Michelle > Recent Status Updates

Maybe it's female rage, maybe it's Maybelline, but it's probably possession.

I think Junie can't see how loved she is by her whole family. I hope Violet is as real of a friend as possible.

"Grief is a grind. It is the work of breathing and waking and rising and moving through a world that feels emptier. A gaping hole has been torn into your existence, and everyone around you just walks right past it like it’s not even there."

Beyond the painful loss this couple -- exes -- suffered, I can't imagine seeing someone you love moving on and knowing you have no right to object! How tough to be noble!

I'm really enjoying this for so many reasons, even the societal changes. There are a couple really cringe lines that I feel Rowling could appreciate, but not everything can age well. However, Du Maurier has the most amazing way with words. Blue Lenses would have made a legendary Twilight Zone episode if they'd filmed it, and if the tech/CGI/make-up effects had been more advanced.

This book has so many twists and turns. My local libraries can't have this much going on. Sherry Thomas also writes romance novels, and there's at least one romance a-brewing. And she writes the Lady Sherlock series, so I guess she knows mysteries. I feel like my jaw is dropping a lot. (But I don't want to see any author referencing Harry Potter again. Ugh!)

(ARC) Very Fleetwood Mac inspired. Cubby is done dirty by her ex, Conner, who abandons their band and makes it big performing songs about Cubby being bad in bed. Might have pilfered a few songs, too. The public HATES Cubby. I'm just waiting for Cubby to realize her best friend since forever, and band mate, Darcy is the one. I'm also waiting for Cubby to Stevie Nicks it out of the park. (Pub Date: 6/9/26)

I'm considering using this for a reading prompt involving a writer's debut. This is NOT this author's first book, but in a better world for women it would be.

Autistic main character. Enjoying so far.

*Netgalley ARC* Nina goes to a different kind of Halloween party in order to help her sister, who has been acting strange. Genuine chills. At first, I rolled my eyes at the story being told in 2nd person, but I get it now. Sapphic.

A Brief Intermission, by Sara Farizan. Afsaneh and Rusty are drive-in employees and film buffs. They're asked by the incapacitated owner, mauled by an invisible something, to do him a favor. Also not to interact with any visitors. They do anyhow. "Hilarity" ensues. Nice. Sapphic. ***1/2

"*Netgalley ARC*
The Visitor, by Kalynn Bayron. Another story with great atmosphere. The author did a great job of setting up a familiar Halloween in America, and foreshadowing. I really felt the fall air as a father and daughter sit down to watch horror movies ... & wait. I think there were elements that were there just to be a misdirect, but I don't know. Something missing here stopping me from full love. (Sapphic)

*Netgalley ARC*

The first story, Welcome to the Hotel Paranoia, by Vanessa Montalban had great vibes. Set in a never-opened hotel in the middle of nowhere that seems surprisingly intact. Overlook vibes, complete with a part that cannot (should not) be. Some glaring plot holes, though. I have questions! (Sapphic.)