Happy Monday, friends! I had such a great weekend – the perfect mix of downtime and being social, which I haven’t gotten for a few weekends in a row. Lately, there have been plans on plans on plans so it was nice to take it easy this weekend.

I finished four books last week – woop! It was a very good reading week for me and – spoiler alert – all my reads were four or five stars! Let’s review

A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas (★★★★☆)

I wish I had read a physical copy of this book rather than listening to the audiobook. I think it would have been a better experience for me. This is the second book in the Lady Sherlock series. Charlotte Holmes has earned a bit of notoriety in the papers (although everyone thinks a man named Sherlock is solving the mysteries) and attracts the attention of the wife of Charlotte’s would-be love interest. She comes to Sherlock’s home (where “he” conducts “his” business) to ask about finding an old lover that she thinks might be dead. What I loved most about this novel is how much I couldn’t guess how the plot would unfold! It concluded in a completely different way than I expected, but was so satisfying, too. And the last line of this book has me wanting to rush out and get the third novel ASAP.

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren (★★★★☆)

Christina Lauren is an all-time favorite for me, and they did not disappoint with this novel. Olive and Ethan, mortal enemies, are the only people at a wedding (Olive’s sister married Ethan’s brother) who didn’t get sick from the buffet. (Olive has food allergies that prevented her from eating the buffet and Ethan thinks buffets are gross, so they had separate meals.) Olive’s sister implores her to take the honeymoon she was supposed to go on – and Ethan’s brother does the same to him. So, they have to spend 10 days with each other and try not to kill one another in the process. And, as it turns out, they don’t actually hate each other. They actually really, really like each other! It’s a sweet romance that had me laughing out loud throughout the novel, and I was actually pleasantly surprised by how it all turned out in the end.

Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (★★★★★)

Anne of the Island is the third book in the Anne of Green Gables series, following Anne as a young adult in college. She navigates education, her growing feelings for Gilbert Blythe, dating, and friendship throughout the novel. I know people have said that the Anne books aren’t worth reading past the first novel, but I vehemently disagree with that opinion. There’s something so human and relatable about these novels as Anne begins to grow up and recognize how different life is going to be as you say goodbye to childhood and enter adulthood. Friends grow up, get married, move away, become parents. I remember struggling so much with this passage of time when I started college. Anne struggles in the same ways and there was something so beautiful about how she came to terms with it.

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo (★★★★★)

It’s hard to wrap my mind around this book to give a coherent review, but it’s a book that I think all white people need to read. We all must come to terms with our racist assumptions and behaviors because no matter how “good” you think you are or what an “ally” you think you are, white people grew up in a society that puts them ahead of people of color. All white people – rich and poor alike – have benefited from this system and it’s only by understanding our racial bias, listening to people of color when they try to educate us on our racism, and working hard to challenge our internalized beliefs that we can begin to build a society that helps rather than harms people of color.

What I’m reading this week…

> Selfish, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed: Sixteen Writers on the Decision Not to Have Kids edited by Meghan Daum. I’m still on the fence about having kids myself (most days, I just don’t think I’d enjoy motherhood all that much), so this collection of essays has been really comforting to read.

> Making Up by Lucy Parker. My faaaaaaave! Lucy Parker books are the best, most especially because the settings are so unique! This book follows Trix, who is a circus performer, and Leo, who is a makeup artist, and I am thoroughly enjoying it.

> The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin, on audio. My hold just came through for the audiobook of this novel that’s getting some major buzz. I’ll start it on my commute this week.

What are you reading?