what i’m reading

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (7.29.24)

Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection by Charles Duhigg (★★★★★)

Audiobook • Library • Nonfiction • 2024

Short synopsis: Supercommunicators are people who can steer a conversation to a successful conclusion. They are able to talk about difficult topics without giving offense. They know how to make others feel at ease and share what they think. They’re brilliant facilitators and decision-guiders. In this groundbreaking book, Charles Duhigg unravels the secrets of the supercommunicators to reveal the art – and the science – of successful communication. Above all, he reveals the techniques we can all master to successfully connect with others, however tricky the circumstances.

Man, I loved this book. Communication is something that is a huge struggle for me. Sometimes it feels like my brain just completely shuts off when I’m trying to make conversation with people, especially strangers. I wrack my brain for questions to ask people and usually nothing comes to mind. In this book, Charles Duhigg combines real-life examples of people getting others to listen to them (everything from a CIA operative to members of a jury) with statistics and helpful advice on how to be better at steering a conversation. One of the main takeaways I got from this book is how to ask better questions. Rather than asking, “What do you do for work?” ask, “What’s your favorite thing about your job?” Or rather than asking, “How are you?” ask, “What’s something that made you smile today?” Also, supercommunicators are not only great listeners but also share about their lives to build an honest connection with people. I think what I learned the most about supercommunicators is that they are people who are genuinely curious about the world and the people around them and have a kind, empathetic nature to them. While I don’t think I’ll become a supercommunicator now that I’ve read this book (that’s just not my personality—social anxiety makes it very hard to be as open as I want to be!), I do think it’s given me some good tips and tricks to take with me into the real world.

Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez (★★★★★)

E-Book • Library • Contemporary Romance • 2022

Short synopsis: Alexis Montgomery, an doctor in line to become the next chief of emergency surgery, finds her world turned upside down after meeting Daniel Grant. He lives in a small town three hours from where she lives, but in the one night they spend together, they have undeniable chemistry. Torn between her family’s expectations to become a world-renowned surgeon and the joy she finds with Daniel in his tight-knit town, Alexis faces a difficult choice between her old life and a new, simpler happiness.

This is the first book in Abby Jimenez’s Part of Your World series and the last one I read (I read them out of order and I don’t think that mattered much). I loved it. I think I would put this one smack dab in the middle (Yours Truly will forever be my favorite since one of the characters had social anxiety). There are triggers to be aware of in this book, specifically intimate partner violence, so please be mindful of that. I think the way Jimenez portrayed IPV was really well done and got to the heart of why it can be so hard for people to leave a relationship. I also just really, really loved the chemistry between Daniel and Alexis. They were so damn cute together and I got a little annoyed at the way Alexis continued to push Daniel away because she was so tied to her life at her hospital. And maybe that’s because I’ve seen how happy they are together in the subsequent books in the series, so I just wanted her to grab that happy ending as soon as possible! The way everything unfolded in the end, though, was perfect and made the most sense for the two of them. Anyway, Abby Jimenez is back in my good graces (I hated her first series, The Friend Zone, and had sworn off her books until everyone started raving about this series) and is probably an auto-buy author for me now.

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden (★★★★☆)

Print • Owned (book swap) • Thriller • 2022

Short synopsis: In this psychological thriller, a woman named Millie takes a job with the affluent Winchester family, hoping for a fresh start and a chance to reinvent herself. But the more she gets to know about the Winchesters, the more unsettled she becomes. Why does her small attic room only lock from the outside? And why are there scratches on the doorframe?

The Housemaid is a thriller that’s been everywhere and it has a super high Goodreads rating (4.3 with over a million ratings!) I was excited to finally dive in, but I have to be honest: I was very ready to abandon this book after the first 50 pages because it made me feel so icky. The way Mrs. Winchester treated Millie was so abhorrent that it just didn’t make me feel good. But I kept pushing through because so many people raved about this book and I had to know what the hype was about. And oh boy… did I discover it. By the time to first big twist comes around, I was completely sucked in and couldn’t put this thriller down for anything. It was sensational! I understand now why it’s such a highly rated book, and I’m glad I finally gave it a chance.

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Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (7.24.24)

The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson (★★★★☆)

Audiobook • Library • Contemporary Fiction • 2021

Short synopsis: Lonely librarian June Jones has never left the sleepy English village where she grew up. Shy and reclusive, the thirty-year-old would rather spend her time buried in books than venture out into the world. But when her library is threatened with closure, June is forced to emerge from behind the shelves to save the heart of her community and the place that holds the dearest memories of her mother.

