Hard Return
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ahardreturn.bsky.social
Hard Return
@ahardreturn.bsky.social
Personal and book review blog.
(On hiatus during gardening season.🌱🪴)
A one-woman book club.
💙📚💬

www.aHardReturn.com


I’m on NetGalley and StoryGraph, too. 💛
https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/hardreturn
Pinned
Reading. Writing about it.
ahardreturn.com
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#BooksSky
#BookLover
#BookWorm
#Readers
Do you have book recommendations for middle and elementary school kids?

It’s time for holiday shopping and this Auntie doesn’t know where to start!!

💙📚🖋️📚💬📚🎄🎅
#BookSky #YouthFiction #KidLit #Fiction #Literature #ChildrensBooks #BookRecs #Reviews #Books #Gifts #Shopping #Holiday #TBR #Kids
November 29, 2025 at 3:08 PM
TDR
Now reading Mexican Gothic 💙📚
November 25, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Holy moly. What a great read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5 Rec: 👍

Dystopian but not overly so. Mystery. Thriller. I can’t say much more bc I hate even teeny spoilers. It’s so, so good.

💙📚⏳📚🖋️📚⚡️📚💬
#BookSky #Books #Reviews #TBR #BookRec #LitFic #Reading #Fiction #Literature #Love #Thriller #Mystery
Just over halfway. How am I not seeing this book everywhere?! So glad my #library displayed it bc this was a book I picked up for the cover.

💙📚🖋️📚⏳📚
#BookSky #Dystopian #Fiction #LitFic #Literature #Mystery #Literature #AmReading #MondayRead #Books #BookRec #Review #Love #Reading
November 25, 2025 at 12:18 AM
TBR all of them. 😂
It's Monday again and today I'm still reading "Severed Streets" by Paul Cornell

What book(s) are you reading this week?

💙📚 #BookSky #AmReading #MondayReads #TBR

alt text in images please
November 24, 2025 at 3:33 PM
TBR
Finishing up the last few pages of Ordinary Soil by Alex Woodard. Then we’ll see where my mood lands.
November 24, 2025 at 3:30 PM
TBR
A nice light start to my weekly reading
November 24, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Just over halfway. How am I not seeing this book everywhere?! So glad my #library displayed it bc this was a book I picked up for the cover.

💙📚🖋️📚⏳📚
#BookSky #Dystopian #Fiction #LitFic #Literature #Mystery #Literature #AmReading #MondayRead #Books #BookRec #Review #Love #Reading
November 24, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Reposted by Hard Return
I’ve read 6 (so far). Better than 5 last year. At this rate, eventually, I’ll have a year when I read them all.

#BookSky

apps.npr.org/best-books/?...
Books We Love
Here are 380+ great reads from 2025 handpicked just for you by NPR staffers and trusted critics.
apps.npr.org
November 24, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Absolutely recommend this book! A fab story of childhood, mystery, murder that immerses the reader in indigenous culture, religion, and history.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Rec:👍👍👍

💙📚⏳📚🖋️📚💬

#BookSky #Literature #Fiction #Mystery #Novel #LitFic #Books #Review #AmReading #Love #HistoricalFiction #BookReview #BookRec
November 22, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Wow!
Several new spreads in my Reading Journal. A couple of which were the 'Oops! Forgot to include the book cover, again' sort, so I had to jury rig stuff. Btw, is it 'jury rig' or 'jerry rig'? 🤔

#booksky
November 22, 2025 at 4:14 AM
Half through “The Round House” by Louise Erdrich. This is my first of her books and I’m a fan so far!

💙📚🖋️📚💬
#BookSky #Indigenous #Stories #Novel #Historical #Literature #Fiction #Mystery #Books #AmReading #BookRec #Review #Love #Friday #TGIF #WeekendReading
November 21, 2025 at 4:56 PM
😂
November 21, 2025 at 1:35 AM
I’m glad I finished this!! The last quarter picked up such a momentum my heart was racing in the final pages.

The way Murray uses the literary toolbox (foreshadowing, symbolism, metaphor, etc) are just masterful.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Rec: 👍

💙📚🖋️📚💬📚🌱
#BookSky #BookReview #Love #Reading #LitFic #Literature
November 20, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Reposted by Hard Return
favorite one of these author scam emails i have gotten lately was on last tuesday the subject was 'readers arent noticing lucky day' and i thought 'i dont know about that, robot, it was nominated for a goodreads award today what else do you want from me?'
Spammers attempting to convince one to use their "author services" via negging don't work when one's most recent book is a New York Times bestseller
November 17, 2025 at 6:05 PM
TBR
Today is the birthday of Nigerian novelist, poet and critic Chinua Achebe, whose work has been immensely influential in the development of modern literature in Africa and beyond. His most cataloged books on LibraryThing are "Things Fall Apart," and "No Longer At Ease." #ChinuaAchebe #💙📚 #Booksky
November 16, 2025 at 2:29 PM
This book has major flaws. Feels like the author is unclear on her message so the reader ends up the same.
However, the reading is super fun. I’m not a romance fan but this one is clever and funny.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 Rec: 👍
💙📚🪐📚⏳📚🖋️📚💬
#BookSky #Romance #SciFi #Books #BookRec #TimeTravel #Reading #Love
November 16, 2025 at 2:28 PM
I cackled before I caught myself. 😂
My immune system may be weak but my urge to cocoon myself and read 400 pages in one sitting is IMMORTAL.

#booksky #sickday
November 14, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Yay or Nay? I’m 25% into this book - been an increasing slog. I’m getting irritated.

Have you read #TheBeeSting ?
Should I keep going or cut my losses?

💙📚💬📚🖋️📚☘️
#BookSky #BookReview #BookRec #Novel #Literature #Fiction #Books #DNF #AmReading
November 13, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Reposted by Hard Return
🏆 Week 28 Recap: Grace Becomes Queen of Mothers 🏆

The Grace of Black Mothers took an early and commanding lead in an all-mother lineup last week.

This week: Fine Lines

Vote for your favorite cover: bookjacketbracket.com

#booksky
November 10, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Stepping away from the current novel into this cozy read about the most dreamy bookshops. This is my preferred fantasy genre. 😂
💙📚💬📚⏳📚
#BookSky #NonFiction #Bookshops #History #Books #Love #AmReading #Puppy #LibraryBook #Doodle #WinnieTheBish
November 13, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Reposted by Hard Return
Last chance to vote in the Book Jacket Bracket this week!

Week 28 Theme: Other Mother's Day

4 striking covers.

Only 1 can advance.

Cast your vote before 10pm ET:

👉 bookjacketbracket.com

#booksky #art #design
November 10, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Light therapy is better on leisurely weekends!

Very much enjoying this book. Half through and I’ve chuckled out loud several times. It’s clever and fun.

💙📚💬📚🖋️📚🪐📚☕️
#Saturday #Reading #Weekend #Therapy #Literature #BookSky #Books #Love #Coffee #Weekend #TimeTravel #LitFic
November 8, 2025 at 3:07 PM
TBR
Day 3 of #NovellasInNovember is Turkish writer Ayşegül Savaş's WHITE ON WHITE which follows a young art history student researching gothic nudes as she moves to an unnamed city and becomes embroiled in her neighbour's dysfunctional life #BookSky #LitFic
November 8, 2025 at 1:52 PM
TBR
Day 7 of #NovellasInNovember is Maeve Brennan's THE VISITOR, a curt little book about a young woman returning to her grandmother's home in Ireland after a prolonged absence and not quite getting the welcome she was hoping for. A fascinating read. Quite emotionally brutal in places #BookSky #LitFic
November 8, 2025 at 1:51 PM