The Great Carpezio
Pearl Clutcher
Something profound goes here.
Posts: 3,018 
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Post by The Great Carpezio on Dec 11, 2023 18:39:44 GMT
FINALLY, I am back to reading and sharing. I finished three books this week.
🟣 The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies
Alison Goodman
Historical Fiction/Mystery/Regency
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Two “spinster” twin sisters save the day. This was a fun Regency detective/light romance novel. The sisters are endearing: funny, progressive within the confines of polite society, smart and witty.
For some reason, it took me awhile to read. It just never completely hooked me, but it was really enjoyable.
🟣 The Family
S.E. Green
Thriller
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a short and snappy thriller. Leah’s daughter hasn’t been seen for five years when she left to go live with her father. She is back now, but she is not the same daughter that Leah once knew. The backstory is revealed through a series of flashback chapters that lead the reader and Leah to the realization that her daughter will never be the same.
🟣 Yellowface
R.F. Kuang
Contemporary/Thriller
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
This is so meta. R.F Kuang (the author) is a young successful Asian writer. Athena is a young successful Asian writer, but this isn’t about Athena, really, it is about the narrator—a young, white, not-so-successful writer and her choices that lead her to being “inspired” by her friend Athena—and all the ensuing controversies, cultural appropriation, social media, “cancellations” , that go with modern publishing and success in any venture in our modern society. I read this in a day. It did suck me in, but I felt the end was a little rushed. I do think this one will last with me awhile though.
What did you read this week?
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gottapeanow
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,828
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Post by gottapeanow on Dec 11, 2023 19:57:39 GMT
I was quite sick last week and had company from out of the country as well. So I got no reading done, but I have read a few books in the last few days while I am recovering.
Hard Country by Reavis
Thriller. Two brothers fight meth cooks and corrupt cops. Some super unrealistic scenarios, but hey. It was entertaining. 3.5/5 stars
Tell Me How This Ends by Leevers
This was super sweet, and I loved it. A few twists and turns. Lovely characters. I'd call this uplit. 5/5 stars.
Beyond That, The Sea by Spence-Ash
As a young girl, Bea is sent from England to America during WW2 to live with a family to keep her safe. The family has two sons, Gerald and William, and she is right between them. She loves her life there and spend five years with them, changing her forever. The book follows the trio into adulthood even after she moved back to England.
This was absolutely gorgeous.
Told in numerous POVs with very short chapters, which works beautifully for this book.
This one is very character-driven. One of my favorite reads of the year. 5/5 stars.
Lisa
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Post by epeanymous on Dec 11, 2023 19:58:26 GMT
I read Tom Lake, which I think many of you already read; really loved it, both the writing and the story. I dragged it out purposely so it wouldn't end as quickly.
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Post by mnmloveli on Dec 11, 2023 20:34:59 GMT
Good reading week for me !
CHRISTMAS PRESENTS (‘23 - 3 STARS) BY LISA UNGER
DESCRIPTION : Madeline Martin has built a life for herself as the young owner of a thriving business, The Next Chapter Bookshop, despite her tragic childhood and now needing to care for her infirm father. When Harley Granger, a failed novelist turned true crime podcaster, drifts into her shop in the days before Christmas, he seems intent on digging up events that Madeline would much rather forget. She’s the only surviving victim of Evan Handy, the man who was convicted of murdering her best friend Steph, and is suspected in the disappearance of two sisters, also good friends of Madeline’s, who have been missing for nearly a decade. It’s an investigation that has obsessed her father Sheriff James Martin right up until his stroke took his faculties. Since Evan Handy went to jail, three other young women have gone missing, most recently a young college dropout named Lolly. Are they connected? Was Evan Handy innocent after all? Or was there some else there that night? Someone who is still satisfying his dark appetites?
REVIEW :
First 7 books by this author for me were pretty consistent (4/5 stars) thru 2017. Then something changed. ‘18 & ‘19 were 2 stars, ‘20 was 4 Stars and then ‘21 was 3 stars. I decided to skip ‘22 (SECLUDED CABIN SLEEPS 6) because reviews were all over the place and many negative reviews were saying too many characters & storylines.
