Reading roundup: Sep. 1-Sep. 19

For this blog post I wanted to do something creative and fun. I wanted to basically do a book review without doing a book review. (If that doesn’t make sense, don’t worry, I’ll explain fully—promise.) I originally got this idea when I was rating a book on the Goodreads app. For every book you finish reading or have read, you have the opportunity to rate it with stars 1-5. 1 is the lowest, and 5 is totally mind-boggling-out-of-this-world amazing kind of read.

I figured rather than doing a typical star rating with a long review, I’d create this roundup of books I’ve read from a specific time period, and condense it into basically a lightning round of reviews. Below I’ll share each book I’ve read from September 1 through the 19, whether I believe the book was a “hit, miss, or in between”, and a quick summary on why I feel that way. I will not be sharing the full synopsis or my personal full review.

FOR CLARIFICATION PURPROSES:

4&5 STARS- HIT

3 STARS- IN BETWEEN

2&1 STARS/STAR- MISS

---

HIT: GIRLS LIKE US

Author: Cristina Alger

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Suspense

Published: July 2, 2019

After reading The Banker’s Wife by Alger last summer and falling head over heels in love with the salacious twists and turns of the private banking world and Alger’s flawless writing, I was worried my hopes were up a little too high for this one. They weren’t. In fact, I loved this book so much I finished it on a sick/hungover Sunday in 4.5 hours. The style of writing is effortless, and has a true crime, police procedural feel to it that doesn’t take over the book. Themes of family, love and loss are prominent in this one. A twisty, easy, fun read for sure.

In between: The Two Lila Bennetts

Authors: Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery

Published: July 23, 2019

I think it’s fair to say that I’m the outlier on this one, but this book didn’t do it, yet didn’t not do it for me, if that makes any sense. (I hope it does!) I’ve read The Good Widow and Girls’ Night Out by the same authors and have thoroughly enjoyed both of them, and I was equally excited for this one. While I anticipated a light, fun, summer read with a few pleasant twists, I found myself in a mediocre plot that didn’t really work for me. I did finish the book rather quickly, but that was probably just because the authors are actually talented and don’t write bad. The characters in this book didn’t work for me, and the way it was written wasn’t dark enough for me. Regardless, I’ll still be looking forward to and reading whatever Fenton and Steinke write in the future.

Hit: The Perfect Wife

Author: JP Delaney

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Suspsense, Mystery Thriller, Science Fiction

Published: August 6, 2019

Let me start this off by saying this: I absolutely hate anything or anything related to science fiction. I’ll repeat: I absolutely hate anything sci-fi. Maybe it’s because growing up my parents were never into anything sci-fi so I just never watched it and can’t get into it now whenever I try to, but I digress. I was quite pessimistic going into this book. I fully expected to hate it and not finish it. What I stumbled into took me completely by surprise. Delaney’s writing is fast paced, his chapters short, so you stay engaged the entire time. The quick flowing words create for an equally quick, compulsive read (albeit the 400 pages and all). Artificial intelligence is a very real and scary idea that may become a reality sooner than we realize. The idea of artificial intelligence combined with psychological suspense and domestic drama created a believable plot in this unique gem of a novel.

Hit: Mine

Author: Courtney Cole

Genres: Thriller, Suspense, Fiction, Mystery Thriller

Published: May 28, 2019

This novel by Miss Cole hits on every woman and man’s biggest fear: being cheated on. And not just being cheated on—the embarrassment, shame, and feelings of inadequacy that go along with deception. I felt myself getting equally as enraged as the characters as I read, as if what was happening to them was happening to me. This is a fairly quick read—292 pages, to be exact—so please trust me when I tell you that you most definitely have the time for this one. Also, the author wrote a little post on the goodreads app detailing the inspiration for this story. I suggest reading that quickly before beginning the book because it sheds a lot of insight into her motives behind wrting. The lines between fiction and reality get blurred in this one, but that only made me love this dramatic, beautiful tragedy of a book even more.

Hit: the good sister

Author: Gillian McAllister

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Crime, Suspense

Published: May 15, 2019

With tragedy striking in the very first pages of this book, it’s hard not to get pulled in. The family drama aspect of this mystery made it all the more believable because of how relatable it is. No one ever wants to think someone they love, someone they share DNA with, someone who’s blood, could be capable of such horrific acts. It begs the question: how well can we really know someone? Set in the U.K in what appears to be a quaint little town and the perfect family, you’ll feel your heartstrings tugged in every direction during this. And remember, things are not always what they seem.

Hit: lost you

Author: Haylen Beck

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Psychological Thriller

Published: August 6, 2019

What happens when you allow your obsession to control you and drive you to the edge? That very question is answered in this one. I’m a sucker for short chapters and alternating POV’s (I just love being able to see the story and understand it from everyone’s POV), so it wasn’t difficult to get invested in this one. Beck touches on a variety of subjects such as greed, obsession, infertility, surrogacy, death, heartbreak, and unconditional love; so the reader shouldn’t have a hard time relating to the book in some way or another.

Miss: beautiful liars

Author: Isabel Ashdown

Genres: Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Mystery Crime, Fiction

Published: April 19, 2018

Back in the day, I used to force myself to read books that I didn’t like in hope that it’d eventually turn around and I’d end up enjoying it. Spoiler alert: it usually didn’t. But nowadays? I am way too busy of a woman to be wasting time reading books that I don’t like. I was beyond disappointed with the beginning of this one because I read Ashdown’s Little Sister and loved it for it’s dark, twisted, and surprising atmosphere; so I went into Beautiful Liars with the anticipation of getting much of the same. I was honestly quite surprised when this book didn’t catch my attention right away. I found myself daydreaming while reading the pages (which never happens, BTW). The characters are boring and create only apathy to the reader, IMO. The so-called crime they’re trying to solve is played out and done in typical fashion. Nothing unique about it whatsoever. Nonetheless, I will highly recommend you pick up Little Sister because it is phenomenal.

Hit: never have i ever

Author: Joshilyn Jackson

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Thriller, Suspense

Published: July 30, 2019

“Never have I ever lied to my parents.” Drink. “Never have I ever copied someone else’s homework.” Drink. “Never have I ever written a good book review on a book I didn’t genuinely enjoy.” Don’t drink 😉 I really hope I’m not the only one who remembers this drinking game. Jackson weaves the much loved drinking game into a gem of a psychological thriller. Metaphors of scuba diving and the ocean pop up continuously throughout, which only creates a more dramatic and alluring story. This is one of those books that’s best to go into blind, so my lips are sealed.