what i’m reading

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (9.16.24)

At First Spite by Olivia Dade (★★★★★)

Print • Library • Contemporary Romance • 2024

Short synopsis: After her fiancé ends their engagement, Athena Greydon moves into the narrow Spite House she bought for him, only to find herself living next to the very man who convinced her fiancé to leave her—Matthew, her fiancé’s brother. While she initially plots petty revenge, her growing attraction to Matthew complicates her plans.

Oh my goodness, I just loved this sweet romance! It reminded me of an Abby Jimenez novel as it dealt with some heavy themes (including depression) but also had such a sweet love story at the center of the novel. I truly couldn’t get enough of Athena and Matthew. They had an instant chemistry that crackled off the pages. Athena battles depression in this novel and the author described her mental illness with such a deft hand that I found myself tearing up for Athena. She’s a woman in her 30s who has struggled to find where she fits, especially as it relates to her career, and it really touched me. I will say that I didn’t love the petty revenge part of the novel (I just honestly can’t with adults being petty like that, it drives me crazy), but others may find it hysterical. YMMV! All in all, though, this was a delightful romance!

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (★★★★★)

Print • Book of the Month • Mystery • 2024

Short synopsis: In August 1975, 13-year-old Barbara Van Laar vanishes from her family’s summer camp, mirroring her brother’s disappearance 14 years earlier. As a frantic search begins, the story unravels the dark secrets of the Van Laar family and the community intertwined with their legacy.

Everyone is raving about this novel, so I went into it with high expectations. Good news: It did not disappoint! I was enthralled with it from the first pages until the end, and I loved every minute I spent with this book. It may be a contender for my overall favorite book of the year! This story had a lot of people to keep track of and a lot of intermingling storylines and while sometimes I had to reorient myself with who I was reading about (is this the counselor or the mom or the investigator?!), it didn’t really detract from my enjoyment of the book. The last 150 pages I read in a single day, using every little break I could to sit down and read a few pages. I even came home from the gym and plopped right down on my couch to finish the book because I had to know how it all turned out. I think Liz Moore is incredibly skilled at writing these complex mysteries, making you care so much for characters and sit with a nearly 500-page book that you can’t put down! I loved the setting, the characters, the overall plot… everything about this book was perfection!

A Tempest at Sea by Sherry Thomas (★★★★☆)

Audiobook • Library • Mystery • 2023

Short synopsis: Charlotte Holmes is offered a chance to reclaim a normal life by recovering a lost dossier for the crown. However, her mission aboard the RMS Provence is complicated by a murder, forcing her to avoid detection to keep her secret identity intact.

This is the seventh book in the Lady Holmes mystery series where Sherry Thomas reimagines Sherlock Holmes as a woman. I didn’t even realize she had released two more books in the series until someone on my Goodreads timeline reviewed this book. What a delightful discovery! I always enjoy my time with Charlotte and her people, and this one was especially fun as it took place on a ship and involved Charlotte donning a disguise to avoid detection. I found it difficult to keep track of all the different characters, which may have been due to the audiobook and not paying attention as closely as I should have. Eventually, though, I started to make sense of who was who and why they were important to the story. All in all, it was another great novel in this continuing series and I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book!

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Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (9.3.24)

An Island Princess Starts a Scandal by Adriana Herrera (★★★☆☆)

E-Book • Library • Historical Romance • 2023

Short synopsis: Facing a loveless marriage, Manuela del Carmen Caceres Galvan seizes her last summer of freedom in Paris before exhibiting her paintings at the 1889 Exposition Universelle. When ruthless Duchess Cora Kempf Bristol sees an opportunity, they strike a life-changing bargain—Manuela’s land for a summer with the duchess, leading to a passionate and scandalous affair.

One of the things I appreciate about Adriana Herrera’s historical romances is how she introduces me to a new aspect of history that I had no idea about. In this book, she taught me about the lesbian societies that were prevalent in places like Paris in the 19th century—including the women who lived together as romantic partners and were accepted into an underground society of other women “like them.” We’ve always been here, you know? While this book was a little lackluster when it came to the relationship (I never really felt the chemistry between Manuela and Cora, and don’t think Herrera properly showed us why they were meant to be together), there were other aspects of this novel that I really loved, like all the queerness in Paris society and the way Cora was such a badass businesswoman thanks to her deceased husband’s influence. Read this one more for the historical tidbits, less for the relationship.

His & Hers by Alice Feeney (★★★★☆)

Audiobook • Library • Thriller • 2020

Short synopsis: When a woman is murdered in Blackdown, a quintessentially British village, newsreader Anna Andrews is reluctant to cover the case. Detective Jack Harper is suspicious of her involvement until he becomes a suspect in his own murder investigation.

