Susan Scribner
Damn, when Lily Morton goes dark, she GOES DARK. I've stopped reading her contemporary M/M romance novels because they all started to sound the same - snarky banter, oblivious MCs whose friends know they are perfect for each other, and lots of explicit sex. I have enjoyed her Black and Blue series, however, as the addition of a paranormal element greatly enriches Morton's typical plot. The first two books of the series ([b:The Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings 48752448 The Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings (Black and Blue #1) Lily Morton https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1573478187l/48752448.SY75.jpg 74054330] and [b:The Quiet House 57437366 The Quiet House (Black and Blue #2) Lily Morton https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1615946338l/57437366.SY75.jpg 89928708]) featured plenty of chills and thrills, but they were mostly of a supernatural nature. This time, however, Blue and Levi are facing a live serial killer with a gruesome M.O. The juxtaposition of Blue's gory visions of the victims being tortured with a chapter-long bout of adventurous sex between the MCs gave me a creepy feeling; the body count was just too high to enjoy the sex toy that Blue brought back from his latest trip. What really worked for me, however, was the relationship between Blue and Levi. No longer troubled by petty jealousies or unnecessary self-deprecation, the bond between them grows even stronger when Levi realizes that, despite his lack of psychic powers, he has a unique role to play when Blue is in the spirit world. And it's a minor plot point, but it's nice to see Levi's career as a cartoonist taking off. The book's ending could serve as a perfect conclusion to the series, but if it's not, I hope Morton returns to the mysteries of the spirit world, instead of more examples of humans being evil.
Admittedly page-turning thriller, but the promised twist didn't deliver. (Is it really a “twist” if it's heralded on the front cover?) The MCs are all one-dimensionally awful, so the plot is really the only thing the book has going for it. No thank you on the sequel, [b:The Housemaid's Secret 62848145 The Housemaid's Secret (The Housemaid, #2) Freida McFadden https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1664729357l/62848145.SY75.jpg 98635115]. Read via Kindle Unlimited.
Good bathroom reading, with brief chapters comparing movies with the books on which they are based for titles ranging from [b:Frankenstein 18490 Frankenstein Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1665008650l/18490.SY75.jpg 4836639] and [b:The Third Man 48800 The Third Man Graham Greene https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1396732409l/48800.SY75.jpg 791313] in the 1930s to [b:Dune 44767458 Dune (Dune, #1) Frank Herbert https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1555447414l/44767458.SY75.jpg 3634639] and [b:Passing 57640287 Passing Nella Larsen https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636384216l/57640287.SY75.jpg 2369306] in the 2020s. There's no judgement about which was better (IMO it's almost always the book), just descriptions of plot and character differences, and the resulting impact on the reader/movie watcher. I wish Lopez had delved more deeply into some of the works, such as the choices Greta Gerwig made in 2019's [b:Little Women 1934 Little Women Louisa May Alcott https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562690475l/1934.SY75.jpg 3244642] that emphasized different issues from the numerous previous versions. Overall, though, this was a quick, easy read that left me with lists of books/movies that I want to check out, and others that I will continue to avoid.
One of the better M/F contemporary romances I've read in the past year (frankly, it doesn't have much competition), and a significant improvement on Thompson's 2022 mainstream debut, [b:Love in the Time of Serial Killers 59722215 Love in the Time of Serial Killers Alicia Thompson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1640224232l/59722215.SX50.jpg 94049519]. The plot is nemeses-to-lovers, with a slightly run-d0wn “winter in Florida” theme park as the unusual setting. The FMC is a former foster child with intimacy and control issues. The MMC's parents threw him out of the house when he was caught kissing another boy, leaving him with abandonment issues. The buttoned-up FMC and the laid-back MMC take a little too long to get past their mutual antagonism, but as they slowly open up to each other their relationship becomes passionate and supportive. This is one of the few M/F romances I've encountered in which the MMC's bisexuality is an important plot point, instead of a way for the author to performatively indicate their queer allyship. The novel's cover image suggests that it will have a similar vibe to an Ali Hazelwood book, but I found Alicia Thompson to be more skilled at creating realistic, flawed characters and thus a more satisfying HEA.Slightly tangential, but important to me, rant: This is the second book I have read recently that uses the “we can just get a grant to save the organization!” resolution. As a former grant writer, I can assure you that there aren't oodles of grants growing on trees, just waiting to be picked by any earnest do-gooders that come around. Getting a grant is usually a long, laborious and complex process that requires a specific set of skills, not just “good at writing.”
