My Week in Books {8/26/20}

I may FINALLY be outta my reading funk…or I’m having a run of great books right now. Either way, I’LL TAKE IT!

Anyway, before moving onto some #minibookreviews, here are some recent posts:

• T5T: Characters You’d Like To Trade Places With
• Book Flights Vol. 3
• Last Year I Was Reading…
• My Week in Books {8/19/20}

What have you been reading (and loving) this week?

Last Week’s Reads:

📖 Wanderers by Chuck Wendig

Parts of this book absolutely blew my mind away. Having read this during an actual global pandemic was crazy enough, but what really got me is the way Wendig seemed to know {last year when this book was published} how certain things would transpire were an epidemic of some sort were to take over the world. Those little tidbits of information were enough to keep me reading this tome (almost 800 pages! 😳)!

Honestly, by the end though, I was wore out. Not only because it started to get a little out there, but also because I see some of these things coming into play IRL and it’s scary. I hope and pray it doesn’t end up like Wendig’s imagination had it play out, but at this point in time, I’m not sure I’ll be surprised no matter what happens.

These types of stories used to be kind of interesting to read because they mostly felt like fantasy. As coronavirus continues to ravish the world, dystopian-genre books are becoming less and less appealing to me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📱*** Stray by: Stephanie Danler

In another time of life, I probably would have loved this memoir, but I failed to connect to any of the story. I tried and tried, thinking the next page would finally suck me in, but unfortunately, this one was just a miss for me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

Yes, I knew heading into this one that it was YA. But sometimes YA can work for me, and honestly, for the most part, it did. There were some parts where I really had to suspend belief and I couldn’t stop rolling my eyes, but the meat of the book was fascinating to me and I really did turn the pages as fast as I could. I figured out the final reveal (which I never do), but it still had a satisfying conclusion. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

(Part of me was also trying to vet this one for my middle school daughter and I feel like it’s just a little too mature for her right now…there is a lot of talk about drugs, drinking, and sex. Such a bummer because she would have really enjoyed this mystery/thriller.)

📖 The Comeback by Ella Berman

I knew from the second I started this one that I was going to be hooked…and I was. I love a deep character story and this one delivered! Grace Turner is a childhood actress that hit it big as a young girl. When we meet her, she is coming off a year hiatus where she “disappeared” from the famous life and found refuge in her parent’s house outside of the Hollywood world. As she tries to redefine herself and make amends with her past and all that happened, we see the events that led to her downfall – sexual abuse, gaslighting, drugs, and fame.

I rooted for Grace throughout the book and really wanted to see her succeed in the end. A lot of the story was reminiscent of the #metoo movement allegations and lent credit to the many Hollywood actors that have recently come forward to talk about the toxic culture that surrounds Hollywood. I loved how the secondary females of this one stood by and uplifted Grace – even when she was at her nastiest. There was just something about Grace that had the whole world rooting for her, just as I was.

This has a lot of potential to end up on my Top 10 at the end of the year! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

📖 The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

I’ve seen great reviews of this one so far and I really enjoyed it myself. Rachel Krall is the host of a true crimes podcast and for her current season of the show, she decides to record in real time as a rape case proceeds through the trial process. As she settles into town though, she receives mysterious letters asking for help solving a case that occured twenty-five years earlier.

At times, it was hard to distinguish timelines and characters between the two separate cases, but I really like the in-depth look at the legal and jury system. Mostly, I loved the podcast tie-in that further examined the problematic issues with our legal system, and rape cases specifically.

There were a few minor things that knocked this one down a little bit, in my opinion. As mentioned before, the competing timelines were difficult to keep straight. There were a few parts that made the story a little bit unbelievable and frustrated me. And I really wanted more of the prosecutor’s back story. The author spent way too much time dropping hints to leave it hanging, so maybe she has a sequel in mind? ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Currently Reading:

📖 Luster by Raven Leilani

I’m halfway through this slim novel, and I’ve already read through the first half twice. I mistakenly thought this would be a quick read because it’s only about 230 pages, but Leilani’s writing is AMAZING! I’m sucked in, and while I can’t quite put my finger on what it is that’s captured me so much, I know I’m a fan!

(#partner #freebooks: All books noted by asterisks (***) indicate I received the book for free from the publisher, the author, or another promotional company to review. All opinions are my own.)