Tell Me an Ending by Jo Harkin

Title: Tell Me an Ending

Author: Jo Harkin

Publisher: Scribner 2022

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 448

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR

What if you didn't have to live with your worst memories?

Across the world, thousands of people are shocked by a notification that they once chose to have a memory removed. Now they are being given an opportunity to get that memory back. Four individuals are filled with new doubts, grappling with the unexpected question of whether to remember unknown events, or to leave them buried forever.

Finn, an Irish architect living in the Arizona desert, begins to suspect his charming wife of having an affair. Mei, a troubled grad school dropout in Kuala Lumpur, wonders why she remembers a city she has never visited. William, a former police inspector in England, struggles with PTSD, the breakdown of his marriage, and his own secret family history. Oscar, a handsome young man with almost no memories at all, travels the world in a constant state of fear.

Into these characters’ lives comes Noor, a psychologist working at the Nepenthe memory removal clinic in London. The process of reinstating patients’ memories begins to shake the moral foundations of her world. As she delves deeper into how the program works, she will have to risk everything to uncover the cost of this miraculous technology.

And a big old dud for me. I was intrigued by the Black Mirror and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind comparisons. I was looking for a very strange trip through memory and neuroscience (with a dash of the sci-fi thrown in). Unfortunately, we get a book of terrible people speculating about the terrible things they may or may not have done. The pace was excruciating. Nothing happened for chapters and chapters and chapters. And then when things happened, they weren’t that exciting. I was just thoroughly bored and definitely did not like this book.

Next up on the TBR pile:

All These Bodies by Kendare Blake

Title: All These Bodies

Author: Kendare Blake

Publisher: Quill Tree Books 2021

Genre: YA Thriller

Pages: 304

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

Summer 1958. A gruesome killer plagues the Midwest, leaving behind a trail of bodies completely drained of blood. 

Michael Jensen, an aspiring journalist whose father happens to be the town sheriff, never imagined that the Bloodless Murders would come to his backyard. Not until the night the Carlson family was found murdered in their home. Marie Catherine Hale, a diminutive fifteen-year-old, was discovered at the scene—covered in blood. She is the sole suspect in custody.

Michael didn’t think that he would be part of the investigation, but he is pulled in when Marie decides that he is the only one she will confess to. As Marie recounts her version of the story, it falls to Michael to find the truth: What really happened the night that the Carlsons were killed? And how did one girl wind up in the middle of all these bodies?

Oh blergh. I went into this book thinking that it would be a spooky suspenseful young adult novel. Unfortunately, we didn’t really get any of the spook except for a few very brief scenes. Instead, we got a very stilted and strange retelling of a criminal case written by a teenage boy. I was not a fan of the voice of the book. The writing was all over the place and not well constructed. I kept getting pulled out of the story every time Michael referred to something that would happen in the future or some realization that he made at a later date. But most of the story is written in a very present sense. Beyond the writing style, I was not a fan of the story and specifically the constant misogyny. Every other page is felt like some character was saying that there was no way that Marie killed anyone because she was a, wait for it… girl. I just could not. I realize that the book is set in 1958, but it was written last year. I don’t think we need to focus on this aspect so much. And finally, we get to ending and I was completely flabbergasted. It’s a terrible ending. Such a disappointment.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Title: Landline

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press 2014

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 331

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it's been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply-but that almost seems beside the point now.
Maybe that was always beside the point.

Two days before they're supposed to visit Neal's family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can't go. She's a TV writer, and something's come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her-Neal is always a little upset with Georgie-but she doesn't expect to him to pack up the kids and go without her.

When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she's finally done it. If she's ruined everything.

That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It's not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she's been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts. . . .

Is that what she's supposed to do?

Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?

