What I’ve Been Reading Lately 📚

“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” — Audrey Hepburn

THE VANISHING HALF
by Britt Bennett
★★★★★
(sisters fiction, family drama, historical fiction, coming of age)

This was the B&N Book Club’s June selection. THE VANISHING HALF is a truly spellbinding novel. I was completely immersed in the characters’ lives, relationships, secrets, and struggles. I did not want the book to end! ♥ {Purchased}

THE WIFE STALKER
by Liv Constantine
★★★★
(domestic suspense, psychological thriller)

Alright, Liv Constantine, you got me with that twist. This was a fun, fast-paced psychological thriller with two dueling unreliable narrators. {Library}

STAMPED: RACISM, ANTIRACISM, AND YOU
by Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi
★★★★★
(non-fiction, young adult, civil and human rights, politics and government)

STAMPED is an eye-opening and informative book about the origins of racism and how it has been ingrained in our society for hundreds of years, and the people who have fought against it. This should be required reading for middle/high school students. I listened to this on audiobook — fantastic narration by the author Jason Reynolds. {Purchased}

THE NANNY
by Gilly Macmillan
★★★★
(gothic suspense, mystery, family drama)

What really happened to the nanny at Lake Hall all those many years ago? Enjoyable slow-burn mystery with Gothic undertones! Listened to on audiobook via Chirp. {Purchased}

THE SWEENEY SISTERS
by Lian Dolan
★★★
(sisters fiction, family drama, contemporary fiction)

This book may have my favorite cover art this year. :-) I enjoyed the premise and beginning of this book, where the three Sweeney sisters discover they have a 4th sister via a DNA testing database just after their father’s death. Overall though, the plot wasn’t very strong and lacked the emotional punch you’d expect. It was an ok read, just didn’t grab me completely. {Library}