Good morning! I’m happy to have a nice stack of books to review with you today. Over the last two weeks, I’ve finished four books. I’m still reading at a much slower pace than I was last year (I set my Goodreads goal at 150 books and I am always a few books behind), but that’s okay! It just means I have a better balance in my hobbies this year, haha. Here’s what I’ve been reading:
A Week to Be Wicked by Tessa Dare (★★★★★)
One-sentence synopsis: Minerva must get to Scotland to present her scientific findings, but she can’t go alone so she hatches a plan to get an eligible bachelor (and the man she can’t stop thinking of), Colin, to come along with her.
Oh, I just loved this historical romance. Tessa Dare consistently knocks it out of the park for me, and this was one of those rare five-star romances for me. I loved Minerva and her passion for science and discovery. And I adored Colin and the way he cared for Minerva and encouraged her scientific prowess. He wasn’t a man who was intimidated by her brain but loved her all the more for it. Their love story was so sweet to witness, especially watching the barriers come down between them. This is the second book in Dare’s Spindle Cove series and I’m loving it so much!
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah (★★★★☆)
One-sentence synopsis: A story about a family surviving through the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, and their experiences as migrants when they travel from Texas to California in search of a better life.
This book was incredibly difficult to read. At a certain point, I had to limit myself to reading just a few chapters a day because it was just so depressing. This family goes through so much struggle and heartbreak, but it’s something so many families went through during the Great Depression. The book is well-written with complex characters that you can’t help but root for, and I appreciated the incredible history lesson I got from this book. But I can’t lie: When I finished it, I was just so happy to be done and out of this sad world.
When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole (★★★☆☆)
One-sentence synopsis: Sydney has lived in her Brooklyn neighborhood nearly her whole life but weird things are happening now: long-time neighbors are disappearing and gentrification is happening faster than she can keep up with.
This book is being marketed as a thriller (it’s even right there on the cover: “a thriller”) and I think it fails to live up to the twists and turns I expect from my thrillers. It didn’t feel much like a thriller until the last few chapters. I think it’s better to read this as a subversive fiction novel that takes gentrification and turns it all on its head. And as that, the novel works. It’s horrifying and rage-inducing to read about this gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood and the white people who move in and expect everything to change for them. I loved Sydney as a character and her deep passion for her community and Black culture. I also really enjoyed Theo (a white neighbor who moves in, but seems to genuinely want to help), as he was that kind of “good white person” many white people think we are (including me). It’s always helpful to realize the ways we are being complicit in racism. The book completely jumped the shark at the end for me, though, and really soured me on the book as a whole. It just wasn’t a very well-executed thriller. So, in my opinion, read it to learn more about the horrors of gentrification—don’t read it for the thriller aspect.
The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon (★★★☆☆)
One-sentence synopsis: Work enemies Shay and Dominic must work together to create a podcast for their public radio station, pretending to be exes who are now giving relationship advice to the masses.
This was a good contemporary romance, although I had my issues with it. Here’s what I liked: Shay and Dominic’s dynamic was super fun, getting an inside look into public radio was fascinating, and the insidiousness of misogyny in the workplace was really well done. Here’s what I didn’t like: I hated the way the author made Shay’s single life seem so lonely and desperate. All single people are not just waiting for their soulmate to start living! I had problems with the ethics of podcast hosts lying to their listenership. I would feel so betrayed if I found out, like, Knox and Jamie of The Popcast despise each other, you know? I also took issue with the idea of a boss forcing his employees to spend time together at a cabin with one bed. That’s so inappropriate and would never happen in real life! Basically, this book required a ton of suspension of belief, and I just couldn’t get there with this romance. Oh, and I also was appalled by Shay as a dog owner. She adopts a really needy dog from a shelter early in the book and the day after she gets him, she puts in a 12+ hour day at the office. Umm, what? You can’t do that when you have a dog, especially right after adopting him! (I was seriously expecting a scene where Shay comes home to find her dog has destroyed her home and had accidents all over the house, but nope.)
What I’m Reading This Week
- Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell (audiobook) – I’m a little more than halfway done with this thriller and it’s excellent so far. I have no idea where it’s going or how everything connects, and those are the best kinds of thrillers.
- I’ll Be There for You: The One About Friends by Kelsey Miller – Ahhh, I am loving this book! Friends is one of my all-time favorite shows and the best comfort watch, and it’s really fun learning the ins and outs of this show.
- Life’s Too Short by Abby Jimenez – This contemporary romance has been really fun so far. I love the dynamics between the two main characters, and I’m just really enjoying my time with this book.
What are you reading?
Phil’s mom lent me Four Winds but I think I need to wait and read it later in the year when I’m in the mind set for something heavier like that! Over the weekend I finished “Gilead” by Marilynn Robinson (sp?). I actually read this book many years ago and remember feeling meh about it, but I think I was too young to appreciate it and more into plot-driven novels at that time. I enjoyed it this time around and look forward to reading more of her books. One thing that bothered me is that it didn’t have chapters! There were breaks in the text, but I like knowing how many minutes are left in a chapter so I know when to stop reading. So that was my one petty complaint. Now I am reading “Felix Ever After” for my May book club – it’s a YA novel about a transgendered youth. I started it last night and had a hard time putting it down so I think it’s going to be great!
I loved When No One Is Watching but totally agree with you that it was mis-marketed as a thriller and that the ending went RIGHT off the rails!
So glad you are enjoying And Then She Was Gone and the Friends book — I read both last year and really liked them. The Friends book was SO soothing, and I love how the author addresses why the show itself has become such a comfort watch.
I feel like Kristin Hannah used to write generic romance novels back in the day – light and fluffy and always a happily ever after. She has progressed into these sad sagas and I, for more part, don’t think I’ll be reading any more of her books until the pandemic is officially over. I’m just not up for it right now. I read The Great Alone and it was just so oppressive. She’s a good writer and her plotting is interesting, but I just don’t need all that in my life right now!