I've heard both good and bad things about Belles, so, naturally I'm very curious about it. I'm going to have to make up my own mind, right?
I haven't heard much about American Panda, but I want that one, too. The others are new to me.
I hope you'll get your hands on all these soon, Sophie!

Congrats on graduating high school, Aila! Well done! And Jenna - wow, three months in Toronto for both a lot of work and some fun sounds awesome :) Congratulations again on your engagement, Jeann. You both (and Toby, the little rascall!) look so very happy :)
Have a fantastic week and happy reading.

This sounds fantastic, Jenna! I haven't found all that many LGBTQIA+ stories lately, so this is definitely going on my TBR shelf. It makes me both sad and angry when parents can't manage to love their children no matter what, so I'm sure it will be an emotional read for me, too.
Great review!

Diversity is part of life, and as such, I am always happy when it's part of the books I read as well! I have friends from many different countries, ethnicities and religions, and they all enrich my life in one way or another! It is so interesting to see things from a different point of view - and sometimes, it boggles the mind that some people can be so mean and afraid of all that is 'other'. Be it the color of our skin, our sex, our religion, our sexual orientation... And what I find the absolute worst is when people judge other people - we never know what someone else is living through.
Diverse books are a must! Sadly, though, I have read books that were supposed to be diverse, only to see the 'diverse' characters disappear - they were just included to give validation to the book, but they weren't a real part of the story, you know?
I'm sorry you were made to feel like you had to push your own culture, language and family away when you were little, Jeann.
Here in Geneva, we have all nationalities, ethnicities, religions and colors, too, and I think my children are very lucky to live in a melting pot like this! They are mixed nationals themselves, so even if they are white, they know things from two different cultures, and they have always spoken one language that is not the language spoken here. And I have had to deal with xenophobia too, which is so shocking! I can't even imagine how much worse it is for someone who looks different - I've had to deal with it because people know I'm not Swiss. When I first arrived, it was the myth that Scandinavian girls are all sluts, later, it was my future parents-in-law who told my now husband that I was only with him so I could become a Swiss national...
I hope we will all be able to show each other love and respect, and that our books will set the example for those who may not know people who are different from themselves!

I'm so happy your new job is making you happy both at work and outside of work, Jeann! Work environment is so important, and it's scary that there are places of work where people who treat others with disrespect and bullying ways continue to exist.
Your new books look awesome! And I need to completely unplug and disappear for a couple of days so I can read Illuminae and Gemina and just enjoy :)
Have a wonderful week ahead and happy reading.
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Hmm... a mystery / thriller should get caught up in details, and I think that jumping over some of those that were offered in Loren's journal was maybe too bad? I love reading these kinds of stories with unreliable narrators, though, because it means you can't really trust anyone, and that makes the mystery even better.
Great review, Jeann :)
My recent post Bought Bagged and Wrapping it Up #158

I've had this one on my shelf for quite a while, Jenna. And it sounds fantastic, so I'm not sure why I haven't picked it up yet. I'm really happy you loved it so much!!
Have a wonderful weekend and happy reading:)
My recent post Bought Bagged and Wrapping it Up #158

Thank you for sharing something so personal, Jeann! That's very courageous, and I think it's important to share the difficult times, too, not just the good times. We are all human beings, and there are times when we just need to slow down and take good care of ourselves.
When I was your age, I was ill much more often than now, and I am sure part of that was because I didn't take good care of myself. I "made myself" do a lot of things I didn't really feel like doing. I had a difficult job that was made more difficult when my boss left me in charge (which was great for my career, but hard on me personally) just a few months after my second child was born...
It's great that you will be able to learn to say no now. It's actually quite liberating, and it's even more liberating to just say "No, that date doesn't work for me" and not even explain why. It's nobody's business that I'd rather stay home that evening with the newest Kate Daniels and a huge cup of coffee, right?
Good luck continuing to take good care of yourself, and I hope the new job will be awesome, with people who appreciate you as a person and as a colleague {{{hugs}}}
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I have this book, Blessie, and I really need to read it soon! I just have so many to choose from on my Mt. TBR :) I'm glad you enjoyed it so much.
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I'm sorry this didn't work for you completely, Jenna! I actually loved this one - I fell for the characters, and enjoyed getting to know them, and there were times, especially towards the end where I was very emotional.
I do get what you're saying though.
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