People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

Title: People We Meet on Vacation

Author: Emily Henry

Publisher: Berkley 2021

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 382

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Modern Mrs. Darcy; Seasonal TBR

Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.

Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven't spoken since.

Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.

Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?

I’ve seen so many mixed reviews of this book. As in, if you liked Emily Henry’s first book Beach Read, you won’t like this one and vice versa. Somehow I fall into the very tiny camp of really really loving both of them. At first glance, we get a straight up romantic comedy with flawed but lovable characters and a slightly exaggerated plot. Seems on par with the rest of them. But then Henry really infuses her characters with very real insecurities and problems. We see two people who, on paper, shouldn’t be together and yet we know that they should. We see them struggle with events and people from their past. We see them attempt to communicate, but often do it wrong or make some missteps that lead to more obstacles. And finally, we know that their story will have a resolution. It may not be a HEA, but I don’t always need those anyway. We get some kind of understanding with the characters. I read my fluffy romances that I know will end in a HEA. But I also really love these real romances where we everything (well, almost everything) could happen in our world. Emily Henry is definitely going on my must-read list.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

Love Hacked by Penny Reid

Title: Love Hacked (Knitting in the City #3)

Author: Penny Reid

Publisher: Cipher-Naught 2014

Genre: Romance

Pages: 402

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

There are three things you need to know about Sandra Fielding:
1) She makes all her first dates cry,
2) She hasn't been kissed in over two years, and
3) She knows how to knit.

Sandra has difficulty removing her psychotherapist hat. Of her last 30 dates, 29 have ended the same way: the man sobbing uncontrollably. After one such disaster, Sandra gives in to a seemingly harmless encounter with her hot waiter, Alex. Argumentative, secretive, and hostile Alex may be the opposite of everything Sandra knows is right for her. But now, the girl who has spent all her life helping others change for the better, must find a way to cope with falling for someone who refuses to change at all.

I am still very much enjoying Penny Reid’s writing and her characters. This book gives us Sandra’s story. Overall I really enjoyed Sandra and Alex’s romance. I loved their interactions at the restaurant and the ending. The bit in the middle got a tad annoying with Sandra’s constant referrals to Alex’s age. Like I get that he’s a bit younger, but he is legal (as he points out repeatedly). It seemed odd to focus on that and not the “I can’t tell you about why the government wants me in a jail cell.” But, I just kept reminding myself that this series has fun, if a bit outlandish, romantic comedy plots. Just go with it! I can’t wait to see what happens next. (P.S. Elizabeth and Nico is still my favorite.)

Knitting in the City

#1 Neanderthal Seeks Human
#1.5 Neanderthal Marries Human
#2 Friends Without Benefits
#3 Love Hacked
#4 Beauty and the Mustache
#4.75 Ninja at First Sight
#5 Happily Ever Ninja
#6 Dating-ish
#7 Marriage of Inconvenience
#8 Neanderthal Seeks Extra Yarns

Next up on the TBR pile:

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Title: Ruin and Rising (Shadow and Bone #3)

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Publisher: Henry Holt 2014

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 465

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Soldier. Summoner. Saint. The nation’s fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

The Darkling rules from his shadow throne while a weakened Alina Starkov recovers from their battle under the dubious protection of the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Now her hopes lie with the magic of a long-vanished ancient creature and the chance that an outlaw prince still survives.

As her allies and enemies race toward war, only Alina stands between her country and a rising tide of darkness that could destroy the world. To win this fight, she must seize a legend’s power—but claiming the firebird may be her ruin.

The trilogy has been finished! I would not say that this series has been my favorite YA fantasy series, but I do think that it redeemed itself with the last book. Ultimately, I really did end up liking the storyline and I’m still very much in love with the magic system. I’m still annoyed by Alina and Mal’s relationship and don’t feel like Mal quite earned his place by her side. I was satisfied with the ending between Alina and the Darlking, but wish we could have seen his vulnerable side a little more and a little earlier in the books. (Seems like he ended up being a bit of unused character in the second and third books.) I’m okay with the entire resolution to the series. I’m more excited to read the companion duology and watch the television show.

