Once again I am late posting my monthly list of what I have read. The reason excuse I have is quite simple – I was busy reading! But with that said, January was a pretty good reading month for me. Between a week’s beach vacation followed by about 10 days sick in bed with the flu, I did get a lot of reading done – 9 completed books! While I didn’t enjoy having the flu one bit, nine books felt like a great number to start 2020. Additionally, 6 of the 9 books I read are on my list of My 24 Books I Will Read in 2020. I am surprised I have a quarter of them down but I have to say at least 2 were not as good as I was hoping for. You’ll see what I mean below.
I did have a pretty cool thing happen in January in my world of reading – I finally submitted a request to be a NetGalley reader/reviewer and was approved so my first Advanced Reader Copies (ARC) that I received are included in January as well!
The Stationery Shop – Marjan Kamali
A beautiful historical fiction book that brings us from 1950’s Iran to (almost) current times in the U.S. I am a bit familiar with the factual history of that time in Iran from past studies and I found it to be accurate and emotionally on point. Historical factual accuracy is always a big win for me in a historical fiction novel. And the beautiful love story of Roya and Bahman was sweet and innocent until it wasn’t. With no real answers as to why Bahman didn’t show up one fateful afternoon to secretly marry a few weeks before their planned wedding, Roya is left devastated. Time moves on and a new path is forged for both. The way their young love impacted them both on their separate paths was deep and profound. And how the book concludes made it become one I won’t forget. I don’t want to say much more, you should discover the story yourself. I highly recommend this beautiful book.
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The Astonishing Color of After – Emily X. R. Pan
A hauntingly beautiful debut YA novel that centers around depression and suicide, love and loss, family and forgiveness. This was a pick for one of my book clubs and I wasn’t certain about it at first. Besides the very sad content, the writing is brilliant and explores a taboo topic in our society that needs to be exposed even more than it recently has – mental illness. Not an easy read at all but very well done.
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The Other Mrs. – Mary Kubica
This book was my first ARC that I completed with NetGalley. Honestly, it was just ok for me and I read the majority of it on a travel day of two very long flights and a lengthy layover. I was hoping for much more, but it didn’t get there. I found it to be quite predictable and I had figured out the twists before even reading 25% of the book. I was pretty wrapped up in it until then, but once I got to that point where it started feeling so predictable so early on, I gave up a little bit. It also read a tad clunky at times. The main characters, Sadie and Will, move from Chicago to an island off the coast of Maine after taking guardianship of Will’s teenage niece Imogen after her mother’s suicide. This coincides with other events in their lives such as their teenage son Otto getting in serious trouble at school for bringing a knife, an incident at Sadie’s work (she is a Dr. and you will be reminded of that very, very often) and Will’s affair. Shortly after their move, a neighbor is murdered and Sadie is considered a suspect and is determined to find the killer. It seemed to be quite disjointed and unbelievable – left me dizzy at times. Still entertaining enough for an all day flying day. Had I not been stuck on a plane and in a an airport though, I am not 100% sure I would have stuck with it.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Park Row for receiving this ARC e-book in exchange for an honest review. The Other Mrs. was released on 2/18/2020 and is now available.
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You Are Not Alone – Greer Hendricks
The latest Greer Hendricks duo read is a psychological thriller and another ARC read for me through NetGalley. Shay, a 30-something is having a tough go at it – she’s lost her job, has a crush on her roommate but he’s dating someone else, her best friend is busy with her new family, and she’s about to loose her apartment too. She’s in the wrong place at the wrong time and witnesses the suicide of Amanda in a train station. Enter Jane and Cassandra, 2 beautiful sisters that seem to have it all – looks, money, friends, great jobs, success all around. Shay wants to be a part of their inner circle. You better watch out for what you wish for, Shay!
For me this book started out great, I found the first half to be nearly impossible to put down, a true page turner. But it did slow down drastically. It became a little cluttered with too many characters to track in different timelines and got a little confusing. The end did pick up a bit and while most of the pieces came together I am still trying to piece together one of the connections. I did love this duo’s first book, The Wife Between Us, so I was excited to read this one too. Ultimately I would say it was an average good read but I was hoping for a little more.
Thank you to Netgalley, St Martin’s Press and the authors for this free digital copy in exchange for an honest review. You Are Not Alone will be released on 3/3/20.
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The Dilemma – B. A. Paris
The Dilemma was pretty good, but I have to admit it wasn’t what I was expecting. While it is my first book to read by B. A. Paris, I have heard a lot about her other books. It was listed in Netgalley as a Mystery/Thriller as one of the categories so I have to admit I thought that it would be more on the thriller side. I would instead call this instead a family suspenseful drama.
The entire book takes place through a day, with many flashbacks. It is Lydia’s birthday and she has planned a 40th birthday party – somewhat to make up for the big wedding she never had when she married very young. One child, Josh, is at home and has just been offered an internship overseas. The other, Marnie, is studying in Hong Kong. Lydia and Adam are alternating narrators as we hear the pieces of the day. We learn that Adam is surprising Lydia with flying Marnie in for the party. He has told no one and the majority of the book centers around that. Lydia has a secret too and the entire book is a communication breakdown.
I found the drama that ensued emotional, turbulent and messy but ultimately it just didn’t seem realistic to me. I couldn’t imagine a husband and wife keeping what they did from each other. I also got a little lost at times keeping track of the many characters. I do recommend it if a family suspenseful drama is your jam.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and St. Marten’s Press for an ARC copy of The Dilemma in exchange for an honest review. The Dilemma will be released on June 30, 2020 but is available for preorder.
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November 9 – Colleen Hoover
This Hoover novel is the third I have read from her in a short amount of time, my first 2 being read at the end of 2019. While November 9 was an “average” read for me, I think that I have decided overall she isn’t for me. She is a gifted writer but she does seem to slant heavily towards the romance genre and while I love a good love story, her style is overall probably a bit too much for me. While November 9 was a page turner and very readable, it just felt so far out there. If I am looking for a mindless read on the beach, I may pick up another Hoover novel. She does however have a tremendous following so if you are looking for a talented romance author, I do recommend this book. And that is the beauty of authors and books – there is something for everyone!
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When We Believed in Mermaids – Barbara O’Neal
This was a pick for an online book club that I participate in. I have to say that it came with such rave reviews that I was really quite excited. And then I was very disappointed. Kit’s sister Josie is killed 15 years ago – until Kit spots Josie on a tv news broadcast. What ensues after was predictable, predictable, predictable, and throw in a cheesy love/lust story. I rated this a 3, but on further reflection that feels pretty generous. I will keep that initial gut rating though – but know that this book has me questioning most of the other picks in my online book club.
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Final Girls – Riley Sager
This one is a tough one as I have heard so much hype over Riley Sager’s books – some think of them as the ultimate thrillers. This was my second and over all it just didn’t do it for me. A little too slasher film-ish meets predictable plot. I did finish it and found I was dead on as to who did what. I am going to give Sager one more shot I think. Just not sure if we are a match yet. I did like Lock Every Door a bit more than Final Girls.
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The Silence of the Girls – Pat Barker
This was a pick for one of my books clubs and I have to admit that while I almost always love a good historical fiction read, books relating to Greek Mythology are not my thing. I struggled somewhat through Circe last year so Silence of the Girls worried me. And rightfully so – I admittedly struggled with it. It is a retelling of the Trojan War from the woman’s perspective. I wanted to love it. I really did. And their were parts that I did like, thus the rating. But overall, it was just ok for me.
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January 2020 Favorite Book of the Month: The Stationery Shop
