Ekta R. Garg (Author of The Truth About Elves)

Ekta R. Garg wrote a new blog post I’m away this week, but… …you can still spend some time with me! This week I’m at Novel Bookcamp — one of my most favorite places on the entire planet! — but I have a cool int Read more of this blog post »
Jun 25, 2026 03:31AM · like
Ekta rated a book it was ok Death Was Not on the Guest List by Jenni L. Walsh (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Two friends who attend a high-society event find themselves playing amateur detective after their hostess turns up dead. As the evening wears on and more people keel over, the friends will have to use all of their skills and think hard to figure out ...more
Jun 18, 2026 10:57AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Death Was Not on the Guest List by Jenni L. Walsh. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Death Was Not on the Guest List by Jenni L. Walsh <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ekta rated a book really liked it All the Little Ways by Laura Lekkos	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Two pregnant women who are almost complete opposites form a bond despite their differences. As they try to deal with morning sickness and weight gain, their friendship becomes a major source of comfort and support until a shocking revelation threaten ...more
Jun 11, 2026 02:18PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of All the Little Ways by Laura Lekkos. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — All the Little Ways by Laura Lekkos <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ekta rated a book liked it Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A woman who spent her early years living in notoriety finds her golden years threatened when her neighbor dies. As the elderly woman gets caught up in the aftermath, her neighbors and others start digging into her dubious past. Author Sally Hepworth ...more
Apr 29, 2026 04:11PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ekta entered a giveaway Paper Ghosts by Sarah Addison Allen (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 20, 2026 02:00PM · like · see giveaway
Ekta rated a book really liked it Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4.5 stars An influencer finds herself in an altered version of her life and doesn’t know how she got there. As she battles memories of her charmed past and the harsh realities of her present day, she tries to figure out how she got where she is and ho ...more
Apr 08, 2026 04:44PM · 1 like · like · see review
Ekta rated a book it was ok Sorry for Your Loss by Georgia McVeigh (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A woman suffering from a recent loss joins a support group and meets someone who becomes her new object of desire. As she gets closer to him, she begins to realize that her obsession is becoming dangerous—for her. Author Georgia McVeigh offers a fami ...more
Apr 03, 2026 02:18PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Sorry for Your Loss by Georgia McVeigh. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Sorry for Your Loss by Georgia McVeigh <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ekta rated a book it was ok The Danger of Small Things by Caryl Lewis	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2.5 stars A young woman forced to live in a government facility after society collapses learns that she and the others in the compound are being used as pawns. With her head full of memories of her family and her hands itching to pursue her art, she d ...more
Mar 25, 2026 07:40PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Danger of Small Things by Caryl Lewis. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Danger of Small Things by Caryl Lewis <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ekta rated a book it was ok When Tomorrow Burns by Tae Keller (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2.5 stars Three friends who have access to a special book that predicts the future grapple with the challenges of growing up. As they deal with confusing situations and changing friendships, they will have to figure out what’s important to hold on to ...more
Mar 18, 2026 04:09PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of When Tomorrow Burns by Tae Keller. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — When Tomorrow Burns by Tae Keller <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ekta rated a book it was amazing The Curse of Great Winter Academy (Choose Your Own Adventure New Classics) by Jessika Fleck (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
For parents who spent hours becoming the protagonists of the Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) books in the ‘80s, the next generation of CYOA books is alive and well in the capable and deft writing hands of authors like Central Illinois’s very own Jes ...more
Mar 16, 2026 02:47PM · like · see review

Ekta R. Garg wrote a new blog post

I’m away this week, but…

…you can still spend some time with me! This week I’m at Novel Bookcamp — one of my most favorite places on the entire planet! — but I have a cool int Read more of this blog post »

Ekta rated a book it was ok

Death Was Not on the Guest List
by Jenni L. Walsh (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Two friends who attend a high-society event find themselves playing amateur detective after their hostess turns up dead. As the evening wears on and more people keel over, the friends will have to use all of their skills and think hard to figure out Two friends who attend a high-society event find themselves playing amateur detective after their hostess turns up dead. As the evening wears on and more people keel over, the friends will have to use all of their skills and think hard to figure out what’s going on before someone else gets hurt. Author Jenni L. Walsh returns with a book in a genre brand new to her in the disappointing historical murder mystery Death Was Not on the Guest List.

