Abby
One of the things I liked best about River of Dreams is that it jumped right into it. It didn't spend half the book for Finn to find out about Dreamwalkers. It was refreshing that there was communication with her family, and she told her best friend Jed (relatively) soon about what was happening. It was a nice break from everyone keeping secrets from everyone – it's so frustrating yelling at a book (or TV screen) that if people just talked to each other, things would work out much better.
As much as I like that we dove right into the action of the story, I would have enjoyed more character development throughout the book. It felt like we only knew the very surface of the characters. There were hints of it, such as Finn and Noah's discussion about their biggest fears, but overall there wasn't enough connection to the characters. I think that kept me from loving the book, but I did still enjoy it and would continue reading a series!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC.
This book had potential but ultimately was just blah. I think it would have helped to go all-out comedy or make it more introspective and explore the grief Chelsea is facing. Instead, it tried to straddle the line between comedy and serious, without really achieving either. There were no genuine laugh-out-loud moments, and any serious scenes were just underwhelming or insincere.
Paris is Always a Good Idea seemed like a good choice for a quick read – a fun trip around Europe, some tension with a coworker? I was just fine with some nice, forgettable escapism. But the last two chapters were ridiculous and honestly ruined the story for me. The end turned it from a book that was enjoyable to one I definitely wouldn't recommend.
She just let go of all her grief, seriously? All it took was a hot guy to tell her she needed to move on? Smh
Emma Donoghue is a relatively popular author at our library, but I've never read any of her books. The only exposure to her work was the movie Room, and I just assumed that was what every one of her books was like. I'm glad I finally took the time to read one of her books, and I'll be adding her other work to my to-read pile.
The Pull of the Stars takes place over three days, but packs in so much emotion and action in that short amount of time. I read the book in two sittings because I was drawn into Julia's little corner of the hospital. The Maternity/Fever ward seems like a terrible place to be, and I felt such a connection to all the characters. The protagonist, Nurse Julia Power, cares so much about each patient, and that emotion flows straight from the page.
The plot could have felt repetitive – one woman goes into labor, then another, then another, and so on – but it never did. There was urgency and emotion in every scene, and it kept me reading late into the night.
It's impossible not to think about the timeliness of this book, as well. The author's note addresses the fact that she started writing several years ago, but that the book's release was pushed up in light of our current pandemic. That led to wondering what sections of the book were written when. The discussions about the government's policy, politics, masks, and the staff and supplies shortages at the hospital all mirror what's happening today.
The Extraordinaries is a fun, wonderful novel.
I didn't know quite what I was getting into when I started the book. Despite reading the summary and several reviews, I was under the impression that Nick wrote fanfiction about a TV show with superheroes. So imagine my surprise when there are actual superheroes and peoples with powers in this world. It didn't detract from my enjoyment at all, but it was a different book than I was expecting!
It took a few chapters to get into the groove of the boo. The dialogue and characters seem over the top and past the point of believability (looking at you Nick). However, that quickly became what I loved about it. I was laughing out loud consistently throughout the story, partly at how oblivious Nick is and the suffering of his friends.
There is one aspect I think some readers may have issues with. Nick's dad is a police officer – a police officer that had been demoted for punching a suspect. Police are a central part of the story. The main character's dad is a police officer - he's around the house, and his job is very relevant to the story. It also seems like Nick's dad will play an active part in a sequel. I don't know - the portrayal of the police didn't sit quite right with me, but I'm also not sure what would make it better.
All in all, I loved reading The Extraordinaries, and I'm looking forward to reading more about Nick Bell and his friends.
The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I read this at the beginning of June and just realized I never reviewed it. The problem: I couldn't remember anything about the book.
After I skimmed through the book, the plot quickly came back to me. A girl decides she's tired of missing out and decides she'll say yes to every opportunity that summer. That didn't play a big of a part as I thought it would – I imagined way more shenanigans. I didn't even mind the love triangle, which is very rarely the case.
