Book #22:

The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon (Length: 345 pages).  Set in a Seattle public radio station, this rom-com is a bit different than many I’ve read, which I appreciated. Shay needs a concept for a new show after the long-running show she produced is axed, so she proposes a show where two exes chat–the only problem is she doesn’t have an ex, but there IS an annoying, hot new reporter at the station who might fit the “fake” bill. The enemies to lovers trope works here. The novel is a bit slow to start but hang in there because once it gets going it’s cute. Writing is good (minus a few typos), the banter is top-notch and the chemistry is believable. All within a unique setting. I’d definitely recommend this one as a library check out.

Book #23:

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston (Length: 348 pages). This is THE thriller of the moment and my book club chose it for our March read. While I’m getting a bit burned out on thrillers, with so many trying to be the next “Gone Girl”, this one will be a bit more memorable than most for me, mostly due to the clever title. The title refers to a tip for con-men (and women) that the first lie they tell sets the tone for the story they’re telling or the con they’re running, so it needs to be a good one. The protagonist here, Evie Porter, meets her latest mark, Ryan Sumner, as instructed by her mysterious boss: Mr Smith. This is set in a small town and the author does a great job of setting the scene and drawing the reader in, while slowing revealing Evie’s backstory. The plot is very fast-paced, there is a twist or two and again, it’s a bit different than most thrillers. Perfect beach read!

Book #24:

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron (Length: 487 pages). This sweeping novel is listed as the all-time favorite of several readers whom I trust, so I finally read it. It’s incredible! The first of four in a series entitled The Cemetery of Forgotten, this novel in translation begins with a young boy, Daniel, visiting The Cemetery of Forgotten Books with his father in 1945 Barcelona. There follows a dozen seemingly unrelated characters who will all come together later on in the book, so just hang on for the ride. The writing is gorgeous and if you love a sweeping family saga (which I most certainly do!) and a pulse-pounding plot, this is worth a read. 5 stars from me and it will be on my end-of-year top 10 books for sure.

Book #25:

All Systems Red by Martha Wells (Length: 156 pages). This novella is the first of 7 in “The Murderbot Diaries” science fiction series, and I don’t know why I’ve waited so long to dive in. I listened to this on audio and it’s absolutely the way to go as the narrator is perfection. The premise of this multiple award-winning series is that a Company-supplied security unit robot hacks his own governor system so he can watch soap operas instead of working and interacting with humans while on various planetary missions. This is LOL funny at times, the writing is succinct and translates perfectly to audio–my attention never lagged for one minute. Halfway through the first novella (I’ve kept reading in the series), I paused it to text my dad to tell him to read this one ASAP. Five stars!

Book #18:

Everyone on This Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson (Length: 448 pages).  A follow-up to one of my favorite mysteries: Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, this novel is equally as delightful with the same narrator as the first book. This time, as a popular mystery author (ie, the first novel) on a luxury train trip across Australia, he’s taking part in a mystery author festival with several other mystery authors, and suspects. The travel details of the train trip are fun as well as the same breaking the fourth wall detective tips to the reader here. The plot is complex and there’s a lot to keep track of here if you want to solve this. The author provides the clues as to how to solve the mystery and I did figure out who the killer was but not “why” the killer was motivated to kill the victim here so I don’t think that counts. You can absolutely just go along for the ride here, and get the same enjoyment out of it. Love this one!

Book #19:

Going Zero by Anthony McCarten (Length: 303 pages). I listened to this one and the audio is absolutely the way to go–it’s excellent! The premise here is that a technology company, Fusion (think Meta or Twitter) partners with the CIA to use Fusion’s tracking software in a contest to find 10 random people who are hiding anywhere in the world, within 30 days. If they stay hidden, they win $3 million dollars. Promoted as a way to crack down on terrorists, this is of course a nefarious premise and basis for the company. The focus of this novel is primarily on one woman, a librarian who is essentially anti-technology. The plot is extremely fast-paced, the book is well-written and the audio production is excellent here. When I wasn’t listening to this, I was thinking about this, and that’s the highest praise I can give to a book right now.

Book #20:

The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent (Length: 504 pages). This is the first book in a series. Three have been written and I believe the author intends for the series to include 6 total books. Think vampires plus Hunger Games here. Some dark magic and it’s quite gory but the writing is excellent and the world-building isn’t overly complex which I appreciate. The characters have depth and the author is so descriptive which her writing which I appreciate in a fantasy. Book one just scratches the surface here which is a positive for me wanting to continue reading. The central romance is well-plotted and the open door scene is contained within one chapter or so, which makes it easy to skip without missing anything essential to the plot if that’s not your jam. I really enjoyed this one and I’ll absolutely continue reading more in this series.

