Rain
I loved Paul Sheldon and Annie Wilkes!! They are some of the most interesting characters I've ever read. The majority of the novel takes place with just these two in a single room, with not that much actually happening, but it's riveting.
I'm not sure if this is true, but I've heard Paul Sheldon is supposed to be Steven King, and that made his internal monologue SO interesting.
I'm not a huge fan of horror, only because I'm a scaredy-cat, and this was much more of a thriller than a horror, so that was great! Absolutely recommend!
This was so good!!
I'm not even that nerdy and I still loved all the obscure references. So fun! Go read this book!
4.5 ⭐️
For a YA book, this is pretty special. I loved how real the friendships felt. I remember when I was that age, how intense and important everything seemed. This was very reminiscent of my high school years.
This story is told in two parts, “before” and “after”. The “before” is really fun and nostalgic, and the “after” is beautifully done.
If you like young adult, highly recommend.
(And if you don't, I still kinda recommend.)
This was so good!
Before starting, I honestly didn't even know who Andre Agassi was, and I've never cared about tennis. But this book hooked me. Everyday at lunch, I would ditch my coworkers and go sit in my car so I could listen to this audiobook. So that's saying something! Ha ha
I got the rec'd from a FB group that said this was one of the best memoirs out there. So I took a chance and I'm glad I did. I think I'm definitely going to read the ghost writer's memoir too based on the writing of this one.
The only reason I gave it a 4 instead of 5 is I stopped caring towards the end. When he was unhappy and struggling I loved it, but as his life got better I got bored. That probably says more about me than the book...
Overall, it was great!
Book Club Pick #5
This was SO fun! It's got a ton of little twists/surprises, and so many cliff hangers at the ends of chapters, so you have to keep reading!
And it's set in Edina, MN, which is so close to where I grew up, so I knew almost all the places/references.
There were a few things about the ending I didn't love, but overall, I just thought it was a good time
Loved the first half. And Oh My God the tension!!! But I was so disappointed with the second half. Bummer
4.5 ⭐️
So good!! I didn't see any of the reveals/twists coming. I was thoroughly entertained. Love Blake Crouch!
I love TJR! I will read everything she writes.
When I first heard about this book, I wasn't excited. I didn't care about Carrie Soto in Malibu Rising and I've definitely never cared about tennis.
But apparently that doesn't matter. Cause this was great.
I love how TJR writes unlikeable characters. I always root for all of them! And Carrie Soto is no exception. She's awful and I love her! Ha ha
I cared about all the tennis stuff, and the relationship between Carrie and her “rival”, and the love story, and the father/daughter relationship. I loved it all. It made me happy.
A pretty decent mystery. Starts off a little slow. But it got better as the flashbacks started getting a bit more sinister. And I didn't see the twist coming at all. Not sure I loved it. But I was intrigued.
A friend recommended this as a good glimpse into what addiction is like. It was depressing and raw and vulnerable, and I can appreciate that. It was also very disorganized and repetitive. So if you're interested in addiction or Mathew Perry, it's worth reading. But it's not an amazing story on its own.
3.5 ⭐️
Book Club Pick #4
This isn't my preferred genre (YA romance), but for what it was, it was actually pretty enjoyable. I love a groundhogs day trope!
I loved this. (I'm realizing I just love memoirs, period.) But I really appreciate the humor throughout that helps you get through the tough moments. I've watched a lot of interviews that Jennettes done and I really respect her. She's done a LOT of work to get to where she is and heal. She's fascinating to listen to.
(Her Drew Barrymore interview is great. And the one with Whitney Cummings is basically free therapy for the listener!)
Book Club Pick #14
Definitely a fun time!!
This book was not perfect by any means, but it's very entertaining. The characters are the best part, by far. And the slow burn romances are fun.
One issue with the book, is that there's a lot of convenient saves. That didn't bother me too much, but they're definitely there.
I also didn't realize before picking up the book that it's YA. The only thing that really bothered me there were the ages of the main characters. I just don't think 17 year old are doing all this.
Book Club Pick #11
Was it perfect? No. But did it make me bawl my eyes out on an airplane? Yes.
I REALLY loved the beginning of this story, but the end didn't get me like I think it does for everyone else.
Book Club Pick #17 - reread
4.5 ⭐️
These stories were SO weird and interesting! After I read each one I immediately wanted to make someone else read it so we could discuss it and they could explain it to me, ha ha.
I'm not going to give this a rating, because I don't know if I was just in the wrong mood for this one. Everyone seems to love and rave about this one, but I just didn't care. It was written well, sure. But I didn't care about any of the characters. And it was a struggle to even keep coming back to this story.
I don't know. The story is probably great and we'll say it's a me issue.