Book Mail Monday 6/5/2023

Posted on by AmandaKay

Hello and a happy Monday to you, book friends! Azula and I had a pretty quiet, restful weekend as Mr. Your Book Friend had lots of plans with friends and was out and about most of the time.

On Saturday, I made a trip to the city for yoga in the park with a friend. On my way home, I stopped by Half Price Books to unload another box of books from my parents’ basement. While they calculated my offer, I browsed the shelves and am forever proud that I wound up leaving with only one new book.

That book is my highlight for this week’s Book Mail post, and it is… Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young. This was a Book of the Month a while back, but for some reason I got confused and thought I’d already signed up to receive a copy from Authentic Books. Turns out I picked a different book that month, and I was pretty disappointed when I realized.

Fast forward to browsing at Half Price Books. They always have a ton of Book of the Month editions on the shelves, something I find entertaining to speculate about. And one of the books this time around was Spells for Forgetting. Of course, I had to have it. I’ll probably wait a while to read this one, as it has much more of a fall/winter vibe to me than a summer reading one, but we’ll see where the mood takes me.

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Mini Review: Everything’s Fine by Cecilia Rabess

Posted on by AmandaKay

Format Read: Paperback (ARC)

Rating: 4.5 stars

Hello, book friends! I just finished another fantastic book that I’m going to be thinking about and processing for quite some time. That means it’s time for a mini review! Many thanks to Simon & Shuster for the complimentary review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Everything’s Fine by Cecilia Rabess is about Jess, who gets a job at Goldman Sachs… only to learn that one of her least favorite peers from college, Josh, works there too. Jess and Josh have never really agreed on anything, especially politics, which is why she’s surprised when he becomes her only work friend and occasional ally. They continue to argue about race and politics and ethics, but something else seems to be happening, too… sparks between them. But as their relationship deepens, so does the political turmoil leading up to the 2016 election, leading Jess to struggle between what she believes is right and her feelings for Josh.

I’ll admit, with a premise like that, I was a bit nervous this book would be one long stress cycle that never completes. But the instant I cracked it open and started reading, Rabess’ gorgeous writing pulled me in. The style and voice of this book really compelled me to linger to Jess’ inner world and made me want to keep reading even when, yes, it did get a bit stressful. There is a nice sharp bite of humor to this book that had me laughing out loud at times, even as I furrowed my brow in frustration at others.

This is not a light romance novel. It is a serious look at relationships and differences and tackles with the question of how much we can and should tolerate from our loved ones when it comes to their beliefs and actions. The characters are messy and real and don’t always do the right thing, and I definitely got frustrated with them at times. That said, there are some steamy and swoon-worthy moments tucked in amidst the struggles that Jess faces as she tries to make up her mind about the Josh problem.

I loved this book, and I am still thinking about this book and sitting with it. I think I will be for quite some time, which in my opinion is the mark of a book worth reading.

Everything’s Fine comes out this Tuesday, June 6th.