Happy Monday, friends! This weekend was an especially great one because Olive finished her last chemo infusion on Friday and got to ring the bell to commemorate being done with cancer treatment. Here’s a sweet video of that moment! In other good news, my car only needed a $200 repair so she’s back up and running and I’m keeping my fingers crossed she remains so for many more months to come.
Last week, I finished two books. Here are my reviews:
My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren (★★★☆☆)
Man, do I have mixed feelings about this book. The novel is about Millie and Reid, best friends who work together as professors at a university. Their friend group (all of whom work for the university) decides they all need to have dates to a big event in a few months, so they join an online dating app called IRL. Millie decides to go incognito on the app, using a photo that doesn’t really show her face and a fake name. Then, she matches with Reid and starts messaging with him… all the while falling for him in real life. Honestly, this is super messed-up of Millie and it was hard to root for her and Reid to make it when she’s being so deceitful. It’s not ok! Plus, I thought the dating app representation was just abysmal. I have yet to find an author who can write about dating apps in a way that is true to life. Nobody is writing 3-page-long messages or telling a woman about the other dates he’s going on/people he’s sleeping with. That doesn’t happen! Ugh. So much potential, but this one wasn’t my favorite.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (★★★★☆)
I am an Andy Weir stan by now, as I’ve read every book he’s written (although I have yet to watch the movie adaptation of The Martian). In this novel, Dr. Ryland Grace wakes up on a spaceship with no idea who he is or why he got there. All he knows is that he’s on a state-of-the-art spaceship deep in the solar system and his two crewmates are dead. As his memory slowly comes back to him, he learns not only of the critical mission he’s on but of the immense sacrifice he made. There is so much about this novel I want to talk about, but I don’t want to give anything away because I went into this book completely blind (the synopsis on Goodreads gives too much away!) and I think that’s the best way to read it. This is a 4.5-star book for me; it won’t displace The Martian as my favorite, but it came very, very close. I loved so much about the novel, even the science-y parts that went over my head, and it was such a fun reading experience. I’m so excited about what Andy Weir will write next!
What I’m Reading This Week
- The Breakdown Lane by Jacqueline Mitchard (audio) – I’m still working my way through this novel. I’m over halfway through and I’m enjoying it more now than I did in the beginning. It feels like a 3-star read for me. But maybe my thoughts and feelings will change by the time I finish it!
- A Lady by Midnight by Tessa Dare (e-book) – I started this historical romance over the weekend, and I am loving it so much already (I’m about 30% in). Let’s hope it doesn’t disappoint!
- Untamed by Glennon Doyle Melton (print) – I’m picking up this book to fulfill July’s challenge for the Unread Shelf Project (a book bought for the cover – it has such a fun, bright cover!) A few friends have loved this book, a few friends have loathed it. We’ll see what camp I fall into!
What are you reading?
You have to watch The Martian!!! It was an excellent adaptation! Soooo good! I am planning to read Project Hail Mary. I did not read the other book he wrote in between these as I was worried it wouldn’t live up to the Martian but I’ve heard nothing but great things about this book!
I started “Greenwood” over the weekend which I heard about from another blogger I read, and she said it was a buzzy book but it was not on my radar! It’s a multi-generational book that starts in 2038, moves back to 1908, and then forward again into 2038 which is a cool structure! I’m in the 1908 part and am liking it. I’m also listening to “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” I saw another book club member yesterday and she said she gave up on the book because she was struggling with the dialect so I told her to try the audio book, especially since it’s only 7 hours, and faster if you speed it up like I am.
Soooo happy that Olive is done with treatments. That girl and her family have been through so dang much. I really hope cancer is in the past for them and that she’s in remission/remains in remission. (not sure if she’s been declared in remission yet but gosh I hope she has!)
That is such fantastic news about Olive! Yay yay yay!!!!
What the heck is going on with authors that they can’t portray what a dating app is actually like?! How hard would that be to research? Eyeroll.
Oh wow, I am requesting Project Hail Mary from Libby right MEOW. I loved his two other books and did not know he had a third! Thanks for the rec NOT to read Good Reads. And yes, watch the Martian. It’s so well done -one of my fave movies. All they take out is some of his adventure from the base camp to the launch site.
Ooo, Untamed, finally. My sister just finished it and got very little out of it too. Good luck.
I started The Other Black Girl. The writing is great but very cluttered. Like it’s trying to be overly clever and complicated.
What lovely news about Olive. Thanks for sharing the video, it made me cry. I’m sending so many positive vibes and wishes to her and her family. What a little rockstar
So happy to hear about Olive! And glad your car repair wasn’t too steep!
I just started The Other Black Girl and am already very caught up in it!
I loooooved “Untamed”!
Oh, my, what WONDERFUL news about Olive! I’m so happy that she and her family have navigated to this point. What a fantastic way to start a weekend!
I have never read anything by Andy Weir, but you, Lisa, and Kim are making me rethink that with your enthusiastic endorsements!