Ginevra King Mitchell is all decked up and ready for a charity whist drive at the home of her friend, Sarah. Ginevra wouldn’t usually go to anything hosted by Sarah, if it wasn’t for the fact that her other three best friends, Edith, Courtney, and Peg, will be there too. Together they’re known as the Big Four. They debuted in Chicago society together and are known as a social force in the upper echelons of Chicago’s Gold Coast. At the very least, Ginevra will get a chance to catch up on the latest gossip—or at least find out if she’s the subject of it.

Because Ginevra’s made a shocking discovery: her husband, Bill, has been having an affair with Sarah for quite a long time now. Even though he’s promised to break it off—or maybe he has; Bill was never clear on that part—Ginevra is seething. She’s also deeply embarrassed. What will everyone think of her and her marriage?

It doesn’t help that the main character in The Great Gatsby, the latest book by her former lover, author F. Scott Fitzgerald, bears a striking resemblance to her. Edith has already figured out that Daisy, the woman in the novel, is basically Ginevra. Who else would have read it? Who else knows?

Thoughts of the novel and even Bill fly from Ginevra’s mind when, shortly after the game starts, Sarah excuses herself from the table and the lights go out. When they come back on, Ginevra, her friends, and the 15 or so other women attending the function make a gruesome discovery: Sarah is dead. Worse, it looks like she may have been murdered.

Before anyone can blink, a mysterious detective arrives at the mansion and starts questioning everyone. Even though he’s asked the women to sequester themselves in different rooms to wait their turn for questioning, Ginevra’s mind is running a mile a minute. Who would want to kill Sarah, and why? When evidence turns up that points in her direction, she knows she’ll have to try to find who the real murderer is. She hated Sarah, yes, but not enough to kill her. Not while wearing one of her best dresses, anyway. Edith says she’ll join in the venture, and the two friends begin asking their own questions of the women. Then another person ends up dead, and the entire night begins to feel like one quest to stay alive.

Author Jenni L. Walsh does a wonderful job of setting the scene in the mansion. Walsh’s experience as an author shines as she makes the house come alive in readers’ minds. Unfortunately the setting is one of the few positives in a book.

The murder mystery itself, while a surprise in the culprit, drags. For most of the book, readers follow Ginevra and Edith by turns as they go from room to room asking the women at the party what they know, saw, or heard. After the fourth or fifth interview, the details start to blur together. Worse, they don’t seem to offer anything substantial toward actually solving the murder. It feels more like the friends are biding their time until they can figure out what to do next.

Walsh shares in her author note at the end that she drew inspiration from the real-life Ginevra King Mitchell and Edith Cummings who were purported to be inspiration for Fitzgerald. Had she offered this note at the start of the book, the narration could have eased up on so many mentions of The Great Gatsby. Nearly every chapter from Ginevra’s point of view mentions Gatsby in some way, and the repeated mentions feel just that: repetitive to the point of losing interest in the story.

Despite there being four friends in the group, Ginevra and Edith are the only ones with any depth. Courtney and Peg along with all the other women start to feel like cardboard cutouts by the end of the novel. Anyone looking for a locked-room mystery might want to consider a different choice ...more

Ekta rated a book really liked it

All the Little Ways
by Laura Lekkos

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Two pregnant women who are almost complete opposites form a bond despite their differences. As they try to deal with morning sickness and weight gain, their friendship becomes a major source of comfort and support until a shocking revelation threaten Two pregnant women who are almost complete opposites form a bond despite their differences. As they try to deal with morning sickness and weight gain, their friendship becomes a major source of comfort and support until a shocking revelation threatens to destroy it forever. Debut author Laura Lekkos celebrates the beauty and complexity of female friendships in her likeable first novel, All the Little Ways.

Victoria knows the world of finance as well as any man, and she regularly outpaces her biggest competitors in her LA firm. In fact, she’s poised to become a major force in her company…until the news of her pregnancy comes out in the most unfortunate of ways. She’s embarrassed about the way everyone found out but also ecstatic that she’s having a baby. She and her husband, Ace, have been head over heels for one another since they first met. It doesn’t matter that Victoria is 43 and her husband is in his sixties. They’re as giddy as a couple of teenagers, especially now that they’re going to be parents.

Liz only dreams about having that kind of confidence…or any confidence at all. In her early 30s, Liz is also pregnant with her first child. Except she’s not sure her boyfriend, Preston, is totally on board with having a baby. Or that he’s even really her boyfriend. The kids today would call what Liz and Preston have a “situationship,” but Liz wants so much more from Preston and life in general. Having a baby and giving it the kind of stability she always wanted seems like a great place to start. Maybe. Possibly.

