Adult Fiction:

Finders Keepers
That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon (audiobook)
Say You’ll Remember Me (DNF) (audiobook)
The World’s Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant

Graphic Novels:

Sea Legs
Miss Camper

What was your favorite this month?

J vs. K

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by Kwame Alexander and Jerry Craft
First sentence: “J loved to draw.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy pilfered off the ARC shelves at work.
Release date: May 6, 2025.
Content: The chapters are short, and it’s a mix between prose and comics. It will be in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore, but it could probably skew younger for an advanced reader.

J is a fifth grader with a passion for drawing. He’s great at it and loves doing it. In fact, all his classmates at Dean Ashley Public School think he’s the greatest, so he is sure he could win the annual creativity contest the school holds. The only problem: K, a new kid, who is just as gifted at writing as J is at drawing. There’s no way either one of them will let the other get the best of him. That is, until they learn that maybe working together is the best way to go.

There’s not much to this story, and yet I had a grand time with it. It helps that Craft and Alexander are gently ribbing each other in commentary throughout the novel, that it’s a silly reason for two gifted, brilliant authors to work together, and to show that while there’s nothing wrong with competition, maybe working together is the better way to go. It’s based super loosely on Craft and Alexander’s real-life friendship/rivalry, which makes the whole thing that more hilarious and fun.

It’s a very silly book, but I loved it.

The World’s Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant

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by Liza Tully
First sentence: “Aubrey Merrit opened the door.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Release date: July 8, 2025
Content: There are dead bodies, of course, talk of an affair, and some swearing, including a few f-bombs. It will be in the Mystery section of the bookstore.

Olivia Blunt is a fact-checker but wants something more out of life. So she decides to answer the call and apply to be the assistant of the “world’s greatest detective”, Aubrey Merritt. Merritt is older, cranky, and hard to impress. After weeks of being frustrated, Olivia fields a call that intriuges her: the matriarch of the preeminent Summersworth family has fallen to her death on the eve of her 65th birthday party, and her daughter thinks it’s foul play.

As Merritt and Olivia investigate the case, Olivia is determined to prove herself to her boss, and as the case gets ever more complicated, she’s not entirely sure she can.

On the one hand, this was a fun gender-swapped Sherlock Holmes – a brilliant, cranky, master detective and her not-quite-there-yet assistant. They have a report, but Merritt is always “did you catch this Watson”-ing Olivia. (Including in the end, when Merritt throws Olivia under the bus more than once.) It was cleverly written, and I enjoyed trying to figure out who did it, along with Merritt and Olivia.

My problem was with the ending. Without being spoiler-y, it was trite and leaned into some not-great (and possibly harmful) stereotypes. I’m not entirely sure that ruined the book for me, but it did lower my estimation of it. If this ends up being a series (and I can see it going that direction), I might give the next one a try.

Miss Camper

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by Kat Fajardo
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy pilfered from the ARC shelves at work
Release date: July 1, 2025
Others in the series: Miss Quinces
Content: There are some intense moments, and talk of crushes. It will be in the Middle Grade Graphic Novel section of the bookstore.

It’s summertime again, and this year Sue’s mother is letting her go to sleepaway camp. It’s only because her older sister is a counselor and her younger sister has to come along, but Sue’s still excited. She’ll get to hang with her best friend, and explore new classes, and just have an exciting two weeks. Except things don’t go the way she planned. Her best friend has a camp best friend, her little sister is always underfoot, and Sue’s friend Izzy has a crush on her. It’s all a bit too much to handle.

Much like Miss Quinces, this is a bit of a fish out of water story. Sue doesn’t quite fit in with the long-time campers, she’s not entirely sure how to do some of the classes she’s come up. She wants to make friends, but her little sister is always underfoot, hanging around. There is a bit of a conflict and climax, but mostly it’s just Sue figuring out how to fit in with this new experience she’s having. I don’t think I liked it quite as much as I liked Miss Quinces – it lacked some of the humor I remember that one having – but I still thought it was a solid friendship and experiencing something new story. I do like Fajardo’s art and the way she depicts friendships, which is all this one really needed.

DNF: Say You’ll Remember Me

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by Abby Jimenz
Read by: Christine Lakin & Matt Lanter
Content: There is some swearing, including a few f-bombs, and some fade-to-black sex. It’s in the Romance Section of the bookstore.

I do not have a good track record with Abby Jimenez. Of the three I’ve started, I’ve only finished one, and I did like that one. But, the other two, not so much.

My problems with this one were the plot: Samantha and Xavier had a first date that was to-die-for (instalove anyone?) but it turns out that Samantha is moving out of Minnesota and back to California to help with her mom who is fading due to early-onset dimensia. “Forget me” she tells him. Of course he doesn’t. And they spend the rest of the book pushing and pulling: wanting to be together, but it’s “impossible”. *eye roll* So, have a long-distance relationship? But no, Samantha only wants in-person relationships. They can’t afford to keep flying back and forth. They want to be together and just can’t. Round and round we go. After about 40% of this (I was listening to audio), I jacked it up to 1.4x speed, hoping it would help with the boring round and round, but after another 40%, I got sick of it and just stopped. I don’t even care how it ends. I don’t care that Samantha’s grandmother dies, that Xavier’s parents are complete assholes… I just don’t care.

