11.1.2025 - The New Year's Party

 

Many thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA, and Harlequin Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of this novel by Jenna Satterthwaite, with the audiobook narrated by the one and only Karissa Vacker.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars rounded up!

The New Year's party used to be an annual thing, as old friends gathered for games, food, and drink.  But as they've gotten older, they've gotten less close and it's been a few years since they gathered.  This year, they're going to set aside all of life's issues and have fun.  Only, can they put aside all their secrets?

This is just juicy fun and I was there for every minute.  Every character is hiding something along with life's normal stresses, so they are ready to just relax.  But it doesn't quite work out that way.  I loved how it was told from multiple POV so that we got to dig deep into what was going on with the characters and could just wait for the collisions you could feel were on their way.  There's dark humor, lots of drama, twists and turns, from the beginning to end.  Karissa Vacker makes every story she narrates better - she's fabulous.  

11.1.2025 - Falling Apart and Other Gifts From the Universe

Many thanks to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing | Lake Union Publishing, and Brilliance Publishing for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the latest novel by a favorite, Catherine Ryan Hyde, with the audiobook wonderfully narrated by Michael Crouch and Coleen Marlo.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

Security guard Addie Finch is tough on the outside.  But on the inside, she's lonely, estranged from her son, and struggling through AA.  At work, she encounters Jonathan, a homeless teenager abandoned by his mother.  She offers his temporary shelter in her garden shed in exchange for maintaining her property.  When Addie faces a situation that sends her world spinning, her connection to Jonathan becomes her lifeline.

I don't know how Catherine Ryan Hyde continues to do it - her books always touch on a current theme and make the reader see and feel all aspects of the issue.  This time it's the unhoused and vulnerable, and the intricacies of Alcoholics Anonymous, making us look at groups of people that we may otherwise ignore.  It's also a look at found family and second chances, at processing our past and making peace.  As always with her books, very highly recommended.  The narration was perfect as well, allowing me an immersive experience between both formats.