It's been three months but I've read twenty books, some good, some terrible! Keep reading for a few quick reviews about which ones I think are worth the time and which you should skip.
A Rating of 4 Stars and Above:
I am late to read this one, but I’m so happy I finally did. I loved this crazy world Atwood created. I love the narrator who allows us to see how insane her life is as a handmaid. I love the creativity and details of this world. I love the structure of a book in a series of letters. I love the uniqueness and the horrible thoughts that come to your mind in what ifs while reading this book. I’m going to watch the series next!
This book is based on the memories of the real tattooist of Auschwitz. It’s a spell binding book that draws you in and you don’t want to put this down. I found so many details to be interesting including how he had some special treatment for his “job” at the concentration camp. It was horrifying as you can expect in many ways, but hearing the stories of survivors is so important to never forget this event. This man’s story is also full of love and I recommend it for everyone.
Turn of the Key 5/5
Ruth Ware does it again with this one. I was on the edge of my seat and tore through it in a day or two. In this story a nanny moves to a remote area to help raise four children. The house has many secrets and the nanny encounters a lot of trouble. I loved the story it was enjoyable and spooky to read. My only complaint is that the ending is a little too open ended for my taste, I don’t like to spend time reading a novel to have to form my own resolutions that all could have happened.
Pieces of Her 5/5
If I could give this book another star I would. It’s the first book in a while that really had me sucked in. I was even thinking about this book during the day wondering what was going to happen. Karen Slaughter is known for her excellent thriller/psychological/crime writing and this one is no disappointment. In this book a girl sees her mother kill someone in a diner and her world unravels as she tries to figure out who her mother really is. I highly recommend picking up this one, it’s a fun ride. Plus, it’ll be a big hit on Netflix later this year as well!
Recursion 5/5
I would not normally pick up a sci-fi novel, but this one has been highly rated this year so I gave it a shot. I loved reading it, I think going into this book with an open mind is a must. For such a Complex storyline it flows very well and isn’t impossible to understand. It reminded me a lot of my job in anesthesia with the drugs they used for their projects so I was intrigued from the start. If you need a book that takes you outside your current book comfort zone, I’d go for this one! Plus Shondaland (greys anatomy creators) is developing this for Netflix!
Supermarket 5/5
This interesting tale is about a writer who works at a supermarket. It explore the mind of the main character and puts you inside his head during his mental illness episodes. It’s very intriguing and I think it gets the full five stars because it’s so unique and well done. For me I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite book ever but it is so unlike anything else that it’s worth a read. It’s a very short book. I have listened to many stories from hospitalized patients with various mental illnesses during my training and every person’s story is different and this is one (extreme) story that maybe will help paint a new picture about this topic. Or at least open it up for conversations.
Evvie Drake 4.5/5
This book is about two people starting over. A young widow and a baseball player who caught the yips begin as strangers but an awesome friendship develops. I’m not one for romance novels but this was like watching a romantic comedy. I even laughed out loud a couple of times. A great feel good story for a day outside or for reading during traveling.
Lock Every Door 4/5
This book gets five stars for hooking you and reeling you in, I gave it four overall because i just think it could’ve been so much more at the end. It’s a unique suspenseful thriller about a fancy Upper West Side apartment that pays young poor people to live in the empty rooms so that they always have tenants year round. Amongst the rich and famous, something sketch is definitely going on and the paid apartment sitters might be in trouble. I really enjoyed reading this book, I definitely recommend! It was a fast, easy, suspenseful, and fun read!!
J. P. Delaney’s books are some of my favorite psychological thrillers. They are page turners and this one didn’t disappoint either. Delaney has a way of creating the most twisted of characters and they are fun to read about and uncover their secrets. In this book Tim is an extremely wealthy silicon value tech guy and he builds a “cobot” which is an artificial wife to replace his wife who disappeared. This robotic wife is an exact replica of his old wife’s mind and body. The story is told through the eyes of the Cobot and how she uncovers secrets about the family and tries to uncover what happened to the real life wife. It’s unique and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
A Rating of 3.5 Stars and Below
The First Mistake 3.5/5
This author does a good job of writing an easy to read book when your brain just wants to take a vacation. The book flows so well it’s like you are watching a tv show or movie. This is a good psychological thriller where you don’t know who you can trust or what the end result is going to be. I enjoyed reading it and would recommend it if you love reading these types of books but are patiently waiting for your next great one. I wouldn’t say this is a must read. I think this book is definitely better than her first one though, I found the first one to be predictable.