Hmmm… a Christmas love story? I’m not sure that I would agree with this categorization. I could not connect to any character in the story. Georgie was very fustrating as a lead character. She’s supposed to find out that she needs to reconnect with her husband and children and not spend so much time at work. Clearly, this was the lesson right from page one. And yet, we have to spend hundreds of pages slowly moving towards that realization. There’s nothing new about this story. I was thoroughly bored. As an extra annoying piece, I could not understand exactly why Georgie ever fell for Neil in the first place. All we ever see of Neil is a sad sack of a man. We don’t get to see any personality from him. And Georgie’s constant reassurances that Neil is amazing just don’t give us anything. I was completely bored this entire book.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Reprieve by James Han Mattson

Title: Reprieve

Author: James Han Mattson

Publisher: William Morrow 2021

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 412

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

On April 27, 1997, four contestants make it to the final cell of the Quigley House, a full-contact haunted escape room in Lincoln, Nebraska, made famous for its monstrosities, booby-traps, and ghoulishly costumed actors. If the group can endure these horrors without shouting the safe word, “reprieve,” they’ll win a substantial cash prize—a startling feat accomplished only by one other group in the house’s long history. But before they can complete the challenge, a man breaks into the cell and kills one of the contestants.

Those who were present on that fateful night lend their points of view: Kendra Brown, a teenager who’s been uprooted from her childhood home after the sudden loss of her father; Leonard Grandton, a desperate and impressionable hotel manager caught in a series of toxic entanglements; and Jaidee Charoensuk, a gay international student who came to the United States in a besotted search for his former English teacher. As each character’s journey unfurls and overlaps, deceit and misunderstandings fueled by obsession and prejudice are revealed, forcing all to reckon with the ways in which their beliefs and actions contributed to a horrifying catastrophe.

Ooof, this was a major miss for me. I picked it up because people were talking about this great new horror novel. It’s not horror in a traditional sense at all (despite what the summary implies). It is horror in that it delves into the dark recesses of human minds. It’s terrifying, but in a way that I don’t enjoy reading. I very much dislike reading books where everyone is being terrible to each other. There’s not hope in this book. It was thoroughly depressing. Beyond the subject matter and plot, the writing was not great. I was not enjoying spending pages upon pages with these characters establishing backstory (sometimes years before the events in the book) just to spend so little time at the house. It was unbalanced and felt very much like a slog through most of the chapters. Oddly, the backstory chapters are written in a young adult style. I understand that the characters are young adults in those chapters, but you don’t have to write like that in an adult book. Very odd choice that really left me feeling cold about this book.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The House That Fell From the Sky by Patrick R. Delaney

Title: The House that Fell from the Sky

Author: Patrick Delaney

Publisher: 2020

Genre: Horror

Pages: 573

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

When twenty-nine-year-old Scarlett Vantassel comes to the conclusion that her life doesn’t resemble any of the things she actually wanted for herself, she drops out of school and moves back home, attempting to reconnect with the people she left behind. But a shadow falls over her return one early October morning when a sinister house miraculously appears in the center of the city, sparking a media frenzy that attracts attention nationwide.

Soon after the newspapers label it, "The House that Fell from the Sky," Scarlett’s childhood friend Hannah becomes obsessed with the idea that the house holds the key to discovering whether there really is life after death. Undeterred by her friends' numerous warnings, Hannah becomes increasingly consumed with the desire to enter the house, convinced it would allow her to reconnect with her recently deceased mother.

Despite a series of escalating events suggesting that the house may be more dangerous than anyone ever thought possible, a privately owned company seizes control of the property and hosts a lottery to lure the city’s residents, promising the winners a large cash reward if they dare to enter the house. To Scarlett’s horror, Hannah uses her vast wealth to secure a spot among the winners to gain access to the house.

Now, it’s up to Scarlett, her older brother Tommy, and her friend Jackson to face their fears and journey into a place where nothing is ever quite as it seems, and decide if they can help a friend in need, or if Hannah truly is lost.

Read that premise again. Sounds absolutely amazing, right? This sounded like a book that I would love. But alas, it was a big disappointment. My biggest problem with the book is the characters. Supposedly Scarlett is 29 years old. Nope… I don’t buy it. She and her friends like more like 16 year olds. The disconnect really annoyed me greatly. I could not connect to the characters at all. Often their motivations were very muddled and confusing. Hannah especially really annoyed and confused me. Beyond the characters, the story ends up being pretty boring. I was excited for a creepy house to explore, but it took forever to actually get to the house. And once we got inside, it was a confusing mess. So many times, I was thoroughly confused by what was actually happening at any given moment. It felt like the story was missing whole sections to actually immerse yourself into the atmosphere. Overall, a very big disappointment for me.