Shadow and Bone

Next up on the TBR pile:

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Title: Siege and Storm (Shadow and Bone #2)

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Publisher: Square Fish 2013

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 435

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Soldier. Summoner. Saint. Alina Starkov’s power has grown, but not without a price. She is the Sun Summoner—hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Shadow Fold. But she and Mal can’t outrun their enemies for long.

The Darkling is more determined than ever to claim Alina’s magic and use it to take the Ravkan throne. With nowhere else to turn, Alina enlists the help of an infamous privateer and sets out to lead the Grisha army.

But as the truth of Alina's destiny unfolds, she slips deeper into the Darkling’s deadly game of forbidden magic, and further away from her humanity. To save her country, Alina will have to choose between her power and the love she thought would always be her shelter. No victory can come without sacrifice—and only she can face the oncoming storm.

Can Mal get eaten by a volcra now? Seriously, I so disliked him as a character and kept wanting him to die so Alina could move on. Alas, it did not happen and we get way too many pages in this book where Mal gaslights and abuses Alina. I just cannot get behind their relationship at all. Their back and forth crap is the biggest reason why this book only gets 3 stars from me. Strip that crap out or change it into a more healthy relationship and I would have given it 4 stars. I really do love the magical elements in this series. I love exploring the evolution of both Alina’s and the Darkling’s powers. I want more and more of that. So sad that the Darkling only has a small part in this book. I wanted more of him. Thankfully we do get introduced to another mysterious character that had been in his side immediately. I wanted more Nikolai. Specifically, I wanted Nikolai and Alina to form a deeper bond. I’m still going to finish this series (reading the third book right now in fact), but I am very disappointed by the central “romance” to the series.

Shadow and Bone

#1 Shadow and Bone
#2 Siege and Storm
#3 Ruin and Rising

Next up on the TBR pile:

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Title: Malibu Rising

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid

Publisher: Ballantine Books 2021

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 384

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: MMD; Seasonal TBR

Malibu: August 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over—especially as the offspring of the legendary singer Mick Riva.

The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself, who never wanted to be the center of attention, and who has also just been very publicly abandoned by her pro tennis player husband. Oh, and maybe Hud—because it is long past time for him to confess something to the brother from whom he’s been inseparable since birth.

Jay, on the other hand, is counting the minutes until nightfall, when the girl he can’t stop thinking about promised she’ll be there.

And Kit has a couple secrets of her own—including a guest she invited without consulting anyone.

By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come rising to the surface.

I dove into this book really hoping for another Daisy Jones and the Six or The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. With this book, we get a really good story, but it didn’t quite hit the 5 star mark for me. Right away, I was drawn into the world of early 1980s (and then 1950-60s) Malibu. I wanted to learn more about the Riva children and how they came to be at the places they were in their lives. I wanted to really submerse myself in the atmosphere of Malibu at the various time periods. We get some of that. In flashbacks, we get to see what happened with Mick and June and the snippets throughout the children’s lives. And we get one big final confrontation between Mick and his children. Unfortunately, the book the left me wanting more. When we get to the last chapter, I was just a bit taken aback at the abruptness of the ending. I felt like we were just getting into the meat of the various characters. I wanted to sit with them longer. Ultimately, I felt like nothing had really been resolved and I wanted more. I cannot deny that Reid writes a propulsive story with interesting characters. I just wanted more.

My two side annoyances:

I really disliked how they dealt with Kit’s big identity revelation. Or really, how they didn’t deal with it. I felt like it was thrown to give a “complication” to her character, but was really a cheap afterthought.
From the very first page, I thought the fire would figure more prominently into the story. I kept waiting and waiting and it didn’t come into fruition until the last chapter.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Friends without Benefits by Penny Reid

Title: Friends without Benefits (Knitting in the City #2)

Author: Penny Reid

Publisher: Cipher-Naught 2014

Genre: Romance

Pages: 406

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

There are three things you need to know about Elizabeth Finney: 1) She suffers from severe sarcastic syndrome, especially when she's unnerved, 2) No one unnerves her like Nico Manganiello, and 3) She knows how to knit.

