Cassie's Updates en-US Fri, 11 Apr 2025 05:03:10 -0700 60 Cassie's Updates 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Friend1420209519 Fri, 11 Apr 2025 05:03:10 -0700 <![CDATA[<Friend user_id=1453376 friend_user_id=630618 top_friend=false>]]> GiveawayRequest700112752 Fri, 11 Apr 2025 05:02:04 -0700 <![CDATA[<a href="/user/show/1453376-cassie">Cassie</a> entered a giveaway]]> /giveaway/show/403955-deep-cuts Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley
24 copies available, ends on May 01, 2025
Enter to win ]]> Review7459259519 Thu, 03 Apr 2025 08:18:11 -0700 <![CDATA[Cassie added 'Heartwood']]> /review/show/7459259519 Heartwood by Amity Gaige Cassie gave 5 stars to Heartwood (Hardcover) by Amity Gaige
bookshelves: arc, netgalley, best-of-2025
Eventually, I understood that motherhood, as the child imagines it, is unperformable. No woman is a star. No woman is a god or a tree or a magician. But for a while, in your arms, the universe was the right size, and I knew where I was.

Heartwood is such a gorgeous book. It’s a literary, propulsive, and emotionally resonant story about a woman lost on the Maine leg of the Appalachian Trail and two other women invested in her fate. As the search for Valerie drags on, Maine warden Bev begins to lose hope of finding her alive, while down in Connecticut, a retirement community resident named Lena finds herself drawn into the search for Valerie in unexpected ways.

Weaving seamlessly between the voices of the three women � Valerie’s through letters to her mother, crafted in her trail journal � and utilizing transcripts from interviews and online exchanges, Heartwood is an unforgettable story about resilience, love, and motherhood that’s profoundly affecting. Amity Gaige’s prose is luminous and meaningful, full of deep insights into the relationships between mothers and daughters and the complex beauty of self-discovery. And it’s also suspenseful, an urgent missing person narrative in which it’s clear that time is running out. But most of all, it’s a powerful character study about three women, each strong in their own way, and their personal struggles and successes. The characters are richly-crafted, beautifully flawed, and so heartbreakingly vulnerable.

My suggestion is to take your time with Heartwood, no matter how desperately you want to know Valerie’s fate. Read it slowly, savor the stunning writing, pause to digest the poignant insights and tender character moments. Let the book wash over you and relish the fact that novels like this just don’t come around very often. Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the early reading opportunity. ]]> Rating842747159 Tue, 01 Apr 2025 14:24:15 -0700 <![CDATA[Cassie liked a review]]> /
Cassie liked Erin's review of The Road to Tender Hearts:
The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett
"ARC for review. To be published April 29, 2025.

4 stars.

PJ Halliday is sixty-three and lives in Pineville, Massachusetts. He won 1.5 million dollars on a scratch off a few years ago. He goes to his ex-wife and her boyfriend’s (his best friend) every day for breakfast. He lost his eldest daughter when she was in high school and barely speaks to his youngest…or she barely speaks to him for lots of good reasons, not the least of which is his problem with alcohol.

Then he reads the obituary of an old high school friend and finds that his death means his old flame, Michelle Cobb, is back on the market. He decides to drive cross-country to her home in Arizona to pledge his love. However, before he can leave, he receives an inheritance of sorts from his only brother, from whom he has been long estranged: two young children, Luna and Ollie, his brother’s grandchildren. He is also adopted by a cat named Pancakes.

So, naturally, PJ, his daughter, the kids and Pancake end up hitting the road, seeking both Michelle and Luna’s potential father (she believes) a soap opera star. It’s all a long story. I enjoyed every minute of it.

This was quite cute, not laugh at loud funny, but amusing. It’s filled with well-drawn, endearing characters, especially Pancakes, but also Ivy and Fred, PJ’s ex-wife and best friend who are incredibly well-rounded despite being absent for most of the book, Hartnett is just that good. I would definitely look for more from her. This isn’t my normal sort of read, probably (I tend toward the more dark and depressing) and maybe it’s just what I needed in my life. Worth looking out for. One for which to look out. Now that just sounds dumb. "
]]> Rating842712399 Tue, 01 Apr 2025 12:43:09 -0700 <![CDATA[Cassie liked a review]]> /
Cassie liked JaymeO's review of Strange Houses:
Strange Houses by Uketsu
"Strange Houses is the second book translated into English by a Japanese author who goes by the name Uketsu. I really enjoyed Strange Pictures, so I was eager to figure out the mystery of Strange Houses.

