What witchcraft is this novel, turning me into a grumpy introverted homebody, reluctant to leave my house and do anything other than finish this book What witchcraft is this novel, turning me into a grumpy introverted homebody, reluctant to leave my house and do anything other than finish this book right now dang it?? Good gracious. I attended an outside-of-work-hours event with coworkers that wasn't mandatory while in the middle of reading Beautiful Wreck and that says something about how much I like my coworkers. Because it was all I could do to put the book down and leave my house. I can't remember the last time I was so desperate to read a novel to its conclusion.
As I read Beautiful Wreck, I spent the time curled in a ball on the couch, compulsively "flipping" my ebook's digital pages, unable to to take even a short break. I had to know what would happen to our time traveling heroine Ginn and the scarred and unloveable chief Heirik. I absolutely lived for this couple and I don't know that I've ever experienced slow burn and unresolved tension more intense. It almost killed me.
This is independently published and the writing and (lack of) editing makes this apparent. There are long, long paragraphs of descriptive prose and a startling lack of dialogue. We spend 600+ pages firmly in the head and perspective of Ginn, which probably contributes to how desperate and entranced I was while reading. It was difficult to separate my feelings from those of the character. Brown is also repetetive at times and there were moments I fought off the temptation to brandish a red pen.
Regardless of the obvious downsides of self-publishing a 600 page tome with no professional editing, I was enraptured with this story and have since convinced a number of people to give it a go. I'm so impressed with Larissa Brown's knowledge of 10th century Icelandic culture. Every tiny detail feels real. Ending the novel made me homesick for a small woodland village in a country I've never visited. Truly impressive.
If you are a romance fan, a history fan, a speculative fiction fan (or an outlander fan- the parallels are there, obviously), I highly recommend this one.
I honestly feel blindsided. Where did this book even come from? The Highwayman is easily my favorite historical romance of the year. Poswhat whatwhat
I honestly feel blindsided. Where did this book even come from? The Highwayman is easily my favorite historical romance of the year. Possibly in several years?
It ticks basically every box for a Jaimie Crawford Approved Romance:
✔️ childhood sweethearts separated in a most dramatic fashion
✔️ a reunion many years later
✔️ a heroine who does not recognize the hero due to his facial scarring and a new identity
✔️ BEAUTY AND THE BEAST TROPE
✔️ true love overcoming a traumatic past
✔️ a found family of outcasts and misfits
✔️ a heroine working a "man's job" and kicking butt in a "man's world"
✔️ a hero who is a FREAKING CRIMINAL MASTERMIND WITH A HEART OF (tarnished) GOLD
I blew through this novel and I loved every minute of it. Where has Kerrigan Byrne been all my life?
What possessed me to pick up this book? To start something so wildly outside my usual genres, with no personal recommendations and a summary so terribWhat possessed me to pick up this book? To start something so wildly outside my usual genres, with no personal recommendations and a summary so terrible it's writer should be immediately fired? I have no idea. But I did. And fortunately, the terrible summary is not indicative of the quality of the novel. It is not, as advertised, appropriating the experiences of abduction and loss and survival to add a touch of drama to an otherwise fluffy romance plot.
Notes from My Captivity is the profoundly moving story of Adrienne Cahill, aspiring reporter who, years after her father's death via drunk driver, is still bitter and angry and drowning in her grief. When the opportunity arises for Adrienne to join her anthropologist stepdad on a trip to Siberia in pursuit of a legendary wild family who left society when persecuted for supposed magical powers, she jumps at the chance. She just knows this is the story that will launch her career.
She's not wrong.
Notes from My Captivity is the first book I've read in a long time that gripped me from the start, mangled my heart, and then released me from its maw full of joy and sadness and anxiety and hope. Adrienne's journey (literal and emotional) and her transformation throughout the course of the novel is handled with exquisite care.
If you're looking for a novel that somehow interweaves adventure and horror and romance and magical realism into the single, perfectly executed tale of a young woman's emotional journey, I strongly suggest giving this one a go.
Reading The Sugar Queen is like sipping hot chocolate in the early days of winter, when you are enchanted by the glistening frost on the branches and Reading The Sugar Queen is like sipping hot chocolate in the early days of winter, when you are enchanted by the glistening frost on the branches and the bite to the air, but haven’t yet become bitter about needing six layers every time you leave your house. When winter is still a promise and not a drag. And that sip of hot chocolate makes your insides warm.