Elizabeth Finney is almost always right about everything: the musical merits of boy bands are undervalued by society, “benefits” with human Ken dolls are better without friendship, and the sun has set on her once-in-a-lifetime chance for true love. But when Elizabeth’s plans for benefits without friendship are disarmed by the irritatingly charismatic and chauvinistic Nico Manganiello—her former nemesis—she finds herself struggling to maintain the electric fence around her heart while avoiding a Nico charisma-electrocution or, worse, falling in love.

I finally got around to reading the second in this contemporary romance series. It was such a delight and I sped through it in two days. Elizabeth is such a taciturn character in the first book and I was glad to see her soft side in this novel. Right away, I absolutely fell for Elizabeth and Nico and especially those two together. There is a lot of angst in this novel, but I really did love the conversations. My biggest complaint was that there was only one steamy scene. I love the pre-steamy scenes, but I need more post-steamy scenes.

Knitting in the City

#1 Neanderthal Seeks Human
#1.5 Neanderthal Marries Human
#2 Friends Without Benefits
#3 Love Hacked
#4 Beauty and the Mustache
#4.75 Ninja at First Sight
#5 Happily Ever Ninja
#6 Dating-ish
#7 Marriage of Inconvenience
#8 Neanderthal Seeks Extra Yarns

Next up on the TBR pile:

Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue

Title: Behold the Dreamers

Author: Imbolo Mbue

Publisher: Random House 2017

Genre: Literary Fiction

Pages: 416

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Jende Jonga, a Cameroonian immigrant living in Harlem, has come to the United States to provide a better life for himself, his wife, Neni, and their six-year-old son. In the fall of 2007, Jende can hardly believe his luck when he lands a job as a chauffeur for Clark Edwards, a senior executive at Lehman Brothers. Clark demands punctuality, discretion, and loyalty—and Jende is eager to please. Clark’s wife, Cindy, even offers Neni temporary work at the Edwardses’ summer home in the Hamptons. With these opportunities, Jende and Neni can at last gain a foothold in America and imagine a brighter future.

However, the world of great power and privilege conceals troubling secrets, and soon Jende and Neni notice cracks in their employers’ façades.

When the financial world is rocked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the Jongas are desperate to keep Jende’s job—even as their marriage threatens to fall apart. As all four lives are dramatically upended, Jende and Neni are forced to make an impossible choice.

Our book club selection for July… and I was very underwhelmed by this story. Let’s start with the good points. I enjoyed the look at Cameroon culture. In fact, those sections were the only ones that I really loved reading. Clearly the author has a love for the people of Cameroon and it shows through the writing. I also enjoyed the interplay of the family in the first half of the book. I found their struggles compelling. Unfortunately, the second half the book begins to show the fractures in the family and I was very annoyed. I was not a fan of Jende and his sexist bullshit. Combine that with the actions of the Edwards family and I really disliked all the characters in this novel. Per the summary, this book is supposed to heavily involve the economic collapse, but it seemed like an afterthought. I forced myself to finish this book, but I wasn’t at all excited about it.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Title: Project Hail Mary

Author: Andy Weir

Publisher: Ballantine Books 2021

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 482

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: MMD; Seasonal TBR

Usually I copy and paste a book summary here, but all the ones I found contained way too many fucking spoilers! So here is my summary: This is a fun space romp involving a desperate race to save humanity. That’s it. That’s all you need to know before reading this book.

