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okiecozyreader's reviews
1073 reviews
Honey: A Novel by Isabel Banta
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.0
I have been so excited to read this book along with the #CeladonReadsTogether program. It was a fun nod to the 1990s - I loved all the music and tv references. It also made me sad for all of the pop stars of the era that were judged for having sex or not, and for how they dressed, the ways they were analyzed about their bodies, etc.
HONEY is a story about Amber Young who, after multiple auditions, is asked to be part of a forming girl band group. She makes a lifelong friend in one of the other group members, who immediately goes out on her own. Amber wants to do the same, but doesn’t believe in herself or know herself enough to know what she wants.
A lot of the book deals with her feelings about sex, losing her virginity and how it affects her in the industry and her relationships with other men.
The book includes song lyrics and I think aspires to the world of Daisy Jones (but a 90s pop star version). I would have liked to have known more about Amber and who she was apart from her feelings about sex and fame. But I thought it was a fun read, nonetheless.
“Are you nervous for the show? …
“Just pretend you’re dying and you’ll be born again the next day. Empty yourself out, give them everything you’ve got. There’s nothing to lose because tomorrow will be a completely new group of people.” P79
“I’ll never be satisfied,” … I’ll always want the next thing. The album to be better. To work with different producers. …” p97
“She decanted her life into an empty glass, let it breathe, swallowed it. Then poured again.” P 161
“Nothing comes from nothing. All we can do is try to create with the same ingredients we all have.” P260
“I call it HONEY. … Because this album sounds like a lazy sun crawling up the sheets. Someone’s eyes igniting a radiant feeling. Everything inside you screaming yes.” P297
HONEY is a story about Amber Young who, after multiple auditions, is asked to be part of a forming girl band group. She makes a lifelong friend in one of the other group members, who immediately goes out on her own. Amber wants to do the same, but doesn’t believe in herself or know herself enough to know what she wants.
A lot of the book deals with her feelings about sex, losing her virginity and how it affects her in the industry and her relationships with other men.
The book includes song lyrics and I think aspires to the world of Daisy Jones (but a 90s pop star version). I would have liked to have known more about Amber and who she was apart from her feelings about sex and fame. But I thought it was a fun read, nonetheless.
“Are you nervous for the show? …
“Just pretend you’re dying and you’ll be born again the next day. Empty yourself out, give them everything you’ve got. There’s nothing to lose because tomorrow will be a completely new group of people.” P79
“I’ll never be satisfied,” … I’ll always want the next thing. The album to be better. To work with different producers. …” p97
“She decanted her life into an empty glass, let it breathe, swallowed it. Then poured again.” P 161
“Nothing comes from nothing. All we can do is try to create with the same ingredients we all have.” P260
“I call it HONEY. … Because this album sounds like a lazy sun crawling up the sheets. Someone’s eyes igniting a radiant feeling. Everything inside you screaming yes.” P297
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Sexism
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Drug use
Everyone But Myself by Julie Chavez
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
So much of this book felt close to home. I began my school library career when my son was in 5th grade and I got to be the librarian at his school. Like in this book, it has sometimes been too much for me, too. I had also stayed home with my son for 10 years and the going back to work routine did add a lot of stress, along with trying to do mom stuff and keeping house.
This book is such a good reminder to take care of yourself, too. I feel like it accurately tells the story of modern motherhood in a honest but loving way, and that these stories need to be told… that marriage and motherhood aren’t fairytales, but hard work and things aren’t often perfect, but they are worth figuring out and pursuing.
“After too long caring for everyone but myself, I had learned to care for everyone AND myself.” Epilogue
“...the tow of the polling succeeded only in pulling me farther from the shore of myself.” Ch 10
I have felt this in my soul lately…
“I was still terribly sensitive and triggered by pretty much everything. The world offers no shortage of things to worry about.” Ch 25
This book is such a good reminder to take care of yourself, too. I feel like it accurately tells the story of modern motherhood in a honest but loving way, and that these stories need to be told… that marriage and motherhood aren’t fairytales, but hard work and things aren’t often perfect, but they are worth figuring out and pursuing.