Through a series of fun coincidences, Liz and Victoria end up in the same prenatal class. At first, it seems like they have nothing in common. Victoria is a high-powered career woman who is always impeccably put together with laser focus on what she wants from life. Liz works in reality TV as an underling, hates her job, and considers it a win if she can find different pants for every day. Yet they’re drawn to each other, and Liz is the first to admit that Victoria’s confidence draws her in like a magnet. When she discovers that Victoria is also funny and kind, along with being way more grounded than the stereotypical LA socialites in their class, Liz immediately wants to be Victoria’s BFF.

Victoria finds Liz’s honesty refreshing, and it’s so much fun to have someone else to gossip with about the other moms. What is with the silly “Thanks in Advance” they keep throwing in the group chat like a tic? It’s annoying, and Victoria and Liz bond over how goofy the other moms are. The fact that they’re due only a week apart seems like another way for their friendship to become cemented. Until a bombshell of information blows everything apart. Suddenly, Victoria doesn’t know if she and Liz can be friends after all. In fact, she’s not sure they should ever see each other again. How can they, when Victoria is now questioning everything in her life?

Author Laura Lekkos plays it safe in this homage to female friendships. The plot is predictable in parts. Readers may see the major twist coming long before Victoria does, given the access to information they have that Victoria doesn’t. However, Lekkos creates an organic way for the twist to occur, keeping it true to her story world and the plot.

Even with the predictability of the book, many of the exchanges between Victoria and Liz are fun and engaging. Victoria is the big sister figure many young women want, and Liz’s uncertainty feels relatable. Although Victoria’s advice can veer into lecturing territory at times, her well-meaning heart makes up for the know-it-all attitude.

The friends carry the majority of the book on their shoulders with secondary characters coming across as stand-ins for well-developed people. Even then, Liz is so earnest and Victoria so open to nurturing a younger sister-type friend that those stock characters may not bother readers so much, the exception being Harper, Victoria’s assistant, who is too excited to use Gen-Z slang. The narration seems determined to include every phrase used by today’s young people to the point of sounding caricaturish, but Lekkos gives Harper her own redemption moment that makes up for it in the end.

The book is a lovely addition to the field of women’s fiction and is a fun summer read. Those looking for a mostly uncomplicated novel about friendship will want to check this out. ...more

Ekta rated a book liked it

Mad Mabel
by Sally Hepworth (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

A woman who spent her early years living in notoriety finds her golden years threatened when her neighbor dies. As the elderly woman gets caught up in the aftermath, her neighbors and others start digging into her dubious past. Author Sally Hepworth A woman who spent her early years living in notoriety finds her golden years threatened when her neighbor dies. As the elderly woman gets caught up in the aftermath, her neighbors and others start digging into her dubious past. Author Sally Hepworth turns to a slightly different avenue of domestic thrillers in her latest novel Mad Mabel.

Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick loves her little lane, called Kenny Street, in the Melbourne suburb where she lives. There are only six homes there, and most everyone looks out for one another. Well, except for Joan, who never talks to Elsie but just gives her nasty looks all the time and her next-door neighbor, Ishaan, who always looks away when his dog does his business in Elsie’s yard. But at 81, Elsie can handle a little pet poop. She’s had to endure much, much worse, after all.

Until the day when Ishaan’s Chihuahua, Nugget, won’t stop barking, and Elsie makes a terrible discovery. She finds Ishaan dead on his kitchen floor and calls the authorities, much to the morbid amusement of her roommate, Daphne, and the never-ending questions from the terrorizing 7-year-old, Persephone, who lives across the street from Elsie with her single mother. Persephone seems determined to befriend Elsie and insists on calling her Elsa, much to Elsie’s irritation.

Even with Ishaan for a neighbor, Elsie thinks Persephone has to be the most annoying person she knows. Or one of them, at least. Then Joan announces to the world that she knows who Elsie really is, and Elsie’s opinion changes. Joan must have told Peter, the kindly neighbor who also lives on their street, and Elsie has always wanted to make a good impression on him. Not for any romantic reason. Peter is too young, for one thing. But he’s such a dear soul that she doesn’t want him thinking ill of her, even if she’s technically too old to care what other people think.

Yet Elsie does care. It’s one of the reasons she moved to Kenny Street 60 years ago—to get away from what the world thought. Because long ago she was known by her other name, Mabel. More specifically, people called her “Mad Mabel” for many reasons, the biggest being that she’s the youngest convicted murderer in Australia.