In this book about a group of lawyers, defining sexual harassment is the main theme. How big, how small, did they “ask for it” (by being nice and conversational), are some questions that are answered. It isn’t until someone dies that makes these women question everything. They live normal daily lives of business, mom guilt, and a devotion to their jobs, but there’s one reason they all still have a place in this business. It was a good book because it looked at both sides of the “sexual harassment issue”, in fact it was annoying how often everyone doubted these women and thought they had ulterior motives - it was incredibly hard to get anyone to believe them. It just got a little redundant for me and there wasn’t enough action to keep me awake later in the evening
The Chain 3/5
In this book a child is kidnapped and in order to get her child back she must kidnap another child. This chain is threatening and can be devastating. So your story revolves around how a normal woman must commit a crime, cover it up, and eventually work to try and take this chain down. I enjoyed reading this book, it was a fast read. I do think the story is interesting, but I feel like the writer could have done a better job with the plot. I just wasn't that impressed and I felt like it was pretty predictable by the halfway point in the novel.
The Cactus 3/5
This book was right in the middle of the road for me as far as how much I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it enough to continue because I thought the main character was interesting. The main character is a woman who’s prickly on the outside and she reminded me a lot of Angela from The Office. She’s going through family drama after her mother dies and the book revolves around that. I didn’t predict the ending, and I enjoyed how the plot tied together nicely while offering themes of family and motherhood too.
The Last Widow 3/5
I usually really enjoy Karin Slaughter (especially ***) but they all can’t be home runs. Don’t get me wrong, still enjoyed reading this book and the entire plot, it just wasn’t my favorite. In this book a doctor is kidnapped by a mysterious organization that believes the white race (specifically men) are superior to all and they think The Constitution backs them. There’ll FBI is involved and all other sorts of drama. It’s hard to describe without giving it away. It’s a good read if you have read all the other five stars but if you are new to Karin Slaughter I’d pick up *** or The Perfect Daughter.
Unlike When We Left Havana (the first book) this one left me wanting a little more from the story. You could read either book first though! In this book a daughter from a rich and famous sugar cane family who was banned by Fidel from Cuba moves to Florida.
Waiting for Tom Hanks 2.5/5
This is a cute Rom Com book about a simple gal falling in love with a movie star. It didn’t get a higher star ranking because it was predictable and it was a little too wordy. I did enjoy the calmness and the cuteness of the story. It’s a nice read when you are tired and stressed and want something happy and hopeful to fill your mind.
Verity 1/5
I read this book due to the high amount of social media buzz. There were people that I'm shocked to say "couldn't get into Crawdads Sing" but "loved this book" and I found that ridiculous as these are two completely different types of books. I picked it up knowing it was a psychological thriller. What I didn't expect was how such a short book could possibly have so many detailed sex scenes. I felt like the amount of this distracted from the plot. The story revolves around a young author who is asked to come write the last book in a series that another author cannot finish because she is ill. The young author moves in for a bit to the older author's home and lives with her family. She discovers that essentially the older author is a psychopath. The characters were unbelievable (in a bad way) to me, and I just couldn't get on board with this because I couldn't picture it. The story to me just seemed like it was trying too hard.
Mostly Dead Things 1/5
This book is about a taxidermist family who loses their father to suicide. The individual family members struggle with intimacy and alcoholism and watching them maneuver life was just boring and redundant. Plus the sexual scenes were also redundant. It’s definitely not the worst book I’ve ever read I just wouldn’t recommend it.
When a young woman’s older sister goes missing, she decides she won’t stop until she finds her. Obviously the sister missing had been keeping some secrets that we discover along the way. It sounds like an interesting story but the secrets aren’t that intriguing it and it had too much incest themes for me to really love this. I wish I wouldn’t have spent the few hours I did reading it.
Very Nice 0/5
Short choppy sentences. Wow. The whole book is short sentences. Like this. Also there isn’t much plot. Everyone sleeps with everyone. That’s about it. I couldn’t see how it was interesting. I do not recommend.
For more book reviews from this year, click here