Next up on the TBR pile:

We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker

Title: We Begin at the End

Author: Chris Whitaker

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. 2021

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 368

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

Duchess Day Radley is a thirteen-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw. Rules are for other people. She is the fierce protector of her five-year-old brother, Robin, and the parent to her mother, Star, a single mom incapable of taking care of herself, let alone her two kids.

Walk has never left the coastal California town where he and Star grew up. He may have become the chief of police, but he’s still trying to heal the old wound of having given the testimony that sent his best friend, Vincent King, to prison decades before. And he's in overdrive protecting Duchess and her brother.

Now, thirty years later, Vincent is being released. And Duchess and Walk must face the trouble that comes with his return.

I just really disliked this book. We (mostly everyone else) picked this one as a book club book. Almost immediately, I knew that this would not be the book for me. I really dislike books that focus on tragic lives. Those books where everything is just so bleak. I really struggle to get into those types of books. I often find that there are no likable characters or at least none that I can really root for. Everyone is just so desperate. That is this book. The random seeming twists to the plot did not do me any favors in connecting to the story and characters. And I thoroughly disliked Duchess. She did not talk or act like a 13 year old. At times, she was very much like a child of 8 and at other times she was too adult. She very much annoyed me. And if I have to hear someone refer to themselves as an “outlaw” more time, I might scream.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Roar by Cecelia Ahern

Title: Roar

Author: Cecelia Ahern

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing 2019

Genre: Short Story Collection

Pages: 289

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

In this singular and imaginative story collection, Cecelia Ahern explores the endless ways in which women blaze through adversity with wit, resourcefulness, and compassion. Ahern takes the familiar aspects of women's lives—the routines, the embarrassments, the desires—and elevates these moments to the outlandish and hilarious with her astute blend of magical realism and social insight.

One woman is tortured by sinister bite marks that appear on her skin; another is swallowed up by the floor during a mortifying presentation; yet another resolves to return and exchange her boring husband at the store where she originally acquired him. The women at the center of this curious universe learn that their reality is shaped not only by how others perceive them, but also how they perceive the power within themselves.

By turns sly, whimsical, and affecting, these thirty short stories are a dynamic examination of what it means to be a woman in this very moment. Like women themselves, each story can stand alone; yet together, they have a combined power to shift consciousness, inspire others, and create a multi-voiced Roar that will not be ignored.

My goodness, what a disappointment. This was chosen for a big buddy read that I was participating in. I was hoping for interesting stories that illuminated the various perspectives and experiences of women. Instead, we get very cliched and simplistic magical realism stories that fail to give any insight. I felt like I was reading a Women’s Studies 101 text. If I had read this at 15 before my study of gender studies or experiencing adult life, I think I would have really enjoyed it. As it is, I have a degree in women’s studies and am a woman approaching middle age. This stories were just the tiny tiny tip of the iceberg of various issues. For that, I could have forgiven the book and given it 3 stars (not for me, but not a terrible book). My biggest issue was that every story I read ended with the woman somehow picking herself up and “solving” the problem. For instance, in the story “The Woman Who Found Bite Marks on Her Skin” the woman in question realizes that her guilt of not being able to be all things to everyone in her life and family is manifesting as bite marks. Okay. We are approaching a very real issue of being “President of Everything” and the work/life balance. I myself have often felt that I am letting down someone in my life and/or that I am putting myself in too small of a box identity wise. This is a very complicated problem facing many people, especially women, today. The solution in the story: the woman “lets go of the guilt” and all the bite marks disappear. If only it was that fucking easy. Every “solution” that I read involving the woman in the story fixing everything herself. Not one story that I read addressed the effects of the patriarchy or the various obstacles in our ways. We got no discussions about race and class creating hurdles or complications. Apparently, if we just think we can have a better life, it will come. I call bullshit. And for that I give this one 2 stars.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Shoulder Season by Christina Clancy

Title: Shoulder Season

Author: Christina Clancy

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press 2021

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 336

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

The small town of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin is an unlikely location for a Playboy Resort, and nineteen-year old Sherri Taylor is an unlikely bunny. Growing up in neighboring East Troy, Sherri plays the organ at the local church and has never felt comfortable in her own skin. But when her parents die in quick succession, she leaves the only home she’s ever known for the chance to be part of a glamorous slice of history. In the winter of 1981, in a costume two sizes too small, her toes pinched by stilettos, Sherri joins the daughters of dairy farmers and factory workers for the defining experience of her life.

