Caroline's Updates en-US Thu, 08 May 2025 09:17:38 -0700 60 Caroline's Updates 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Review7553157035 Thu, 08 May 2025 09:17:38 -0700 <![CDATA[Caroline added 'Every Summer After']]> /review/show/7553157035 Every Summer After by Carley Fortune Caroline gave 4 stars to Every Summer After (Paperback) by Carley Fortune
3.75 stars. Steamy, summer read that gives all the summer vibes and perfect to read poolside or on vacation. I love a good lake house setting and I could just feel myself at Barry's Bay. It was fun but honestly I felt like it was a very steamy YA read - maybe new adult? We go back six summers with Percy and Sam and the chapters are alternated with present day. So we kind of work towards what happened to them after going back to the beginning when they first met. I did feel like it was a touch long - it's only 320 pages but it felt like 400 at times. But if you like drama and second chance romance and an easy, breezy summer read this may be it! ]]> Review7553136578 Thu, 08 May 2025 09:07:36 -0700 <![CDATA[Caroline added 'The Favorites']]> /review/show/7553136578 The Favorites by Layne Fargo Caroline gave 4 stars to The Favorites (Hardcover) by Layne Fargo
Ice dancing soap opera! It was fun and felt like we were reading a magazine expose on the ice dancing world in the best way! I did feel like it was way too long - it needed about 100 pages edited out. It kept going and going and going and sometimes the details were just not that necessary. I believe this is a Wuthering Heights retelling but I can't really speak to that because it's been decades since I read Wuthering Heights and can't remember a darn thing! The audiobook had a full cast and it is so fun to hear skating stars narrate this! A fun albeit long ride but recommend, especially on audio! ]]> Review7553110165 Thu, 08 May 2025 08:54:38 -0700 <![CDATA[Caroline added 'Wild Dark Shore']]> /review/show/7553110165 Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy Caroline gave 5 stars to Wild Dark Shore (Hardcover) by Charlotte McConaghy
Breathtaking! So atmospheric and had me riveted until the very last page. Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. A mysterious woman washes ashore on this remote island and away we go! This was my first read by McDonaghy and I'm interested to read more. She tackles climate change and conservation and science but in an accessible way that didn't feel offputting to me. It all made sense and came together for me. The ending! I have already recommended this to friends and will continue to do so - one of my favorite reads this year. ]]> Review7552974823 Thu, 08 May 2025 07:49:22 -0700 <![CDATA[Caroline added 'The Tell: A Memoir']]> /review/show/7552974823 The Tell by Amy Griffin Caroline gave 3 stars to The Tell: A Memoir (Hardcover) by Amy Griffin
As often with memoirs, I deeply respect the experiences and journey of the author which, in my opinion, is not really rate-able. The rating is more about my experience reading the book and the writing, not of the experience as I think this is an important story to tell. However, I felt like the writing was not very strong and I was wondering why this was chosen as an Oprah's book club selection until I looked on IG and saw Griffin is a friend of Gwyneth Paltrow and then I thought "ahhh, that's why"... I think this could've been a long article in a magazine. As a book, it felt repetitive at times. The author shares her experience with MDMA therapy after her husband introduced her to it. Better known as ecstasy, I would have liked more scientific information and knowledge on MDMA therapy as there are still differing views on MDMA therapy and memory. Overall, I think I just looked forward to finishing this one and did not enjoy the journey. ]]> Review7552952804 Thu, 08 May 2025 07:38:57 -0700 <![CDATA[Caroline added 'Count My Lies']]> /review/show/7552952804 Count My Lies by Sophie Stava Caroline gave 3 stars to Count My Lies (Hardcover) by Sophie Stava
3.5 stars. This was a fun ride even if I kinda guessed the main plot twist. But don't worry there's more to come after that twist! It was a really fast listen and I just enjoyed going on the ride. It's about compulsive liar, Sloane Caraway, who manages to tangle herself with Jay and Violet Lockhart and their young daughter. She becomes a nanny to the daughter and with the setup being that she's a compulsive liar, you know the story can go basically anywhere. The ending didn't really quite work for me which is why I didn't rate it higher. Although a lot of the story was unbelievable the ending was truly unbelievable for me. I'd recommend picking this one up while on vacation - easy and fun reading that will have you turning pages. ]]> ReadStatus9379873747 Fri, 02 May 2025 16:54:21 -0700 <![CDATA[Caroline wants to read 'Home Has No Borders: A Collection of South Asian Stories']]> /review/show/7537934824 Home Has No Borders by Sona Charaipotra Caroline wants to read Home Has No Borders: A Collection of South Asian Stories by Sona Charaipotra
]]> GiveawayRequest707420042 Thu, 01 May 2025 06:28:45 -0700 <![CDATA[<a href="/user/show/22070135-caroline-readtotheend-on-ig">Caroline (readtotheend on IG)</a> entered a giveaway]]> /giveaway/show/402957-atmosphere Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
50 copies available, ends on May 31, 2025
Enter to win ]]> Review7381718999 Mon, 28 Apr 2025 09:10:56 -0700 <![CDATA[Caroline added 'Small World']]> /review/show/7381718999 Small World by Jonathan Evison Caroline gave 4 stars to Small World (Hardcover) by Jonathan Evison
4.5 stars. Wow, there are a lot of characters in this one. I definitely needed to start this one reading in print to get the characters straight in my head but once I started reading it wasn't hard to do. There were a few times I had to flip back to re-read a section but the chapters are pretty short and it just took a glance through to reacquaint myself. It was quite masterful how all the connections between the characters came together in the end. Did we need ALL the characters? Not sure we did but it did give a really great job of taking us from the 1850s to present day (2019) which is not an easy task! Perfect title for this one. The story had me engaged the whole time and there were times I did not want to put the book down. I love that feeling! Once I kinda got a sense of the characters, I alternated with audio and print and the audiobook narration was great. ]]> Review7506601694 Mon, 21 Apr 2025 09:18:23 -0700 <![CDATA[Caroline added 'Broken Country']]> /review/show/7506601694 Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall Caroline gave 5 stars to Broken Country (Hardcover) by Clare Leslie Hall
It's been quite a while since I've read a whole book in one sitting and I would have with this one had it not been Easter and we had family dinner and drove my son back to college. But I finished it in 20 hours as it totally consumed me. It was beautifully atmospheric and emotionally charged. My heart felt like it was in my throat. It's a love story but also a murder mystery and all set on a farm. I went into it knowing nothing except that it was all over my Instagram and everyone was raving about it. Now I will be another voice singing its praises. Best book I've read in 2025 so far!! ]]> Review7499675379 Fri, 18 Apr 2025 17:03:30 -0700 <![CDATA[Caroline added 'Done and Dusted']]> /review/show/7499675379 Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage Caroline gave 4 stars to Done and Dusted (Rebel Blue Ranch, #1) by Lyla Sage
This was a fun ride! Gotta love cowboys and small towns where everyone knows everyone's business. I really enjoyed getting to know Meadowlark, Wyoming and I'm so glad there are more books in this series! The love interest being the brother's best friend might be a new fave trope of mine! This was a quick and easy listen and it definitely brought some steam! So listener beware if you're listening in the car or somewhere people can hear your audiobook. Looking forward to reading more of this series. ]]>