Hi, friends! Happy 2024! I am back from my wonderful Tennessee vacation and I can’t wait to detail all the fun we had. I promise those vacation recaps are coming soon! I have some book reviews for today, though. These were some of my final reads of 2023, and one of them may end up as my favorite of the year!
Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella (★★★☆☆)
Audiobook • Libby • YA • 2015
Short synopsis: Suffering from mental illness, Audrey doesn’t leave the house and doesn’t go anywhere without her signature dark glasses. She had to leave high school after a particularly troubling incident and now stays at home, only leaving for her regular therapy appointments. And then Linus stumbles into her life and helps her embrace the world again.
This was a sweet YA story, but it was definitely written for a YA audience. Some plotholes and storylines didn’t work with my mid-30s sensibilities, but I’m sure most teenagers reading this wouldn’t mind them. This book felt like a serious departure from what Kinsella normally writes, but there were still some signature Kinsella elements, like the over-the-top mom who seemed almost like a caricature of a person. I liked the focus on mental illness and I really loved the way the author explored forgiveness—and the way that we don’t necessarily need to forgive everyone for everything. Sometimes, people hurt us in irrevocable ways and the best thing we can do for ourselves is leave the relationship. A sweet story with a lot of heart!
The People We Keep by Allison Larkin (★★★★★)
Print • Owned (Book of the Month) • Fiction • 2021
Short synopsis: It’s 1994 and April is failing out of high school and living by herself in a motorless motorhome while her father is living with his new family. On a whim, she goes to an open mic at a bar where she sings the songs she’s been writing for a while. It’s there that she discovers her life could be much bigger than she imagined.
There’s a reason why I wait until the beginning of the year to consider my favorite books of the previous year, and that’s because you never know if you’ll finish reading your favorite book of the year on December 28th. Will this end up being my #1 favorite? I’m not exactly sure yet, but it’s possible! This book was outstanding. Even though it’s largely a character-driven novel, I found it to be compulsively readable and hard to put down. I fell in love with April and the grit and determination she had to succeed in every place she landed. She was a character who was so easy to root for, and I found myself crying happy tears as I finished the novel—something that so rarely happens to me. This is a hard, sad story but ultimately, it’s an uplifting one about the power of relationships. I loved this story so much and I want everyone I know to read it. If the found family trope is your kryptonite like it is mine, you’ll love this one.
Love at First by Kate Clayborn (★★★★☆)
Print • Owned (Amazon) • Contemporary Romance • 2021
Short synopsis: An unexpected inheritance brings Dr. Will Sterling to an eclectic apartment building where he encounters a whole cast of characters, including Nora Clarke, a woman his own age who wants to make this building the best it can be with fun events. What she does not want is Will to start using his apartment as an Airbnb-type place.
This was a pretty good romance, although I had some issues with it. I love a found family trope (see above!) and this one had it in spades. I loved all of the quirky characters in this novel and the way they all rallied together when someone needed them. This novel has an enemies-to-lovers vibe between Will and Nora, which is normally a trope I love, but I’m not sure it worked for me in this instance. And I think it was due to all of the childish pranks that Nora played on Will at the beginning of the novel. This was her way of getting Will to understand how important this apartment community was, but I just cannot with 30-something adults playing pranks like this. It was so silly and over the top, and it just didn’t feel like authentic. Thankfully, those pranks aren’t a huge part of the novel and I really love the way the story turned in the second half of the book, which fully redeemed the first half. A nice, fun romance—one I would recommend!
What are you reading?
I love Kate Clayborn! I have not liked Sophie Kinsella for adults, but YA seems like a good fit for her— maybe Dorothy and I can both read this one 🙂
The YA Kinsella was pretty good – definitely geared toward younger readers who will likely get a lot out of it!
I’m reading Tom Lake!!!! I love love love it so far.
Welcome back, can’t wait to hear about your trip!
I’ve heard such good things about Tom Lake! I may give it a try, but I’ve yet to *love* an Ann Patchett book so I’m thinking she just may not be the author for me.
