Mattia Goddard
What did I just read? Seriously what. Now this is a book that messes with your head- in all the right ways. If you're looking for a great thriller with a well executed, complex plot and fleshed out characters, this is a solid choice. It will have you questioning everything you thought you knew about three fourths of the way in. Enjoy!
This one is dark. Continuing my AAPI new to me authors, I came across this international best seller. It's written in unadorned prose. Stark descriptions, no flowery language here. I loved the multiple POVs but I did tire of the same retelling of the crime by each narrator. I think it was 5 times. While I appreciated understanding their motivations, I found it a tad repetitive. I've decided I love Japanese mysteries- this is my second. This is another brutal no-holds-barred don't bring your sensitivity to this middle school type of read. If you don't like bad kids doing awful things dispassionately- this one is not for you.
This book is brutal and I could not put it down. Talk about nailing the internal narrative of a high school student. Set right before cell phones became ubiquitous. They still used the hallway payphone. Ah, simpler times! I loved getting to know these characters all through Lee's eyes- and the writer took her time with it. This book is often described as the female Catcher in the Rye. This is so much better. And the criticism I so often saw about this book is that nothing happens. Well- 4 years of boarding school is what happened. Yes, Lee was often ridiculous in her fears and made bizarre assumptions, but everyone can relate to what the reader knows is her social anxiety. We can all relate to that high school crush that literally consumed your every waking moment. Her thoughts on her teachers and parents were so painfully accurate. This book has some cringey moments but man did I love it.
I am astonished at how good this book was. The only thing that would make it better is if I read it over the summer on the beach. So mark this one as a perfect beach read. Great character development, very interesting storyline, unexpected wrapup. The last chapter was a little bit heartbreaking, which was entirely unexpected. Also- a super fast read. Highly recommend.
Another winner! I loved these sisters, aunts & cousins and the tales of their interesting lives. Asian culture, specifically Vietnamese culture, is shown and explained both beautifully and hysterically in this story. All of it relatable to anyone who understands family drama. Fun and ultimately moving read. Highly recommend.
I picked this one up for the politics. That part was fun and these two characters had great repartee. I don't know much about same sex couples but as an LGBTQ+ ally I found this romcom well done. It's not my usual genre- I always want murder in my books -but overall this one was enjoyable with a solid plot underpinning the love story.
Vera Wong is adorable and I wish she was my auntie. This book is clever, with such an original plot, interesting characters-all hailing from different countries in Asia. I adore reading about the customs in Asian cultures and families. The idea of disrespecting your elders is anathema and I love that. Lastly, this book made me so hungry- she cooks up a storm and every dish sounds incredible. If you're looking for a light mystery with plenty of funny bits- then I highly recommend this one.
Our book club came to Athens and read The Resemblance, set on the UGA campus. Alas, this book did not satisfy. We needed more show, less tell- specifically in the area of exposition. The lack of dialogue in the first 10 pages gave this book a tough start. Add in an almost visceral hatred for Greek Life and you've got an uncomfortable read. The best part about this book is all the Athens references. We went to “the scene of the crime”- the intersection of Baxter and Lumpkin at Bolton Dining Hall. Then we hit a bar or two mentioned in the book and drove down Greek Row. That part was spot on. Otherwise, for all us UGA moms and alums, this one just hurt.
This one took me a bit. Frankly, it didn't hold my interest like I expect domestic thrillers to do. I found the main character to be annoying- a nervous nelly- with an eye rolling internal monologue. I wanted to know what was going on and I'm glad I finished it. Not sure I'll remember it in a year though.
Kingsolver so adeptly writes in the voice of a young man, taking us on his truly epic journey. His life is hard, dark and disturbing at just about every turn. But we the readers see his good heart, his never ending search for love and belonging and ultimately, his cathartic redemption. Our book club thoroughly enjoyed this read- a new and timely take on David Copperfield. I highly recommend this read if you enjoy getting to know all the characters that make up a protagonist's life and you want to take the time to settle in and follow Demon's arc. Kingsolver's writing is magical. She is a gifted wordsmith and, in my opinion, one of our greatest living novelists.
I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed this cast of characters. I was initially intrigued by the controversy of Bulgari paying the writer for the most obvious product placement in literary history. Come to find out, it's actually a fun story. Biting, witty and written with knives out- just about every sentence. Under 200 pages, short and fast.
This book is not quite a domestic thriller but also not just a novel. It's something in between. I enjoyed how this story unfolded. We know what happens to wife number 3 at the beginning of the story. What unravels is the Why. The main character- in this one it's a man named Adrian- is fairly oblivious which the women in his life put up with. That bit is hard to grasp but I like how the writer slowly shows all the problems that he previously did not see. Good read, different and quite interesting. I recommend this one.
This book was ok. I did not love it. Especially the ending. I really did not like how it ended. The protagonist had lots of internal turmoil about the stepdaughter's treatment of her and that got tedious. The story is interesting and I I wanted to know what was going to happen but I'm not sure why this book is still on the bestseller list. It's just ok.
Merged review:
This book was ok. I did not love it. Especially the ending. I really did not like how it ended. The protagonist had lots of internal turmoil about the stepdaughter's treatment of her and that got tedious. The story is interesting and I I wanted to know what was going to happen but I'm not sure why this book is still on the bestseller list. It's just ok.
