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Mindy & Ashley | Book Reviews

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📚It’s books or a straitjacket.
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He knows I’m lying. 🤣

It’s never just “a minute” when I walk into a bookstore.

I’m either being completely delusion or lying through my teeth.

And, honestly, it depends on the day. 🤷🏻‍♀️

➕If you like book recs and bookish humor, stick around!

❓If you could spend the day in any bookstore, where would you go (tag them!) and what section or title would you head to first?

#bookreels #bookishhumor #relatablereels #couplegoals #booklover by @readingforsanity

3

13

4 hours ago

📦 BOOK MAIL 📚This just in!

📘 RECEIPTS FROM THE BOOKSHOP: A Bookseller’s Year in a English Seaside Town
✍🏻 Written by @katieclaphamwriting
🏢 Published by @williammorrowbooks
🛍️ Out Now!
🙏🏻 Many thanks to the author and publisher for this gifted review copy!

Do you have a weakness for books about books? SO DO I!!

RECEIPTS FROM THE BOOKSTORE follows the author’s year running an indie bookstore. I’ve always dreamed of having my own store to run, but I suspect that it’s not quite as blissful and romantic as I envision. Maybe I’m wrong. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Either way, I’m about to find out…

Here’s the bit from the back: 👇🏻

✨One summer not long ago, bookseller Katie Clapham began chronicling life at the small independent bookstore she runs with her mother in the English seaside town of Lytham St Annes. Her cozy bookshop diaries detail the romance and frustration of running your own bookstore - from the loyal customers to the feisty passers-by, and the deliveries filled with tempting new stock to the never-ending aftermath of cardboard boxes.

Katie faithfully records the change of seasons from sad January to exhausting December, punctuated with visits from inquisitive dogs, adorable children, and people just looking for a good place to get an omelette around here.
Tender, funny, and thoughtful, Receipts from the Bookshop is a love letter to everything we hold dear: small towns, family, book chat, hot cups of tea, and just the right snack at 11 AM....✨
📚 Sounds divine…and a little exhausting. As per usual, I can’t officially rec it till I’ve read it, but I’ll let you know!

❓ Design your dream bookstore with me—What’s it called? Where’s it located? Is there a theme? What books will you sell? AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, bookstore cat or bookstore dog, and what will you name them?

#BookstoreLove #BookLover #BookAddict #BuyMoreBooks #Booksellers by @readingforsanity

3

7

4 hours ago

Lucy Elliott has always followed the rules. She’s exacting in her adherence to social protocol and earnest to a fault—because in a world of subtle cues and layered conversation, structure is how she makes sense of it all. And yet, she can’t stop sneaking out at night to attend clandestine carriage races?

When a new gentleman, James Dashwood, arrives in the neighborhood and appears at the races, Lucy begins to notice small inconsistencies in his behavior—things that don’t quite add up. At the same time, a spate of robberies has left the community uneasy, suspicion lingering just beneath the surface. As Lucy and James grow better acquainted, one thing becomes clear: he is a puzzle she cannot resist solving.

I thoroughly enjoyed certain elements of this story—namely the main character, Lucy, whose observant, inquisitive nature and incredibly literal thought processes offer insight into the neurodivergent experience. Although the book never directly says that Lucy is on the spectrum, the author drops enough hints to support a solid inference. I also loved the STEM-related plot mixed with the Regency setting, which felt creative and unique.

On the downside, the dialogue between the characters was tedious at times, and I couldn’t feel much of a romantic connection between the main characters (though it was no/low spice, which I always appreciate). Toward the rather rushed ending, there’s a monologue in which the antagonist confesses their every move and motive, which felt both far-fetched and all too convenient.

That said, FAST AND FASTIDIOUS was a fairly entertaining read that I’d recommend to readers who like sweet Regency romance, appreciate neurodivergent representation, and want to experience more of those perspectives.

🙏🏻 Many thanks to the author and @harperperennial for this gifted review copy.

❓What book would you recommend with great neurodivergent representation? Drop a title in the comments!

