Stephany Writes

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (1.4.23)

The No-Show by Beth O’Leary (★★☆☆☆)

E-Book • Libby • Contemporary Romance • 2022

Gosh, Beth O’Leary is such a hit-or-miss author for me. I loved two of her novels (The Flatshare and The Switch), DNF-ed The Road Trip, and really didn’t like this one. When I finished the book, the only thought I had was, “What was the ever-loving point of this novel?” After a few days to sit with it, I am starting to understand the point but I am still very frustrated by this book. The book begins by introducing three women: Siobhan, a life coach, Miranda, a tree surgeon (?!), and Jane, a volunteer at a charity shop. One by one, the women learn they have been stood up on Valentine’s Day by the same man (Joseph): Siobhan in the morning during a scheduled breakfast date, Miranda in the afternoon during a scheduled lunch date, and Jane in the evening during a scheduled party where she planned to introduce him to everyone. Right off the bat, there is sympathy for these women and disdain for this man who is seeing three women at once. Throughout the novel, we learn more about these women and more about the relationship they have with Joseph, and there are some interesting twists and turns the book takes that I wasn’t expecting, but overall, I just wasn’t a huge fan of the book and the way things turned out. YMMV!

The Verifiers by Jane Pek (★★★☆☆)

Print • Owned (Book of the Month) • Thiller • 2022

The Verifiers was a solid thriller, but not one I am rushing out to recommend. It follows the story of Claudia Lin who has just started a job with Veracity, a dating detective agency. Clients come to them when they want to find out why the person they were dating suddenly ghosted or if they suspect the person they’re dating might be married and want proof. Things like that. When one of their clients turns up dead, Claudia can’t help investigating what happened to get to the bottom of the mystery. Like I said, it was a fine thriller and I think some of the twists and turns the book took were truly interesting. (I also really loved learning more about the inner workings of online dating culture, although some of the stuff in the book is making me question if I should be using dating apps at all!) The ending was a bit anti-climactic. All in all, a good but not great book.

Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram (★★★☆☆)

Audiobook • Libby • YA • 2018

Everyone I know who has read this book has absolutely raved about it, so I went into the story with very high expectations. I expected to fall in love with Darius, I expected to love this novel from beginning to end. And… it was just okay. Not bad, not spectacular. Just… fine. The story is about Darius, a half-Jewish, half-Muslim teenage boy who doesn’t fit in at school or at home. He has clinical depression that he takes medication for, and I think the mental health representation in this book was A+. When his family announces they are going to be spending the summer in Iran, Darius is looking forward to the trip and it’s there that he meets Sohrab, the boy who will become his best friend this summer. The novel is a personal journey for Darius: learning more about his homeland, growing closer to his grandparents whom he has never met (only through video calls), and exploring Iran with Sohrab. It’s a sweet story and it was interesting to see Iran from the perspective of a young teenage boy. I think things tied up a bit too neatly at the end for my tastes, though. (Can we let parent/child relationships be complicated without needing to make them BFFs at the end of the book?) All in all, a good book but not a standout.

Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun (★★★☆☆)

Print • Owned (Book of the Month) • Contemporary Romance • 2022

My last book of 2022! I wanted to dip into a cute, Christmassy romance as I finished up my reading year and this book fit the bill. It’s about a woman, Ellie, who becomes fake-engaged to a man named Andrew. He’s the landlord for the coffee shop where she works and when he discovers she’s in dire straits (she’s days from being evicted), he proposed a plan to fake an engagement/marriage so that he can get his inheritance. (His grandfather stipulated that he must be married to get his inheritance.) It sounds like a good deal to Ellie, who is in desperate need of money and it comes with the bonus of not being alone on Christmas; instead, she’ll spend it with Andrew’s family. Only problem? Andrew’s sister is Jack, the same woman Ellie had a one-day fling with last Christmas… and the girl Ellie hasn’t been able to stop thinking about. This was a sweet romance, although the author’s debut novel (The Charm Offensive) is heads and tails above this book. I found Ellie to be a bit irritating at times and hard to root for. And, omg, if I had to listen to Ellie explain demisexuality to me one more goddamn time, I was going to scream. There were times when I think the author sacrificed plot and character development to make sure she was writing the most woke book possible. Not my favorite romance, but a fine one to end the year with.

