"I don't want to go home tonight and work hard at being nice to somebody."

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I didn't like this book at all. What's the point of reading a love story where neither character even cares enough to try to be nice to the other?

Married life has taken a toll on Lauren and Ryan. Over the years, they've slowly drifted apart and become resentful of each other, so they've agreed to take a year apart to examine themselves and figure out if they still want to stay together.

On the surface, this sounds exactly like the sort of story I'd enjoy. Instead, my eyes rolled so hard and I almost chucked my book at the wall.

In order for a love story to work for me, I have to be able to find some likable qualities in the characters, or be able to relate to them in some way, or at least want to cheer them on in their quest for love. But that didn't happen here. The two main characters were both annoying and selfish, with seemingly no redeeming qualities to speak of.

Lauren, in particular, is so mean and dismissive towards her husband that it made me cringe. She treats him like a doormat, and then is shocked that he doesn't love her anymore. Huh, imagine that! During their separation, instead of working on herself and learning to become a more supportive and caring spouse, she only obsesses about whether he is sleeping with anyone else and stalks him.

Ryan isn't any better. At one point, he confesses that he is filled with rage and wants to punch the wall any time she says she wants to eat falafel or pho. He thinks ethnic food is pretentious and he hates that she likes it. In fact, all he wants to eat is burgers and pizza. Yep, these two idiots deserve each other.

Then we hit the last 10% of the book, and suddenly, everything is resolved. They love each other again! They realize they have to keep trying! Don't give up! Wow, it's like being smacked in the face with a happily-ever-after that came out of nowhere. Where was the development of the plot and the characters? Instead, the book just drops us at the very end and calls it good.

What a huge disappointment this was, especially from such a beloved author. I adore Taylor Jenkins Reid's most recent books, and have been wanting to go back and try her earlier works. And maybe that's where I went wrong. Authors naturally grow and mature, so to have expected that her books from years ago contained just as much insight and nuance as her current works is probably too high of a bar to meet, even for TJR.

Readaroo Rating: 1 star

Ever since I read Magpie Murders and was blown away by its format of a mystery within a mystery, I've been keeping all my fingers and toes crossed, hoping there might be a follow-up. And now my book prayers have been answered. Moonflower Murders is here, and I'm so happy to report that it was just as amazing as its predecessor.

Former editor Susan Ryeland is contacted by a couple whose daughter has just gone missing. Eight years prior, a horrific murder had taken place at their hotel and there's a question of whether the real murderer had been apprehended. One of Susan's writers, Alan Conway, knew the murder victim and had stayed at the hotel shortly after the murder. It seems Conway had subsequently written what had happened into his mystery novel, and the daughter realized he had clearly pointed to who was responsible in his story. But before she could tell anyone what the clue was, she had disappeared.

This is a lengthy book, with the text coming in at just under 600 pages, because it really is two mysteries in one. In addition to the disappearance of the daughter and the mystery of what really happened at that murder eight years ago, we also get to read the entirety of Conway's novel. But honestly, I breezed through the whole thing in just a few days. I was hooked from the first page, and I couldn't put it down.

This book is exactly the sort of murder mystery I love: substantial, clever, different, and immensely satisfying. I read so much of this genre that very few books manage to surprise me; I always have an inkling of what's going on and who's guilty. Yet, this book managed to surprise me on both of its mysteries.

The inner mystery, Conway's novel, is written in the style of the Golden Age, and to me, it comes as close to the bar of Agatha Christie as any I have ever read. The outer mystery is a modern take on the genre, but it contains the same hallmarks that I love from the Golden Age, including a small cast of characters, lots of clues and red herrings, and that ultimate reveal when everything is explained with amazement and satisfaction.

Horowitz doesn't cheat the reader. All the clues are there, though for some reason, I just don't see them, again and again. And his ability to trick me and to keep me amazed is what makes me love this series. I hope, now that there is a second book, that this is only the beginning of a VERY long series. If so, I can't wait to read more.

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!

According to the book jacket, Transcendent Kingdom is a "deeply moving portrait," a "profound story about race," "depression and addiction." And that's what I wanted. I wanted an interesting story that can tie these different and complex topics together and offer me insight that I can take with me long after I've finished this book. But I'm sorry to say I didn't get that.

For all these worthy topics, the book hardly devotes much effort to them. They are sprinkled haphazardly across the pages, a little bit here, a little bit there. No doubt all the right words are said, but it feels so superficial and convenient. (For example: Gifty goes to med school, but not just any school, it's Stanford. Before that she was at Harvard, and afterwards, she ends up at Princeton. Her brother gets addicted to drugs, but not just any drug, it's OxyContin, and he does so after a sports injury.) The distillation of these characters down to their most stereotypical forms makes the treatment of these difficult subjects never feel more than skin deep.

Instead, almost the entire book is pretty much a big pile of pondering about mainly religion and a little bit of science, thinly disguised as a story. But like all ruminations, we are treated to a lot of thoughts without any insight. Gifty spends all this time and effort trying to reconcile the role that religion and science has in her life and her grief. But she never seems to get anywhere, just going in circles and circles. These passages have a stream-of-consciousness style, so it often feels like I'm reading entire entries lifted from a diary without having seeing the red pen of an editor.

I had a lot of trouble relating to this book, in particular its religious element. The book spends a lot of time quoting the Bible, or referencing the Scripture, or using prayer as the sole means to fix issues. Though the book jacket tries to sell this as a spiritual portrayal, it comes across as decidedly (organized) religious to me. In fact, Gifty even talks about exactly that at one point, that she believes in the specific God of the Bible and that the Bible should be taken literally, instead of having a more nebulous belief in a higher being that those who are spiritual would believe.

But even the science part rubbed me the wrong way. Those passages, while having the potential to be interesting, instead feel extremely clinical and detached. It's as if it's written by a robot, instead of a real person with hopes and feelings. And instead of reconciling between science and religion where the two meet halfway, it's almost entirely one-way, with Gifty trying to understand science through the eyes of religion and God, but not vice versa.

Another problem is that Gifty isn't a very sympathetic character. Imperfect characters are ok, as long as they show growth through their narrative. But Gifty never does. The adult version of her sounds exactly like the young version of her that she reminisces about. She comes across as extremely self-righteous about her beliefs, expecting that others be understanding of her when she isn't understanding of them. She seems bent on suffering alone, as if that is a noble pursuit. And when people she cares about tries to reach out to her, she is mean to their face.

The writing style doesn't help either. It reads like a memoir, with Gifty looking back on her life, but it feels detached and emotionless. Since the anecdotes are told in retrospect instead of in the moment, the summaries of those memories come across as heavily telling, and hardly any showing. They're also interspersed throughout instead of chronological, so it adds to the chaotic and rambling feeling of the book.

To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. There are so many things that just didn't work for me, including the writing style, the content, and the execution. I have been looking forward to this ever since I read Homegoing, probably one of my favorite books of all time. But this book is so different that I don't think there is any similarities. If you're wondering whether to give this a go, I'd recommend reading the book blurb to see if it appeals to you, instead of going off of your feelings for Gyasi's previous work.

