Mrs Payan Reads

The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor #1) was a fantastic book. I really enjoyed losing myself in Nevermoor. The trials and the mysteries of what all was happening to Morrigan were fascinating and imaginative. I will definitely be looking for the other books in this series sooner rather than later.

Starfish was a phenomenal read. I enjoyed that it was a very quick read because it is told in verse. This one pulled on my heartstrings very much. I was so angry at the mother in this book for the way that she acted and the way she permitted her other children to act toward the protagonist. The story is such a real and raw story of the feelings that the protagonist has about being fat and the ways that people around her act and the very hurtful things they say. Ultimately, it is also a story that promotes body positivity and feeling good in your own skin. I highly recommend this one and would have immediately snatched up a copy for my class library if I still had a classroom.

I am listening to Salty, Bitter, Sweet by Mayra Cuevas. It was one of the free audiobook selections offered on SYNC audiobooks this year. So far, I am enjoying the story, but I am also a little annoyed at the YA romance angle of the protagonist that does not have a clue that she actually likes the boy she thinks she hates.

I really like this story so far. I had read a blog or an article somewhere about this one and added it to my hold list on Libby without really knowing anything about it. So far, I am glad I had that impulse…except it is kind of a long book so might take a while.

This one came off my TBR shelf. I have loved every novel by Katherine Center that I have read. I adored her talk at Savannah Book Festival a couple years ago and it really turned me on to her books. At that point, I had only read Things You Save in a Fire. I picked this one up because I know it will be a quick read for me and I want to finish another book in June.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon was a fantastic book. I really enjoyed traveling to that world and learning about the magic. It was such a complicated story and I enjoyed the mysteries unfolding throughout the story of what had happened years ago. I really like the hopeful ending and would definitely recommend this one.

A Burning was a very different book from what I usually would pick up. In a book club that I am in, we are reading our way through a list of quick reads. I find it interesting to just be following the list because it makes me diversify my reading choices. This one was set in India and tells the story of a girl who is falsely accused of being a terrorist and starting a train fire. You hear the perspective of the girl in prison, her PE teacher from school, and the neighbor who she had been tutoring. It is ultimately a story of selfish acts and betrayal. I had to sit and just pause for a few minutes after finishing this book. It is very thought provoking. I don’t know if I would say I liked the book, but I definitely think it is well written and a good story.

I saw this title in the book stack of someone in one of my FB groups. I immediately looked for it and was able to borrow the ebook from the library. Camilla Lackberg’s Fjallbacka mystery series is a favorite series of mine. I think it is partly because I was able to read those books before they were available in the USA. I bought the first few books while in Spain visiting family. It became a fun book hunt each time we visited. So I have read the entire series in Spanish. Since she is a particular favorite of mine, I was excited to see a recently published thriller from her. This one was fast-paced and an interesting thriller with a twist at the end, but I didn’t like it as much as I love her other series. If you like books like Gone Girl, you would probably like this one.

I am listening to Salty, Bitter, Sweet by Mayra Cuevas. It was one of the free audiobook selections offered on SYNC audiobooks this year. So far, I am enjoying the story.

I am enjoying this book also. I really love the characters and the world-building so far. I have seen many very good reviews of this series, so I am excited for it.

Firekeeper’s Daughter has earned a spot on my all-time favorites shelf, which is not easy to do. I love mysteries, so that helped me love this book. The writing style is beautiful and I was pulled into this story so quickly. There is heartbreak and love and human suffering but it is balanced with hope. I absolutely love how this book provided a glimpse into a modern day reservation and the challenges that this particular indigenous community was facing. It is SO GOOD! I highly recommend this book for people in their late teens and adults.

Longitude was interesting. I appreciated the more narrative style of this nonfiction book. I don’t read much nonfiction but I enjoy learning about things. This was a very fascinating book.

I have not read anything else by Fredrik Backman. I know he has other books that are very popular and if they are anything like this one, I will have to check them out. I found his writing style to be very engaging. I laughed all the way through this book. The observations about the way people think are spot on and hilarious, yet there is a serious and hopeful thread to the story as well. I definitely recommend this one, with a trigger warning that there is some talk of suicide, depression, and anxiety in the book.

This is the 3rd installment in the Charlotte Holmes series. I was angry at the end of the second book and did not know how I would like this one. I took a little break from the series because I was mad. This book did a good job of bringing me back into the story and resolving some of the feelings that I had about the way the second book turned out. I am looking forward to the fourth book.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon is fascinating so far. That is the best thing about resolving to read award winning books. You know you can expect a great read!

The Wife Upstairs was a fun read. I liked the way the author played with the Jane Eyre story and gave a modern twist to it. There were actually a few twists at the end that really surprised me. It was pretty great for this murder mystery fan who was also an English major.

