I’m not going to spoil this book for you, but I didn’t like it. This is the first time I’ve made it through a Mary Kubica novel and now I know why.
Continue readingThe Other Mrs by Mary Kubica | ARC Review
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The Woman on the Edge by Samantha M. Bailey | ARC Review
One word review: Ehh.
Longer review: The Woman on the Edge is about a woman who shoves her baby into the hands of a stranger on a train platform and seconds later, is hit by the train.
Crazy premise, right?
Continue readingTop Ten Tuesday | December 3rd, 2019
Hi! What’s up? Hello, my reckless readers!
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Today’s prompt is Holiday Reads (Books you love reading during the holiday season.)
Most of these books are also movies!
Continue readingRave Review | 13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough
I am a cliché, was his next coherent thought. I am the early-morning dog-walker who finds a body.
Wow, just wow.
Although the content was very explicit, it was overall a good book. There was a twist of the ending that I did not see coming. at all. Now this is not going to be a spoiler review so I won’t tell you what that is but…Holy crap.
For once, I only have a couple of qualms. My qualms are as follows: there was a lot of teenage angst in this book and as much as I understand it, the role that the parents play in this is so minuscule that you wonder whether or not these parents actually care about the children at all. It didn’t feel like a normal high school to me. It felt like an over dramatization of what a TV high school would be, which would just be a bunch of 25 year olds younger doing the adult things. Like Riverdale. I suppose that was the necessary evil but when you really look at what people are really like at 16. This is extraordinary.
I didn’t like the way that they added another person into the mix and then did not give any back story about that. I guess it’s supposed to be commentary about how we just throw away people. Maybe about how tragedy is really only a tragedy for the amount of time it takes to get likes on your Instagram or Facebook. Also I can tell that the person who wrote this is older because young people don’t use Facebook anymore like at all.
Now for the things I did like: everything else.
I feel like the drama was very real. It was very heightened because when you’re that age everything is a big deal and everything is the end of the world and I think Sarah did a really good job of putting that together. There wasn’t a lot of descriptive language about the character’s appearances but I think that was on purpose because wanting the characters to feel Universal is part of it. like Natasha and Becca and Hayley and Jen and Hannah could be anyone.
I was completely riveted. I didn’t want to put it down which is the sign that it’s a good book but even though it’s about teenagers it didn’t feel like YA fiction to me. It was a lot of complaining by Becca in the beginning and she was just an annoying character but I think that was kind of the point. You want to be able to have characters in your story that your audience will love to hate. I was annoyed by her. The only thing that would have been a little bit better would be if I knew when they were switching off perspectives because it took me a couple of seconds to get that and their voices were very very similar and it was kind of jarring because I didn’t know if this was supposed to be third person or first person or whatever was.
But all in all pretty solid work of fiction I give it a ⅘ stars.
2019 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge – A book revolving around a puzzle or game
2019 ATY Challenge – A book related to something cold
F is For Friday | November 22th, 2019
Happy Friday, ya’ll! I’m in a little bit of a reading slump! But I’m working through it. I think it’s because I have been getting a bit burnt out. Too many things going on and next week is Thanksgiving, so I want to just CHILL!
F is for Friday is a meme created by Nomadic Worlds!
Questions:
F – Feature your latest book obsession (it doesn’t have to be your current read)
I – Indicate which book/s you are looking forward to reading this weekend.
F – Favorite quote of the week/day
F – Five things you’re happy or grateful for this week.
FEATURE YOUR LATEST BOOK OBSESSION (IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE YOUR CURRENT READ)
I did a Sunday Spotlight about this book and I can’t stop recommending it to anyone who asks me for a book recommendation, which is basically anyone who knows that I operate a blog. Little Voices is in one word: iconic.
INDICATE WHICH BOOK/S YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO READING THIS WEEKEND.
I went a little YA crazy in the library this week. After a week of not borrowing anything. There are a few POC YA in this stack that I am here for! It didn’t exist when I was a kid, so it’s pretty awesome that I can read about people who look like me!
FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE WEEK/DAY
Minds win wars, not muscles.
Diane – The Mother in Law by Sally Hepworth
FIVE THINGS YOU’RE HAPPY OR GRATEFUL FOR THIS WEEK
- For the library. Seriously, I would be so broke if I had to buy all the books in order for me to read as much as I do!
- For my relationship with the sweetest guy ever. Basically if I say I need a reading day, he leaves me be, which is all an introvert really asks for.
- I finally have stop buying a bunch of stuff for my happy planner. It’s seriously addictive.
- I’ve finally started to accept my flaws, physical and otherwise.
- I’m getting a posting schedule together and trying to stick to it!
