Monday, February 25, 2019

2019 book 31

Minnie Darke's Star-Crossed
I wanted to read something cute, and the description of this made it seem like it could either be cute or kind of annoying. Unfortunately, it was more of the latter. It’s about a young woman (in Australia) who wants to be a journalist. Then she encounters the boy she grew up with—and had a crush on—and uses her job at a local paper to start messing with his horoscope in an effort to spark a romance. I was not at all invested in either of them, but Darke does introduce some little side characters who are ALSO impacted by the fake horoscopes, and that little throughline was a lot more interesting to me. Still, I kept putting this down to play iPhone games and was in no rush to get back to it. It was FINE, just not particularly satisfying to me. B.

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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in May.

Friday, February 22, 2019

2019 book 30

Lauren Wilkinson's American Spy
I was really excited to read a spy novel centering on a black woman in the 1980s, and while the book does get a bit into the discrimination she faced, it went off the rails a bit for me. Like, I wanted her to be competent, and we don’t see that much—instead she is distracted by romantic feelings. The novel is written as a letter to her young sons, so some information is missing by default, but it also means the end is somewhat inconclusive. I liked the way the character and her relationships with her family were all written, but just found the actual spy parts kind of disappointing. B.

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

2019 book 29

E.K. Johnston's The Afterward
I think I have loved all the books I’ve read by Johnston, and this was no exception! It’s your typical epic fantasy magical quest sort of novel, except it mostly takes place after said quest (there are occasional flashbacks, mainly dealing with the romantic relationship between the two protagonists). Lots of great diversity of all kinds here, and it feels effortless, which is nice. Said protagonists are a pair of young women, an apprentice knight (almost all the knights are women!!) and a thief, and both are interesting and likable POV characters who you'll be rooting for. This was a lot of fun and just a really nice read, if you know what I mean. A/A-.

2019 book 28

Cecelia Ahern's Roar
Ahern's latest feels like a departure for her—it’s a collection of feminist fables, each with a different unnamed woman as its protagonist. Some are biting, some incisive, some funny, some moving; all are  angry. I will say that I kept thinking they were going to build to something, all come together, and that wasn’t really the case. I also don’t recommend reading this all in one go, as they sort of lose power when you read one after another after another. But I definitely do recommend checking this out. A-.

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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in April.

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

2019 book 27

Kate Hope Day's If, Then
This debut novel was SUPER interesting and compelling. It centers on a few people who suddenly start seeing visions of alternate versions of their lives—a chief of surgery who sees herself married to a (woman) coworker instead of her husband; said husband, who sees a ravaged version of himself and  falls into a prepper hole; a young realtor who sees her recently deceased mother; and a philosophy grad student trying to balance her career with her newborn baby. I feel like it all came together in a way that worked and was also satisfying. And anyway, you know I love a novel with parallel worlds! Lots of good stuff here and I look forward to seeing what this author does next. A-.

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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in March.

Monday, February 18, 2019

2019 book 26

Sally Rooney's Normal People
Rooney writes books that, when you describe them, sound maybe like general/women's fiction, but she definitely has a more literary bent. That is maybe why I found this sliiiiightly dissatisfying! It's about two people, starting as teens, when she is a rich social outcast, and he is the popular son of her house cleaner, and how they come together and apart through high school and college. I read this pretty much in one sitting and was totally into it, even though much of the conflict could have been cleared up if either party was willing to have an honest conversation about their feelings. I don’t know what sort of resolution would have satisfied me here, but the ending here left me a little empty. A-.

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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in April.

2019 book 25

Fran Wilde's Riverland
So this book is a bit of a rough read—it’s about a girl in a physically and emotionally abusive home, trying to protect her younger sister and herself, when a river to a magical place appears under her bed. There is some good stuff here about learning to trust, and I liked the relationship between the sisters, but I wanted a bit more from the ending. B+.

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A review copy was provided by the publisher, this book will be released in April.

2019 book 24

Jaclyn Moriarty’s Gravity Is The Thing
I know this book isn’t out until July, but I couldn’t wait to read Moriarty's first novel aimed at adults! This has everything I love about Moriarty's books—the hilariously dry narrative voice, complicated families, lots of love. It centers on a woman who has received chapters of a mysterious Guidebook over the years, and now is being invited to a retreat where The Truth will be revealed. Why not check it out? This was just wonderful. Moriarty is one of my favorite writers, one I read when I am down or just in a reading rut, and she always makes me happy. I hope this brings a lot of new readers her way. A.