Lovely, character-driven historical M/M romance between a surgeon and a nobleman's valet. The early 19th century setting is not mere window dressing; it figures significantly in the plot, from George's inability to understand why Noah remains in a position where he is always at his lord's back and call, to the threat of treasonous accusations that shadows George's newspaper article writing and participation at a local reading society. The story is mostly comprised of small moments - George reading aloud to Noah, Noah and housemaid Verity struggling to write a scientific paper on meteorology - until Chekhov's gun(-shot wound) goes off in the third act, putting Noah and George's fledgling relationship (and possibly George's life) in danger. I read The Oak and the Ash slowly, not because I was bored but because I wanted to linger over Trent's carefully chosen words, especially the contrast between the MCs' careful, respectful dialogue prior to admitting their mutual attraction and the passionate declarations once the floodgates have been opened. Recommended for fans of [a:Tamara Allen 2765359 Tamara Allen https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and [a:Sally Malcolm 87308 Sally Malcolm https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1425308508p2/87308.jpg]'s historical queer romances.
This book works best if you think of it as a musical memoir, not any kind of definitive analysis of 1990s music. Building off of his podcast of the same name, Harvilla earnestly and humorously describes the impact of such diverse artists as Celine Dion, Nirvana, Notorious B.I.G., Spice Girls and Wu-Tang Clan on his white, middle-class, Midwestern childhood and young adulthood. He can spend pages rhapsodizing about the New Radicals' only hit, You Only Get What You Give, and dismiss the Backstreet Boys in one paragraph as “walking sex furniture.” You might learn something you didn't know about music from the last decade before Napster, or you might just have a good chuckle. Typical chapter opener:I'm pretty sure I peaked as a teenager and hit rock bottom as a human being on the night I tried and failed to toilet-paper a suburban mailbox after a Rage Against the Machine concert.Highly recommended if you liked [b:Your Favorite Band is Killing Me 26245024 Your Favorite Band is Killing Me Steven Hyden https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1458496509l/26245024.SX50.jpg 46238652], [b:Party of One: A Memoir in 21 Songs 28257149 Party of One A Memoir in 21 Songs Dave Holmes https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1450679721l/28257149.SX50.jpg 46165336], or pretty much anything by [a:Rob Sheffield 25839 Rob Sheffield https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1277414943p2/25839.jpg].
Despite the use of familiar character names, Salt & Broom doesn't follow the classic [b:Jane Eyre 10210 Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1557343311l/10210.SY75.jpg 2977639] plotline enough to feel like a true retelling. It works moderately well as a generic historical paranormal romance; this Jane is a witch who is hired by Rochester to rid Thornfield of mysterious malevolent entities. But their limited interactions aren't enough to convince me of their undying love, and the plot goes completely off the rails by the end (Jane's mother is revealed to be a dryad fairy disguised as a white cat; her father is Lowood's superintendent Mr. Brocklehurst, who behaved uncharacteristically horny when drunk one night). YMMV if you don't care about fidelity to the original, and don't mind that the demure, humble Jane Eyre is now an ass-kicking, spell-wielding sorceress.
I don't mind reading about a cast of unlikeable characters if the plot is interesting or the writing is remarkable. Unfortunately, this debut novel is a ho-hum tale of gossip, infidelity, and embezzlement that you can easily find in any season of Real Housewives. I was looking for an antidote to an overdose of holiday sweetness, but Bad Summer People was a major disappointment.
