Welcome to Margin Notes
A blog and newsletter from Ibrah Reads.
Below you’ll find all articles in chronological order.
If you prefer to browse by category or tag, please click on the icons to the right or in any post and it will filter the posts displayed below.
Book Review: The Women in White by Sarah Pekkanen
Sarah Pekkanen is one of my tried-and-true mystery authors and I was intrigued to see her latest book, The Women in White, incorporate a historical fiction plotline. This novel followed four women in the 1960s who were part of a university research study on parapsychology experiments. All four women abruptly disappeared, and the study ended, leaving a mystery behind.
Book Review: Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
This story and its characters absolutely stole my attention, and I loved reading this book. In Wild Dark Shore we meet Dominic and his three children, who are living on a tiny island near Antarctica that houses a world seed bank.
Book Review: Paper Ghosts by Sarah Addison Allen
Sarah Addison Allen continues to put out magical realism that feels ethereal and gently mysterious. Paper Ghosts is her most recent novel and has the same general feeling of her prior novel Other Birds, which I loved. The story centers on a family in North Carolina told through the lens of multi-generational women who have a mysterious pull to their home coupled with witchy reputations in their small town.
Book Review: Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle
If you have ever read a Chuck Tingle book, then you know they could feasibly be their own genre. I love this author and his quirky, witty characters paired with absolutely weird plotlines.
Book Review: Fly with Me by Andie Burke
Fly with Me by Andie Burke was the perfect blend of sweet and spicy, and I absolutely loved reading it. In it we meet Olive and Stella who cross paths on a flight when a passenger experiences a medical emergency.
Book Review: Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering
Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering was a bingeable thriller I could not put down. In it we meet Cassie and Billie, two childhood friends who have drifted apart in adulthood. Billie longs to reconnect, but Cassie is in her own world of Instagram influencing, motherhood, and socialite life. One night something tragic happens with Cassie and it catapults these friends back together.
Book Review: The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth
The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth is a dual timeline, dual perspective mystery that kept the pages turning. In it we meet two women, Pippa and Amanda, and we alternate between their narratives. But did she jump? Did Pippa’s husband, Gabe, push her? Those are the questions the book is anchored on.
Dilla Time by Dan Charnas
Dilla Time by Dan Charnas chronicles the life and impact of J Dilla, James DeWitt Yancey, who even if you do not recognize his name, you have likely listened to music that has been influenced by his style as a producer.
The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings
The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings gave a view of womanhood and motherhood through the eyes of a dystopian and magical world, told from a character who is at critical juncture in her life.
All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham
All the Dangerous Things is Stacy Willingham’s second thriller, and it came in as a strong follow-up, with a grim storyline. In it we meet Isabelle, whose son, Mason, was kidnapped from his bedroom a year prior.
A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham
A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham was a solid debut suspense novel that kept me guessing. In it we meet Chloe, whose dad was convicted of murdering six teenage girls during her childhood.
Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney
Multiple people have told me to read Rock Paper Scissors and I understand why. I followed the false leads and when the big twist happened… I was shocked. I had to recalibrate everything I had read up until that point.