Living in the “bunny hutch”—Playboy’s version of a college dorm—Sherri gets her education in the joys of sisterhood, the thrill of financial independence, the magic of first love, and the heady effects of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. But as spring gives way to summer, Sherri finds herself caught in a romantic triangle—and the tragedy that ensues will haunt her for the next forty years.

From the Midwestern prairie to the California desert, from Wisconsin lakes to the Pacific Ocean, this is a story of what happens when small town life is sprinkled with stardust, and what we lose—and gain—when we leave home. With a heroine to root for and a narrative to get lost in, Christina Clancy's Shoulder Season is a sexy, evocative tale, drenched in longing and desire, that captures a fleeting moment in American history with nostalgia and heart.

Ugh! We picked this as a fun summer read for book club, but it definitely was not that. The cover is extremely deceiving and the even the summary makes this book sound like it’s going to be a story of a woman growing and finding herself. But! I just didn’t see the growth. For starters, Sherri is not a great person. She’s not in a great place when the story begins, and I totally understand that. However, I was expecting Sherri to grow throughout the novel. She got worse. She became a not great person. Most of the book highlighted just how awful humans can be toward each other. I was alternately angry with the characters and bored with the storyline. I just didn’t care at all about what happened.

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 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:

The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Title: The Beautiful Ones

Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books 2017

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 323

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Currently Reading - Called to Me at the Library

They are the Beautiful Ones, Loisail’s most notable socialites, and this spring is Nina’s chance to join their ranks, courtesy of her well-connected cousin and his calculating wife. But the Grand Season has just begun, and already Nina’s debut has gone disastrously awry. She has always struggled to control her telekinesis―neighbors call her the Witch of Oldhouse―and the haphazard manifestations of her powers make her the subject of malicious gossip.

When entertainer Hector Auvray arrives to town, Nina is dazzled. A telekinetic like her, he has traveled the world performing his talents for admiring audiences. He sees Nina not as a witch, but ripe with potential to master her power under his tutelage. With Hector’s help, Nina’s talent blossoms, as does her love for him.

But great romances are for fairytales, and Hector is hiding a truth from Nina ― and himself―that threatens to end their courtship before it truly begins.

Oh what a disappointment! After absolutely loving Mexican Gothic and Gods of Jade and Shadow, I thought I would at least enjoy this previous work from Moreno-Garcia. Unfortunately, this is a slow-moving pseudo-fantasy novel filled with insufferable characters. Basically nothing happens for the at least the first half of the book. The characters go round and round rehashing the same arguments and sentiments. They move to a different house, but it’s still the same. I enjoyed Nina, but at a certain point, I really wanted her to run away from all the other characters and pursue her science interests. Maybe find a kind and loving male scientist to marry. But no, she stays with Hector even after Hector’s true feelings for Valérie come out into the open. I just found everyone to be very dislikable. And let me mention that the fantasy element (the telekinesis) is such a minor thing. Why is it even in the book? I have no idea. The one redeeming quality of the book is Moreno-Garcia’s writing style. Her prose just glides over the page. Thank goodness she kept at it and wrote much more intriguing books later.

Next up on the TBR pile:

All the Tides of Fate by Adalyn Grace

Title: All the Tides of Fate (All the Stars and Teeth #1)

Author: Adalyn Grace

Publisher: Imprint 2021

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 358

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Through blood and sacrifice, Amora Montara has conquered a rebellion and taken her rightful place as queen of Visidia. Now, with the islands in turmoil and the people questioning her authority, Amora cannot allow anyone to see her weaknesses.

No one can know about the curse in her bloodline. No one can know that she’s lost her magic. No one can know the truth about the boy who holds the missing half of her soul.

To save herself and Visidia, Amora embarks on a desperate quest for a mythical artifact that could fix everything―but it comes at a terrible cost. As she tries to balance her loyalty to her people, her crew, and the desires of her heart, Amora will soon discover that the power to rule might destroy her.