I closed this book and had a huge smile on my face while simultaneously crying. So incredibly amazing. I loved The Martian, but was less enthused by Artemis. I dove into this book after my husband kept shoving it in my face. And I’m so glad that he did! Right from the first page, I was sucked into this story based in space. I love a well-written space adventure and this does not disappoint. Weir includes a lot of science, but it does it in such way that I understood and even if I skimmed it, it wasn’t absolutely essential to the larger story. This review is incredibly vague because I do not want to spoil anything. Seriously, don’t read the summaries, just go and get the book right now.

Next up on the TBR pile:

For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten

Title: For the Wolf (The Wilderwood #1)

Author: Hannah Whitten

Publisher: Orbit 2021

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 403

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: MMD; Seasonal TBR

As the only Second Daughter born in centuries, Red has one purpose—to be sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wood in the hope he'll return the world's captured gods.

Red is almost relieved to go. Plagued by a dangerous power she can't control, at least she knows that in the Wilderwood, she can't hurt those she loves. Again.

But the legends lie. The Wolf is a man, not a monster. Her magic is a calling, not a curse. And if she doesn't learn how to use it, the monsters the gods have become will swallow the Wilderwood—and her world—whole.

I was so excited for this book and it ended up being a very lackluster read. It felt very derivative and overdone. I was intrigued by the concept of a Little Red Riding Hood retelling (I do love my fairy tale retellings). And this one added in elements of Sleeping Beauty and Rose Red and Snow White and lots of other snippets. I really enjoyed the world building and the Wilderwood itself. Seriously, I think the Wilderwood was the best character in the book. I loved seeing how the forest affected our characters and had it’s own presence. But then we get to the human characters and I got a lot less excited. Red was fine, Eammon was fine, Neve was fine. They were just fine. There wasn’t enough there to really make me care about them. Fife and Lyra annoyed me so much throughout the book. And I thoroughly disliked the constant repetitive actions (e.g. “lounging on the doorway” and “hands raking across __’s face”). At times the writing felt very immature. I loved the descriptions, but not when it focused on the characters. Overall, I think I’m really sick of reading these stories about a naive 20ish young woman who has to save the world. I’ll probably end up reading the sequel when it comes out, but I’m not super excited about it.

The Wilderwood

#1 For the Wolf
#2 For the Throne

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

Title: A Master of Djinn

Author: P. Djèlí Clark

Publisher: Tor.com 2021

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 396

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Seasonal TBR

Cairo, 1912: Though Fatma el-Sha’arawi is the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, she’s certainly not a rookie, especially after preventing the destruction of the universe last summer.

So when someone murders a secret brotherhood dedicated to one of the most famous men in history, al-Jahiz, Agent Fatma is called onto the case. Al-Jahiz transformed the world forty years ago when he opened up the veil between the magical and mundane realms, before vanishing into the unknown. This murderer claims to be al-Jahiz, returned to condemn the modern age for its social oppressions. His dangerous magical abilities instigate unrest in the streets of Cairo that threaten to spill over onto the global stage.

Alongside her Ministry colleagues and a familiar person from her past, Agent Fatma must unravel the mystery behind this imposter to restore peace to the city—or face the possibility he could be exactly who he seems…

I was super excited by the first full-length from Clark after reading some of his novellas. I got into it and really enjoyed the story following Agent Fatma and her adventures through Egypt. I loved the inclusion of steampunk elements to this alternate history of Egypt. I love a good world-building in my fantasy novels and this one did not disappoint. I really enjoyed puzzling out the mystery and how Fatma was going to catch the killer. I will admit that I had the killer pegged from about a fourth of the way through the novel. But I did still enjoy the ride. My favorite parts were the interactions with the various djinn. I loved seeing all the different types and how they fit into human society. The pacing was a bit off at times and I felt like there’s was a bit much of posturing by some of the characters. For those reasons, I did take off a star.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Whispering House by Elizabeth Brooks

Title: The Whispering House

Author: Elizabeth Brooks

Publisher: Tin House Books 2021

Genre: Gothic Fiction

Pages: 380

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: MMD; Summer TBR

Freya Lyell is struggling to move on from her sister Stella’s death five years ago. Visiting the bewitching Byrne Hall, only a few miles from the scene of the tragedy, she discovers a portrait of Stella—a portrait she had no idea existed, in a house Stella never set foot in. Or so she thought.

