title: What If I Never Get Over You author: Paige Toon publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons publication date: April 15, 2025 pages: 416 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: child molestation (in past), horrible parents, childhood death by accident and by drug overdose summary: Ellie is about to give up on her Euro-rail trip when she…
Author: caritagardiner
327. Why Consult Future You
I hope you saw the photo above and thought, “Yes, that’s exactly what Carita will look like when she’s really old.” You’re wrong, but not far off. Except for the pipe, it’s probably about right. This is actually a photo of my younger daughter’s Albert Einstein costume. When she was little, she loved dressing up…
NetGalley Review of I Love You S’More
title: I Love You S’More author: Auriane Desombre publisher: Delacorte Romance publication date: April 8, 2025 pages: 256 peppers: 1 (on this scale) warnings: breaking up, cheating on a girlfriend summary: Ivy is happy to be back working at her childhood summer camp after getting dumped by her long-distance, television-star girlfriend. Unfortunately, what should be…
NetGalley Review of The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits
title: The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits author: Jennifer Weiner publisher: William Morrow publication date: April 8, 2025 pages: 384 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: death by car accident, unplanned pregnancy and talk of aborting, cheating on spouse, creepy stalker behavior, drug use, sexual assault summary: This amazing story has three generations of point-of-view characters….
326. Why Out Work
Above is my Peloton profile. I’ve been inspired to write lots of blog posts from Peloton, so if you’re not in the mood to read another post based on an inspirational message one of the coaches said, maybe it’s time for you to offer to write a guest post. You can base it on whatever…
NetGalley Review of Love, The Duke
title: Love, The Duke author: Amelia Grey publisher: St. Martin’s Paperback publication date: April 1, 2025 pages: 320 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: horrible father (described later), dead brother, theft summary: Ophelia’s brother’s vicarage’s priceless chalice was stolen, and now that Ophelia’s brother has died, she wants to find the chalice to save his…
325. Why More Beatles, Less Frozen
On one of the above episodes of “The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos,” I don’t remember which one, I heard a line that stuck with me: We need more Beatles and less Frozen, more “let it be” (and PS, I had no idea Billy Preston played the organ for this song. Were you aware?…
324. Why I’ll Never Buy Anything Else from Instagram
Doesn’t the photo above look like a screenshot of a shipped item from a real vendor? Turns out, it’s fake! I was getting tons of ads on Instagram for Velanico’s products for curly hair. Apparently, everyone with curls should be sleeping in a bonnet and using satin ponytail holders. After seeing the videos several times,…
NetGalley Review of the Story She Left Behind
title: The Story She Left Behind author: Patti Callahan Henry publisher: Atria Books publication date: March 18, 2025 pages: 352 peppers: 2 (on this scale) warnings: death of a father (off-page), missing mother, talk of death by smog, asthma attack, talk of bullying, theft summary: When Clara was eight years old, twenty-five years ago, her…
Net Galley Review of Nine Month Contract
title: Nine Month Contract author: Amy Daws publisher: Canary Street Press publication date: March 18, 2025 pages: 416 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: bad parenting (in the past) summary: Trista has just been turned down as a potential surrogate at an agency because she hasn’t ever had a baby and weighs too much. When…