Cultish traces a linguistic line from deadly cults like Jonestown or Heaven's Gate to multilevel marketing companies like Lula Rose and faddish health clubs like Soul Cycle. There are similarities in the words used to foster conversion, conditioning, and coercion of each group's members, although obviously some have more sinister intent than others. Montell doesn't present much new information beyond what can be found in any of the numerous recent documentaries about cults (Synanon, Twin Flames, Love Has Won, etc.), other than using professional jargon to describe cultish language technique. But she leaves the reader to ponder whether cult-like businesses such as Soul Cycle are today's version of organized religion, providing community to a largely alienated population.
Somewhere along the way I stopped loving the way Albert's MCs constantly monologue internally about their feelings. Also, I had deja vu about the book's plot, which bore a strong resemblance to the author's [b:Sailor Proof 56382967 Sailor Proof (Shore Leave, #1) Annabeth Albert https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1616689060l/56382967.SY75.jpg 87855668], (MC crushing on older brother's BFF who is in the military, only one bed), minus the fake dating trope. Read via Kindle Unlimited, so no harm no foul.
I feel like I'm missing something given all of the rave reviews for this book. It was...fine. Interesting character study but IMHO not anything mind-blowingly creative or groundbreaking. Maybe I'm just not literary enough to understand it. I do appreciate all of the references to [b:Our Town 205476 Our Town Thornton Wilder https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442891231l/205476.SY75.jpg 3119231], and I hope Tom Lake readers will seek out Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, as well as his other work.
All the one-dimensional bad guys get what's coming to them, Vince the cop proves to be a surprisingly good boyfriend, Liz finally lives up to her last name, the found family members are all happily paired off, and I'm relieved/exhausted to have finished this trilogy. Please, Ms. Crusie, ditch your firearm-obsessed Green Beret co-author and go back to writing screwball, sexy romances without him. Maybe your next MMC can be a plumber. Or a social worker. Or an engineer. Anything that doesn't require the regular use of a gun!
A pleasant end of year surprise, a new to me author with a thoughtful, occasionally humorous romance between transmasc unemployed, recently sober comedy writer Eli and his cishet former BFF/boyfriend Nick, general manager of a restaurant and divorced dad. Eli hasn't visited his hometown of New Port Stephen, Florida in many years for a variety of reasons, hateful anti-trans legislation being only the most recent. The plot invests an equal amount of space to Eli's relationship with his inadvertently hurtful parents, Nick's love for and fears about his four year old daughter, and the peculiarities of a second chance at love with someone whose whole identity has changed.
Could have used fewer Big Misunderstandings, but there were plenty of scenes with the two MCs being kind to each other, which frankly goes a long way for me these days. The action takes place around the holidays but they're not the driving force for the plot. The real happy ending is that Eli and Nick's future together lies in a better, bluer state.
3.5 stars rounded up because I've been a Sharon Shinn fangirl since her 1996 debut [b:Archangel 97961 Archangel (Samaria, #1) Sharon Shinn https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388606676l/97961.SY75.jpg 3102308]. It's been seven long years since the last novel in the Elemental Blessings series, [b:Unquiet Land 28953458 Unquiet Land (Elemental Blessings, #4) Sharon Shinn https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1463260849l/28953458.SY75.jpg 47822345], was released. Shinn provides a helpful list of characters in Whispering Wood and the basics of the world she has built for the series, but I still had to go back and review the descriptions of the previous four books in order to fully appreciate the fifth. Valentina is the newly crowned King Darien's sister, a “hunti” whose blessings include steadfastness, certainty, resolve and determination. She's introverted, organized, and change-averse. But when she agrees to stay in Welce's capital city for a while after the coronation, her life becomes more chaotic as she develops complicated new relationships with Darien's wife and his daughter, as well as other Welce luminaries. She also reunites with her childhood BFF Sebastian, whose wild, adventurous “sweela” personality has led him to an illegal smuggling career. There's a lot of talking in this book, and not much action, until the final 50 pages. Until then, things happen around Val that could have dramatic effect on the kingdom, but she's usually an observer or unwilling participant. Between the lack of forward momentum and the need to keep checking the character list to remind myself who is related to whom, I enjoyed this book less than most other titles by this author. I suspect that at least part of the problem is that Shinn has self-published her last few books and lacks the editing support that she (or any author) needs. Boo hiss to Ace Books, which released the first four entries in the series but not this fifth and (presumably) final one.Reading this book felt like seeing old friends from whom you've grown apart - you're happy to see them but it's a little awkward and not quite as satisfying as it used to be.