Driven to find out more about her sister’s secrets, Freya is drawn into the world of Byrne Hall and its owners: charismatic artist Cory and his sinister, watchful mother. But as Freya lingers in this mysterious, centuries-old house, her relationship with Cory crosses the line into obsession and the darkness behind the locked doors of the estate threatens to spill out.

In prose as lush and atmospheric as Byrne Hall itself, Elizabeth Brooks weaves a simmering, propulsive tale of art, sisterhood, and all-consuming love: the ways it can lead us toward tenderness, nostalgia, and longing, as well as shocking acts of violence.

Such high hopes for this one… and it fell so flat for me. Anne Bogel told me that this one was for fans of Mexican Gothic and Jane Eyre. I was sold after hearing that. But right away, I had less gothic vibes and more unreliable narrator. I was not a fan of Freya from page one and she just got worse at the book went on. And then the story begins to get very muddled and I started to have problems understanding what exactly was happening. Every scene with Cory took on this dreamlike quality that I wasn’t excited about. Instead, I just kept yelling at Freya for every stupid decision. And the plot got very silly and I just couldn’t enjoy myself. Boring.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

Title: The Echo Wife

Author: Sarah Gailey

Publisher: Tor 2021

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 256

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

I’m embarrassed, still, by how long it took me to notice. Everything was right there in the open, right there in front of me, but it still took me so long to see the person I had married.
It took me so long to hate him.
Martine is a genetically cloned replica made from Evelyn Caldwell’s award-winning research. She’s patient and gentle and obedient. She’s everything Evelyn swore she’d never be.
And she’s having an affair with Evelyn’s husband.
Now, the cheating bastard is dead, and both Caldwell wives have a mess to clean up.
Good thing Evelyn Caldwell is used to getting her hands dirty.

I was completely blown away by the premise of this novel. I went into it with very little knowledge (just that it was about clones) and that was definitely the way to go. We immediately meet Martine and start to unravel what happened in the past. From there, we start to understand what is going to happen in the future. And things become very complicated. While the plot was fast moving, I kept coming back to the characters and our understanding of what makes someone human. I found the comparison between Evelyn and Martine to be fascinating. I loved following along as they each wrestled with a lot of self-reflection. I’ve read a few reviews that were not happy about the long scientific passages. I found myself skimming those passages but understanding that the focus on the scientific procedures was how Evelyn dealt with the many revelations and and new situations. I’m still thinking about all the implications of this novel. Another win for Sarah Gailey! I have to put their other books onto my short TBR.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary

Title: The Road Trip

Author: Beth O’Leary

Publisher: Berkley 2021

Genre: Romance

Pages: 398

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

What if the end of the road is just the beginning?

Four years ago, Dylan and Addie fell in love under the Provence sun. Wealthy Oxford student Dylan was staying at his friend Cherry’s enormous French villa; wild child Addie was spending her summer as the on-site caretaker. Two years ago, their relationship officially ended. They haven’t spoken since.

Today, Dylan’s and Addie’s lives collide again. It’s the day before Cherry’s wedding, and Addie and Dylan crash cars at the start of the journey there. The car Dylan was driving is wrecked, and the wedding is in rural Scotland—he’ll never get there on time by public transport.

So, along with Dylan’s best friend, Addie’s sister, and a random guy on Facebook who needed a ride, they squeeze into a space-challenged Mini and set off across Britain. Cramped into the same space, Dylan and Addie are forced to confront the choices they made that tore them apart—and ask themselves whether that final decision was the right one after all.

