Good morning, friends. It’s been a very lazy, lovely weekend around here and I’m glad to have yet another day to enjoy the laziness (while definitely considering the impact of what today means; here’s a great explainer of why we should never say “Happy Memorial Day” btw).
Last week wasn’t a great reading week for me, but I think the next slate of books I’m reading/will be reading is going to make up for this week. Let’s review:
Making Up by Helena Hunting (★☆☆☆☆)
One-sentence synopsis: Griffin can’t get the salesgirl he met in an adult toy store off his mind, so he asks her out and is pleasantly surprised when Cosy accepts.
Ohhh, this book was downright terrible. I should have abandoned it—I usually do!—but this one was just so laughably bad that I had to finish it so I could write a scathing review. This review might get a little spoiler-y, so I guess if you want to read the book, just skip down to the next review. But let’s discuss everything bad about this book: the age gap between the characters (she’s 22, he’s 33). An 11-year age gap like this can most definitely work, but there’s a power dynamic difference between someone who is 22 and in college and someone who is 33 and a billionaire heir. I hated all the different ways Griffin seemed to bribe Cosy: fancy meals out, a full closet full of designer dresses and Louboutin shoes for her to wear at these dinners, and an internship at his company (soooo many ethical violations with that last one). I hated that there was a silly surprise pregnancy plot and, lastly, the way Griffin bribed Cosy’s sister (with $2,000 dollars!) to reveal her location (after Cosy has asked for some space). All in all, a pretty terrible book from an author I usually like.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (★★★☆☆)
One-sentence synopsis: After Nora decides to die by suicide, she finds herself in a magical library, a place between life and death, where she can find out what all those other lives she didn’t live actually look like.
Welp. Add me to the list of people who thought this book was rather “meh.” I don’t think it was a problem of the book being overhyped and I loved the idea behind the novel, but the execution didn’t work for me. I didn’t find it believable that Nora could have lived all of these fascinating lives (and yet is living the most “un”fascinating life of all) and I really, really disliked the ending. I felt like the topics of suicide and depression weren’t given the kind of care these issues deserved (which is surprising since I know the author has battled both), and it was a bit of a let-down.
What I’m Reading This Week
Currently, I’m finishing up Elementary Romantic Calculus by Susannah Nix, which I am enjoying. It’s between 3 and 4 stars at this point, depending on how the last 50 pages go. I also have about 100 pages left in A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Neilsen, which has been fantastic. It’s giving me a real history lesson of Germany in the 1960s and the era of the Berlin Wall.
Next up for me is White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson. I’m going to take a “slow but steady” approach to that book, reading just 15-20 pages per day. I’m also going to start Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson, which is our June book club pick, as well as Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters, a contemporary romance. And if that isn’t enough, I’m also going to start an audiobook, Internment by Samira Ahmed. Books on books on books!
What are you reading?
I don’t know many people who felt meh about The Midnight Library so it’s nice to find another person with similar thoughts! It was definitely a ‘just ok’ read for me.
I read a cute YA novel called “Recommended For You” over the weekend. It’s set over the Christmas holiday so not the best time to read it but it was very sweet and featured 2 Jewish characters which I really liked as I feel like I don’t encounter many Jewish characters in books. Then I started and abandoned “How Beautiful We Were” – I loved the author’s previous book “Behold the Dreamers” but this one just wasn’t working for me. Then i started Ed Tarkington’s new book, “The Fortunate Ones” and it grabbed me right away! “The Good Sister” by Sally Hepworth just became available to me so I will read that next. It’s on MMD’s SRG so i am excited to check it out, plus I liked her last book, The Mother-in-Law.
I have read enough reviews about the Midnight Library to know it is NOT for me, and I’m relieved to find that you support that decision with your own “meh” response!
You are not alone with your Midnight Library reviews! I enjoyed it enough to finish it (especially liked the short chapters), but you bring up such good points. It was too light for what it discussed, and too ridiculous to think one person had all those possible fascinating lives. I wonder if his other books are better.
I am currently struggling through a fantasy book someone recommended. Daughter of the Blood? I am not sure why I keep trying.
I do want to read Midnight Library, but now shall approach it with (I hope) an adequate amount of skepticism.
And sorry for the usually-reliable-author-fail. It stinks when that happens.