Readaroo Rating: 1 star

In Murder on Cold Street, we meet up again with the fearless and whip-smart Charlotte Holmes, who is now operating a successful consulting detective business under the assumed name of Sherlock Holmes, her non-existent brother. In this installment, Inspector Treadles, a colleague of Holmes' at Scotland Yard, has been found in a locked room with two dead men. He refuses to speak on his behalf, even with overwhelming evidence against him. His wife has beseeched Sherlock Holmes to find out the truth of what really happened.

One of the reasons I enjoy this series is the assortment of fun characters in here. Charlotte is as sharp as ever, while lusting after desserts and Lord Ingram. Lord Ingram, for his part, helps with the investigation, while also presenting an intriguing offer for Charlotte to take their relationship to the next level. I adore the impish and witty way the romance between those two is captured in this series, and this story continues to delight me on that front. And the ever-capable Mrs. Watson and Miss Redmayne are on hand too to contribute to the investigation, and it's wonderful to see all their camaraderie while working to exonerate Inspector Treadles.

This story also further develops one of my favorite themes of the series, which is its exploration of strong women at a time when society rejects them as anything other than ornaments and household administrators. The male characters in here slowly come to realizations about the women in their lives and the obstructions and naysaying they must face every day, just for being female. It's both heartwarming to read about, and a little bit disheartening to realize that we haven't progressed much past this in the centuries since then.

As for the murder mystery itself, it's a fun one, but don't expect any jaw-dropping or heart-stopping moments. It progresses along in its cozy way, collecting clues and unearthing secrets, until it reach its natural and satisfying conclusion. This is one of my favorite mystery series at the moment, and I'm already looking forward to the next book.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

The Family Upstairs kicks off with Libby receiving word on her 25th birthday that her birth parents have left her an abandoned mansion in a wealthy part of London. She hopes this will lead to answers about who she is and where she comes from. In a second storyline, we meet Lucy, a middle-aged mother of two struggling to get by and avoid homelessness. And in a third storyline, we follow one of the mansion's former occupants as they reminisce about what happened in there all those years ago.

Right off the bat, I found this story to be a little hard to follow. It felt somewhat chaotic, probably because we are following three separate storylines across two different time periods. For the first third of it, I had no idea where the narrative was going. It doesn't help that this is an odd story, and it only gets weirder as it goes along.

But then the story starts to crystalize, and the real fun begins. There were plenty of twists, though I wouldn't say any of them particularly surprised me. For each one, there were plenty of leadup with clues about the direction it's going, so by the time the twist shows up, there wasn't much shock factor. But it's still entertaining to follow along as the story veers from one odd development to another.

I couldn't put this story down, turning the pages as fast as I could, even though I was taken along for an odd journey that I wasn't really expecting. It really goes to show that Lisa Jewell is a consummate writer of this genre, and she knows how to deliver a compulsive read, even one whose story isn't quite to my taste. Had I known what this was about ahead of time, I'm not sure I would've picked it up, but I don't regret reading it. It entertained me and was great fun, even though it ended up being extremely strange. 

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

A Promised Land is the first volume of Barack Obama's widely anticipated presidential memoir. In it, he details his political rise, the 2008 campaign for president, and what his administration accomplished in their first 2.5 years in office. Filled with his characteristic intelligence and thoughtfulness, it vividly portrays all that his administration has accomplished and the ways they fell short. It also calls attention to how fragile our democracy is and how easily it can be derailed.

Clocking in at more than 700 pages, this was a real doozy of a tome. And it's only the first volume! But reading it, it didn't feel overly long because of the sheer amount of content covered. It's actually quite concise on each topic and is balanced by the fact that the Obama administration accomplished a lot, even during just the initial 2.5 years of his presidency covered in this book. Obama is a terrific writer, succinctly hitting upon all the highlights and lowlights of his journey so far.

(As an aside, I started out reading the hardcover version of this book, which has beautiful pictures, but it's super heavy. I couldn't get comfortable with it in my hands, so I quickly switched over to the eBook, which I stuck with for the remainder of the book. I've also heard that the audiobook is absolutely stellar, as it's read by Obama himself. Just some quick thoughts, if you're trying to decide which medium to go with.)

Though my favorite parts of the memoir are the ones where Obama shares personal anecdotes about himself and his family (and their dog Bo!), or observations about what it's like to be president, those were just a small part of this book. The major focus is on his policies and accomplishments throughout his political career and during his campaign for president.

Going in, I thought there would be some surprises in here, now that Obama is no longer president and can say what he really feels. But nothing in here surprised me. During his administration, I followed current events pretty closely, so everything he talks about (the financial crisis, bailout of banks and auto industry, healthcare reform, climate treaty, Frank-Dodd, the middle east, Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Arab Springs, repeal of DADT, raid on bin Laden, etc.) are all events I already know pretty thoroughly.

Even though there were no surprises, Obama is still a skilled writer. He's great at explaining and summarizing fairly complex ideas in a few short paragraphs. It's also enlightening to see his take of the events that transpired under him and his process in coming to the decisions that he ultimately made.

During his presidency, Obama elevated discourse and gave us the hope of not just a better America, but a better democracy, one that could be free from injustice, inequality, and partisan deadlock. To read his memoir is like reliving the history of this nation during its heyday, when it felt like we were on a trajectory of limitless possibility and progress.

Still, I wouldn't say this has been an easy read. It was actually hard and frustrating to read about all the obstructions and malice that he, his administration, and his family faced. And considering what happened once he left office (and is still happening), reading it triggered a fair bit of anxiety in me. But it's a vital part of history, and knowing it helps me form a more comprehensive understanding of our nation.

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!

In It Started with a Secret, Lainey and Kit, looking to take on new jobs, signs up to help a large family organize their house and their lives. Each member of the family is going through their own turmoil, so they need all the help they can get. But in order to qualify for the job, they had to pretend to be a couple. This one little fib kicks off what turns out to be a fun-filled and heartwarming adventure for everyone involved.

This is a quintessential Jill Mansell: lighthearted, funny, and absolutely feelgood. The characters are all quirky and fun, and you can't help but cheer for them to find their happiness. Yes, it's a bit cheesy in the end when it all works out for every single person, but it never feels overly saccharine, so it still comes across as satisfying and authentic.

I only gave this one 3 stars because the story didn't quite grab my heart the way other Mansell books have done in the past. I think it's because this one has a lot of characters and multiple diverging/intersecting storylines, so it ended up feeling a little bit chaotic. But honestly, I still had so much fun reading it. Once I started, I couldn't put it down. I wrapped myself in a cozy blanket and pretty much gulped the whole thing down in a day.

Mansell has this way of taking a light and fluffy genre (chick-lit) that's been done every which way, and making it into something new and interesting. Each of her books and characters feels unique, and it's the reason I keep coming back to her. Even though this isn't my favorite book of hers, it still brought me so much joy to read it and to immerse myself in that world. There are so many Mansell books I haven't read yet, and I'm already looking forward to my next one.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

I just love a good locked-room mystery, so when I saw that Ruth Ware had written one, I decided to give her one more try. I'd previously read three of her books, and they were all somewhat disappointing to me. But her books' premises are always so intriguing, and I keep hanging on, in the hopes that she would work out her story-telling tics (in particular: silly, sniveling, self-doubting female leads). And she finally has. I had so much fun with this story. It sucked me in and kept me riveted from beginning to end.

