★★★★★ An honest autobiographical account of a showbiz life, infused with humor, self-deprecation and a joie de vivre oozing from every page.

★★★☆☆ A character study of two neighboring families on the outskirts of New York City. I hoped for spellbinding; what I got was milquetoast.

★★★★☆ The author of Killers of the Flower Moon returns with an account of a shipwreck in the 1740s and the tale of survival that follows.

★★★☆☆ A mostly tragic decades-spanning debut about a young woman dealing with adversity while growing up in rural Colorado circa 1950.

★★★☆☆ Strange is an understated descriptor for the protagonist of this novel, which follows a woman as she tries to find her way to normalcy

★★★☆☆ A so-so debut that follows the exploits of a grandmother, mother, and daughter as they work to solve a mystery on the California coast

★★★★☆ A father goes missing, and his son knows what happened but cannot tell anyone due to a disability. Mostly satisfying, but with flaws.

★★★☆☆ It's not especially romantic or comedic, and it lacks any type of misdirection. Weirdly, I still sort of enjoyed it, but I wanted more

★★★★★ A story of a four tight knit girls at a small college turns dark when it seems they might have been involved with a frat boy's death.

★★★☆☆ Book 3 in the Maggie D'Arcy mystery series fizzles compared to prior books; fully set in Ireland, the story feels muddled and forced.

★★★★★ El-Arifi builds on her stellar debut The Final Strife (my #3 book of 2022), and does so both ambitiously and successfully.

★★★☆☆ Inflated expectations probably diminished my enjoyment of this river odyssey tale. It's an okay story, but Ordinary Grace it is not.

★★★★★ An exploration of relationships and friendships in Henry's most mature offering yet, centered on a week-long vacation in Maine.

★★★★☆ Hart's tale of women finding their power through witchcraft is diluted by her one-dimensional portrayal of universally horrible men.

★★★☆☆ A rushed sophomore slump of a novel that fails to live up to Boulley's first book, Firekeeper's Daughter, in almost every way.

★★★★☆ Societal commentary abounds in this story of a white author stealing the final manuscript of an Asian American author after her death.

★★★★☆ The 2nd book in the Danny Ryan Trilogy fails to live up to the 1st, but it's a quick read if you want more time with the Dogtown crew.

★★★★★ A well-executed (pun intended) novel about 4 female assassins in their 60s who must unretire when they are targeted by their agency.

★★★☆☆ Audrain once again examines the trials of parenting, but this time fails to balance character flaws with anything remotely redeemable.

★★★★★ A mother sees her son commit a murder, and must find out why while stuck in a backwards time loop. Sounds weird, but it works well!