I just read The Flatshare for book club and was expecting more of the same. This book is less fun and light romance and more serious relationship drama. But I found that I really did like it. We get a great forced proximity trope to explore the past and potential future relationship between Addie and Dylan. We get a much more nuanced look at romantic relationships. I can definitely see how O’Leary has grown as a writer since The Flatshare. Addie and Dylan are much more realistic characters. Tiffy and Leon were a bit 2-dimensional. This book was much more relatable. While I really enjoyed the story between Addie and Dylan, I loved seeing the other relationships in the book even more. Addie and Deb have an amazing sister bond and I loved seeing them support each other unconditionally. And I loved seeing how Marcus changed and grew throughout the timeline. This book isn’t going to be on my Top 10 list probably, but I really did enjoy this one.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon

Title: The Drowning Kind

Author: Jennifer McMahon

Publisher: Gallery Press 2021

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 285

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

When social worker Jax receives nine missed calls from her older sister, Lexie, she assumes that it’s just another one of her sister’s episodes. Manic and increasingly out of touch with reality, Lexie has pushed Jax away for over a year. But the next day, Lexie is dead: drowned in the pool at their grandmother’s estate. When Jax arrives at the house to go through her sister’s things, she learns that Lexie was researching the history of their family and the property. And as she dives deeper into the research herself, she discovers that the land holds a far darker past than she could have ever imagined.

In 1929, thirty-seven-year-old newlywed Ethel Monroe hopes desperately for a baby. In an effort to distract her, her husband whisks her away on a trip to Vermont, where a natural spring is showcased by the newest and most modern hotel in the Northeast. Once there, Ethel learns that the water is rumored to grant wishes, never suspecting that the spring takes in equal measure to what it gives.

I’m not usually one for thrillers, but the premise of this one intrigued me. Plus, two of the hosts of my favorite bookish podcast, Currently Reading, really enjoyed this one. I had to pick it up and I ended up loving it! I get very annoyed when books are labeled as supernatural thrillers but then don’t have any actual ghosts. This one has actual ghosts and it made my heart happy. Right away we are plunged into the very creepy setting og Sparrow Crest and the springs right off the patio. You just know that something tragic is going to happen (and has happened many times before) and it does. From there, we follow Jax as she attempt to unravel the mystery and deal with her own future. We also get the story of how Ethel came to know of the springs and how it affected her life in the late 1920s. I actually liked both story lines, probably because I liked both women. I wanted to see how they were connected and what actually lived at the bottom of the springs. The book did not disappoint. This reminded me of The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James. I got the same kind of creepy creepy vibes. I might have to pick up McMahon’s previous book soon.

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz

Title: A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter

Author: William Deresiewicz

Publisher: Penguin Books 2012

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 288

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Modern Mrs. Darcy Summer Reading Guide; Seasonal TBR

Before Jane Austen, William Deresiewicz was a very different young man. A sullen and arrogant graduate student, he never thought Austen would have anything to offer him. Then he read Emma—and everything changed.

In this unique and lyrical book, Deresiewicz weaves the misadventures of Austen’s characters with his own youthful follies, demonstrating the power of the great novelist’s teachings—and how, for Austen, growing up and making mistakes are one and the same. Honest, erudite, and deeply moving, A Jane Austen Education is the story of one man’s discovery of the world outside himself.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this book, but ended up really enjoying it. We follow William along as he discovers both life lessons and the works of Jane Austen. The book is part self-reflection, part literary analysis, and part fan letter. I enjoyed how each chapter focused on the writer’s big lesson from a novel and included what was happening in his life at the same time. My favorite chapter was about Northanger Abbey. I loved the discussion of the Thorpes and the Tilneys. A few of the pages do drag a bit, but overall it’s a joy for the fan of Jane Austen.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Dear Fahrenheit 451 by Annie Spence

Title: Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks: A Librarian's Love Letters and Breakup Notes to the Books in Her Life

Author: Annie Spence

Publisher: Flatiron Books 2017

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 248

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Seasonal TBR

If you love to read, and presumably you do since you’ve picked up this book (!), you know that some books affect you so profoundly they forever change the way you think about the world. Some books, on the other hand, disappoint you so much you want to throw them against the wall. Either way, it’s clear that a book can be your new soul mate or the bad relationship you need to end.

