Happy Tuesday, friends! I had a lovely long weekend, although I spent most of it packing and cleaning my apartment. Things are getting serious around here, as I’ve packed up my spices and shelf-stable food, haha. I also took some time yesterday to visit my mom and float in the pool for a few hours. Much needed! 🙂
I’m happy to have a great list of book reviews for you guys today! I finished five books over these last two weeks and most of them were excellent:
Once in a Lifetime by Jill Shalvis (★★★☆☆)
Short synopsis: Aubrey is determined to right all of the wrongs she committed when she was younger so she created a list of the people she needs to apologize to. She doesn’t expect Ben, one of the people she needs to make amends with, to help her during her mission.
Mehhhh. I gave this book 3 stars because there were parts that were very good: I loved the exploration of bullying and making amends, and the friendships in this novel were rock-solid. I knew I wasn’t going to love this book when Aubrey, a bookstore owner, continually made disparaging comments to patrons who visited her bookstore looking for romance novels. Jill, why you gotta do your fans dirty like that? I can see something like that happening in general fiction, but in a romance novel? Come on now. (Also, can we stop with the idea that everyone looking for romance only wants to read Fifty Shades of Grey? It’s not even a romance novel! ARGH!) Anyway, the love story itself was fine. It was a little lackluster but I didn’t love the plot device of making Ben’s late wife into a villain for the purposes of the love story. Basically: This book was not my favorite and Jill can do better than this.
Inside the O’Briens by Lisa Genova (★★★★★)
Short synopsis: At 44, Joe is diagnosed with Huntington’s disease and learns he may only live another 10-20 years. And because it’s an inherited disease, he may have passed along this fatal condition to his four children.
Oh, this book was so very heartbreaking and it will make my top-10 list at the end of the year. I didn’t know anything about Huntington’s disease before reading this book, but man, what a brutal condition. This book focuses on Joe and his youngest child, Katie, who is 21 and trying to make the decision about whether or not to get tested. (All of Joe’s children can get tested to determine if they have the genetic marker for this condition.) We learn all the ways HD is impacting Joe’s life, as it causes mood swings, sudden outbursts, confusion, and jerky movements. What I found most impactful, though, was the way Joe’s diagnosis affected his children. Not only do they have to come to terms with the fact that their father is dying young and will do so in a brutal way (eventually, Joe won’t be able to communicate or even feed himself), but they also have to decide whether or not to get tested. It’s a tough decision for all of the kids, as there are pros and cons to either option, knowing or not knowing. I like how this decision played out with each child and especially with Katie.
You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson (★★★★☆)
One-sentence synopsis: In order to win a $10,000 scholarship so she can attend the college of her dreams, social outcast Liz Lighty must try to become prom queen.
This book was so much fun! I loved the exploration of prom culture and its absurdities (the book began with a “promposal,” if that gives you any idea of what you’ll be getting into), and I adored Liz Lighty as a character. She is funny and sweet and smart and knows what she wants. She was such an easy character to root for! There is a cute love story involving Liz (who is queer but not exactly “out” at school) and another girl vying for prom queen, and man, did it turn my heart to mush. This is Leah Johnson’s debut and I am so excited to see where she goes from here!
The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race edited by Jesmyn Ward (★★★☆☆)
One-sentence synopsis: This essay collection, published 53 years after James Baldwin’s iconic The Fire Next Time, gathers some of today’s most influential thought leaders to talk about race.
This essay collection came highly recommended and it was one among MANY books on my antiracist reading list. I’m so glad I finally read this book and took it as slowly as I did. It took me 18 days to finish this slim volume as I read one essay (or poem) a day so I could fully immerse myself in each writer’s story. Some of the essays were better than others, making it a bit of an uneven essay collection, but the essays that were good were really, really good. Like Garnette Cadogan’s essay Black and Blue that reflects on his love for walking around the streets of Jamaica, a hobby that became dangerous when he moved to the States. Or Emily Raboteau’s photo essay Know Your Rights! chronicling the murals of the same name found in the five boroughs of New York City that inform Black people of their rights when they are stopped by police. The essay collection was solid but with many of the essays leaving me wanting more, it’s a three-star read for me. (Which means I liked it, but didn’t love it.)
