"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!