I enjoyed the first one this this duology. I loved a lot of the side characters and was intrigued by the world building. But then I read this one and everything felt so different and backwards. Amora completely regressed in her growth becoming a severely whiny teenagers instead of the woman facing responsibility we saw at the end of the first book. And the plot is just boring. I was so bored by the bachelor tour masquerading as a way for Amora to finally get her country back on track. It was silly and added nothing except for a chance for Amora to be very irresponsible and immature. My favorite parts of the first book, the side characters, were all but nonexistent in this one. So incredibly sad that this just didn’t work at all.

All the Stars and Teeth

• #1 All the Stars and Teeth

• #2 All the Tides of Fate

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

Title: The Lost Apothecary

Author: Sarah Penner

Publisher: Park Row 2021

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 298

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project; Seasonal TBR

Hidden in the depths of eighteenth-century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientele. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary’s fate is jeopardized when her newest patron, a precocious twelve-year-old, makes a fatal mistake, sparking a string of consequences that echo through the centuries.

Meanwhile in present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, running from her own demons. When she stumbles upon a clue to the unsolved apothecary murders that haunted London two hundred years ago, her life collides with the apothecary’s in a stunning twist of fate—and not everyone will survive.

Spoilers in my review (I can’t not rant about the spoilers)

My immediate review after finishing this book was boring. But then I started to think about it more and I moved to “I disliked that book immensely.” It employs a lot of the strategies and techniques that I hate about historical fiction and women’s fiction and does them very poorly. More specifically, here are my problems with the book:

• I thought it was magical realism or a murder mystery or at least suspense, but nope just straight historical fiction.

• Dual timelime - I almost never enjoy these as one of the stories is much more interesting than the other. In this case, they are both boring.

• Modern woman is supposed to be the reader’s anchor, but I instantly disliked her. I didn’t find her relatable at all, but instead a sad sack woman who falls back into bad communication.

• Gaslighting men - Seriously, I know how terrible men can be. Kind of sick of reading books where they are so villainous. So many in a row!

• No distinction between “voices” - We are given three first person narrators who all sound the same. If you picked a randomly passage, I would be hard pressed to guess which of the three women it was without some historical marker clue.

• All women are obsessed with having/not having children - Big theme I’m noticing in books lately and I’m so over it. Even Eliza at 12 is obsessed with the state of womb, she just doesn’t quite know it yet.

• So many not plausible twists and coincidences. Seriously James ingested the poison to attempt get Caroline back? And her notebook with notes about poisons falls out of her bag and opens to that page so that the police immediately see it when they come in. No fucking way. Too much.

• Why does every modern woman in these kind of books have to be running away from something? In this case a cheating husband (who conveniently follows her and shows just how terrible he can be). Why can’t a woman just stumble upon a mystery and have a group of friends or dare I say a good partner that they share it with.

• Caroline’s stupidity throughout annoyed me so much. Why are we keeping things from Gaynor? Other than you breaking and entering the apothecary shop, nothing is scandalous or illegal. So why the secrecy?

• Warming tincture saved Eliza’s life in the river? WTF?

• (The characters were so forgettable that I almost wrote the main modern character’s name as Claire multiple times.)

So incredibly disappointed in this read. I guess it will be a good one to rip to shreds during book club.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown

Title: Recipe for a Perfect Wife

Author: Karma Brown

Publisher: Dutton 2019

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 336

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

When Alice Hale leaves a career in publicity to become a writer and follows her husband to the New York suburbs, she is unaccustomed to filling her days alone in a big, empty house. But when she finds a vintage cookbook buried in a box in the old home's basement, she becomes captivated by the cookbook’s previous owner—1950s housewife Nellie Murdoch. As Alice cooks her way through the past, she realizes that within the cookbook’s pages Nellie left clues about her life—including a mysterious series of unsent letters penned to her mother.

Soon Alice learns that while baked Alaska and meatloaf five ways may seem harmless, Nellie's secrets may have been anything but. When Alice uncovers a more sinister—even dangerous—side to Nellie’s marriage, and has become increasingly dissatisfied with the mounting pressures in her own relationship, she begins to take control of her life and protect herself with a few secrets of her own.