Mabel was found guilty of killing a man when she was a teenager. She was humiliated and put on public display. This was long before the internet, thank goodness, but news archives do live online. With all the hullabaloo around Ishaan’s death, people are slowly digging into Elsie’s past. Podcasters show up on her doorstep to ask questions. Someone paints a rude word on her house. The neighbors start looking at her askance, and everyone wonders the same thing: Is Elsie Fitzpatrick a cold-blooded killer?

Author Sally Hepworth creates sympathetic characters in Elsie/Mabel and the others who populate her world. Hepworth flips with ease between Elsie’s early days when she was known as Mabel and the present day when her neighbor’s death jumpstarts renewed interest in her sordid past. A closer look shows that the story of Mabel has more heft than her story present, which provides the biggest problem of the book.

Elsie’s voice is strong and clear, and Hepworth clearly adores her protagonist. While the flashback/flash forward technique may have been used for dramatic effect, the book may have benefited from a more straightforward, chronological approach. Hepworth mines Mabel’s life for tragedy and heartbreak to great success. Readers will have a hard time sitting with Mabel and not having some sort of emotional reaction to her. Yet her life as Elsie, while entertaining, doesn’t hold the same weight, and even with the semi-suspicious circumstances around her neighbor’s death Elsie’s current life just isn’t as outrageous as her past.

Fans of A Man Called Ove, in particular, will recall how Fredrik Backman’s grumpy protagonist, Ove, couldn’t seem to get along with anyone, no matter how benign or even kind their nature. Hepworth tries to recreate the same atmosphere here with limited success. Elsie has clearly lived a long life free from Mabel-related drama, and she’s succeeded. What results, then, is a seemingly small matter that gets stretched to the entire length of a book so that Elsie can share Mabel’s story. Take out the Mabel portions, and Elsie’s story doesn’t have far to go.

Readers who love and support Hepworth will probably like this one because of the author’s fondness for her main character and how much time she’s obviously poured into her. Others looking for a grumpy-sunshine cast may want to read something else instead. ...more

Ekta entered a giveaway

Paper Ghosts
by Sarah Addison Allen (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Ekta rated a book really liked it

Yesteryear
by Caro Claire Burke

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

4.5 stars

An influencer finds herself in an altered version of her life and doesn’t know how she got there. As she battles memories of her charmed past and the harsh realities of her present day, she tries to figure out how she got where she is and ho 4.5 stars

An influencer finds herself in an altered version of her life and doesn’t know how she got there. As she battles memories of her charmed past and the harsh realities of her present day, she tries to figure out how she got where she is and how to get home. Debut author Caro Claire Burke offers readers an explosive yet thoughtful look at the influencer culture, particularly at those who promote the bygone era way of life, in her novel Yesteryear.

Even though most people would use the term “tradwife” to describe her, Natalie Heller Mills is anything but. Sure, she lives on a farm in rural Idaho and shows her millions of followers how the family uses its own vegetables for an organic meal. And she’s very clear that faith and family—in that order—are the center of who she is. But it’s easy to show the tradwife life when she isn’t living it in reality.

She’s curated her feed to make her followers think her husband, Caleb, is a farmer even though Caleb doesn’t know a rutabaga from a zucchini. No one sees all the immigrant farmhands who do the real labor on the farm. Her producer takes all of the artistic photos and the beautifully shot reels and manages her social media accounts that promote raw milk and ultra organic meals. Natalie also lets the world believe she’s the sole caretaker of her gaggle of six kids, but no one sees the two nannies on the screen.

Some people look at her life and think Natalie is living in heaven on Earth; the Angry Women, as she and Caleb call them, love to comment on every single post and video to let her know how she’s an embarrassment to women everywhere. Only she knows what it takes the production of the Mills family going and how it’s her influencer lifestyle that keeps them afloat. And none of Natalie’s followers know about the family’s dirty little secrets.

That’s why when she wakes up in the farmhouse and discovers that all the modern plumbing and electricity are gone, and that Caleb looks like a weirdly altered version of himself, and that her kids kind of look like hers but also don’t, Natalie believes she’s been kidnapped. Nothing else makes sense. She’s been kidnapped and dropped onto a real farm somewhere for some bizarre reality show. Or maybe she’s discovered time travel. Or something else. There’s no other explanation for how a prominent influencer like her who has been trying to spread the word about a life that goes back to America’s roots could end up in this mess.

A devastating injury knocks loose memories of her former life, and as Natalie tries her hardest to remember just what brought her to this awful place she also faces what life in the 1800s was really like. It definitely wasn’t as charmed as she made it out to be through Instagram. The lighting is all wrong, and she can’t, for the life of her, bake a decent loaf of bread. Which would have made her followers go nuts; now it just makes Natalie sad and deeply upset for the life that’s somehow disappeared right before her eyes.

Debut author Caro Claire Burke shows a confidence with this nonlinear storyline that seasoned authors would do well to study carefully. While readers may not know where Burke’s unusual plot is going, the author’s self-assurance will keep them glued to pages and screens as they try to figure it out. In her protagonist, Burke has offered readers a model for the thousands of influencers trying to stand out from their peers while also allowing Natalie to embody a searing critique of those same people—sometimes through Natalie’s own observations.

The book’s pace slows down a touch in the middle as the mundanity of Natalie’s current life eclipses the explosiveness of her influencer self. At times it feels like Natalie isn’t completely sure of her own life’s truths. Some readers may interpret this as a plot hole or two on the author’s part. Others may read it as the unraveling of Natalie’s mind as she finds herself way out of her depth on a farm that’s the reality of the fake life she built before.

For the most part, though, Burke doesn’t let the tension slip. What results is a book that will leave readers stunned by the big reveal and also sitting with some big feelings about how social media has affected the world at large. Those who enjoy unreliable narrators and unlikeable protagonists will definitely want to pick this up. ...more

Ekta rated a book it was ok

Sorry for Your Loss
by Georgia McVeigh (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

A woman suffering from a recent loss joins a support group and meets someone who becomes her new object of desire. As she gets closer to him, she begins to realize that her obsession is becoming dangerous—for her. Author Georgia McVeigh offers a fami A woman suffering from a recent loss joins a support group and meets someone who becomes her new object of desire. As she gets closer to him, she begins to realize that her obsession is becoming dangerous—for her. Author Georgia McVeigh offers a familiar plot with an unreliable narrator and a story that starts to go sideways in the ultimately lackluster novel Sorry for Your Loss.

In England Iris Jones is still trying to figure out how to manage her grief after the tragic death of her boyfriend, Freddie. She and Freddie worked together and had so much in common; they were a natural fit. Iris was convinced he was on the verge of proposing to her, so when a horrible accident took his life she felt as though her world was ending.

The one thing that has brought her back from the brink is the weekly grief support group she’s started attending. Even though some people seem to be there more for performative reasons than actual healing, Iris likes that she can talk about her relationship with Freddie whenever she wants and everyone has to listen to her. Iris has a captive audience week after week.

The day Jack walks into the group, though, is the day Iris believes she can move past Freddie. Ridiculously handsome and clearly wealthy, Jack has recently lost his wife to cancer. When he shares the date of his wife’s passing, Iris feels a jolt of electricity: Jack’s wife and Freddie died on the same day. Surely this is fate or the universe or some higher power signaling that Iris and Jack need to be together.

Iris knows Jack is still in the active grief stage, so she takes her time to get to know Jack and the two strike up a friendship. It’s clear he could be her ticket out of her miserable life—a life where Iris is the surviving daughter of a pair of twins in a family where her sister was their mother’s favorite. A life where her mother is an alcoholic and something of a hoarder and her father has since fled the family, found himself a new wife, and had two other children. A life where Freddie was sweet and such a good match for Iris, but Jack is so much better.

As they get closer, Iris is thrilled that Jack feels the same draw to her and thinks she’s hit paydirt. Until Jack starts acting wildly out of character. A recovering alcoholic himself, Jack starts drinking again and he’s definitely a mean drunk. He says and does things that shock Iris, and it isn’t long before she starts to wonder whether to believe the story that his first wife died from natural causes. Because if there’s one thing Iris knows, it’s how there are multiple versions of the truth that normal people just wouldn’t understand—except this time, she might be the one caught in the center of a lie. Like a fly in the middle of a spider’s web.

Author Georgia McVeigh’s debut hits all the right beats for a domestic thriller with an unreliable narrator, but Iris’s caginess as a protagonist feels like so many other books where the main character takes the lead on the storytelling. Astute readers of the genre will find it easy to guess the finer details of Iris and Freddie’s relationship, which sets up expectations for Iris’s relationship with Jack that are ultimately unmet. More than unmet, in fact, the relationship takes a jarring left turn that may pull some readers out of the story and leave them scratching their heads in confusion.

Once Iris and Jack establish their romance, the narration takes on a strangely frenetic quality that has more to do with Jack’s unpredictability as a character and much less to do with the actual plot moving forward. Like many other thrillers, McVeigh chooses to tell her story with Iris as the first-person narrator and the book suffers for it. A narrow POV means readers only have Iris’s thoughts and actions to analyze, which brings up too many questions that leave room for exiting the novel altogether. The book would probably have been much better off told in third person to keep readers guessing a little longer on the bigger plot pieces.

While the intention is clear in the narration of what this book is supposed to be, the execution needed much more work. Readers looking for grounded domestic thrillers may want to check out T.M. Logan or Louise Candlish instead. ...more

Ekta rated a book it was ok

The Danger of Small Things
by Caryl Lewis

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

2.5 stars

A young woman forced to live in a government facility after society collapses learns that she and the others in the compound are being used as pawns. With her head full of memories of her family and her hands itching to pursue her art, she d 2.5 stars

A young woman forced to live in a government facility after society collapses learns that she and the others in the compound are being used as pawns. With her head full of memories of her family and her hands itching to pursue her art, she decides to take a chance to set off a revolution. Author Caryl Lewis returns with a book that closes itself off to readers by using the wrong narrative point of view in The Danger of Small Things.

In a future where climate change has irrevocably changed the world, Jess has been taken to a compound where she and other girls are forced to hand pollinate fruit trees for hours every single day. The younger girls work all year round to keep the trees alive; the older girls who have reached puberty are carted off to be paired with young men to have babies. Jess arrives in this place after being separated from her brother and mother, frightened for her brother’s safety and worried about where her mother might end up.

At the compound, Jess befriends Cass who sleeps in the bunk above hers. Day after day, Jess, Cass, and the other girls follow the same routines of getting dressed in the morning, partaking in the meager meal the government has allotted them, and then going to work. Every effort of everyone goes toward food cultivation and production. No one is allowed to enjoy any leisure activities, like reading or art.

Yet Jess had art, before. She sketched and painted, giving her small family artworks to marvel at. Now she still has brushes, but they’re used to make sure the apple trees and the peach trees and all the other trees are cared for so they will produce the fruit the government uses as trade goods. The girls’ efforts, declares compound head Father Renatus, keeps everyone alive and safe.

Jess suspects otherwise. When a chance encounter with a friendly guard yields illegal access to paint and proper paintbrushes, Jess uses them to show the girls what a different life might be like. Suddenly murmurs begin crossing the compound. No one knows who put up the painting, but everyone wants to know what the artist will do next—if they decide to do anything at all.

The act of expressing herself with her art again brings a part of Jess to life that she’d forgotten existed. With the handful of friends she can trust in her bunkhouse and the guard who has proven to be trustworthy, Jess knows it’s only a matter of time before they begin to fight back. The only question is when will the revolution begin.

Author Caryl Lewis states in her author’s note that her background as a beekeeper set her on the path to write this climate fiction novel. She sees it as her form of protest against those who are careless with the environment. While Lewis’s careful detailing of pollination and trees and natural resources are well on display, the rest of the book feels severely limited by the narrative choice to tell the story through Jess in first person.

Without access to anything more than Jess’s memories or descriptions of the day-to-day workings of the larger world at hand, readers may come away with the sense that Jess’s world feels controlled but not nearly as bad as it might actually get. Wide gaps exist in this supposedly totalitarian government’s mandates and their actual enforcement. Many story questions are raised with no acknowledgement.

For instance, it’s clear that young girls are being used as manual labor in their early years and as breeding machines when they reach maturity. How are boys being treated in this story world? What about children with disabilities? What about the adults who are able to work? If the government’s restrictions are forcing the girls to stay in this particular way of life, why don’t the Mothers and the ancillary staff at the compound keep a much closer eye on everyone? If the girls are performing all the manual labor all day, what are the Mothers and Father Renatus doing?

These questions and many, many more interrupt the reading process of what is, at times, a compelling character portrait. Some readers in the target audience may stick with the book all the way to the end, only to feel, quite possibly, that the climax was anticlimactic. Lewis’s facility with the language is clear and obvious, but Jess’s passivity in many places where other characters are clearly taking charge is somewhat of a letdown. Readers interested in climate fiction may want to consider picking this up; others may want to skip. ...more

Ekta rated a book it was ok

When Tomorrow Burns
by Tae Keller (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

2.5 stars

Three friends who have access to a special book that predicts the future grapple with the challenges of growing up. As they deal with confusing situations and changing friendships, they will have to figure out what’s important to hold on to 2.5 stars

Three friends who have access to a special book that predicts the future grapple with the challenges of growing up. As they deal with confusing situations and changing friendships, they will have to figure out what’s important to hold on to and what they need to let go. Author Tae Keller’s prose is as beautiful as ever in a book that is at times confusing in its goals in When Tomorrow Burns.