In One By One, we are introduced to the executive team of Snoop, an internet startup on the verge of a lucrative deal. But like most startups, they are hemorrhaging cash, and not every member agrees on what they should do next. So they are whisked away to a corporate retreat in the snowy mountains to hash it out. But things quickly take a dark turn when an avalanche hits and not everyone makes it back to their lodge. Cut off from the world, they are unable to signal for help. And it seems someone in their group is dead set against them making it out alive.

I found the internet startup idea of Snoop to be fascinating. I kept thinking whether the idea could be viable, and hope the author got it patented, just in case. The maneuvering and wrangling among the shareholders was another well-executed touch in the plot line. When a story is hinged upon a company, the fact that the company felt real made it that much more believable.

There was so much suspense in this story, almost from the very beginning. It felt tautly-paced, with just the right amount character tension without being quagmired in their thoughts and ruminations. If I had one criticism, it would be that the climax and resolution are too drawn out. It kept going, and then even when it was over, we got some more chapters of explanations that weren't really necessary. Still, I'd rather have more explanation than less, so it's a minor quibble.

Regarding the mystery itself, this isn't really that genre, per se. There aren't actually clues to put together, though I stared to get an inkling of who might be responsible. But it doesn't fully make sense until everything is explained at the end. However, for once, not being an armchair detective didn't take away my fun of reading this story.

I'm so happy I stuck with Ruth Ware, and she finally wrote a story that is to my taste. Looking at the other reviews, it seems a lot of readers don't agree with me. They loved her previous books and found this one to be boring and so-so, whereas I'm exactly the opposite. Thinking it over, I venture that the reason could be our different tastes in psychological thrillers. I prefer the thriller part (which I find exciting), and want less of the psychological (which I find to be mostly overstrung dithering and second-guessing). But many readers prefer the other way. So do take my review with a grain of salt, and don't let it alone influence your decision to read or not read this story.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

 

In Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, Jiyoung recently quit her job to care full time for her newborn daughter. But something is wrong, as she starts to take on the voices of other women, both alive and dead, in her life. What follows is the account of Jiyoung's life, all that led up to that moment, from the view of her psychiatrist. Through it, we see the systematic and casual misogyny and sexism that has shaped Jiyoung her entire life.

Reading this felt both shocking and familiar. I wish I could say this book surprised me, being from a different culture and a slightly different time, but it didn't. The things mentioned in here are all known to me, either from my own personal experiences or through current events. I think any female reader, no matter the background, will see similarities with their own life. That's what makes this book so powerful and also terribly discouraging.

I didn't rate this book higher because it doesn't feel like a properly fleshed-out story to me. Rather, the dispassionate and sparse prose, mixed in with the gender statics, felt more like a long article. A lot of events are told, rather than shown, since it's written as if the psychiatrist is summarizing Jiyoung's life instead of fully fleshing out all the events and details. Also, I'm not sure Jiyoung taking on other women's voices really worked for me as a plot device. It feels like it was glossed over pretty quickly in the beginning and not very well explained at the end.

Still, this book leaves a lot of food for thought. Jiyoung's culture was making strides in sexism and misogyny, and yet, is the attitude towards women all that different between Jiyoung's generation and her mother's? Yes, overt sexism is slowly being legislated away, but it's the casual misogyny of every day life that lingers: this expectation that women need to work more for the same opportunities, that they need to be smarter to be even seen as competent, that they need to sacrifice all in order to raise a family and contribute financially. For all the progress of the modern world, we are still so far from gender equality.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

In The Last Flight, Claire longs to escape her abusive marriage to a powerful man. A chance encounter at the airport with Eva, a mysterious woman also on the run, leads them to swap their airplane tickets. Claire heads to Eva's home in California, hoping this is the chance she needs for a fresh start. But when she steps off the plane, she hears news that Eva's plane, that one that Claire was supposed to be on, has crashed. Now Claire has to step into Eva's life while evading all that they were both trying to run from.

This story starts out so strong, grabbing me in its initial pages. The introduction to Claire and her backstory, the setting up of her escape, the chance encounter at the airport with Eva, are all fast-paced and amazingly executed. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

But then the swap happens and Claire steps into Eva's life, and the whole thing just fizzles out for me. I found the storyline around Eva to be utterly boring. It reminds me of a very popular tv show (which I won't say for spoilers, but if you've read this book, then you know which one I'm talking about). The thing is, I couldn't get into the tv show either, and found it boring too.

In addition, I also didn't find the reason why Claire had to step into Eva's life, because she had no other choice, to be all that compelling. None of the decisions Claire makes after that point (including staying on as Eva, using her identity, spying on her husband), makes any sense to me. And she hardly does anything other than daily runs for food, a side gig to pick up cash, and lots of ruminating about what she should do next. I kept expecting a villain to jump out and accost her or something, but nothing happened. Where are all the secrets and thrills I was promised?

I think this is a case where I'm just not the right reader for this plot. The beginning was so riveting that I thought for sure this would be a book I whizzed through. Instead, after the initial setup, I felt utterly bored, trying to stay focused every time I read a page or two. Eva's life and her secrets felt so mundane and uninteresting to me, and Claire's decision to stay on as Eva made so little sense, that it ultimately became a lost cause.

Readaroo Rating: 2 stars

 

I enjoyed this second foray into the series even more than the first!

Revenge in Rubies starts off immediately in the thick of things: Sylvie Nolan, the new and much-younger wife of a commanding officer, has been brutally bludgeoned to death in her bedroom. At first, it seems like a simple case, but it quickly becomes clear that something altogether more complex and malicious is afoot. Soon, more tragedy follows, and Inspector Curran and Harriet Gordon must act quickly if they are to prevent additional deaths.

This story has so many characteristics of the Golden Age of Mystery. There is a small set of characters, so whoever is responsible must be among them. There are clues galore, so I can put on my detective hat and puzzle out the mystery right alongside our main characters. And there are plenty of red herrings and startling twists, so every time I thought I had it all figured out, an unexpected happening would force me to rejigger my entire theory.

One reason I fell for this series is its compelling lead characters. Set in colonial Singapore, Harriet Gordon is the exact sort of strong and unflinching female character I adore. In this book, we learn more of her backstory and her courageous involvement with the suffrage movement, which makes her even more endearing. And Inspector Curran continues to be kind and sharp in his investigation of the crime.

I thought the first book in the series was a little uneven in pacing due to the introduction of all the characters and backstories, but that's all been ironed out in this one. Stuart's clear and straightforward writing style keeps the pacing taut and the focus on the unfolding mystery. It was a page turner from the beginning to the end. It also, yet again, captures the lush humidity and oppressive heat of this region. Reading it, I felt transported to this time and place.

I'm always searching high and low for anything that resembles Agatha Christie, and this series is a worthy contender. It has all the elements I enjoy from a proper cozy mystery, and I'm thrilled I came across it. I wait with bated breath for the next book, and can only hope it's not too long.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

A dark, chilling atmosphere. A spirited heroine. And a house that never lets its inhabitants go. Sometimes a book hits all the right notes for me, and Mexican Gothic certainly did that.

It starts off with socialite Noemí receiving a cryptic and rambling letter from her newlywed cousin Catalina, hinting that all was not well. Noemí decides to visit her and sets off for the remote estate where Catalina now lives with her new husband and his family. Once there, she immediately becomes plagued with troubling visions and dreams. And as she digs around, she starts to realize that the house and its strange inhabitants are hiding secrets that could ensnare her in their traps.

