My First Read of 2023 (and it was a good one!)

January 6, 2023 ~ Genevieve

{Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my gifted review copy}

Was was/is your first book of 2023?

A book about how books bring us together was my first book of 2023 (which I thought was quite fitting!) and I LOVED it!

Have you heard of No Two Persons yet? I was first introduced to author @ericabauermeister when I devoured her novel The Scent Keeper back in the spring of 2019.

And I am excited to announce that spring of 2023 is looking good too, with her newest work of fiction making its arrival on May 2nd!

Book Synopsis of No Two Persons:

“One book. Nine readers. Ten changed lives. New York Times bestselling author Erica Bauermeister’s No Two Persons is ‘gloriously original celebration of fiction, and the ways it deepens our lives.’

That was the beauty of books, wasn’t it? They took you places you didn’t know you needed to go…

Alice has always wanted to be a writer. Her talent is innate, but her stories remain safe and detached, until a devastating event breaks her heart open, and she creates a stunning debut novel. Her words, in turn, find their way to readers, from a teenager hiding her homelessness, to a free diver pushing himself beyond endurance, an artist furious at the world around her, a bookseller in search of love, a widower rent by grief. Each one is drawn into Alice’s novel; each one discovers something different that alters their perspective, and presents new pathways forward for their lives.

Together, their stories reveal how books can affect us in the most beautiful and unexpected of ways—and how we are all more closely connected to one another than we might think.”

The premise of No Two Persons had the potential to be complicated and hard to follow, but it was anything but and I was engrossed from the beginning. I loved starting out learning about the main character, who after a challenging young adulthood goes on to become a reclusive best-selling author. The subsequent chapters tell the story of one reader at a time, and each is done so well.

I found myself both sad to see each chapter end, as well as excited to learn how someone else was impacted by the book next. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again- fiction has as much potential to impact its readers as nonfiction/personal development does (which I am a big fan of!) And this book did just that- I loved this uniquely curious and moving read and I highly recommend it!

QOTD: What was your first book of 2023? And what format was it? Audiobook, kindle or a hardcopy? I would love to hear and you can join in on the conversation over on @genthebookworm right now!

Disclosure: Some of the links above are Amazon affiliate links. This means if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission that helps support this blog at no cost to you. Thank you!

Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez // Mood Reading & Book Club Recommendation!

April 25, 2022 ~ Genevieve

{@BerkleyPub #gifted. Thank you for my free copy to read and share}⁣

Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valde

⁣Are you a book planner or a mood reader?

I am absolutely a mood reader, but I also have a general idea of what I want to read during the next month or so. I am easily tempted by a shiny #NewBookReleases (and also like to share them here!) and I also have to be in the right mood for certain genres. 🔮⁣
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My overall reading during the last couple of years has not included many historical fiction novels, I just could not get into them. And so when I kept seeing some of my trusted book recommendation sources proclaiming this was a five start read, I knew Take My Hand would be my next read.

Given that this is a fictionalized account of actual events, this book proved to be a deeply powerful (and sometimes quite uncomfortable) look at inequality and the rights of reproductive consent. Books like this are so important, because as we all know too well, “…history repeats what we don’t remember”.

⁣Take My Hand is deeply empathetic but also a blunt reminder of how we may feel like we know what’s best for someone else, when we haven’t ever walked a day in their shoes. It explores responsibility, the power of CHOICE and is a raw and unfiltered look at human rights.⁣
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I finished this book last week and I know it will truly be a book I will never forget. It would also make an incredibly powerful book club discussion. Is this new release on your TBR list yet? I discussed this over on @genthebookworm and would love to hear your thoughts.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry // Book Review & Discussion

April 25, 2022 ~ Genevieve

{@berkleypub #partner. Thank you for my #gifted copy to read and review!} ⁣

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣

I had been anxiously awaiting getting my hands on this book for SO many months and let me tell you, it did not disappoint!
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Author Emily Henry has a way of creating such likable and relatable characters- ones you quickly must find out more about. 💜⁣
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I really loved this small town romance as well as the focus on sisterhood, becoming our true selves, and a peek into the lives of book editors and agents.
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I’m sure the author drew these parts of the stories based on her own experiences and it was really entertaining to read about that side of the books we all love and enjoy. ✍️⁣⁣

Emily Henry has officially become a must read author for me and I can’t wait to see what she writes next! Book Lovers publishes on May 3rd and I highly recommend adding it to your spring reading list! You can also order it through my affiliate link HERE.

