A (Not So) Lonely Planet: Italy is the crazy, sexy, fun-filled Eurotrip-esque romp that most women dream of but will probably never experience. Because let's be real, ladies -- most of us don't have the balls (or figa) to let ourselves actually have THIS. MUCH. FUN. You guys, this book had me laughing my ass off. Quite honestly, A (Not So) Lonely Planet: Italy by Karina Kennedy is proably my favorite read of the past year. It's that fantastic....
You're getting two books in one with The Plot, a story about a novelist who steals an idea from a student, becomes a bestselling author, and then is stalked by someone who wants to reveal "the truth" that the idea for his bestselling novel wasn't his. The majority of the The Plot follows fictional author Jacob Finch Bonner, the "idea stealer," but we also see a fair bit of the story Bonner writes based on the "stolen idea." Yeah, you noticing...
J. Courtney Sullivan is one of my “auto-buy” authors (okay, “auto-borrow,” since I use the library), so the minute I heard about Friends and Strangers, I added it to my “must read list”. I've read all the books written by this author, but Friends and Strangers is my favorite since her debut novel, Commencement. Maybe because this new book contains threads of her first -- the college age storyline, the coming of age factor, and the...
Umm, could someone please explain A House at the Bottom of a Lake to me? Because I sure as hell don’t get it. Admittedly, that could just be me. This could be another Bunny situation going on, where I’m just not existential enough to understand what I just read. This novella by Josh Malerman (of well-deserved Bird Box fame) is a horror story…kinda. Two teenagers row out to some hidden lake where they go swimming and discover an actual...
Ugh. I can’t believe I’m writing a DNF review of a Liane Moriarty book… But, I am. I totally am. **face palm*
What's Apples Never Fall about? Apples Never Fall is the newest release from this highly talented writer, who is usually one of my favorite authors. I will read anything she puts out. Generally, I’ve liked all of Moriarty's books, and I’ve absolutely loved some of them (see below). As with most Moriarty novels, Apples...
Two people in two days told me to read The Midnight Library, and I'm rather glad they did. I'm also glad that I listened to them. This unique, thought-provoking novel by Matt Haig takes a "road not taken" approach -- a suicidal woman, Nora, is magically transported to the "midnight library," a place where each book contains the story of the life she could have lived, if she had only... . Nora then emarks upon various choose-your-own-adventure...
I never really think of December as a spooky time of year, but author Cassandra Parkin manages to change that with her book The Winter's Child. This suspenseful novel is full of twists and turns, ghostly premonitions and ghastly visions as main character Susannah waits for her long-lost -- and possibly deceased-- son to return to her on Christmas Eve. Susannah's a frustrating main character. She's clearly grieving and needs mental help, but...
It took me a long time to write my book review of My Dark Vanessa. Much longer than it took me to read the book, which I drank up as quickly as I could. Author Kate Elizabeth Russell's novel is exquisite, which is an odd thing to say for a story about such a delicate topic -- a 15-year old student seduced by her middle-aged English teacher -- but it's true. The writing in My Dark Vanessa is haunting, beautiful, and lyrical from the...
I'm pretty sure that Party of Two is not author Jasmine Guillory's best work. I know, I know: that's a pretty bold statement to make right off the bat. Guillory’s first book, The Wedding Date, made huge waves when it published a few years ago, but I never got around to reading it. I picked up Party of Two because it was the only Guillory title my library had on hand during COVID quarantine. Given all the fuss surrounding the author and her...
Looking for a beach read that goes a little deeper than your typical rom-com? Enter Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel. This wonderful novel is about friends and family whose lives intertwine when they’re all brought together under (or very near to) one roof over a Connecticut summer when nothing goes as planned—in both good and bad ways. Musical Chairs is about figuring what you’ve been doing, and it’s about figuring out where you want to...
