July Minireviews // Part 2

It’s -3* right now, so this seems like a good time to travel back to July in my mind…

(I wrote most of this post just before Christmas but didn’t finish it – a bit warmer now, a whopping 42*!!)

Her Mother’s Keeper by Nora Roberts – 3*

//This one included Her Mother’s Keeper (published 1983) and Island of Flowers (published 1982)//

I was actually sick in July, so I went on a bit of a Nora Roberts binge, reading four of her books in pretty short order.  What can I say?  She’s a comfort author for me haha

Unfortunately, this was definitely one of her weaker stories – even 3* may be generous.  Gwen is worried that her mother, who lives by herself in a large, rambling house in the bayou, is being taken in by her latest boarder.  Gwen heads home to make sure her mother isn’t in trouble, believing that her mother and Luke are romantically involved, despite Luke being almost 20 years younger than Gwen’s mother, and despite Gwen having zero proof that this is happening.  This misunderstanding drags through the entire book, when normal people would just have a five-minute conversation along the lines of, “Oh, you must be my mom’s boyfriend” “What? No, I’m not”.  Like I get that we need conflict to make a story, but this conflict was so unbelievable that it made the whole story annoying.  Plus, this is the somewhat-typical 80s romance where there is a lot of grabbing and kissing in lieu of actual conversation.  All in all, this wasn’t terrible for a one-off read, especially if you’re running a fever and drifting in and out of sleep, but it’s not one I would particularly recommend.

Island of Flowers by Nora Roberts – 3.5*

Following the theme of “a simple conversation would solve a lot of problems,” in this one Laine is traveling to Hawaii to reconnect with her dad after years of not hearing from him.  However, her dad’s business partner, Dillon, is convinced that Laine is just trying to get her dad’s money, so he pretty much treats her like garbage the entire time.  Of course, it turns out that Laine’s dad actually had been sending Laine letters and money through the years, but Laine’s selfish mother (now deceased) never told Laine about any of it, which is where the “we could have a simple conversation” bit comes in.  Dillon was definitely not the hero for me, as frankly he was an ass the entire time, one minute being all romancy and then the next minute accusing Laine of being a con-artist and treating her like trash.  He’s the reason that this book wasn’t a win for me.  However, Roberts’s descriptions of Hawaii were amazing and totally made me want to go there, despite the fact that I’m not really into beaches or warm weather (or flying), so there’s that.

Black Hills by Nora Roberts – 4*

//published 2009//

This is a newer Roberts novel, and it really is interesting to me how much her work has matured over the years.  This one is somewhat of a romantic suspense and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Lil has always loved her childhood home in South Dakota, and has fulfilled her dream of opening a large-cat wildlife sanctuary there.  (Random, I know, but Roberts makes it work.)  Growing up, her neighbors’ grandson, Cooper, used to come and stay with them, and the two of them were best friends, who fell in love in high school.  But then Cooper OF COURSE broke her heart and headed off to The Big City to become a Hotshot Lawyer.  Now he’s back because his grandparents are in poor health.  Sparks fly between them, while at the same time someone seems intent on shutting down Lil’s sanctuary, as several instances of sabotage occur.

Overall, I did enjoy this one a lot.  The whole sabotage storyline kept the pace up, and I did like Lil a lot.  However, it’s been something like 12 years since Cooper broke her when she was 19, and it felt like she was really hanging onto the bitterness/suspicion way too long.  I can understand not just like leaping into his arms, but at some point you need to move on.  Cooper was also an uneven character – he starts off treating Lil like trash, then all of the sudden is like, “actually it’s because I’ve been in love with you forever!!!!!!”  There’s also a secondary love story going on that I either wanted more of or less of, because while I totally shipped it, sometimes it just felt like filler wedged in here and there, and it felt clunky.

While this wasn’t my new favorite Roberts, it’s one I can see myself rereading, especially when I need to check South Dakota off my read-the-USA list!

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde – 4*

//published 1891//

This is one of those classics that it feels like I should have read but never had.  While I didn’t love it, I did find it engaging.  My edition had notes about the differences between Wilde’s original book and the additions he made for a later edition, which was interesting.  This one gave me the creeps in a good way.

The Girl on the Boat by P.G. Wodehouse – 4.5*

//published 1922//

A reread for me, this isn’t my favorite Wodehouse, but it’s still a great deal of fun, as always.  Billie is a bit of a flake, but there are plenty of ridiculous shenanigans and fabulous one-liners.  Basically, if you enjoy Wodehouse, you’ll probably like this one as it is pretty typical fare.

September Minireviews

Sometimes I don’t feel like writing a full review for whatever reason, either because life is busy and I don’t have time, or because a book didn’t stir me enough.  Sometimes, it’s because a book was so good that I just don’t have anything to say beyond that I loved it!  Frequently, I’m just wayyy behind on reviews and am trying to catch up.  For whatever reason, these are books that only have a few paragraphs of thoughts from me.

Oh wow, it’s the end of September and I haven’t posted a SINGLE REVIEW!  Ha!  September is always a busy month for me, plus this year we also went on an epic western roadtrip (almost 4300 miles in nine days, woot!) so things have been a leeeetle bit crazy.  Still, plenty of reading has been accomplished!!

I really don’t want to do minireviews of some of these books, as I thoroughly enjoyed them, but I am suuuper behind on reviews!  So, as always, the star rating is a more accurate representation of my feelings on the book rather than the length of the review!

The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary – 4*

//published 2019//

Oh my gosh, this book was SO adorable.  Basically, Leon needs some extra money.  He works nights, so he decides to sublet his flat for the times that he isn’t there.  The flatmate will get the apartment nights and weekends.  Tiffy needs a place to stay, so even though the concept is a bit irregular, she rolls with it.  Through a series of events, which O’Leary paces perfectly, Tiffy and Leon don’t actually meet for quite a long while.  But roommates really do need to communicate, even if they never see each other – and so the sticky notes begin.

I just really enjoyed this book.  It was lighthearted and fun, and the romance was adorable.  The chapters that were from Leon’s perspective were a little strange to read at first because of the way his steam-of-thought rolls, but after I adjusted I got into it.  I really loved the way their relationship developed over time.  I thought the drama with Tiffy’s ex was a little bit much, and it was hard to figure out how much of it was real, how much of it was just in Tiffy’s head, and how much of it was actually worse than Tiffy thought it was, since all we had was Tiffy’s perspective on the situation.  Still, overall this was thoroughly enjoyable.

Special thanks to reviews by Stephanie, Bibliobeth, and From First Page to Last, which inspired me to give this book a try!!

Those People by Louise Candlish – 3.5*

//published 2019//

This was a thriller that kept me completely gripped throughout with its excellent pacing, but felt like it just kind of ran out of gas and stuttered to an end rather than having the tight conclusion I was hoping to see.  I loved the format at the beginning of the book – an excerpt of a police interview from one of the characters, and then a chapter headed “[x] Weeks Ago” – it really made the build-up to the tragedy tense.  The reader knows there is a tragedy, that there is at least one death, knows at least one of the characters who is involved in the tragedy – but the details are vague and unfold slowly.

The ending isn’t unreasonable by any means, it just felt a little loose.  I was also a little big confused – a minor character ties in, and I didn’t really understand why, or what he had to do with anything, or why he would be the one suggesting the specific means of causing the accident.  That may also have been part of the reason I was left feeling mildly disappointed by the conclusion.

But overall excellent, taut writing.  This is my first book by Candlish, but I have a couple of her other books on my list, and will definitely be finding them!  For this one, reviews by Stephanie and Jennifer led me to read it, so thank you!!

The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O’Neill – 4.5*

//published 2017//

A while back I bought the most adorable card game ever, where players are raising tiny tea dragons.  I bought it solely based on the artwork (although luckily it turned out to be a fun game to play, also).  Last month, I found out that the card game is based on a BOOK and I had to read it as soon as I could get my grabby hands on a copy.

The artwork is STUNNING.  I could seriously look at the pictures in this book all day long.  I wasn’t a huge fan of the fact that all the friendships are actually gay relationships – I still just really feel like it devalues friendship a lot; like this could be about two lonely girls becoming friends, but instead now they are MORE, and the implication seems to be that friendship wouldn’t have been enough.  But it’s still a very gentle part of the story, and the overall artwork is just soooo beautiful.  Apparently there is a sequel being published this fall, and I’m on the waiting list at the library.

Swallowdale by Arthur Ransome – 5*

//published 1931//

Swallows & Amazons was my favorite read in June, and the sequel was my favorite read in August (even if I’m just getting around to reviewing it).  This book was everything I could possibly want from a sequel and more.  I don’t really have words to explain why I love these books so hard, but I cannot WAIT to read Peter Duck.

The Girl on the Boat by P.G. Wodehouse – 4.5*

//published 1922//

Is it possible to go wrong with Wodehouse?  Not in my experience.  Who else can pull off a line like this?  “At this, she melted perceptibly. She did not cease to look like a basilisk, but she began to look like a basilisk who has had a good lunch.“