After A Well-Trained Wife, I needed something lighter. This debut chick-lit novel filled the bill, even though it did ultimately deal with some weightAfter A Well-Trained Wife, I needed something lighter. This debut chick-lit novel filled the bill, even though it did ultimately deal with some weightier topics. The eponymous Olivia Strauss is turning 39 and feels like she missed her chance at her dream life, even as she has a pretty good life with a loving husband, a toddler son, and a decent if annoying job as a private school English teacher. Her friend Marian seems to have the life she was destined for, living in New York, going to all the trendy restaurants, and writing for a living. But of course we all just want what we don't have.
This novel deals with death and our fear of death and our issues with time - the time we have left and the time that we waste. I can relate to a lot of this.
It reminded me quite a bit of Rebecca Serle's In Five Years, only that book was better executed. That said, as a debut offering, this was good, and I look forward to seeing this writer mature. ...more
A group of middle-aged women plot against the male authors they feel caused their friend's grief and "caused" her MS. Only they find that their assumpA group of middle-aged women plot against the male authors they feel caused their friend's grief and "caused" her MS. Only they find that their assumptions are not what they anticipated.
Meh. Good writing, of course, but the story never captured me. It's only been a few days, but I barely remember it. ...more
This is my second Kelley McNeil book and I like her style. This novel is very much like Daisy Jones and the Six crossed with Almost Famous, but in theThis is my second Kelley McNeil book and I like her style. This novel is very much like Daisy Jones and the Six crossed with Almost Famous, but in the 90s music scene. Our main character Evie is a music writer in NYC covering a hot new band called Mayluna. This isn't at all a romance book, but there is love and romance here. And there is the "if only you would say the thing, a lot of the problems could be avoided" but then again, how much fun would a novel be if there was no conflict?
This is also the best Amazon First Reads I've read.
(view spoiler)[I do wonder that if Evie and Carter had stayed together, would they have had a storybook romance or would it have all gone south in the way of so many rock-n-roll stories? (hide spoiler)]...more
This is a book within a book - actually 2 books within another book. Those books within the story did not fully work for me. I gr3.5 stars rounding up
This is a book within a book - actually 2 books within another book. Those books within the story did not fully work for me. I grew tired of their story (for they tell the same story from different perspectives), and I especially grew tired of reading all italics, which were completely unnecessary. We as readers could tell the difference without the italics. Furthermore, the story is built on the trope of miscommunication, which is always frustrating.
But I did enjoy the story surrounding those books within a book. I love the idea of someone being able to experience the echoes of feelings in books. In fact, I would've liked more of that. There is romance here and a bit of a mystery - or at least the searching of something - but the main point of the story is about letting go of the past and not letting it infringe on your future.
This was a 3.5 star read for me but I'm bumping it up because I have a feeling I will think about this book a lot in the future. For me, this was a maThis was a 3.5 star read for me but I'm bumping it up because I have a feeling I will think about this book a lot in the future. For me, this was a mash up of Camus' No Exit (Huis Clos) and the old syndicated TV show Lost in Space.
This is squarely in the cli-fi, climate science fiction category. Set in the future (100 years?), we start with a family of a dad and two kids (16 and 19) living in the Deadlands - the desert outside of Phoenix. Much of the U.S. now appears to be deadlands. Cities are smog-filled oases. The government is building dome communities in the deadlands.
Enter Nick and Vanessa. Vanessa is a journalist of sorts and they appear to have stumbled across our little family. Or have they. They, especially Nick, become somewhat like Dr. Smith from Lost in Space after the father - Isaac - slashes their tires so they cannot leave and tell the outside world about them.
The story is told in the first person by Georgia, the 19-year old. She seems much younger, but then again, she's had virtually no socialization since she was 3. Her brother Wulf follows whatever their father says, but Georgia, not surprisingly, dreams of more than dehydrating mealworms for flour and washing dishes with sand. Isaac is a control freak who believes he has all the answers. He's a scientist and talks like a textbook with very little emotion towards his children.
This is a tragic play of sorts. Part of me wants to know more about their origins and where they end up...but it also concludes more or less satisfyingly. This won't be a book for everyone, but it kept me going and made me think, with no easy conclusions. ...more
If I hadn't just read The Stand and needed a light rebound read, I might've DNFd this. I also need to learn that if nothing on on First Reads really sIf I hadn't just read The Stand and needed a light rebound read, I might've DNFd this. I also need to learn that if nothing on on First Reads really speaks to me I should just not take one of the free books.
This book had potential. Four sisters - but one, a twin - is taken and never found, and it haunts them forever. They return to their Louisiana hometown to find the time capsule they buried after their mom died.