The Family Upstairs was interesting. I went into it thinking it would be more of a thriller. It was not so much a thriller as a complicated look at a very unique set of people and a tragic story that happened as a result of their circumstances. I am not sure I liked the ending of this book, but it was an imaginative story and I enjoyed reading it.

I am continuing with reading through the list of Newbery Award titles from the last several years. I absolutely LOVED this one. I can see why it won the Newbery medal. The magic of the tiger stories was such a critical element in this book. The story of the family relationships and their different ways of coping with illness was heartbreaking but so real. I couldn’t help but draw some parallels in my mind to another favorite book, A Monster Calls. This book is now in my all-time favorite list also. So powerful. I highly recommend it.

I got this title in my Book of the Month subscription box. It is a fun cozy mystery that also explores the Filipino-American roots of the author. It was a fun and quick read.

I’ve heard great things about this book. I am excited to dive into it more. I just barely started it last night before bed.

In between books, I sometimes find that I need a little reading material for right before bed, but don’t always want to start a new book at that time. This has been a good book for those moments. It is actually quite an interesting story.

The Last of August was an enjoyable read. I quite like the characters in this Charlotte Holmes series. I am not sure I liked the ending of this book though. It will be interesting to see how the story flows from there in the next book.

The Glass Hotel was an intriguing book. The author really created a fascinating look at the characters and the ways they were connected. It was interesting to think about what it might feel like to be a victim of a Ponzi scheme, but this novel was much more than that. Perhaps this one would not really appeal to everyone, but I appreciated the lyrical language and the complicated characters.

This book is one from my #Mustreadin2021 list. My sister started an online book club and we are reading through a list of short, quick reads. I don’t think I would’ve ever picked this book up on my own, but I am glad I did. I was very intrigued by the glimpse of Korean culture that is shared here. It really piqued my curiosity, I am especially curious if the women really do such extreme plastic surgery as the characters in this book do. I enjoyed reading this book and was disappointed when it ended.

I decided to go back and look at Newbery award titles from the last several years in order to have a place to start when it comes to middle grade books. Paperboy was phenomenal. I had a very hard time putting this one down. I highly recommend it.

I am a sucker for a good Gothic novel. This modern day Jane Eyre tale has me on the edge of my seat.

In between books, I sometimes find that I need a little reading material for right before bed, but don’t always want to start a new book at that time. This has been a good book for those moments. It is actually quite an interesting story.

I listened to the audio of this mystery book. It has been quite some time since I listened to an audiobook. It definitely helped me get some of the chores done that I was wanting to get done over break. This was another great murder mystery in the Harper McClain series. I enjoyed the book. If you are a mystery fan, you should check out this series by Christ Daugherty.

The Lost Apothecary was a fantastic book. I flew through it. The book alternated between a modern day story of a woman who had just found out her husband was cheating, and an historical account of an apothecary who sold poisons to women scorned. I really enjoyed the story (both stories) and appreciated also how there was a focus on independent and strong women in the book.

The Body at the Tower is the second book in The Agency series. In this book, Mary dresses up as a boy and gets hired to work at a construction site. She is there to investigate and figure out if the recent death that happened on site was an accident or something more malicious. I quite enjoyed this mystery.

This was a really good mystery. For me, it was reminiscent of Agatha Christie, in that it was not gory or overly graphic. I really appreciated the nod to the mystery genre and bookshops and the love of books. There were a couple twists that I did not see coming. If you like murder mysteries, go pick this one up and be ready to add at least 8 more books to your TBR list while reading.

I am enjoying this 2nd book in the Charlotte Holmes series. It is definitely a Young Adult series-some adult issues and language, but I am enjoying the characters.

A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee was a fun read. It is a mystery set in Victorian England with a girl who is a spy. The protagonist did silly things and made some pretty crazy decisions, but I will forgive the book since it is written for YA. It was entertaining and I will look for the other books in The Agency series.

A Study in Charlotte was another really fun mystery read. It is the first book in the Charlotte Holmes series. In the book Jamie Watson and Charlotte Holmes are descended from Sherlock and Dr. Watson. Through a set of circumstances, starting with a murder, the two become friends and work to try to figure out who is framing them for the crime. It is a fun mystery with some interesting twists and turns. It is YA, but deals with a couple more mature themes and has some language in it that would make it more appropriate for older teens.

I LOVED this graphic novel about life in a refugee camp. It made me really think about all the students I have had in the last few years who have been refugees. It is such an important book! The fact that it is a memoir makes it that much more powerful. I would absolutely be purchasing multiple copies of this one to share with my students if I still had a classroom.

I just started listening to Revolver Road by Christi Daugherty. It has been a long time since the last time I listened to an audiobook, but I really enjoyed the first few chapters while I was doing meal prep this weekend. I liked the first two books in this murder mystery series and I’m sure I will like this one too.