What was YOUR last book of 2022?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (12.26.22)

The Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin (★★☆☆☆)

E-Book • Owned (Amazon) • Contemporary Fiction • 2018

This book had the potential to be so good. It’s about two doctors, Emma and Zadie, who met in med school and became fast friends. One is now a trauma surgeon while the other is a pediatric cardiologist. They both live in Charlotte, NC, and lead happy, fulfilled lives. They’re both married with children, and one of the things I really loved about this book is the way it explored motherhood and marriage that didn’t also involve infidelity. It’s hard to find a book that lets married people just… be married and deal with their problems like adults. The crux of this novel is the arrival of a blast from their past who may upend their careful, perfect worlds. I loved all the different medical scenes in the novel, like a literary Grey’s Anatomy! (Kimmery Martin is a former ER doctor, so she knows what she’s talking about.) It was really fun to read about the different surgeries and patient interactions and felt like I was on the set of Seattle Grace.

However, I cannot give this book a high rating because it was rife with casual racism, classism, and fatphobia. Every single POC was a stereotype (down to the “well-hung” Black man). A group of queer men was referred to as “LGBT-ers.” (Not a terrible insult, but it does show that this author doesn’t have any queer folk in her life.) And the fatphobia was absolutely rampant. There was the woman described as “enormous.” A surgeon screaming about being in a “fat forest” when encountering fat in a patient’s body. And the real kicker was this passage: “Hurriedly, I tried to decide if a weight-challenged person near the back counted as one or two people.” First, you can just call us fat. You don’t need to couch it in terms like “weight challenged.” And secondly, fuck you very much. This is a horrendous and hurtful word choice. I will not be reading anything else from this author, and I hope she learns how to be respectful of all people and all bodies in her novels.

Made in Manhattan by Lauren Layne (★★★★☆)

E-Book • Libby • Contemporary Romance • 2022

I read this sweet romance novel in just over a day; it was hard to put down! Violet has been Edith’s righthand woman for years now, and when Edith gives Violet the job of turning her grandson into the NYC elite he needs to be in order to run her company when she retires, she’s ready for it. Only Cain, Edith’s grandson, is gruff and obstinate… but also incredibly sexy? We all know where this is going! I loved watching Violet and Cain fall in love. Their banter with each other was so witty and fun. This was just one of those sweet, uncomplicated romances that are fun to read, especially on a chilly December evening right before Christmas.

The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson (★★★★★)

Audiobook • Libby • Historical Fiction • 2016

I really loved this novel! I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much if I had read a physical copy; audiobook is typically the best way for me to consume longer, character-driven novels. And this one, clocking in at 16 hours on audiobook, is definitely a hefty story. The story starts near the end of summer in 1914 and takes place in a coastal town in Sussex, a county located on the southeastern side of England. The characters include Beatrice, a new Latin teacher who has arrived in town mourning the loss of her beloved father; Agatha, the woman who takes Beatrice under her wing; Hugh, Agatha’s nephew who is studying to be a doctor; and Daniel, Hugh’s cousin who just wants to write his poems and travel the world. Unfortunately, soon after Beatrice arrives in town, it becomes clear that the rumblings of war they’ve been hearing about for months are true, and it may be time for Hugh and Daniel to do their duty. This novel just put me in a really happy space for the majority of the book. I loved being dropped into the lives of these characters and getting a glimpse into what life was like in the mid-1910s before a world war upended everyone’s lives. I thought all of the characters were so well-developed, even the side characters. And I was also impacted by the wartime scenes. Simonson did an excellent job placing you right in the action so you could better understand how much we ask of our soldiers. This is a novel that will stay with me for a while, I think.