The book is told in multiple POVs. The biggest issue was that three of the POVs were first person. It's hard to share a story. Unless a writer is very gifted, it's hard to have more than one entity be the center of the story, and in this case, it would've been Savannah, the remaining twin. Worse, the three first-person POVs were hard to distinguish. They all sounded quite similar and didn't have unique voices. They were also each a type.
A fourth POV was Marylynne's, the Meemaw, but it should've been titled Marylynne since it was before she was a Meemaw.
(view spoiler)[I also think that the ending would've been more dramatic and better served if they had found the missing twin, instead of finding out she had died. It was a choice, and maybe it serves a higher purpose, but it kind of lacked emotional punch for me. (hide spoiler)]
Oh, another thing. They talk about an "Arcadian accent." Unless this took place in Maine, which it didn't, it wouldn't be an Arcadian accent. In Louisiana it's an Acadian accent.
It was a good diversion at the right time, but not a full landing book for me....more
This novel, provided as part of free Amazon's First Reads program, was really more of a 2.5-star read, but I'm bumping it up because it's the author'sThis novel, provided as part of free Amazon's First Reads program, was really more of a 2.5-star read, but I'm bumping it up because it's the author's debut, and I know from first-hand experience how hard that is. I definitely think she has potential as an author!
The setting is the best part of this novel - on the Newfoundland coast. I would've liked a little more that grounded it specifically there - instead it felt fairly generically coastal, but an enjoyable place to spend some reading time nonetheless.
I also liked the treasure diving set-up. I read a nonfiction book some years ago (Shadow Divers) and find this life fascinating.
My biggest fault with the novel is that there are way, way, way too many characters. The novel is told in two timelines (1912 and 2014) and both timelines have many characters. It's difficult to keep them straight. I gave up really trying to figure out all the connections and just went with it.
There's also a lot going on here. There's the search for a shipwreck connected to the Titanic. The search for a lighthouse that seemingly fell into the ocean. A missing deed to a property in New York. Missing stolen(?) money. And more.
Writing a novel is hard, so I get it. You have to learn on the job, and I commend Phoebe Row on her freshman outing. I suspect her writing and plotting will get stronger, and I will be sure to keep an eye on her!...more
This was not the best written book, but I had to bump it to 4 stars for the compelling story. A privileged child living in Kabul has to escape AfghaniThis was not the best written book, but I had to bump it to 4 stars for the compelling story. A privileged child living in Kabul has to escape Afghanistan with siblings as the Russian army takes over. Heartbreaking but ultimately rewarding. ...more
Three rather generous stars. There are things I like about the book. The Minnesota setting is great. I would love to visit this remote vacation area. Three rather generous stars. There are things I like about the book. The Minnesota setting is great. I would love to visit this remote vacation area. I also like all the characters - but that's part of my ambivalence about the novel, too. Everyone is soooo perfect. Everything is easy - even as they are being haunted. (view spoiler)[I kept wanting to find out that someone was causing all the crazy things to happen, but it all was really just ghostly remainders of a long-ago murder. I really, really thought for a minute that Jim was going to be behind it all, and was kind of disappointed when he wasn't! And seriously, his wife is a ghost hunter??? (hide spoiler)] Clearly I finished it, so it deserves some stars, but just not the best.
I do find it interesting that this is my THIRD creepy book in October. I've not normally read creepy reads during October, but I think I'll have to make this a tradition. I did sort of like reading on the creepy side for Halloween. ...more
The first thing you need to know about this book is that it requires a huge suspension of disbelief. The central situation, whil2.5 stars rounded up.
The first thing you need to know about this book is that it requires a huge suspension of disbelief. The central situation, while I'm sure is based in some fact, is stretched beyond reality.
This was also one of those books that has you screaming at the main character: just say something! I get that Maris is an alcoholic and the child of an alcoholic so her whole life is built on creating a facade but so much angst could be avoided by just leveling with her husband and daughter. There's a little too much repetition of that, too much imposter syndrome.
What the book does well is keep you turning pages. Even with a (literally) unbelievable story and a not entirely sympathetic main character, I found myself reading "just one more chapter." That's why I bumped it up instead of down.
The ending is rushed and I have lots of questions. (view spoiler)[I would've liked to have seen Hollis faced with his crimes, although I suspect that letting knowledge about the tech he was using was dangerous. I also wasn't sure how he was using the tech against Dylan. Was what he was doing making Dylan more apologetic? Or did he somehow cause him to become a rapist initially? I'll admit, Dylan was painted as truly remorseful at the end and I kept waiting to find out that his actions were at Hollis' hand. (hide spoiler)]...more
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