The Sugar Queen has the atmosphere of a holiday Hallmark movie, festive and hopeful and you just know everything will tie up with a velvet bow. But under the sheen of sweet and slow romances and enchanting, magical books, Sarah Addison Allen also tells the delicate and complex story of the secret lives of four women.
Josey is stuck in her mother’s shadow, watching life pass her by from her window until Della Lee shows up, running from a secret past. Josey’s mother, by all appearances, has lived a perfect life, but she holds her deepest, secret longing tightly clamped down inside her. Chloe has just learned the love of her life has been unfaithful and while he begs for a second chance, Chloe is sent spinning off on a new path where bountiful opportunities, but also danger awaits. Through the course of the novel the four women interact and profoundly influence each other’s lives.
I closed The Sugar Queen with tears in my eyes and grinning. I was so touched by these characters’ stories. For such a short novel, I became attached to each one of them and felt their joys and losses. Sarah Addison Allen is a beautiful story teller and I’m eager to read more of her novels, hopeful to further steep myself in the magic.
I’ve now read all three of Julie Buxbaum’s YA novels and I’ve loved them all. She’ll certainly be an auto-buy author for me from now on. Hope and OtheI’ve now read all three of Julie Buxbaum’s YA novels and I’ve loved them all. She’ll certainly be an auto-buy author for me from now on. Hope and Other Punchlines is the stunning, emotional story of a 9/11 survivor, Abbi. On her first birthday, she was saved from the South Tower’s day care center. Wearing a paper crown and clutching a birthday balloon, Abbi Hope was photographed with the tower crumbling behind her. The photograph became a phenomenon and from then on she was no longer just Abbi, she was Baby Hope, National Treasure.
We pick up with Abbi fifteen years later. She is now a teenager unable to escape notoriety and the grief that surrounds her like fog everywhere she goes. Abbi is committed to having a happy summer, counseling at a camp for four year olds where no one seems to recognize her. And that’s where she meets Noah. His father died on 9/11 and he is desperate for Baby Hope’s help to interview all the survivors photographed alongside her in that famous photo.
Abbi and Noah both have secrets.
I read Hope and Other Punchlines in a single day. I couldn’t put it down. Fast-forward to 3 a.m., when I was lying in bed in the fetal position, crying, having just read the final page. But don’t worry that Noah and Abbi’s story is one solely of grief and darkness and loss. Because these two special characters are also full of hope and resilience and by the time I closed the cover, I cared for them deeply.
If I had remembered or reread the summary for this book before starting it, I would probably have passed on to something else, unsure I was up for a story so heavily steeped in the tragedy of 9/11. That would have been such a loss. Because this story moved me and shook me and will stick with me for a long, long time.
This novel is STUNNING. I’m in awe of the intensive research Libba Bray had to have done to create such a complex, intricate, and believable 1920s NewThis novel is STUNNING. I’m in awe of the intensive research Libba Bray had to have done to create such a complex, intricate, and believable 1920s New York City.
Every page is saturated with the glitz and grit of the Jazz age, but also with the darker flip side of early 20th century America...a country suffering in the wake of the Great War and entrenched in severe, systemic racism. And hovering over all of this is an eerie, haunting fog of magic and murder and mysticism.
There are moments that are genuinely scary. Naughty John is a terrifying and unique villain and the anthropomorphic, dilapidated mansion serving as his headquarters gave me goosebumps.
The story is told from the points of view of several characters: Evie, Sam, Jericho, Memphis, Theta, and Henry. They were all incredibly interesting, fleshed-out characters and we are given tiny puzzle pieces, one at a time, putting together each of their backstories.
The Diviners is heavy and dark and builds at a slow, steady pace, but I was enthralled from the start. It’s been a long time since I was so beguiled by a novel. The audiobook was especially fantastic. It has won awards and it deserves them.
At its most basic, The Heart’s Invisible Furies is the simple story of a life. Not the life of an “important”person, a tycoon, or person of power, or At its most basic, The Heart’s Invisible Furies is the simple story of a life. Not the life of an “important”person, a tycoon, or person of power, or a celebrity.
It’s the life of a man born to a unmarried teenage mother in 1940s Ireland. He is adopted. He goes to boarding school. He discovers his sexuality. He faces growing pains. He falls in love. He travels. He builds a family. He endures loss.
