I’m at a good stopping point so here we go. We were on vacation so I was able to get back into reading with gusto. I wanted quick reads that came in paperback so this list is random and I chose many of them bc they were just, well, there.
The Secret of Snow (Shipman) ** - a middle aged meteorologist is unceremoniously fired from her posh Palm Springs job and has to return to hometown in Michigan to live with her mom and work at the podunk station there. She faces the demons of her past and falls in love. Not my cup of tea. Basically a menopausal Hallmark special. There was nothing particularly wrong with it. It just numbed my brain.
Behind Closed Doors (Paris)*** - typical “perfect couple or are they”. I enjoyed this story until the end. The characters were just unlikeable enough but not so much that it pissed me off. I thought the build up was good, but the twist/resolution was really weak IMO and the way the author wrote the dialogue of the disabled sister rubbed me the wrong way (she’s awesome btw).
The Next Mrs. Wimberly (Arya) no stars - this was possibly the worst book I have ever read and I have a VERY quick DNF trigger finger. It was so bad that I hate read the entire thing to find out what happened. Another romantic thriller with the most ridiculous premise, most unlikeable characters, sophomoric writing and awful, disgusting gratuitous triggering details I have ever read. Just no.
Me Before You (Moyes) **** - a down on her luck woman takes a job as an aide to a newly disabled man with a secret task at hand. Along the way they both grow and change. I loved this! It was sad and beautiful and sweet. One of the best I’ve read this year.
Local Woman Missing (Kubica) *** - a mother and her daughter go missing. Who did it? This was fairly predictable as far as the whodunit part, even though I was hoping I was wrong. Did not see the other twist coming. Good enough to hold my attention, nothing more.
The Third Wife (Jewell) DNF - just droning on and on with little plot development to hook me.
I’m Thinking of Ending Things (Reid) **** - a couple returns to the man’s hometown to visit his parents. Things get weird. Wooo baby. This was one of those books you’ll either love or hate. It was so fucked up. I appreciated it bc it was unique and reminded me a lot of the stuff I read in AP English and I just have to marvel at the author’s creativity.
Little Secrets (Hiller) ** - I figured this out in the first 25% and thought it was really predictable and that the main character was a dumb ass and everyone else sucked. Nevertheless I liked the ending.
Crying in H Mart (Zauner) *** - a Korean American woman reflects of her relationship with her mother after her death, centered around food. Memoirs aren’t really my favorite genre but this came highly recommended. I did like it, bc the author did a really good job of conveying her emotions but I found it a bit navel-gazy at times. It was beautifully done though. But I can’t shake my biggest question- if her grades were so bad and she was as truant as she says she was, how the HELL did she get into Bryn Mawr? That’s a GOOD school.
Currently reading:
The Best Minds: a story of friendship, madness and the tragedy of good intentions (Rosen) - this is a recommendation from my mother who tends to be a bit pretentious and intellectual about her reading choices. However the subject matter (mental illness and the deinstitutionalization of patients) is something I’m interested in. It’s long and meaty and very different from what I’ve been reading so it’s not going to be quick.
ETA: Forgot some! The Silent Patient (Michaelides) - **** a woman’s husband is murdered and she stops speaking. A psychotherapist tasks himself with getting her to speak and uncovering what happened. I loved this and was genuinely surprised by the twist. Maybe I’m dumb? Anyway, prob the best of the lot with thrillers I read this month.
Sometimes I Lie (Feeney) - ** This is the story of two sisters. One is in a coma but can hear everything and she tries to remember what landed her in the hospital and what went wrong with her husband. This was ok. The twist was predictable yet not. It was strange and unsettling and I did not appreciate the cliffhanger. There was just a little too much going on.
Every Last Secret (Torres) *** - Another perfect couple thriller. I actually enjoyed this a lot bc it was simple, nothing was too off putting, the women were unlikeable yet sympathetic and the man was a dick. Good enough.
The House Across the Lake (Sager) ***1/2 - easy read. A woman becomes obsessed with the goings on of the power couple across the lake, after saving the wife from drowning. The twist is something that many won’t like but I loved it. A little different.
Has anyone read any series from Sarah J Maas? A girl I work with is obsessed, but the books are huge lol. I'm also not typically into fantasy or romance, but the girl swears they are so good I keep debating if I should try it out.