OR Tell me a bit about the book you are reading (no spoilers!)

#Bookstagram #bookreview #neurodivergentbooks #neurospicyrep #cleanromance by @readingforsanity

3

26

a day ago

ASHLEY’s REVIEW 📚 Ok, I need y’all to LOCK IN and read this book because I’m dying to talk about it with somebody! I read it months ago, and usually by this time I’ve read so many books that I can’t remember exactly what happened that long ago. Not THE FOURSOME. No siree. This is a book I’ll remember for a very long time.

First of all, I love that this book is historical fiction but based on the true lives of Chang and Eng Bunker, the famous (and fascinating) “Siamese Twins” of yesteryear? They were successful, intelligent, and business-savvy, and yet they lived in a world where things were complicated and horrific for them in many ways. This book explores it all, with the added complexity and layers of talking about their wives who happen to be sisters.

Now. I know you’re thinking this has to be salacious and shocking. It is, but also it isn’t. Sure, there’s discussion of sex, because that’s something that is at the forefront in everybody’s minds in a situation like this. But there is so much more to a marriage, and this book does a beautiful job of bringing that to light.

The story of these women and the men they married is really interesting, and Kline does a masterful job of filling out characters in history who seem one dimensional, but actually have complex of lives, personalities, and experiences that we can all learn from.

I loved this book for the humanity of it. I loved reading about the Bunkers’ lives, but I also loved seeing that marriage and family is complex, beautiful, and nuanced for everyone, no matter what you look like or the structure of your marriage.

Read this book if you like:
🔹Historical fiction about interesting characters that is based on research and fact.
🔹Taboo relationships and people who live on the fringe.
🔹Thought-provoking scenarios that challenge your biases.
🔹Complex characters who are more than they seem.

I really enjoyed this book. I want everyone to read it, and then let’s discuss it together, shall we?

📚 Full Review + Content Warning ➡️🔗 in b!o.

❓ Have you read this? If so, what did you think? If not, what are you reading now?

#Bookstagram #HistoricalFiction #BookLovers #ReadThis #BookReview by @readingforsanity

3

16

4 days ago

Some days the dark clouds hang low, and it feels hard to see the silver lining.

LIFE’S BEST BITS helps chase those clouds away with gentle reminders of accessible, everyday delight.

Here are just a few:

🔹The feeling when you take your bra/shoes/clothes off after a long day
🔹Being the person who is getting the sizzling fajitas delivered to the table
🔹That favorite t-shirt that is soft, faded, and worn in.
🔹The clicking sound a good pen makes.
🔹Finishing a good book.
🔹Keeping a window open when it’s raining outside.
🔹Getting the bigger half.

Author and artist Devon Blow aka @devthepineapple brings each joyful moment to life in her signature style—a black-and-white base with vibrant pops of color and a diverse cast of heart-bedecked ‘characters’ living their best lives out loud.

Honestly, flipping through LIFE’s BEST BITS made me smile on a day when I didn’t feel like smiling. I can’t think of a better recommendation. It can be read in under an hour and is the perfect pick-me-up. Snag it for a friend, for yourself, or for your nearest coffee table.

✨ SWIPE to see inside! 👀

➕Head to our stories to see two more Familius books, which are available (now) in LFL 193432.

🙏Many thanks to the author and publisher @familiusbooks for this gifted review copy. And to @tuttlepublishing / @tuttleorigami for the folding star papers! ⭐️

❓What are some of your favorite everyday “bits” of joy? (See mine below!)

Here’s my off-the-top-of-my-head list: ✔️ snuggles ✔️ the smell of rain (especially on asphault) ✔️ the perfect pillow ✔️ uncontrollable laughter ✔️looking at your person and knowing exactly what they are thinking because you are thinking the same thing ✔️ beach days ✔️ girl talk ✔️ making something with your own two hands

#EverydayJoy #BookRecs #UpliftingBooks #FindingJoy #JoyfulLiving by @readingforsanity

3

40

5 days ago

If I were kidnapped and forced to pick a favorite food, I’d choose gyoza with zero hesitation. I’ve always wanted to learn how to make them, so I jumped at the chance to review GYOZA: THE ULTIMATE DUMPLING COOKBOOK by Paradise Yamamoto.

