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Blog Tour Arrival - All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow

My youngest daughter is autistic, so I knew straightaway that I wanted to read this story when I came across the description for All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow. This book was longlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize and is an entirely unique debut novel. Sunday Forrester is our autistic narrator and mother to teenager-nearing-adulthood, Dolly. She lives in the house she grew up…

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Blog Tour Arrival - We Must Not Think of Ourselves by Lauren Grodstein

Six million Jews killed. This is why I read books about the Holocaust, both fiction and nonfiction. This is why I think it’s important that people worldwide read these books. Horrors still occur, unfortunately, but nothing to the unprecedented level that occurred during World War II. So when I had the opportunity to read We Must Not Think of Ourselves by Lauren Grodstein, I did so gladly. Our…

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Oneg Shabbat - The Pleasures of the Sabbath

The Warsaw Ghetto was established in October 1940. Over 400,000 Jewish people, or 30% of Warsaw’s population, were forced to live within an area that was 2.4% the size of Warsaw. Emanuel Ringelblum was one of these people. He, along with his wife, Yehudis, and their son, Uri, were forced into living conditions, where there was an average of seven people living per room, and food was severely…

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Review - Devil Makes Three by Ben Fountain

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Devil Makes Three by Ben Fountain literally begins with a coup, the 1991 coup d’état in Haiti, to be precise. American expat Matt Amaker must abandon the fledgling beachfront scuba business he and his Haitian friend Alix have started. With an international embargo putting a huge strain on the factories Alix himself runs in Port au Prince, the pair decide to go for broke and dive for treasure.…

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The Liberators by E. J. Koh - A Review

Absolutely gorgeous writing. #Books #BookReview #TheLIberators #NetGalley #Bookish #Fiction #LitFic #KoreanFiction #BooksAboutFamilies

The Liberators by E. J. Koh is a family saga, four generations in the making, starting at the height of the military dictatorship in South Korea. Insuk has married Sungho, who leaves for America to set the foundation for their life as a family, including his Mama Bear of a mother. We follow this family through impactful life events of their own and several impactful events for Korea. The novel…

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Review of Promise Boys by Nick Brooks

First class YA mystery figuring out who murdered a prep school principal in D.C. #Books #bookrecommendations #bookreviews #fiction #YA #mystery #bibliophile #reading

Whodunit? Many people enjoy reading a good mystery, myself included. Promise Boys by Nick Brooks perfectly fits the bill. The principal of a boys’ prep school in Washington D.C. is murdered. Three students are considered the prime suspects. All three claim innocence. They will have to work together to learn who really committed this heinous crime. I am seriously impressed with this young adult…

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Review of The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh

Fantastic blend of police procedural and psychological thriller. #books #bookrecommendations #reading #bookreviews #whattoread #whodunit

I absolutely loved I Let You Go and I See You by Clare Mackintosh, so imagine my surprise when I found a future book of hers on NetGalley. Then, imagine my surprise when I discovered it was book 2 in a series and I had completely missed out on the first title! I will be covering book 2 of the DC Morgan series, A Game of Lies. However, I first had to make sure I was all caught up by reading the…

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Pay As You Go by Eskor David Johnson

Trippin'. #Books #BookReviews #Reading #PayAsYouGo #NetGalley #Bookish #Bibliophile #WhatToRead #Fiction

Fancy a trip? Read Pay As You Go by Eskor David Johnson then, for it will take you on an urban odyssey like no other. Really, it’s like nothing else I have ever read! In a nutshell, we are reading a story that follows Slide on his journey to find his ideal apartment in the large fictional city of Polis. That may not sound very exciting, but the author completely brings Slide and the city to…

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Publishing Today: Here Lies Olive by Kate Anderson

A fun little horror/fantasy for young adult readers! #Books #Reading #BookRecommendations #YoungAdultFiction #Fiction #Horror #GhostStory #BookReviews

What happens after we die? This is what teenager Olive Morana really wants to know. After nearly succumbing to an anaphylactic reaction to shellfish two years ago, she thought she had her answer, but when her elderly friend in the local nursing home passed away right in front of her, she was left with doubt. She does what any girl living in the dark tourism capital of the United States would do…

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Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes

A fresh take on the Greek myth of Medusa. #books #Bookish #Reading #Fiction #BookRecommendations #BookReviews #WhatToRead #GreekMyths #Medusa #Retellings

Many people enjoy Greek mythology, myself included. One of my favorite tales is that of Medusa and her ability to literally petrify. In Stone Blind, Natalie Haynes delivers a beautifully feminist and empathetic retelling of the myth. Many readers already know of Medusa and her ability, but perhaps there are some who do not, so I will briefly describe. Medusa is the only mortal and the youngest…

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Now Available - The Witches at the End of the World by Chelsea Iversen