This was such a lovely little book. It was the audiobook I chose after slogging through Detransition, Baby. I needed something light-hearted and sweet, and this novel absolutely fit the bill. I loved June so much. Her character growth throughout the novel, as she found her voice and learned to stand up for what she believed in, was beautiful and I was rooting for her all along the way. I loved the eclectic cast of characters that accompanied her throughout the journey, and the emphasis on libraries and the way they become community centers for so many people. Libraries are so much more than places to borrow books. They are places for people to access the Internet, for kids to have a safe space to do their homework, etc. I loved this book and it would be a great addition to anyone’s TBR—it’s a good book to pick up the next time you need a palate cleanser!

Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie (★★★☆☆)

Print • Owned (indie bookstore) • Mystery • 1942

Short synopsis: It was an open and shut case. All the evidence said Caroline Crale poisoned her philandering husband, a brilliant painter. She was quickly and easily convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Now, sixteen years later, in a posthumous letter, Mrs. Crale has assured her grown daughter that she was innocent. So, Caroline calls on Hercule Poirot to open the case and find out what really happened.

This was such a unique story! I appreciated what Agatha Christie was trying to do with this mystery—to show us how our perception of an event can be drastically different based on our biases. Unfortunately, it started to feel a bit repetitive when the same story was being told over and over again. I also found the mystery at the heart of the novel to be a bit hard to follow at times, but maybe that was the purpose because it wasn’t until the end of the novel that I could fully grasp what had happened. In this novel, there are five important players (aside from the victim, Mr. Crale, and the assumed murderer, Mrs. Crale): two friends of Mr. and Mrs. Crale who were around on the day of the poisoning, Mr. Crale’s mistress, Mrs. Crale’s younger sister, and the sister’s governess. Hercule meets with each one to get their side of the story and then asks them to write down their knowledge of the events. The result is a story that is told over and over again, and left me feeling rather bored by the plot. The ending was a bit convoluted and not as satisfying as I had hoped. But, hey, not every Christie novel can be a slam dunk, right?

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert (★★★☆☆)

E-Book • Library • YA • 2023

Short synopsis: Bradley and Celine are former best friends who had a falling out when they started high school and Brad abandoned her for the “cool kids.” (Or at least, that’s how she sees it.) When Celine signs up for a survival course that comes with a college scholarship, she’s surprised more than anyone to see Brad right by her side. As this adventure brings them closer together, they begin to remember the good bits of their history. But has too much time passed . . . or just enough to spark a whole new kind of relationship?

I was a little surprised that this was a YA romance because, so far, all of the Talia Hibbert books I’ve read have been adult. But I do love a good YA romance so I quickly got over my surprise and settled in for a cute read. It was an enemies-to-lovers trope and I loved the rapport between Bradley and Celine when they were enemies. They were so mean to each other (but not in a problematic way); they were so funny, though! I didn’t care all that much for the survival course scenes (they were kind of boring) and thought the chemistry between Bradley and Celine was just so-so. I liked the themes explored in this novel, especially because Celine is estranged from her father and I could wholly relate to her desire to show him what he’s missing out on. (And for Engie: No teens having sex in this novel!)

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Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (7.9.24)

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian (★★★☆☆)

E-Book • Library • Historical Romance • 2021

Short synopsis: Kit Webb has given up his life of crime and now runs a respectable coffee shop. And then the suave Lord Holland comes into his shop, requesting that Kit complete a job for him. Kit refuses to participate in the robbery but will help Lord Holland learn the art of highway robbery so he can do it himself. Only the more time these two men spend with each other, the more they realize there’s something between them.

Cat Sebastian is one of those reliable 3-star authors for me. I love that she writes queer historical romance, but I can’t say that I’ve read any books by her that are outstanding. They’re all just… pleasant. They’re readable and have great sex scenes, but there’s always something missing from the story that keeps me from loving the book. The same was true with this romance; it was an easy story to dip in and out of, but I wasn’t enamored with it. It was a fine romance, but nothing outstanding.