This story is so moody and atmospheric. There is a chill that permeates the pages, making for a deliciously dark and creepy read. Many books promise this, but in my experience, so few actually deliver, with most falling into silly and eye-rolling territory. But this story got it spot-on. I just wanted to huddle in a comfy blanket with a hot cup of tea, and turn the pages as fast as I could.

The initial pages drew me into the story immediately. From then on, I was riveted, though the middle did slow down a bit in pacing. But then we reach the end, and it was as rewarding and as fun as I could have hoped. I always love a strong, feisty female, so Noemí was right up my alley. I found myself chuckling at her witty comebacks and cheering at her refusal to back down.

One thing I particularly appreciate is that this story attempts to offer a comprehensive explanation for what's going on. It's always disappointing when a tantalizing set up is so good or so outrageous that it can't possibly be explained, so the book proceeds to handwave all previous clues away. But in this case, an explanation that's both unusual and interesting is provided that ties it all together, and as we slowly learn of it throughout the story, it's quite satisfying.

This is the second book I've read by Moreno-Garcia, and I've really enjoyed both. She has definitely become a must-read author for me, and I can't wait to see more from her.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

 

Jeopardy! has long been a staple in our family, and we try to catch it every chance we get. My husband, in particular, loves the show, and we have a friendly competition going to see who can shout out the most correct answers before they're revealed. If one of us is particularly clever, that person even gets to lord it over the other for a couple of hours afterwards. So I was super curious when I saw that Trebek's memoir was coming out.

The Answer Is… is a look back at Trebek's life and his work in television. Told through short vignettes, it's a chance for the famous game show host to reflect on his life and to share some of the wisdom he's gain through the years. The short chapters, each only about one to three pages in length, make this a super readable book. Whenever I had a few moments, I would easily gobble up a few chapters. My favorite parts are definitely those related to his work on Jeopardy!

I wouldn't say this book provides a particularly insightful look or a deep dive into his life. Rather, Trebek has said himself that his mental faculties have been fading a bit with age and by rigorous cancer treatment, and that is something that's reflected in the book. Still, he comes across as hardworking, humble, and kind. And he seems to have a great sense of humor, able to laugh at life and at himself.

I enjoyed this book and found it interesting, though I wish it offered more. But still, as a fan of the show, I found it to be a terrific companion to understanding more of the man behind the show. I don't think this memoir is for every reader, but I'd definitely recommend it if you're a fan of Jeopardy!

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

Oh my, what an absolute gem this turned out to be! It's quintessential Backman: quirky, heartwarming, and uplifting.

On the surface, Anxious People is a story about a bank robbery gone wrong. The bank robber, having failed at robbing a bank, bursts upon an apartment viewing and proceeds to take a group of unfortunate strangers hostage. This group of mismatched folks, each with their secret fears and mistakes, slowly open their hearts to one another, and as a result, find their lives inexplicably changed for the better.

At its heart, this is a story that speaks to the humanity in all of us. No matter our backgrounds or experiences, we each have done the best we can with what we are given. We have messy feelings that go with our messy lives. We've made mistakes and all deserve second chances to redeem ourselves. That is what Backman has captured so deftly with his tale.

Reading this book feels like digging through a treasure trove, with wonderful surprises at every turn. There's even a little mystery in here, when the police tries to reconstruct what happened, and things don't seem as straightforward as they initially thought. The mystery is really a small part of the story, but even that is superbly done and managed to surprise and delight me.

Backman's writing style has always been quirky and his themes somewhat sentimental, but the two elements balance each other out, so that the quirkiness cuts through the cheesiness and helps to tone it down. The theme of this story, when you think about it, is really more sentimental than all the rest, so I found the writing to be even quirkier than his other books. I really enjoyed it, but I can see how this style wouldn't be for every reader or even every moment.

I appreciate that Backman tries to tackle complex and timely topics in his books, and he does so in such an uplifting way. Especially now, when we live in a world more divisive than it's ever been, this story reminds us that if we only take the time to get to know the other side, we'd realize we are more alike than we are different. In my opinion, it's an overly optimistic stance, but it's still healing to be able to escape into this imaginary, wonderful world, even if just for a few hours.

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!

Whenever I come across a murder mystery on an island, I just can't resist. The setting is positively atmospheric and who doesn't love a good locked-island mystery? There's something immensely appealing about a small group of people being stuck together with no escape while knowing that a murderer is among them.

(And it takes place at a wedding! I love weddings!)

So I put on my detective hat and get ready to puzzle this out, with much glee. But here is the first problem: not only do we not know the murderer, we don't know who the victim is either. So right off the bat, some of the fun is taken out of the whole thing.

The story also suffers from a few other issues that seem to plague most books of this genre. The characters are, unfortunately, all unlikable and dumb. They have trouble saying simple things to each other that would clear up much confusion. They make mistake after mistake, and then ruminate at length about each. And they all drink themselves into stupors at the first sign of discomfort, instead of just... talking.

There is so much buildup for this story. For 200+ pages, we are treated to nothing but petty drama between all the participants. There is a constant feeling of anticipation and foreboding, as if something bad is going to happen, but nothing actually does. It was exhausting. And when we finally get to the good stuff, the twists are fine, but they weren't surprising. I figured this was the direction the story was going, and it indeed went there.

Overall, it was a passable way to spend a few hours, but it doesn't quite rise above all the other modern thrillers in this over-saturated genre. It's just if you're going to build up an entire story on nothing but anticipation and petty drama, when it finally gets to the payoff, it better blow me away. And this just didn't.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

 

I've been dying to get my hands on this, Dunmore's sophomore book, ever since I read her first book earlier this year. I loved that one so much that I couldn't put it down, even while walking, which led to a small accident and a permanent scar. Nope, I'm not kidding. So it is with great anticipation and excitement that I finally get my hands on this one.

But honestly, A Rogue of One's Own just didn't quite capture the magic of the first one. On the surface, it's got everything I enjoy: a strong female character fighting the good fight (suffrage), a guy who loves her for her fierceness and her brains, and lots of attraction disguised as mutual dislike. And sure, I definitely enjoyed all those, but something felt missing.

For one, the book is too long for the story. The pacing is leisurely bordering on indulgent, and the plot advances at a snail's pace. Our couple doesn't even exchange their first smooch until past the halfway mark (more than 200 pages in). There were too many mostly irrelevant side plots, making the whole thing more convoluted and confusing than necessary.

The story also lacks that all-important sexual tension that's vital for a romance. I remember the sizzle of the first book, and I kept waiting for it with this one. But the scenes where our couple interacted with each other felt more like they truly disliked each other, with none of the attraction. It's a headscratcher, for sure.

And when we get to the crucial physical moments, the author seemingly becomes Victorianly shy and prudish, using mostly euphemisms to quickly gloss over the whole thing. It feels so different from the first book that it makes me wonder if Dunmore got feedback to tone down the steam in order to appeal to a larger audience.

For me, the best romances have the perfect amount of urgency and tension, and both were lacking in this book. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this, and without the first book for comparison, I would have found it more than adequate. But I do have my memory of the first book, and in comparison, this was utterly putdownable and a huge disappointment.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

What a tour de force Bennett has achieved with The Vanishing Half. Brilliant and complex, this story surpassed all my expectations and more.

