Things In Jars starts off with Bridie, a private detective, being presented with a most baffling case. Sir Berwick's daughter has been kidnapped and he wants her found, but he won't share any relevant information with Bridie, including why he keeps her hidden away. So what's Sir Berwick hiding? The more Bridie learns, the more unusual this puzzle becomes. She prowls around dirty Victorian London trying to piece this together, accompanied by a motley crew, including a faithful ghost companion, a tall giantess housemaid, and a friendly police inspector.

This story is definitely... unusual. I found the mystery itself to be the most compelling part of it. When I'm in those parts of the book, I'm totally riveted, gobbling through it, wondering what's going and what I'll learn next. The fantasy element existing within the real world made this a most surprising and interesting mix. Bridie's friends are also a sweet and funny bunch, offering her physical and emotional support in ways that only loyal friends do.

But I almost gave up on this story multiple times, especially at the beginning. I found the writing style to be extremely difficult to understand, to the point where I had no idea what was going on in the first 50 pages. The excessive descriptions just don't do it for me. Every time a person is introduced, we read extensively about every feature on their face, every article of clothing, their posture and body shape, all using florid metaphors that don't make any sense to me. Each time this happens, I would lose my train of thought halfway through or forget the point the author is trying to make. Then I'd have to go back and reread it multiple times before I can even make heads or tails of it.

It's so frustrating when a good story is mired in this overwrought style of writing. I also found the sentences to be weird in construction and the vocabulary obscure. So I was often looking up multiple words in every sentence. Once I got about 100 pages in and the plot started taking shape, I went back and reread the first 50 pages, at last understanding what was happening. But a good story shouldn't be that way. The writing should keep the reader engaged in the story, not take them out of it in confusion every few sentences or attempt to impress them with verbal gymnastics.

This is also an extremely gory book, with plenty of bodily fluids, internal organs, pus, festering, blood, poo... you name it, it's in this book. While it didn't bother me for the most part, I do like to indulge in reading while eating, and this is definitely not good for that.

In the end, this was both an interesting but also extremely frustrating reading experience for me. I don't want to discount or sell this story short. No doubt, without the verbal gymnastics and the florid descriptions, this would have been easily a 4-star read for me. But as it stands, it's a story I like, but with lots of reservations. I can't give this more than 3 stars, especially as I'm not sure I understood half of it even though I read most of it multiple times.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

Marriage on Madison Avenue focuses on best friends Audrey and Clarke. They've loved each other since they were children, but strictly in a platonic way. When meddling parents and gossipmongers go a step too far, they decide the best way to get back at them is to pretend they're engaged. But as their charade continues, they begin to realize that the only ones they're fooling may be themselves.

This story is oh so charming and cotton-candy sweet, perhaps even more so than the other two books in this series. It's light, fluffy, never too serious, and comes with its own happily ever after. But that sweetness comes across as a little superficial at times. The two main characters are fairly bland, and their personalities don't ever congeal into real three-dimensional people. I kept waiting for something to happen that tugs at my heartstrings or makes my heart skip a beat, but nothing really did. The reading experience felt pleasant throughout, without any uncomfortable or exciting moments.

Perhaps the reason this story never became more than superficial to me is that there's some distance between the reader and the characters. We are never brought into their minds to fully understand their thoughts and feelings. Instead, there's a lot of telling, but not a lot of showing. It's never clear why Audrey and Clarke started seeing each other as more than friends, other than we are told that it's so. For a romance, this story is also completely without heat or urgency, giving it a sterilized feeling. There are no blush-worthy moments at all, as every single possible one has been sanitized out.

In the end, this was a mostly enjoyable end to a fairly pleasant series. To say there is anything more than that would be overstating it. But it's fun to indulge in an escapist read every now and then, something that doesn't demand anything from me intellectually or emotionally. And this fulfills that just fine.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

It took me completely by surprise how much I enjoyed this book, but looking back on it, I shouldn't have.

Mrs. Fletcher follows divorcée Eve Fletcher as she sends her only child Brendan off to college, leaving her floundering with an empty nest and struggling to find a purpose. She takes a class at the community college and meets a diverse group of people, thus stumbling into some interesting potentials that slowly brighten her life. It makes her realize that being middle-aged doesn't need to be the start of a decline, but rather the beginning of something new and exciting.

Truthfully, I've always found something appealing in the narrative of the older woman's sexual reawakening, she who has been worn down by work, life, and kids. In fact, one of my favorite movies of all time is Something's Gotta Give, in which a writer played by Diane Keaton has an energizing fling with a much younger handsome doctor played by Keanu Reeves. So this story is right up my alley.