The book follows a similar format with a type of questioning and answering by the characters in order to puzzle together a series of murders through odd blueprints. Unfortunately, the translation does come off a bit stilted in this one. While much shorter than Strange Pictures, I didn’t find the mystery as compelling as the first. I also had trouble distinguishing the characters from each other in the final reveal, as there are so many of them with similar names!

While Strange Houses is an intriguing short mystery, it just didn’t engage me as much as the first book.

3.25/5 stars rounded down

Note: “Uketsu’s real name and identity are unknown. He only ever appears online, wearing a mask and speaking through a voice changer. His innovative mysteries challenge readers to discover the hidden clues in a series of sinister drawings.�

Expected publication date: 6/3/25

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperVia for the ARC of Strange Houses in exchange for an honest review."
]]> Rating842712118 Tue, 01 Apr 2025 12:42:17 -0700 <![CDATA[Cassie liked a review]]> /
Cassie liked JaymeO's review of The Cut:
The Cut by C.J. Dotson
"Skip it.

This plot was preposterous. If I was not reviewing this book for NetGalley and Edelweiss it would have been a DNF. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Jenn Lee while following along with the Ebook. While I enjoyed the narration, this very slow burn horror story is predictable, ridiculous, and contains huge plot holes.

After just finding out she is pregnant, Sadie flees a physically abusive relationship with her toddler daughter and takes a job as a housekeeper at the L’Arpin Hotel on Lake Erie. She meets an old woman named Gertie who is a long term resident of the hotel, and instantly gives this complete stranger the job of babysitting her daughter while she works. Sadie begins to see mysterious puddles of water around the hotel as well as slimy creatures, but no one believes her. When guests go missing and the staff deny any foul play, Sadie begins to investigate.

Nothing happens in this book until 80% and I’m still confused about so many parts of the plot.

I’ll leave you with this…Sadie has a smart phone and does not turn off her location finder. Why does her ex-boyfriend keep leaving her voicemails but is unable to find her? Hmmm�.not buying it.

2.5/5 stars rounded down

Expected publication date: 4/8/25

Thank you to NetGalley, Edelweiss, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of The Cut in exchange for an honest review."
]]> Comment289000885 Tue, 01 Apr 2025 12:41:45 -0700 <![CDATA[Cassie commented on Cassie's review of The Thorns]]> /review/show/7453763688 Cassie's review of The Thorns
by Dawn Kurtagich

JaymeO wrote: "Awe, sorry you didn’t enjoy it more! Loved this one! Terrific review!"
Thanks, Jayme! This is definitely a book I'll be thinking about for a long time. And I'm excited to discover a new-to-me author whose work I think I'll really enjoy! ]]> Review3933149340 Tue, 01 Apr 2025 11:04:13 -0700 <![CDATA[Cassie added 'The Absolute Book']]> /review/show/3933149340 The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox Cassie gave 3 stars to The Absolute Book (Hardcover) by Elizabeth Knox
bookshelves: audiobooks
2.5 stars rounded up. The problem with being a mood reader is that, sometimes, you get your mood wrong. That’s what happened to me with The Absolute Book. I thought I was in the mood for a high concept contemporary urban fantasy, but I guess I wasn’t. So I’ll preface this review by saying that I’m not sure my reaction to this book is entirely the book’s fault; perhaps if I’d actually been in the mood for this type of story, I would have enjoyed it more.

But then again…maybe not. Because The Absolute Book fell short for me in almost every aspect other than the prose itself, which is occasionally quite beautiful and evokes a strong sense of place. I found the characters to be under-developed and cold, and the plot is nearly incomprehensible � an amalgamation of themes and ideas that never truly come together: book burning and shape-shifting and talking crows and demons and magical gates/gloves and magical books and storytelling traditions and tithes and…a monster penis? It’s a lot. And as is common in fantasy (especially modern fantasy), a lot of the world-building is done through info-dumping, which was frankly a bit exhausting to read after a while, not to mention dry and boring.

