The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak (★★★☆☆)
Print • Owned (Book of the Month) • Thriller • 2024
Short synopsis: Frank Szatowski is stunned when his estranged daughter invites him to her wedding, only to discover she’s marrying into a wealthy tech family, and he must navigate his discomfort and uncover unsettling secrets while trying to reconnect with her.
I’ve been on the record that Jason Rekulak’s novel, Hidden Pictures, is one of the worst thrillers I’ve read (although everyone raves about it). But I wanted to give him a second chance when everyone was raving about this novel. And I just need to accept that Rekulak’s writing is not for me. While this novel wasn’t quite as bad as Hidden Pictures, it still wasn’t very good with a deeply unsatisfying ending. Parts of this novel were appropriately creepy (as anything involving a billionaire family and a destination wedding at their property would be!) and I was definitely turning pages quickly to find out what was really happening with this odd family. And it was a shocking reveal, so I’ll give the author props for that! But once the reveal happened, the plot fizzled for me. The pacing of the novel slowed down and I couldn’t see where the author was going with the ending. I also found just about everyone in the novel (even Frank) to be wholly unlikable and that made it hard to find anyone to root for. A lackluster thriller, in my opinion, but your mileage may vary.
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood (★★★★☆)
Print • Owned (Little Free Library) • Contemporary Romance • 2021
Short synopsis: Olive Smith, a Ph.D. candidate who doesn’t believe in love, pretends to date her arrogant professor, Adam Carlsen, so that her best friend Anh will feel comfortable dating Jeremy, a guy Olive dated for a few weeks. (Anh doesn’t want to break girlcode to date Jeremy, but Olive has zero feelings for him.) But as their fake relationship deepens, Olive unexpectedly falls for Adam, complicating her career and heart.
For some reason, this very popular romance hasn’t been on my TBR list because I thought it had very mixed reviews. (It has a 4.1 star rating with 1.5 million reviews, so I was mistaken!) I saw it in a Little Free Library earlier this year so I picked it up for myself. And I was delighted by it! It was so much fun and smart and I just adored the relationship between Olive and Adam. It was a bit of the grumpy/sunshine trope because, as a professor, Adam is not very well-liked by his students because he’s a bit brusque in his critiques. And Olive is a happy-go-lucky Ph.D. student who breaks down his walls. I loved the friendships in this novel (including the male friendships!) and also really enjoyed how the author explored demisexuality and how everyone’s sex drives can be different. I just really enjoyed this novel. It was a satisfying romance.
Humor Me by Cat Shook (★★★☆☆)
Audiobook • Library • Contemporary Fiction • 2024
Short synopsis: Presley Fry, a jaded assistant at the Late Night Show, finds solace in the stand-up comedy world but struggles with her mother’s loss. When her late mother’s best friend, Susan, introduces her to her son Lawrence, Presley is forced to confront her emotional walls, discovering that laughter and unexpected connections may offer healing and new possibilities.
This book is essentially a love letter to New York City. It should also be a love letter for therapy because omg does Presley Fry need therapy more than any character I’ve ever met. This girl is depressed to the max, and she needs to deal with her grief, her avoidant attachment style, and her traumatic childhood with a licensed therapist. Instead, Presley does not get therapy. She deals with her grief with an unhealthy attachment to a coworker, throwing herself into her work, and avoiding any semblance of healthy friendship. I wanted so much more from Presley, but she was very hard to like and I think the author did a disservice with her character. Read this book if you love NYC and stand-up comedy, but not if you’re looking for character growth. (2.5 stars, rounded up to 3.)
What are you reading?
Well, the middle book sounds pretty good! One of these days I’m going to try romance novels again- maybe I’m being unfair towards that genre.
Hey, you do not have to be a romance reader. The genre isn’t for everyone! Just like I’m not going to be a fantasy reader. 😉
I’m reading a Sue Grafton Alphabet book and listening to a Harry Potter book because your girl needs comfort reading!
I despised The Love Hypothesis. LOL. I bet that’s not a shock for you. The professor/student relationship is unethical and if a grad student so much as touched a professor outside of a handshake, let alone SAT ON THEIR LAP IN A MEETING, that scandal would have rocked the entire university. And the contrived conflict? *sigh* I do not understand how we read the same books and come to completely opposite conclusions!
Honestly, I had kinda forgotten about the lap-sitting part. And then the whole thing with the sunscreen was really weird, too. So yes, some parts were definitely odd. I was just listening to an older episode of The Worst Bestsellers about this book and they also hated it so maybe you can take solace! https://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-201-the-love-hypothesis/
Did you know the book was Star Wars fanfic that she turned into a contemporary romance? My mind was BLOWN.
I liked the Cat Shook novel more than you did but not as much as her debut! I agree – she really really needed therapy!
I have the first thriller on my list. I don’t read many thrillers but kept hearing good things about this one. But now your review has given me pause! I should probably swap it for the Ali H book instead. I haven’t read any of her books but this one sounds good!
I just finished a book with the longest title – tanner and Louise’s something something. It was pretty good but not something I would recommend. It had an octegenarian protagonist, though, which is what drew me to it. Now I am reading ‘Blue Sisters’ which is very good so far! It’s about 4 sisters who had terrible parents growing up. One sister dies suddenly and the parents wants to sell the NYC apt she was living in so the sisters are coming together to prevent that from happening. It’s narrated by the 3 living sisters and is good so far!!
I read that Tanner and Louise book. I did not really enjoy it. I thought the plot was so far-fetched and couldn’t suspend my disbelief.
You may end up enjoying the Jason Rekulak thriller. I think it won the Goodreads thriller category. Or at least it was nominated.
I’m reading The Girls of Corona Del Mar and am really enjoying it so far!
I’ve heard really good things about that book!
Good for you for giving that author another try! And now… you can be done, lol.
I read my first Ali Hazelwood this year and struggled a bit with following the sciencey and tech parts of the book. Did this one go that way? I want to check it out – I am all in on a consenting age teacher/student relationship!
I am reading Worst Case Scenario! You know the scene in the beginning with the president has all the federal agencies together to discuss what’s going on? As he called out each agency I was like “Yep, I have that one (at work). That one too. Yep, also them.” LOL. They were ALL my clients except DOD. Kind of put some things into perspective for me!
There wasn’t a lot of science in The Love Hypothesis. She talked a bit about her lab work but it wasn’t a huge part of the story.
I finished Worst Case Scenario on my cruise! (A wild time to read a book like that, lol.) I immediately looked up where my nearest nuclear power plant is… other side of the state thankfully! But that’s so cool that you work with all of those agencies!
Okay good! Thank you!
That’s good! We live like 8 miles from a decommissioned one with those rod casings or whatever they are called…. insert melting face. OMG. Literally. Eek.
And yes! My job is pretty cool! I don’t think people realize how much the federal government does!
Of these, I have also read The Last One at the Wedding and I also found it pretty meh. Hidden Pictures was not my favorite, either, but I felt that the characters seemed a little more three dimensional at least. Like you said, perhaps Rekulak is not for me. (Although I did read his first book, The Impossible Fortress, which is not a thriller and which I enjoyed much more.)
I’m glad it’s not just me that isn’t on the Rekulak train. Something about the way he writes characters just doesn’t do it for me!
I just read my first Ali Hazelwood story and I can see myself picking up more books of hers.
I’ll check if I can get this one.