If you ever felt that Lydia Bennet deserved better than the pathetic ending Jane Austen provided for her in [b:Pride and Prejudice 1885 Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320399351l/1885.SY75.jpg 3060926], you might appreciate this retelling that portrays the youngest Bennet sister as a powerful witch - so formidable that she conjured a feline familiar and convinced the rest of the family that “Kitty” had been there all along. Lydia's epistolary version of the events that led to her hasty marriage to George Wickham bears little resemblance to the original source, focusing instead on Lydia's development as a witch and the other supernatural entities, friend and foe, she encounters along the way. Elizabeth doesn't appear in the story, but Darcy and Georgiana play an important role. And it turns out that George Wickham isn't just a lying cad - he's something much more sinister. I enjoyed the book but found it was easy to put down, and it took a lot longer to finish than usual because I was distracted by other treasures on my TBR pile. Maybe it was because, while the plot was stuffed a little too full, the pace was paradoxically slow. Maybe if I re-read Scandalous Confessions in a few months I will love it. It is certainly one of the more creative P&P adaptations I have encountered; sometimes the book karma just isn't there.
I knew nothing about Jena Friedman before I read her memoir, but although I agree with her politics I have to admit that her essays are not, in fact, particularly funny. Maybe if I watched some of her stand-up or YouTube videos I would change my mind, but the book should be able to stand on its own.
Not my favorite Saint of Steel novel, but T. Kingfisher's unique combination of fantasy, adventure, romance, humor, and a dollop of horror always ensures a rollicking read. The book's plot nominally involves the quest to find an artificer whose invention threatens to destabilize the economy and ignite wars between kingdoms. But that setup frequently feels like window dressing for the slow-burn road trip romance between worldly-wise spy Marguerite (Grace's landlord in [b:Paladin's Grace 50702014 Paladin's Grace (The Saint of Steel, #1) T. Kingfisher https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1580209503l/50702014.SY75.jpg 75730699], who is tired of being an assassin's target), and honorable, self-loathing paladin Shane (who feels guilty about not feeling sufficiently guilty when he innocently touches her shin). Marguerite appreciates the irony:Here we are, the future of the world's economy at stake, probably being chased by people with murder on their minds, and I keep thinking “But does he like me?” Probably that said something about the resilience of the human spirit, or at least its stupidity.The stakes do become dramatically higher in the last 20% of the book, with Marguerite and Shane hard-pressed to find anyone who isn't trying to kill them. Sadly there are no gnoles, but the fascinating demon-slaying paladins of the Dreaming God, who were last featured prominently in the [b:Clockwork Boys 36618062 Clockwork Boys (Clocktaur War, #1) T. Kingfisher https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1511019840l/36618062.SY75.jpg 58376790] duology, feature prominently.Those hoping for a resolution of the cliffhanger from [b:Paladin's Hope 59109627 Paladin's Hope (The Saint of Steel, #3) T. Kingfisher https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1632853679l/59109627.SY75.jpg 93205483] will be largely disappointed; in fact Kingfisher tosses in a new twist in the epilogue that adds even more chaos into the World of the White Rat. I have faith that she will tie all of the loose ends together someday, and I'll keep reading about her honorable, loyal and occasionally berserk paladins until then.
Nathan Hill's second novel is too long (600 pages) and self-indulgent. But if you can wade through the author's eagerness to share EVERYTHING he has ever learned about (deep breath): social media algorithms, gentrification, the placebo affect, wellness culture, parenthood, young children's eating habits, landscape painting, prairie fires, and other subjects that “puzzle, amuse, or amaze” him, you will find a painfully real but hopeful story of a marriage between two broken people (and honestly, who amongst us isn't at least a little bit broken?). Recommended if you have a lot of time on your hands and don't mind reading a book by an author who apparently never heard the literary advice “Kill your darlings.”
