I’m going to start this by borrowing the author’s own words and saying to Chris Whitaker . . .
“Can’t you see how beautiful you make tragedy?”
In my house my husband and I often use the turn of phrase “We Got Shawshanked.” If you are familiar with the film The Shawshank Redemption, you most likely have experienced this yourself. It happens less frequently in the time of streaming services, but occasionally we still flip through channels trying to decide on something to watch and run across that movie. Getting Shawshanked starts off innocently enough. You say “oh this is the scene where _____________ happens – I’ll just watch for a minute.” Then two hours later you realize you completely lost time and ended up watching the entire movie.
That’s what happened with this book. I went in completely blind and I’m not going to provide a summary of any sort to anyone reading this, so go to other reviews and risk being spoiled if you dare. I loved both We Begin at the End and Tall Oaks so when I saw this author had a new release I put my name on the library waiting list. Unfortunately for me (but fortunately for Whitaker and his book sales), it was after Jenna already made it her “Read With” selection so I was about eleventy-seven down the list. Luckily I have a great library system who acquired a trillion more copies of this so my wait was nearly non-existent. Then I realized it was 600 pages long – and if you know me you know I will die on the hill that 350 pages is the magic maximum number for nearly everything out there. But I dove in anyway . . . and then it was midnight, I turned the final page and found myself 100% in a bookhangover and mourning the loss of all of my new best friends.
Not only was this an exception to my “ugh this has too many pages” rule, it was an exception to nearly alllll of my personal tics. I loved the multiple viewpoints, I loved jumping from location to location, I loved the cobwebby storylines that eventually came together, I effing LOOOOOVED the youngsters (and that’s only happened like twice this year), I loved the descriptive prose when it was utilized. Everything. I loved everything about this book. I made half a gazillion notes and highlights, but I still have a feeling that should anyone question me about nuanced plot points or any other details in a week I’ll still be like . . .
Okay, so obviously this is no Pulitzer winner but hell effing Demon Copperhead won that and it was nothing but clichéd Appalachian trauma p
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Okay, so obviously this is no Pulitzer winner but hell effing Demon Copperhead won that and it was nothing but clichéd Appalachian trauma porn so maybe the Pulitzer ain't all it’s cracked up to be. This one is pure poolside fun. Get baked till you're looking like Kramer when he buttered himself like Kenny Roasters and have some fun when . . .
I started attempting this “Walk ‘n Talk Wednesday” over on The ‘Gram, but I need to get my a$$ in gear and actually review the books I’m listening to I started attempting this “Walk ‘n Talk Wednesday” over on The ‘Gram, but I need to get my a$$ in gear and actually review the books I’m listening to in order for this to be a thing. I’m still fairly a newb when it comes to audiobooks and have only just now started venturing out of memoirs or true crime stories because I am Dug the Dog when it comes to distractions while I’m out getting my steps in – mainly in the form of . . . .
I just figured I would never be able to pay attention to something with a plot to follow without missing every key moment, but a co-worker who exclusively does audio recommended this one to me and said the reader was an absolute delight to listen to.
Meet Rhiannon. She’s a serial killer . . . . but don’t worry she only offs people who really have it comin’ to ‘em – sorta like Dexter. I love her. ...more
The story here is about the Larkin family. We start in in the Summer of 1951. Eldest daughter Myra is dabbling with her first taste of freedom as a young teen and is allowed to go to the diner after Sunday mass for a couple of hours before coming home to assist with family chores. On this given Sunday, Myra meets a young man who says his name is Mickey Mantle and that he is a rookie with the New York Yankees who has been sent back down to the minors for the time being. He offers Myra a ride home since it is raining outside and even gives her one of his baseball cards to remember him by . . . . and then that night neighbors down the street are victims of a grisly murder in their own home with the main suspect being a young, male, blonde stranger.
