The Night She Disappears follows three POVs: Tallulah (a 19yo mother, who mysteriously goes missing along with her boyfriend), her mother, and a mystery novelist who’s just moved to the area.
While the premise was interesting—couple disappears with out a trace—and there were a few little twists and turns I didn’t expect, I had a hard time falling in love with the characters. Particularly, I found Tallulah’s passiveness rather frustrating, and overall I found the tension just a little low. I’m not sure if that’s because it seemed overlong, or because the sense of danger wasn’t really there.
If you’re looking for a solid mystery in the English countryside that takes it time, it might be worth a look.
⭐⭐⭐½
Hmm… do I fear a reading slump coming on?! Surely not!
Okay… this book was interesting. I loved Uprooted, and also enjoyed Spinning Silver, so I was certainly excited to read another by Novik.
And, I definitely think some readers would love it. But it’s told in first person (which usually I don’t mind one away or another about this), but about 60% of the book really just feels like El telling us about the school in a simultaneously angry and matter-of-fact manner.
The school and the magic system are fascinating, don’t get me wrong, but… the plot itself and the characters both felt rather lacking to me. With such high stakes, the premise felt RIPE for intensity, danger, and some level of angst… but El is so matter-of-fact about everything, it just felt a little flat.
While the relationship between her and her classmates develops naturally, the relationship between she and Orion feels decidedly lukewarm, as does my feelings towards their characters in general.
The premise was awesome, the world-building fantastic and the audiobook was well-performed, but I guess El’s intensely pragmatic narrative just didn’t really work for me. But it might work for you! If you’re interested in a dark school of magic with high stakes, I’d check it out!
I might pick up the sequel if I see the audiobook in the library one day, but I don’t think I’ll be pining for it.
Beneath her Skin by C.S. Porter follows Kes Morris, a hardened homicide detective called to a small seaside town to investigate a disturbing murder. This a fast-paced murder mystery that hits all the right beats. It’s a gripping story, tugging you along as the time clicks down on the clock with an underlying sense of creepiness laced in with every scene.
Kes’s take on getting into the killer’s head is really interesting, and the intensity increases right up to a satisfyingly finale. Although the murders are definitely disturbing, I wouldn’t classify them as exceedingly gory or gritty, which is about right on my level. The descriptions, setting, and atmosphere of a small town living in the shadow of killer were vivid and drew me right in to the scenes. While I couldn’t predict the plot twists, they felt really natural and were well-executed. . Kes is a smart and no-nonsense character, but I wish I’d gotten to see a little more of the side characters.
Overall, this was a quick read that I definitely enjoyed, and would totally recommend to crime thriller fans! (Content Warning: Child Abuse.) Thanks so much to the publisher for the free review copy.
So, I was expecting a fun romcom about fake dating, and I don’t think this book was exactly what I was looking for. If I Never Met You follows Laurie after her boyfriend (an coworker) of 18 years breaks up with her for someone else, and she decides to fake date the office player to make him jealous. The love interest doesn’t really show up until like 30% in, and the book mostly focuses on the Laurie getting over her 18-year-long relationship, rather than really falling for her fake-boyfriend. Though I liked the two main characters well enough, their relationship feels extremely platonic, and then suddenly at the very end it’s super serious. It held my attention though, so if you’re looking for a tale of break-up recovery and friendship with a sprinkle of romance, this might be for you. Oh also, for those curious: I’d rate it R for language, but the romance scenes are fade to black.
I picked this audiobook up from the library, and I have to say, it was not what I was expecting. The premise is fairly simple: an aging mega superstar (Evelyn Hugo) with seven late ex-husbands calls up a journalist a little out of the blue in order to write her biography in the time she has left.
So, it’s essentially a story within a story, as the journalist manages her own career and deals with impending divorce, while trying to puzzle out why Evelyn Hugo chose her, and also learning from the powerful woman.
Evelyn Hugo, in turn, spills the secrets of her life. She does not flinch away from her flaws and is unapologetic as she details her choices. She is a woman that did what was necessary to get what she wanted and succeeded.
This book is about the nuances of passion, friendship, and relationships. It’s about the choices we make, regret, and how we value ourselves.
Once again, Reid’s writing pulled me in, making me nearly forget this was fiction. And in that vein, I want to be very clear that this is NOT a romance, and happily-ever-after’s are hard to find here. It is a story that once again seems to fit somewhere between drama and literary and will leave you with a bittersweet aftertaste.
I don’t know if I’d watch the movie, but if you’re looking for an engrossing, complex story, then this is definitely worth the read.
⭐⭐⭐⭐3⁄4
Now, enough of the heavy reads. For the love of god, someone recommend a fun romcom.
Okay, you got me. I was totally prepared for a twist, but I still didn’t guess it! Love it when that happens. Still, this book leaves a strange aftertaste. The premise follows a couple with a strained relationship that’s won a free vacation in a creepy, restored chapel in the Scottish highlands and are using the getaway to try to put their relationship back together before it ends in divorce.
