I feel like I’ve been ripping through books recently, and I’m not mad about it! Especially when my friend let me borrow newly released Lock Every Door by Riley Sager. After his prior two novels, Final Girls and The Last Time I Lied, I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of this book! And let me tell you, it was worth the wait. Compared to his other two outings, this one sounded the least like the other two. Yes, it was told from a female’s perspective, but the tone and cadence reminded me more of Ruth Ware’s The Death of Mrs. Westaway.
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Book Review: Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer
I feel like I’ve been living in the young adult novel world for most of the summer, but truthfully I don’t mind it. They’re easy and most that I’ve picked are quite good, and that includes the latest, Call It What You Want written by Brigid Kemmerer.
Read moreBook Review: No Exit by Taylor Adams
I was a super champ and finished another book in a relatively short amount of time (for me)! After the If I Run trilogy, I decided to stick with the high stakes running and picked up No Exit by Taylor Adams. Even though the cover art gave away that this book took place during the dead of winter, it was a refreshing surprise as I read it by the pool during a humid, 90-plus degree weekend!
Read moreBook Review: We Know It Was You
I decided to regress on this last book I read, and went into the young adult genre. I also got it bargain-priced at a local book store, so I really can’t complain. We Know It Was You by Maggie Thrash was sort of all over the place and not in a good way.
Read moreBook Review: The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager
Hot off the heels of reading Final Girls by Riley Sager, I decided to read his next novel, The Last Time I Lied. Similar in cadence and told again from the female perspective, I really enjoyed this work, too!
Read moreBook Review: Final Girls by Riley Sager
The other day I finished up the thriller, Final Girls, written by Riley Sager, and the long and short of it was that I loved it! Just the title alone had me hooked. It immediately made me think of the 2015 movie Final Girl starring Abigail Breslin, although I knew they wouldn’t be the same. But still, cinematic quality title for sure.
Read moreBook Review: Holding Up the Universe
After reading the second installment of The Magicians, I wanted something light and easier to read. Thinking back to what I’d read in the past year, I remembered how amazing the book All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven was, so I decided to see what else she had in her catalog. With that research, I stumbled upon her 2016 novel, Holding Up the Universe. While not as devastating as All the Bright Places, this book still hit me in my feels.
Read moreBook Review: The Magician King
I think after almost a year I finally got around to reading the second book in The Magicians trilogy, The Magician King. Holy hell was this a slow read. Despite it being better than the first, it still took me a good while to finish, and I’m not particularly looking forward to reading the last installment. But I’m going to finish it because I feel like I have to if I want to watch the show.
Read moreBook Review: Me Before You
It’s been a long time coming for me to read this romance novel by Jojo Moyes, and I can see why I put it off. It’s freaking sad! Like devastatingly sad! And if you haven’t seen the movie that came out based on this novel three years ago, then shame on you and too bad for spoilers.
The book starts with Louisa, “Lou,” losing her job at a cafe. After failing at some oddball jobs she finally lands a job as more of a companion for quadriplegic Will Traynor. Will is as bitter as ever against Lou’s typically sunny outlook on life that she almost quits. But she’s the sole financial provider for her family, so she is determined to stick it out. That’s when she overhears some jarring news: in six months time, Will is heading to Switzerland to end his life with dignity. After learning this, Lou fights tooth and nail to get him to change his mind, but rather unsuccessfully for the most part. Cue the romance part of this novel: they fall in love. Then cue the awful part of this novel: he still chooses to die! Talk about making yourself feel shitty! I will say I was glad I watched the movie when it came out because otherwise there would have been a lot more tears.
Despite its seriously depressing ending, I do feel compelled to read its two sequels: After You and Still You. I’ll be sure to review if I do!
Book Review: Boy Erased
After watching Boy Erased this past December, I decided I wanted to read the memoir it was based on. I’ve got to say for the most part it was pretty spot on. There were certainly some more dramatized moments in the film, but it covered everything else accurately. It was a little hard to read with some names removed, and sometimes I wasn’t too certain to what time flashbacks were taking place, but otherwise the flow was nice.
The novel touched more on Garrard’s internal punishments, like not eating a lot and running more so he could “disappear,” which is something maybe the movie was lacking. I also got a strong sense of the relationship with his mother, as well as how religious he actually was. It was also touching to read how his experiences in conversion therapy essentially destroyed any relationship with God he had, but how he is still diligently trying to find it again.
All in all, I felt the memoir was maybe a bit long-winded. I’m not saying there probably wasn’t more to tell, but that he seemed to repeat himself a lot. Maybe the point was to draw this experience out for the reader just like the experience was probably an eternity to him.