As always, I discussed this book over on @genthebookworm and I would love it if you joined in on the conversation!

⁣Disclosure: Some of the links above are Amazon affiliate links. This means if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission that helps support this blog at no cost to you. Thank you!

Mom Jeans and Other Mistakes by Alexa Martin | Berkley Publishing {Book Rating & Discussion}

November 27, 2021November 27, 2021 ~ Genevieve

{Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my gifted review copy}

Mom Jeans and Other Mistakes by Alexa Martin

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫⁣

Book Summary:

Two best friends say “I do” to living together, for better or worse, in this bold women’s fiction novel from Alexa Martin.

Jude Andrews is famous. Well, at least on Instagram. Her brand is clean eating, good vibes, Pilates, and casually looking like a sun-kissed goddess. In real life, however, she’s a total disaster. She has a strained relationship with her fame-hungry mom and her latest bad decision emptied out her entire savings account.

Lauren Turner had a plan: graduate medical school and become the top surgeon in the country. But when she became unexpectedly pregnant, those plans changed. And when her fiancé left her, they changed again. Now navigating the new world of coparenting, mom groups, and dating, she decides to launch a mommy podcast with all the advice she wishes someone had given her.

Jude and Lauren don’t have much in common, but maybe that’s why they’ve been best friends since the third grade. Through ups and downs, they’ve been by each other’s sides. But now? They’re broke, single, and do the only thing that makes sense—move in together, just like they talked about when they were teenagers. Except when they were younger, the plan didn’t include a five-year-old daughter and more baggage than their new townhouse can hold.

Purchase Your Copy:

Amazon Link

LibroFM Bookstore Link

My Thoughts & Review:

I have to say, I was initially drawn to this book by the title and book cover, it’s just perfection. But what I I didn’t expect is that behind this cute cover and clever name would ultimately be SO much more than just an easy contemporary fiction read.

Author Alexa Martin draws you in and introduces you to childhood best friends, Lauren and Jude. Their lives could not be more different but when unforeseen circumstances arise, they decide to enact their childhood dream of moving in together.

They are hoping to be able to help each other out while they both are feeling a bit down on their luck. Lauren is a Black single mom to her five year old daughter Addy and Jude is a social media “influencer”, so of course, things don’t go exactly as planned, as these friends are each in very different stages of life.

What I loved about this book is the focus on adult female friendship, and how it isn’t always smooth sailing. Seeing these two women root for one another, themselves and their relationship together while also traveling the bumpy road of adulthood was relatable and inspiring.

I appreciated that there were elements of love but this this story was also based in reality. Hard topics weren’t only tied in but also fully discussed, including, race, child custody, mental health, alcoholism,and motherhood. Both women have empowering parts of their lives and also things they are working through, and I appreciated that so much.

This was my first book by Alexa Martin and certainly won’t be my last! I highly recommend this one and think it would maker for a great book club discussion.

I shared this book over on my instagram account @genthebookworm back when this was published in September, if you are interested in hearing more!

Disclosure: Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission that helps keep this website running and at no cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson | Scribner Books {Book Discussion & Review}

September 18, 2021September 18, 2021 ~ Genevieve

{Thank you to Scribner Books for my gifted review copy}

Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣

{My @GenTheBookworm #Bookstagram Discussion of Damnation Spring can be found HERE.}

Publication Date:

August 3rd, 2021

Book Summary:

Colleen and Rich Gundersen are raising their young son, Chub, on the rugged California coast. It’s 1977, and life in this Pacific Northwest logging town isn’t what it used to be. For generations, the community has lived and breathed timber; now that way of life is threatened.

Colleen is an amateur midwife. Rich is a tree-topper. It’s a dangerous job that requires him to scale trees hundreds of feet tall—a job that both his father and grandfather died doing. Colleen and Rich want a better life for their son—and they take steps to assure their future. Rich secretly spends their savings on a swath of ancient Redwoods. Colleen, desperate to have a second baby, challenges the logging company’s use of herbicides that she believes are responsible for the many miscarriages in the community—including her own. Colleen and Rich find themselves on opposite sides of a budding conflict that threatens the very thing they are trying to protect: their family.

Told in prose as clear as a spring-fed creek, Damnation Spring is an intimate, compassionate portrait of a family whose bonds are tested and a community clinging to a vanishing way of life. An extraordinary story of the transcendent, enduring power of love—between husband and wife, mother and child, and longtime neighbors. An essential novel for our times.

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