Twins Desiree and Stella couldn't wait to leave behind the small, black town they've grown up in. At sixteen, they finally seize their chance and run away. More than a decade later, the twins have lost touch with each other. One comes back to town with a black daughter, while the other lives across the country, passing for white while hiding her past. As time goes on, they and their respective daughters realize you can never quite cut the ties of the past.

This book touches upon so many worthy topics. The themes of race and racism captured in this book are among the most nuanced and insightful I have come across. At its core, racism is the opportunity for one group to make themselves feel better by acting out to oppress another. There is no group that is immune to being the oppressor, including those that are oppressed themselves. The way the light-skinned colored people of Mallard act towards dark-skinned people both captures the insidiousness of racism (racism only begets more racism) and its pervasiveness in society. I appreciate the book's honesty on this, no matter how disheartening it is to think about.

Another interesting theme captured over and over is whether someone can ever leave their past and heritage behind to make a clean start. The twins ran away thinking they could be the controller of their own destiny. But as they grow older and their paths diverge, it becomes apparent that their years growing up in Mallard continues to follow them. Even as they meet different opportunities and experiences, their past still contributes to shape their decisions and ultimately where they end up. It's possible to live separate lives through different decisions, as illustrated by the twins' dual contrasting paths, but they still remain within the parameters of their past.

The twins' daughters are also molded by their mothers, yet they are a new generation, the first to break through the confines of their mothers' past. The daughters could truly say they are making strides when it comes to racism, having been given increased opportunities, which allow them to become more open and accepting than their mothers (as racism begets more racism, opportunities beget less). Another interesting point is that one daughter grew up with privilege and wealth, while the other grew up wanting. Yet, through choices and motivations, the one who grew up with less arguably ended up with more. And that is an encouraging thought.

This story covers so much ground, both in terms of the strands of the twins' and their daughters' narratives, as well as its exploration of race, gender, identity, and belonging. The writing is beautiful and poignant, flowing smoothly along while guiding the reader from one insightful observation to another. What a powerful read, indeed.

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!

In The Woman in the Park, Sarah meets a handsome and mysterious man in the park. She is immediately drawn to him, and his presence adds a flame of excitement to her otherwise mundane life as a housewife to a cheating husband and children who are growing up and pulling away. But soon a woman from the park goes missing, and police come knocking on her door. And as the truth unravels, we realize nothing is as it seems.

This was a super fun and easy read. Once I started, I was hooked and I couldn't put it down. I've been in a reading slump lately where it has taken me many days to get through a book, but I bombed through this one in two days. It was fast-paced, and there were lots of twists and turns along the way to keep me entertained. I also liked the shorter length, and how the narration didn't get bogged down in the main character's internal ruminations (a pet peeve of mine in reading this genre of modern psychological thrillers).

But you guys, I called it, almost from the very beginning! Without giving anything away, I'll say that it reminded me of something I've seen before, and it pretty much had the same clues. For me, this is the problem with most books of this genre: there are only so many possibilities, so once you've seen some, you've seen them all. And my overactive brain refuses to shut off and let me enjoy it unspoiled. But that's my problem, and not the book's.

What an enjoyable and riveting story this was. I only wish I hadn't figured things out so early and instead had been surprised at every turn, the way many other readers were by this story. But I'm happy to overlook this because it's fairly rare for me to have a positive experience with this genre. This is a very promising start for this author duo, and I look forward to more from them.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

What if an asteroid were on a collision course with Earth? Would we have what it takes to defend ourselves, or would we be powerless in the face of this cosmic blip?

Fire in the Sky takes a look into the history and science of asteroids and comets, distilling down all that we know of these celestial bodies across millions of years. It also dives into their capacity to cause catastrophic damage should they strike Earth (goodbye, dinosaurs!), and our effort and ability to defend ourselves against them.

I found this book to be utterly fascinating. As you guys know, I'm a huge space buff, so this book is right up my alley. Because I've read so many books about space over the years and it's inevitable that some of it ends up being repetitive, I now approach the genre with more caution. So I was thrilled when this book turned out to be almost all new information for me.

The writing style kept me riveted. It's tightly paced even though it's nonfiction science. The author really captured all that is interesting and informative about this subject without getting bogged down in the technical details or repeating himself. Usually with nonfiction, there are some chapters more interesting than others, but this book feels consistent throughout, keeping my interest without a single chapter feeling superfluous or boring.

For me, one of the most insightful topics covered in here is how prepared we are if a decent-sized asteroid were to hit Earth. It really highlights how far we still have to go to be able to affect—even a little—the outcome, should one set its sights on us.

The war games scenario played out in the book made a particularly interesting point about certainty versus action. The earlier we act, the less it would take to knock the object off of its collision course with Earth, though we would also be less certain it would've hit us in the first place. But the longer we wait to see if we need to act at all, the less options we'll end up having, until we have waited so long to establish certainty that there is little remedy left.

If you're interested in asteroids and comets (or you just enjoyed the movies Deep Impact and Armageddon), I highly recommend this book. It's entertaining and insightful, and I guarantee it'll change the way you see our planet and its seemingly cozy and safe nook in the universe.

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!

The Department of Sensitive Crimes introduces us to detective Ulf Varg and his team, who are called upon to handle cases that are deemed too unusual or strange for the regular police force. This book contains three of those cases: a man stabbed in the back of the knee, the missing imaginary boyfriend, and a werewolf frightening guests at a spa. In between, we are treated to details about Varg and his teammates, and also his dog Martin.

At first, I found the storytelling style to be a bit disjointed and unusual, but I soon got used to it, and it won me over. I wouldn't say the three mysteries fit the mold of traditional mysteries. They are more like strange happenings that had reasonable explanations, which the detectives sussed out. Of the three cases, the missing imaginary boyfriend was definitely my favorite for how curious and surprising the whole thing was.

Interspersed among the cases were are lots of humorous and sometimes irreverent observations and tidbits, which just added to the quirky atmosphere. Going in, I wasn't sure if this would be my type of book, but I definitely enjoyed it. If you're looking for something a bit off the beaten path of mysteries, I think this would be a fun one to try.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

In Friends and Strangers, we follow two women: Elizabeth as she moves from the city to the suburbs after having a baby, and her babysitter Sam, a student at the local university. Each is trying to figure out her own path. Elizabeth is adjusting to post-baby life while keeping a secret from her husband. And Sam is trying to balance college life with her much-older boyfriend while making post-graduation plans.

This book started off with a bang for me. For the first 100 pages, I was riveted and couldn't put it down. I found Sullivan's writing to be clear-eyed and perceptive, her sketch of each women to be nuanced and insightful. It's a character-driven novel, so not much was happening in terms of action, but that didn't stop my enjoyment of it, at least initially.

But then this book started to bother me. For one, it has one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to tropes: all conflict comes from things unspoken. But the egregiousness of these unspoken things are not all the same. Some are actually good things (giving money, help with finding a job), while others are severe betrayals (fertility fraud, publishing grievances told in confidence), but the book treats them as if they are all on the same level. In each case, the receiver freaks out and refuses to try to understand the other side. It's all very exhausting, especially because some of the issues are quite petty.