Meanwhile, we get their history through a series of letters written on every anniversary. We also get the POV of a third player at work here, who has unknown intentions for the couple.
It is really hard to review this one without giving anything away, but suffice to say, all the characters have secrets, and at the end, I’m pretty sure I don’t like any of them. 😂 Still, I enjoyed the ride, and would recommend to anyone looking for a fast-paced suspense. However, I will say, if you already know the twist, I don’t think it would be nearly as fun.
Okay, I’ll admit, this book baffles me. I loved A Gentleman in Moscow, so I picked up this audiobook from the library. From the outset, Emmett has just been released after serving time in a juvenile work farm, and he and his young brother, Billy plan to follow their mother’s route on the Lincoln’s Highway to California for a new start. (spoiler: although many words are dedicated to this plan throughout the book, it never happens, which feels really… unsatisfying to me.)
Then two of Emmett’s friends (Duchess & Wooley) show up with a wild-haired plan to go (essentially) steal some money. And I think your enjoyment of this book will somewhat depend on how much you want to strangle Duchess from the moment you set eyes on him.
The book is told from many perspectives, and while their journey/adventure is interesting, I feel like there were so many plot threads that were left unresolved (especially Sally’s. Like what?!), and ultimately the ending left me strangely unsatisfied, and just kind of… baffled.
Beautiful writing, interesting characters, a winding journey, and some strangeness. A lot of people loved this book, so it might be for you, but not really for me.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Here’s a little bird on my mother’s hat to lighten thing’s up amidst this heavy streak.
I remember really enjoying All the Light We Cannot See, so when I saw this audiobook at the library I was curious to see what this was all about it. Although I haven’t read it, this book did remind me greatly of the movie, Cloud Atlas. It essentially follows a story’s journey and the people who love it and try to save/preserve it, from the 1500s Constantinople to an interstellar ship in the nearish future.
This is another one in which 90% of the book is rather depressing until you reach the hopeful payoff in the end, and you wonder if it was all worth it. Each of the characters live intensely rough lives, and they look to the ancient story, Cloud Cuckoo Land, as a symbol of hope and escape that they cherish and must work hard to pass on to future generations. The idea is sweet, but I found this book to be another difficult read from an emotional standpoint. The payoff at the end though was excellent, and honestly I found the author’s historical inspirations to be super interesting.
Some of you will no doubt adore this book, and while it was a bit heavy for me, I’m glad I took the journey.
I picked this book from the library, in that random way that I do, without knowing what it was about or what to expect. And, I still don’t really know what to think about it. The story follows four siblings, the children of an absent ultra-famous singer, as they prepare to host their annual, infamous celebrity party in Malibu in the 80s. Interspliced with their story, we also get the history of their mother and father’s story, from their beginnings to present day.
The four siblings really drew me in with their nuanced, fully-fleshed personalities, and also the intense bond between them, forged through a difficult childhood with the abandonment from their famous a-hole father, and their loving but despondent and alcoholic mother. The writing is beautiful, and the story feels so real, you get the urge to google if Mick Reva is a real person, just in case.
However, on the whole, I found this story, for the most part, rather depressing. Both in the family’s story and the nostalgic description of Malibu’s changes. There were a few things that I didn’t quite buy, and honestly I did think about DNF’ing around the 60% mark, just because I don’t tend to go for heavy books that leave you down.
Still, the pay off and catharsis at the end was almost worth it, I did enjoy the over the top shenanigans of the Reva children’s party, and they do get a relatively happy ending, even though, after several weeks distance, I still think of it as a heavy read.
Recommended if you’re in the mood for a middling to heavy read somewhere in between the spectrums of drama and literary. Some of you will definitely love it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐½
And… also kind of makes you want to get out and go surfing.
The Essence of Stone by Haley Rylander is a sweeping, epic fantasy with intricate world-building and political intrigue. The plot essentially follows a city of elves as they try find the source of the strange, destructive earthquakes attacking their city and their source of Vierstone, the magical foundation of their society and their race. Simultaneously, they must navigate an alliance with the neighboring human kingdom, which promises them another source of Vierstone in exchange for their support in battle.
The story spans a wide cast of elven characters and dives deep into the politics and history of Vierstone, their world, and their people. The characters are likable and the writing was detailed and flowed with a rich, fantastical feel. However, the romantic elements were light for me, and the pacing for this epic felt a bit on the slow side. Of course, my general preferences lean toward a hearty helping of romance at *breakneck* speed, so if you’re looking for a lush world of elves and men, political maneuvering, and an interesting magic system with a sciency, hard set of rules, I recommend you give this one a look!
Thanks to the publisher for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Essence of Stone launches on May 14, 2022.
