Category — Book Reviews

As I say every month, I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Jessica Lahey. She has a recurring monthly date where she reviews all the books she read that month. Book reviews are important for authors, and I want to get better about doing this.

So. I’m going to review them here and also online, but I’m going to do it a little differently. I’m only going to review the stuff I really liked. I don’t see a reason to spend my time writing about something I didn’t love; it’s just using up more of my energy. So only positive reviews.

These are the books I liked (or mostly liked) from June.

The Marlow Murder Club (Robert Thorogood): This is up there as one of my favourite books of the year. It is similar to and almost as good as the Thursday Murder Club. I was blown away by the mystery wrap up. And the characters are wonderful. I cannot wait for the next book in this new series.

Carry On (Rainbow Rowell): ChickieNob and I listened to this as an audiobook while we walked. We both read the book before, but it was so much better the second time around. Plus, the man who does the voices is fantastic. He really made the book come alive.

Cover Story (Susan Rigetti): We watched Inventing Anna and chased it with this book, which maybe was one too many stories about scammers in a short period of time. It’s a really fun book. Just maybe… spread things out.

The Twyford Code (Janice Hallett): Very similar to her book The Appeal except you’re reading the transcripts from audio files. It takes your brain a little more work to read this book — words are sometimes “autocorrected” incorrectly, but you quickly adjust. Hallett weaves real history into a mystery of epic proportions. I only figured out a few things ahead of time.

The Woman in the Library (Sulari Gentill): This was such a cool book that fizzled instead of exploded at the end. It was building up to such a cool ending, and then… the book just… ended. So that was a downer. But it was a five-star read right up to the end. Temper your expectations so you can enjoy it, even if it doesn’t have a solid ending.

What did you read last month?

P.S. Likely not having a Roundup tomorrow.

As I say every month, I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Jessica Lahey. She has a recurring monthly date where she reviews all the books she read that month. Book reviews are important for authors, and I want to get better about doing this.

So. I’m going to review them here and also online, but I’m going to do it a little differently. I’m only going to review the stuff I really liked. I don’t see a reason to spend my time writing about something I didn’t love; it’s just using up more of my energy. So only positive reviews.

These are the books I liked (or mostly liked) from May.

Though I am going to break my own rule for one of these…

The Shadow House (Anna Downes): This is one of those books that was enjoyable while I was reading it but forgettable about two minutes after I returned the book. A case in point, looking back over my May books, I needed to look up the synopsis to remember what this was about. But once I remembered, I was like, “Oh yeah, I liked this one.” So why can’t I remember it a few minutes later? Anyway, it was a solid, creepy second book from an author that I liked last year. Everything falls into place in the end and wraps up neatly. Maybe I would have loved some loose threads, but solid is good, too.

Portrait of a Thief (Grace D. Li): This is where I’m breaking my rule. I did not like this book. At all. It is the first book I’ve skimmed in years. BUT I didn’t stop reading it. On one hand, I’ve only stopped reading one book in the last five or so years, so this would have been number two. But while I felt okay stopping reading the other book, I felt compelled to keep reading this one. I wanted to like it, so badly. And I felt like it was my fault that I didn’t. I felt relieved when it was done, and I could remove it from my reading list and delete the library book. But I also felt terrible that I disliked it so much when I wanted to love it with all of my heart.

The Agathas (Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson): I love a book where the heroine rescues herself, and here you get two girls rescuing themselves in tandem. If you liked The Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, you’ll like these smart girls solving crimes. It was a very fun read.

The Younger Wife (Sally Hepworth): This was not what I was expecting, and I was pleasantly surprised. I couldn’t put this book down. I always like Hepworth’s writing, even when I don’t like her plots, but this is one of her best. Good pacing, good writing, good plot. Can’t wait for her next book.

Sleeping Dogs Lie (Samantha Downing): I love everything she writes, including this bananapants short novella. You can read the whole thing in one sitting. Everything she writes is clever and well-written, and I was so happy to get this story.

What did you read last month?

As I say every month, I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Jessica Lahey. She has a recurring monthly date where she reviews all the books she read that month. Book reviews are important for authors, and I want to get better about doing this.

So. I’m going to review them here and also online, but I’m going to do it a little differently. I’m only going to review the stuff I really liked. I don’t see a reason to spend my time writing about something I didn’t love; it’s just using up more of my energy. So only positive reviews.

These are the books I liked (or mostly liked) from April.

One Italian Summer (Rebecca Serle): I enjoyed reading it, and I loved feeling like I was in Positano. But I’m not sure I liked any character or any of their decisions. Is that weird? It was kind of like I wanted the setting and situation without the characters.

The Heights (Louise Candlish): This is my second book by this author, and she is fantastic at writing fast-moving thrillers. It’s incredible writing depicting a heartbreaking situation and a moving portrayal of anguish — with a great mystery at the center. I kept thinking and talking about this book while I was away from it, which, to me, is the mark of a fantastic read.

