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Nicole Verderber

@thereadingnic

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✨ Hi, I’m Nic! I’m a book lover, pun enthusiast & wordsmith, and I love talking about what I’m reading with anyone who’ll listen 📖
📍Long Island, NY

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First book review after welcoming baby boy, and it’s a goodie! The Correspondent by Virginia Evans ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Plot Points:
📖 Older female main character
📖 Processing grief
📖 Analog relationships
📖 Career
📖 Open, honest conversations

My Thoughts: Like so many others, I really enjoyed this book and its format! The story is told exclusively through letters to and from our main character Sybil Van Antwerp, an older woman who prefers to communicate with others through correspondence. From the start, I read this book with excitement, as the idea of letter writing is charming to me. Though I don’t often write letters, I actually still prefer to write notes and to-do lists by hand. I appreciated the range of people Sybil wrote her letters to—from her best friend to the son of one of her former colleagues to authors such as Joan Didion—as they helped paint a fuller picture of her life story. Sybil is definitely an imperfect character, and the letters are honest and thought-provoking in the way they address some of the major themes in her life, including grief, aging, career, family tensions, and forgiveness/redemption. My only qualm with this book was that it was a little tough to keep track of the timeline and of who certain characters/their storylines were at points, though I can see if that was an intentional choice. by @thereadingnic

3

1

5 months ago

Spent some time this Sunday finishing Sundays at Tiffany’s by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Plot Points:
📖 NYC Romance
📖 Imaginary friends/magical realism
📖 Mother/daughter relationships

My Thoughts: As a long-time James Patterson fan, I was excited to give this book a read. It’s a charming love story, which is so different from his other books in terms of content, tone, and characters, but his signature quick chapters made it an easy page-turner. Overall, I think I was expecting something way more complex, given the general premise and the attention to detail in James Patterson’s other books, but this story stayed pretty surface level, including the “twists.” I also found it creepy that Jane’s imaginary friend, Michael, was an adult at the time of being her imaginary friend (when she was eight) and remains the same age in the current-day timeline. I think if Michael had grown up with Jane, it would’ve made the whole story more enjoyable. by @thereadingnic

7

6

7 months ago

Finally getting around to sharing my thoughts on Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Plot Points:
📖 The one who got away
📖 Grief
📖 Past and present timelines

My Thoughts: This book was on my TBR list for a while, and I’m glad I finally found time to read it. I definitely get why so many people love this one. The characters are very well-written and complex, there are twists and turns, and the story is filled with a whole range of emotions. Each time I picked the book up, I had a hard time putting it down. I will say, it took some time for me to understand the structure of the book, and I was upset by the decisions some of the characters made throughout, but I’d still recommend it. by @thereadingnic

3

1

7 months ago

Another snowy day, another finished book: Little Movements by Lauren Morrow ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Book Themes:
📖 Dance & creativity
📖 Race & class
📖 Marriage
📖 Pregnancy
📖 Taking chances

My Thoughts: In my opinion, this was a great debut novel! I appreciated its focus on the intersection between race and art, and loved that it was told through the lens of Layla Smart, a Black choreographer-in-residence navigating her own artistic vision while managing the expectations of others. I felt like this could be a true story, which is a testament to Lauren Morrow’s knowledge of the dance world and her expert character development. Layla was a compelling main character, and I also really enjoyed most of the other characters, especially the dancers and Layla’s friends. Even though some of the themes in the book are heavy, the story flowed effortlessly and never felt forced, much like I imagined the piece Layla choreographed! by @thereadingnic

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8 months ago

SO excited to finally review this one: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Plot Points:
📖 Badass main and supporting characters
📖 Coping with trauma
📖 Chosen family
📖 Power dynamics
📖 Slow burn romance

My Thoughts: After I finished ACOTAR, I was told by several people that ACOMAF was their favorite book in the series. I definitely understand why! I love the way Sarah J. Maas continued to build Feyre’s and Rhysand’s characters, and I’m obsessed with the characters she introduced us to, especially Mor, Amren, Cassian, and Azriel. I found it really interesting to learn and see more about some of the other courts, but appreciated that the world building was more integral to the plot. And the slow burn of the romance… 🔥 There were so many twists and turns, especially at the end, and I can’t wait to read the next one!

What was your fav thing about ACOMAF?! by @thereadingnic

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1

9 months ago

Kicking off 2026 with a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ recommendation: I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy!

Plot Points:
📖 Toxic mother/daughter relationship
📖 Child stardom
📖 Eating disorders/recovery journey
📖 Navigating relationships
📖 Reclaiming independence

My thoughts: I’m Glad My Mom Died is a vulnerable, honest, heartbreaking (and, at times, funny) account of growing up with an abusive mother in a cutthroat industry, and I appreciated all of the details Jennette included to paint a full picture of her experience. As someone with younger siblings who always had iCarly on the TV, I’ve seen and enjoyed many of the episodes, and it made me so sad to think of all the experiences Jennette endured behind the scenes. She doesn’t shy away from exposing the harmful effects child stardom had on her life, and I enjoyed learning about who she’s become since she quit acting and since her mother’s passing.

I’d highly recommend listening to this one on audiobook - hearing Jennette’s voice telling her story was really impactful!