That description probably sounds like something you’ve read a hundred times before and aren’t dying to read again. Do it anyway. Because this “simple,” “common,” “normal” story is deeply and profoundly moving. It’s gripping. It’s tragic. As I read the last page and closed the cover, I cried on a plane thousands of feet over the Pacific Ocean as I sat next to a stranger.
Read The Heart’s Invisible Furies and revel in how momentous, how impactful a single life can be.
This is easily one of my favorite books I’ve read in 2019.
The Last Romantics is the story of a poet and writer, Fiona Skinner. It is the chronicle of a family made up of uniquely important storylines of four The Last Romantics is the story of a poet and writer, Fiona Skinner. It is the chronicle of a family made up of uniquely important storylines of four siblings, their mother, their romantic partners, their enemies. It is a catalog of small mysteries.
What is the pause?
What did the man in the brown car do?
Who is the Last Romantic?
What is the accident?
Who is Luna? Where did she go?
Our story is told by a writer, Fiona, in the year 2079. She is hugely successful and, at 102 years old, has quite a story to tell. It's a deceptively quiet yarn, but reverberates on a massive scale.
We begin simply enough, with four children living ordinary lives in the 1980s suburbs until their dentist father dies suddenly from heart disease. They are left alone, their mother in a deep depression, their bond as siblings the only surety left to them. We then spin off in a hundred directions, following each of the siblings over many decades. Their relationships struggle and bend, but never snap. Their love for each other is unquestionable.
Along the way, Conklin drops little bits of mystery and intrigue and just when we’ve almost forgotten, hands us the (always surprising, and yet inevitable) answers.
When I finished The Last Romantics and closed the cover, I immediately wanted to start again, if only to spend just a few more minutes in the company of such complex and believable characters. I had a genuine moment of sadness in the end that The Last Poem, Fiona’s great work, is fiction. That I can’t run to Barnes and Noble and purchase my own copy.
Whoa. This was so good. So, so good. This novel gave me goose bumps multiple times. Emily St. John Mandel is a master plotter,HOLY APOCALYPSE, BATMAN!
Whoa. This was so good. So, so good. This novel gave me goose bumps multiple times. Emily St. John Mandel is a master plotter, weaving a dozen different characters’ stories over multiple timelines. This was sold to me as a post apocalyptic novel and that’s true. But more than anything this is a character study, a fascinating, compelling look at how thoroughly interwoven every individual’s life is with those it touches.
We begin the novel on the final night of civilization as we know it. An actor collapses on stage during a performance of King Lear. A paramedic in the audience jumps up to resuscitate him. Meanwhile, a flight from Russia lands in North America. Aboard are a hundred plus passengers exposed to a virus known as the Georgian Flu. From there we dance between the years before the pandemic and the years after the pandemic.
Nothing will be the same. Ninety-nine percent of Earth’s population will die in the coming weeks. But even those who die during the first few hours have a spiraling impact on those who survive and on the future of humanity.
Seven young people attend an intense fine arts conservatory, living in a castle tower, reading poetry, drinking tea, performing Shakespeare, committinSeven young people attend an intense fine arts conservatory, living in a castle tower, reading poetry, drinking tea, performing Shakespeare, committing murder.
I tore through this book at a break-neck pace, consuming it like water on a hike in the desert. Every character, not just our lead, Oliver, is fully realized, compelling and mysterious. Are they each more than the Shakespearean archetype in which they’ve been cast? Will they completely shatter your expectations? Of course, yes.
The “prologue” to each act of the drama, featuring Oliver being released from prison ten years later, works shockingly well to keep you engaged, guessing, generally incorrectly, at how all the dominoes will fall. And the final act of the story left me literally gasping, flipping backward to reread for missed clues.
I’ve had a Ghosted ARC sitting on my shelf for…maybe a year now? I finally picked it up solely because it was a book club pick. Thank God for that! I I’ve had a Ghosted ARC sitting on my shelf for…maybe a year now? I finally picked it up solely because it was a book club pick. Thank God for that! I enjoyed Ghosted so much. I don’t consider many books “unputdownable.” But this novel surely is. I listened to the audiobook in a single 24 hour period. Color me impressed.