The story is then a SWEEPING narrative spanning sixty years and told by multiple members of the Larkin clan. Hot button headlines of the day are mentioned (such as the assassination attempt on Ronald Regan and Rock Hudson’s AIDS diagnosis), but also there are a couple of near-misses by notorious serial killers. And then. WHOA BOY OH BOY AND THEN! The Larkin mother begins receiving bizarre postcards from the only surviving son of the family, Alec, consisting of simple “hello and goodbye” messages – accompanied by the name and age of a child.
This was perfection. Family saga plus serial killers? Talk about my bucket list dream novel. Every Star.
Endless thanks to Little Brown for a copy in exchange for my honest review. ...more
This selection is another example of why everyone should have a ride-or-die, NetGalley addicted book bestie like Shelby in their life. Neighborhood WaThis selection is another example of why everyone should have a ride-or-die, NetGalley addicted book bestie like Shelby in their life. Neighborhood Watch was her most recent recommendation to me. She said to ignore the ugly cover and go request a copy pronto before reader copies got pulled from NG and since I am her minion I did exactly what she asked of me. And I do agree the cover is fug, but put “neighborhood” in a title and Imma be down to clown.
This puppy was soooooooooooooooooooooooooo Desperate Housewives - fully of rich beetches in their McMansiony hood. Everyone is up in each other’s bidness courtesy of the local “book club” – and then the body count starts rising. Good news is . . . .
Generally when a movie I am interested in gets released I immediately Google it to see if it was a book (because, duh, the book is nearly a
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Generally when a movie I am interested in gets released I immediately Google it to see if it was a book (because, duh, the book is nearly always better – except Forrest Gump - I will eternally shame that book for being turrrrrible). This time around, however, I bitched and moaned about why American Fiction was not being released to one of the twelve thousand streaming services I subscribed to and then only after it won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay did I think “ADAPTED?!?!?!?! WTF ADAPTED!” because . . . .
And then! And then I effing DID finally Google it and discovered it was by my recently discovered best friend Percival Everett who totally blew my mind with The Trees and whose books I have been picking up every few months or so because he’s just brilliant.
After being on the library waiting list for what felt like a billion years my turn finally came around and I got to crawl around in Thelonious (Monk) Ellison’s head for a while. I will stand behind my gif above and say I truly am not smart enough to understand all of the fishing and woodworking interludes that were thrown in here, but the gist of the main story was well worth the price of admission and I’m whining even more that the film went to some bullshit MGM+ or whatever crap that I DON’T pay for monthly.
As I said, the story here is about Monk – an author of previously published (but don’t really sell) smarty smarts who has been receiving rejection after rejection from publishing houses for his newest novel. After seeing the praise and glory, hundreds of thousands of books sold, million dollar movie rights and a knockoff “Oprah’s Book Club” singing the praises of a new release entitled We's Lives in Da Ghetto Monk takes to the keyboard and pens his own “true plight” *cough satire cough* of the “Authentic Black Experience” under a pen name – only to receive even MORE praise than the aforementioned “Ghetto” (including a National Book Award nomination – for which he is on the judging panel). Then you add in a “maybe you can go home again” subplot featuring a brother, sister, aging mother and a box full of dearly departed dad’s secrets and you have nearly a home run of a novel.
And talk about life imitating art. Erasure originally was released over 20 years ago, got nominated for the Pulitzer and yet most people probably never even heard of it until it was finally made into a film. If you haven’t taken time to read Everett yet, you are truly missing out and should add him to your TBR post haste.
To all my gals (and guys, if you are in to Chick Lit) who live in the land of third winter and have experienced the brief hint of what is t
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To all my gals (and guys, if you are in to Chick Lit) who live in the land of third winter and have experienced the brief hint of what is to come as far as weather goes and now anxiously await summertime – boy do I have a book recommendation for you.
The story here is told from Julia’s perspective right after she has succumbed to a brief battle with cancer. Her husband has fled the expected seven day Shiva to hide out at their beach house on Fire Island. It is there Julia gets the opportunity to spend one final Summer as an observer before officially passing to the other side. Not only will she watch over Ben and their neighbor Shep as they navigate their way through the grieving process as recent widowers, but she’ll witness her best pal Renee heal her own broken heart after being cheated on by her husband and have a little summertime fling, see Matty and Dyl attempt (and fail) to procure a condom in order to officially come of age before Dylan heads off to college, and see if Bay Harbor can finally beat Oceanview in the end of season baseball game now that Renee’s ex isn’t eligible to play and be the strikeout king.
This one is perfect for fans of Kristin Higgans. A beachy read with tons of feels that most definitely won’t leave many a dry-eye in the house upon wrapping up the final pages. It felt like a warm hug and made me eager for those first days of sitting out on the deck with the sun kissing your shoulders. Every Star.
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review....more
This is all about Dolly’s signature style (which she happily admits was inspired by the “Town Tramp” when she was a little girl).
If you follow me you know I’ve started listening to audiobook memoirs while walking. My turn at the library came up for this one when it was still pleasant outside and I was making my way to and from the park with a walking trail a couple miles away from my house. I could listen to Dolly forever and easily get a minimum of five miles in anytime she’s in my ear.
Pretty much the only thing necessary for me to write here is that this is now BOOK FOUR in the series and I’m still putting my name on the library waiPretty much the only thing necessary for me to write here is that this is now BOOK FOUR in the series and I’m still putting my name on the library waiting list whenever a new one is announced. (If you aren’t familiar with me, I’m generally one and done when it comes to books in a series – even if I like them okay.) The people at Cooper’s Chase are indeed a rare exception to the rule and yesterday this was like catching up with some old friends.
This time around the Thursday Murder Club is tackling a case of a dead acquaintance, a handful of small-time crooks and some missing heroin. And thanks to the local cops being booted off the job when some higher-ups come to town, both Chris and Donna are sort of A-okay with Elizabeth and the gang helping to Nancy Drew this one.
I can’t imagine NOT wanting to continue reading these as long as Richard Osman keeps churning them out. And while I could maybe have done without the page count involving the “catfishing” subplot, at some point you have to introduce the next murder victim so maybe that was the entire point. I enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about Ibrahim’s backstory and the potential for Joyce’s magical meringue to finally snag her a new fella in the future. But I should have known when dealing with octogenarians that eventually we would lose one and oh my god . . . .
My husband was ready to call 911 during the Sunday Funday football games when I started sobbing uncontrollably.
Maybe the best thing of all when it comes to these books is the timing. What a delightful Christmas gift to look forward to every year. Oh, and the fact that I have a little red fox who has come to visit in the woods behind our house since Thanksgiving. I've named him Stephen....more
I will never not read a book if I know there’s some sort of “Big” or “13 Going On 30” vibes. And the vibes here were vibulating when not only Charlotte wakes up and discovers she’s 30, but due to a kerplunking of noggins while decorating for the prom, her nemesis J. T. Renner has also come along on this strange trip.
I loved every single thing about this. If you have a youngster in your life who likes to read fun, light romances this would definitely be one I’d recommend as a Christmas gift. And if you’re an oldster who likes fun, light romances then it might be a winner for you too. This was my first time with both Amy Lea (I’m so excited I have an ARC of her upcoming release from Berkley) and Mindy Kaling’s book club. So far I’m a fan of both! ...more
At some point over the summer after having worked a desk job for the past 417 years it started becoming more and more apparent that my body was sort oAt some point over the summer after having worked a desk job for the past 417 years it started becoming more and more apparent that my body was sort of . . . . breaking down, for lack of a better word, due to me being so sedentary during my 9-5:00 – followed by some serious couch potato sessions for the remainder of my evenings (and most of my weekends). My back hurt CONSTANTLY (probably because I have the posture of Quasimodo when at said desk job) and I thought maybe walking a little bit couldn’t hurt.
So I took all of the laundry that was being air-dried off the treadmill, queued up the Real Housewives of [Enter Whichever City You’d Like Because I’m Addicted to Them All] and off I went. And I HAAAAAAAAATED it. Oh lordy be the treadmill walk is the most boringass walk – even with those table flippin’ hoes to entertain me.
When the leaves began changing color and the temperatures finally dropped to the point where my underpants wouldn’t be soaked with all the sweat pouring all the way down from my head to my buttcrack I decided to give walking outside a go. I’m not a big audiobook listener and definitely have some . . . .
tendencies so anything with an actual plot to follow would pretty much be out of the question. And then came Dolly. Songteller was available as instant gratification from Hoopla and once she started talking to me I went from barely making it two miles to easily bumping it up to five. It was like having coffee and catching up with a best friend you hadn’t seen in an age. This covered everything from the coat of many colors to all things Porter Wagner to “Jolene” and Miley to my personal childhood fave . . . .
I grew up with Dolly, I was beyond thrilled to watch my son a few years ago in his high school musical production of 9 to 5 and realized I still want to be her when I grow up when I saw her rocking a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader outfit while performing at halftime on Thanksgiving. Her spirit and generosity makes me want to try and be a better human. What a national treasure. Every Star....more
Once again, I pretty much went into this one blind. Jennifer McMahon is an author who I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up to begin with and what
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Once again, I pretty much went into this one blind. Jennifer McMahon is an author who I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up to begin with and what I had seen was that people said this was scary and un-put-down-able. I am happy to report that FINALLY in a sea of spooky season specific reads I finally came across a couple of winners this weekend.
The story here (in case you are a person who wants a synopsis) is that Alison has always kept her mother at arm’s length since she moved out of the family home. Mavis was a woman who Alison would have considered a pretty good mom – until her father committed suicide and Mavis fell into a downward spiral of alcohol abuse with a hefty side of emotional and physical child abuse to Alison and her brother Ben to boot. Now Alison has received a call that her mother is dying of pancreatic cancer with only a few weeks to live. Her last request? To spend her remaining days with Alison and her family. But something is off about Mavis. Is it simply the combo of medication and cancer or is it something else?
Okay, this was IT when it comes to Halloween (and so many extra props for this creepy creep taking place in December when the fam has been decking the halls - be still my Christmas lovin' heart!!!). Really my only complaint was the very ending. If you are a freak and watch endless amounts of paranormal shows that “twist” wasn’t twisty whatsoever.
Still, HIGHLY recommended and a 4.5 that I am rounding up because FINALLY a f*^%ing Halloween success!...more
Rather than requesting to be “big,” when 26-year old Lucy finds herself fed up with a leaky ceiling in her flatshare, what appears to be a dead-end job despite having just earned a promotion and dodging a rainstorm after an unfortunate dating app connection with a disgusting tongue-sucker, she puts (a borrowed) eleven pence into the Wishing Machine and asks simply to “Skip to the Good Part.” You can probably figure out what happens next . . .
It’s 16 years later and Lucy has to figure out how to navigate marriage, motherhood and being a successful television producer – all while trying to get back to her old self.
Yep, this was the bees knees for me. Give me allllllll the 13 Going on 30, The Family Man, Big, 17 Again, Never Been Kissed, etc., etc., etc. I love this trope unapologetically and this needs to be made into a streaming movie so I can watch it on a loop until my husband threatens to murder show me.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!...more
I haven’t read a serial killer story this good since . . . . I don’t even know. Dexter???? This had a perfect page count (THANK YOU, Catherine Ryan Howard for keeping it brief so I never left the edge of my seat), some Gilgo Beach feels, one scary mofo and an ending that had me like . . . .
This bright yellow cover popped up on my feed courtesy of my friend Marty Fried. I took a quick peek at the first sentence of the blurb which called tThis bright yellow cover popped up on my feed courtesy of my friend Marty Fried. I took a quick peek at the first sentence of the blurb which called this Friday Night Lights meets The Lincoln Lawyer and I committed to take this ol’ Ford for a spin. And now that I’m finished I have this to say to Marty . . . .
I talk quite a bit about how I am the spoiler of my own enjoyment quite frequently when it comes to stories involving the law, but I had forgotten how good a courtroom drama could be when done well. The story here is about a patent attorney from Marshall, Texas (Go Mavericks!) who somehow finds himself smack dab in the middle of a murder trial. If it sounds farfetched, have no fear because it doesn’t come off that way at all. You see, attorney Eucher is a well know “local” (that’s local counsel, if you aren’t familiar) who had been recruited to help defend a patent claim for a new rideshare/mapping/taxi app called Medallion . . . . and then stays on when the defendant of that suit finds himself accused of murdering the judge presiding over his case.
The writing is simple and succinct, legalese is explained without being too explain-y, I learned something I didn’t know in that the Eastern District of Texas is the hotbed for patent suits (nearly everything I do involves Patent and Trademark Agreements, but I work on the lender side so I don’t even pay attention to those when putting my stuff together), the realistic approach of simply providing enough reasonable doubt to find the client innocent was a nice change (although the whodunit aspect of this one was more than satisfactory), and maybe most importantly if there were more books featuring Jimmy I would probably break my normal routine and pick them up. This had everything that makes a good series – mainly a cast of unique and likeable characters who all had great chemistry with each other. And who doesn’t want to know more about The Leg or if James does indeed decide to switch things up and become a criminal attorney? ...more
This is for everyone who wishes there was a bigger backlog of Sally Rooney books to dive into when they are in the mood for something a bit melancholyThis is for everyone who wishes there was a bigger backlog of Sally Rooney books to dive into when they are in the mood for something a bit melancholy. I loved it.
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review....more
Seriously, though, go read other reviews because I have no words. I love Lehane and I stand by my opinion that he is one of the greatest writers of this generation and this is one of his best....more
I went into this one blind. All it takes sometimes is a snappy title, folks! I had not read this author before (because Kitchens of the Great MidwestI went into this one blind. All it takes sometimes is a snappy title, folks! I had not read this author before (because Kitchens of the Great Midwest was a title that did NOT grab my attention, but I’ll be rectifying that shortly). To keep it brief and without any spoilsies, just know things all start off with a mom who needs a ride home from the church pancake breakfast from the daughter she has been estranged from for years who is prevented from said Ubering thanks to getting in a head-on with the local fauna.
We then timehop back to 1934 to Florence’s story – then to the 1980s and Ned’s and eventually back to the present with Mariel . . . . and her mother who has now been holed up in the church waiting for that ride for over two months.
If you are familiar with me at all you know that I am a sucker for a family story and when it comes to dramedies that also involve restaurant ownership? Well . . . .
If you enjoyed Marrying the Ketchups or The Chicken Sisters or We are the Brennans run, do not walk to get a copy of this one. And serve it with a relish tray . . . .
Holy shit – a 5 Star read. This is not a test. Run do not walk to your local library or bookseller next Tuesday. Orrrrrrrrrr maybe only do
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Holy shit – a 5 Star read. This is not a test. Run do not walk to your local library or bookseller next Tuesday. Orrrrrrrrrr maybe only do so if you are a Saturday Night Live superfan? If you’ve been around my crap reviews at all, you should be aware that I am an SNL superfan who not only watches, but has gone on many a deep dive of the processes involved in making the weekly magic happen as well as reading/listening to celebrity memoirs of former cast members when I need something for Nonfiction November, but am too dumb to read most nonfiction. The only thing I have enjoyed more than my weekly hangouts with the Not Ready for Primetime Players for the past 35+ years was when the never disappointing 30 Rock was on the air (which, in case you live under a rock, was a fictionalized behind the scenes action of creating “The Girly Show” – an SNL knockoff). All that being said, Romantic Comedy could have been called “Liz Lemon Finds True Love” and I have no words for how much I loved it.