This book is an absolute gem- heartbreaking one minute, darkly funny the next. How this author managed such well formed characters in 200 pages is a mystery to me. I loved Ash, the main character, a flawed woman struggling with the impending loss of her oldest and dearest friend. Their lives are intertwined in all the best ways. I loved everything about this story -except- and this is just me being picky- there were 3 characters whose names were, get this, Jules, Jonah and Jude. Insert head exploding emoji here. It took me way too long and some flipping back and forth to figure out who was the brother/husband/daughter. But this quibble aside -a five star read. If you love a story about friendship, this one hits every note beautifully.
My husband asked me what this book was about and I burst into tears. I cannot believe it took me this long to read this book. It took me a day- one because it's short and two because it is enthralling. He's a brilliant writer with a devastating and insightful store of life experience and intellect. This book is a blood letting. His fear for his young son, to whom he writes this, is palpable. His wisdom and rage both feel like living things. What a triumph.
This book was our February Book Club read. I didn't get to finish it until March, and after my dad died. That made this book hit quite a bit differently from when I started reading it, to when I finished it. I adored Maddie, as did the women in my book club. Although I missed the gathering, my dear friend Kelly gave me the group's thoughts on the story. We loved her journey and all that she encountered, her devastating lows and her well earned triumphs. Great debut novel. Highly recommend.
This is a 3.5 really, because I thought the main character was mostly fantastic- my only issue was that his internal narrative needed an editor's red pen. Those passages were too wordy- I even found myself skimming a few which is very unlike me. I loved his humor and his love of The Devil Wears Prada but again- an edit was needed. I adored his love interest but any of you not comfortable with LGBTQ relationships -this one is not for you. This was my first LGBTQ rom-com book and I enjoyed it.
Before I joined the 52 Book Challenge I had never heard of Octavia Butler and I certainly did not pick up dystopian fiction intentionally. And this is why I joined the challenge because Wow what a ride! This book is outstanding and terrifying. Butler wrote it in 1995 and it takes place in California in 2025- in a falling society. Government is ineffective, water shortages are the norm, corporations have pushed the country to dangerous levels of greed and corruption. Failed biotech has created a dangerous and highly addictive drug. I could go on and on. The narration by 15 year old heroine Lauren is unemotional, stripped of any joy and very little optimism. It's a world of survival and of building a community out of ruin. Fantastic read. Highly recommend.
This book of essays is a at times painful, other times funny, always real. Some of her stories are devastating. She is brilliant and quick and full of piss and vinegar. I had a great time reading this, except when it made me terribly sad, which was often. Ms. Cottom is a deep thinker and on top of her game. I will be keeping my eye out for all that she writes in the future. If you want to see another side of racism explained and explored, pick this book up. I don't know how I found it but I'm so glad I did.
I found this book because I'm participating in the 52 Book Challenge. I was looking for a book to satisfy the prompt: Takes Place During the Roaring Twenties. This one afforded me the added opportunity to discover a new to me author of color. This book was riveting. Written in the late 1920s, published in 1929- It feels positively timeless. I have never read a book about women passing- fair skinned “colored” women as they're called here- passing as white in society.
It was short but thoroughly fleshed out. Toward the end I was physically stressed out, reading quickly to figure out who was going to end up happy and who was going to end up exposed. This was a great, original story. Loved it. And loved discovering Nella Larsen- a trailblazer of the Harlem Renaissance.
Go ahead and add this one to your reading stack post haste. This book was every bit as good as everybody says- plus the added layers of what I found to be a fascinating Irish setting. It's a book within a book in that a serial killer-who is our narrator-sees a newly released book about his killings-as told by the only survivor of one of his last crimes. We then get chapters and pieces of the book she wrote interspersed with his present day life. Not only is it an ingenious plot structure, it's also surprisingly gripping. I absolutely couldn't put this book down once I got about midway. I spent the rest of the afternoon reading nonstop until I knew how it would end. Highly recommend.
With an isolated converted sanatorium locale and a blizzard cutting off access to the cast of characters, I expected this book to be my exact cup of tea. Alas, I found it laborious in places. I did love the creepy converted sanatorium. That was cool - as was the rugged punishing mountainside with non stop snow. Our damaged heroine, however, got annoying. Quickly. Her trauma backstory was hard to believe. And that made her hard to care about. Then on top of all that, the plot of this one was interesting up until the ending. So that's it. My last snow covered mountain thriller for this winter.
If you've been cheated on and fantasized about vengeance then this book is for you. This one borders on the absurd. There's a Category 4 Hurricane and the mistress comes to the husband's house when beckoned to ride out the storm together ... so you see there- the premise is wildly unrealistic. I don't remember who recommended this one to me and it's not really my cup of tea. I don't believe in blaming the other woman in these types of scenarios. But I will add the caveat that the author wrote this after finding out her husband had cheated. So I'm sure writing this was part of her “venting her spleen” as it were. I read it, I finished it and I thought- this is the plot to a Lifetime Movie.
This book was so much fun. And it was obviously a compulsive read because I started it yesterday and here we are. This is why I read domestic thrillers. Give me a great set up of lies and drama and let's watch it all unravel. Also though I want it all to make sense at the end- which this one does in all the right ways- Highly recommend!