Friday, February 20, 2026

Fiction/Nonfiction Quick Reviews: The Social Media Edition


Ruby Franke turned her children's lives into a YouTube sensation with her channel 8 Passengers, but no one truly understood what her children were going through until she was imprisoned for child abuse and her oldest daughter, Shari, told the story.  In this memoir, Shari recounts the years of pain, embarrassment, and abuse she and her siblings endured and Ruby's disturbing involvement with the life coaching program ConneXions, which only seemed to make everything worse in their house.  I've never seen 8 Passengers, but I watch a lot of commentary videos on the downsides of family vlogging and this channel is often referenced.  It's so sad to hear about what this mother put her children through, portraying herself as the perfect mom while her children's lives and privacy were being monetized.  Shari is so brave for wanting to tell this story and also telling it in her own voice for the audiobook.  It can't have been easy to relive all that.  4 stars

Everyone Is Lying To You by Jo Piazza (2025)

Former college friends Bex and Lizzie reunite years later when Bex, now a super-successful tradwife influencer, invites Lizzie, a journalist, to an influencer conference to write about a huge upcoming deal of hers.  While there, Bex's husband is found murdered on their idyllic ranch, and then Bex (and her children) disappear.  It's up to Lizzie to clear Bex's name and find her before it's too late.  I'm a sucker for social media-related stories, and it was so interesting to get this behind-the-scenes look at the "real" life of an influencer - the work and, of course, all the lies that go into it.  I liked that we got both Lizzie's and Bex's POVs, and the pacing was pretty good.  Some of the twists and reveals were shocking, others more expected, but what was maybe most intriguing (and disturbing) was the amount of manipulation going on, the lengths that people will go to in order to gain some power, fame, and money.  4 stars




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Monday, February 16, 2026

Michele's Monday Picks #89

Angela is so generous to let me pop in with my series, Michele’s Monday Picks!  I’m not a blogger or bookstagrammer, but I love getting excited about new releases with the rest of you.  Here I’ll be sharing new books I’m really looking forward to!

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By Amy Tordoff
Expected Publication: February 24, 2026

From Goodreads:
In this fresh and entrancing debut novel that is perfect for fans of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and The Ministry of Time, a jaded immortal woman and a time traveler fall in love across the centuries, learning what it means to really live and love before their time together runs out. 

1605, London. Beatrix lives a solitary life in the shadows, wandering the city streets looking for ways to forget. Forget that everyone she has ever loved has been dead for nearly a century. Forget that, for her, love can only ever mean loss. Because Beatrix has a secret: a lifetime ago her deathbed wish was granted, making her immortal. 

Until one day, while picking pockets amid the raucous crowds of Shakespeare's Globe, she meets Oliver. They spend a single, perfect day together before he tells her that he has to leave. She’s not surprised; eternity is a lonely place. 

When Beatrix and Oliver meet again by chance a century later, recognition hits her like a bolt of lightning. It’s impossible. He’s impossible. Just like her. A chance for Beatrix to truly live – and love – again sparks into existence.

Woven between the biggest events in history and the quiet moments lost to it, from London in 1605 to Woodstock in 1969 and beyond, All We Have Is Time is an unforgettable love story for anyone who believes love can rewrite the rules of time.


I thought this sounded so unique! Do you think you’ll be picking this one up?
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Friday, February 13, 2026

Recent Reads

A Killer Getaway by Sienna Sharpe (2025) 

Every summer, Lily travels to a luxury resort in the Caribbean to work as a lifeguard.  And every summer, someone at the resort dies.  This year, though, a journalist is asking questions about the deaths, and as much as Lily is attracted to him, she also doesn't want to get caught.  This was such an interesting read!  It's part mystery, part thriller, and part romance - a little bit of everything!  I loved getting to know Lily and her reasons for returning to the island each year.  She's been through a lot, and she wants to stop toxic people from continuing to hurt others.  But Daniel is intent on finding out what's going on at the resort.  I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen - would Lily get caught?  Would she and Daniel get a happily ever after?  4.5 stars

Crash Landing by Annie McQuaid (2025)

Exes Piper and Wyatt are on their way to a destination wedding when their private plane crash lands on a deserted island.  When the two have to rely on each other to survive, will all their old feelings come flooding back?  I had such high hopes for this one, but unfortunately it was a letdown.  I love the premise, the fact that they only have each other on this deserted island, but the execution was painful.  The writing was clumsy and clunky; the characters were immature.  It felt like the author couldn't pin down who Wyatt was - was he a stoic hero or a giddy little boy?  Even the flashbacks to their high school relationship were disappointing - their romance was so short-lived, it was cringey to think that Piper was still so hung up on it.  I get that teenagers make a big deal out of everything, but it felt like overkill.  I did enjoy the survival stuff, and Piper did grow a lot over the course of the story, finally admitting to herself and her parents that medical school was not the road she wanted to go down.  But overall, this was not the book for me.  3 stars


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Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Blogger Love!