Every character in here is fairly selfish and obtuse, but no one more so than Elizabeth. Nothing she does makes any sense to me. She looks down on others while thinking she is above them. She tries to control others with money while refusing to let her father control her in the same way. She lies to her husband repeatedly, on two major issues. She obsesses over other people's problems while sticking her head in the sand and refusing to deal with her own.

One thing in particular that made me uncomfortable is the way the book deals with the topic of having children. As someone who doesn't have kids, I found the way Elizabeth talks about new motherhood and the way she acts after having her child to be extremely off-putting. But then the book does a 180 at the very end, as if to indicate that a woman cannot be content unless she has as many kids as her husband wants? I honestly don't know.

Another thing that really bothered me was how Elizabeth tried so hard to convince Sam's friend that embryo donation was wrong and that she will regret it for the rest of her life. Never mind that she was helping a couple that could not have kids on their own, and by first agreeing and then bowing out, she took away that chance for the couple. The book's lack of addressing this made it seem as if it agrees with that stance, and that's rather troubling.

This book is also very heavy-handed in the topics it's exploring. There is a focus on privilege, that it exists in many different ways (not just rich versus poor). But that is spelled out for the reader many, many times. I was also surprised at how in-depth the book went into to talk about the corrupt system that is keeping the little guy down. The thing is, I agree with all that, but I just prefer books that make me think, not ones that do the thinking for me and then spoon-feed it to me.

For me, a great character-driven book has to show character growth. (Otherwise, what I am reading for?) But that just didn't happen in this book. The two main characters remained exactly the same from beginning to end. Sam was extremely angry with Elizabeth for helping, without which she wouldn't have the life she has. But she seems not to realize this. And Elizabeth continues to lie to her husband without any consequences.

In the end, I enjoyed Sullivan's writing, and I will continue to read it. But this time, I found too much that was troubling for me. And the parts that weren't, I didn't really grasp the point or mesh with the delivery. There was so much heavy-handedness in here, to the point where all the characters feel like caricatures of the points the author is trying to make, and it was just too much.

Readaroo Rating: 2 stars

In Mixed Doubles, three friends make New Year's resolutions for the upcoming year: Dulcie wants a divorce, Liza wants to get married, and Pru wants her relationship to stay the same. But as the year goes on, adventures and surprises await each of the three friends, and nothing goes according to plan.

This story has all that I've come to love about Jill Mansell books. It's sweet, heart-warming, funny, and poignant. Each of the three main characters is well-sketched out, with their quirks and flaws, but still interesting and lovable. It's fun to cheer them on as they discover themselves and search for love. There were so many moments when I was laughing out loud, and also moments when I was wiping away tears.

For me, Jill Mansell is the queen of the beach read, and this is yet another to add to a collection of winners. Her stories, without being overly cheesy or saccharine, always manage to move me and touch me. They never fail to leave me with a feeling of happiness, which is exactly what I need right now.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

If you're in the mood for something crazy and chilling, well, look no further.

Angela, Geo, and Kai were best friends in high school. They were inseparable until Geo fell in love with bad boy Calvin. Then one night, Angela mysteriously disappears. Geo carries the secret of what really happened for 14 years, until the day Angela's remains are discovered in the woods outside Geo's childhood home. What follows is the unraveling of what really happened on that fateful night all those years ago, and what is still to come for all involved.

This book is so darn entertaining. I was riveted from the very beginning, holding my metaphoric bowl of popcorn and turning the pages as fast I could. The writing is fast-paced and the atmosphere is deliciously suspenseful. I did find the first half to be more thrilling because I didn't know where the story was going, whereas by the second half, the story had crystallized into a narrative with a clear destination.

However, this story does require a tremendous suspension of disbelief. A lot of outlandish things happen, and if you think about it carefully, they don't really hang completely together. The characters are all unlikable and varying degrees of crazy. And to progress the plot, there are some coincidences, a lot of conveniences, and even some contradictions. Also, I found this book to be much darker than a typical thriller, with some of the bad events verging on the grotesque.

Still, I had a lot of fun reading this. It was crazy and dark and outlandish, and it kept me entertained throughout. This is my first book by Jennifer Hillier, and I'll have to check out more.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

The Rural Diaries is charming and joyous, a celebration of family and community and simple living. Hilarie Burton and her husband left the Hollywood lifestyle and moved to a small town in New York to raise their family, starting with a cabin in the woods and then moving onto a working farm with cows, donkeys, alpacas, chickens, ducks; you name it, they have it.

While I never watched One Tree Hill, I grew up during that era and had seen bits and pieces of the show just flipping through the channels. Burton's character Peyton always seemed so driven and strong at a time when I was a floundering teenager trying to figure out my passion and place in life. Then this book comes along and I find out she married the Winchester dad from Supernatural. So my curiosity was definitely peaked.

Often with celebrity memoirs, you hardly learn anything about the person after reading them. But that's not the case here. You can hear Burton's voice shine throughout. She is so genuine and open in the book, sharing not just her triumphs but also her challenges and heartbreaks. She speaks candidly of her experience with motherhood, the difficulties of making a marriage work, every day life on the farm, her struggles with infertility, and so much more. And it's clear her love for her town, and how thankful she is to have finally found a place to belong and a community that embraces her.

Reading this book felt like talking to an old friend, one who is insightful and funny. At the heart of it, Burton distilled her life down to its most important parts, and wasn't afraid to take the leap nor of the hard work that followed. She takes the bad moments one day at a time while remembering to celebrate all that life has to offer. She lives the life we all want, one that is authentic to who is she, and I respect her so much for that.

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!

In Long Bright River, we follow two sisters, Mickey and Kacey, who lost their mother young to addiction and their father soon after to abandonment. They were then raised in the harsh unloving environment of their grandmother. Mickey eventually joined the police force, but Kacey could not resist the call of addiction. When Kacey goes missing and women starts turning up dead in their neighborhood, Mickey is compelled to uncover what really happened.

This book starts out amazingly. The story of the two sisters, coming from similar circumstances but with one building a life for herself while the other falling to addiction and petty crime, is a compelling one. So is the dynamic between the two, especially Mickey's pain and dilemma when faced with her sister's deterioration.

But then about half way through, the book just lost steam for me. One of the most difficult aspects of addiction is the agony it has on loved ones. Should they intervene or respect the addict's autonomy and right to make decisions? How many chances do they give the addict before they write them off for good? This book starts to address these, but it didn't go anywhere. Instead, Mickey tramples all over Kacey in her effort to save her, yet never gains any insight into what she did wrong in the process.

Also, for a policeman, Mickey is awfully naive and slow-witted. There were so many moments when she was faced with some common situation, and she would freeze up and not know what to do or say. She clomps around in her heavy-handed effort to "help", but she just makes things worse. At one point, after she was given a tip from a source who wished to remain anonymous, she went ahead and broke that confidentiality. She makes many questionable and unethical decisions throughout the book, which were then never adequately addressed. The more I read, the less I could relate to Mickey.

For me, having a dumb and slow female protagonist is a pet-peeve that drives me crazy. Combined with the fact that this book never really reached beyond the surface when addressing the complexity and nuances of addiction and its fallout, and this turned out to be just a middle-of-the-road read for me.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

I know I shouldn't judge a book by its title, but The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires got me real good. It sounds like a fun, lighthearted take on slaying vampires, mixed in with some Southern hospitality and book club joviality. And it started out that way. But then it went somewhere else altogether.