A review copy was provided by the publisher.

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

2019 book 23

Taylor Jenkins Reid's Daisy Jones and the Six
After reading several of this author's previous works, I was prepared for another fun read--but she straight up busts out a novel in the oral history format, chronicling the rise (and fall) of a 70s rock band! This isn't the first oral-history-of-a-band novel I've read (cf Elizabeth Hand's Wylding Hall, which is going for something different), but it is probably the first to sort of be in the mainstream.
Anyway, it's awesome. I did not want to put it down at all. Jenkins Reid does a great job with the characterizations, the different voices, the conflicting memories, the ladies dealing with sexism, and of course the sex drugs and rock and roll. I think I might quibble about the VERY end, but on the whole I thought this was great. A/A-.

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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be available in March.

Monday, February 11, 2019

2019 book 22

Laura Wood's A Sky Painted Gold
Well, I enjoyed this VERY much. It’s one of those books where you are prettttty sure it will all work out okay, but there is just enough narrative tension to keep you hooked! The story is set in 1929 Cornwall, where a teenage girl finds refuge in the library of an abandoned house—at least until the Bright Young Things who own it come back and she gets sucked into their whirlwind. The story of a poorer person getting seduced by the wealthy lifestyle of a new friend is not a new one by any means, but I liked the characters here a lot and the way the story depicted friendship (and ambition!). And I was super here for the various romances! My only minor complaint was that the narrative voice sometimes over-explained things. But in general, this was very cute. A-.

Sunday, February 10, 2019

2019 book 21

G. Willow Wilson’s The Bird King
I really enjoyed Wilson's first novel, and of course am a fan of her comic books, so was really looking forward to this one. It’s set in Granada, during the reign of the last sultan (and the last bit of Islamic Spain) and centers on his concubine and his mapmaker—who is particularly gifted. And then the Spanish Army and the Inquisition come to call. I did find this enjoyable and definitely interesting, and I liked how Wilson uses fantasy elements in the story, but this didn’t grab me as much as some of her other work. I wanted just a little bit more from the ending, even though I did like the general way it wrapped up. B+.

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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in March.

Friday, February 08, 2019

2019 book 20

Elizabeth McCracken's Bowlaway
This novel starts with an unconscious woman being found in a cemetery; soon she is starting a local candlepin bowling alley (and claiming to have invented the sport) and marrying a local (black) doctor. From there, a sort of family epic unrolls, dealing with several generations in a changing town. I will say that while I was reading this, I enjoyed it a lot, but when I put it down, I was never in a huge hurry to pick up up again. After the first few chapters, it kind of introduces characters and drops them again, so that I never felt super invested in most of them. I thought the writing itself was excellent though--a few sentences had me like oh dang! I liked the way it wrapped up, too. B+.

Wednesday, February 06, 2019

2019 book 19

Noel Streatfeild's Ballet Shoes
The confluence of two events--all the Shoes books being released for the first time as e-books, and my discovery that no one else in my book club had read this classic British story--meant our February book pick was an easy one! I grew up reading this book over and over and so cannot possibly talk about it objectively, but I feel like it holds up to adult modern readers (we'll see if my book club agrees!). Anyway, this is the story of three adopted sisters (all acquired by an elderly fossil-hunter during his travels) who go into the performing arts to earn money for their family--and to try and make a name for themselves. There are also interesting boarders at hand! It's a very funny, but also touching and sweet, book, with a lot of details about dance classes and stage productions of the 1930s (and a bit about colonialism if you're looking). Petrova 4-Eva.

Monday, February 04, 2019

2019 book 18

Sarah Perry's After the Eclipse
Perry's memoir is a devastating love letter to her mother, who was murdered when the author was twelve--a murder that went unsolved for years. As an adult, Perry is re-examining the crime, while talking about her own childhood and the life of her mother. I don't want to make this sound tawdry, because it really isn't at all (though parts of it are brutal). Just really compelling stuff. Side note, Perry lived in Durham for a while! A-.