What I’m Reading (8.23.21)

Hi, friends! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I had such a great time in Chicago and can’t wait to recap it all for you guys this week. I also really, really, really, really, really enjoyed having a full 9.5 days off work. It was rejuvenating for me! I haven’t had time off like that since the end of 2020 and it was much needed.

But now it’s Monday and I’m back in the swing of things: work and meal planning and step counts and workout goals. I’m also getting my first-ever COVID test today! Can you believe I’ve never had to get one? Crazy, right? Well, I’m getting one today to make sure I didn’t pick up the virus during my travels—it’s not a CDC requirement to get tested after flying domestically, but I’m doing so for my peace of mind. With the way this Delta variant is going (and having fully vaccinated friends who have tested positive recently!), I just want to be sure I’m not walking around with an active case of COVID even though I’m always masking up when I’m in public. I wanted to wait a full 72 hours from my flight (we arrived home around 7pm on Thursday), which is why I’m only getting it now. Fingers crossed for a negative result!

Anyway, enough of that talk! Let’s dive into what I’ve been reading over the past two weeks! I finished four books and liked them all. Here are my reviews:

It Takes Two to Tumble by Cat Sebastian (★★★☆☆)

This queer romance had so much going for it, but ultimately, it fell flat for me. As the story begins, Phillip is returning home from being at sea for a few years and isn’t sure how his children will react, especially once he starts receiving word that his children keep driving away their governesses. Ben is the town’s vicar and has taken the children under his wing until their father comes home. When Phillip returns, he finds his children aloof with him and enamored with the vicar. But Phillip can’t blame them—he also finds himself easily enamored with Ben. Ben is smart and kind and funny and incredibly good-looking. And the truth is that Ben feels the same way as Phillip—he can’t help being drawn to this brooding seaman with a heart of gold. Soon enough, Phillip and Ben’s attraction to each other is too big to ignore, but what are they to do? Phillip is leaving to go back out to sea and Ben has plans to marry his childhood best friend in a few month’s time. It’s a really beautiful story about queerness and love and family, but it was almost as if the author took the adage of “show, don’t tell” in regards to writing too far. There wasn’t enough detail or depth to really sink into the story, and the characters felt one-dimensional and ultimately forgettable.

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano (★★★★☆)

This novel was so excellent, and I’m glad it lived up to my high expectations. After Finlay is overheard talking about the plot of her latest romantic suspense novel at Panera, a nearby patron believes she’s talking about a real-life murder she’s planning—not the one she’s writing about. So she contracts Finlay to kill her husband! (Totally normal.) She’ll pay her $50,000, which is money Finlay could really use, seeing as she’s way behind on writing her book and her electricity was just turned off that morning. What follows is an outstanding novel filled with hijinks and a twisty-turny plot as Finlay learns just how hard it is to be a contract killer with a soul. I loved this thriller. It was well-paced and just plain fun. And sure, I had to suspend belief for the ending, but eh, by that point, I was so heavily invested in Finlay’s story that I didn’t mind. I’m so excited there’s a sequel, too!

Handle with Care by Helena Hunting (★★★☆☆)

Handle With Care is a contemporary romance novel that gave me all of the happy feels! Lincoln is summoned back to NYC after his father dies and leaves him in charge of his huge media company. For the past few years, he’s been spending time in Guatemala and other South American countries building homes and trenches. But now that he’s become acting CEO, he has to learn to look and act the part. Enter: Wren. As a public relations expert, she’s tasked with helping Lincoln become the best CEO he can be—that includes giving him a makeover, setting up social media profiles, and helping him with the speeches he has to make. Of course, this is a romance so you can guess what happens from here: Lincoln and Wren fall in love with one another and chaos ensues. It’s a sweet story and I loved the chemistry between Lincoln and Wren, but some of the side characters (like Lincoln’s mother and brother) almost read like caricatures, not as real people. They were so villainous, with no nuance to their characters at all, and because of that, the plot kind of went off the rails at the end. Ah, well. It was still a fun romance with great main characters that were easy to root for.

I See You by Clare Mackintosh (★★★★☆)

My goodness, this was an excellent thriller! When Zoe sees a photo of herself in an advertisement in the newspaper, she’s determined to find out how it got there. The next day, there’s another woman in the ad and a different woman the day after that, and so on and so forth. It’s only when she realizes that one of these women is involved in a robbery and another woman was found murdered that she really starts to worry. This fast-paced thriller will have you on the edge of your seat, especially as everything comes together in the end. It was truly shocking! After reading this book, I’m really glad I don’t use public transportation because I would be terrified to be alone on a train! Eeks.

What I’m Reading This Week

I’m about halfway finished with The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn, which is the second book in her Bridgerton series (and what season 2 of Bridgerton will focus on!) It’s great so far—I’m loving the banter between Anthony and Kate. I also just started The Guncle by Steven Rowley, a book that has gotten a ton of buzz. I have high hopes for this one! And, finally, I’m going to start an audiobook this week—What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker by Damon Young.

What are you reading?