I went into Ghosted expecting a twist-filled thriller and it certainly was that. But more than that, it was a deeply intense character study, an examination of how a single woman survives intense loss and guilt and her decades-long search for recompense.
Ghosted begins with an extreme case of insta-love. People love to hate on insta-love and if this was primarily a story about a romance, I’d be with them. But Sarah and Eddie’s quick-draw relationship is a vital piece of the story. And I bought it. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but I did. They are together for seven short days before parting. Eddie says he’ll call. He doesn’t.
Sarah is an emotional wreck, 100% certain that what they have is real, despite all her friends telling her that he’s just a guy and he’s gotten what he wanted, so she should move on. I was with Sarah. I was absolutely convinced something terrible had happened. The rest of the novel is a wild ride as we learn that there is so much more going on than Sarah realizes.
There was one small, but heavy-handed “twist” (not so surprising and with the subtlety of a chain saw) I could have lived without. It landed too close to soap opera drama for my tastes. But in general, the mandatory thriller twists were actually surprising! I thought I had everything figured out multiple times. Ha. Joke’s on me.
[Side note: I was bothered by a few of the American characters’ use of British phrasing. Specifically saying that people were “called” instead of “named.” Never in a million years would an American say someone was “called Joe.” They would always always always say he was NAMED JOE. This is a minor slip but seems like an easy enough thing to catch during editing.]
Ghosted gets 4 solid stars from me, for wide-eyed, thrill-ride enjoyment and socking me right in the emotions.
I enjoyed the crap out of this book. I'm not a regular thriller reader. At all. So I don't have an expansive pool with which to compare The Girl BeforI enjoyed the crap out of this book. I'm not a regular thriller reader. At all. So I don't have an expansive pool with which to compare The Girl Before. For me it was refreshing, shocking, and unique. But if you read every thriller released, it's likely you'll disagree with me. Fortunately this book has everything I could want from the few thrillers I do read.
Every single character is screwed up and twisted. No one is reliable. Especially not our POV characters. Everyone has ulterior motives and I NEVER guessed correctly about them. About anything really. I gasped aloud over and over. It was so much fun.
The format of The Girl Before parallels the experiences of two London women (then: Emma and now: Jane) moving into an unusual house, starkly minimal, boasting of the best and most cutting edge technology. And also their interactions with the home's architect and landlord, Edward, who is a perfectionist.
There's a murder mystery. There's a tightly wound knot of lies. There's a nebulous sense of danger and dread creeping always closer. Everyone's version of events, their perceptions of other characters, contradict wildly. Are they all lying? Or is something else happening?
I noticed that a few reviews compared this book to Fifty Shades, which I disagree with. There are sexual relationships in this novel and a particular character likes things...rough. But it really doesn't occur on the page. In fact, there's no explicit sex on the page at all. If that comparison is instead alluding to Edward's controlling tendencies and "the rules," I'd say that it's just different. (I have to say that I loathed the Fifty Shades series for many reasons, but obviously enjoyed this novel quite a lot.)
But I don't want to spoil anything, so I'd just suggest that any potential reader goes in knowing as little as possible and makes up their own mind.
I finished The Girl Before with a grin on my face and my heart racing.
The Secret History isn’t an easy novel to read or to review. It took a solid month for me to read, nibbling a small bit at a time, ruminating, philosoThe Secret History isn’t an easy novel to read or to review. It took a solid month for me to read, nibbling a small bit at a time, ruminating, philosophizing, then picking it back up for another small chunk. This isn’t my usual reading routine, but a highly recommended method for consuming The Secret History.
I know I’m not the first to praise the dark and dreadful aesthetic of Hampden College and the cult-like bond of the Deerslayers, but the creeping, sepia-toned atmosphere Donna Tartt paints is the true highlight of this sordid, shattering story.
Our story’s “hero” Richard Papen becomes entranced by a clique of Classics-obsessed oddballs and through his lens we are given front row seats to the madness. Each character is pristinely flawed and multi-dimensional. Every choice they make is clearly reprehensible, and yet obviously the only choice to be made.
Cold blooded murder? Necessary.
That’s the great strength of the novel, to twist readers’ morals and ethics, to confuse and confound and leave you with the grim feeling of having made bad choices for reasons you don’t quite remember.
After three days of marinating in this feeling, I’ve decided five stars is the only possible rating....more
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