What I’m Reading (11.16.20)

My bookish moment of the week was giving a friend a long list of book recommendations! She reached out to me, telling me that I always gave her the best recommendations (which, hello, heart eyes!) so it was a delight to look over my recently read list, as well as some of the books on my TBR, to give her about 10 books to request from the library. I consider this friend to be one of my “book twins,” as we tend to have the same taste in books so it’s always easy to recommend books to her! I looooove when friends reach out to me for recommendations!

I didn’t publish a reading update last week since I wanted to post about the election results (and I only finished one book that week!), so this update comprises two weeks of reading. I finished four books, three of which were 5-star reads!

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (★★★★★)

Short synopsis: Simon is a closeted gay teen trying to get through high school and corresponding with another closeted gay teen through email. They both go to the same school but remain anonymous to each other. When Simon finds himself falling for his secret email buddy, will he have the courage to come out?

This YA love story was SO cute and I started it the night before the election. It was the perfect “brain candy”-type read I needed to get me through those very uncertain times. I loved Simon as a character—he’s definitely a teen so he can be angsty at times, but he’s ultimately a good kid who is trying to figure out how to come out to his family and friends. There was a great focus on friendship, and I loved how authentically high school friendship was written about in this book. Simon and his friends had their flaws and their jealousies, but they were ultimately good to each other and supportive when it mattered. Of course, I was mostly interested in the blossoming relationship between Simon and his email buddy, and I was so excited for the reveal of who it was! This is a book I will most definitely read again because it gave me such happy feels!

Hidden Away by Maya Banks (★★★☆☆)

One-sentence synopsis: Garrett’s latest assignment is to get close to a woman named Sarah whose brother has been on the wanted list for a whole host of government agencies… but what happens when he starts to fall for his assignment?

I really, really liked this book. I thought it was fast-paced, well-written, and I loved how it all came together in the end. But what I didn’t love is that this is the third book in this series with a weak-willed female character who had to be saved by her male counterpart. Honestly, at this point, I can’t tell any of the women apart because they’ve all been written from the same mold. There was even this really awful scene of five adult men bullying a teenage boy because he had hurt their teenage sister. Was this boy a bully? Yes, he was. But the sister should have been annoyed at her brothers trying to fight her battles for her, rather than crying from happiness. (Yes, that really happened.) I keep reading her books because I do love the writing, but she gets one more chance from me. If the next book in this series follows the same format, I’m done. (Open-door romance.)

Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah (★★★★★)

Short synopsis: Joanna is a graduate student studying ornithology and is spending a few months in rural Illinois to conduct her research. Her routine is thrown off by the arrival of Ursa, a child who is barefoot, covered in bruises, and claims to be an alien from a faraway galaxy who is on Earth to find five miracles.

Listen, I know the synopsis sounds crazy. Aliens and galaxies and miracles? It’s all a little far-fetched, but the premise works. This book is pure magic from beginning to end; it’s the kind of book that makes me so happy to be a reader. I was captivated by Ursa, struggling right along with Joanna about what to do about her, and caught up in the imagery of this tiny rural area. And I’ll admit: I didn’t really know what to believe. Was Ursa an alien? Or was she just a lost little girl who wanted to believe in something bigger? There’s a beautiful love story intertwined in this book that made this book just a touch more lovely for me. (You know me: I love a good love story.) A must-read!

Murder on Cold Street by Sherry Thomas (★★★★★)

Short synopsis: A friend of Charlotte Holmes’s, Inspector Treadles, is found locked in a room with two dead men and is charged with their murders. It’s up to Charlotte and her team to clear his name.

The only disappointing thing about this novel is knowing I’m going to have to wait months and months for the next Charlotte Holmes mystery! Argh! I loved everything about this novel: the team Charlotte has amassed to help her solve crimes, the little details Charlotte was able to figure out based on her own intuition, the way the mystery was revealed, and, of course, Charlotte’s penchant for cake. 🙂 It was a solid mystery, one I honestly couldn’t figure out on my own, and every little detail that was unveiled was perfectly done. Now I’ll just try to sit here patiently as I await Book #6.

What I’m Reading Now

• How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi (print) – I’m halfway through this book, and it’s going to be one I recommend to everyone. I thought I knew what antiracism work looked like, but this book has shown me I have so much more to learn.
• Daring and the Duke by Sarah MacLean (e-book) – I’m really rather bored with this Regency romance, which is unusual for a Sarah MacLean book. I keep thinking about abandoning it, which is always a good sign that I should.
• The Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes (e-book) – I’m about halfway through this book and it’s been a good read so far. Shonda Rhimes is hilarious and I can fully relate to so many of her fears and vulnerabilities (who knew we had so much in common?!).
• Come Away with Me by Karma Brown (audiobook) – I’m planning on starting this audiobook today! It won’t be an easy read (it involves a major tragedy in a young couple’s life) but other friends have raved about it, so I’m going to give it a shot.

What are you reading?