★★★☆☆ 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.