Nine Lives (Peter Swanson): How to feel about this book… It’s an enjoyable read. Full stop. All of his books are well-paced and fun and make you want to keep picking them back up. But Swanson does this thing where he writes spoilers for classic mysteries into his books. It bothers me, taking away from his really well done mystery, and it’s usually completely unnecessary. Even when I’ve read the plots he is spoiling, I feel sad for all of the unsuspecting people who haven’t read those books and now won’t get to experience those mysteries as they should be experienced. So A+ for Swanson’s mystery. But read with caution if you don’t like spoilers.

What did you read last month?

As I say every month, I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Jessica Lahey. She has a recurring monthly date where she reviews all the books she read that month. Book reviews are important for authors, and I want to get better about doing this.

So. I’m going to review them here and also online, but I’m going to do it a little differently. I’m only going to review the stuff I really liked. I don’t see a reason to spend my time writing about something I didn’t love; it’s just using up more of my energy. So only positive reviews.

These are the books I liked (or mostly liked) from March.

Greenwich Park (Katherine Faulkner): This was a super quick read. I figured out the plot early on, but I still had fun seeing it unfold. The best moment is the last line in the book. She totally got me, and it was a great twist.

Mouth to Mouth (Antoine Wilson): I wrote about one of the central questions in the book last month. It was a mindblowingly good read. This is the sort of book you want to read with another person so you can discuss. It asks the question: what makes someone a good person? As humans, should we always help another human? If we do, should we be rewarded? And does the wealth of the individual matter? For instance, if you save someone poor, would you feel like you deserve a reward? What if it was someone extremely rich? A great book asks questions and then steps back and lets you think. This one does just that.

Good Rich People (Eliza Jane Brazier): This book was bananapants in the best possible way. It reminded me of Samantha Downing, so if you like her, you will probably like this. It’s creepy, terrible people doing creepy, terrible things. I was totally glued to the story.

The Paris Apartment (Lucy Foley): I feel the same way about every Lucy Foley book. They are engaging, page turners BUT I figure them out very early on and then feel irritated as they unfold. The opposite of how I felt reading Greenwich Park. So I raced through the last third because I wanted to confirm and move on. Yet I know I’ll put her next book on my to-read list, too.

The Appeal (Janice Hallett): Definitely will be one of my top 5 books from this year. I loved this book so much that I bought it plus her next book before I read one page. You can read it from cover to cover like a normal book, OR you are trying to solve the crime by reading through emails and text messages as the lawyers are doing in the book. It is so much fun to see it come together, and now I want to re-read it to see all the clues that were in front of my face the entire time. Totally brilliant.

What did you read last month?

As I say every month, I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Jessica Lahey. She has a recurring monthly date where she reviews all the books she read that month. Book reviews are important for authors, and I want to get better about doing this.

So. I’m going to review them here and also online, but I’m going to do it a little differently. I’m only going to review the stuff I really liked. I don’t see a reason to spend my time writing about something I didn’t love; it’s just using up more of my energy. So only positive reviews.

These are the books I liked (or mostly liked) from February.

Reckless Girls (Rachel Hawkins): Summer is coming up, and this is the perfect beach read. I mean, yes, I read it on my sofa, so clearly you can read it on a sofa, too. But it’s a great thriller, speeding you through the plot line. Are there thing you will guess way ahead of time? Of course. But that just makes it an even better thriller because it lets out some of the tension.

Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions (Mario Giordano — author +
J. Maxwell Brownjohn — translator): This is the first book in a series. (Thank you, Rebeccah, for the recommendation!) It took me a little time to get into the story, but once I did, I fell in love with the character of Poldi and wanted to spend more time with her. And go to Italy.

Piranesi (Susanna Clarke): I’ve read this before — and reviewed it before — but this time I listened to it as audio book. Is it possible that it was even better this time around? Maybe — Chiwetel Ejiofor has a voice that falls somewhere between sexy and relaxing. ChickieNob and I paired listening to the book with walking videos in Greece. We would get completely lost in the story and forget to stop walking.

The Violence (Delilah S. Dawson): This was incredible. It was one of those books where your brain gets confused after you stop reading and you can’t remember what is real for a moment. Sort of like Age of Miracles. It’s not an easy read because at its core, it’s about abuse. But it’s an important read. This book will stick with me for a long time.

The Invisible Library (Genevieve Cogman): Another first book in a series with a lot of complex world building. If you like Jasper Fforde but often feel frustrated by how much random, distracting, unexplained stuff exists in his stories, this is the book for you. Everything makes sense because everything fits together. I have a feeling I’ll like future books in the series even more because this one slowed down a lot to explain how the world works. But it’s super clever.

What did you read last month?