Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
This is my second Backman book and I loved it. There’s something about the way he writes that is really enjoyable to me. The characters weren’t completely likable, but that was the whole point. Each character had depth and none of them were what they seemed at first glance. I liked the way that Backman played with expectations. I thought I had everything figured out, but the way he gave the reader just a little bit of information at a time made me realize that I was only thinking what he wanted me to think. Overall, I found this book thought-provoking and emotional with some laugh out loud moments as well. 5/5
House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas
So many pages. And so many characters and organization names it was hard to keep everything straight. I feel like I still don’t know half of what’s going on and I just read 800 pages of it. Also, I think that last line before the epilogue was supposed to be really epic and impactful but…I haven’t read her other series’s so I think I’m missing something. Anyway, it’s fine. World-building feels clunky. Character motivations aren’t clear. Overall, just too much going on (much too many pages). It’s fine. 3/5
Good Rich People by Eliza Jane Brazier
Honestly, I didn’t hate this. The characters are all terrible and parts of it feel far-fetched, but I’m so far from the world depicted that who can even say what’s plausible? I thought Lyla’s internal struggle throughout was well done. She doesn’t exactly redeem herself, but it was nice to see her being differentiated from Graham and Margo. Demi was an interesting character and I actually liked her narration better than Lyla’s even though Lyla had more of the book. The ending was well-played in its ambiguity. 3/5
To Marry and to Meddle by Martha Waters
A continuation of the series and I think Emily might be my favorite protagonist so far (until Sophie’s book comes out, fingers crossed). I liked her dynamic with Julian as they were both pretty straightforward with each other. It was nothing groundbreaking plot wise, but still enjoyable. I liked the resolution between Julian and his parents as well but wish his siblings had gotten more screen time. There were a couple of moments where a chapter would end with some pressing realization, but then the next chapter would start with “a few days later” and I’m left going “How has this information not come out over the course of a few days?” Minor quibble though. 3.5/5
Cover Story by Susan Rigetti
I ACTUALLY did not see that twist coming. It had me flipping back pages and pages and putting clues together that had been RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY FACE. I felt a little foolish, but in the end I think the twist was masterfully pulled off. I’m not going to say I liked Lora as a character, but she was sympathetic and it was hard not to feel for her as she got taken in by Cat. And I could definitely see all the ways this was inspired by the Anna Delvey story (I’d listened to a podcast about it a while back). Overall, this was a light thriller that, while not scary, definitely had its tense moments. 4/5
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
I’ll be honest, I didn’t LOVE Feyre as a character. I always have trouble with protags who find themselves in a new environment and then blatantly disregard everything they’re told/advised by the people who are actually from that environment. Feyre’s actions on Fire Night had me wanting to bang my head against a wall. I liked the tasks element of the book, but it almost felt like it should have been a completely separate book. The reader is rushed through it so the ending feels especially sudden. I also thought the riddle was pretty obvious.
The retelling element of it was interesting…if a bit corny at times (Tamlin showing Feyre the library was completely unnecessary). Honestly, I just started this series after finishing the second Crescent City book because I felt like the last chapter had no impact without me having read this series first. And I didn’t want to be confused in the third book with the inevitable crossover.
Overall, would I recommend this series? Not especially. But I’ll probably continue reading just so I understand context for the third CC book.
Tl;dr – This book is fine. As far as fairytale retellings go, it’s fine. Feyre kind of sucks, but I’m just reading this series for the Crescent City tie in (probably not worth it). 3/5
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
This book is SO LONG and yet very little happens I feel like. I liked getting to meet a new cast of characters, but didn’t feel like we got to know them all that well despite the plethora of pages. Plotwise, I’m left wondering throughout most of this book how much of it was planned from book 1. Are we….are we being gaslighted by SJM? I feel like I did after reading the last Hunger Games book. The end result cheapens all the things that happened previously imo.
Also, she used the word “bark” “barked” “barking” about fifty million times with not a dog in sight. Again, I will continue this series, but just because I know that she’s tying this one together with CC and I feel like I need to have the context.
Also also, that ending re: Lucien is just a big “wut”. 3/5
The No-Show by Beth O’Leary
Honestly, this book was kind of off to a rocky start for me. A lot of time is spent making Joseph Carter seem like a really scummy guy and then when everything is revealed we’re just supposed to let all those feelings go? With that being said, I really did like Siobhan, Miranda, and Jane as characters. They were all really different but equally enjoyable. Which made it hard because it feels like they’re competing with each other throughout the whole book and it’s like you have to pick a favorite (Miranda). Anyway, not exactly what I was hoping for, but better than The Road Trip for sure. 4/5
The Devil’s Music by Nathan Page
Al and Rachel? Yeah, I ship it. This book was less mystery-heavy and starts to dive a little more into the Montague twins’ past. I continued to enjoy the characters and thought it provided a good backdrop for talking about mental health. 4/5
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
More barking (though not as much as in book 2 luckily). And I’m getting really confused about all the “retellings”. Like…now we’re getting Bible retellings? V confusing. But anyway, this series continues to be fine. However, I do not understand why authors keep using the word “bemused” to mean amused. I understand the lexicon changing etc etc. But. Technically “bemused” means confused. AND WHAT IS SO WRONG WITH THE WORD “AMUSED” ANYWAY. IT MEANS EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY AND THE WORD YOU’RE CHOOSING TO USE MEANS SOMETHING ELSE SO I DON’T GET IT. Anyway. That’s a rant that I have every couple years or so.
I liked that the relationship between the sisters was more heavily emphasized in this book. I’m always here for a good sister relationship. I didn’t love how their dad ended up playing into the story but…it’s whatever. I also don’t love the weird tangled relationships between Mor, Azriel, Elain, and Lucien. Obviously Mor is who she is and can do whatever she wants, but it just feels like unnecessary drama.