“After too long caring for everyone but myself, I had learned to care for everyone AND myself.” Epilogue
“...the tow of the polling succeeded only in pulling me farther from the shore of myself.” Ch 10
I have felt this in my soul lately…
“I was still terribly sensitive and triggered by pretty much everything. The world offers no shortage of things to worry about.” Ch 25
The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
4.25
This was a cute read about two screen-writers - one famous (Charlie Yates) and one who writes rom-coms (and takes care of her father, Emma Wheeler). When the famous one needs help with a rom-com, Emma is brought in (as a surprise) to make it better. As she tries to teach him the merits of romance, they both share tragedies in their lives.
Katherine Center writes such fun banter. She does have a lot of talking to the reader dialogue, but I enjoy her writing. I also appreciate that her books are clean romances (no spice).
I thought it was a fun read! (4.25 stars, maybe?)
Katherine Center writes such fun banter. She does have a lot of talking to the reader dialogue, but I enjoy her writing. I also appreciate that her books are clean romances (no spice).
I thought it was a fun read! (4.25 stars, maybe?)
Good Chinese Wife: A Love Affair with China Gone Wrong by Susan Blumberg-Kason
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
5.0
I loved reading this book about my friend Susan Blumberg-Kason’s life trying to be a Good Chinese Wife. I have known Susan a few years through her bookstagram account and she has been such a lovely friend! I knew she wrote reviews about Chinese / Asian books but I didn’t know her background spending time in Hong Kong or mainland China. I saw someone mention Susan’s writings about her marriage so I looked it up and found this book.
This is such an interesting memoir about her time in school in Hong Kong, meeting her husband and their relationship and marriage. I feel like her romance with her husband reminded me of the way people feel in so many romance books. I thought she wanted to be the Good Chinese Wife, but realized at some point, she wasn’t married to a good Chinese husband. I can’t imagine what the cultural differences would be like in a marriage. I am also glad she tells the reader how her story ended (happily).
This book is available on hoopla right now, if you want to read it!
“The next morning, I asked my boss for the afternoon off three Thursdays from then. When I told her the reason, she grinned and said I was a good Chinese wife.” Ch 25
“Throughout those five years, I had tried to be a good Chinese wife but had ended up almost losing myself.” Epilogue
This is such an interesting memoir about her time in school in Hong Kong, meeting her husband and their relationship and marriage. I feel like her romance with her husband reminded me of the way people feel in so many romance books. I thought she wanted to be the Good Chinese Wife, but realized at some point, she wasn’t married to a good Chinese husband. I can’t imagine what the cultural differences would be like in a marriage. I am also glad she tells the reader how her story ended (happily).
This book is available on hoopla right now, if you want to read it!
“The next morning, I asked my boss for the afternoon off three Thursdays from then. When I told her the reason, she grinned and said I was a good Chinese wife.” Ch 25
“Throughout those five years, I had tried to be a good Chinese wife but had ended up almost losing myself.” Epilogue
The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Loved the CEMETERY OF UNTOLD STORIES. It’s about someone who builds such a cemetery in the Dominican for people to tell the stories so they do not die with people. One story takes up much of the book between sisters, the dictator, etc. I wish it had multiple narrators, but other than that, I really enjoyed it.
The audio was fantastic! Thank you libro.fm for providing audio copies to librarians.
“We both know, Alma reminded her friend, that we don't get free until we write our stories down. She quoted a passage…"If you bring forth what is inside you, what is inside you will save you.
If you do not bring forth what is inside, what is inside you will destroy you.” I
“Some stories don’t want to be told. Let them go.” 1
“It was a good feeling to experience equality literally in the flesh, not just as an abstraction.” I
“…honoring all those characters who had never had the chance to tell their stories. She wanted to bring them home to their mother tongue and land.” I
“A cemetery for untold stories. • The only way to enter is to speak into a small black box at the front gate.” II
“If a story is never told, where does it go? the woman answers with a question?” II
“That's why in certain tribes they say when an old person dies, a library is gone.” II
“The road to some people's hearts only goes in one direction.” III
“The truth is, people are capable of anything.