After a brief introduction, GYOZA dives into pantry essentials, chopping methods, filling recipes, wrapping styles, and cooking methods, followed by 50 original dumpling recipes that incorporate the previous sections in a variety of ways.

For this review, I made the following 8 recipes (feedback in full review):

🥟Crispy Pork Gyoza
🥟Lamb Gyoza with Coriander
🥟Ooh La La Dumplings
🥟Gyoza Bolognese with Fresh Tomato
🥟Fried Banana & Mango Dumplings
🥟Sweet Potato Dumplings
🥟Cherry Blossom Dumplings
🥟Light-as-a-Feather Puff Dumplings

Bonus Recipe: Basic Gyoza Dipping Sauce

Of the two fillings, I tried:
🥓The Chopped Meat Filling

Of the seven wrapping styles, I tried:
🔸The Crescent
🔸Santa’s Gift Bag
🔸The Sailor’s Cap
🔸The Volcano
🔸The Seashell
🔸The Penguin

Of the six cooking methods, I tried:
🔹Pan Frying .
🔹Flower Blossom Frying
🔹Deep Frying
🔹Broiling

As a beginner, I was thrilled with the opportunity to learn the different wrapping styles, cooking methods, and recipes. Some recipes—like Peekaboo Squid Gyoza—were more adventurous than my kids (or myself) are likely to be, but there are still plenty of recipes we plan to try.

Although the results weren’t always perfect and occasionally the instructions could have been more detailed, I feel like a Iearned a lot comfortable enough with what I have learned to keep practicing, experiment with the recipes, tweak the ingredients to suit my family’s preferences, and use whatever wrapping style or cooking method I find most appealing.

Overall, GYOZA: The Ultimate Dumpling Cookbook equipped me with the practical skills and the confidence to keep learning how to make the food I love. I’d recommend it to dumpling lovers, seafood lovers, and anyone who wants to learn how to make gyoza.

Full review + recipe feedback ➡️🔗 in b!o.

❓What is your favorite food and do you know how to make it?

#AsianCooking #Cookbookstagram #Bookreviews #CookBookLovers #GyozaLove by @readingforsanity

3

43

6 days ago

You know the one. 📚

The book that seemingly all of the book world went collectively gaga over, and you watched them, thinking “WOW, this book must be amazing,” so you follow them and oh-sweet-betsy do you regret it.

That book.

❓What book do you THINK am I talking about? (What book did you dislike that everyone else seems to love)?

#bookishhumor #drivingfails #ouch #bookreels #funnyreels by @readingforsanity

3

56

7 days ago

It’s time to pick your next read, and you’ve got two books in front of you.

Will it be ➡️SCION⬅️ by @jamesislington_author — a fast paced cyberpunk thriller? Think JOHN WICK meets BLADE RUNNER. (out 9/1)

OR

will it be ➡️THE DUES AND DON’TS OF MAGIC⬅️ by @delemhach — a cozy romantic fantasy? Think THE SPELLSHOP meets LEGENDS & LATTES? (out 10/6)

Both look great to me, but if you need more info, here’s a bit from the backs (condensed for space):

SCION 👇🏻

✨My job, when you think about it, isn’t so different from a lot of people’s.

The more old-fashioned crowd do still get hung up on the “killing people” part of it, I guess, but that’s a them problem.... Besides, once ultrawealthy morons realised they had a way to live forever...there was only ever going to be one genuinely practical deterrent.

So, sure, I have...[s]ome pretty awkward face-to-face interactions. And...I’m really only clocking in to try to crawl out from beneath my debts. But someone’s got to do it.

Luckily, my genetic compatibilities make me really, really good at doing it.

Still. This next job...I don’t know. It’s something I haven’t had to deal with in years. Kind of the opposite of my regular duties. Strange, that it got thrown my way.

