Snowed In with the Boss

A quick and salacious little read, Snowed In with the Boss, is a cute, romantic, and steamy. January is a disc jockey at a radio station in a sleepy little mountain town and she is tired of her best friend badgering her to go on a date. When she finally works up the courage to get a dating app and sets up a date, she finds herself stood up. Just her luck. But when a mystery man from last night (that's another story) shows up looking to grab a bite to eat, the two hit it off and decide to make a night of it. What's the worst that could happen? After some mind blowing sex, her mystery man makes a thoughtless remark and ruins the whole thing. Oh well. January is at least grateful for a good lay, but when she shows up to work and discovers that her mystery lay is her new boss things get awkward quick. A quick read, that's fun and has some genuinely likable characters. I also liked the alternating chapters between Ryan and January and the song choice to accompany each chapter. I will have to read more by Christy Pastore!

The Seed Keeper

Compelling, heartbreaking, and so important. I loved that this story spanned generations and connected us with so many different people. Rosalie Iron Wing is adrift. Orphaned at a young age, placed into foster care with white folk, she later found herself married to much older white man. She helps him care for his family's farm but the loss of her Dahkota community is hard. She holds fast to her father's teachings and tries to impart them onto her son. But he is stubborn and doesn't view the land the same way that she does. How they view and treat the farm becomes a wedge between them and Rosalie doesn't know how to bridge the gap. When her husband dies, she leaves the farm in her sons care and retreats to the shack she grew up. Powerful and informative; The Seed Keeper is about family, heritage, tradition, and confronting the atrocities of the past. 

Dirtbag Queen

Andy Corren's debut memoir was inspired by the viral obituary he wrote for his mother during the pandemic in The Fayetteville Observer. Dirtbag Queen is a love letter to a woman who didn't bother herself with any motherly or traditional housewife duties. Renay Mandel Corren was a chain-smoking, dirty mouthed, vulgar Jewish redneck who was good at bailing kids out of jail, rolling joints, and making sure she was never without a pedicure, but not so good at doing laundry or keeping food on the table. Brash, loud, hilarious, heartbreaking, and unforgettable; Dirtbag Queen is a fitting tribute to a one of a kind woman. Renay may not have won any mother of the year awards but you wouldn't have known that by the way her six kids practically worshipped the ground she walked on. Fantastically narrated by the author himself, Dirtbag Queen pulses with delightful frenetic energy that listeners will find themselves sucked into. Andy Corren's indignant, sassy, emotional, and engaged narration make this a truly unforgettable listen. Fans of David Sedaris and Jenny Lawson will adore this audiobook. Verdict: Hilarious and heartfelt, the outstanding narration really elevates this memoir.