In my last post, I wrote “I’m supposed to be going on vacation for three weeks at the end of March (if the corona virus would calm down) and Im sure to get a lot of reading done then”. Oh the naivety! As you well know by now, corona didn’t calm down, I didn’t go on vacation, and well, my brain decided it did not want to read.
Ill do an actual blog post about how Rona has effected me soon, but needless to say, I read a lot less this month than is typical for me.
Anyway, these are the books I’ve been reading lately.
Loved it:
Jar of hearts ~ Jennifer Hillier
Well that was a wild ride… This was all the hype a couple years ago and for good reason. ‘In every story there is a hero and a villain. Sometimes one person can be both’
It’s the story of Geo, who at 16 helps cover up her bfs murder of her best friend. Years later she goes to jail for the cover up and just as before she is released, her bf escapes prison and more murders start happening.
As the story evolved and more details emerged I started to piece together the twist so I got to the answer just before the book revealed it (the lawyer in me picks up clues a bit too quickly) but it was still so well done. Absolutely recommend.
4/5 stars
Goodreads link here
Little fires everywhere ~ Celeste Ng
I know this one has mixed reviews but I really liked it.
Mia and her daughter Pearl are nomads, never staying in one place for long until they moved to Shaker Heights. They rent an apartment from the affluent Richardson family and the lives of the two families become intertwined. When the Richardson family home burns to the ground
This story went where I didn’t expect it to go. It was truly a surprise taking the ride of how and why things were happening. I loved the complexity of the characters (they each were so multi faceted, even the ones I hated) and the way the story unfolded and that Shaker Heights was almost a character in itself. Also, many of the issues had the reader questioning what was really right or wrong (along with the characters) and that was really well done.
I wasn’t a big fan of the perspective it was written from but ultimately it kept me engaged so I’m giving it a 4 instead of the 3.5 I initially thought about.
4/5 stars
Goodreads link here
Liked it:
The Heavens ~ Sandra Newman
(Received from Netgalley for an honest review)
What an interesting book.
One fateful night in NYC in the year 2000, Ben meets and falls for Kate. Everything is great until Kate reveals her very realistic and recurring dreams where she lives a life as a noble woman in the Elizabethan england woman names Emilia. The story follows Ben and Kate as the dreams, in which she travel through time in her mind, began to take over their lives, as each time she awakes the present has changed.
The story started off as a modern love story and evolved into Ia tricky Time travel plot. The idea that travellers’ actions in the past affect the present and future. The plot and it’s interesting characters shifted a lot and it was fast paced.
3/5 stars
Goodreads link here
Twice in a blue moon ~ Christina Lauren
I don’t know how come I hadn’t read this before since I love this writing duo. I was in need of a light read during the Covid-19 drama and well, this was the pick.
On a London vacation, Sam and Tate meet and fall in love. Sam was Tate’s first love and she reveals her deepest secret, a secret she has disclosed to no one but Sam.
So the writing was great as usual from CL, but I didn’t like the romance in the story. If at all there was romance. Some betrayals shouldn’t be overlooked even if forgiven. Fine, Sam did what he did but even if we are going with the narrative that there was a ‘good reason’ and it was years ago, that was a significant betrayal not worthy imo of a future romance, especially if there isn’t groveling…
3/5 stars
Goodreads link here
Where’d you go Bernadette ~ Maria Semple
Bee’s mother Bernadette disappeared two days before Christmas and when Bee obtains an envelope filled with letters and other correspondence, it reveals how and why Bernadette disappeared. The book is written partly in epistolary form through these correspondence.
I enjoyed the concept of the book but didn’t jive with many of the characters. Also while it was a shorter book it was not a quick read and the story dragged a bit for me. That said, I’d still recommend this quirky novel.
3/5 stars
Goodreads link here
Not my vibe:
N/A
I have sort of found my reading groove back this week and so I’m excited for next months’ post, and hopefully, things will be a lot brighter then as well.