The Absolute Book actually contains quite a few interesting ideas and is one of the more original works of fantasy I’ve read, with the way it weaves between genres. I enjoyed the way it blended the fantastical with the mundane, a pastoral, peaceful world with our chaotic and violent one. It just felt, to me, a bit soulless. I didn’t connect with the characters, and the story is told in a formal manner that serves to downplay the high stakes. I struggled to make sense of the various threads of the plot and was disappointed in the conclusion � I think because I didn’t truly understand why any of it mattered all that much. This one came highly recommended to me, and I wish I’d enjoyed it more, but unfortunately, for me it might as well have been called The I Absolutely Wasn’t in the Mood for This Book. ]]> Review7453763688 Tue, 01 Apr 2025 09:30:26 -0700 <![CDATA[Cassie added 'The Thorns']]> /review/show/7453763688 The Thorns by Dawn Kurtagich Cassie gave 3 stars to The Thorns (Paperback) by Dawn Kurtagich
bookshelves: arc, netgalley
3.5 stars. I was impressed with The Thorns, even if I found the execution a bit messy and predictable.

Using a dual timeline structure, Dawn Kurtagich introduces readers to Bethany Sloan. In the “now� chapters, Bethany is a successful writer living with her loving husband Bruce in London. She’s struggling with writer’s block, agonizing over how to finish her award-winning series of novels, when her school friend Stacey re-enters her life. As teenagers, Stacey and Bethany met at a remote boarding school in South Africa, and in the “then� chapters it swiftly becomes clear that their friendship was far from healthy. In fact, it was toxic: marked by obsession, bullying, and abuse. With Stacey back in her life, Bethany is forced to confront the trauma of her adolescence once and for all.

The Thorns is an incredibly dark book, dealing overtly with themes like abuse of all kinds (physical, sexual, emotional, substance), self-harm, and mental health crises. Through the characters of Bethany and Stacey, Kurtagich reveals the dark heart of girlhood, in all its cruelty and vulnerability. The narrative, inspired by Kurtagich’s own experiences at boarding school, feels intensely personal. She completely captures the mindset of a teenage girl struggling with self-worth and how to relate to an expanding world of increasingly adult experiences. Bethany is one of those characters who you want to both hug and lecture about making better choices, but she is sympathetic all the way through. And The Thorns is an incredibly atmospheric book, with an arid, desolate setting that perfectly complements the book’s overarching themes.

I was intrigued by the “urban legend� feel of the description � the frightening “Glass Man� and his cruel games � but sadly, he barely makes an appearance in the book. In fact, the Glass Man references have no bearing on the plot at all, and I’m not sure why they were even included…maybe to add a horror element? But this isn’t a scary book, and while it’s deeply psychological and incredibly dark, it doesn’t really read like a thriller. It’s a coming-of-age novel more than anything else, about how every emotion is experienced in the extreme, how everything feels simultaneously confusing and upsetting and glorious, and how the mind copes and seeks to protect itself when dealing with trauma at such a pivotal point in a young woman’s development. The book feels a bit crowded with all of this going on, somewhat hectic and overwrought. I predicted the final twist very early on, and I think many readers will.

This won’t be a book for every reader, but if you are willing to travel with the author into some incredibly dark corners of the human psyche, it’s a worthwhile, meaningful read in the end, despite a few hiccups. Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for the early reading opportunity. ]]> Comment288759883 Wed, 26 Mar 2025 08:59:31 -0700 <![CDATA[Cassie commented on Cassie's review of The Secret History]]> /review/show/919577196 Cassie's review of The Secret History
by Donna Tartt

JaymeO wrote: "If it makes you feel any better I DNF’d this book around 50%. You make very valid points-it didn’t keep my interest either! Fantastic review!"
Thank you, Jayme! I'm so glad to hear I'm not alone in this! ]]>