It sounds terrible that I couldn't remember a book I read barely two months ago, but I think that's ok. It was fun to read, and sometimes that's all you need out of a book. Say Yes Summer is a perfect summer read - you enjoy it while you're reading, and you can reread it next year.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Guest List was a quick, engaging read that I'm definitely ordering for our library.
I haven't read The Hunting Party, the author's previous book that I've seen reviewers say has a very similar premise to The Guest List. If it is, I'll have to read that one next.
The Guest List takes place on a small island of the coast of Ireland, where a TV celebrity and magazine editor are getting married. The wedding party is spending the night before the wedding on the island, and you soon find out there's lots of secrets and tensions between pretty much everyone. Brief chapters of the night of the wedding throughout the books reveal something bad has happened, but you don't know who, what, or where.
The story is told through 5 points of view over the course of the book. I'm usually not a fan of multiple viewpoints, but it managed to make them distinct and still have a connection to all the characters - whether sympathetic or not.
My one complaint would be the ending, which I have mixed feelings on. There was so much time leading up to it, that the resolution felt a little rushed. I would have liked a little more closure/story on some of the issues that popped out earlier in the book. On the other hand, I can appreciate leaving it up to the reader.
I couldn't help but think about the TV show Harper's Island the entire I was reading The Guest List. Wedding on an island, dark history of said island, tangled relationships, and, of course, murder. Of course, there were many, many differences, but the general atmosphere has me wanting to rewatch the show.
Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for an ARC in exchange for a review.
Beach Read was a clever, fun romance but it ultimately fell a little short for me.
The setup for the story – two writers that challenge each other to write outside their comfort zones – was fun. The evolution of their relationship from enemies, to neighbors, to friends, to more felt organic. I liked that a lot of the plot felt almost meta (how will he use his research about a cult in a rom-com, while the characters in this rom-com are researching a cult)
What didn't work for me was January, the main character. She just annoyed me, and I know she wasn't supposed to. On the surface, her emotional/personal journey is one I usually like. Her work and relationships are falling apart, and she's questioning who she is and what she really believes. That's a good foundation for any book.
I think my main problem was that every emotional high point and all the conflicts seemed very contrived and like overreactions on her part. The first time it happened, I was fine. Ah, they resolved it and now there will be a basis to look back and not jump to conclusions. But then every time any problem came about it was for the same exact reason – jumping to conclusions and not even trying to talk about it.
I think I'm just tired of miscommunication/lack of communication being the main driving force behind romance stories.
Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy of the book through Netgalley for review.
I read 99% Mine last year, and it was very “meh” for me so I put off reading The Hating Game.
I don't know if the delay helped it, but I ended up liking The Hating Game a lot. The trajectory of the relationship wasn't a complete surprise, but the characters were so well developed that I was actually invested. It was a fun, quick read full of banter. I'll try the author's next book out and hope it's more like this one.
Overall, mindless enjoyment. I like fake relationship stories, but it was pretty predictable and the characters were stereotypical.
Weird nitpick, but it irked me every time they said or thought “Twin Cities”. I don't think I've ever said that to someone who was also from Minnesota, and it just bothered me.
Rules We're Meant to Break is a fun, quick read that isn't groundbreaking, but is entertaining.
Amber has created a set of rules to protect herself from getting too attached to her mother's string of boyfriends and their families. But after she starts tutoring Jordan, a cute boy from her new neighborhood, she finds herself getting attached and possibly breaking some of her rules.
I enjoyed the book. The characters and their emotional/family drama were engaging, but I was also never very worried about them. It was a book where you knew everything was going to wrap up nicely in the end, and you could guess quite a few of the bumps in the road the characters were going to hit along the way.
I was in the mood to read something light and (kinda) mindless, so I enjoyed Rules We're Meant to Break.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book.
I'm not usually a fan of space stories, but checked this out from the library on a whim. The writing and plot is engaging, and I actually liked the main character for the whole book - which usually isn't the case in ya novels for me.
It's now 5 am and I already checked out book 2. Which I'll start after a nap...
