Monday Reading Update

Hi Everyone! Sorry I was MIA last week but I was on vacation and had no time to get any posts ready before I left. We went to Cancun and it was so nice to feel warm again. I felt like I was in a little bit of a slump before I went but that officially ended with some solid plane reading followed by 2 more new release books during the week. That’s been my best reading week by far this year and I really think a lot of it was attributed to my staying off social media for the most part. The wifi was often spotty at the hotel so I didn’t spend the amount of time I usually do scrolling through Instagram and Twitter and guess what…I got a LOT more reading done. While I missed interacting with everyone, I really enjoyed my time of focusing on reading. I’m planning on taking those breaks more often. On to my latest reads….

RECENT READS…

Little Fires Everywhere is one of my book club picks and also one I tried on audio when it came out but couldn’t get into. This time, I read the print version and after the initial (somewhat) slow set up of the first several chapters, I flew through this one. I thought the writing was excellent and the characters felt like real people who often fascinated yet irritated me at the same time. For me, that’s the mark of a great read when I feel like the characters are so realistic. I loved the suburban drama, the family dynamics, the issues of race and parenting…just SO much to dissect! I gave this 5 stars on Goodreads despite being really mad about certain parts of the ending. I wish I could say more but if you’ve read this and want to message me I’d love to hear if you felt the same way.

The Last Romantics had me all over the place with my feelings! This family drama/saga centered on 4 siblings, 3 girls and their brother and it was narrated by only one of them which (surprisingly) completely worked for me. It starts off in my favorite time period, the 80s, and follows these siblings through so many years of ups and downs. The first half was page turning and I thought, yes, this is a 5 star read. Then came the middle and I felt like the pace slowed down and it became a little boring. I would’ve said around this time that it was almost a 4 star read but then came the last third which I completely loved. I didn’t expect to be left crying in my hotel room when I finished but I was. I’ll elaborate in a mini review this week!

Stalker was like a breath of thriller fresh air! For me, this is the type of scandinavian thriller/mystery that blows the same old same old domestic suspense thrillers out of the water. This is the 5th book in the Joona Linna series and my second read. I started last month with book 4, The Sandman , (My Quick Thoughts) which I really enjoyed and I loved this one even more. This can be read as a standalone but I’m glad I had book 4 for reference because this one does continue on from where the Sandman left off. I knew I was in for a treat when the opening scene made me gasp out loud on the beach…it was scary! Set in Sweden, someone is stalking women by video taping them in their homes, sending the video to police at a later time but just moments before the woman is murdered and the police don’t have enough time to figure out who she is to stop it. I’m doing a mini review this week but seriously, if you like thrillers with an large mystery plot line this is for you.

TRIED BUT WASN’T FEELING…

I was really looking forward to Otherwise Engaged . I thought it would be a perfect light romance after Stalker but right away I wasn’t feeling the writing style. It seemed somewhat juvenile and sing songy if that makes sense and after about 20 pages I put it down. I doubt I’ll be inclined to pick it back up

CURRENTLY READING…

I’ve seen many glowing reviews for this one. I’m a couple chapters in but so far I like it. The writing flows and there’s a strong sense of characterization already.

POSSIBLE UPCOMING READ…

Both sound great so it’ll just depend on my mood!

Hope you have a great week and if you have time drop a line and share what reads you’ve been loving!

Anyone else spend the weekend in due to snow and ice? Here in Ohio, we got a heavy dose of ice and snow drifts which I don’t think will be melting anytime soon since we’re supposed to have below 0 temps this week:( I’m ready for winter to be over! What I was most looking forward to was lounging on the couch under my comfy blanket and getting lost in a good book. It didn’t happen . What did happen? I ended up DNFing another most anticipated winter read. I’ve been struggling with my winter reading these last 2 weeks that’s for sure. Is anyone else having this issue? I’m really hoping an outstanding 5 star read comes along SOON! If you’ve read something amazing be sure to let me know what it was in the comments!

RECENTLY READ…

As Long As We Both Shall Live was a book I had seen pretty positive reviews for on Instagram and the prologue was especially intriguing. In fact, it had one of the best first sentences I’ve read in a long time so I thought it might be a psychological thriller I actually ended up loving. It wasn’t. You can read my mini review on Goodreads (here) but I found it to be predictable and in several ways trying to be a Gone Girl knockoff.

I was thrilled to get an early copy of Into The Jungle since I loved her first book The River at Night , so much so that I dropped everything and read it in one day. Unfortunately, I didn’t love this one. Although the level of detail in the writing of the remote location in the Amazon jungle was excellent (the author has clearly done her research), I was unprepared for the number of scenes involving animals being killed for food, hunting, sport etc. It was honestly too much for me and caused me to somewhat disconnect from the story. I’ll review closer to May pub date.

Maybe in Another Life has been on my tbr for quite awhile and I had actually tried it in print long ago and couldn’t get into it. This time I listened to the audio book and really enjoyed it. Julia Whelan was the narrator and she made all the difference. The story wasn’t perfect by any means but still worth a listen if you’re in the mood for an easy romance.

TRIED BUT WASN’T FEELING….

Well this was surprising to me! Two of my most anticipated winter reads are DNF’s. I was really looking forward to Here and Now and Then for the time travel but the story and characters felt so bogged down in scientific details that I lost interest (DNF 31%). I fully expected to enjoy Sally Thorne’s new book after loving The Hating Game but I didn’t like the main character Darcy at all. I know she was supposed to be edgy but I found her annoying. The writing seemed stilted, the banter off, it just wasn’t working for me (DNF 18%).

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO…

The End of Your Life Bookclub is the true story of a mother and son who form their own 2 person book club during her chemo treatments. I’m early in the story but I’m enjoying the narrator and really loving the way this mother and son bond over their in depth book discussions. This feels like it will be emotional (I’m really liking mom) but also a very nice tribute to reading and books and how they impact our lives, even at the end.

CURRENTLY READING…

I just started The Nowhere Child , (Jan 22) (mystery/suspense) but so far I really like the writing. The set up… a 30 year old woman is approached by a man while on her lunch break at a school in Australia. He shows her a picture of a little 2 year old girl and tells her that girl vanished when she was 2 and he thinks SHE is that girl! I’m fascinated by missing people stories so I’m anticipating this will be a winner for me. Plus, it’s published by Minotaur Books which is one of my favorite publishers.

POSSIBLY READING NEXT…

That’s all for now, how has your reading been going? Tell us all about your hits & misses in the comments!

Don’t forget, you can connect with me on Instagram (itsbooktalk) , goodreads (itsbooktalk@gmail.com ) and Twitter (@itsbooktalk) where I typically post some different content and what I’m currently reading, listening to etc.

HAPPY READING!