Since I haven't done it in awhile and we are so close to Valentine's Day, I thought it would be nice to spread some love about the book blogging community and share some of my favorite bloggers!  I'm so grateful to be a part of this book blogging community - there's so much love and support, and this is just a small list (in no particular order) of some wonderful people!
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Friday, February 6, 2026

Recent Reads: The Amsterdam Edition

 What Happens in Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon (2025)

Dani heads to Amsterdam to hopefully get a fresh start in life but doesn't expect to run into Wouter, the foreign exchange student hosted by her family years earlier and who also ended up being her first love.  Their relationship didn't end well, but now Wouter has a proposition for Dani - if they get married, she'll get to stay in Amsterdam and he'll inherit his family's historic house along the canal.  Although they mean to stay professional about it, old feelings start bubbling up.  While I normally don't get on board with second chance romances, I liked this one.  Dani and Wouter were so young when they first dated, and now they're all grown up and very different people.  Yet, they still seem to understand each other.  However, my favorite part of the book was the "trip" to Amsterdam we got to take.  You can definitely tell that Solomon loves living there in real life and was eager for Dani to learn all about it.  4 stars

The Expat Affair by Kimberly Belle (2025)

Two women are drawn into the Amsterdam diamond industry when an employee of a prestigious diamond house is found murdered.  One woman is the one-night stand who was there during the murder; the other is the wife of the dead man's boss.  Who killed Xander, and where are the missing diamonds?  This was an interesting mystery - the inside look at the diamond industry was fascinating.  I liked that we got to see two different sides of the story with chapters from both Rayna (the one-night stand) and Willow (the wife).  I did find the pacing a bit slow and the reveals were too drawn out, but there were definitely lots of twists and turns and the ending did surprise me.  4 stars



* This post contains affiliate links; I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you.
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Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Month in Review: January 2026

 

January was a fairly quiet month.  We all went back to school and work after a nice break.  Work for me was busy as we had a deadline this month that I was involved in.  A big snowstorm dropped almost a foot of snow on us, which is still hanging around because it has been bitterly cold and nothing is melting!  The highlight of the month was a family trip to Medieval Times - our knight didn't win, but we all had a blast!

The Books




The Posts



How are you doing?


* This post contains affiliate links; I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases, at no cost to you.
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Monday, February 2, 2026

Michele's Monday Picks #88

 Angela is so generous to let me pop in with my series, Michele’s Monday Picks!  I’m not a blogger or bookstagrammer, but I love getting excited about new releases with the rest of you.  Here I’ll be sharing new books I’m really looking forward to!

****************************************************************************

 
By Ann Adams
Expected Publication: February 10, 2026

From Goodreads:
When a competitive rower’s losing streak threatens her Olympic dreams, she must train for the summer with a hometown coach to win it all back in this irresistible opposites-attract romance. 

Katherine Parker doesn’t just dream of rowing in the Olympics. She has a carefully crafted plan. With a strict training schedule, a meticulous diet, and no one else in her boat to slow her down, she’s as good as gold.

Then her boyfriend breaks up with her at the starting line of a big race and Kath comes in dead last. She’s swiftly kicked off the team and out of the Olympic Training Center—the only place she’s ever felt at home.

With one shot to win back her spot, Kath returns to her hometown to train with a new coach. The upside? Coach Adrian is hot. The downside? Instead of letting Kath follow her own training regimen, Adrian pushes her outside her comfort zone, urging her to try new things and let go of control.

With her Olympic dreams on the line, Kath will have to choose: stick to her perfect plan, or find out if the key to winning—and happiness—is to embrace the part of rowing that makes it fun, one sweaty, sexy training session at a time.

I don’t choose a lot of contemporary romance for this series, but the rowing aspect sounded fun to me! Do you think you’ll be picking this one up?
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