Book #63:

American Fantasy by Emma Straub (Length: 294 pages). I was a bit hesitant to pick up this contemporary novel given its mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed this one. I did listen to it and the narrator is great. The premise here is a middle-aged, divorced woman, Annie, takes a boy band themed cruise solo, as her sister (a bigger fan of this particular boy band) has to drop out last minute. This boy band was popular in the 1990s (so think Backstreet Boys or New Kids on the Block) and I’m not of that generation (Duran Duran is the band I loved as a teenager). However, I really enjoyed this story, told from three different points of view: Annie, Sarah (employee of talent management company) and Keith (one of the boy band members). The format here is a lot of fun, mimicking a cruise ship hourly itinerary (10 am, Lido Deck, pool party). I like Straub’s writing style, and I really enjoyed all three voices and the ending was perfect for what it is. 4 stars.

Book #64:

Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas (Length: 807 pages). This fantasy novel is SO FREAKING GOOD! I’ve waited awhile to pick it up given its page count, but since this author’s announcement that there will be a book 4, I have enjoyed seeing a few book podcasters and bookstagrammers start this series and thought, there’s no time like the present! The world building in this hefty book DOES take quite a long time to set up before the reader gets the lay of the land–almost 300 pages. So it was a bit of a slow and confusing start for me. But I stuck with it and I’m so glad I did as once the action starts up, it never stops. And it’s quite a fun (if violent) ride. I adore the supporting characters here (fae and animal) but Bryce and Hunt, the romantic leads, are the true stars here. I will definitely be picking up book #2 (from my daughter’s bookshelf) when I have the room in my TBR to tackle another hefty page count book, and I can’t wait to return to the magic of Crescent City. Five BIG stars from me.