Book #21:

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue (Length: 293 pages). Set in Cork, Ireland, the narrator Rachel is a college student obsessed with her gay male roommate, James Devlin, as well as her married professor, Dr Fred Byrne. The novel is written from the perspective of Rachel in her 30s as a married woman, and it’s a good thing, as the Rachel in her early 20s is navel-gazing and isn’t as self-aware, which can be annoying for the reader. The writing quality is excellent, and you want to see where the author is going to take you. This is character-driven but the plot does take a pretty wild turn about 2/3 of the way in, so that was a pleasant surprise. On the whole, I really enjoyed this one!

Book #14:

The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn (Length: 576 pages) WOW. I LOVE this book! This is an expansive, sweeping and at times quiet family saga primarily focused on three half-siblings who lived in a ramshackle estate on the sea in Dorchester, England just prior to World War II. The writing here is lyrical, with excellent character depth and development. The plot is pretty propulsive but more so once the war arrives. The centerpiece of the book is the eponymous whale bone carcass that forms the basis of the family theatre the siblings develop. This beautiful novel is very memorable and is absolutely worth a read. This is on the longer side and would be a fantastic book for a longer travel day as you’ll enjoy the immersive experience that is this gem of a novel.

Book #15:

Ghosted by Rosie Walsh (Length: 352 pages).  Alternatively entitled The Man Who Didn’t Call, I listened to this one as I had heard it’s a fun listen on audio and it’s a backlist title so it’s easily available from the library. Check and Check. An hour or so in, I realized the plot sounded familiar but I kept on going with it. The twist that comes about halfway through still surprised me. The plot is well-constructed, and the characters are well-drawn. I will say the female gets a bit too moony (about the dude not calling) and somewhat whiny, but stick with it as the payoff is worth it. Great on audio!

Book #16:

The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren (Length: 413 pages). I ADORE this writing duo and was very excited to finally read their latest full novel. This book is a sort of sequel to and overlaps with The Soulmate Equation, which I enjoyed. The overlap is that Fizzy, a very successful rom-com author as well as the best friend of the main love interest, Jess, in TSE is now trying to find someone to date, who will help her get her writing mojo back. Using technology from the DNA matching dating app DNADUO from TSE, a newly-created reality show is setting Fizzy up with some of her matches. Fizzy jumps at the chance to keep her loyal readers interested in her as her next-promised novel is stalled out, but Fizzy finds herself distracted by the show’s producer. Said producer just happens to be a climate change documentarian, British and gorgeous. The witty banter between Fizzy and Connor is what Christina Lauren is known for and Fizzy is weird and funny, with zero filter. Some readers reportedly have found Fizzy to be annoying but I LOVE her! 4.5/5 stars from me.

Book #17:

The Book of Delights by Ross Gay (Length: 288 pages). This little book was on many “Best of” lists last year and I finally picked it up. And, pun intended, it IS delightful. Renowned poet Ross Gay made a point of notating daily delights (102 of them) during a one-year period. These essays focus on random moments, animals, music, food, people, gardening and each one is truly wonderful to read thanks to the author’s writing talent and eye for seeing beauty in the everyday. This book is meant to be read on a daily basis, or every few days and would make an excellent gift! I want to read the sequel soon.

Book #10:

Drop, Cover and Hold On by Jasmine Guillory (Length: 40 pages) This is the fourth story in the previously-mentioned Improbable Meet-Cute series. Set in a bakery immediately after a big earthquake, this is the steamiest of the bunch with a grouchy, curmudgeonly baker and his frequent adorably sweet and perky customer trapped in close proximity. These tropes both work here and it’s absolutely cute with fun banter and believable chemistry. The character development is very rushed here but given the abbreviated length, that makes sense. A solid 3-star read.

Book #11:

With Any Luck by Ashley Poston (Length: 43 pages).  This is the fifth in the above-mentioned series, and it’s my least favorite of the bunch, but it’s still a cute read. The trope here is enemies to lovers, a la the maid of honor and the best man are in a small-town wedding and the groom goes missing. There are some cute lines but overall it’s not very memorable and the main characters aren’t super charming or likeable. 2.5 stars from me. 