Now available for purchase! #Books #BookRecommendations #Fiction #Fantasy #HistFic #Witches #MagicalRealism #Bibliophile #Bookish #Reading #BookReviews

Do you believe in magic? Well, I do after reading The Witches at the End of the World, a mystical debut novel by Chelsea Iversen. Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for making this available for me. My opinions are mine alone. Set between an enchanted forest and a fishing village in 1677 Norway, Iverson’s tale of sisterhood is transportive. Kaija and Minna were young girls when their…

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Book Review - Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead by K. J. Parker

Reader who enjoy Terry Pratchett's dry humor might enjoy Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead by K. J. Parker! #Books #BookReviews #Reading #Fantasy #Fiction #Reviews #WhatToRead #BookReviewBlog #BookRecommendations

The premise of the main character working in battlefield salvage is a fascinating one. This is Saevus Corax’s profession of choice in Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead by K. J. Parker. He’s chosen this field to bury his past that he has already buried.. It’s a set of nesting dolls of pasts and lives for him (maybe a cat’s by the end of the trilogy?). Unfortunately, nothing stays buried for very…

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Bittersweet in the Hollow by Kate Pearsall

Deliciously rich folklore and mystery! #Books #BookRecommendations #WhatToRead #Readers #BookLovers #PublishingToday #GoodBooks #GoodReads #Recommendations #Fantasy #Mystery #YA

Once upon a time, in tiny Caball Hollow, there lived four sisters, each with a special ability. Linden’s is being able to taste what people are feeling. One night, a year ago, her gift ruined her relationship with Adonis… wait, I mean Cole Spencer, right before she vanished for a night in the vast National Forest but was eventually found, albeit missing her memories of that time. Fast forward to…

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Happy Publication Day to A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens by Raul Palma!!

Happy Publication Date to #AHauntingInHialeahGardens by Raul Palma! This was a a fun 4-star read! #BookRecommendations #Books #Reading #Horror #Publishing #NetGalley #Bookish #BookReviews

My friends! I just finished reading A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens by Raul Palma. What a fun ride! Now, I’m not the greatest at including media in my reviews, but this book does actually bring to mind a song, so here we go: It’s called “The Weight of Living” by Bastille (one of my favorite bands). Hugo is a Bolivian-American babalawo who is lost in grief and anger after the death of his wife…

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Maame by Jessica George

Maame (mah-meh), in Twi, has many meanings, but does "woman" really singularly define Maddie? Excellent chick-lit. #Books #BookWorm #Bookish #Reading #Fiction #ChickLit #Library #WhatToRead #AmReading #Maame

There is something about chick-lit set in London that does it for me. Maame by Jessica George delivers with aplomb. Many at 25 years of age have already set off on their own, begun to figure out living independently, managing their friend groups and relationships. Well, Maddie’s life isn’t like that. Her mother spends most of her time in Ghana, her brother is busy doing what she should be doing,…

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A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens

My friends!

I just finished reading A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens by Raul Palma. What a fun ride! Now, I'm not the greatest at including media in my reviews, but this book does actually bring to mind a song, so here we go: It's called "The Weight of Living" by Bastille (one of my favorite bands).

Hugo is a Bolivian-American babalawo who is lost in grief and anger after the death of his wife when the person who owns his debt begs him to get rid of the haunting in his home. Hugo thinks this will be a fantastic way to get some "payback," but it turns out there is way more to this haunting and these spirits than he expects.

The story is really an impressive metaphor for what it's like to be an immigrant, or even just "low class", in America, and the albatross around one's neck that is living the "American dream". If you, like me, have ever struggled with debt or received a call from a collection agency, you should be able to relate to what Hugo is going through. You'll be able to empathize with the anger Hugo feels drowning in debt for his late wife's necessary medical care. I mean, have you ever looked at an itemized hospital bill and realized you've been charged $1,000 for a bag of what is basically just salt water? So, yes, the relatability of Hugo is a definite strength this book possesses. While it's also addressing the difficulties that immigrants face, many lower middle class to low class Americans will be able to relate as well.

The author makes the cultural diaspora that is Miami come to life within the first couple of chapters. From shopping at Walmart to going to Disney World to buying sacrificial chickens for Ife practices, it's all included. The characters are distinct and unique, even if the debt owner is a total cliche. This is necessary, however, for Palma is doing a magnificent job of injecting absurd, but laugh-out-loud humor, into the story, and our cliched debt owner is absolutely part of that.

I was not bored for a single minute reading this. I don't believe that you will be either. Even if you read it without dissecting the metaphor, it's a fun little horror story, and I'd recommend you give it a shot. Definite kudos to Raul Palma for this debut novel.

My thanks to Penguin Group's Dutton and NetGalley for making this available to me to read and share my thoughts on.

It publishes October 3, 2023!

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