Nomi, Vi, and Arthur are best friends—well, they used to be, until Arthur got all weird last year and stopped talking to Nomi and before Vi decided she no longer wanted to go by “Violet” and changed her wardrobe. Nomi loves her friends, but she can’t figure out what on earth is going on with them. She and Vi used to tell each other everything, but now Vi spends most of her time texting someone nonstop. Nomi doesn’t know anything else about it, and she misses her friend.

Vi wants to tell Nomi that she’s been chatting with Lucas, one of the most crushed-on boys in school, but she also likes having something to herself for a change. Lucas sees Vi as something special, and she doesn’t want to mess that up. And Nomi would never understand anyway. She’s too obsessed with the book of prophecies the three friends found years ago. Nomi is convinced it tells the future, and even though Vi can’t argue with Nomi’s logic she also wants to do more grown up things. Like talk to Lucas.

Arthur misses Nomi and Vi as best friends. The three of them used to do everything together. Then about a year ago, Arthur looked at Nomi and got a funny feeling inside. He hasn’t been able to stop thinking about her ever since, but he doesn’t want to make things weird between them. Better to stop talking to her completely. It sucks, but it’s way less complicated than this squishy way he feels about her.

Then the wildfires around their home city of Seattle kick into high gear, and the friends are forced to change to life mostly indoors. Nomi is positive the fires are a sign from the prophecy book she and the others found years ago, and she knows it’s only a matter of time before the world collapses in total annihilation. She has to figure out how to stop it all, and the book is the only way to do it. If only that meant she didn’t have to see Arthur and try to ignore how sad she is about the end of their friendship.

Despite her better judgment, Vi gets on board with Nomi’s quest too but she keeps getting distracted by Lucas and his casual suggestion. Vi knows doing what he asks takes a lot of trust, and she’s flattered by Lucas’s trust in her but also scared by it. If only it didn’t take so much courage. But that’s what all three friends need these days, whole buckets of it, if they’re going to figure out how to save the world and their friendships all at the same time.

Author Tae Keller’s prose is an absolute delight, but the novel flounders in its main goal. Keller gives the friends their own alternating chapters, which allows readers to follow the kids, but she intersperses them with Greek chorus-style interludes from ancient trees. It’s not clear whether the book is meant to tell the story of the trees or the friends, whether it’s trying to make a comment on climate change or the difficulties of growing up in the current era. What is clear is that the book is trying to do too much.

In her author’s note, Keller says she wanted the book to reflect all the big life questions middle grade readers might face in these times. There’s no doubt the novel does that. However, without clarity in its teaching moments, the book feels like it’s covering too much.

The narration touches on the dangers of toxic masculinity and how harmful it is to young boys, but it doesn’t stay long enough on the subject. Keller also hints at the implied peer pressure young girls face as well as how the climate crisis and world events can weigh on young teens and affect their mental health. Yet none of these topics are examined to a great extent, which is a shame because all three of them on their own would have made compelling novels.

Fans of previous Tae Keller books may want to check this one out. Others new to her work should read her previous book, _Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone_, instead. ...more

Ekta rated a book it was amazing

The Curse of Great Winter Academy by Jessika Fleck

The Curse of Great Winter Academy (Choose Your Own Adventure New Classics)
by Jessika Fleck (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

For parents who spent hours becoming the protagonists of the Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) books in the ‘80s, the next generation of CYOA books is alive and well in the capable and deft writing hands of authors like Central Illinois’s very own Jes For parents who spent hours becoming the protagonists of the Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) books in the ‘80s, the next generation of CYOA books is alive and well in the capable and deft writing hands of authors like Central Illinois’s very own Jessika Fleck. Her latest CYOA book, The Curse of Great Winter Academy, continues the tradition of the original books while keeping the concept fresh.

In The Curse of Great Winter Academy, students at Great Winter Academy for the Extraordinarily Talented possess supernatural powers. Every year, a handful of students are chosen to try to break the Impossible Curse. This year, it’s your turn along with your best friend, Annie, and the new kid, Lyle. The three of you are required to break the curse before the first full moon. The catch? No one has ever broken it and lived to say how they did so.