Don't all the stories Filomena has heard…confirm that?” III
“And if you could hear other people's stories all the time, what then? Would you understand them better? Would you forgive them?” III
The audio was fantastic! Thank you libro.fm for providing audio copies to librarians.
“We both know, Alma reminded her friend, that we don't get free until we write our stories down. She quoted a passage…"If you bring forth what is inside you, what is inside you will save you.
If you do not bring forth what is inside, what is inside you will destroy you.” I
“Some stories don’t want to be told. Let them go.” 1
“It was a good feeling to experience equality literally in the flesh, not just as an abstraction.” I
“…honoring all those characters who had never had the chance to tell their stories. She wanted to bring them home to their mother tongue and land.” I
“A cemetery for untold stories. • The only way to enter is to speak into a small black box at the front gate.” II
“If a story is never told, where does it go? the woman answers with a question?” II
“That's why in certain tribes they say when an old person dies, a library is gone.” II
“The road to some people's hearts only goes in one direction.” III
“The truth is, people are capable of anything.
Don't all the stories Filomena has heard…confirm that?” III
“And if you could hear other people's stories all the time, what then? Would you understand them better? Would you forgive them?” III
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
slow-paced
3.5
The narration on this audio (thank you libro.fm) was fabulous. I enjoyed both British narrators and it was so enjoyable to listen to.
The Ministry of Time is a British agency that time travels their operatives. A woman who is trained to reaclimate new arrivals is assigned an expat known as “1847” or Commander Graham Gore. She brings him up to date on the current world. Most of the novel is conversations between them. The last 2-3 hours of the audio the story got more interesting- but most of the novel is world building and introducing us to these characters.
“Life is a series of slamming doors. We make irrevocable decisions every day. A twelve-second delay, a slip of the tongue, and suddenly your life is on a new road.” Ch 5
“How could I resist it? He came to me as a story. Now l'd let the story slip out of my grip.” Ch 9
“Forgiveness, which takes you back to the person you were and lets you reset them. Hope, which exists in a future in which you are new.
Forgiveness and hope are miracles.
They let you change your life.” Ch 10
The Ministry of Time is a British agency that time travels their operatives. A woman who is trained to reaclimate new arrivals is assigned an expat known as “1847” or Commander Graham Gore. She brings him up to date on the current world. Most of the novel is conversations between them. The last 2-3 hours of the audio the story got more interesting- but most of the novel is world building and introducing us to these characters.
“Life is a series of slamming doors. We make irrevocable decisions every day. A twelve-second delay, a slip of the tongue, and suddenly your life is on a new road.” Ch 5
“How could I resist it? He came to me as a story. Now l'd let the story slip out of my grip.” Ch 9
“Forgiveness, which takes you back to the person you were and lets you reset them. Hope, which exists in a future in which you are new.
Forgiveness and hope are miracles.
They let you change your life.” Ch 10
Funny Story by Emily Henry
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.25
FUNNY STORY - kind of reminds me of SUMMER ROMANCE. It’s about the “funny story” of how two people meet. When two people are dumped (she was engaged to be married and he was the boyfriend of the girl her fiancé left her for), they temporarily live together and try to figure out why they were ditch-able.
I think it’s a solid summer romance, but it just wasn’t one of my favorite reads. The main character was figuring a lot out about herself and really viewed herself as a problem, and she sees all relationships through that lens. So it got kind of frustrating, but I understand why it is the way it is.
It’s kind of hard for me to distinguish how I feel about Emily Henry’s writing vs. Julia Whelan’a narration. I do think EH is amazing at describing all the little moments - his hand “curls on hand around my wrist, running his thumb over my veins.” … these moments I wouldn’t think that much about, make the book seem real.