In Dear Fahrenheit 451, librarian Annie Spence has crafted love letters and breakup notes to the iconic and eclectic books she has encountered over the years. From breaking up with The Giving Tree (a dysfunctional relationship book if ever there was one), to her love letter to The Time Traveler’s Wife (a novel less about time travel and more about the life of a marriage, with all of its ups and downs), Spence will make you think of old favorites in a new way. Filled with suggested reading lists, Spence’s take on classic and contemporary books is very much like the best of literature―sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, sometimes surprisingly poignant, and filled with universal truths.

Finally! I grabbed this slim volume off the library shelves and read these delightful letters to various books. I really enjoyed Spence’s irreverent take on various books of classic literature as well as random surprise books from the stacks. Some of the letters made me laugh out loud. My least favorite section was the book recommendations at the end, but even those were interesting to see what she paired together. Overall, this is a book for book lovers. A delightful day’s reading.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Looking Glass by Christina Henry

Title: Looking Glass (The Chronicles of Alice Novellas)

Author: Christina Henry

Publisher: Ace 2020

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 301

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Lovely Creature
In the New City lives a girl with a secret: Elizabeth can do magic. But someone knows her secret--someone who has a secret of his own. That secret is a butterfly that lives in a jar, a butterfly that was supposed to be gone forever, a butterfly that used to be called the Jabberwock...

This was such a fun story! We finally get to see what happened to Alice’s birth family after she escaped from the sanatorium. We get to meet her two sisters (one of which she didn’t even know existed) and experience life in the New City. I loved the inclusion of the Jabberwock and the connection between Alice and Elizabeth. I would have loved to read a entire novel with this point of view…

Girl in Amber
Alice and Hatcher are just looking for a place to rest. Alice has been dreaming of a cottage by a lake and a field of wildflowers, but while walking blind in a snowstorm she stumbles into a house that only seems empty and abandoned...

This story was super creepy and I loved it! I have really enjoyed the sections of the series that deal with the villains and this story introduces a terrible new villain for Alice to defeat. It had me itchy all over with its imagery. Very creepy! Love it!

When I First Came to Town
Hatcher wasn't always Hatcher. Once, he was a boy called Nicholas, and Nicholas fancied himself the best fighter in the Old City. No matter who fought him he always won. Then his boss tells him he's going to battle the fearsome Grinder, a man who never leaves his opponents alive...

The low point of the collection. I just didn’t really care about Hatcher’s back story or connections. The only portion that I enjoyed was when Nicholas encounters Cheshire and Rabbit. Otherwise, this story was too long and drawn out.

The Mercy Seat
There is a place hidden in the mountains, where all the people hate and fear magic and Magicians. It is the Village of the Pure, and though Alice and Hatcher would do anything to avoid it, it lies directly in their path...

Strange story, but fitting in this series. There’s a new villain, a deeper exploration of Alice’s magical powers, and one more big obstacle for our main couple. I do wish that we had spent a bit more time with the magician that Alice spent the winter with, but oh well. At least, we get some semblance of a happily ever after for Alice and Hatcher.

The Chronicles of Alice

#1 Alice
#2 Red Queen
Looking Glass (novellas)

Next up on the TBR pile:

Broken by Jenny Lawson

Title: Broken (in the best possible-way)

Author: Jenny Lawson

Publisher: Henry Holt 2021

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 304

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Seasonal TBR; Modern Mrs. Darcy Summer Reading Guide

As Jenny Lawson’s hundreds of thousands of fans know, she suffers from depression. In Broken, Jenny brings readers along on her mental and physical health journey, offering heartbreaking and hilarious anecdotes along the way.

