ginasbookreport

Oye by Melissa Mogollon Publisher: Hogarth an imprint of Random House Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Literature / Fiction / Humor Read This If You Love: The Guncle by Steven Rowley / The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren “Pain! Beauty! Resilience! And silicone! All tightly packed in one.” Oye by Melissa Mogollon is a masterpiece of a humorous coming-of-age story with a twist. Luciana (Nana) is entering her last year of high school and is balancing figuring out who she is, being accepted, adjusting to her sister living away at college, and navigating her quirky family and their love. The book is a lovely, funny, touching tale of a young woman coming into her own voice and learning lessons from her fearless grandmother—a character readers are sure to love and NEVER forget. Oye opens with the quote  “Entre broma y broma, la verdad se asoma.” roughly…  “Many a true word is spoken in jest.”—Everyone’s Mother That quote sums up this novel so well. Nana pulls no pu...

Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross Publisher:  St. Martin’s Press Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Fantasy / Romantasy / Young Adult Read This If You Love: Divine Rivals / Iron Flame “The magic still gathers, and the past is gilded; I see the beauty in what has been but only because I have tasted both sorrow and joy in equal measures.” Ruthless Vows picks up immediately after the events in Divine Rivals. Kitt and Winnow managed to survive Avalon Bluff, but the actions of the gods continue to rip fractures in their world and love. Will Roman be able to overcome what has happened to him and the position in which he finds himself? Will Iris be able to help save her home through her dedication to reporting? How will these lovers find one another when everything is built against them? How will they turn the tides? “In war, there are always debts.” ***While I often will read series books as a standalone or out of order, I would highly recommend that you read Divine Rivals  b...

The Other Half by Charlotte Vassell Publisher: Anchor Books, Penguin Random House Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 Genre:  Domestic Suspense / Thriller / Mystery / Satire Read This If You Love: The Block Party  by Jamie Day “She deserved better than to die there. To die because of him.” The Other Half  by Jenny Jackson is a quick-paced mystery wrapped in a satire about an ultra-wealthy British friend group. Full of toxic characters and attributes, everyone is a suspect when a dead body is found in the polished garden. DS Caius Beauchamp and his co-workers Matt and Amy are a delight to have as the guides through this story. Thank goodness, because I really didn’t like any of the other characters. Yikes! I almost  stopped reading after the first two chapters, but I’m glad I didn’t. It was an entertaining read and the car scene toward the end was one of my favorite scenes in any book I’ve read in the last year. This book was part of the Crime by the Box subscripti...

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus Publisher:  Doubleday Books Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre:  Literature Read This If You Love:  Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine Elizabeth is a scientist, and society and men aren’t happy about it. They can try to “put her in her place,” but she is still going to set up her lab and do the work. She is a force that will not be stopped no matter what life throws her way. When she finds herself raising a daughter alone, she puts her own brand of Elizabeth into parenting. You will laugh and cry along with Elizabeth and her loved ones. (I was especially partial to Six Thirty.) Lessons in Chemistry is an exploration of the repression of women and the spine of steel that it takes to persevere anyway. It’s easy to see why so many have fallen in love with this book and Elizabeth. I, for one, can’t wait to see how this translates to the screen in the Apple TV+ series. I enjoyed reading this book beachside and will always reme...

Book by Book / While We Were Dating by Jasmine Guillory Publisher:  Jove Book published by Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre:  Contemporary Romance / Chick Lit Read This If You Love:  The Unhoneymooners  / other Jasmine Guillory books  In By the Book, Izzy is making her way in the world of publishing. Her one time dream job has hit the reality that publishing isn’t always a glamorous thrill-a-minute industry. Day after day she slogs through her list of to dos, which includes reminding Beau Towers that he has an actual deadline for his memoir. Izzy finds herself on the standoffish author’s doorstep and all her frustrations come pouring out after his rude behavior. The perfect start for a romance, right! But is Beau really a jaded jerk or is he just as lost in life as Izzy. By the Book  delivers a sweet love story built on finding yourself and someone to support you along the way.  Side note...

Cover Story by Susan Rigetti Publisher:  William Morrow, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre:  Literature / Chick Lit Read This If You Love:  Inventing Anna  / Catch Me If You Can / Queen of the Con (podcast) Lora Rick wants to make her dream of becoming a fashion magazine editor a reality. When her actual life is falling apart, she lands an internship at Elle . There she crosses paths with Cat Wolff—a charismatic and enthralling figure living off her billionaire father’s dime. Except…who IS Cat…really? A magical persona or a masterful con artist?  Socialite con artist meets Catch Me If You Can  is told via emails, texts, reports, and diary entries. A great and easy-to-read thrill of a ride, it is the perfect pool or beach read when you need some low mental investment entertainment.  When I’m not reading a book, I’m often listening to podcasts and one of my favorites is Queen of the Con  by Johnatha...

It’s Tuesday and that means more new books are hitting the shelves! I am sooo excited for one book in particular… Available 11.15.23 Have I Told You This Already?: Stories I Don’t Want to Forget to Remember by Lauren Graham Publisher: Ballantine Books Genre: Humor/Memoir Synopsis from the Publisher:  Lauren Graham has graced countless television screens with her quick-witted characters and hilarious talk show appearances, earning a reputation as a pop culture icon who always has something to say. In her latest book,  Have I Told You This Already?,  Graham combines her signature sense of humor with down-to-earth storytelling. Graham shares personal stories about her life and career—from her early days spent pounding the pavement while waitressing in New York City, to living on her aunt’s couch during her first Los Angeles pilot season, to thoughts on aging gracefully in Hollywood. In “R.I.P. Barneys New York” Graham writes about an early job as a salesperson at the legenda...

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger Publisher:  Park Row Books Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre:  Family Drama / Thriller Read This If You Love:  Crime Documentaries In this new suspense novel by the talented Lisa Unger, everyone seems to have something to hide. It was like a mash up of true crime documentary stories collided and formed a suspense novel. Gripping! When Hannah gathers with her parents, brother, and sister-in-law for Christmas, someone sneaks one last gift under the tree…DNA test kits. Cut to family retreat six months later and all hell breaks loose. Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six is a stormy thunderbolt of action wrapped up in plots you would find in a true crime documentary. I was hooked on this book and would have read it in one night if I hadn’t been so tired from the day. Books often rush through an ending that feels unsatisfying, but not this one. I was fully invested until the last paragraph. This is the right book for you if you like a c...