The People We Keep sounds great! What a wonderful surprise for the end of the year!
I am reading Olivia Strauss is Running Out of Time and listening to Winter Solstice. I also started Britney’s book on audio but haven’t listened to it in a while.
Ooh, let me know what you think about Britney’s memoir. It was interesting – and really heartbreaking. (But the writing!! Ack.)
I have read and loved Love Lettering and Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn. Why am I not reading every book this author writes? *Frantically adds Love at First to library list. NO! I just put it on my Kindle because it’s available to borrow RIGHT NOW*
I listened to TPWK and it was great as an audiobook, too. Highly recommend, although it didn’t crack the top ten for me. I also found it so hard to stop listening to, even though some of it was hard, hard stuff and some of it squicked me out a bit.
I’m read a book called The Mermaid, The Witch, and The Sea, which I thought was a YA book and it is tagged as such in Goodreads, but it’s not? It’s about young people, but it’s dark. The cover shows a cartoon ship on a cartoon sea and I thought it was going to be a fun romp, but instead I’m faced with slavery, indentured servitude, colonialism, and why have I done this to myself? I mean, it’s good. But not what I expected! Next year I’m adding “most misleading title and cover” as a superlative and this book will be a strong contender.
I also picked up Beginner’s Luck by Kate Clayborn from an indie bookstore in Tennessee – so there’s another one to add to your list!
Dang, I’m sorry your fun YA romp turned out to be a dark, heavy book instead. Argh!
I did not love this Clayborn book. I HATE PRANKS. Yes, all caps. Let’s be adults, mmmkay?
I requested The People We Keep after I saw you gave it 5 stars. I know NGS loved it, too. So I am looking forward to reading it! I love found families, too!
Right now I am reading “Screaming on the Inside” which is a book about motherhood and how there is an unreasonable and impossible standard. It’s been an interesting read and I have found myself nodding my head quite a bit. But wow, the author has some nasty goodreads reviews. The author is critical of mom influencers on social media and how they perpetuate this impossible standard and PEOPLE ARE PIZZZZED with her hot take on it. I only know 1 of the influencers she mentioned but they sound like accounts I never would have followed. But the comparison trap is the #1 reaons I’m off social media.
The pranks were soooo dumb, especially grown adults doing them. NO.
Ooh, I had to go and find those pissed-off reviews on Goodreads from Screaming on the Inside. People had a LOT OF WORDS about it. I can understand where they are coming from (not having read the book, of course, so maybe they are exaggerating things!) and oof, lots of strong opinions!
I have the same thought as you re: “can’t make my ‘best of’ list because it’s not the end of the year yet and what if I have a new favorite book…???!!?!”
I liked Love Lettering, but I’m a little burnt out right now on contemporary romances told in first person. I would like a contemporary romance told in omniscient voice for a change.
Anyhow, I’m reading several books – Girlfriend on Mars about a person who goes on a reality show to win a chance to go to Mars, and her boyfriend who is left behind. It’s kind of funny. Reading I’ll have What She’s Having, a look at Nora Ephron’s films and the impact they’ve had – which reminds me I still haven’t seen You’ve Got Mail, and I should because it’s one of the movies that they talk about in the book.
Also listening to The Monsters We Defy a historical fantasy about a Black women in 1925 Washington DC who can talk to Spirits.
Ooh, I’ve read a LOT of romances told in omniscient voices. I tend to prefer those books because I like hearing both sides of the equation – Jasmine Guillory (contemporary) and Sarah MacLean (historical) are good about this.
That’s quite a recommendation for The People We Keep! I don’t usually love character driven novels but this one does sound good. Right now I’m making my way through the “Dover” series by Joyce Porter- mysteries that Birchwood Pie recommended and I’m enjoying them!
I don’t normally love character-driven novels, either, but this one was just so readable! I highly recommend it!
It is the best when you close out the reading year on a high note. So good you had that.