With people experiencing anxiety and depression now more than ever, Jenny humanizes what we all face in an all-too-real way, reassuring us that we’re not alone and making us laugh while doing it. From the business ideas that she wants to pitch to Shark Tank to the reason why Jenny can never go back to the post office, Broken leaves nothing to the imagination in the most satisfying way. And of course, Jenny’s long-suffering husband Victor―the Ricky to Jenny’s Lucille Ball―is present throughout.

I love Jenny Lawson so much. She can make me laugh hysterically one minute and have be sobbing the next minute. True story: J told me that I couldn’t read this book in bed because I was shaking the bed too much with my laughter. Lawson is just as absurd as she has been in the previous books. The funny chapters balance out the very tough chapters dealing with life’s struggles. After reading this one from the library, I have to buy this one for my own shelves. I am still thinking about so many of the life lessons that I was reminded of throughout the chapters. So incredibly good.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Black Mad Wheel by Josh Malereman

Title: Black Mad Wheel

Author: Josh Malerman

Publisher: Ecco 2017

Genre: Horror

Pages: 297

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

A chilling novel about a group of musicians conscripted by the US government to track down the source of a strange and debilitating sound

The Danes—the band known as the “Darlings of Detroit”—are washed up and desperate for inspiration, eager to once again have a number one hit. That is, until an agent from the US Army approaches them. Will they travel to an African desert and track down the source of a mysterious and malevolent sound? Under the guidance of their front man, Philip Tonka, the Danes embark on a harrowing journey through the scorching desert—a trip that takes Tonka into the heart of an ominous and twisted conspiracy.

Meanwhile, in a nondescript Midwestern hospital, a nurse named Ellen tends to a patient recovering from a near-fatal accident. The circumstances that led to his injuries are mysterious—and his body heals at a remarkable rate. Ellen will do the impossible for this enigmatic patient, who reveals more about his accident with each passing day.

This book is so incredibly hard to describe. I would place it in the realm of atmospheric horror, more like an general unease and suspense throughout the entire book than a jump-scare type of horror. I really enjoy atmospheric horror. It actually makes me feel scared! This one definitely scratched my horror itch with a creepy journey of memory recovery. I love that we follow Philip (and later Ellen) as he journeys to Africa to find the source of a mysterious sound and then struggles to understand his own memories in a military hospital. I loved that the book is technically set in the 1950s, but it has a timeless quality that further cements the creepy atmosphere. This book is not for people who want definite answers and clear narration. The readers really have to work to piece together the story and what really happened. And yet, I absolutely enjoyed this strange slim novel.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Stars, Like Dust by Isaac Asimov

Title: The Stars, Like Dust (Galactic Empire #1)

Author: Isaac Asimov

Publisher: 1952

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 243

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual

His name was Biron Farrill and he was a student at the University of Earth. A native of one of the helpless Nebular Kingdoms, he saw his home world conquered and controlled by the planet Tyrann—a ruthless, barbaric Empire that was building a dynasty of cruelty and domination among the stars.

Farrill’s own father had been executed for trying to resist the Tyrann dictatorship and now someone was trying to kill Biron. But why?

His only hope for survival lay in fleeing Earth and joining the rebellion that was rumored to be forming somewhere in the Kingdoms. But once he cast his lot with the freedom fighters, he would find himself guarding against treachery on every side and facing the most difficult choice of all: to betray either the woman he loved or the revolution that was the last hope for the future.

Woof! J warned me that I would not like this one, that I would be very disappointed by the connector novel, and I completely was. This was a convoluted mess of plot and characters with very little interesting discussions or questions. I was very confused about who was who for the first half of the book (and I don’t usually have that problem). Asimov shoved so many new people, new worlds, new factions, and new groups into this very slim book and it didn’t really work. But I made it through and J promises me that this is the low point of the entire Asimov Foundation collection.

Galactic Empire:

#1 The Stars, Like Dust
#2 The Currents of Space
#3 Pebble in the Sky

Next up on the TBR pile: