Category: book reviews

quick lit – next page, please {september 2020}

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Quick Lit - Next Page , Please {September 2020}

I read so much this month. I really surprised myself. I am 9 books ahead of schedule in my goal to read 40 books this year. I have only have 2 more left to reach my goal.

On the other hand, my Modern Mrs. Darcy 2020 Reading Challenge is not going nearly as well. I have only read 6 of the 10 categories and am missing the following: (1) a book by a local author-I’m not sure how to categorize this-local in my city or my state, (2) a book in translation-does British English to American English count? (3) A book nominated for an award in 2020 and (4) a classic you didn’t read in school.

Here’s what I read last month and what I am currently reading now.

Read

  • The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis. This was THE pick from Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Summer Reading Guide. And I liked it; didn’t love it but I did like it. The storyline was a bit more serious so it wasn’t a light-hearted read that I expected but I did like it and am happy to have read it.
  • The Heiress: The Revelations of Anne de Bourgh by Molly Greeley. This book imagines the life of Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s daughter, Anne, whom we know next to nothing except that she is sickly. Well, Greeley, fills in those gaps for you and gives us an idea of what might have happened when she didn’t wed Darcy. It was very interest. Thanks to William Morrow for the Advanced Reader’s Edition.
  • Untamed by Glennon Doyle. I have finished my reread of this one. And will probably read it again.
  • The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. I identified with the main character, Nora Seed, I have not experienced anything like the death of parent, the total estrangement of a sibling, or my cat dying but I did once have a sense of an overall dissatisfaction, a malaise, with my life and some of the choices that I believed had led me to that point. I have dealt with guilt and regret which are teh true villains in this story. I enjoyed this tale of Nora moving from regret to acceptance and the lessons Haig teaches on the journey. I plan on rereading this again at some point. I have also added one of his backlist, How to Stop Time, to my TBR. Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced reader’s digital copy.
  • Crazy Stupid Bromance (Bromance Book Club #3) by Lyssa Kay Adams. I love the premise of the Bromance Book Club series; a bunch of guys get together to read romance novels to help them with their relationships with their spouses/significant others. Can’t wait for #4. Thanks to Snail on the Wall via Edelweis for the advanced reader’s digital copy.
  • What You Wish For by Katherine Center. She joined Brene Brown at a virtual event and said that people mistakenly believed that Katherine Center was Brene Brown’s pen name for writing fiction. I had to admit that the thought had occurred to me as well. Her stories often deal with issues of vulnerability and forgiveness. While I liked this novel, my favorite of her’s is still Happiness for Beginners. Thanks to Netgally for the advanced reader’s digital copy. Just took me a while to get to it.
  • The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. This is my first novel-in-verse. I don’t really count myself as a poetry girl but I really enjoyed this one. And she was delightful when she joined the Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club last month.

Currently Reading

  • The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth. Anne’s pick from my time as a guest on the What Should I Read Next podcast and the current pick of the Rocket City Mom Virtual Book Club. I am halfway through it with just one sitting so, yeah, it’s good!
  • A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. This is the classic that I didn’t read that everyone tells me I will just love. I started giving it a go last month and haven’t really made much progress. We will see but I don’t know if I’m going to finish since I have another book in my mind for that classic category.

DNF’d (Did Not Finish Reading)

  • A Study in Charlotte (Charlotte Holmes #1) by Brittany Cavallaro. Charlotte is the sister of Sherlock Holmes, one of my favorite fictional characters but, at some point, you have to decide whether a book is for you at this time or not. I read the first few chapters and if I didn’t have so many anticipated reads I might have finished it. A book for another time, perhaps.
  • Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks. I started this on audio. I had it in my head that these were short stories from Tom Hank’s life and I don’t think that was the case. I read/listened to the first two stories and then had to return it to library.
  • Midnight Sun (The Twilight Saga #5) by Stephenie Meyer. This is a very thick hardback (and I generally like my fiction the shorter side) and it is in demand at my local library so I was unable to finish it before I had to return it. I don’t know if I am particularly interested in finishing it. After all, I know how the story ends.

Anticipated Reading

Check out the Rocket City Mom Virtual Book Club if you need some more reading inspiration. If you are a member of the Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club, you can check out Anne’s interview with the delightful Elizabeth Acevedo here. If you’re not a member, join the fun.