2.5 stars. Jennifer Crusie seems to have given the reins of this trilogy to Bob Mayer, so our cop hero Vince Cooper gets a lot more page time than heroine Liz Danger. Vince is busy beating up and shooting bad guys, with occasional flashbacks to his service overseas as an Army Ranger. Meanwhile, Liz.....gets to act like a mom to a seven year old? And occasionally try to ghostwrite the memoir of the rich, infamous Anemone Patterson, whose true interests lie elsewhere. There are a few sweet scenes between Liz and Vince as their relationship deepens, but they're not enough to compensate for the numerous descriptions of Vince arming himself and talking tough before a bad guy showdown. Maybe the final book will end the series on a strong note, but I'm not betting on it.
TL, DR: Rightfully chosen as a 2023 Top 10 book by the New York Times, may not be for everyone.
Jonathan Rosen and Michael Laudor became instant best friends when they met at age 10 in 1973 suburban New York. Michael was the brilliant, quirky one, while Jonathan vomited from anxiety during his Bar Mitzvah. Both boys went to Yale, but by then they had grown apart, partially because of unspoken rivalry. After college graduation, their life paths diverged dramatically. Jonathan moved to California to pursue a doctorate degree. Michael had a psychotic break and spent eight months on a locked psychiatric ward, convinced that his real parents had been murdered and replaced by Nazi replicants.
When Michael was finally deemed stable enough for release, he grabbed onto the lifeline of a deferred acceptance to Yale law school. The dean, his professors, and fellow students all pitched in to ensure that he wasn't stressed, hoping to forestall another psychotic episode. In 1995, Michael was profiled in a New York Times article that celebrated his heroic journey from mental institution to Yale Law graduate. Then Hollywood called, eager to make a movie based on the memoir Michael hadn't yet written. The pressure to produce and isolation of writing led to a sharp mental deterioration. In June 1998, Michael Laudor made the headlines again, this time for a horrific reason: he fatally stabbed his longtime girlfriend, believing that she was a robot. He was found unfit to stand trial, and currently lives at a secure psychiatric facility with no plans for release.
This book emotionally and mentally challenged me in ways that other similar accounts of mental illness have not. You might have to be a New York, late-Baby-Boomer Jew to fully relate, but Rosen and Laudor's childhood easily could have been my own. With the Holocaust still fresh in their memories, Jewish parents of that era considered it their children's sacred responsibility to work hard and be extraordinary, as if doing so would somehow stick it to the Nazis. Perhaps that is why nobody saw any red flags in Michael's early behavior - he was slightly odd, but he was brilliant, and that was more important.
Most books of this type accuse the mental health system of failing t0 adequately care for individuals with Serious Mental Illness, and Rosen doesn't hesitate to cast aspersions there. But he goes much farther than that, citing Alan Ginsberg, Michel Foucault, and other mid-century “thought leaders” who claimed that mental “illness” was a rational response to the evils of capitalism and governmental power. This lofty post-modernist view informed Michael's Yale law professors, who were naively confident he would thrive in their protective bubble, shielded from the cruelty of the real world. Rosen also examines the legal definition of “insanity,” and the well-intentioned lawyers who liberalized the insanity defense so that instead of ruling on the defendants' ability to tell right from wrong, the standard was broadened to whether the defendant had a “mental disease or mental defect.” The unintended result of this change was that defendants wound up spending years in state hospitals rather than serving comparatively shorter and finite prison terms.
Rosen also points the finger back at himself, wondering if he missed the signs of Michael's deterioration. Could the tragedy have been avoided if he had just called or visited one more time? Did he ignore the red flags because he was happy to finally be winning their unspoken competition? Many people who were part of Michael's protective community experienced the same guilt. Had their coddling contributed to the deaths of a young, caring, successful woman and her unborn baby? In the efforts to destigmatize schizophrenia, had everyone failed to admit that the paranoid nature of Michael's delusions might give rise to violence?
The Best Minds is exhaustive and exhausting. It felt personal largely because Jonathan and Michael could have been my own neighbors and fellow temple members. But even if your background and age are wildly dissimilar, I believe you will still find the book compelling as an intimate, multidisciplinary account of an American tragedy.