Also, what’s up with all of the character names being so similar? I had a heck of a time telling Tamlin, Tarquin, Thesan, and Helion apart. And Hybern is a guy, but also a people? So when Hybern “shows up” I was always confused for a couple pages.
Lastly, these books are fine character and plotwise but I always come away feeling like so many conversations or descriptions or action sequences were too long. This book could easily be trimmed by 200 pages (or more) imo. 3/5
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All
Mexican Gothic
The Lion’s Den
I’d heard so much buzz about this book before I picked it up for a book club. Even with all the buzz, though, I really didn’t know what to expect. This book ended up being a little more detective-y than I had anticipated. It was almost as if Theo was conducting some kind of criminal investigation. I wished he’d stayed in his lane a little bit more and that there was more to the interactions between him and Alicia. The author did a good job of making virtually every single male character suspect. Perhaps because of that, I actually didn’t love Theo as a character and especially as a narrator. In the end, I understand why the story was told the way it was, but I’m not sure how I feel about the whole “twist”. 3.5/5
After reading this, you’re getting a big “NOPE” from me re: living in Alaska. Throughout this book I had a really uneasy feeling. Part of it was the tension involved with Leni’s dad, but I honestly think a big part of it was the setting itself. I was surprised at how far the author took the plot. The story kind of just keeps going beyond when I would expect it to conclude. I’m not totally sure how I felt about the ending. Parts of it felt a little too clean to me and I would have liked a bit more open endedness. I also had a big question about what happened with Leni’s grandparents, but maybe that’s just me. 4/5
The Holdout
Beach Read
I was so excited to get my hands on this book! Over the summer I became a full Emma Mills convert and this book didn’t disappoint! Her characters are always so fun (if a little too witty and clever to be realistic). I liked the sister element of this book a lot and even wished there had been a bit more. I was also jazzed to see some IUPUI representation (that’s where I got my online MLS degree–go Jags!). There were some plot elements that I could have predicted from a mile away and others that I thought were a bit of a stretch, but overall I really liked this book. I thought it had a good message about the transitional times in your life and the people you might meet there. 4/5
I’ve been meaning to read some Ruth Ware for a while and the premise of this book really drew me in. The atmosphere in this book was pretty well done. Reading this book, I just felt cold because Hal is cold like the whole time. Overall, I thought this book was alright, but I had some issues with Hal and some inconsistencies that I felt ran throughout the whole book. First, Hal. She mentally berates herself over and over again for not acting appropriately. For example, she’s so mad at herself for acting surprised to learn that Ezra and Maud were twins, but she made it clear that she didn’t even know that she had uncles so…obviously she wouldn’t know that Ezra and Maud were twins–relax Hal, you’re fine. Then the inconsistencies. Hal makes a big deal about telling Ezra to call her Hal, but earlier in the book Mitzi had already called her that? Just one example. In the end, I can appreciate some of the smaller things that were scattered throughout the book, but I feel like a lot of the time Hal is just being dumb. I think she could have figured out more than she did before she did. At this point, I might try another Ruth Ware book, but if that one doesn’t impress me either, I might be giving up on her. 3.5/5
This series! I absolutely love it and this was such a great conclusion. The stakes are HIGH in this book for every single character and I’m amazed that Caine is able to pull that off without things feeling exaggerated. She also does a great job of recapping important plot points from the previous books without feeling info-dumpy which is so common in series books. The characters continue to be the characters that we all know and love. I especially enjoyed Dario in this book–his relationship with Khalila adds another layer to his character which I think is needed. Their relationship feels so sweet and genuine to me. Something I love about this series as a whole, is that I think each character feels realistically developed. It would be really interesting to go back to the beginning and compare who they were in book one to this last book. Overall, I love this series and everyone should read it. 4.5/5
This book was such a disappointment. I was hoping to get an awesome girl power/friendship story but instead we get a story about an adult man playing questionable mind games with teenage girls. No thanks. The whole book just kind of made me feel mad the entire time. And I also couldn’t get over the math for Coach’s age. The girls think he’s about 26, but this is his 7th year coaching (not to mention he played field hockey in and after college for at least a little bit). How did he have time for all of that? Also, that would mean he was hired to be the Varsity Field Hockey coach when he was like…19 or 20? Just a couple years older than the girls he’s coaching? I have a hard time believing a high school would EVER make a hiring decision like that. But anyway, I’m getting off-track…it’s just something I was dwelling on pretty much the whole book. I just didn’t think this book was very good. What was the point? What am I supposed to take away? So, so disappointing. 2/5
This book surprised me! It’s a pretty fun summer time romance book–perfect for a beach day. I thought the main characters Sidney and Asher had great chemistry even if their interactions felt a little cringe at times (though maybe I just felt that way because I’m not a teenager anymore). There were a few times that the author refused to go along with widely accepted tropes for this type of book, and I really appreciated that. I don’t want to give any spoilers or anything, so I won’t go into specifics. But sometimes authors almost…fabricate drama? I never really felt like that happened in this book. I was super into the first two thirds, but then the last third was a bit less enjoyable (which kept it from being a four star read for me). Throughout, I really liked our two main characters, but towards the end they both made decisions and acted in ways that made me like them a little less. Overall, I would definitely recommend this as a summer read! 3.5/5
This book hit me with some strong Serial vibes right off the bat (which is a good thing). I didn’t know how similar a story it was going to be, but luckily it wasn’t a copycat case or anything. I thought the premise of Pip’s investigation was interesting, if a little far-fetched. With that being said, it does stay in the realm of mostly plausible. I hate when YA thrillers take a turn for the completely unrealistic and there’s no possible way you could have figured out who the killer/bad guy is.
What's She Reading? 