It’s another Ali Hazelwood win in my book. Maybe even a new favorite!

I used to be so intimidated by C.S. Lewis, not his Chronicles of Narnia, of course, but the Space trilogy and anything more, let’s say, academic. But a few years ago I read, A Grief Observed, and last year I picked up The Problem of Pain for about the 10th time (never finishing it before) and it finally worked for me. Somehow I waded through and saw the gems hidden inside. Reflections on the Psalms was the same.

I've been following David Gate's work for several years on Instagram. His poetry is sparse and simple while profound. He explores everyday life, justice, home, and care for our fellow humans. I'm a fan. So when Convergent Books reached out with a digital review copy of this, of course I rushed to NetGalley to download it. Thank you!

When I picked up Ivy Fairbanks’s debut novel, Morbidly Yours, late last year, I wasn’t sure what to expect. It did not disappoint.

This was strange and beautiful and left me feeling like I might have overlooked something. I immediately thought I should probably start it over again to dig at its true meaning, and the thing is, I actually would do it.

This book surprised the heck out of me.

After reading Love, Theoretically back in 2023 (and loving it, I should add), I thought Ali Hazelwood had crossed my threshold for steam in her books.

I wanted to love this more than I did. The concept was intriguing, and I’d heard so many good things about The Measure by the same author. I figured this would be an easy win for me.

You’ve heard of the forbidden love trope. Sometimes it feels a bit tired and overdone, but I’m not sure I’ve ever quite read it like this.

Here’s the deal. I loved this book, but, and it’s a big one, I kind of had to tell myself that I was not reading an Emily Henry title.

Ellie Palmer is quickly becoming one of my favorite rom-com authors. Four Weekends and a Funeral was one of my favorite books last year, and I have a feeling Anywhere With You will be one this year.

This is one of those books that if I share a synopsis, it spoils the whole thing. I’d recommend going in blind, so how to review this book?

A.J. Swoboda is one of my favorite modern theologians. Every time I pick up one of his books, I’m both challenged and inspired. He hasn’t missed yet, and A Teachable Spirit was no exception.

As part of the “improbable meet cute” series of short stories, this one definitely met the description “improbable,” but I didn’t care one bit.

This is a short and sweet pick-me-up. I really enjoyed it. It was funny and cute.

This was a great finish to the Mistborn trilogy. I put off reading it for a while because Sanderson books take me so long to read.

In this memoir, Hua Hsu opens with stories as the child of Taiwanese immigrants in the Silicon Valley. He writes about his conception of “cool,” the way he interacted with his parents, and eventually shares about his college at Cal Berkeley. 

Florence and Jude spend summers in Michigan at Harbor Arts Camp. Every year on the last night, the "HAC"ers find someone at the bonfire to hang out with until sunrise.

This was a worthwhile read. It had been sitting on my shelf for the last 10 years (since graduate school where it was on a “further reading” list for a theology course).

This was a bit of a fever dream. The unnamed main character brings readers an unreliable point of view and this story about the roles she plays—literally in the theatre as an actress and also as a wife, friend, and maybe mother?—descends into delusion. At least that's what it felt like to me.

This book was heart-wrenching and asked the very poignant question, how much difference does one seemingly simple decision make? Literally, what’s in a name? And what legacy do parents leave for their children? How do patterns and trauma affect generations?