Weekly Reading Thread: February 27-March 5

Hi reading peaps!

I read The Last Rose of Shanghai, which is a WW2 novel set in China. Many German Jews have immigrated there, but they are not really welcome. Japan has invaded China, and everyone is on pins and needles. Earnest, one of the Jewish immigrants, meets Aiyi, and they fall hopelessly in love. This is a slight spoiler. But IMO, there was wayyyyy too much back-and-forth. "She ruined my life; I'll never speak to her again." "He ruined my life; I'll never speak to him again." That aside, it was quite good. 4/5 stars.

I'm now reading My Darling Husband by Kimberly Belle. Basically, this couple has a beautiful life with two kids in a McMansion. Then the wife and kids are held hostage in their own home while the husband is scrambling to get cash to pay the ransom. And no police, of course. Definitely keeping me on the edge of my seat. I'll report back next week.

Lisa

Last week I finished The Disappearing Act by Catherine Steadman. I loved her novel Something in the Water but this one just didn’t deliver for me. It is a slow-moving story with a naïve main character. If it was a movie, every time she got deeper into a very bizarre situation, I would yell at the screen WHY? Two other things were mildly annoying: the author had American characters saying very British things/phrases that we would never say. And she used the phrase *my blood ran cold* or *it sent a chill down my spine* WAY too many times! 3/5 stars

This was mnmloveli ’s review: First 2 books by this author were Mr. Nobody (‘20) and Something in the Water (‘18) and were both 4-star reads for me. Very twisty mystery right from the start. Liked hearing about the perks stars get (if they’re true). I was sure Hollywood’s ugly side would show-up and it did. At 75% I still have no idea what game this mystery girl is playing. Very enjoyable mystery.

I agree with the bolded parts.

I've just started The Lincoln Highway. DH read it last week and really liked it.

Do you have wireless headphones or earbuds? That works well for me. Then I can listen while cooking or cleaning. I am reading Survive the Night on my kindle. I wish I was listening because it is a little intense for me to read before bed (especially with a kid in college). But it’s good so far.

I read The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner. It was a wonderful book, loved it.
Hidden in the depths of eighteenth century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientele. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives.
Nella's dark world is no place for her newest patron, 12 year old Eliza, but their bond sparks a string of consequences that echoes through the centuries.
Two hundred years later, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell discovers an aged apothecary vial in the River Thames. This is just the distraction she needs as she is grappling with betrayal from her husband's infidelity. She starts a research project on the vial and discovers London's long unsolved "apothecary murders", present collides with history binding her fate to Nella's and Eliza's.

Yes, I love that kind of book about mom friends.  But maybe I will return it and read my other books instead.  Thanks for the info, I appreciate it!

I read An Unwanted Guest which I thought was awful. A lot of the story lines were not believable and the plot twist at the end came out of left field. 1/5

I also read The Light We Lost which I liked except for the end. 3/5

For you audiobook fans, Audible is having a huge sale right now. Every book in my wish list is on sale, some of them as low as $3.74! Just FYI!

I finished Hivemind by Sarah Rose Cavanagh.  I thought it was brilliant.  She is a psychologist and she is looking at group think from a psychological perspective.  Positive and negative aspects of grouping ourselves with like-minded people.  She also gives hope for how we can break out of our hives and learn to act in cooperation with people from other groups.  

This week I've downloaded The Midnight Library by Matt Haig on audiobook.  It's pretty good so far.  But I will give a warning that there is a suicide trigger.  It was a bit difficult for me to handle that part, but once I got through it, I am finding the book really holding my interest.  I just started it last night, but I'm eager to see how it goes on.  My only gripe is that the reader has an English accent.  I'm starting to get used to it, but it was a bit difficult at first for me to get past it and focus on the words.  Yes, I know absolutely this is a bias.  And her voice is actually very soothing.  The book is set in the UK, so it makes sense to have an English accented reader.  It just tripped me up at first. 

 

I was also very disappointed with An Unwanted Guest (‘18) by Shari Lapena.  Such a big let down compared to her first two books, A Stranger in the House (‘17) and The Couple Next Door (‘16) which were both 4 stars.  

I will say her next 3 books were very good and all 4 stars for me (Someone We Know (‘19), The End of Her (‘20) and Not A Happy Family (‘21)).  I think she got back on track with these.  

Hey you guys!

I finished The Shadows We Hide by Allen Eskens. Not my favorite of his, but I rounded up to 4 stars from 3.5.

I think A Million Things by Emily Spurr will be next.

I've been out of town so didn't post last week and also didn't read as much as I had. 5 books over the past 2 weeks:

Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok. 3 stars. The story of a young Chinese woman who goes to Amsterdam to visit her dying grandmother and goes missing. The story alternates mostly between Sylvie and her younger sister Amy. I didn't love any of the characters which made it not as enjoyable as it could have been.

Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran. 2 stars. The story of a boy born to an undocumented Mexican woman who ends up in detention and the foster family who takes him in and wants to keep him. This story was a great example of what is wrong with the foster/adoption system. The idea that wealth and nationality somehow makes you a better parent. I struggled through it and ended up donating the book to one of the hotels we stayed at because I didn't want to take up space in my bag.

Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis. 5 stars. A nice fluffy book, super quick read. Really about if we can be destined for someone. Noelle and Sam both become stranded in their cars in a winter storm and spend the time together. They part ways and the rest of the story is them constantly somehow finding themselves bumping into each other again and again as if the universe has an agenda.

I'd Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman. 3 stars. Something a little darker than I usually read. Basically the main character was kidnapped as a teenager and her kidnapper let her go even though he had killed every other one of his victims. Now he's about to die on death row and he reaches out to her. The narrative rotates between many people and the author gets into the mind of the serial killer pretty well, but I just couldn't understand Elizabeth/Eliza most of the time and questioned her parenting. Also, it really bothered me that she let her older daughter bully her son (and even blew off that she was a bully in school as well). It made her not very sympathetic.

Who We Were Before by Leah Mercer. 4 stars. The story of a couple that's toddler died when he's hit by a car and the aftermath of their relationship to that tragedy. The narration rotates between the husband and wife as well as the time before the accident to a weekend away they take a few years after the accident. I think the author did a really good job showing how a tragedy like this can really blow up your whole life and thoughtless comments can sometimes become huge things.


I also attempted and abandoned American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst by Jeffrey Toobin. It was as dry as a textbook, I just couldn't get through it (and it was a library book that was due soon so I decided to cut my losses).

Next up is "Afer I Do" by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

     I read No Exit in May of 2019 and was so surprised when I was flipping through choices the other night to watch to find out it'd been made into a movie. I watched the movie (it's okay), but the book I felt was so much better. I read that book cover to cover in one sitting. I just had to find out what was going to happen next. I hope you enjoy the book. 

I loved I'd Know you anywhere!  It took place in Montgomery County, Maryland, not far from where I grew up.  I love books that take place in places I am familiar with.  Your other book looks great too!