This was a hard book for me to rate. On the one hand, it was a very good thriller that had tons of twists and turns and an ending I did not see coming! On the other hand, it made me feel very icky because there was a lot of horrible stuff: toxic female friendship, graphic violence, on-page sexual assault, on-page rape, and animal abuse. I wish the author told the story without all of this stuff. I mean, it was a huge part of the story and I think the author wanted me to feel icky, so mission accomplished. But it was hard to listen to! I considered abandoning the book because of all of that. But I persevered and was rewarded with a really satisfying ending. This is more of a 3.5-star book for me and it’s a thriller I would be hesitant to recommend to anyone.

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue (★★★★☆)

E-Book • Library • Fiction • 2023

Short synopsis: Rachel is a student in Cork whose life takes unexpected turns after meeting James, a charismatic friend with whom she navigates the bohemian lifestyle amidst the looming financial crisis. Their bond deepens as Rachel falls for her married professor, leading to a series of secrets and compromises that entangle their lives with those of the professor and his glamorous wife.

I’m not sure what I expected from this book, but it was a pleasant surprise to enjoy it as much as I did! This book is mostly a character study, following two people during a year of their life and all of the joys and mistakes they make along the way. I loved Rachel and James and the way they became almost instantaneous best friends. Their friendship was truly the highlight of this book; I loved the way they fought and loved and were always there for one another. They could both be selfish and childish at times, but they were also 20 years old and that’s to be expected. I loved how this story was told, of Rachel looking back on this year that impacted her and was the catalyst for so much that happened in the future. It’s the way we sometimes look back on our past mistakes when we have the hindsight of being older and wiser. It can be cringey to remember what we did and the people we hurt, but it’s also how we grow. Anyway, I really enjoyed this book!

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Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (8.26.24)

Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe (★★★★☆)

Audiobook • Spotify • Contemporary Fiction • 2024

Short synopsis: Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, unemployment, and looming eviction, Margo turns to OnlyFans, drawing on her estranged father’s wrestling advice to craft a successful online persona.

This was a great book, and one I wasn’t sure I wanted to read until everyone else started raving about it. They were right! Margo was an utterly delightful character and while some may get annoyed with her naivete, especially in the beginning of the book, I honestly couldn’t get enough of her. She felt so real. She became a mother at 20 and has to figure everything out on her own because her friends don’t want to help and her mom is useless. I loved her character arc and the way we see her become more and more comfortable in her role as a mother—and as a businesswoman. I found the scenes between Margo and her mom to be so difficult to get through; a toxic mom/daughter relationship always breaks my heart! But the true standout in this novel is the relationship between Margo and her father. I don’t want to give too much of the plot away, so I’ll just say that as someone who is also estranged from my father, I really enjoyed this part of the plot. This is a book I would confidently place in the hands of most readers, so give it a try! (The audiobook is excellent, too. It’s read by Elle Fanning and she didn’t make up silly voices for the male characters. I want all of my audiobooks to be read by her!)

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (★★★☆☆)

E-Book • Owned (Amazon) • Fiction • 1948

Short synopsis: Through six turbulent months of 1934, 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain keeps a journal, filling three notebooks with sharply funny yet poignant entries about her home, a ruined Suffolk castle, and her eccentric and penniless family. By the time the last diary shuts, there have been great changes in the Mortmain household, not the least of which is that Cassandra is deeply, hopelessly, in love.

This novel started out strong for me, but it petered at the end. In the beginning, I adored Cassandra and her witty journal entries. She gave me real Anne Shirley vibes and I settled in for a sweet story about a poor family. Unfortunately, the story took a turn for me about halfway through. Characters I previously loved started making very dumb decisions and while there is a redemptive character arc, I think I was just so frustrated by the end that I didn’t really care. There were some really fun scenes in this book (the bear! the kidnapping!) that kept it from being a slog. And I think the author did a great job of portraying the emotions and mistakes of teenage girlhood—I had to continually remind myself that Cassandra is young and is doing the best she can. Her brain is still developing and she’s bound to make really dumb decisions at this point in her life. All in all, I’m glad I finally read this book but it’s not one I’m going to be recommending to many people.

All That Is Mine I Carry With Me by William Landay (★★★☆☆)

Print • Library • Mystery • 2023

Short synopsis: In 1975, ten-year-old Miranda Larkin comes home to find her mother mysteriously missing, leaving behind no signs of struggle. Decades later, Jane Larkin’s remains are discovered, reigniting an investigation that forces her now-grown children to confront the chilling possibility that their father, a criminal defense attorney, may have been involved in her death.