And it pretty much had me hooked from the first page. I sympathized with Eve's hope that she can still go out there and make a connection, as well as her need to be seen as a real person, not just someone's mom. I found the writing, with a bit of satire and zing mixed in, to be sharp and droll. There were plenty of relevant and timely commentary on today's dating culture, feminism, gender identity and fluidity, privilege, and porn's prevalence in people's lives.

The only parts I didn't find as compelling were the ones centered around her son, Brendan. He is clueless, self-centered, and lacking in curiosity. Every time the book turns to his point of view, I found myself hoping to get back to reading about Eve. I know Brendan's story provides a juxtaposition with Eve's, with him being handed so many opportunities and wasting them, while she works hard to create every opportunity for herself. Thankfully, his idiotic escapades did not eclipse the hopeful and heartening tenor of Eve's story.

I don't think this book is for everyone, and based on the mixed reviews, a lot of readers found it to be underwhelming. But for me, this strikes at the heart of a fascination for me. One day I will be a middle-aged woman. When that day comes, I know I will still feel young at heart, and want the same things I want today: to have a sense of purpose, to feel valued, and to be loved. That's why I found Eve and her story to be so riveting.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

The Wife and the Widow is told from the perspective of two women: one whose husband disappears and the other whose husband is hiding a guilty secret. Their alternating viewpoints slowly condense into a single narrative as their stories converge and all their secrets are revealed.

I have to say, I was super excited going into this book based on its stellar reviews. I'm always looking for a thriller that can surprise or shock me. And this book has a lot going for it. For one, the premise is intriguing. I enjoy stories following seemingly separate people whose connections are then slowly revealed and explained. And I relished the setting, in a summer town during off-peak season, where it's desolate and gloomy.

But this may have been a case where my expectations were set too high. When I think of a thriller, I always want twists and turns, jaw-dropping secrets, and eureka moments that pull everything together with satisfaction and awe. And I just didn't get that here. The story felt very straightforward and simple. It proceeded systematically in the only way it could, and every step along the way, I'm nodding to myself like, "Yep, that's the way it is." Which isn't how I want my thrillers to be.

Another issue for me is how late in the book I hit that point of feeling compelled to continue reading. When I think of the experience of reading a book, it always starts out as going uphill, where you have to put a lot of effort into paying attention and staying focused because everything is new and unfamiliar... until you reach that magical point where you've become immersed into the plot and you wholehearted buy into the narrative that is playing out. From then on, you're zooming downhill, fast and easy, all the way to the finish. This key turning point is crucial, but I didn't reach it until more than halfway through. The lead-up to that point was mostly pedestrian, with little happening and most of it being domestic drama.

Still, I found the ending to be satisfactory in that it pulled everything together and explained it all without being over the top. But while I liked enough of this story to be glad I picked it up, it didn't wow me. I prefer my thrillers to be a little more exciting and gripping, and this just fell short of that.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

In The Night Tiger, houseboy Ren must fulfill a promise he made to his dying master, which sets him off on a journey of discovery, magic, and danger. Along the way, he crosses paths with Ji Lin, an apprentice dressmaker who's forced to be a part time dance-hall girl to pay off her mother's debt. She knows she could be so much more, but money and circumstances dictate that she keep her dreams diminished.

There is so much that I enjoyed in this story. The overall tale with its mix of real and magic is interesting and unique. I've never read another story quite like this, and it kept me riveted throughout. The atmosphere is pulsing with a richness that's lush and vivid, and it just sucked me right into the jungle heat of colonial Malaysia. There is so much going on in here: murders, superstition, secrets, and romance. It has a bit of everything, and there's never a dull moment.

And yet, I often found myself feeling frustrated when reading it. Pretty much every character and their actions relied on superstition and feelings rather than logic and facts. Even when things are clearly put in front of people, they would deny what they see in favor of what they felt. Decisions are made based on superstitions or what others would think, rather than what is right. I also found a lot of the dialogue to be awkward throughout. Some things are left unsaid that should be said, while things that don't need to be said are stated repeatedly.

In the end, this book turned out to be so much more, but also not quite what I expected it to be. It drew me in with its promise of magical realism and the two protagonists' journey of growing up and self-discovery. I was completely pulled into the rich evocative atmosphere, and it made for a riveting tale. For that, I'm glad I picked up this book.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

Sometimes a wonderful book leaves an emotional mark on us, but Bringing Down the Duke left a physical mark on me too.

