Category: Uncategorized

August 2023–Part Two

August 31, 2023

Thank you for joining me here!   I hope you enjoy this series and I’d love to hear from you about what you are reading these days.

Book #1:

Search by Michele Huneven (Length: 400 pages) This novel is so unique and well-written. Semi-based on fact, this is written memoir-style (and is so vivid I had to Google this a few times to make sure it’s in fact a novel) by a restaurant food critic who joins her Unitarian Church’s search committee for their next minister. The novel discusses the year-long search and the drama that ensues amongst the committee members. This is an oddly compelling novel and I had to keep reading, even when I didn’t care for the narrator’s “voice” that much. I will say this drags quite a bit in the middle (and could have been 100 pages shorter) but since I had to know how it ended, I kept on reading, and I’m glad I did. The narrator’s description of the food/meals she also ate while visiting restaurants for her reviews were also very well done. This is definitely a memorable novel and I’d give it 4.5 stars overall.

Book #2:

Forever After All by Catharina Maura (Length: 486 pages). This was a free book via Amazon Prime that I took a chance on. This is a very “soapy” (a la soap opera) and VERY open door romance, featuring a very controlling man/love interest. The premise is semi-interesting: a woman’s mom is in a coma and she’s trying to keep her alive because she thinks or “knows” she’s not brain-dead and will someday wake up but she can no longer afford her medical care and the man needs to marry in order to become CEO of a billion-dollar company. Yes, it’s not believable at all, and no, thanks to LOTS of grammatical errors (not typos–just poorly written) and the aforementioned super-controlling man at the heart of this story, this is a definite SKIP in my book.

Book #3:

The Many Lives of Mama Love by Lara Love Hardin (Length: 319 pages). The subtitle to this one is “A memoir of lying, stealing, writing and healing” and that about sums it up. This memoir is SO GOOD! The author is a soccer mom (to 4 kids) turned opiate-addict with 32 felony convictions (and 1 year in lock up in county jail) turned celebrated ghostwriter. She ghost-wrote books for the Archbishop Tutu and Anthony Ray Hinton (The Sun Does Shine). This is phenomenally written, and I literally couldn’t put it down. I sat down to peek at the first few pages and I looked up 200 pages later. Her stories about her time in jail and the injustices of criminal confinement for so many women are truly beautifully told. The first line of each chapter is also an attention-grabber (typically humorous) and she has said that was intentional. This is an absolute must read and will be on my top 10 books of the year.

August 2023-Part One

August 14, 2023

Thank you for joining me here!   I hope you enjoy this series and I’d love to hear from you about what you are reading these days.

Book #1:

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez (Length: 417 pages) I adore this author and I was very excited to get my hands on this one via my Book of the Month subscription. This is a semi-sequel to her previous rom-com novel A Part of this World but since this newer novel just features the couple from the first novel in the series tangentially, you’re not missing anything by reading this one first. I LOVE this book! This features two ER doctors and the fake-dating trope, which I sort of enjoy. There’s a rescue dog (always!), a looming kidney transplant, goofy family members and a swearing bird. There are LOL funny lines, per usual, and the romance itself is well-constructed with characters you’ll root for. There is a tiny bit of open-door romance in one scene but it’s pretty tame overall, again, consistent with what readers expect from this author. I gave it 5 stars, as did my 18-year-old (very discerning reader) daughter.

Book #2:

Paris: the Memoir by Paris Hilton (Length: 334 pages). I was pleasantly surprised by this memoir. I picked it up because I had read that she made some pretty shocking allegations about some schools for troubling teens (“Boot camps”) that she spent several traumatic years of her teen years in. As a result of this horrific abuse she has become a leader in urging Congress to shut these places down, which is very admirable. I’m also impressed by the writing quality here (no ghostwriter that I could find) which goes right to her playing into a type (blond bimbo with a baby voice) to earn millions of dollars when she’s actually a genius with marketing and tech . . . brilliant! Her writing is introspective and insightful, and while I found it a bit wordy in places, I’m glad I read it and I won’t look at her the same way again.

Book #3:

The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf (Length: 352 pages). I enjoyed this mystery quite a bit. It’s well-constructed and well-written. The main plot involves a true-crime author finishing up a manuscript in a remote farmhouse during a snowstorm when she comes across a young child collapsed in her driveway. (I did figure out the central mystery early on, but I wanted to keep reading to its resolution so that didn’t deter me from finishing this). The subject matter here is pretty intense (children abused/abducted) so reader beware, however any mentions aren’t gratuitous or especially detailed. I absolutely will read more by this author, as apparently, she’s quite prolific AND beloved, always a great combination for me.

Book #4:

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams (Length: 350 pages). This rom-com has a more interesting premise than most, which prompted me to pick it up next. This is the first in a series and features a Major League Baseball player, Gavin Scott, who is trying to win his wife Thea back by joining a “bromance” book club comprised of stereotypically tough guys who dissect Regency era romances for tips on strengthening their romantic relationships. There are LOL funny one-liners throughout, and while the central romance/plot is a bit cheesy, it’s decently written and you want the characters to end up together. (The E-book has some very annoying typos, just a heads up). I’d give it 3.5 stars so it’s good enough that I’ll keep reading in the series as they become available at the library.