I love the premise of The Flatshare. It's such a weird living situation, that you know feelings are going to develop. That didn't bother me - the amount of predictable plot was just the right amount.
Overall, I really enjoyed The Flatshare and definitely recommend it.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I have mixed feelings on this one.
Overall, I enjoyed The Dating Game. I liked the characters, the plot, and once I started reading it was hard to put down. However, the characters and their relationships didn't feel fully developed.
I think part of that issue was the time jumps between chapters. A chapter would end, and I expected the next one would pick up at the same spot from a different perspective. Instead, it'd be the next day or a few weeks later. It seemed like opportunities to build the characters were missed in favor of sticking to the timeline of the app events.
The relationships were also a source of mixed feelings. On the one hand, I liked how it turned out. On the other, I thought it might a different direction, and all three would get together. As much as I like Robbie and Sara, it definitely followed the cliché route – you could see a love triangle coming from the first paragraph of the description.
It was a fun, enjoyable book overall, but I think it had a chance to be better.
Historical fiction set in World War II seems to be eternally popular at the library. I try to keep an eye out for new titles that patrons will enjoy, and Diary of a Dead Man on Leave caught my eye. Told through diary entries of a communist spy stationed in Germany right before the war breaks out, Diary of a Dead Man follows the story of ‘Josef' as he grows closer to the family that owns the boarding house and he starts to doubt the cause he's devoted his life to.
As a general rule, I do not like books in a diary format. This is usually because I can't buy into the fact that it's actually a diary – no one can actually quote every conversation they had, writes back story, etc. Diary managed to avoid most of the things I dislike most of the diary format. Josef writes it with the expectation that someone else will read it, which made the stories of his past and discussion of political events more acceptable to me. The majority of conversations are summarized instead of directly quoted. Josef forgets to write every day like he planned (me in every diary I ever tried to keep). But I also felt it was the best possible way to present this story – a man's struggle with the idea of a life he never thought he would have and his growing disillusionment with the life he has.
A few times it felt like there was too much info, or mention of an event just for the sake of it. But I think the character Downing chose is a good fit for what he tried to do. Josef's background and mission meant that yes, everything going on in Germany he would write in his journal, and he has the knowledge to examine them critically – it's not just hindsight.
Once I started Diary of a Dead Man on Leave, I wanted to sit and finish it all at once. It was a great balance of history and heart touching characters that immediately had you invested in the outcome of the story. It will be a great addition to the collection.
I definitely enjoyed Watching You. There's enough red herrings and withheld information that you're not quite sure what happened until almost the end, and it features an interesting cast of characters.
My issue was that I never really cared about any of those characters. They were interesting enough to keep me reading, but I wasn't overly invested in them. That lack of connection on my part meant I never truly felt much suspense or like I just had to keep reading to find out what happened. Instead, it was more a mild curiosity to see how it'd all tie together.
I'd still be interested in trying some of Jewell's others book, though.
I selected An American Marriage for the library's first book club meeting for several reasons. It was at the top of almost everyone's Best Books of 2018 lists, every patron who read it only had good things to say, and someone donated a couple copies while I was trying to decide on a book.
I may have put off reading it for a few years if not for the book club because of all the hype surrounding it; it's hard to be disappointed when you don't have any expectations. An American Marriage fully lived up to its praise. I also wasn't drawn to the plot. It seemed like something I should read but probably wouldn't like. I enjoyed this book because it was driven by the characters and their relationships.
I wasn't, however, prepared for how frustrating the characters would be. I didn't like them, but I couldn't stop reading in order to find out what happened to them. And that's a testament to Tayari Jones' skill as an author. These people she crafted were flawed and real, but I wanted everything to turn out alright for them.
Fun, quick read that brought me right back to the stress of college applications (but in a good way?). I enjoyed the characters, especially Mischa. I was sure how much I would like the book after reading the summary. For me, the “overachiever” character usually gets to be a bit unbearable or unrealistic. Mischa was undoubtedly an overachiever, but wasn't just stereotype and was easy to relate to throughout the book.