The Husbands - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Holly Gramazio
This was a fun book to read. It stretched my normal “based in realty” self and it was an enjoyable ride. There were a few plot holes and I expected a little more depth as far as what Lauren learned from the experience. But overall it kept my attention and entertained. Sometimes that’s enough from a book.
The Drowning Woman - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Robyn Harding
This was our book club pick for the month and it was a good choice. I kept guessing where it was headed and was half right and half wrong. It wasn’t always believable and the ending was a little too easy. But getting there was a fun ride.
The plot does have some loose similarities to Housemaid - different settings but still a lot alike. So you may want some time between reading those two books if both are on your radar.
The Librarianist - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Patrick Dewitt
First, if you go into this book thinking it is going to have literary references and/or time spent in a library, you will be disappointed. The librarianist is a retired librarian who is a loner and decides to stretch himself. The bits and pieces of his life are interesting and I was enjoying the story until it hit a section in the 1940’s that was like a stand alone story. It never tied into the rest of the story. It was a large part of the book and would have been better as the basis for another book.
I often wonder when I read a book about older people if I’d enjoy it as much. I think I would, but 🤷♀️. Either way, overall it was a good read.
The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jennifer Ryan
There are a lot of historical fiction books about the WW2 period, so like many others, I have gotten to where I often shy away from them. This one was a book club pick and I’m glad it was. It is a little different view of the time and was interesting.
I enjoyed reading about the community and how it came together. I also liked how the women changed and how the friendships developed. I felt as if the story needed a little more depth. That’s what kept from being more than a decent, average read for me.
Black Cake - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Charmaine Wilkerson
This was my July book for my 12 Books in 12 Months reading. I was thankful when a friend recommended it for that because I had it on my TBR list for a while.
This book started out good. I was drawn in and ready to get to know this family. However, as the book went on I never really became engaged with the people or the story. It was so full of social issues, that at times were just randomly thrown in and the POV’s grew. There were times that deeper occurrences in life were glossed over. While the book seemed to be headed towards some surprises, they never really were. I pretty much knew what was coming. The premise and the idea of the story outweighed the telling.
The Fury - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Alex Michaelides
This book was on its way to a high 4 or 5 star read until it took a turn that left me wondering why. If this book were about younger people, I MIGHT would have believed it. But these are people who have been around long enough and have enough experience in life to be able to see how bad it could turn out. I also felt as the thing that set them on this path was not one that gave them no choice. It became a little disappointing and not up to Mr. Michalides previous 2 books. I still have it an average rating but it could have easily fallen another star.
Minding Frankie - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Maeve Binchy
A good family drama. There are a lot of characters and at times, I had to refresh my memory on who was who. I liked getting to know each of them, watching the changes in them and living life in Dublin for a while. I did find the ending a little unsatisfying. I would have liked to have more closure with one of the characters. But for the most part the ending was fitting and I’d like to read more about Frankie, Noel and Emily. As Ms Binchy passed away just a few years after this book was published, I’ll just have to let them live their lives in my imagination.
The Child - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fiona Barton
A good psychological thriller. The pace matched the story and while at first I was trying to understand the connections of the people, I started just letting the story unfold. I have decided that I wouldn’t be a good detective. I knew in the back of my mind there was more there and even knew what to focus on. However, for a while I had tunnel vision and couldn’t expand my view. I did figure it out before it was completely obvious. The ending, while not tying up all the loose ends, was perfect to me. It left me satisfied and fit the personalities of the people involved.
Comments