What are y’all grateful for? I am grateful for all of you! Thank you for reading and have a great weekend!
Rant Review | The Mother in Law by Sally Hepworth
The mother in law by sally Hepworth is about a wealthy matriarch found dead in her home. The book goes back and forth between Diane, the matriarch and Lucy, the daughter in law in the years and months before Diane’s death.
I wanted to like this book so badly. Ever since I read Graeme Simsion’s Rosie Trilogy, I have been wanting to read more Australian authors. But I don’t think this one did it for me. In fact, the relationships were utterly typical and I was unendingly frustrated with the “I was going to say this but I didn’t”, most of the women in the book did this as if biting their tongue was anything more than a convenient way for the plot to be more entangled.
It felt completely outdated. With the exception of the occasional mention of pop culture references (game of thrones and Lucy’s judgment of an Instagram fit model), this story could have happened at any time. Usually that’s a good thing, something about it being timeless, but in this case, it just felt like a lack of world-building and development. The unique portion of the book comes from Diane’s charity work with refugees, which because of her wealth is expected but it is touching to see how hands-on she is. A gaping hole in the plot was how Tom and Diane acquired such wealth. In the first chapters, we are shown the absolute opulence they live in, however, we don’t get an origin story, which would probably have been more interesting than Lucy getting in her feelings about not getting gushed over by her future (at the time) mother in law.
Miscommunication or noncommunication as a plot device is just lazy. I don’t think that people live like that. Maybe my family is just extremely blunt. The characters, with the exception of Tom are entirely ungrateful, Diane, at times, reminded me of Marla Hemmings from Dig by A.S.King. While not racist, the withholding of financial support from her kids is a main point of comparison. Lucy is very plain; the most interesting things about her are her past (which isn’t even about her) and her blindness to the issues in her home (ignoring the bills because that’s not her “role”). The other side characters are one dimensional, a woman who is obsessed with having a baby, a man who is a shoddy businessman, a husband who cheats, and another husband just works at things, even when it is clear they don’t work. They read as rich boring entitled brats so if the point was for me to dislike them, mission accomplished.
The big twist at the end, wasn’t a surprise to me but did feel a little unexpected, simply because it wasn’t rational nor developed. While I thought the book was well written, it didn’t exactly strike me as memorable. Writing the review, I forgot several characters’ names. None of them stayed with me after the book was done. I can appreciate it for what it is: a run of the mill domestic whodunnit.
WWW Wednesday | November 20th 2019
Good morning, ya’ll! I thought today was Thursday. This is the longest week ever! I did manage to get a couple books read. It’s the 20th (I was going to say it was mid-month, but we’re past that) and I have read 10 books!
WWW Wednesday is a weekly blog meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words. All you have to do to participate is answer three questions:
- What are you currently reading?
- What did you recently finish reading?
- What do you think you’ll read next?
WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?
I heard I Let You Go was good and then I DNFed it a couple month back. This book is more of contemporary fiction which I’m good with and it reminds me of Jodi Piccolt’s book, My Sister’s Keeper. I have read a couple of reviews that say the first part is good and the second part isn’t, but we shall see.
WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?
After DNFing, The Other Woman by Sandie Jones, I was very reluctant to pick up another book where the primary conflict is between the wife and the mother in law. This was a pleasant surprise as far as the relationship is concerned, but I had all sorts of issues with this one, and that rant review will be coming out tomorrow, so stay tuned.
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?
I did get a text from the library that my hold for Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson has come in so, I’m basically pushing all the other books I have to read out of the way to read that one.
What’s your WWW?
Mailbox Monday |November 18th 2019
#QOTD: What did you pick up this weekend?
Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued.
Happy Monday! It’s Mailbox Monday! Basically, I got this book in the mail and I’m excited to read it. It’s been lauded as a top pick for contemporary romance and I’m so down with the interracial situation going on.
Book Blurb:
Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan, and a list. After almost—but not quite—dying, she’s come up with seven directives to help her “Get a Life”, and she’s already completed the first: finally moving out of her glamorous family’s mansion. The next items?
- Enjoy a drunken night out.
- Ride a motorcycle.
- Go camping.
- Have meaningless but thoroughly enjoyable sex.
- Travel the world with nothing but hand luggage.
- And… do something bad.
But it’s not easy being bad, even when you’ve written step-by-step guidelines on how to do it correctly. What Chloe needs is a teacher, and she knows just the man for the job.
Redford ‘Red’ Morgan is a handyman with tattoos, a motorcycle, and more sex appeal than ten-thousand Hollywood heartthrobs. He’s also an artist who paints at night and hides his work in the light of day, which Chloe knows because she spies on him occasionally. Just the teeniest, tiniest bit.