I’m sure it’ll all go totally fine though.✨

THE DUES & DON’TS OF MAGIC 👇🏻

✨Spidena Kettle runs a quiet magic shop...selling just enough spells and potions to keep herself afloat..., when Benthrop Hozel enters her shop one day. On the run from the nefarious sort, he simply wishes to be forgotten by his pursuers. In exchange, he promises a favor.

Such a deal could have dire consequences if Ben is unable to fulfill his end of the bargain. Not that the witch is overly concerned...Only…Ben may be more than he seems. With their fates forcibly intertwined...Spidena and Ben must not only evade their enemies and use precious magical resources to get by, but confront the secrets they’ve long kept…that is, if they can manage to stop getting on each other’s last nerve for long enough to do so.✨

🙏🏻 Many thanks for these gifted copies from @sagapressbooks

❓Time’s up. What’s your pick?

#Bookstagram #SagaSaysCrew #YourNextRead #TBR #Booklove by @readingforsanity

3

33

7 days ago

Hugo wants nothing more in the whole entire world than a head of lustrous locks. Alas, he is bald. Sick of standing out, he’s determined to find “the perfect ‘do”. Hugo imagines having hair in all sorts of styles—long and short, round and square, bobbed and braided, mohawked, mulleted, and more—but ultimately realizes that he would miss seeing his own bald head. The best version of Hugo is simply himself.

HUGO’s HAIR is a quirky, colorful, and delightfully rhythmic story about someone who feels a little different from the crowd. Vibrant illustrations whisk readers through various follicular fashions on an engaging, imaginative journey that inspires young minds to embrace their individuality.

If your little one is a little different or you’d simply like to encourage self-acceptance and a confident mindset, you can’t go wrong with HUGO’s HAIR.

🙏 Many thanks to @jamesalfieart @harperkids @harpercollins for this gifted review copy.

📮 Coming soon to LFL 193432!

👀 CAN you SPOT the real hair in this pic? Three are incredibly cheap wigs. One is my daughter’s hair.

❓Tell me about your hair journey. Do you love/hate your hair? Have you ever had an awful haircut (🙋🏻‍♀️)?

#HarperKids #KidsBooks #KidsBookRecs #ChildrensBookRecs #HairLove by @readingforsanity

3

23

12 days ago

It’s SEA OTTER AWARENESS WEEK (9/20-26), so I had to highlight this book! 🦦💖

ODDER tells the story of a wild-hearted and curious orphaned pup named Odder, rescued, raised, and eventually released by an otter rehabilitation center. Three years later, when she is seriously injured after a run-in with a great white shark, the young otter is found and returned to the center, where the staff work to save her life again. Will Odder recover her rascally nature and be able to return to the ocean? Or will she find a new home—and a new purpose—at the rehabilitation center?

I couldn’t resist the adorable otter on the cover of this book when it came across my desk at the library. When I saw that it was written in free verse, I checked it out immediately and popped it in my bag for some at-home reading. Inspired by true events and real sea otters at @montereybayaquarium , ODDER is an engaging and inspiring story of courage, healing, compassion, identity, and found family. The material at the back of the book helps readers learn more about sea otters and—if you’ll forgive me—dives deeper into the real stories behind the otters in this book and the rehabilitation process.

I enjoyed reading Odder’s perspective on ocean life, as well as the rehabilitation process, especially her descriptions of humans—“Their bodies were practically bald!” I learned a lot about otters and their habitats while reading, and it was fascinating to glimpse the rehab process from a first-hand/ first-flipper perspective. It didn’t even feel like learning. It just felt fun. I also loved the detailed illustrations, which range from full-page spreads to smaller embellishments embedded throughout the text.

On a deeper level, ODDER explores the concept of identity—finding one’s place in the world and redefining oneself after loss. I recommend this book to otter lovers, anyone who enjoys animal stories or animal perspectives, and fans of free verse poetry.