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters (★★★☆☆)

Audiobook • Library • Literary Fiction • 2021

Short synopsis: The lives of three individuals—a transgender woman named Reese, her detransitioned ex Ames, and Ames’s boss Katrina—intersect dramatically when Katrina’s unexpected pregnancy prompts Ames to propose a plan for the three of them to raise this baby together. Sure, Ames and Reese haven’t talked since their breakup and Ames’ detransition, but a baby is all Reese has ever wanted. The book weaves together concepts of gender identity, family, womanhood, and intimacy in a poignant look at society today.

I struggled a lot with this book. It’s our book club pick for June, and I was committed to getting through it, even though parts of the book made me feel very icky (specifically, Reese’s destructive pattern of sleeping with married men). There’s a lot to discuss about this book, and a lot to unpack about my own thoughts about queerness and the transgender community. While I can appreciate what Peters’ did here by creating incredibly complex, downright unlikable characters, it really made the reading experience difficult for me. There was nobody to root for in this novel; every chapter unveiled a new layer of complexity that made me dislike the characters even more than I already did. I found the whole idea of “man reaches out to his ex to see if she’d like to raise a baby with him and his new girlfriend” to be wholly implausible. I just wanted more from this novel.

*I want to say here that I sought out reviews from transgender people because I was really curious about their reception of the book. Most of the reviews I found were very positive with a lot of people talking about how they could relate to these characters and the novel spoke true to their experiences. And for that, I am immensely grateful to this author for writing this book and giving the transgender community the representation that is sorely lacking in the literary world.

This Spells Love by Kate Robb (★★★★★)

Print • Owned (Book of the Month) • Contemporary Romance • 2023

Short synopsis: In a bid to heal her heartbreak, Gemma casts a spell to erase her ex from her life, but wakes up in an alternate reality where she never dated him—and her best friend doesn’t recognize her. To return to her old life, she must get her best friend to kiss her, but as they grow closer, she questions if he might have been The One all along.

I don’t know what it was about this book, but I could not put it down. I basically spent all of the July 4th holiday on my couch reading this romance because it was so cute and I wanted to stay in Gemma’s world forever. I wouldn’t say this book was particularly well-written and I don’t even know if the whole “alternate universe” concept worked. But for me, it was the right book at the right time. The “best friends-to-lovers” trope is my absolute favorite in romance (yes, above enemies-to-lovers!) and this one did it so perfectly. I loved being with these characters and I loved the setting of this book so much. It really does show you how small decisions you make in life can make such a difference down the road. You just never know what’s waiting for you around the corner!

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Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (7.1.24)

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn (★★★★★)

Audiobook • Library • Historical Fiction • 2021

Short synopsis: Osla, Mab, and Beth are an unlikely trio working to break German military codes to help the war effort. Four years later, the women are no longer on speaking terms, until Beth–who has been confined to an insane asylum—reaches out to Osla and Mab to break her out.

I loved this book! The historical fiction genre is indeed saturated with WWII stories, so it’s fun to find a book that gives me a different look into life during that time. This one was all about codebreakers during WWII, which is something I had never really thought about. The three women in this book were all so different from each other, each coming to codebreaking in their own way and going about life during the war vastly differently. While this is a long book (the audiobook is over 16 hours), I don’t think I really noticed the length because I was so fascinated by this story and the women’s perspectives. It was the kind of WWII story that didn’t feel too heavy, either, because the women were so far removed from the war and all that entailed. All in all, this is a novel I would happily recommend, especially if you love a good WWII story.

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez (★★★★★)

Print • Owned (indie bookstore) • Contemporary Romance • 2024

Short synopsis: Justin has a curse: every woman he dates finds their soulmate after they break up with him. He posts about his curse on Reddit, and connects with Emma who has the same curse. So, they hatch a plan. They’ll date each other and then when they break up, they’ll find their soulmates! Nothing can go wrong with this plan, right?

Okay, Abby Jimenez. I will forgive you for some of your awful early books because you have found your groove in the romance department. This novel was excellent, even though the subject matter was a bit difficult at times (a toxic parent with mental illness and a prison plotline), which made me read the book more slowly than I normally would. However, the chemistry between Justin and Emma was hot and their banter was so much fun to read. I’m also requesting all first dates to include cuddling kittens like Justin arranged for his and Emma’s first date. While Emma could frustrate me at times, I really liked the way Jimenez talked about her depression (“getting small”) because I really identified with that idea. I feel the need to make my world as small as possible when I’m going through a depressive episode, and I appreciated the way both Emma’s best friend and Justin cared for her during her small moments. This novel gave me all of the happy feels, and it’s an easy one to recommend.