But when she enlists Red in her mission to rebel, she learns things about him that no spy session could teach her. Like why he clearly resents Chloe’s wealthy background. And why he never shows his art to anyone. And what really lies beneath his rough exterior…
Have you read any books with chronically ill characters?
F is For Friday | November 15th, 2019
Happy Friday, y’all! This week has been super fun! I only read two books this week. Which if you have been reading this blog then you know that last month I cleared 28 books.
F is for Friday is a meme created by Nomadic Worlds!
Questions:
F – Feature your latest book obsession (it doesn’t have to be your current read)
I – Indicate which book/s you are looking forward to reading this weekend.
F – Favorite quote of the week/day
F – Five things you’re happy or grateful for this week.
FEATURE YOUR LATEST BOOK OBSESSION (IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE YOUR CURRENT READ)
This series is so good and it’s also on Cinemax! I watched and read them and I loved every minute of it.
INDICATE WHICH BOOK/S YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO READING THIS WEEKEND.
I was supposed to read Educated for a book club and a buddy read and didn’t do either, so I’m going to try to read it this weekend.
A book club in my area did a meeting about On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous and I didn’t get it in time. So basically this weekend is about catching up!
FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE WEEK/DAY
I must create a system, or be enslaved by another man’s. I will not reason and compare: my business is to create.
William Blake (1757-1827)
This quote reminds me to look at my own life and not compare myself with other people. If I do compare, then I won’t be happy and won’t be able to create great content that brings me joy.
FIVE THINGS YOU’RE HAPPY OR GRATEFUL FOR THIS WEEK
- I’m grateful for my mini heater! It’s getting cold here (27 degrees F) and it’s nice to have something near my bed for direct heat!
- There have been quite a few sales at Joann’s, which is letting me get crafty for cheap!
- I’m getting better about hydrating!
- I got sent a book this week (I’ll feature it on Mailbox Monday!)
- I FINALLY finished Followers. My review will be up next week, if I’m allowed.
Have an awesome weekend
Kay
#throwbookthursday! ARC Review | How Could She by Lauren Mechling
I finished this book by in December and I love it so much! So I thought I would revisit it and post my initial review!
So I finally finished this book and OMG.
Things happen but it’s so interesting to truly look at what lies beneath the surface of a friendship. This is some of the best character development that I have ever seen. The novel centers around three women in media in various stages of their lives, though about the same age, their careers, and loves have taken them to different places. This is the story of what happened when they find themselves in the same city for the first time in a while.
The novel starts out with a letter from Sunny. The woman who can be hailed a success from the outside, with her husband and art career. Geraldine is still in Toronto, nursing old wounds from a fiance who left her or rather made her leave him through his inaction. She is subletting Sunny’s place and this is the first hint that we get that the relationship, once equal, is now quite skewed. Rachel lives in New York City with her scientist husband and their two-year-old child, Cleo. She writes young adult fiction and still works for the same magazine that employs Sunny.
As you read on, you start to see the cracks in their seemingly perfect lives.
[ Nick, Sunny’s husband feels as though he is mostly for show and doesn’t care for her friends, accuses her of being unfriendly toward his sister and makes her take care of his daughter, Agnes, on the weekends he is granted visitation.
Rachel’s finances are in the crapper and the magazine is going under and she is trying so desperately to stay relevant in an ever-changing media circus. Her husband is offered a job back in Toronto but Rachel sees New York City as the promised land even though it has done nothing for her except make her feel utterly unexceptional.
Geraldine comes to New York and tries to make her own way, as she is starting to realize that her friends are not really trying to help her get back on her feet. They meet conspiratorially behind her back, keeping some big secret that comes out at the end of the book.
Sunny and Rachel pity Geraldine for not making it out of Toronto sooner, for being dumped, for now having a burgeoning career but for all their pity, they don’t really want to help her. They saw what the breakup did to her and Peter, after the death of his mother, is sniffing around again. They want to protect her from backsliding into his arms. They vastly underestimate their friend.
No matter how hard they try, they just can’t seem to happy for their friend. Downplaying her ideas, even going so far as to steal them for a meeting pitch. It ultimately goes nowhere but that really solidified to me that even though the novel was about friendship, it was also about frenemies and envy and society and FOMO and what it really means to be loyal.]
As for the writing, holy biscuits. I annotated this book because I found myself itching to underline so many beautifully written passages. There is something wonderfully calculating with every choice of word. I had my Merriam-Webster handy because I was constantly looking up certain words. I felt like I learned so much and I found a golden nugget on every page. I learned so much about these women. So complex and well-rounded and I just wanted to know more about what happens to them because Mechling made me care.
5/5 stars.
Reading Reckless : Rants and Raves 