July 2023–Part Three

August 3, 2023

Thank you for joining me here!   I hope you enjoy this series and I’d love to hear from you about what you are reading these days.

Book #1:

Joyland by Stephen King (Length: 224 pages) This is a special “Hard Case” novel in a mystery series which features several different mystery authors. This particular novel is set in 1973 in the small North Carolina town of Heaven’s Bay, where a small amusement park named Joyland operates each summer. A college student Devin Jones gets his first job there and discovers that one of the horror house rides was the site of where a young woman was murdered years earlier. This is part mystery, part coming of age, and I absolutely love this novel! This is Stephen King at his best . . . there’s no gore here, just a deftly drawn mystery with memorable characters, great dialogue and a propulsive plot. Five stars from me!

Book #2:

Blue Hawaiian by Carla Luna (Length: 300 pages). This is a rom-com set in Hawaii, featuring the trope of two former lovers being thrown together because both are a part of a wedding party. The dialogue is a bit cheesy here but the reason to read this one is because it’s a virtual tour through Maui . . . lots of destinations are mentioned (such as the Road to Hana) as well as fun details such as the tropical foods, so it’s a cute, mindless vacation read. I won’t remember it in a few months but that’s okay. It IS the first of a “Blackwood Cellars” trilogy so if that interests you, pick this one up.

July 2023–Part Two

July 27, 2023

Thank you for joining me here!   I hope you enjoy this series and I’d love to hear from you about what you are reading these days.

Book #1:

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix (Length: 410 pages) This is the second book by this author that I’ve read. (I reviewed Horrorstor--his horror novel set in an IKEA a while back). Like that novel, this one is a WILD ride. This is a mystery/thriller/horror novel which features Patricia Campbell, an ordinary housewife in a true crime book club in Charleston, when a charming stranger moves into town. He’s sensitive to sunlight and happens to be on the scene of a few disturbing abductions. Patricia suspects he’s up to no good but he’s so charming that everyone else loves him. There are some very disturbing scenes in this novel, but it’s very well-written and the plot is compulsively readable. All in all, while this is quite odd in terms of content, it’s very memorable and I would recommend if you aren’t squeamish.

Book #2:

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden (Length: 336 pages). I think this is the third psychological thriller by this author that I’ve read, and apparently this one is her most popular. I read this one instead of listening to it as I did with the previous two. The premise of this novel is a young woman named Millie Calloway is grateful to take a job as a live-in maid for a wealthy couple with an odd daughter as Millie was recently released from prison. The set-up is creepy right off the bat, and there’s a big twist halfway through. It’s very predictable if you’ve read any psychological thrillers but I do enjoy this author’s writing and I just enjoyed the ride here.

Book #3:

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano (Length: 390 pages). This gorgeous family epic featuring the four Padavano sisters is my book club’s August book. Set in Chicago in the 1960s through the 1980s, this is beautifully written. So well-written that I often stopped to re-read certain phrases. The chapters alternate among 4 main characters, and the 4 sisters are very similar to those in the classic Little Women. I absolutely adore this novel and will remember certain plot points for a long time. I predict this will be in the top 3 books of the year for me for sure!

July 2023–Part One

July 7, 2023

Thank you for joining me here!   I hope you enjoy this series and I’d love to hear from you about what you are reading these days.

Book #1:

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (Length: 663 pages) This adult fantasy book that has taken the BookTok and Bookstagram worlds by storm really lives up to its hype! I thoroughly enjoyed this Harry Potter/Divergent/Hunger Games with dragons-mashup of a novel. The writing is excellent, as are the characters and the plot pacing. This is the type of book where you’ll be thinking about it when you’re not actually reading it, and I love it when that happens. There are some VERY racy open-door love scenes between two of the characters, but for that, this would be perfect for younger teens. The second the next book in the series comes out this fall, I’ll be reading it. What a fun ride!

Book #2:

Drowning by T.J. Newman (Length: 300 pages). I read (and reviewed) this flight attendant-turned-author’s debut novel, Falling, and really enjoyed it so I was very excited to get my hands on this one. The premise here is VERY far-fetched, but just suspend your disbelief, and hang on and enjoy the ride here. A jet crashes into the Pacific Ocean shortly after taking off from Honolulu, and this is what happens to the passengers in the 12 hours or so after the crash. The plot is incredibly propulsive and there are some very sweet character moments (father-young daughter, elderly couple, newlyweds) but this is an action-packed thriller, plain and simple. I sat down one afternoon to dip into a few pages and three hours later I had finished the entire book. This is a fantastic summer read–just maybe not while on an airplane over a major body of water. 😉

Book #3:

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer (Length: 279 pages). I picked this incredibly charming novel for my June Book of the Month pick and I lucked out with this one! It’s like Willy Wonka, but with books. A beloved children’s chapter book author (all set on Clock Island) stops writing for several years and after this hiatus, announces a contest whereby a few lucky adult readers will win a trip to the “real” Clock Island to play games and solve riddles. The lucky winner will win the only copy of the author’s latest book in the series. This novel is written for adults but it is teen-friendly. I wouldn’t recommend that younger kids read it only because the author touches on some serious issues such as foster care and child abuse. This is an absolutely wonderful escapist read, with a plot that’s more unique than a most of what I’ve been reading lately. I will remember the details of this novel, especially the details of Clock Island. This is a book you’ll hug when you’re done.