The Rose Code by Kate Quinn (★★★★★)
Audiobook • Library • Historical Fiction • 2021
Short synopsis: Osla, Mab, and Beth are an unlikely trio working to break German military codes to help the war effort. Four years later, the women are no longer on speaking terms, until Beth–who has been confined to an insane asylum—reaches out to Osla and Mab to break her out.
I loved this book! The historical fiction genre is indeed saturated with WWII stories, so it’s fun to find a book that gives me a different look into life during that time. This one was all about codebreakers during WWII, which is something I had never really thought about. The three women in this book were all so different from each other, each coming to codebreaking in their own way and going about life during the war vastly differently. While this is a long book (the audiobook is over 16 hours), I don’t think I really noticed the length because I was so fascinated by this story and the women’s perspectives. It was the kind of WWII story that didn’t feel too heavy, either, because the women were so far removed from the war and all that entailed. All in all, this is a novel I would happily recommend, especially if you love a good WWII story.
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez (★★★★★)
Print • Owned (indie bookstore) • Contemporary Romance • 2024
Short synopsis: Justin has a curse: every woman he dates finds their soulmate after they break up with him. He posts about his curse on Reddit, and connects with Emma who has the same curse. So, they hatch a plan. They’ll date each other and then when they break up, they’ll find their soulmates! Nothing can go wrong with this plan, right?
Okay, Abby Jimenez. I will forgive you for some of your awful early books because you have found your groove in the romance department. This novel was excellent, even though the subject matter was a bit difficult at times (a toxic parent with mental illness and a prison plotline), which made me read the book more slowly than I normally would. However, the chemistry between Justin and Emma was hot and their banter was so much fun to read. I’m also requesting all first dates to include cuddling kittens like Justin arranged for his and Emma’s first date. While Emma could frustrate me at times, I really liked the way Jimenez talked about her depression (“getting small”) because I really identified with that idea. I feel the need to make my world as small as possible when I’m going through a depressive episode, and I appreciated the way both Emma’s best friend and Justin cared for her during her small moments. This novel gave me all of the happy feels, and it’s an easy one to recommend.
Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson (★★★☆☆)
Print • Owned (Book of the Month) • Contemporary Fiction • 2023
Short synopsis: This is the story of three women: Darley, a wife and mother who gave up her career to take care of her children; Sasha, who married Colt and has felt like the outcast in his family ever since; and Georgiana, the baby of the family who finds herself in a new relationship she has to keep secret.
This novel has gotten a lot of mixed reviews and doesn’t have the best overall Goodreads rating (3.5), but I had a few friends give it good reviews so I figured I would give it a shot. I enjoyed the easy writing style of the book and I’m always down for a “wealthy people behaving badly” book, but something was missing in this one. I felt like the author could have taken things one step further, but held back. Instead, everything felt a bit too perfect and sweet. I’m not looking for sweet when I read these types of books! I was disappointed by the ending and felt like the author was more concerned with creating a tidy ending than creating an authentic one. This is Jenny Jackson’s debut and maybe it’s due to her inexperience (although she’s also an editor at a major publishing house, so I don’t know if that’s a good enough excuse), but I needed a bit more drama and biting commentary. It’s a fine book, but not one I’ll be rushing out to recommend.
What are you reading?
Just for the Summer sounds so cute! I just requested it from the library. I am, as usual, mostly reading sci-fi and fantasy, but I enjoy a break for a good book in other categories.
I hope you enjoy it! It was a really fun romance and I think it will be a great break for you in between all the sci-fi/fantasy!
I read 2 Jimenez books last month and enjoyed both (Just for the summer and Yours Truly). I liked Yours Truly just slightly more. I will avoid her back catalog, though! I love that her books are set in the Minneapolis area so I am familiar w/ the places she is describing.
I liked Pineapple Street more than you did but I don’t think I thought all that hard about what she was doing/whether she could do more. It was just kind of brain candy for me that I gobbled up.
I’m almost done with Sandwich by Catherine Newman which I am loving but it’s very heavy on the topic of motherhood so I don’t know that I would broadly recommend it. I think the target audience is 50+ mothers because menopause features heavily. I still enjoyed it despite not being in her target audience. The protagonist is very sentimental about when her kids were very young so it was helpful to think that maybe someday I will miss this stage??
Yours Truly is my favorite between those two as well!
I’m glad you loved Pineapple Street! I can see why it’s a book people either love or are “meh” about.
I’m really on the fence about Sandwich. I think it might be something I find hard to connect with so I’m not sure if I want to give it a shot.
Ooh, The Rose Code sounds good! I’m putting it on my ridiculously long TBR.
Yay! Excited to hear what you think!
A friend sent me Pineapple Street and I had it in my head that it was about an exotic locale and boy oh boy, was I disappointed. I was really upset that so many authors struggle forever to get published, and it felt like she used her experience to just publish something subpar. Hey, we should all use our connections, but honestly, the book was kind of shitty. Very disappointing! Also, note to Nicole, READ THE SYNOPSIS once in a while.
I think you hit the nail on the head! She had all the connections and didn’t really have to try as hard to get a book published – and it was super popular! But other authors work so hard and write books that are so much better… and they don’t get half the notoriety that this book got. Argh.
I LIKED Pineapple Street because I have a soft spot for terrible people I can’t help but root for, which summed up everyone in that book. I have also read and loved your other 2.
I love a good “wealthy people behaving badly” story, too! They can be such fun!
Abby Jimenez is so confusing. Yours Truly was so good, but The Friend Zone books were so terrible. I trust you, though, and will request this one from the library. Jimenez is on lifelong probation for me, though. I need someone to verify the books are okay before I’ll ever read one!
Also, I’m #239 on the list to get the book, so I’ll be talking about it in about six months time!
THEY WERE SO TERRIBLE. I don’t know what happened between that series and this series that she got SO much better, but I’m glad for it!
I am STILL thinking about that kittens first date, a month after reading that book! So so cute. I’m glad the depression parts gave you a new vocabulary and way to express how you’re feeling!