If I were to sum up this book with one word, it would be gross. Every time I picked it up, I would read some passages on rats eating people alive, or cockroaches wiggling into ears, or blood-sucking appendages flopping out of mouths, and I just wanted to hide my eyes. One time I made the mistake of eating while reading (one of my favorite activity combos), and I couldn't get my gag reflexes to stop for a long time afterwards.

But it wasn't just the gore that turned me off. I also found this book to be overwritten. There were moments when it was supposed to be serious, like with the women rallying together or the bad guy taking a last stand, and I just cringed at the cheesy dialog. It sounded so fake to me during what should've been emotionally pivotal moments.

And this book had the dumbest, most slow-witted characters I have ever read. When presented with evidence of something strange going on, they just refused to believe, over and over. Sure, in real life, if someone told me there's a vampire loose and they had evidence, I would be skeptical. But this is fiction! I don't want to spent 80% of the book reading about non-believers doubting and naysaying. What a downer.

But please don't let my review dissuade you. So many people have loved this book, so I think this is a serious case of this book just not being for this reader. However, not all is a loss. I do walk away with a new personal record: the longest time it has taken me to get through a book.

Readaroo Rating: 2 stars

Well, that was an unexpected dose of nasty and fun, wasn't it?

Ted meets a mysterious woman at the airport and, thinking he would never see her again, spills all his secrets to her right then and there. He confides that his wife Miranda is cheating on him, and that he secretly wishes he could kill both her and her lover to teach them a lesson. Once Ted and the woman arrive at their destination, they part ways, but that turns out to be only the beginning.

This book, with its twists and turns everywhere, was thoroughly entertaining from beginning to end. Just as I was getting comfortable with a current story line, I would be hit with a surprise that completely knocked me over and had me recalculating my understanding of what was going on. And this happened so many times.

It's also filled with outrageous characters all trying to kill each other and outdo one another with scheming and backstabbing. It's a rare breed of author who can write a book filled with unlikable characters and make the story itself enjoyable, yet Swanson achieves just that.

The only small gripe I have is that the ending seemed rather abrupt to me. It just ended when I expected there to be more explanation and wrap-up, so it felt a bit unsatisfying. Even though the outcome was clearly implied, after all that buildup, I wish the story took a little more time to see everything to its complete conclusion.

Still, this murderous story was highly enjoyable. All throughout, I couldn't stop turning the pages, excited to see what crazy thing was going to happen next. I've been looking forward to reading this for a long time, and I'm so happy it lived up to all the hype.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

What if you had a glimpse into your future? Would what you see change how you acted today?

Dannie is living the life she's always wanted: a great career as a corporate lawyer, about to be engaged to her boyfriend of two years, and everything is going exactly as she's planned. On the night of her engagement, she falls asleep and seemingly catches a glimpse of her life five years in the future. That glimpse, in which she's with a different man, throws her entire world into turmoil.

The premise of In Five Years immediately caught my attention. There's something fascinating about the concept of knowing one's own future. Do you let it dictate your actions? Is there any way you can avoid your destiny if you don't like it? Those are tough questions, and the scenario facing Dannie is especially hard because this peek into her future self plants the seeds of doubt about the direction of her life and the person she's with.

And yet, this book is also so much more than that. It sets forth Dannie's personal journey of growth and discovery. It explores friendships and relationships and dealing with loss. The characters in here are fascinating, as are the choices they are forced to make. It all combines into the best possible mix, leaving me riveted throughout.

However, the ending threw me a bit. Without giving anything away, I'll say that the story led the reader in a specific direction, a seemingly profound one. It would've made the whole story come together at an insightful destination. But it didn't go that way. It went somewhere else, and that direction took a bit away from the story that the author was trying to craft.

Still, I ended up loving most of it. I found the characters interesting, their choices difficult and nuanced, and the plot line compelling. Even though the ending wasn't as stellar as I hoped, I still very much enjoyed the journey. Reflecting on it, I think this is one of those memorable stories that will stick with me for a long time.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

Can a ghost story be boring? Unfortunately, the answer is yes.

In The Sun Down Motel, Vivian works the night shift at the front desk of a creepy motel. She sees some ghosts haunting the place and starts digging around. Soon she realizes that some of the deaths around town may be connected. But one night, she disappears without a trace. Thirty-five years later, her niece Carly shows up, hoping to figure out what happened to her aunt. Carly also gets a job as a front desk clerk on the night shift. Soon she's digging around and being haunted by ghosts too.

This story bored me to sleep, literally. The problem is, if you take out the ghosts, not much happens. And the ghosts were mostly only there in the beginning of the story to precipitate the two girls' investigations.

The majority of the story centers around Vivian and Carly, each in their own timeline, putting their lives on hold to bumble around, sticking their noses where they don't belong. In Vivian's case, she zeroes in on a guy solely because she has a gut feeling that he's a bad person. Let's think about this for a second. If he really was the guilty party, then she's going around following a killer. If he's not guilty, then she's just harassing and stalking an innocent person. I know stories have to have some sort of premise in order to tell their tale, but this just stretched beyond credibility.

The two girls' parallel storylines have a lot of overlap, so it often feels like I'm being told something I already know. And it doesn't help that the two women have pretty much the same personality (extremely nosy and weirdly obsessed with digging into people's deaths beyond what is safe or healthy). More than once, I forgot whose point of view I was reading and it didn't really matter.

It's like watching a campy horror movie where you could see the main characters doing one stupid thing after another, and they just get more and more into trouble. And it's not clear why they are doing these things. Both can leave at anytime, especially when weird stuff starts happening. I don't understand their motivations, and it prevented me from connecting with them.

And even when the plot mercifully seems to have wrapped up, it somehow kept going on some more. There were extra unnecessary characters and ghosts who seem to have no purpose other than to make the story longer and more convoluted.

Lots of people loved this book, so this was clearly a case of it not being the right match for me. I trudged on when I should have quit. I thought it would get better, but it never did. I just couldn't get into it. The whole thing was unbelievable, and it exhausted me.

Readaroo Rating: 2 stars

Humble Pi takes us on a tour of the times when math, engineering, and programming have gone wrong, leading to disastrous or sometimes just funny results. The book covers a range of mistakes, including bridge failures, space exploration disasters, game show cheats, financial algorithms gone rogue, and so much more.

I pretty much loved this book from start to finish. I found it thoroughly fascinating and often hilarious. Parker has a great way with explaining technical subjects, distilling it down to layman terms while retaining his humor. Even on events I already know about, Parker's explanations provided a new and interesting take.

The book is organized so that similar themes are grouped together into chapters, but each incident is only a few pages long, so it never feels bogged down or boring. I found it best to read with the internet handy, so I could zip on and find out more whenever it interested me.

It's been a while since I've been this riveted by a nonfiction book. I was tearing through it, chuckling to myself and stopping only to look up videos of Michael Larson on Press Your Luck and Galloping Gertie as it came down. I'm so glad I happened across this book. It totally spoke to the inner engineer nerd in me. After all, the only thing more fascinating than how something works is when it doesn't.

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!

Seven friends meet up to ring in the New Year together at a remote wilderness lodge. Two days later, one of them is dead. Told in alternating perspectives from three of the friends, as well as in alternating timelines, one leading up to the fateful event and one in the immediate aftermath, it begs the questions: What happened? Who was killed and why?