Fumbled by Alexa Martin (★★☆☆☆)
One-sentence synopsis: When Poppy runs into her high school sweetheart and realizes she still has feelings for him, she knows she’s going to have to tell him the truth—he has a nine-year-old son.
Oof, the secret baby trope is my LEAST favorite in the romance genre because the reason why a woman would keep her baby a secret from the father is never justified, in my opinion. However, in this novel, it worked. Mostly. I could understand Poppy’s reasoning but I still think TK deserved to know he had a son. Here’s what I liked about this romance: most of the characters were BIPOC, the discussion about CTEs with football players, and the female friendships. All of this was good stuff. However, this book could have used a stronger editor. There were so many additional asides and details that weren’t necessary, such as this really weird side plot about a stalker that didn’t propel the story forward in any way and ended in such a lackluster way. When I’m spending more of my time editing a novel than I am enjoying it, something’s wrong. Not one I would recommend, unfortunately.
What I’m Reading This Week
- Deacon King Kong by James McBride (audio) – I don’t even know how this book got on my radar but it did, and I put in a Libby request for the audiobook. It is EXCELLENT. It’s very character-driven, which is why it’s working really well for me on audio. But I definitely need a character map to keep all the characters straight!
- A Yellow Raft in Blue Water by Michael Dorris (print) – I’m still making my way through this novel (it’s my “slow and steady” read right now and I’m finishing about 50 pages per week). Honestly, none of the characters in the novel are very likable and it’s starting to feel like a slog.
- The Heir Affair by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan (e-book) – I loved The Royal We and I was excited when the authors announced they were writing a follow-up. This book is LONG (464 pages!) but I’m here for all of this William & Kate fanfic. 🙂
- Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai (e-book) – My romance pick for the week! Alisha Rai is solidly a 3-star author for me (I find her writing to juuuust miss the mark for me) so I’m going into this book with low expectations and hoping it surprises me.
What are you reading?
I’m glad you liked “Inside the O’Briens’ – it made for such a great discussion for book club when we read it years ago. I love all of Genova’s books as they tend to focus on genetic issues. She’s a neuroscientist so writes with such authority!
I finished “The Sea Wife” over the weekend. It was really good. I burned through it. It’s about a couple whose marriage is struggling. They decide to take a sailing trip with their 2 young kids (2.5 and 7). It was inspired by the real-life story of a family who had to get rescued at sea by the Coast Guard. Now I am reading “Saint X” which I am also loving. It’s about a family whose daughter is murdered when they are on vacation on a tropical island. The murder goes unsolved. Most of the book is told from the younger sister’s perspective. She was 11 years younger than her sister so didn’t really ‘know’ her 18yo sister when she was killed. So it’s about figuring out who her sister was and what happened.
Gosh, Once in a Lifetime had such a good premise. But wtf! Why would a book store owner throw shade at anyone, unless it was some specialty store and someone came in looking for something odd, but even then…. And what kind of book is Fifth Shades of Grey?
Inside the O’Briens sounds so good! I need to remember that for when I can read something heartbreaking (I recently finished a tough read and need a beach read or something light now).
I am glad you loved You Should See Me in a Crown! I wonder if we’ll get a sequel of Liz in college. That would be fun, right? To see her come more in to her own?! To feel like she fits in, hopefully?!
I am reading Deathless Divide, the sequel to Dread Nation. So far, it’s way too story driven for me. What’s that genre called… when it’s not quite a quest but they are traveling from one place to another a lot? Meh, not my thing. But it took me a while to get in to part I and I am hoping I get in to part II!
Thank you for the fun book reviews. I put the Inside the Obriens on my TBR and look forward to it.