I’m a little miffed that I made it through 80% before bailing (I should have bailed at 40%), but the narrators were good enough to keep me somewhat interested. Though – and this must be the director’s decision – whenever one of them was narrating (say she was), the other narrator would read the dialogue that their character said (so every time Xavier spoke, Latner would say his words). It was weird, and I’m not sure I liked it. It may have contributed to my dislike of this one overall.

I’m sure there’s going to be some Jimenez stans out there who love it, but I am not one of them.

Audiobook: That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon

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by Kimberly Lemming
Read by Hazel Addison
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: This is a spicy book! Lots of on-page sex, lots of swearing. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

All Cinnamon wants to do is grow her spice (guess which one) and live a quiet life with her family and friends. But then, she accidentally saves the demon Fallon, and gets caught in his quest to defeat the evil witch that is enslaving demons. Cin goes along reluctantly at first, but as they spend more time together, sparks start to fly (among other things).

This was so so silly. Incredibly silly. Like I felt myself getting less intelligent reading this silly. That said, Addison was a good narrator, and I had a grand time listening to it. I’m sure there are internal inconsistencies and that the world-building wasn’t that great, but honestly, I didn’t care. I was here for a good time, and Lemming gave me one.

I’m not sure I care enough to read the rest of the series, but this one was a lot of silly fun.

Sea Legs

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by Jules Bakes, illustrated by Niki Smith
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy pilfered off the ARC shelves at the bookstore.
Content: There are some intense, possibly scary, moments. There is also possible abuse, but I think only an older reader would catch that. It’s in the MIddle Grade Graphic Novel section of the bookstore.

Janey has spent the last year at a school in Florida, living a normal life, making friends. But all that’s come to an end, as her parents – who have built a seafaring sailboat – have decided to leave and go adventuring again. For Janey, that means homeschooling and no actual friends. That is, until they reach St. Thomas. Then, in another boat, Janey discovers Astrid, a girl slightly older than Janey is. Janey’s just excited to make a friend, but friendship with Astrid is complicated to say the least.

On the one hand, I really liked this portrait of a family that’s not doing traditional things. I liked the adventurous spirit of the parents, their willingness to give things up and chase their dreams. And I appreciated seeing that from the point of view of their child. It’s not easy. It was a lot of boring times, and then trying to figure out how to stay out of everyone’s way. On the other hand, Janey got to see some incredible things that she wouldn’t have been able to experience if she were land-bound.

The thing I found most interesting about this was that it felt much like a memoir. It was told in first person point of view, and there wasn’t a neat and tidy ending. It was much more a slice-of-life story than one with a traditional story arc. I didn’t mind that, but I do wonder how kids will react to it. Are they going to want more of a resolution? The art is good and suits the story well.

I’m glad I read it.

Hemlock & Silver

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by T. Kingfisher
First sentence: “I had just taken poison when the king arrived to inform me that he had murdered his wife.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: August 19, 2025
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There is some violence, and swearing, including a few f-bombs. It will be in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

All Anja wanted was a quiet (enough) life to study poisions and to attempt to find antidotes and cures for as many as she could. Unfortunately, that means she is very good at what she does, and that catches the notice of the king, who comes and “asks” (do kings really ask?) her to save his daughter, Snow, who is slowly wasting away, probably being poisoned. Anja doesn’t want to do this – if she fails, it will be the ruin of her and her father – but she doesn’t have a choice. Once she sees Snow, however, things become more complicated: this is not any ordinary poison.

It’s a very loose, and very clever, retelling of Snow White, one that doesn’t focus on the princess, but rather in which you see the story unfold completely outside of it. It’s incredibly clever (even though it does take nearly 100 pages for the story to really get going – but Kingfisher’s writing is good enough that I didn’t mind that) in both its use of magic and the way in which the fairy tale is interpreted. But, mostly I liked it for what I have come to like about Kingfisher’s books: Anja is not your typical heroine. She’s older, she’s grumpy, she’s single-minded, she’s frumpy, she’s stubborn, and I adored her. I love that Kingfisher gives us main characters that aren’t what you usually think of when you say “fairy tale retelling”, and I am here for pretty much anything that she writes.

This is no exception: it’s truly a delight to read.

Audiobook: Deep Dark

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by Zohra Nabi
Read by Sarah Ovens
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There are some intense parts, jump scares, and neglectful/bad parenting. It would be in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore if it existed in physical form.

Cassia Thorne has spent half of her life in a debtor’s prison in London, eking out what living she could while her father slowly descended into madness. She has made her way as a flute player at the Bartholomew Fair, but this year, she has hopes of something grander: to write and sell the songs that everyone sings. But, her quest for a grander life is waylaid when her friend’s younger brother goes missing. And suddenly Cassia is thrust into the underworld of London, a world of monsters and greedy men, a world where poor children go missing solely because no one will think to go looking for them.

Can Cassia help before it’s too late?

I pitched this one to my coworkers as Dickens with a kraken, and they all agreed: who wouldn’t want to read that? I do have to admit, I was a little disappointed there was an actual monster; I was kind of hoping for a straight-up historical mystery. That said, Nabi did a fantastic job weaving both the speculative aspect of an actual monster in the tunnels under London with the historical elements of class and the way poor people had to scrape to make it.

Ovens was a fantastic narrator, though, keeping the story moving forward, and keeping me engaged enough to keep wanting to listen. I’m sad there isn’t a physical publication of the book in the US; I can think of a handful of kids who would love this one.

But it’s fantastic on audio.