And here is essentially the first issue with The Hunting Party: we don't know who the victim is. Even in the aftermath narrative, the identity of the victim is obfuscated. We don't even know their gender until quite late in the book. And withholding this information takes all the fun out of it. It's no longer a mystery to be solved so much as a contrived tale, manipulated such that as much of the information is withheld as possible.

Reading this book gave me anticipation fatigue. There was a complete dearth of action and information. Sure, anticipation adds suspense and fun, but only for a little while. After that, I need something more: clues, reveals, investigation progress, anything. Otherwise, my brain starts to feel fried out from all that imminent expectation. It becomes overloaded and then turns to exhaustion.

In the meantime, we are treated to eye-rolling drama from the most unlikable group of friends I have ever come across. How these people, who are so snide and awkward around each other, are supposedly friends for decades really belies plausibility. They treat each other with disdain and open hostility. Who needs enemies when you have friends like that?

And the book is full of descriptions of the remote wilderness, with its snow and trees and mountains and silence. There was a point in the middle of the book, when nothing but petty drama and bleak terrain filled the pages, that I was so bored it was hard to make myself keep reading.

Eventually the book did come together, and the last bit was enjoyable. But I wish it was a more even reading experience throughout. I can't help but feel this was a bit of a missed opportunity, that such a promising premise and entertaining story had been written in such a way as to take the excitement and fun out of the majority of the book.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

In Silver Sparrow, we follow two sisters with different mothers who share the same father. The girls are kept away from each other. They grow up in seemingly similar circumstances, but their father's disparate treatment of them results in different lives for the two of them. When their paths finally intersect, it leads to the unraveling of their father's carefully crafted families.

The writing in here is beautiful: evocative, nuanced, and weighty. I found myself immersed in it, unable to turn away. There is so much said and unsaid, so many emotions on the surface, but also underneath. The relationships in here are complex and fraught with peril, and each person is doing the best they can given the circumstances, but it often isn't enough.

What drew me to this book initially is that it says it's about polygamy, and I'm always fascinated by that. Why would anyone willingly participate? What are the logistics? But this book isn't really about that. When I think of polygamy, everyone participating has to know they are doing so; otherwise, it's just plain cheating, right? So this book isn't about polygamy so much as it's about cheating. But even then, it doesn't adequately address why the participants wanted to take part in all that.

And while the story focuses on the two daughters, I'm not sure I really grasped the point of it. The narrative feels cohesive, but ultimately leading nowhere. And when it finally gets to the crux of the matter, it ends abruptly without really resolving anything. And maybe that is the point of it, that there is no resolution to such a complex set of issues, but that's not very satisfying to me as a reader.

Overall, I enjoyed the writing in this story, and its ability to provide a viewpoint into a tricky and difficult family setup, and the effects of that on the daughters. But the narrative itself felt a bit wandering to me, without a clear goal in mind. And when it did reach a crucial point, it just sort of ended. I didn't really gain any insight from it. I kept waiting for more throughout the book, and then there was no more.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

A Lady's Guide to Gossip and Murder is another charming installment of the cozy mystery series featuring the widowed Lady Frances Harleigh. One of her society acquaintances has met an unfortunate end, and the police suspect Frances' well-intentioned but bumbling cousin, Charles, of having done the deed. Frances steps in to help clear his name, and soon realizes this is anything but a straightforward crime.

This book reads very much like a typical cozy, with our main character nosing about and talking to a lot of people in the hopes that she'll stumble upon the right answer. And also just like a cozy, the book spends a good amount of time having its main and supporting characters mull over the crime, think out loud of potential motives and suspects, and ponder their next moves. It builds nicely up to the ending, which is both reasonable and satisfying.

Compared to the first book in the series, I found this one to be still fun, though not quite as exciting. I think that's largely due to the first book requiring a lot of setup and backstory, which I enjoyed tremendously, whereas this one gets right to the point with the crime. That backstory of how Frances came to be so strong and resilient at a time in history when society frowns upon women's independence was fascinating, and I wish there was more in this book. In addition to that, the witty dialogue, the romantic tension with her neighbor, and the proper Victorian decorum were all pared back a little in this book, and I miss their frequent presence.

Still, this was an entertaining cozy murder mystery, and I look forward to reading more from the series. As I usually find this genre and its focal crime to be a little bit slow, it's really the side and back stories that distinguish a terrific one from an average one. So I hope for the next one, we get a little bit more of what I love, mixed in with the cozy murders.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

Things You Save in a Fire is the story of Cassie: badass firefighter, hard worker, and independent girl. When her estranged mother calls and asks Cassie move to Massachusetts and live with her for a year, she couldn't imagine uprooting her comfortable, if spartan, life in Texas to make the move. But doing so sets Cassie off on a journey that forces her to confront all that she's been hiding, and ultimately heals her heart and her relationship with her mother.

I have a love/hate relationship with this book. On the one hand, the plot line itself is sweet and uplifting, and has a lot of potential. Cassie has closed herself off to love and relationships for so long, and it was heartwarming to see her grow and open up to all the possibilities of the world. Almost all the side characters are lovable and funny, and they provide so much kindness and support for Cassie. And the message of hope and forgiveness in this story is a worthy one.

However, the book way overdid it on the sweetness, to the point where the saccharine syrupyness of some of the scenes, including the climax and the subsequent conclusion, felt unreal. Every bad thing just magical resolved itself. If someone behaved badly towards you, well all you have to do is save them from themselves and forgive them, and then it's all good. It smooths over so many complex issues, such as sexual assault and drug abuse, as if such traumatizing experiences could ever be just one absolution away from complete resolution.

The ending also felt preachy and fake. Not only does everyone's issues resolve in the best way possible, but those in the wrong also learn their lessons and then go on to become the poster child do-gooder for every sin they ever committed. And this is hammered home to the reader many, many times. I read a lot of chick lit and romance, and enjoy them very much for their warmth and optimistic endings. So I'm a little baffled by the way this book made me feel. It's as if I've been given the hard sell, leaving behind this unsatisfied hollowness in its wake.

I also had problems with the main character, Cassie. A lot of the conflict in this book comes from the fact that she is still hung up on the fact that her parents divorced when she was 16. I would understand if she were a child, thinking that her parents' world revolved around her. But surely she's figured out by the time she's an adult that parents sometimes have to make difficult and complicated decisions, such as going their separate ways. It's really hard to read about Cassie acting like an entitled brat, being mean to and ignoring her mother for years because of this perceived slight.

I've also never come across a character who is so rigid and uptight. She rejects fun, dating, love, talking, hanging out with people, making friends, or pretty much anything that isn't her job or being mad at her parents. My god... how can she stand herself and her attitude? I almost couldn't stand it just reading it for the duration of the book.

In the end, this book garnered a lot of mixed emotions for me. As I was reading it, I'd find moments where I would chuckle to myself or my eyes would mist over. But there were also plenty of times when I wanted to hurl my book across the room at the sheer ludicracy of what was going on. I very much took to the story line of growth and redemption in the face of adversity. But this book was so insistently sweet in its resolution of all conflicts and its glossing over of every complex issue that it often felt like I was reading the script of a Hallmark movie on steroids, written by a car salesman.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars