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Mel Leslie
- 7 days ago
Venco & Hidden Pictures
Venco Looking for a book with feminist witchy vibes? Check out Venco by Cherie Dimaline. Thank you Bibliolifestyle and William Morrow Books for the #gifted copy. #partner When I saw Kirsten Miller, author of The Change, endorsed this book, I knew I needed it. (The Change was a feminist charged five star read for me last year-check it out!) Venco (a play on the word ‘coven’) is a front company for a group of witches gearing up to find their last few members, while single hande
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Mel Leslie
- Mar 6
I Have Some Questions for You
Thank you Libro.FM for the #gifted ALC. #partner Rebecca Makkai has amazing range as an author. A few years ago, I read and loved The Great Believers. It was a sweeping dual-timeline novel set in the 1980s during the AIDs epidemic and modern-day Paris. I Have Some Questions for You is completely different, but enthralling with mystery and complex characters that Makkai is known for. A murder mystery set in a New England boarding school in the mid-90s, we have a podcaster/form
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Mel Leslie
- Feb 14
Hayley Aldridge Is Still Here
Thank you Bibliolifestyle @bibliolifestyle William Morrow Books @williammorrowbooks and Elissa R. Sloan @elissareads for the #gifted copy of Hayley Aldridge is Still Here #partner Publish date: February 14, 2023 Synopsis: Hayley Aldridge is a former child star and "It" girl. She starred in a long running sitcom and grew up on everyone's television. She is now fighting against a conservatorship that has legally allowed her parents to control her life for the past decade. Revie
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Mel Leslie
- Feb 12
The Faraway World
Thank you Avid Reader Press @avidreaderspress for the #gifted copy of The Faraway World by Patricia Engel. #partner This book blew me away. Somehow, Engel was able to capture hundreds of years' worth of history in a few hundred pages. The Faraway World is a collection of ten short stories centered around Latinx folks. Each story has different characters with a different set of challenges, but each has its own theme, including migration, moral compromise and sacrifice. Each in
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Mel Leslie
- Jan 23
Maame
Thank you, Net Galley and St. Martin's Press, for the #gifted digital ARC of Maame by Jessica George, out 1/31/23. #partner Maame by Jessica George is a coming-of-age novel with a female protagonist who grapples with her station in life. Maddie is a young 20-something living in London, but her life is far from glamorous. Her father has late-stage Parkinson's and she lives at home with him to be his main caretaker. Her brother is off living his best life, while her mother is g
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Mel Leslie
- Dec 28, 2022
What I Read in December
Now that I look at it, December was a pretty stacked reading month for me. I had some five stars and some duds. Some heavy historical fiction, some lighthearted literary fiction, some devilishly good dark humor and even some *gasp* romance! Check out my reviews below and add these to your list. Now is Not the Time to Panic Thank you to Libro.FM for the #gifted ALC. #partner Unfortunately, this book kept me bored and left me unfulfilled. I enjoyed Nothing to See Here for its q
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Mel Leslie
- Sep 26, 2022
The Winners
Thank you, Atria Books for the #gifted copy of The Winners by Fredrik Backman. #partner I would venture to say that it is difficult to find one person who isn't excited for the third installment in the Beartown series. When I heard The Winners was set for publication this year, I could not wait to go back to Beartown and see what Amat, Benji, Ana and Maya were up to. While The Winners was not my favorite book in the series, I enjoyed it and it brought up all the emotions that
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Mel Leslie
- Sep 18, 2022
The Women Could Fly
Thank you Libro.FM for the #gifted ALC. #partner I enjoyed Megan Giddings last novel, Lakewood, and when I saw she had a new release with a witchy synopsis, I was sold. The Women Could Fly is set in a not so far from reality dystopian world, where witches are real and single women are monitored by the government. Every woman must marry by the age of 30, or else register with the government and essentially be "watched" for signs of being a witch. It is a fictionalized story, r
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Mel Leslie
- Aug 3, 2022
You're Invited
Thank you to Net Galley for the #gifted digital ARC, in exchange for an honest review. #partner Well, this was a fun and wild ride. Who doesn’t love rich people acting messy? Rumors running amuck and reputations at stake. Add in some fun elements of Sir Lankan culture that add to the twists and you have yourself a fun read. (Pub date: August 9, 2022) Synopsis: Set during a lavish Sri Lankan wedding, Amaya is surprised to be invited to her former best friend’s wedding after ye
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Mel Leslie
- Jul 20, 2022
Woman of Light
Thank you to Libro.FM for the gifted audiobook of Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine. #partner I have had Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine on my watchlist for 2022 new releases for quite some time. I requested the digital advanced copy on Net Galley months ago and when I saw that Book of the Month had it as a June option, I snatched it up. THEN Libro.FM released the audiobook. It was like the universe was telling me to read this book. Woman of Light is a historical
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Mel Leslie
- Jul 9, 2022
New Release Thrillers out Summer 2022
Ya'll, know I love a good thriller and there are plenty coming out the second half of 2022 that I am excited about. We have something for everyone, ranging from a thriller with a twin trope, a feminist vigilante type thriller with my favorite book theme buzz word "cults," and a standalone sequel by the thriller queen herself, Lisa Jewell. Make sure and add these to your reading list! First Born by Will Dean Pub date: 7/5 Twin sisters. One dies. The police, and the twin left b
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Mel Leslie
- May 21, 2022
The Fervor
Thank you, Putnam Books, for the gifted copy of The Fervor by Alma Katsu. #partner When I heard that Alma Katsu was coming out with a new book this year, I knew I needed to get my hands on it. The Hunger was such a creepy, disturbing book that I absolutely loved and I had a feeling The Fervor would follow suit. Synopsis: Set in 1944, Japanese internment camps have cropped up over the United States and Japanese Americans are removed from their homes and considered a threat by
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Mel Leslie
- Apr 19, 2022
Four Treasures of the Sky
Thank you to Libro.FM for the #gifted audiobook of Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang, in exchange for an honest review. #partner You know I love an amazing debut novel and I have one for you today that is topping my list for 2022. Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang is everything I love in a debut novel. It is heartbreaking, endearing, educational and a true work of art. Set in the late 1800s, spanning two continents and covering a dark piece of US
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Mel Leslie
- Mar 21, 2022
True Crime Recs
I have been on a true crime kick lately. I recently finished the audio for I'll be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara and followed that up with Unmasked by Paul Holes. Both books heavily cover the story of the Golden State Killer, but from a different angle. Michelle delves into all the details of the case with a literary flair, while Paul's narrative is part memoir, part true crime and speaks to his involvement in the GSK case, as well as other well known crimes, and his
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Mel Leslie
- Feb 28, 2022
The Night Shift
Thank you to Net Galley and Minotaur Books for the digital copy of The Night Shift by Alex Finlay, in exchange for an honest review. #partner Synopsis: On New Year's Eve night 1999, a horrible murder takes place at a small town New Jersey Blockbuster. Four teenage girls are attacked, but one survives. The suspect flees, never to be seen again. Fifteen years later, in the same town, four teenage girls are attacked at an ice cream store, but one survives. Eerily familiar, an FB
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Mel Leslie
- Jan 10, 2022
Bright Burning Things
Thank you Bibliolifestyle and Harper Via for the #gifted copy of Bright Burning Things by Lisa Harding, in exchange for an honest review. #partner Bright Burning Things by Lisa Harding is an unflinching, honest, visceral depiction of addiction, recovery and motherhood. Reading this book kept me in a constant state of worry and anxiety, which I imagine is what it feels like to watch a family member or loved one struggle with addiction. Bright Burning Things is being compared t
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Mel Leslie
- Dec 12, 2021
Wish You Were Here
Thank you, Random House, for the #gifted copy of Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult, in exchange for an honest review. #partner Well, Jodi Picoult fans. This one is polarizing. You are either going to like this one or not care for it. I fell into the latter half.... Set in New York City at the beginning of the pandemic, Diana embarks on a trip to the Galapagos Islands, leaving behind her surgeon boyfriend, Finn. What was supposed to be a vacation together, turns into a solo t
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Mel Leslie
- Jun 14, 2021
Malibu Rising
Thank you Ballantine and Net Galley for a digital copy of Malibu Rising, in exchange for an honest review. #partner Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid is the ultimate summer beach read of 2021. The fact it is set in 1980's Malibu makes it even more perfect. (This picture is about as close to a beachside pick as I can get in Wisconsin...scummy lake where my kids are bass fishing and I'm sitting on the wooded shore! But hey, a girl can dream.) Synopsis: In 1983, one unforgett
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Mel Leslie
- Jun 3, 2021
The Other Black Girl
Thank you Atria Books and Net Galley for the digital ARC of The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris, in exchange for an honest review. #partner The summer of 2021 is starting out with a bang for new releases. The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris hits the stands 6/1. I found this one to be a total page turner. I often fell asleep reading my kindle in bed because I didn't want to put it down. The Other Black Girl is a blend of fictional genres with aspects of myste
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Mel Leslie
- May 25, 2021
The Maidens
Thank you Celadon Books for the gifted copy of The Maidens by Alex Michealides, out 6/15, in exchange for an honest review. #partner I was elated when I heard that Alex Michaelides was releasing his second novel because The Silent Patient is one of my all time favorite psychological thrillers. (That twist tho....I'm STILL not over it.) When Celadon sent me a gifted ARC of The Maidens, I practically squealed opening the mailbox. The Maidens is one of my most highly anticipated
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