Rachel Reads & Reviews

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Category: Book Suggestions

  • My Australia/New Zealand Story

    Last year I went on a historical fiction binge, completing my reads of the Dear America series for the fourth time, and reading the Dear Canada series in its entirety. Then I go to wikipedia, and I found out Scholastic has Australian/New Zealand equivalents. What’s more, they are still publishing books. They didn’t stop their…

  • Free Resources

    Want to read a book, but unsure of committing to buying? I’ve been there. Some books you can tell are just one and done. But others, you’re unsure. That’s why libraries are great. You can borrow without having to buy. But sometimes libraries don’t have the book you want. Interlibrary loans are a great resources.…

  • Ripley’s Bureau of Investigation

    I’m sure many know of the Ripley’s Believe It or Not compendiums that come out every year, but did you know the company also released a lower school adventure series (plus a cartoon!)? I found out because of the CA store where they were selling them in the gift shop. Of course I gravitate to…

  • Feminine Rage

    For the beginning of spooky season, I wanted to highlight some new and old books that tackle the scariest of horror tropes. Female rage. Ie. the vampiress. The mad woman in the attic. The succubus. Woman who don’t tamp down their rage are regarded as monsterous yet they are fascinating. These books are more in…

  • Contemporay Romances

    Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid Pro hockey star Shane Hollander isn’t just crazy talented, he’s got a spotless reputation. Hockey is his life. Now that he’s captain of the Montreal Voyageurs, he won’t let anything jeopardize that, especially the sexy Russian whose hard body keeps him awake at night. Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov is…

  • The Taylors Double Review

    Cruel Summer by Elizabeth Eulberg The Taylors — Teffy, Tay, TS, and Taylor — have survived their first year of high school and can’t wait for summer to start. But the drama doesn’t go away just because they want it to. It turns out that Teffy’s been keeping a massive secret from her parents. Tay’s…

  • Fall Nonfiction

    My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business by Dick Van Dyke Much like Betty White, and Dolly Parton, Dick van Dyke is an American icon representing the best of us, and his autobiography delves past his wholesome image to honestly discuss his struggles with balancing his career and marriage, his alcoholism and some…

  • Summer Romances

    Let It Shine/Let Us Dream by Alyssa Cole Sofronia Wallis knows that proper Black women don’t court trouble by upending the status quo, but it’s 1961 and the Civil Rights movement is in full swing. Sofie’s spent half her life being prim, proper, and reserved—as if that could bring her mother back—but the nonviolent protests…

  • Book of the Month: Where the Crawdads Sing

    “For years, rumors of the ‘Marsh Girl’ have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. She’s barefoot and wild, unfit for polite society. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark. But Kya is not what they say. Abandoned at age ten,…

  • Absolute DC

    FBI Agent John Jones has a problem. His brain has been infected by an alien consciousness calling itself “the Martian,” and its perception of reality is utterly incomprehensible to the human psyche. Now he must navigate this new status quo, all while balancing the deeply grounded and important duties of his day job! Deniz Camp…