➕ Like this review? Follow for more! OR visit readingforsanity (DOT) com

❓If you could experience life from an animal’s POV, which animal would you choose and what would you do?

#kidsbookrecs #middlegrade #otterlovers #otterlife #kidsbooks by @readingforsanity

3

24

8 days ago

THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET by Sandra Cisneros has been on my TBR for so long that I can’t even remember how it got there. I’ve been making a concerted effort to read the overlooked books on my shelf, so a few days ago I picked it up again without rereading the back cover and was pleasantly surprised by the results.

Cisneros delivers a classic coming-of-age story about a young Chicana and her experience growing up in Chicago. Twelve-year-old Esperanza is used to moving from place to place, never staying very long, so when she lands in a rundown house on Mango Street, she refuses to think of it as home. She has hopes and dreams that extend beyond the neighborhood where she lives, and someday someday someday she plans to leave and never return.

I enjoyed the structure of this novel, which is told through a series of vignettes that center on the different people, places, and happenings in her neighborhood. Each vignette offers a slice-of-life glimpse into Esperanza’s world, and taken altogether, they create a bustling, vibrant community of characters that feels plucked straight from a real neighborhood.

I appreciated the details and cultural elements that brought each section to life and helped me get a feel for the setting. The book was written in 1984, and in many ways, the absence of certain technology made me nostalgic for times that felt simpler, even if reality was still a struggle.

Esperanza’s story has lighthearted moments, but it also has weightier ones that could feel quite dark if they weren’t seen through younger eyes. Older readers will not miss the context clues, but younger readers might (and perhaps that is for the best). Several vignettes also touch on subtle issues surrounding gender, class, immigration, and race, as well as other socioeconomic and cultural themes.

At 110 pages, THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET is a quick but powerful read about a young girl’s struggle to establish her identity and the ties that bind us to our home, whether we like it or not.

Full review + Content Warning ➡️🔗 in bio.

❓Tell me about a your neighbors/your neighborhood?

#BookReview #BIPOCvoices #ChicanaLove #BookLover #LiteratureLover by @readingforsanity

3

27

13 days ago

ASHLEY’S REVIEW 📚WITCH DAUGHTER by Tanaz Bhathena aka @bhathenatanaz comes out September 22nd! Many thanks to @grandcentralpub for this gifted review copy! Here are Ashley’s thoughts:👇🏻

First of all, let’s take a moment for this cover. It’s gorgeous, right? The hot pink, the beautiful gold accents...it’s fantastic.

I do love a good folktale, and this one does not disappoint. It’s full of all kinds of things that I enjoy:

🔹Interesting cultural background, and a sense that there is so much more at play. I love knowing just enough to be part of it.
🔹Complicated relationships between characters. If things are too cut and dry between the characters, it doesn’t feel real. Even the kindest characters have beef with each other once in a while, right?
🔹History that plays a role in what happens. It doesn’t seem like a good story if there’s not a backstory to it.

The story in this book is interesting. As with many fairy tales, it doesn’t necessarily go where you think it’s going to go, in that we modern folk hope that all fairy tales end up happily ever after. This is not so in real fairy tales, and this book embraces that. Just when you think the character has possibly outwitted the system and is going to be able to pull through, things change in ways that the reader doesn’t expect.

I always find that I’m better off when I read stories from other cultures different from my own. Each culture has its own way of looking at the world; when we learn those things, our eyes are opened to our own world as well. I so appreciate looking at things from other people’s perspectives, and feel like we’re all a little better when our eyes are opened to how others see the world.

This story had a lot of good elements of a fairytale—handsome princes, impossible choices, a forced hand...if you want a juicy story, you’ve got it here.

I recommend this book to those who love a good fairytale retelling, especially if you’re into magic and women who are seen as witches for having power.

📚 Full review + content warning ➡️ 🔗 in b!o.

❓Any witchy or spooky books on your TBR right now? What are you hoping to read this fall?

#Bookstagram #WitchyReads #FallReads #BookReview #Folklore by @readingforsanity

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22

11 days ago