I finished this novel and absolutely groaned in disgust. I couldn’t believe that I wasted all that time reading the book. But let’s back up. I was concerned in just the first two chapters. I was making predictions as to where the story would go. I was right about Nellie’s story. But I actually liked reading Nellie’s story. I thought it was an interesting look at an abusive relationship in the 1950s. We get to see how she attempts to navigate her world. And I fairly satisfied about the ending of her story. Unfortunately, I absolutely detested Alice’s story. I kept thinking that we were supposed to find parallels between Nellie and Alice and their relationships. However, the two women went about life very differently. While Nellie found herself in an impossible situation, Alice’s bad behavior just escalated over the course of the novel. I really liked Nate and kept rooting for him to see how terrible Alice was and leave her. She was a terrible partner to him but kept stringing him along. By the end, I was completely confused as to the message of the book. Should we show sympathy to Alice as a women “stuck” in a bad marriage (she wasn’t and I didn’t)? Should we see a turning of the tables in terms of gender roles and who was initiated the abuse? If so, that’s a terrible thing to aspire to and obviously this book is a warning. Either way, it wasn’t clear what the author was actually getting at and I ended up really disliking the book.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger

Title: Confessions on the 7:45

Author: Lisa Unger

Publisher: Park Row 2020

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 315

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Currently Reading - Everyone Loves on Bookstagram

Selena Murphy is commuting home on the train when she strikes up a conversation with a beautiful stranger in the next seat. The woman introduces herself as Martha and soon confesses that she’s been stuck in an affair with her boss. Selena, in turn, confesses that she suspects her husband is sleeping with the nanny. When the train arrives at Selena’s station, the two women part ways, presumably never to meet again.

Then the nanny disappears.

As Selena is pulled into the mystery of what happened, and as the fractures in her marriage grow deeper, she begins to wonder, who was Martha really? But she is hardly prepared for what she’ll discover…

This has really cemented the idea that I do not like thrillers. I’m just always so incredibly disappointed and the twists and turns seem so predictable. This particular book had too many coincidences for my taste. I just couldn’t get behind all the silly things characters, especially Selena, did throughout the story. I got to the end of the book and felt like I had wasted my time.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Widow by Fiona Barton

Title: The Widow (Kate Waters #1)

Author: Fiona Barton

Publisher: Berkley 2016

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 331

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Currently Reading - Read with Buddy

There’s a lot Jean hasn’t said over the years about the crime her husband was suspected of committing. She was too busy being the perfect wife, standing by her man while living with the accusing glares and the anonymous harassment.

Now her husband is dead, and there’s no reason to stay quiet. There are people who want to hear her story. They want to know what it was like living with that man. She can tell them that there were secrets. There always are in a marriage.

The truth—that’s all anyone wants. But the one lesson Jean has learned in the last few years is that she can make people believe anything...

Boring. That’s my one work review for this book. It was billed as a thriller, but there’s nothing thrilling about it. We are told in the first few chapters what happened and then are strung along for the rest of the book until everything is revealed. I don’t love books that have multiple unrealistic twists, but this one felt so very boring without any surprise or twist. To be fair, there is a surprise revelation towards the end of the book, but I guessed it in the first chapters. Not a real surprise. And the characters were all limp dishrags. I didn’t really care about any of them. Plus, we say practically no character growth throughout. Boring boring boring.

Kate Waters

• #1 The Widow

• #2 The Child

• #3 The Suspect

Next up on the TBR pile:

Exhalation by Ted Chiang

Title: Exhalation

Author: Ted Chiang

Publisher: Vintage 2019

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 368

Rating: 2/5 stars - Disliked it

Reading Challenges: Winter TBR

Nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories. Two being published for the very first time. All from the mind of the incomparable Ted Chiang.

Tackling some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only he could imagine, these stories will change the way you think, feel, and see the world. They are Ted Chiang at his best: profound, sympathetic—revelatory.

