Hello and welcome! This is my annual "Best Of", look back at what I've read in 2025. The categories, the shortlist, and the winners are all chosen by, you guessed it, me! The prize is the warm feeling that the author will surely feel when they learn that they have been selected for the Karissa… Continue reading The 2025 Karissa Reads Books Literary Awards (Best Debut)
Tag: Recommended Reading
Book Review: Like Family by Erin O. White
Like Family - Erin O. White (Dial Press, 2025) I received an Advance Reader's Copy of this book thanks to the publisher. All opinions are my own. After hearing some positive early reviews of Like Family, I realized I had an ARC at home and so picked it up to read over a weekend. I… Continue reading Book Review: Like Family by Erin O. White
Book Review: Emiko by Chieri Uegaki
This was a fun, sweet young adult novel. The first novel from Uegaki, we know here in our house for her kids picture books. And, although I've never met her, Uegaki used to live here on the Sunshine Coast and we have mutual friends. The premise of the book is terrific and I was excited… Continue reading Book Review: Emiko by Chieri Uegaki
Book Review: Exposure by Helen Dunmore
Exposure - Helen Dunmore (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2016) Helen Dunmore was on my radar but not my TBR until I read The Railway Children and FictionFan commented that there was a version of that story that focused on the parents. (Her review can be found here.) Simon Callington is a low level office worker for… Continue reading Book Review: Exposure by Helen Dunmore
(Audio) Book Review: Heart the Lover by Lily King
Heart the Lover - Lily King (Harper Collins Publishers, 2025) I received an Advance Listening Copy of this book thanks to the publisher and Libro.fm. All opinions are my own. This was the 100th book I finished in 2025 and it's a delightful serendipity that it was both a book I was looking forward to… Continue reading (Audio) Book Review: Heart the Lover by Lily King
(Audio) Book Review: The Accidental Favourite by Fran Littlewood
The Accidental Favourite - Fran Littlewood (MacMillan Audio, 2025) (narrated by Fiona Button) I received an Advance Listening Copy of this book thanks to Libro.fm and the publisher. All opinions are my own. My reading of this book suffered slightly by the fact that it took me so long to finish it. This is not… Continue reading (Audio) Book Review: The Accidental Favourite by Fran Littlewood
Book Review: The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell
The Hand That First Held Mine - Maggie O'Farrell (Headline, 2010) My introduction to Maggie O'Farrell's work was through her most recent novels, both of which are historical fiction. (My review of Hamnet and of The Marriage Portrait.) This earlier work from O'Farrell has a twentieth century setting and maybe it was this or the… Continue reading Book Review: The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell
Book Review: Run Towards the Danger by Sarah Polley
I feel toward Sarah Polley the way I imagine I might feel if someone from my high school had gone on to be famous. Like a friend's older sister, or if we had grown up around the same time in the same small town. We didn't; I've never met Polley and I haven't even followed… Continue reading Book Review: Run Towards the Danger by Sarah Polley
Book Review: The Riches of Your Grace by Julie Lane-Gay
The Riches of Your Grace - Julie Lane-Gay (InterVarsity Press, 2024) Whether or not this is a book you might pick up and read likely depends a good deal on how interested you are in the Book of Common Prayer. And your interest in the Book of Common Prayer might depend on how Anglican you… Continue reading Book Review: The Riches of Your Grace by Julie Lane-Gay
Book Review: Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
Nightbitch - Rachel Yoder (Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 2024) The protagonist of Nightbitch is a young mother of a toddler, a two-year-old boy, who gave up her career as an artist to be a stay-at-home parent. Her husband has a demanding job, one that takes him out of town from Monday to Friday. This is… Continue reading Book Review: Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
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