Well, after having a great run of five-star reads, this week was a bit of a downer one. I abandoned two books—both romances. I abandoned Feel the Heat by Kate Meader at around page 80 because it just wasn’t keeping my attention and the story felt very convoluted. I also abandond Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma at around page 70 because, y’all, the plot was so bad and the writing was not much better. Why did I get this from BOTM?! Ugh. Waste of a credit for sure.
Anyway, let’s dive into my reads this week. Hopefully, next week will be a much better one for me!
Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz (★★☆☆☆)
This novel had so much potential, but it was just so poorly executed. Hazel Sinnett has one goal in life: to become a doctor. Unfortunately, that’s not the path a woman growing up in the early 1800s can take, so she has to study and learn in secret. But what she needs most are bodies—corpses—to study. Luckily, a chance encounter with a resurrection man, someone who digs up bodies for a living, will give her exactly what she needs. But resurrection men are disappearing, the threat of Roman fever looms large, and Hazel also has this pesky little issue of an almost-fiance to worry about. A book about a woman trying to become a doctor in the 1800s is a fascinating premise, but my goodness, this book was just so boring for the first 60%. If I wasn’t reading this book for book club, I would have abandoned it but I kept trucking along because I hoped it might get better. It didn’t. In fact, it just got worse until there was a twist near the end of the book that made no sense and tanked my already “blah” impression of the book. I’m going to have some Strong Feelings at book club later this month!
Yours in Scandal by Lauren Layne (★★★☆☆)
Robert is a thirty-something mayor of New York City whose term is ending. He’s trying to figure out what’s next for him. Most people assume he will try to become governor to kick out the current guy who isn’t all that great. Then his campaign manager finds out that the current governor’s daughter, Addie, is now living under a different identity. In her early twenties, she lived a wild life of partying and drinking, behavior that’s not very becoming of a politician’s daughter. In the years since, Addie has reinvented herself, and now, all she wants is to live a life far outside of politics. When Robert hires Addie’s event planning company to throw a party at his home to celebrate the end of his term, sparks fly and secrets are revealed. It’s a sweet, uncomplicated love story that didn’t really hit me in the feels like I had hoped, but I did like the political setting and watching the love grow between Addie and Robert.
What I’m Reading This Week
- Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson (audio) – I’m almost finished with this audiobook, just a few hours left to go. I’m really enjoying it!
- The Maid by Nina Prose (print) – I just started this thriller but I’m fully invested already. The protagonist reminds me a lot of Eleanor Oliphant (from Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine), and I just want to befriend her immediately.
- Read Between the Lines by Rachel Lacey (e-book) – I haven’t started this f/f romance yet, but I’m looking forward to sitting down with it soon. I hope it’s a good one!
What are you reading?
I was in a book funk, so I ordered a book I once called “brilliant” on my blog, but couldn’t remember anything about. It has been brilliant and I’ve turned my reading around to something I’m looking forward to, again. Hopefully your reading slump will end this week!
Isn’t it wonderful when we can reread a book and still find the same enjoyment we had when we read for the first time? I love when that happens! Rereading an old favorite is definitely a great way to break out of a book slump!
I read “Goodnight Beautiful” last week and really enjoyed it! It was so fast-paced with twists that I did not see coming! Now I am reading “Empire of Pain” which is about the family behind the opioid crisis. They are such an awful, horrible, greedy, unethical family! It’s a lengthy book so it’s taking me some time to read but it’s well-done and well-written. Next I will read “The Expats” for my Paris-themed book buddy read with my friend Kyria. After that, I will read “Lessons in Chemistry” which I can’t wait to get to since I’ve heard such amazing things about it!! I was so happy when it went from a several month wait to 3 weeks!
I’m glad you enjoyed Goodnight Beautiful! That was a really fun, crazy thriller with a really satisfying ending.
I got Empire of Pain out of a LFL a few months ago! I’m going to need to be in the right mood for it, for sure.
I am just getting over a string of, what my daughter calls, “duds.”
So discouraging and many of them came recommended by others. Oh well. Onward and upward and I really enjoyed These Precious Days (essays by Ann Patchett), and reading The F*ck It Diet (I have mixed feelings, but it’s compelling), and Taste (Stanley Tucci). Oh, and I just started Bittersweet by Susan Cain yesterday. I’m 90% non-fiction, so it’s a bit of a different beast from fiction, I’ll admit, but still – my funk was really starting to bum me out.
Ooh, I had some strong opinions about The F*ck It Diet. I think the overall message is a good one but I did have some complaints about the way the book was written.
I hate being in a reading slump! It’s the worst. Here’s hoping you can break out of yours.
A bad streak of reading sucks! Ugh! I just finished Bright Lights Prairie Dust and it wasn’t great. But it wasn’t bad either – maybe three stars? I’m currently reading Black Widow and it’s the kind of book where I’m like “one more chapter…okay, one more…” I’m also re-reading The Great Gatsby as my younger son is studying it in English and can I just say, I dislike male writers. Well, there are a couple of exceptions but Fitzgerald is not one of those exceptions.
It has been a weird month of reading for me – lots of DNFs and blah reads. I had an excellent April of reading so maybe I was “due” for a downturn, haha. Thankfully, things got back to normal after this weird streak!
Well, I’m happily engrossed in my 900 page JK Rowling mystery. It should keep me busy for a while! I’m glad you’re liking The Maid. The ending is really good!
THE ENDING WAS SO GOOD! I did not see that coming at all. What an excellent ending!
Man, reading slumps, as everyone has said, really suck. 🙁 I hope things are looking up! My biggest challenge right now is… time. (She says… again….)
I am trying to read my fun non-fiction book instead of doomscrolling on the Washington Post app during the day but the doomscrolling habit is hard to break! I’m even tracking it and doing super-awful.
Here’s to a series of good reads!
Doomscrolling is a hard habit to break, especially right now when the world is on fire (literally and figuratively). Sometimes when I get into those patterns, I’ll set a timer on my and place it face-down near me and force myself to read until the timer goes off. Sometimes it’s just 15 minutes, sometimes it’s longer. Or maybe it’s time to place a time limit on the Washington Post app? Putting time limits on Instagram and Happy Color has been GREAT for me. I really try to stay off the app once I hit my limit and I’m doing pretty good with it!