A Ruse of Shadows by Sherry Thomas (★★★☆☆)
Print • Library • Mystery • 2024
Short synopsis: With her sights set on freeing her sister’s beloved from Moriarty’s clutches, Charlotte is forced to divert her plans when the disgraced Lord Bancroft Ashburton compels her to track down his missing henchman, dead or alive.
This is the eighth book in the Lady Sherlock series, and I’m not sure if I will continue after this one. It’s not that it was bad. Like all the Lady Sherlock books, it was a fun ride with a cast of characters I have grown to love dearly. At first, I tried listening to this book, but I got very confused by all the different characters. I set it down, determined to try again in print, and it went a lot better in that format, especially because I kept a character list on my phone to keep things straight. I enjoyed the mystery at the heart of this book, but at a certain point, there was too much going on, and it started to feel a bit convoluted. Everything came together nicely at the end, but it was a bit of a mess to get there.
The Anatomy of Anxiety: Understanding and Overcoming the Body’s Fear Response by Ellen Vora (★★★★☆)
Print • Owned (Amazon) • Nonfiction • 2022
Short synopsis: In The Anatomy of Anxiety, Dr. Ellen Vora argues that anxiety can also stem from physical imbalances, lifestyle factors, and deeper issues in our lives. Drawing on scientific research and clinical experience, she offers practical strategies for managing anxiety and reframing it as something that can guide us toward greater balance and well-being.
I’d really recommend this book to people who struggle with anxiety but are interested in exploring ways to manage it beyond medication. For me, I’m someone who does need anti-anxiety medication to keep my brain functioning at a relatively normal level, but I know that’s not the case for everyone. A growing body of research has found a relationship between gut health and brain health, and I’m definitely interested in learning more about that connection! In fact, one of my best friends struggled with depression for over a decade before discovering she had a chronic autoimmune condition. Once she cut out gluten, her mental health improved drastically. Of course, that’s not going to be the answer for everyone who struggles with a mental health disorder, but it’s a good reminder that our physical health can have a significant impact on our mental health, too.
The way I approached this book was with curiosity. To be honest, none of the strategies discussed were particularly groundbreaking. Eating less sugar, getting better sleep, and understanding how stress affects the mind-body connection are all things we’ve heard again and again. But sometimes, it helps to understand why these habits matter and how they can affect our mental health. I think it’s vitally important to be introspective about our bodies and our lives, and I appreciated the reminder to look at the bigger picture when it comes to mental health. I didn’t agree with everything in this book, but I do think Dr. Vora has an important point to make: so many environmental, societal, and dietary factors affect the way our bodies function, and those factors deserve consideration when we’re trying to understand our mental health.
I’m not going to stop taking my medication after reading this book, nor even approach the topic with my psychiatrist. But I am thinking about some of these strategies and how they could help improve things like inflammation, moodiness, and period hormones.
Get Over It, April Evans by Ashley Herring Blake (★★☆☆☆ 1/2)
E-Book • Libby • Contemporary Romance • 2026
Short synopsis: When two heartbroken artists—April, whose ex-fiancée left her for a younger woman, and Daphne, that very woman—find themselves working together at a New Hampshire resort, a rivalry over an opportunity to showcase their art in London gives way to an unexpected attraction.
This is the second book in AHB’s Clover Lake series, and it has not been working for me at all. Was she just a one-hit wonder for me (Delilah Green Doesn’t Care for liiiife)? In this book, the characters felt so similar that I kept having to remind myself who was who. (“April is the girl who got dumped. Daphne is the other woman.”) The romance didn’t feel particularly believable, and I really, really hated the dark moment. I thought it was honestly a bit silly because she left us on a cliffhanger, like we thought something different was going to happen. (Hello! We’re reading a romance novel! We know how this ends!) I love a dark moment that feels earned and real, and basically makes me want to cry alongside my characters. I didn’t feel anything for these two, and by the end, I was skimming just so I could be done. I think it’s time for a break from AHB, which really bums me out.
What are you reading?
Ooh, the anxiety book sounds really good. I agree that none of the things you mentioned seem ground-breaking, but sometimes it helps to hear things again, or hear them put in a different way. It would also be interesting if she went into scientific explanations about exactly why these physical things are affecting our mental health.
The third book sounds horrible, with no redeeming features. Yes, I would be highly suspicious of that author from now on.
I’m currently reading Going Zero by Anthony McCarten and it’s really good!
Yes, she definitely gives a lot of science-backed reasonings to why certain things affect our mental health, which I thought was super interesting! She is probably not someone I would want as a therapist or handling my meds, lol, but there was a lot of food for thought in that book!
The anxiety book sounds interesting. I hope it’s not anti-medication, though… Some of us need meds! I feel like I do all the right things, or at least try to (eat well, no gluten, exercise, prioritize sleep/rest) and yet my anxiety certainly need to be managed by meds. I guess you could say I’m team both, but I get nervous about books with a thesis of healing yourself, because there is truly nothing wrong with being on a medication. Yes, there are risks and side effects to consider, but sometimes meds are necessary. I get similarly cranky when people try to tell me I should try drinking turmeric milk or something along those lines to “heal” my rheumatoid arthritis. I know the suggestions are well meaning but it can feel disrespectful to have these “natural remedies” pushed on me. I know I’m preaching to the choir on this, though!
That’s a bummer that you had a 2 star read!! I’m always annoyed when I rate something 2 stars because the book should have been a DNF.
I didn’t consider the book to be anti-medication, although other people might have a different opinion. I definitely hear what you are saying, though! I don’t think I would be here today if I didn’t have my meds, especially once I learned I had OCD and got the RIGHT meds for my type of mental illness. The first half of the book is definitely focused on other remedies, mostly because she focuses on types of “false” anxiety (aka, NOT what we are dealing with!) that can be better served with lifestyle changes than meds. But then she delves into true anxiety and how these strategies can be paired with meds, which I appreciated!
I really need to start DNF-ing when I know a book is going to be 2 (or maybe even 3?) stars. I just did that for a book I had read 60% of – usually, I’d push through because I want it to “count” toward my reading challenge (lol, whyyy), but I abandoned it and moved on to something a lot better!
I enjoyed the first three Lady Sherlock books, but I never continued on. Like you, it wasn’t because I disliked them. They were fun! But I just didn’t get around to getting the 4th or any others.
Yes, exactly! They are fun but I always forget the series exists and then when I get back to them, I’m a little lost with all the characters and plot, ha.
NOOOO! I loved Delilah Doesn’t Care and Astrid Parker was pretty good, too. Why is AHB letting us down?
It makes me SO sad, Engie, because she started out SO GREAT and lately, the books have been really lackluster. I was really hoping she was going to be my gold-star sapphic romance author!
A CHARACTER LIST ON YOUR PHONE!!!!!! Wow. That is dedication. Also, hard stop. I cannot with a huge list of characters I can’t keep track of in my head right now.