Happy Monday, Boozie Book Nerds!

This is your weekly reminder that black lives matter. Also, #StopAAPIHate

Ginny’s Update

Well, the semester is done so I’m officially halfway through my MBA! My summer position doesn’t start for a few weeks so I’ve had a really self-indulgent week. Lots of sleeping, video games, and enjoying the actual spring weather!

What Ginny Finished:

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• An Heiress to Remember by Maya Rodale: Beatrice is an heiress who divorced her stodgy dick of a duke and returns to NYC and wants to fix the struggling family business. The reason the business is struggling is partially due to her old flame building an empire across the street. The back and forth between the two is a lot of fun, but this book didn’t really hit me the way the other books in the series did, and I can’t really tell you why.
• You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria: I LOVED this book. It follows Jasmine, a soap opera star, and Ashton, a telenovela star, who are both trying to improve their careers by doing a show for a streaming company. First off, I really enjoyed the way this book dove into the personal histories for each character, their cultures are important to them. I loved the details like Ashton telling dad jokes, and the way that Jasmine’s cousins were her best friends. I hope to god this is a series because I desperately want to see her cousins get the same treatment that Jasmine did.
• A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine: So I usually don’t do books about political machinations, but our book club read this a while back and wanted to see what I thought. I tried reading this like three times before giving up, and then started the audiobook on Sam’s recommendation, which was the right choice. Mehit Dismar is the new ambassador from a small organization loosly tied with the ever growing empire. She’s dealing with the sudden death of the previous ambassador, the fact that the technology she’s been sent isn’t quite working properly, and so many other things. I’m probably going to write a review because this isn’t enough space to talk about what I thought about this book. But I’m planning on giving the sequel a chance.

What Ginny is Currently Reading:

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• Begin Again by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.: This book is nonfiction and is part biography part history part current events connected to James Baldwin, the Black Author in the civil rights era. I’m not particularly far in, but it’s clear that there are major parallels between the time of Baldwin’s writing and the current political atmosphere in the United States.
• Shipped by Angie Hockman: I literally just started this and I think there’s a chance I could DNF it just because of the way it starts. I know this book has gotten a lot of buzz, but already it’s clear the main character is a bit of a doormat with a tendency of doing other people’s jobs when they won’t, and that the main dude is the person who doesn’t want to do his job. I’m pretty sure no backstory is going to make them going on a cruise together worth it…

Minda’s Update

Nothing crazy this past week. Had a nice little Mother’s Day celebration. Happy Mother’s Day to all the other mamas out there!

What Minda is Currently Reading:

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• The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles – “Based on the true World War II story of the American Library in Paris, an unforgettable novel about the power of books and the bonds of friendship—and the ordinary heroes who can be found in the most perilous times and the quietest places.”
• The Woman with the Blue Star by Pam Jenoff – “Ella Stepanek is an affluent Polish girl living a life of relative ease with her stepmother, who has developed close alliances with the occupying Germans. While on an errand in the market, she catches a glimpse of something moving beneath a grate in the street. Upon closer inspection, she realizes it’s a girl hiding. Ella begins to aid Sadie and the two become close, but as the dangers of the war worsen, their lives are set on a collision course that will test them in the face of overwhelming odds.” Came out last week! ARC from NetGalley. Sounds right up my alley.
• The Stepsisters by Susan Mallery – “Eighteen years, two kids and one troubled marriage later, Daisy never expects—or wants—to see Sage again. But when the little sister they have in common needs them both, they put aside their differences to care for Cassidy. As long-buried truths are revealed, no one is more surprised than they when friendship blossoms. Their fragile truce is threatened by one careless act that could have devastating consequences. They could turn their backs on each other again…or they could learn to forgive once and for all and finally become true sisters of the heart.” Comes out later this month. ARC from NetGalley. Look forward to finding out everyone’s secrets muhahah.

What Minda Finished:

• Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy #3) – “The Darkling rules from his shadow throne while a weakened Alina Starkov recovers from their battle under the dubious protection of the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Now her hopes lie with the magic of a long-vanished ancient creature and the chance that an outlaw prince still survives.” TBH I was a little disappointed in this final installment of the first part in the series. Can’t quite put my finger on why.

Sam’s Update

No update from Sam this week

Until next time, we remain forever drunkenly yours,

— Sam, Ginny, and Minda