"The library is, like, the single best cross section of humanity," I tell him. ". Ch 26
“It's easy to be loved by the ones who've never seen you f*** up. The ones you've never had to apologize to, and who still think all your 'quirks' are charming.” Ch 28
“Those are the moments that make a life. Not grand gestures, but mundane details that, over time, accumulate until you have a home, instead of a house. The things that matter. The things I can’t stop longing for. Ch 32
I think it’s a solid summer romance, but it just wasn’t one of my favorite reads. The main character was figuring a lot out about herself and really viewed herself as a problem, and she sees all relationships through that lens. So it got kind of frustrating, but I understand why it is the way it is.
It’s kind of hard for me to distinguish how I feel about Emily Henry’s writing vs. Julia Whelan’a narration. I do think EH is amazing at describing all the little moments - his hand “curls on hand around my wrist, running his thumb over my veins.” … these moments I wouldn’t think that much about, make the book seem real.
"The library is, like, the single best cross section of humanity," I tell him. ". Ch 26
“It's easy to be loved by the ones who've never seen you f*** up. The ones you've never had to apologize to, and who still think all your 'quirks' are charming.” Ch 28
“Those are the moments that make a life. Not grand gestures, but mundane details that, over time, accumulate until you have a home, instead of a house. The things that matter. The things I can’t stop longing for. Ch 32
Content Warnings
Father issues
Drinker of Ink by Shannon Castleton
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
1991 - Vivienne Lebrun is in a poetry class with a Yugoslavian graduate student teacher, Peter. He is moved by her writing and tries to push her further in her writing. She is torn between school and her family. Her mother struggled with cancer, and she lives in constant fear that her family isn’t telling her when things are hard.
This book is just lovingly written through journal entries. It is such a joy to read and just makes you feel good. There are parts of the story that are difficult, of course (there has to be some conflict, right?), but for people who love books and writing, this is a fantastic read - esp for a debut. I think you can see the author’s love of poetry, which is also fun.
“…to dwell on the origin of pain is to become trapped in a loop—to circle the trauma as if in a semi-truck, until the tire grooves grow so deep, you can’t turn out to drive forward.” January 7
“He says that a poem must serve as a map to a world outside itself—it cannot be just a cute story or lovely images. It must guide readers to what feels like a shared experience.” January 11
“It is terrifying to be a parent. To choose to behave one way with your child, and then watch what comes of it. It is like planting a garden with aster and dynamite, but you never know which, and either sprouts up at the oddest times to remind you of what you did well or poorly.” March 14
“To Vivienne, mon buveur d’encre. “Your drinker of ink.”
The name was perfect—a more elegant version of rat de bibliothèque—“library rat,” or “bookworm.” April 25
“I guess perfection is just . . .” …“Not thinking of what could be different.” May 2
“…to write is to allow pain and love and memory and time to exist outside yourself. You breathe when the words are out.”
This book is just lovingly written through journal entries. It is such a joy to read and just makes you feel good. There are parts of the story that are difficult, of course (there has to be some conflict, right?), but for people who love books and writing, this is a fantastic read - esp for a debut. I think you can see the author’s love of poetry, which is also fun.
“…to dwell on the origin of pain is to become trapped in a loop—to circle the trauma as if in a semi-truck, until the tire grooves grow so deep, you can’t turn out to drive forward.” January 7
“He says that a poem must serve as a map to a world outside itself—it cannot be just a cute story or lovely images. It must guide readers to what feels like a shared experience.” January 11
“It is terrifying to be a parent. To choose to behave one way with your child, and then watch what comes of it. It is like planting a garden with aster and dynamite, but you never know which, and either sprouts up at the oddest times to remind you of what you did well or poorly.” March 14
“To Vivienne, mon buveur d’encre. “Your drinker of ink.”