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson (★★★☆☆)

Print • Owned (Book of the Month) • Contemporary Fiction • 2023

Short synopsis: This is the story of three women: Darley, a wife and mother who gave up her career to take care of her children; Sasha, who married Colt and has felt like the outcast in his family ever since; and Georgiana, the baby of the family who finds herself in a new relationship she has to keep secret.

This novel has gotten a lot of mixed reviews and doesn’t have the best overall Goodreads rating (3.5), but I had a few friends give it good reviews so I figured I would give it a shot. I enjoyed the easy writing style of the book and I’m always down for a “wealthy people behaving badly” book, but something was missing in this one. I felt like the author could have taken things one step further, but held back. Instead, everything felt a bit too perfect and sweet. I’m not looking for sweet when I read these types of books! I was disappointed by the ending and felt like the author was more concerned with creating a tidy ending than creating an authentic one. This is Jenny Jackson’s debut and maybe it’s due to her inexperience (although she’s also an editor at a major publishing house, so I don’t know if that’s a good enough excuse), but I needed a bit more drama and biting commentary. It’s a fine book, but not one I’ll be rushing out to recommend.

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Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (6.17.24)

Go as a River by Shelley Read (★★★★★)

Print • Library • Historical Fiction • 2023

Short synopsis: A heart-wrenching coming-of-age story that combines unforgettable characters with a breathtaking natural setting. It is a sweeping story of one young woman’s survival and becoming, of the deepest mysteries of love, truth, and fate.

This was the kind of book I started and told myself, “Just give it 50 pages. If you’re not sucked in, you can abandon it.” I’m not exactly sure how it made its way onto my Goodreads TBR, but I think a rave review from Lisa made me add it. I should have known that Lisa never lets me down! This book was exceptional. It was well-written and emotional and I felt like I was sitting right there next to Victoria as she told me her life story. It’s a story filled with ups and downs, heartbreaks and moments of beauty, and I was enthralled from beginning to end. I found myself wrapped up in Victoria’s character and wanted only good things for her in a life that’s not always destined for good things. It’s a story about resilience, about love, about loss, and about what can happen when you let people in. I loved this story so much.

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera (★★★★★)

Audiobook • Library • Thriller • 2024

Short synopsis: Five years ago, Lucy’s best friend Savvy was brutally murdered and ever since then, Lucy has been the prime suspect of the crime. After all, she was found wandering the streets covered in Savvy’s blood with no memory of what had happened. With no evidence to convict her, Lucy has moved on with her life as best she can. But then a popular true crime podcast decides to investigate the murder and Lucy is drawn back into her past.

Another book rec from a friend! This one was from Kim and when she recommended listening to the audiobook, I immediately placed a hold request at my library. This was a phenomenal thriller and I definitely think it should be listened to because the way the podcast is incorporated into the narration is *chef’s kiss*. I loved the way we started the story knowing just as much about what happened as Lucy did, but as Lucy started to regain her memory, so do we learn more about what happened the night Savvy died. This book is also hysterical. I can’t remember the last time I actually laughed out loud during a thriller! But this one got me a few times because Lucy has some good zingers throughout the novel. There’s a really important message throughout this book, and it’s hard to say what that message is without spoiling things, but I will say that I wholly appreciated what Tintera had to say about this issue, and it made the whole reveal at the end make so much sense. This is one of the best thrillers I’ve read and I can give it my full endorsement!

Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by Elle Cosimano (★★★★☆)

Print • Library • Mystery • 2023

Short synopsis: Finlay Donovan is back, and this time she owes a favor to the Russian mob. The plan is simple: Find a contract killer before the cops do. But what if the contract killer is a cop? That’s how she finds herself at a citizen’s police academy (run none other by hot cop Nick) with her best friend Vero, trying to keep up with all of the seminars and workshops while also rooting out the dirty cop.

This is the third book in the Finlay Donovan series, so I don’t want to say too much about the plot since these books should be read in order. What I will say is that this book was so much fun and I loved getting back in the wild and wacky world of single mom/novelist/reluctant hit woman Finlay Donovan. Yes, you have to suspend your belief with these novels but I think if you go into these books with an open mind and know you’re just there to have a good time, you’ll enjoy these books. I found it hard to figure out who the contract killer could be among the array of cops, but loved how it was all revealed at the end. So satisfying!

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