Last Girl Ghosted (‘21 - 3 Stars), Confessions on the 7:45 (‘20 - 4 Stars), The Stranger Inside (‘19 - 2 Stars), Under My Skin (‘18 - 2 Stars), The Red Hunter (‘17 - 4 Stars), Darkness My Old Friend (‘11 - Bk 2of5 Jones Cooper - Read ‘16 - 4 Stars), Ink and Bone (‘16 - Bk 5of5 Jones Cooper - 4 Stars), Fragile (‘10 BK 1of5 Jones Cooper - Read ‘15 - 4 Stars), Crazy Love You (‘15 - Bk 4of5 Jones Cooper - 5 Stars), In The Blood (‘14 - Bk 3of5 Jones Cooper - 5 Stars) and Beautiful Lies (‘06 - Read ‘14 - 4 Stars).
A solid mystery that kept my interest the whole way. No surprises or thrills but kept me entertained.
THE MYSTERY GUEST (‘23 - 5 STARS) BY NITA PROSE
DESCRIPTION : When an acclaimed author dies at the Regency Grand Hotel, it's up to a fastidious maid to uncover the truth, no matter how dirty. Molly Gray is not like anyone else. With her flair for cleaning and proper etiquette, she has risen through the ranks of the glorious five-star Regency Grand Hotel to become the esteemed Head Maid. But just as her life reaches a pinnacle state of perfection, her world is turned upside down when J.D. Grimthorpe, the world-renowned mystery author, drops dead—very dead—on the hotel’s tea room floor. When Detective Stark, Molly's old foe, investigates the author’s unexpected demise, it becomes clear that this death was murder most foul. Suspects abound, and everyone wants to know: who killed J.D. Grimthorpe? Was it Lily, the new Maid-in-Training? Or was it Serena, the author’s secretary? Could Mr. Preston, the hotel’s beloved doorman, be hiding something? And is Molly really as innocent as she seems? As the case threatens the hotel’s pristine reputation, Molly knows she alone holds the key to unlocking the killer's identity. But that key is buried deep in her past—because long ago, she knew J.D. Grimthorpe. Molly begins to comb her memory for clues, revisiting her childhood and the mysterious Grimthorpe mansion where she and her dearly departed Gran once worked side by side. If there's one thing Molly knows for sure, it's that dirty secrets don't stay buried forever.
REVIEW :
Debut book by this author was The Maid (‘22 - Read ‘23 - 5 Stars).
Feels great to be back in Molly’s world again; can’t wait to see what happens.
I loved the mystery of how a couple of the new characters were related from the past. I enjoyed seeing Molly get the recognition she deserves. If you enjoyed The Maid, you will enjoy this one just as much or more. I definitely recommend reading The Maid first to give you more of a connection with Molly. I can’t wait for the next “Molly” book to see where life takes her.
Merry Reading to all !
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Post by jenna on Dec 11, 2023 20:43:32 GMT
Two more down for my Christmas list! Tis the Season for Revenge by Morgan Elizabeth like 3.5⭐ The premise for this was SO GOOD and when I saw someone say it was inspired by Elle Woods I was all over it. Woman gets broken up with on Halloween by an uptight crappy lawyer boyfriend, sees her ex's boss on a dating app that night and goes right into "treat me like trash? I'll sleep with your boss" mode. She's willing to do whatever it takes to get the hot boss to take her to the Christmas work party her ex refused to take her to in the four years they were together, all so she can see the look on his face when she walks in.  Obviously more happens 🙃, feelings develop, and there's a cute HEA. The ~spice~ was.. bad. I've never had a book ruined by lack of smut but poorly written and cringy smut makes an okay book just terrible. It's also an age gap romance which I don't care for and I probably would've DNF'd but the banter-y bits between characters (one of my favorite things) definitely pulled me in where I was able to skim over the bits I didn't care for. The Mistletoe Motive by Chloe Liese. 3⭐ Basically The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (one of my favs) with a hint of You've Got Mail.. but make it Christmas and not as good 🤣. Some of the conflicts felt like they were lifted straight from THG in an eyebrow raising kind of way like "huh.. did you just read that and decide to write a book.. or..?". I think the novella length at 180ish pages was a huge detriment because everything felt so so shallow and I didn't get time to really care about either of the main characters. It was short and cute but I wouldn't read again. I finished those by Wednesday and tried to get into Dead and Gondola by Ann Claire but it wasn't doing much for me (audiobook, so could be a narrator problem). So I fell off my self imposed Christmas-only wagon like a week in and into a M/M hockey romance hole which lead to other M/M sports things the rest of the week.. and I'm struggling to get back into the holidays  This week will hopefully include a couple audiobooks while at work: The Mistletoe Inn by Richard Paul Evans (one of my fav Hallmark holiday movies!) and One Day in December by Josie Silver. And then my 'reading on the treadmill book' The Christmas Fix by Lucy Score (small town Christmas, enemies to lovers, hopefully lots of cute banter 🤞🤞). |
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Rhondito
Pearl Clutcher
MississipPea
Posts: 4,852
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Post by Rhondito on Dec 11, 2023 21:11:04 GMT
I chose one of the books pjaye read last week, The Midwife by Tricia Cresswell.