With my newly recalibrated star ratings, I decided to give this short story collection 2 stars. That sounds terrible, but I do think that some others might give it more stars. I was in a conundrum when it came to rating. Most of these stories felt very bland and frankly reductive. I think my biggest problem with this collection is that they all seem like bad copies of classic scifi stories from Asimov, Heinlein, Bradbury, et al. I didn’t find anything new in this collection and I didn’t have a lot of enjoyment from the stories that I did read. Overall, this just wasn’t to my liking at all.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

Title: The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires

Author: Grady Hendrix

Publisher: Quirk Books 2020

Genre: Horror

Pages: 408

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Monthly Theme - December

Patricia Campbell’s life has never felt smaller. Her husband is a workaholic, her teenage kids have their own lives, her senile mother-in-law needs constant care, and she’s always a step behind on her endless to-do list. The only thing keeping her sane is her book club, a close-knit group of Charleston women united by their love of true crime. At these meetings they’re as likely to talk about the Manson family as they are about their own families.

One evening after book club, Patricia is viciously attacked by an elderly neighbor, bringing the neighbor's handsome nephew, James Harris, into her life. James is well traveled and well read, and he makes Patricia feel things she hasn’t felt in years. But when children on the other side of town go missing, their deaths written off by local police, Patricia has reason to believe James Harris is more of a Bundy than a Brad Pitt. The real problem? James is a monster of a different kind—and Patricia has already invited him in.

Little by little, James will insinuate himself into Patricia’s life and try to take everything she took for granted—including the book club—but she won’t surrender without a fight in this blood-soaked tale of neighborly kindness gone wrong.

It seems that I am in the minority when it comes to this book. The one good thing that I can see about the book is that Hendrix is amazing at writing tension. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. The book never gets easier and doesn’t slow down. But, the writing cannot save a book filled with terrible characters, white savior complex, misogyny, sexual assault, and overall muddled messages. I hated that none of the men are punished or made to see the error of their ways. I couldn’t stand the fact that all the black characters are victims or ignore nameless faces except for Mrs. Greene, who no one listens to. I just couldn’t get behind any part of this book.

Next up on the TBR pile:

North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud

Title: North American Lake Monsters

Author: Nathan Ballingrud

Publisher: Small Beer Press 2013

Genre: Short Stories Horror

Pages: 300

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

Nathan Ballingrud's Shirley Jackson Award winning debut collection is a shattering and luminous experience not to be missed by those who love to explore the darker parts of the human psyche. Monsters, real and imagined, external and internal, are the subject. They are us and we are them and Ballingrud's intense focus makes these stories incredibly intense and irresistible.

These are love stories. And also monster stories. Sometimes these are monsters in their traditional guises, sometimes they wear the faces of parents, lovers, or ourselves. The often working-class people in these stories are driven to extremes by love. Sometimes, they are ruined; sometimes redeemed. All are faced with the loneliest corners of themselves and strive to find an escape.

This was a bit more psychological than I was hoping for. I wanted some super scary horror stories; not necessarily people-behaving-badly stories. Once I got over my initial setback, I tried to settle in and really read these stories. Unfortunately I couldn’t connect with any of them and most were very problematic. I don’t want to read about racists and sexists. I wanted to see people encountering horrific things. Most of the time, those horrific things were themselves. I’d be hard-pressed to find a single character that I liked. Add on the fact that most of these stories end seemingly mid-thought and I did not enjoy this collection at all. Oh well. One to the next book.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Her Christmas Bonus by Rain Danvers

Title: Her Christmas Bonus

Author: Rain Danvers

Publisher:

Genre: Romance

Pages: 29

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

Sage has been working at a high-tech firm in Newport Beach, CA for over two years as the only female director among three men. She is highly valued by her boss and she loves her job, but there's a problem - she's totally attracted to him and the stress is killing her. She's taking three days off for the Christmas holiday and has posted her availability online, hoping to find a job when she returns. Before she can leave, she has to find her cell phone and she doesn't know where she left it.

Terrance is the founder and owner of Templeton Designs and considers Sage so valuable to the company, he can't afford to acknowledge the feelings he has for her. He's stuck at the company this year when normally he would be enjoying the holiday in a warm, tropical location. It may be the year he finds a way to acknowledge the woman who holds his heart captive.

A teeny tiny short story that had some promise, but ultimately fell flat. I liked the run-up to Sage and Terrance’s encounter at her apartment. From there, we get too much, too fast, but not enough (if you know what I mean). And the ending is laughable. Not very good at all. At least it only took me like 15 minutes to read this.

Next up on the TBR pile: