karenika

Review: The Listeners

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am a huge Stiefvater fan and could not wait to read her adult debut. Even though this plot seemed a bit weird, I knew that I would find the writing enjoyable.

And I wasn’t wrong.

There was so much of Stiefvater’s attention to detail, her quirky characters, her unusual storylines. I loved June as a main character. I loved all the Gilfoyle stories and I loved each of the unique characters along the way and I really liked the twist. Even though this was historical fiction, it was more because it felt like a Stiefvater novel.

I wasn’t crazy about the water under the hotel and never truly understood its significance to the story line. I am sure this is my miss but in my opinion it didn’t add much to the story.

with gratitude to netgalley and Viking for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Run for the Hills

Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There’s something magical in Wilson’s ability to tell a story. His characters are a little bit off, but they are so lovable, so real and so memorable. He then takes these characters and puts them in interesting situations. The dialogue is memorable, jumps off the page and fills you with joy even during a tragic scene.

I love reading his novels and Run for the Hills is one of my favorites. I loved all the characters in this story, especially Mad and Rube. The yearning for belonging and family and finding a sense of grounding is at the root of this beautiful story.

And of course life is never what we want it to be, it’s always both less and more. As in all his novels, Wilson makes you fall in love with his characters.

with gratitude to netgalley and Ecco for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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Review: The Elements

The Elements by John Boyne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have been wanting to read Boyne’s novels since I first found out about them. They were published in England individually over the last few years but never made it here to the US. Now that I’ve read it, I think having them published all together is actually so much more powerful than reading them one by one, a year apart.

This was an incredibly powerful read. Boyne’s ability to create three-dimensional characters is incredible. In 170 or so pages, the reader gets to know the characters so deeply well that it can evoke all sorts of emotions. I loved how there’s always a tie-in from story to story, I loved how the lens changes with each story and you’re experiencing a totally different perspective and you feel frustration, sorrow, anger, despair and so much more for each character at different times. I love how much these stories stretch your mind and show you that people are complex, stories are complex, we are all flawed in ways big and small.

It makes you think about your own boundaries with what’s forgivable and what’s not. About grief and it’s lasting impact. About trauma and it’s ability to stain all that comes after it. About forgiveness. And I love that the last story brings everything back full cycle.

Boyne is an incredibly talented author. These are hard stories to read, all of them. And they are also really really powerful.

with gratitude to netgalley and Henry Holt and Co. for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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Review: The Ghostwriter

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love Julie Clark’s writing. Her female characters are always sharp and interesting and Olivia was no exception. I loved both the feeling of how one returns right back to being a kid when they go back to their home and how hard she worked not to abandon herself.

So much story to unpack here and i loved the way it unraveled piece by piece. Early on, I guessed a big part of the puzzle but I was both totally right and totally wrong at the same time which I loved. Because it showed that she could still surprise me while dropping crumbs I could pick up. That, in my mind, is the best kind of skill.

Can’t wait to read more of Clark’s work.

with gratitude to netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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Review: The Other Side of Now

The Other Side of Now by Paige Harbison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This novel was so, so sweet. I loved the idea of the Sliding Doors storyline. I loved the idea of living the what-if life and seeing what stayed the same and what changed. I loved how awesome the characters were and how sharp and funny and joyful the dialogue was.

This novel will keep you smiling from beginning to end. It’s really impossible to put down because the characters give you so much joy that you want to come back to them again and again. Loved it.

with gratitude to netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Disappoint Me

Disappoint Me by Nicola Dinan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The writing, characters and dialogue of this book are where it shines. They jump off the page with such dimension that it’s impossible not to get immersed in the story.

At its heart this story is about who we are, how we grow, mistakes we make and whether they are forgivable or not, what we keep from each other and the damaging impact of shame.

There’s so much in this one story. It’s the kind of story where you finish and then think about for days and can’t remember if the characters were real people or made up. For me that’s how the best stories are made.

with gratitude to netgalley and The Dial Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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Review: The Last Ferry Out

The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This mystery was interesting and unpredictable. The reason I didn’t rate it higher is because most of it didn’t stick with me. I felt like the characters weren’t that interesting. The most interesting part actually was the setting. I liked that there wasn’t really a huge shocking twist because I am tired of them. There were twists just not of the kind that completely change what you’ve read so far.

with gratitude to netgalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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Review: The Memory Collectors

The Memory Collectors by Dete Meserve
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was such an unusual story, considering how much I read, I am always pleased when I can find a book with a plot i haven’t seen before. And I love time travel novels so I was excited to read this one. Once they started traveling, I kept looking for the connection between them.

Even though it got convoluted and a little hard to follow in some sections, this book in its heart was about grief, second chances, love, forgiveness and maybe a little bit about destiny. I loved the message it had about the power of self-forgiveness and I also loved that things can feel and be so different if we have the ability to widen the lens with which we get to see them.

with gratitude to netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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Review: The Eights

The Eights by Joanna Miller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

For some reason, I never got into this story. I liked reading about the women, I liked the math and i liked the idea of this book but I just didn’t get attached enough to any of the characters.

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Review: The Seven O’Clock Club

The Seven O’Clock Club by Amelia Ireland
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

I have mixed feelings about this story. There’s a big twist. Which to me is always risky because you either like it and then feel like it was a great book, or you hate it and then hate the book. I think i fall more in latter than former. But it didn’t make me as mad as these types of twists usually make me.

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Review: The Perfect Divorce

The Perfect Divorce by Jeneva Rose
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Many people seem to have liked this one more but I thought it was too similar to the other one and I tend to not enjoy stories that are the same, told the same way and leave me feeling the same.

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