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (12.5.22)

What If It’s Us? by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera (★★★★☆)

In this queer romance, Arthur is a teenager who is only in NYC for the summer. He’s filled with hope, ambition, and a love for the way the Universe seems to make things happen. Ben has lived in NYC his whole life. He’s going through a breakup, in summer school, and basically at his wit’s end with life. When Arthur and Ben have a meet-cute in a post office but then Ben disappears before Arthur can get his number, is this the Universe’s way of saying they aren’t meant to be? It’s a really cute YA love story, almost sappy sweet at times, but I was here for all of it. Arthur was such a delightful character to root for, especially the way he reacts to being in NYC and being with Ben. Ben is his grumpy counterpart but who starts to relent in the face of Arthur’s unfailing positivity. It’s not a perfect romance, but it was a satisfying one filled with quirky characters and a really great ending.

Victoria by Daisy Goodwin (★★★★☆)

Victoria is a fictional retelling of Queen Victoria’s first few years of her reign. She inherited the throne at the age of 18 and had to grow up quickly, as she suddenly became the ruler of an entire nation overnight. She has a rocky relationship with her mother and probably a very inappropriate relationship with her prime minister (although lines were never crossed). Victoria could be a difficult character at times. She could be flighty and selfish and ridiculous, but I had to remind myself that she was 18 and had been an incredibly sheltered child. Most of us are flighty, selfish, and ridiculous at 18; we’re just not also responsible for ruling a country. All in all, this book was really engaging and I loved getting this slice of life into what it’s like to be royal. The ending felt a little abrupt and I would have liked a little more exploration into Victoria and the man she ends up eventually marrying. But it was still a propulsive read that gave me delightful The Crown, season 1, vibes.

Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake (★★★★☆)

In this f/f romance, Astrid Parker is an interior designer who has had a run of bad luck. She’s dealing with the aftermath of a broken engagement and her interior design business has been flailing for a while now. So when she earns the job to redesign the Everwood Inn, a historic landmark hotel in her town, which will also be featured on an HGTV-esque show, Innside America, she knows this could be the big break her business needs. What she’s not thrilled about is working with Jordan Everwood, the granddaughter of the inn’s founder and lead carpenter on the job. Jordan and Astrid had a horrifying meeting (the opposite of a meet-cute, really) outside a coffee shop where Jordan accidentally spilled coffee all over Astrid’s pristine white dress. Still, they have to learn how to work together for the project. There was so much to love about this romance. I just love the way this author writes female characters, and especially the way she writes women falling in love with women. So many other authors writing queer romances make it feel so lackluster, but Blake makes these romances feel big and exciting and perfect. I didn’t love this novel as much as her first one (Delilah Green Doesn’t Care)—there were just too many times I had to suspend my belief—but this story still had a whole lot of heart and such a sweet love story at its core. Ashley Herring Blake is a new autobuy author for me!

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (11.25.22)

Tokyo Dreaming by Emiko Jean (★★★★☆)

Tokyo Dreaming is the second book in the Tokyo Ever After series. I read the first book in less than 24 hours and could not get enough of the adorable love story. This book didn’t have that same level of magic, but it was still a great read. In this book, Izumi (who discovered her father was the Crown Prince of Japan in the previous book) is settling into imperial life and dealing with the rigors that come with being a princess. She’s trying to live up to the elegance of her twin cousins (the press loves her cousins, not so much Izumi), touring universities in Japan, and figuring out her next steps when those steps are highly scrutinized. One of the things I really loved about this book was learning more about present-day imperial customs and Japanese culture. It was really interesting! All in all, a very cute YA book that won’t change anyone’s life but it will be an enjoyable, palate-cleansing read should you need that.

The Wife Before Me by Laura Elliott (★★★★☆)

Oof, this book was rough. It’s the kind of book I cannot really recommend, even though I gave it 4 stars, because there is so much violence against women. About 100 pages in, I wanted to abandon it but I decided to keep going because a) I didn’t have any other reading material on Sunday when I was at my mom’s and b) it has a high Goodreads rating for a thriller, so I want to keep going and see what all the buzz was about. The novel is about Elena who has just lost her mom when a suave and handsome man sweeps into her life. Nicholas is also going through his own grieving process—his wife has been missing and presumed dead for two years—so they connect over their grief. Early on in their relationship, Elena realizes all is not well with Nicholas, but she ignores red flag after red flag because she’s so in love with him. This story comes with all of the trigger warnings: domestic violence, grief, cancer, death, and violence against women. If you can get past all of that, I think the story was super engaging and page-turn-y. The ending is a bit wild (so wild, I had to read it a few times to make sure I didn’t miss anything!), but satisfying, too.