The name was perfect—a more elegant version of rat de bibliothèque—“library rat,” or “bookworm.” April 25
“I guess perfection is just . . .” …“Not thinking of what could be different.” May 2
“…to write is to allow pain and love and memory and time to exist outside yourself. You breathe when the words are out.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Cancer
The Same Bright Stars: A Novel by Ethan Joella
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I feel like what Ethan Joella does so well is create community from unlikely people. In this case, the story follows Jack’s local restaurant Schmidt’s on Rehoboth Beach. I didn’t know much about Delaware before this book and I have since marked this as a place I want to go on my map. Like he mentions in the book, there is a bookstore (which he lists in the credits). Throughout the book, there are pages from a visitor’s guide talking about visiting there and what it is like in different seasons.
This book takes place throughout the year (much of it seems to be in the fall/winter, which wasn’t what I was expecting. Jack has had offers to sell Schmidt’s to a local conglomerate but he doesn’t really want to, but then again, he can’t decide. He doesn’t have a family and he has been somewhat of a workaholic. His employees and the community have become his family and he tries to sort through issues with them and his own life throughout the book.
I think this is a great book to cozy up with, when you want to feel the community love. The book is divided into two parts, the first part has a lot of difficult things but the second part pulls it together. Joella leaves you with a lot of love, as always.
This book takes place throughout the year (much of it seems to be in the fall/winter, which wasn’t what I was expecting. Jack has had offers to sell Schmidt’s to a local conglomerate but he doesn’t really want to, but then again, he can’t decide. He doesn’t have a family and he has been somewhat of a workaholic. His employees and the community have become his family and he tries to sort through issues with them and his own life throughout the book.
I think this is a great book to cozy up with, when you want to feel the community love. The book is divided into two parts, the first part has a lot of difficult things but the second part pulls it together. Joella leaves you with a lot of love, as always.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Abortion
There is a child that he didn’t know about, that creates a lot of sadness.
How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.5
I feel like you can tell this book is written by a screenwriter, and it’s fun to have a glimpse into that world.
There is a large car scene / suicide on the first page and a lot of the book deals with the trauma from that experience, from both the sister and the car driver. Helen (the sister) hasn’t seen the car driver, Grant Shepard (doesn’t that sound like a Hollywood name?) since the accident. Then he shows up as the script writer for her book series that is going into production.
Most of the book is from Helen’s pov, but sometimes it does alternate between her and Grant.
It was a fun read, with some spicy scenes (she actually lists the chapters at the end of the Acknowledgments) and lots of orgasms. Iykyk
“But Helen has created a very special window into her life that’s just for her parents… She stores up bad news like acorns in winter and metes them out in small doses, when she finally has good news to soften the blow.” P109
“She… wonders if emotional earthquakes have the same kind of internal fallout - rattled bones, shaken foundations, everything hanging on the walls slightly askew.” P200
“He woke up this morning feeling like he should make some space in his life for people with long winter coats….
Maybe, he thinks, I should just get rid of things I don’t need anymore.” P213
There is a large car scene / suicide on the first page and a lot of the book deals with the trauma from that experience, from both the sister and the car driver. Helen (the sister) hasn’t seen the car driver, Grant Shepard (doesn’t that sound like a Hollywood name?) since the accident. Then he shows up as the script writer for her book series that is going into production.
Most of the book is from Helen’s pov, but sometimes it does alternate between her and Grant.
It was a fun read, with some spicy scenes (she actually lists the chapters at the end of the Acknowledgments) and lots of orgasms. Iykyk
“But Helen has created a very special window into her life that’s just for her parents… She stores up bad news like acorns in winter and metes them out in small doses, when she finally has good news to soften the blow.” P109
“She… wonders if emotional earthquakes have the same kind of internal fallout - rattled bones, shaken foundations, everything hanging on the walls slightly askew.” P200
“He woke up this morning feeling like he should make some space in his life for people with long winter coats….
Maybe, he thinks, I should just get rid of things I don’t need anymore.” P213
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Medical trauma, Grief, and Child death