Annabelle is strong and capable, but destitute. When an opportunity to study at Oxford presents itself, she grabs it with both hands. It comes with a scholarship that stipulates her involvement with the women's suffrage movement. She needs to lobby men of influence to their cause, which is how her path crosses with the Duke of Montgomery's.

This story has everything I love in a romance. Annabelle is smart and competent, and she's not afraid to work hard to make the best of her meager situation. Montgomery is dashing and attentive. Though he comes across a bit cold in the beginning, Annabelle slowly thaws him out.

He finds her fascinating not just for her pretty face, but also for her sharp mind. Even though she's resilient and can take care of herself, he's still protective of her and comes to her aid. There is so much witty banter and meaningful dialogue everywhere. And the Victorian era reticence and propriety just adds to the whole charming atmosphere.

I also really enjoyed the look into the women's suffrage movement. It's the perfect companion and back story to this romance, as it mirrors the value Annabelle places on her independence and her reluctance to hand over any powers to a man. It's uplifting and thought-provoking to read about what strong women went through back in the day to ensure we have the rights we do today.

So how did this book leave a mark on me? Well, I couldn't put it down, not even for a second. So I was walking and reading at the same time (danger alert!) when I stumbled over an errant sign on the sidewalk and took a fall. I was mostly ok (other than my pride), but I did skin my knee pretty badly. When it healed, it left this long purple scar behind. Now every time I look at it, I think of the book I thoroughly loved.

I'm a romantic at heart, so I'm always searching for the perfect romance that speaks to me. And I found exactly what I was looking for in this book. Strong women and the dashing men who value them for their mind and their wit will do it for me every time. I pretty much swooned from beginning to end. After this, I'll read anything by Evie Dunmore. I just won't be walking at the same time... learned that lesson!

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!

Influenza is a quick, interesting read on the history of the flu, where we are today in our fight against it, and how prepared we are should an epidemic strike in the future. I always enjoy a medical science book, and this one's no different. I come away from this having learned so much about this common disease that has killed countless throughout history and continues to do so today. It feels like a particularly appropriate time to read this book as the world is currently dealing with the Coronavirus outbreak.

There are many fascinating tidbits in this book, including what made the 1918 pandemic so deadly, and the often inverse relationship between how widespread an outbreak is and how deadly it is. The most relevant piece of information I gleaned is that not getting enough sunlight and too low humidity could contribute to the flu's uptick in the winter months. It's a good reminder to keep active and spend time outdoors, even and in particular during the coldest and darkest days of the year.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

In Cruel Beauty, Nyx has been trained since birth to be an assassin so that she can fulfill her father's bargain to marry the demon lord, with the ultimately goal of killing him and bringing about the end of a 900-year-old curse that he had unleashed upon her town. Sounds promising, right? I love a good fairy tale retelling as much as the next person. But unfortunately, this story left me mostly confused.

When a girl is advertised to be an assassin, I expect a badass slaying demons left and right with swords and words. But Nyx is only trained to be a glorified diagram tracer, and that doesn't even play a part in the final battles. Her words also don't slay so much as annoy. She keeps saying how she's cruel, but really she's whiny and complains constantly. But "Whiny Beauty" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

There's a really weird love triangle in here. Our heroine insta-loves not just one guy, but two simultaneously. With guy #1, Nyx kisses him within a few minutes of meeting him. With guy #2, Nyx cycles between fearing him, slapping him, shouting at him, and kissing him. Any time he says something she doesn't like, she slaps him. That seems to be her preferred way of handling disagreements.

The dialog between characters feels so odd and stilted to me. Often when two people are talking, what each is saying individually makes sense, but not in the context of what the other is saying. It's like the author wrote one person's lines independent of the other, and then wove them together without making any edits. The odd dialog makes certain parts of this story really hard to follow, and I walk away from this not really sure I understood the crucial plot points.

I thought this would be a book of action, but it's actually a book of inaction. Nyx spends the majority of time thinking about what she needs to do and her feelings of hate and inadequacy, but almost no time actually doing anything relevant to achieve her goals. The majority of the book is spent with her walking down hallways, opening doors, and entering different rooms, while ruminating about kissing guys and how much she loves/hates her sister.

So many people wrote raving reviews about this book, so no one's sadder than me that it turned out to be a disappointment. In the end, no matter how hard I tried, it was just too hard to like a story that I couldn't quite follow and where I was often left befuddled by what the heroine was doing and thinking.

Readaroo Rating: 2 stars