That doesn’t stop the mysterious group called The Misfits at the school from picking students every year to try. Everyone at Great Winter Academy has to break a curse at some point as part of their time at the school, but not everyone is picked to tackle the Impossible Curse. This year, you, Lyle, and Annie have the “honor” with assistance from your other best friend, Arthur. All you have to do is find your way into Great Winter Academy’s biggest rival, Old Willow Boarding School, and steal back the brooch of Great Winter’s founder. Apparently, it was taken by Old Willow students ages ago and holds secrets about Great Winter. “If you fail, you die” the instructions state simply.

As if that’s supposed to be some sort of cheerful motivation.

The night you’re given your instructions about the Impossible Curse, however, you receive an Alternative Curse. You have a choice, the first of many, and every single decision you make after that will test your mettle and your abilities. You can animate dolls and make them do whatever you will them to do. Annie is a perfect mimic, including facial structures and voices, and Lyle can breathe underwater. Arthur has the ability control the weather, but he’s not allowed to directly help with breaking the curse. If The Misfits find out he’s helping even as much as he is, you could all get in trouble.

Only your choices will decide your fate as to whether you live or die, break the curse or keep it going, and time is running out to get it all right.

Author Jessika Fleck’s storytelling style will take adult fans of the books right back to their childhood, and just like the original CYOA books The Curse of the Great Winter Academy will keep readers guessing about the outcomes of each choice made. Readers who want an immersive experience short of jumping into the story themselves will be delighted with this interactive way to read. The charm of getting to start the story over if a negative outcome occurs hasn’t worn off at all. Young readers have compared CYOA books to a video game; it definitely has that essence but with the more measured pace and thoughtful considerations that reading offers.

Parents who find they have reluctant middle grade readers might want to seriously consider The Curse of Great Winter Academy, which itself is a companion to the CYOA book Murder at the Old Willow Boarding School also by Fleck. Technology may have offered advancements we couldn’t have imagined in the ‘80s, but the thrill of a CYOA book is still the same as ever! ...more

Ekta’s Year In Books

Ekta R. Garg’s Followers (40)

Ekta’s Bookshelves

Ekta’s Friends (73)

Ekta R. Garg

Goodreads Author

Learn more
Ask the Author

Popular Answered Questions

Combine Editions
Ekta R. Garg’s books

1565 posts
Ekta R. Garg's Blog

I’m away this week, but…

Ekta is Currently Reading

rss
Ekta’s Recent Updates

I’m away this week, but…

See a Problem?

Preview — Death Was Not on the Guest List by Jenni L. Walsh

See a Problem?

Preview — All the Little Ways by Laura Lekkos

See a Problem?

Preview — Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

See a Problem?

Preview — Sorry for Your Loss by Georgia McVeigh

See a Problem?

Preview — The Danger of Small Things by Caryl Lewis

See a Problem?

Preview — When Tomorrow Burns by Tae Keller

Ekta’s Quotes

recent posts
Ekta’s Groups

Ekta’s Friend Comments

	The Truth About Elves 3.96 avg rating — 94 ratings — published 2021 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	In the Heart of the Linden Wood 3.76 avg rating — 76 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Witch’s Apprentice and Other Stories 3.98 avg rating — 45 ratings — published 2025 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Two for the Heart (Stories in Pairs, Set 1) 4.09 avg rating — 22 ratings — published 2015 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Two for the Road (Stories in Pairs, Set 3) 4.13 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2015 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	More for the Heart 3.88 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2015	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Two for the Holidays (Stories in Pairs, Set 5) 3.71 avg rating — 7 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Witch's Apprentice and Other Stories it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	More from the Road (Stories in Pairs, Set 4) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2015	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Two to Say Thank You 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2015	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Ekta R. Garg’s Followers (40)

Ekta R. Garg

Goodreads Author

Popular Answered Questions

rssEkta’s Recent Updates

See a Problem?

Preview — Death Was Not on the Guest List by Jenni L. Walsh

See a Problem?

Preview — All the Little Ways by Laura Lekkos

See a Problem?

Preview — Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

See a Problem?

Preview — Sorry for Your Loss by Georgia McVeigh

See a Problem?

Preview — The Danger of Small Things by Caryl Lewis

See a Problem?

Preview — When Tomorrow Burns by Tae Keller

rss
Ekta’s Recent Updates