Book #12:

A Flaw in the Design by Nathan Oates (Length: 304 pages). This creepy psychological thriller was mentioned on my favorite book podcast (Book Talk, Etc) as thriller with a great example of a possible psychopathic charming main character. In this novel, the 17 year-old nephew comes to stay with his uncle and family after the nephew’s parents have been killed in a hit and run. This is the same nephew who the uncle witnessed try to drown his daughter (the nephew’s young cousin) 7 years earlier so the uncle is understandably very wary of said nephew coming to finish out his senior year with him and his family. But he permits this out of a sense of familial duty as he has been named the guardian of the boy. The uncle is very paranoid and not likeable at all, but this novel is very well-written and it’s impossible to put this down thanks to great pacing and a creepy sense of dread. Definitely recommend! 

Book #13:

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Length: 348 pages). This is our February selection for my local book club and I was so excited it was chosen as I’ve been wanting to read this light mystery for several months now. I LOVE this book! There are several LOL funny lines throughout and I especially enjoyed the random pop culture references made by the older, eponymous protagonist. (For example, referring to a character’s squint as similar to that of a Love as Blind’s Season 2 character’s notable squint.) This is a murder mystery, but make it cute, endearing and funny. Vera Wong is the best character I’ve read in a while; she’s a widow “of a certain age” and is the owner of a desolate tea shop in San Francisco who is determined to solve the murder of a random person who she finds dead in her tea shop one morning. She outlines the body with a Sharpie to assist the police and from there it just gets better. Vera gradually fosters and creates a new community of people around her, and we get to go along for the ride. This is the book you hug when you are finished. LOVE!

Book #5:

What Really Happens in Vegas by James Patterson (Length: 368 pages) As much as James Patterson annoys me by partnering with various “co” authors who are the ones doing all the work, as someone who used to visit Vegas a bit in the past, I was excited to read this. This book contains lots of great factoids that I didn’t know, such as WHY exactly did Vegas transform from cheap food and free drinks to being super expensive (short answer: Steve Wynn). The behind the scenes looks at the various industries that support Vegas are fascinating. The book is well-organized and is well-written, no thanks to James Patterson of course. ;) Definitely worth a library check out. 

Book #6:

The Drift by C.J. Tudor (Length: 418 pages).  It takes a lot to scare me but this VERY creepy, apocalyptic, set in a pandemic (with a very scary virus that turns people into zombies called “whistlers”) gave me a few nightmares. The novel is set in a few different places–a school bus crash, a mysterious place called The Retreat, and a stalled cable car–all the action is taking place during a winter snowstorm. There are disparate characters in the novel who all end up having some connections, and it was a lot of fun to read this thriller to see what is really going on. The writing is strong, the plot is well-drawn and supremely entertaining. There are some murders but nothing super gruesome. Absolutely worth a read!  

Book #7:

The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren (Length: 101 pages). This novella is #1 in a 6 book Valentine’s Day themed Amazon series called the Improbable Meet Cute collection, each written by a popular rom-com author. They are free with a Prime subscription. I decided to download and read the first five (I’ve heard the last one is not good so I just skipped it). This first novella is by one of my favorite authors and it’s adorable and my favorite of the bunch! Two high schoolers start an anonymous email/pen pal relationship on Valentine’s Day 10 years ago, so we are along for the ride. These authors can make even epistolary rom coms work as the writing is fantastic, the banter between the two love interests in adorable and they have great chemistry. LOVE this one!

Book #8:

Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez (Length: 61 pages). If I had to choose one favorite rom-com author, it’s Abby Jimenez. I recommend her to anyone who is interested in starting to read romances as her writing is excellent and she doesn’t write romances that are too open-door for the average reader. (Start with The Friend Zone of hers if you’re in the same boat). Anyway, this second novella in the series is the sweetest of the series in my opinion. This features a hospice nurse who trades notes with a condo complex maintenance man on the nurse’s car. The nurse just happens to be taking care of her grandma in her last days and her grandma is my favorite character here. But the two love interests are adorable and just plain good people, and I loved how they came together. I would’ve loved a full-length novel with all three of these characters but I’ll take what I can get from this author. (She’s a great follow on Instagram too).

Book #9:

Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne (Length: 44 pages). This one is more of a short story than a novella, but it’s a testament to this author’s writing prowess that she is able to develop such a good romance within so few pages. The set up her is one sister gets stuck in a precarious situation during a spa day with the other sister, and her rescuer just happens to be super-hot. This is the funniest of the series, and there are some LOL lines which I always appreciate in a good rom-com. I loved the unique set up and I’ve got this author’s The Hating Game on my TBR so I hope to check that one out soon.