The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson (★★★★☆)

The fourth book in the Truly Devious series takes us away from the elite Vermont boarding school where amateur detective Stevie Bell and her friends spend most of their time and drops us into a summer camp where a quadruple homicide occurred over 40 years ago. The homicide has never been solved, and the camp’s owner wants Stevie to help him solve the case and make a podcast about it. I just absolutely loved this mystery. It was fast-paced and engaging, and I loved the setting of a summer camp. I also really liked the way this book explored the nature of true crime podcasts and how exploitative they can sometimes be on communities and families. I wish the author had explored that idea a bit more, but I did like the way she pitted Stevie against the camp owner, and showed the differences in their approaches to solving this crime. Stevie wanted the families to have some closure while the owner was simply looking to make the next Serial (or so it seemed). All in all, a very fun mystery and I’m excited that there’s a fifth book in this series coming out next month. Woohoo!

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (11.16.22)

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center (★★★☆☆)

E-Book • Libby • Contemporary Romance • 2022

The Bodyguard is a contemporary romance about Hannah and Jack. Hannah is an Executive Protection Agent (aka, a bodyguard) whose next job is to keep wildly successful actor Jack Stapleton safe from a stalker while he visits with his mom who is sick. Hannah doesn’t seem like the typical bodyguard for a man like Jack, but that’s what makes her so good at her job. But in order to sell her presence in Jack’s life while he spends time with his mom at their family ranch, Jack and Hannah have to pretend to be dating. Ahhh… the fake-dating trope! It’s one of my faves, for sure. I really liked this book, but there was just something missing the mark for me. It was hard for me to understand the love story between Jack and Hannah—I could see them developing a close friendship after all of this, but I didn’t feel any chemistry between the characters nor see what made Jack fall in love with Hannah, or vice versa. I thought the ending was clever, although I could have done without the epilogue. All in all, a good romance but not one I’m rushing out to recommend.

The Smart One by Jennifer Close (★★☆☆☆)

Print • Owned (Thriftbooks) • Contemporary Fiction • 2013

The Smart One is a book about the Coffey family. There’s Weezy, the mother who might be a little overbearing at times. There’s Martha, the oldest daughter who is living at home and working in retail after burning out quickly in her career as a nurse. There’s Claire, the middle child who just broke up with her fiance and is in dire financial straits. And there’s Max, the youngest child who is away at college and just started dating Cleo. The story follows the perspectives of Weezy, Martha, Claire, and Cleo as they navigate life and family and careers and mental health struggles. It’s a character-driven novel, but the characters are just so awful and hard to root for. I wouldn’t say I need to like my characters to enjoy a novel, but when it’s a character-driven novel like this, I really want to be able to root for someone. Honestly, though, I don’t even know if I hated the characters as much as I disliked the writing. I wanted more for these characters, but the writing failed to live up to what they could be. They deserved better, I guess.

The 57 Bus: A True Story About Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater (★★★★★)

Audiobook • Libby • YA/Nonfiction • 2017

This book was… incredible. It’s part-fiction and part-nonfiction. The novel part, which is based on a true story, takes the story of a nonbinary teenager named Sasha who is involved in a horrific accident on the bus one day. A Black teenage boy named Richard thought it might be funny to take a lighter to the skirt Sasha is wearing. Sasha is sleeping on the bus at the time, but Richard thinks, surely, they will wake up before the skirt erupts in flames. Sasha does not wake up until they are engulfed, and some bus passengers have to help them put out the flames. Sasha then must undergo surgery and treatment for the burns while Richard is arrested for the crime. The novel flashes between Sasha and Richard’s stories, and between those chapters are nonfiction chapters. Information about the gender spectrum, about Black teenagers’ incarceration rates, about the justice system, about burn treatment, etc. It’s such an interesting way of telling a story, and I found myself truly awed by it.

What are you reading?