SO good! Very atmospheric, and keeps you guessing throughout. I loved it. 4.5 stars
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purplebee
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,801
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Post by purplebee on Dec 12, 2023 0:29:17 GMT
I also read The Christmas Fix by Lucy Score. Steamy, sassy and fun holiday fare.
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Post by pjaye on Dec 12, 2023 2:24:54 GMT
You'd Look Better as a Ghost by Joanna Wallace
A debut novel by this author & set in the UK.
Claire is an artist and part-time serial killer.
At the funeral of her much-loved father, she learns that one of her paintings has been shortlisted for a prize and she's thrilled, but then she gets an email from Lucas, telling her it was a mistake, and he accidentally emailed the wrong Clair. This sends her into a rage and she goes to meet him at the local pub and kills him - which starts of a long chain of events...because someone saw her.
This is one of those dark but humorous novels where you can't help but like the deeply flawed main character, and the author does a good job of getting the reader to feel sympathy for someone who does really bad things.
I'll definitely read more by this author.
4 stars.
The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel
Someone posted about this here...but I've forgotten who (sorry!) and I added it to my list because I always love books about art.
Non-fiction about Stéphane Breitwieser, who along with his girlfriend, stole hundreds of items worth millions of dollars from small European museums just because he liked them, and then he used them to decorate his small attic bedroom.
It's a fascinating character study and the author spent quite a bit of time with Stéphane trying to understand his motivations.
It's amazing that all of the thefts were carried out in daylight while the museums were open and had security guards present, yet they still got away with it for almost a decade.
4 stars.
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Post by cadoodlebug on Dec 12, 2023 2:45:51 GMT
Last week I finished The Only One Left by Riley Sager. What a wild ride. You pretty much have to suspend belief and just go with the flow. More twists than a pretzel and an ending that you will never see coming! 4/5 stars
Now I'm reading The Block Party by Jamie Day which was recommended on one of these threads.
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Post by lainey on Dec 12, 2023 10:48:48 GMT
You'd Look Better as a Ghost by Joanna WallaceA debut novel by this author & set in the UK. Claire is an artist and part-time serial killer. At the funeral of her much-loved father, she learns that one of her paintings has been shortlisted for a prize and she's thrilled, but then she gets an email from Lucas, telling her it was a mistake, and he accidentally emailed the wrong Clair. This sends her into a rage and she goes to meet him at the local pub and kills him - which starts of a long chain of events...because someone saw her. This is one of those dark but humorous novels where you can't help but like the deeply flawed main character, and the author does a good job of getting the reader to feel sympathy for someone who does really bad things. I'll definitely read more by this author. 4 stars. I very much like the sound of that. |
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Post by pjaye on Dec 12, 2023 10:54:18 GMT
I very much like the sound of that. Why am I not surprised?  |
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Post by lainey on Dec 12, 2023 12:48:09 GMT
I read Almost Love by Louise O'Neill 4 stars.
When Sarah falls for Matthew, she falls hard.
So it doesn't matter that he's twenty years older. That he sees her only in secret. That, slowly but surely, she's sacrificing everything else in her life to be with him.
Sarah's friends are worried. Her father can't understand how she could allow herself to be used like this. And she's on the verge of losing her job.
But Sarah can't help it. She is addicted to being desired by Matthew.
And love is supposed to hurt.
Isn't it?
I love O'Neill's writing, she's an expert at writing characters that are hard to sympathise with and she can keep me turning the pages desperate to find out what happens next.
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mimima
Drama Llama
Stay Gold, Ponyboy
Posts: 5,104
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Post by mimima on Dec 12, 2023 22:01:36 GMT
The Witch and the Tsar by Olyesa Sakinkova Gilmore. This one didn't land as amazingly as I thought that it would based on the set-up. I didn't love the characters and it felt like a weird pacing. Like someone else said, for a book that is named the Witch and the Tsar, the tsar is a very background character. 3/5 stars.
Miss Buncle’s Book by DE Stevenson. Written in the 1930s, this tells the story of a small town in Britain that is rocked by the publication of a book about the town with sharp and, not always flattering, descriptions of the town’s residents. It was a pleasant read. 3.5/5 stars.
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