I’m finding that I’m really enjoying memoirs on audiobook, so I’m hoping to listen to more this year…please drop any recs in the comments! 🫶🏼 by @thereadingnic

3

2

9 months ago

Ending the year with a cozy holiday read: The Christmas Tree Farm by Laurie Gilmore ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨(3.5)

Plot Points:
📖 Small town setting/cast of characters
📖 Slow burn romance/spice
📖 FMC starting over/finding independence
📖 Fixer-upper MMC
📖 Beloved local business (the Christmas tree farm)

My Thoughts: I love reading Christmas-themed books that give me all the Hallmark movie vibes, and this one did not disappoint! The slow burn of the romance, the arcs for both Kira and Bennett, and the spice level all made for a quick, easy, and enjoyable read. I also loved Dream Harbor as a setting - it made me wish I lived in a cozy, quaint small town especially during the holidays. This book is the third in this series, and I wish I had read the first two books before jumping into this one so I’d have a better backstory for some of the other characters, but I’m excited to read the books that follow! by @thereadingnic

3

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10 months ago

I never thought I’d be an audiobook girlie, but this one definitely showed me that I should be! Just finished listening to You Wanna Be on Top? by Sarah Hartshorne and loved it!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I used to be obsessed with watching America’s Next Top Model growing up and had actually rewatched several cycles earlier this year, so when I learned about this book I knew I had to read it. Sarah takes us readers (and listeners!) behind the scenes, dishing on what the casting process, challenges and model house, and post-elimination experience all looked like. I found her account of the experience to be brave, vulnerable, honest, and funny at times, and listening to Sarah as the narrator on audiobook definitely enhanced my view of this book overall. Even though I have obviously never been on ANTM, I found so much of her story to be relatable and reminiscent of learning about the world around me in my teens and twenties. I found some of the phrases to be a little cliche, which is something I think I picked up on more from listening, but that didn’t take away much from the ease of listening to Sarah’s story.

If you’re looking for a book to get you started with audiobooks, or just a great memoir about such an influential show, I’d highly recommend this one! by @thereadingnic

3

2

a year ago

Finally hopped on the bandwagon! A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Plot Points:
📖 Humans girl taken to live with faeries
📖 Evil curse & ruler weakening most faerie powers
📖 Complicated family dynamics
📖 Unexpected love/friendships
📖 Twists and turns

My Thoughts:
As a Fourth Wing lover, I was interested to see how I’d feel about ACOTAR. There’s definitely room in my heart for both! I totally get the hype. I had been warned that this book starts kinda slow as it builds the world, but honestly I enjoyed the pacing and never felt bored by it. Feyre is a strong main character and I appreciated her human perspective in a world full of faeries. While I think I’m supposed to love Tamlin (and I like him, he’s fine), I’m most excited to learn more about Rhysand in the next book and find him super compelling! by @thereadingnic

3

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a year ago

Ok life has been super busy, but I’m back with a quick, easy read: In Five Years by Rebecca Serle ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

The Plot:
📖 Magical realism/flash forward
📖 Set in NYC
📖 BFFs (Type A + Type B)
📖 Complicated romantic relationships
📖 Illness

In Five Years had me hooked from the start, when Dannie, a lawyer who lives by the rules, experiences a vision of herself five years in the future, where she’s romantically involved with a man who’s not her current fiancé. I found Dannie and her free-spirited artist bestie Bella to be endearing, realistic main characters, and I was curious to see if Dannie’s reality would match the vision. This story had some unexpected twists and heartbreaking moments that made it a page turner for me. I found some of the transitions in the timeline to be abrupt, and some of the dialogue and plot to be a little unrealistic and cheesy, but these things didn’t stop me from enjoying the book as a whole. I’d recommend this one! by @thereadingnic

3

1

a year ago

If you’re looking for a quick read with the whole spectrum of emotions, this one’s for you: Pack Up The Moon by Kristan Higgins ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Plot Points:
📖 Loving marriage
📖 Terminal illness
📖 Living with grief
📖 Letters for each month in the year after death
📖 Solid family & friend relationships

My Feelings: The premise of this book alone had me in my feels, and reading this book really kept me there. I appreciated the before and after, dual POV structure of this book because it helped capture all of the emotions of Lauren and Josh’s story and felt very balanced. The characters all felt like they could’ve been real people and were very likable and relatable. My main criticisms were that I found some of the language to be cheesy and repetitive, and the relationships all felt a little too good to be true at times. But if you’re looking for a beautiful love story that’ll make you cry, I’d recommend this one! by @thereadingnic

3

1

a year ago

If you liked Crazy Rich Asians, you’ll love Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Plot Points:
📖Decadent Hawaiian wedding
📖Forbidden love
📖Financial crisis
📖Matchmaking attempts by a rich, controlling mother
📖Extravagant parties and fashion
📖Set in England, Hawaii, Marrakech, California, and Venice

I really enjoyed this story! Kevin Kwan is SO GOOD at immersing readers into the worlds of the rich and royal, and with the added elements of a forbidden love story and financial ruin, I was hooked. I loved learning about Eden and her father Thomas, as well as the Gresham children-Rufus, Augie, and Bea. However, I found Arabella to be a really frustrating character and I wish her arc ended differently. I also wasn’t a huge fan of the footnotes and college lists as I was reading; I found them distracting and made me feel not as present in reading. by @thereadingnic

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0

a year ago