The first half (46%) is a breakdown of how “The Night Owls” (again *cough SNL cough*) comes together each week in order to appear live on your television. Like I said above, this is the make it or break part that will determine if this is your idea of a good time or not. I was practically crapping myself and most definitely Googled “did Curtis Sittenfeld work at SNL????” because it was so accurate. “Chapter 2” takes place a couple of years later and is epistolary format told via text messages (let me double down on my love and say epistolary when done well is also my jam). Then there’s Chapter 3 and an Epilogue but I ain’t a spoiler, so you’ll have to read it for yourself to find out what happens. Just now that unlike nearly every writer over the course of Covid, Sittenfeld didn’t shit the bed with her take on the pandemic.
The basic premise here is a potential love story revolving around “The Danny Horst Rule” – Danny being a fictionalized version of a The Night Owls writer/actor who somehow bagged an A-List babe who on paper would be considered way out of his league. (see Dan Akroyd/Carrie Fisher; Emma Stone/Dave McCary; Fred Armisen/Elizabeth Moss or Natasha Lyonne; Jason Sudakis/Olivia Wilde; Pete Davidson/pretty much everyone he’s ever fucked if you doubt this is a real-life thing – and note I’m excluding Colin Jost from this answer because he’s just as hot as ScarJo so the only thing that doesn’t add up with the two of them is the number of zeroes in their respective bank accounts.) Romantic Comedy turns the tables by featuring Noah Brewster, a superhot male rock star, possibly falling for the hilarious, but average TNO writer, Sally Milz.
I thought every single second of this was perfection. The only gripe I have is that my request for an early copy sat pending so long before I finally got approved, but since I got my greedy mitts on it a week early all is forgiven.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!!!!!...more
I’m fairly certain A Grown Up Kind of Pretty ended up on my TBR after an Instagram “drive-by” of sorts where I noticed someone I follow loved it and tI’m fairly certain A Grown Up Kind of Pretty ended up on my TBR after an Instagram “drive-by” of sorts where I noticed someone I follow loved it and then I thought to myself “hey, Joshilyn Jackson – I’ve liked her stuff before” so I requested it from the library and then kept it (unread, natch) for so long it became overdue and I wasn’t allowed to renew it anymore. Yesterday it was 70 degrees and beautiful outside, I had the house to myself and once I had quite literally mopped myself out the door and onto the deck I figured I’d give it a shot, knowing if it wasn’t for me I would have to return it today and remind myself I’m a reading failure.
I’m happy to report that did not happen and instead I read this puppy cover-to-cover while soaking up some Vitamin D. I’m also happy to say at this point I would not hesitate to recommend this author to anyone who follows me and is interested in books about family with just a titch of mystery thrown in to the mix to keep things interesting.
The story here is about three generations of Slocumb women. “Big” (and can I just say shame on the blurb for referring to this character as “Jenny” rather than her actual name “Ginny”), her daughter Liza (“Little”) and granddaughter Mosey are all simply trying to hold it together after Liza has a debilitating stroke at only 30 years old. That’s how things go for the Slocumbs, though. Every 15 years like clockwork some misfortune befalls the family. Generally it’s in the form of an unplanned pregnancy, but both Big and Little have been doing their best to terrify Mosey about all things that may come along with inviting a penis into her life. But when Liza’s beloved willow tree is uprooted in order to install a pool that will hopefully aid in the physical therapy required to get kick her rehabilitation into high gear, a tiny unmarked grave is revealed making both Big and Mosey question everything about what they thought they knew about their family. And Little’s inability to explain things certainly isn’t helping.
Like I said, I read this sucker from start to finish and only stopped for refills of sweet tea (duh) and to use the potty. I fell in love with each of these women and was bummed when my time with them ended. I’m giving it every Star because I wouldn’t change a dingly dang thing about this story and I’m so happy this author has a backlist for me to fall back on whenever I need a guaranteed winner. ...more
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