Anne also does a Quick Lit post every month discussing what she is currently reading, to which I am linking this post. If you’re here because of her, I thank you and her.

What have you been reading lately?

enjoy life…

book review: “things you save in a fire” by katherine center

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Releasing on August 13, Things You Save in a Fire would make a great late summer read; I read it over two nights (it was a page-turner!!!!) If you liked How to Walk Away, you will like this one. Maybe even more, as I did.

I loved Cassie, the main protagonist, who is a firefighter! Hooray for all firefighters, and specifically lady firefighters! I learned a lot about firefighting and was duly impressed – Center’s husband is a volunteer firefighter so she used him to get the details right. And Cassie was the firefighter that worked to save Mags from Walk Away. I loved that connection, however, Fire can stand on its own.

Again, this is what I consider a great summer read. I liked the pacing – the storyline drove the narrative which I love and need in my fun fiction books. It also was about 300 pages. Anne told me that I needed these two things in my fun fiction reads and I think that she was right. And while there’s a romantic element (it could be classified as chick lit), I love how Center includes a more substantive narrative of forgiveness. Fun and romance while learning lessons? I don’t think that it gets any better than that!

Beware: One character has suffered a sexual assault in the past. It is not explicitly detailed or described. And there is adult language.

4 of 5 stars

A huge thank you to Snail on the Wall books for the ARC. Preorder your copy here.

Have you guys read this one? Will you read it now? What else would you like to know about it? Let me know in the comments.

enjoy life…

 

book review: “the unlikely adventures of the shergill sisters” by balli kaur jaswal

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I did it, guys! I read my pick from my episode on Anne Bogel’s podcast, What Should I Read Next, Episode 179 and I am popping in to share my thoughts.

But first, let me remind you what Anne said about the book when she recommended it to me.

“This is a story of three sisters. They’re on a mission. They’re on almost a pilgrimage their dying mother has sent them on…They’ve gotten older, they don’t get along…. But they’ve come together. They have adventures. It does not go as planned.

And I think this book has the right amount of fun and zany while still having concerns that are grounded in [the] reality that you and I can relate to as people that makes it not just empty or ridiculous.

They are dealing with serious things, but this is not as a serious book. This is fast and fun and keeps you moving. You’ll get to experience new places and new things and I think you’ll really enjoy the journey.” 

So, here’s what I thought.

First, if, as a reader, you are not reading books by people that are different than you (religion, cultures, race, etc.) you are doing it wrong.  That being said, until you are familiar with a culture, etc. you may struggle with some of the references like words, foods, and settings. I think my unfamiliarity hindered my capacity to fully enjoy Shergill Sisters.

Second, this book was serious but fun and zany, exactly what Anne promised.

Jaswal’s website describes the book as a “dark comedy” and I agree with that moniker. Rajni, the oldest sister, is the mom who’s 18 year-old son has impregnated his 36-year-old girlfriend. Jezmeen is the YouTube sensation, not in a good way, and this is where most of the hilarity lies. Shirina has the perfect marriage, or does she? And her situation is what brings the “serious” issues to the fore.  A concept that I was unfamiliar with but that Balli Kaur Jaswal is due to her roots in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. That’s were the darkness lies.

Third, it is a page-turner and I read it in a day. Anne pointed out that around 300 pages is around my magic number in terms of fun fiction and she is right.  I recently picked up a copy of another novel that was about 400 pages and it took so long for it to really get going that I put it down. Pacing really is everything.

Ultimately, I enjoyed Shergill Sisters but didn’t like it as much as I did Joshilyn Jackson’s The Almost Sisters (my full review is here),  which was Anne’s reference point and the reason she selected this book. But I do think that was due, in part, to my unfamiliarity with Indian culture and not any thing else like pacing, writing style, quality of writing, etc.

So, there’s my thought on The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters. Now, onward to Anne’s other two suggestions: The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth and Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler.

3 ½ of out 5 Stars

Have you read this one? Did you enjoy it?

enjoy life…

P.S. I saw Balli Jaswal (@balli_jaswal) posted this recently on Twitter: Today in My Family Does Not Understand My Career: Both parents called in a great panic to notify me that my books were available in the library. “How are you supposed to make money? What kind of business model is this?”