Happy Monday! I had such a wonderful weekend – that seems to be the theme of September. I’ll take it! My gym finally opened, I celebrated one of my dearest friends at her baby shower, and celebrated my brother’s birthday. I also got a lot of reading done this week as I finished four books! Woop! That’s my highest reading week in a long time. Here are my reviews:
Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin (★★★★☆)
This book is marketed as an homage to Pride and Prejudice and while I’m familiar with that story (mostly based on watching the Keira Knightley movie), I couldn’t tell you if it paid proper homage or not. All I can tell you is that I loved this story and thought it was utterly delightful! It follows two Muslim characters: Ayesha who is a substitute teacher, loves writing poetry, and really isn’t sure she wants to be married, and Khalid who is a web developer and follows his faith very seriously. He’s also letting his mother choose his wife. These two characters start to continuously cross paths with each other, and their verbal sparring is one of my favorite things about this novel. I also loved getting a look into contemporary Muslim culture and arranged marriage, and how the author was able to walk that fine line of discussing how faith can look different to each person without diminishing its importance in many people’s lives. All in all, a wonderful read and one I would definitely recommend!
American Fairytale by Adriana Herrera (★★★☆☆)
Gosh, I have such a fraught relationship with Adriana Herrera’s books. The characters she writes are so vivid and real, and I think about them long after I’ve finished their story. The plots are always unique and engaging and perfectly timely. But the execution is lacking somewhat. She’s a new author, so hopefully, her writing gets better as time goes on but I spent a large majority of this novel reporting content errors to Amazon. I just wish Herrera had a better editor by her side, someone who could tighten up her writing and make it stronger. Because her message is a great one and her characters are so damn delightful. I want to see her have all the success in the world, so maybe hire me, Adriana? I’ll be glad to edit your next book!
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert (★★☆☆☆)
Unpopular opinion alert! I did not love this book. It has a 4.11 rating on Goodreads with 35,000 reviews so I know my opinion is in the minority, but man, it was a slog for me. It’s the story of Vivian Morris who is kicked out of Vassar College at the age of 19. It’s 1940 and what’s a girl to do? Her parents ship her off to her Aunt Peg who runs a theater company in New York City and it’s there that Vivian truly discovers herself, meeting interesting people, discovering her sexuality, and furthering her costume-making skills. This book could have easily been 100 pages shorter and it’s really not one I’m rushing out to recommend.
Ready to Run by Lauren Layne (★★★★☆)
I loved this contemporary romance a lot! It was a quick read that I started and finished over the weekend. It’s one of those “city girl goes to a small town” romance tropes, and it was perfectly executed! I really loved both main characters and thought that their romance developed in a natural way. I’m always very critical of the “black moment” in romances (i.e., the inevitable breakup scene) because a lot of times, they don’t feel real or the stakes aren’t high enough. This black moment, though, was so perfect and I kinda didn’t see it coming, which I always love. Another winner from Lauren Layne!
What I’m reading this week…
> Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery. Continuing my reread of the Anne of Green Gables series with the next book on the list. I started reading this book last night and it’s just so lovely to dive back into Anne’s world.
> This Dark Road to Mercy by Wiley Cash, on audio. I’ve had this book on my TBR for years and I’m finally getting around to reading it! I’ll start it during my commute this morning.
> Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi. Picking up this sweet YA romance to read this week. I heard about it on the All the Books podcast and bought it at Target a few months ago, so it’s time to finally sit down and read it!
What are you reading?
Thanks for the honest review of City of Girls. I have heard mixed reviews of it. I actually don’t know of anyone who really loved it. So I’m not rushing to borrow it from the library! I’m glad you liked Ayesha at Last. I also enjoyed it!
I finished “The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street” over the weekend which is a fun middle grade novel. I started “The Most Fun We Ever Had” but I have no idea who told me about this book or how it ended up on my list? It’s character-driven which I like but none of the characters are particularly likeable…. but I like it so far. It’s about a couple with 4 daughters. None of them are particularly flourishing as they are all facing issues as adults in relationships, their jobs, etc. But I like it so far. Next I’m going to read “The Mother-in-Law” by Sally Hepworth. I’ve heard it’s really good!
Anne of Windy Poplars is my favorite of the Anne series! Super cozy! And Rebecca’s woes with “That Cat” always make me laugh.
Ayesha at Last sounds really interesting! And I love the cover design.
You know how I feel about City of Girls. LOL.
I have to ask how you do your stars! I just realized on Goodreads yesterday that 1 star is “I didn’t like it,” 2 is “it was ok,” 3 is “I liked it, 4 is “I really liked it,” and 5 is “It was amazing.” I had been rating all wrong on there! I had to change some of my reviews. Ha.
I am reading The Chestnut Man, which is really good and keeps me on my toes – thriller is not my genre and I like that it’s not predictable.
I keep hearing about Emergency Contact, and I just read a book that referenced LM Montgomery, though I’ve never read anything by her. Ayesha At Last also sounds up my alley, I love P&P. I just finished Duck, Newburyport by Lucy Ellman, but posted a whole summer wrapup on my blog. 🙂