So, this might be the perfect beach read. It probably didn't hurt that I was actually on the beach while I was reading it, but I think it would hold together regardless.  A very modern romance, it has smart characters with quirks, careers, and complicated families.  The mandatory-for-a-romance-novel misunderstandings and communication issues were believable.  The author should have had a lawyer read a proof and give feedback because for sure some of the legal stuff was off (I was super upset that the brilliant and high powered lawyer Adrian seriously jammed himself up on a conflict without any recognition that he was doing that), but that wasn't the main focus of the story, so I was able to move beyond it.  I just really liked the story and the characters.

Recommend.

This YA romance was really cute and I love that YA loves stories have come this far, with nerdy characters, anti-bullying and pro-environment themes, first kisses that are fun and consensual.  Lots to love here for the YA reader, but not quite enough to recommend it for an adult audience.  I would put this in the rarely used not not recommended category with a recommend for the YA reader crowd.
Not not recommended.

This book creeped me out.  The premise is that a highly contagious disease that makes you blind, but has no other symptoms, begins to quickly spread from Patient One to others and humanity is unable to maintain its humanity.  It is depressing, violent, and vile with vivid descriptions of dead and injured bodies and bodily functions that I could definitely have done without.  The book wasn't without intrigue, but in the midst of a global pandemic where I continue to be disappointed in the inability of individuals and communities to be kind and act for the collective good, it was just too much.  It again reminds me that in an actual apocalypse, I hope I am out in chapter 1 and that someone else can use my shoes and other things to get through to the end of the story because I am not interested in sticking around to watch the world fall apart and people turn on each other.

Not recommended.  

I was initially pretty skeptical of this endeavor.  Not a huge Clinton fan to start with, I was wondering if she was just trying to be Stacey Abrams now. But, I typically really like Penny, so I thought I would give it a try.  I was not thrilled with the tone of the writing. It is clearly not Penny's usual Inspector Gemache voice, which I love so much.  It looks quite a while for me to get used to the writing style, which felt less like it was written by a writer and more like it was written by a lawyer, which I suppose makes sense in this context.
So, I got off to kind of a rough start with this one, which didn't really improve until the plot really started to thicken and while the writing never came close to the quality I would expect from Penny, the storyline was enough to win me over.  The complexity of the domestic and international politics was intertwined with family dynamics and personal relationships in a way that once I was sucked in I was really sucked in.  A political thriller bolstered by a sense that Clinton probably brought some semblance of realism to the table. I ended up really enjoying it.  They clearly left the door open for a sequel and maybe a series.
Recommend.

This is a ridiculously adorable Queer romance with an unexpected touch of fantasy/sci fi such that it kind of defies genres.  There are so many things to love, love, love in this story from Queer history, to trans characters whose trans-ness is not even remotely the most interesting thing about them (or even mentioned about them for a long time), to a plus-size main character which is also not made a big deal about.  It is fun, light, sexy, and a really great beach read.
​Recommend.

This is a sneaker of a book.  The writing, even translated from French, is lovely--sweet and elegant.  A first it seemed like a character story, with little plot and lots of descriptions of people and places and events.  But this was really deceptive because it turned out that the plot is layered, with stories within stories and interlacing storylines and lots of characters.  The heartbreaks for the protagonist come one after another, from growing up in foster care to a difficult marriage, to the loss of a child, and so forth.  But the relationships, mostly set in and around the cemetery where she is the groundskeeper, are touching and even the characters who are the hardest to like you can't hate--well, except maybe one.  There is definitely one that was hate-able! And I loved how many of the relationships develop and change over time, with new ones coming and old ones falling away.  I also loved how the ending came together, tying up loose ends in a way that was powerful and heartbreaking.  This is real literature in the tradition of literature, but with the addition of a worthy plot that will suck you in slowly.
Recommend.