Happy Monday, friends! It’s Lucy day! I am taking the afternoon off work so Mom and I can go pick her up. I can’t wait to see how Chip responds to her and how she handles her new home. Eeks! So exciting!
Last week, I finished four books—woop! Here are my reviews:
I’ll Be There for You: The One About Friends by Kelsey Miller (★★★★☆)
One-sentence synopsis: A book all about the cultural phenomenon that was the TV show, Friends, which aired from 1994-2004.
I mean, how could I not love a book all about one of my favorite TV shows? This book was excellent, well-researched, and so fun to read. It starts by giving readers background into how the show came to be and how it was cast, and then takes you through the seasons, including how things changed, fame-wise, for the cast as the show got more and more popular. I appreciated that the book addressed the lack of diversity, fatphobia, and homophobia of the show. So many of the jokes would not fly on TV today, that’s for sure! (Fat Monica, anyone?!) Anyway, if you love Friends or even have a passing appreciation for it, definitely pick up this book. It’s a fun, light-hearted look into the show!
Life’s Too Short by Abby Jimenez (★★☆☆☆)
Short synopsis: After Vanessa, a popular YouTuber, becomes the sole caretaker of her infant niece, her life changes drastically. Enter Adrian: her hot, next-door neighbor who is surprisingly a baby whisperer.
Ohhh, are we ready for a spicy opinion? I hope so! I did not love this book. I’ve read three books by Jimenez—two were 2-star reads and one was a 5-star read. I was hoping this would be another winner, but it was most definitely not. The whole premise of the novel hinges on Vanessa believing she has just a year to live. She’s 29 and both her mother and older sister died when they were 30. There’s an actual medical reason she believes this (which I won’t get into since it could be spoiler-y), but Vanessa refused to get diagnosed. The way she sees it, knowing won’t change the way she’s living her life. While I could sympathize with Vanessa’s fear, I just found it to be wholly unbelievable that you wouldn’t try to get diagnosed so you would know for sure. Why live with this fear if you don’t have to, you know? If you’re already living your life as if you’re going to die at 30, are you really living life to its fullest? It just didn’t make sense to me. And then there’s Adrian. Sigh. I loved Adrian but he was a bit too perfect and one-dimensional. Find me a single, thirtysomething man with a stressful career who wants to spend his limited free time babysitting a newborn… I’ll wait. Many other things irked me, or just weren’t written to be very believable, such as the depiction of single motherhood, the life coach-y platitudes Vanessa was constantly throwing out (usually to counteract Adrian’s generalized anxiety, which is very unhelpful!), and the weird way a family member’s hoarding disease was handled. All in all, not a book I’d recommend.
Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell (★★★★☆)
One-sentence synopsis: It’s been 10 years since Laurel’s 15-year-old daughter, Ellie, disappeared and when she’s swept off her feet by a man named Floyd, she’s shocked to find out his 9-year-old daughter bears a striking resemblance to Ellie.
I really liked this thriller! It was well-paced and for a while, I didn’t know what was going on or how everything connected. I liked the way the author split the book into several different parts, with each part unveiling a tiny bit of the mystery. For example, part one was all about the weeks leading up to Ellie’s disappearance and Laurel’s state of mind after her daughter went missing. Part two dives into Laurel meeting Floyd. And so on. I enjoyed most of the characters in the novel (though the 9-year-old could be exhausting at times, lol) and the resolution was satisfying.
American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures by America Ferrera (★★★★☆)
One-sentence synopsis: Essays from celebrities, activists, and politicians about what it means to be a person of color in today’s America.
I loved this essay collection! Some essays were more impactful than others, but every person wrote from a place of honesty, vulnerability, and hope. I loved seeing such an eclectic mix of perspectives—everyone from Congressman Joaquin Castro to Lin-Manuel Miranda to trans supermodel Geena Rocero. It’s a great collection and one I’d encourage anyone to pick up!
What I’m Reading This Week
I have a little less than 40 pages to go in Making Up by Helena Hunting, a contemporary romance that I’m basically hate-reading at this point. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of Helena Hunting’s romances so I am surprised by how bad this one is. I think my main issue is the age gap between the characters (the heroine is 22 and the hero is 33). Sometimes decade+ age gaps can work in romance, but it’s just not doing it for me in this one.
Once I finish that romance, I’ll start The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, a book I’m excited to start! It’s gotten mixed reviews from friends so I’m going in with lowered expectations. We’ll see where I fall on the spectrum! I’m also going to start Elementary Romantic Calculus by Susannah Nix sometime this week. I’ve enjoyed most of Nix’s contemporary romances and this is her newest release (came out last week!), so I’m hoping it’s a good one.
What are you reading?
Have you read Dial A for Aunties? It was super cute, and fast-paced, I read it in a day!
I just heard about Susanna Nix on the MMD SRG (I’m a patreon so got to watch the ‘unboxing’ of the guide which was so fun!) I want to check out her books – love that they are all Stem-themed! I read one Jimenez book (the 2nd one) and while it was pretty good, it didn’t leave me wanting to read more of her, especially knowing you didn’t like her first book.
I finished “Mergers and Acquisitions” over the weekend which I felt kind of meh about. I did give it 3 stars but it was more of a 2.5 star book rounded up to 3. 3 is such a broad category for me – it can mean meh, just ok and pretty good. Maybe I need to assign more 2 star ratings to book that felt meh to me? Now I am reading “Group” which I am tearing through. I have the physical book from the library so I’m also reading “Between Two Kingdoms” on my kindle which I am also LOVING. I can see why that book got so much buzz. Both books were pretty buzzy actually and are living up to their buzz!
I was kind of in the “meh” camp for The Midnight Library so will be curious to see what you think!
So glad you enjoyed the Friends book and And Then She Was Gone! I loved both!
I just finished Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine (which I loved, I guess? I am not sure how I feel about it) and am now reading The Mother-in-Law.
OK, the Friends book sounds really cute and light! I might have to check that out … and add it to my TBR, which now numbers in the hundreds, I swear… HA.
I think I remember seeing on IG (since I’m so behind on blog posts, sigh) that you didn’t really like the Midnight Library. I am still planning to read it but going in with the mindset that it might not work for me. Seems like people LOVED it or were kind of meh about it. Was that your impression?