I have complicated feelings about this book. I picked it up because multiple recommendation sources had raved about it so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. And it just didn’t really work for me. The book is divided into multiple sections and there’s a different narrator for each section, which was hard to wrap my head around at first. There were some odd stylistic choices like not having chapters and halfway through the book, he stopped using quotation marks. (I really hate books that don’t have quotation marks. Just use them!) I thought the story was pretty bland and unsatisfying, especially because it was easy to understand what had happened to Miranda’s mother and nothing really gets solved beyond that. I was expecting something different, I guess.

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Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (8.19.24)

What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall (★★☆☆☆)

Audiobook • Library • Thriller • 2023

Short synopsis: Naomi Shaw and her friends, Cassidy and Olivia, once played a game of magic in the woods, but it ended tragically when Naomi was attacked and nearly killed. Decades later, as Olivia wants to reveal a long-held secret, Naomi must uncover the dangerous truth of what really happened.

This thriller gets pretty good reviews and Meredith from Currently Reading loved it, so I was excited to read it. And I just hated it. Womp, womp. Honestly, my main issue lies with the narrator. I didn’t love the way she read the novel and I really disliked the fact that every male character had the exact same silly deep voice. It wasn’t a good performance and I considered abandoning the book because of it. Alas, I kept going because I was hopeful that the plot would make up for it. And it didn’t. The thriller was slow and meandering and even slightly predictable at times. I felt like the story went completely off the rails by the end, and the ending was deeply unsatisfying. Unfortunately, not a thriller I would recommend!

Act Like It by Lucy Parker (★★★★★)

Print • Owned (Amazon) • Contemporary Romance • 2015

Short synopsis: Once London’s hottest actor, Richard Troy’s fiery temper has made him public enemy number one, leaving fans heartbroken. However, rumors swirl that his romance with Lainie Graham might be transforming him into a new man, sparking speculation about whether this unlikely pair is genuine or just an act.

This is a reread for me, as I am a Lucy Parker stan and want to work my way through her books again while I wait for her next release. I wasn’t sure if this one would be as good as I remembered it, but it absolutely was. This one had a few different tropes: a little bit enemies-to-lovers, a little bit fake-dating, a little bit sunshine/grumpy. It all worked together for a wonderful romance that I couldn’t get enough of. What I really appreciate about Lucy’s novels is that she doesn’t create these dramatic dark moments. There is a dark moment in this book but it felt totally natural and got resolved fairly quickly. I loved this novel just as much as the first time I read it and I can’t wait to keep rereading her backlist!

What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo (★★★★★)

Print • Owned (Amazon) • Nonfiction • 2022

Short synopsis: A searing memoir of reckoning and healing by acclaimed journalist Stephanie Foo, investigating the little-understood science behind complex PTSD and how it has shaped her life.

What a stunning memoir. I was curious to read this book as someone who also had a traumatic childhood (my ACES score is the same as Stephanie’s), although I do not believe I have complex PTSD as Stephanie does. Stephanie was emotionally and physically abused by her mom and then abandoned by her when she was only 13. And then her father was essentially absent from her life until he, too, abandoned her to live with his new family when she was 16. It’s horrifying to think about everything she went through and everything she had to shoulder alone. During this book, Stephanie takes us through her childhood, her college and early adulthood life, and then finding out her diagnosis and what she does afterward. There isn’t a ton of research and treatment for C-PTSD because it isn’t considered an official diagnosis in the DSM. Stephanie tells us about all of the different therapies she tries, from talk therapy and acupuncture to meditation and restorative yoga. It’s a beautifully written book, but it’s a hard book to read because learning how to break free of the typical coping skills of someone with C-PTSD is incredibly difficult. It takes patience and understanding and courage.

This book made me super grateful for my mom. While I did have a traumatic childhood, I also had a strong support system. I had my mom’s unconditional love. I felt safe and secure with her. I had my brother, and he is the only person in the world who understands what we went through with my father. He had my back when we were growing up and today, he’s the person I can go to when I need to reminisce and talk through dad stuff. I also had my grandparents who also gave me unconditional love and a soft place to land. I had uncles and aunts and cousins. Stephanie didn’t have any family in the States (her parents immigrated here while the rest of her family remained in Malaysia). I can’t imagine going through such a difficult childhood with nobody by my side.

Anyway, obviously this book touched me in a deep, impactful way and I am so grateful to this author for writing such a personal book. I know it’s going to help so many people.

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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.

What are you reading?