Review: I Let You Go

I Let You Go
I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Ok I know I am in the minority but I disliked this book. I found the characters stupid and despicable and I really felt awful by the time I was done reading it. I gave it two stars because I did keep reading it and some of the twists were interesting but I was of course able to guess the biggest ones and honestly, I was so unhappy by the end that I am sorry I read this book.

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Review: Naughts & Crosses

Naughts & Crosses
Naughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2.5 stars

I am in the minority on this one or maybe I’ve read too many dystopian YA books by now that this was not interesting, not different or unique in any way except for the small twist of switching skin colors which was clever and interesting but not enough to make the book worthwhile for me. It might be the audio which I thought was terrible.

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Daily Joys – 188

Daily Joys – 188

Lunch with a friend, walk with another. How lucky am I?

Daily Joys – 187

 

Daily Joys – 187

 

Still loving painting.

Review: After You’d Gone

After You'd Gone
After You’d Gone by Maggie O’Farrell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars

Maggie O’Farrell is such a wonderful writer and this, her first novel, is no exception. This is the story of Alice who takes the train to visit her sisters and while there sees something so shocking that she has to turn around and go right back home and then walks into traffic and ends up in a coma.

The novel unwinds in bits and pieces from there and shows us Alice and her family members, each with their own stories and bits and pieces of life until it all comes together. This is a rich, multi-layered story with wonderful characters. Highly recommended.

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Review: The Picture of Dorian Gray [Penguin Twentieth Century Classics]

The Picture of Dorian Gray [Penguin Twentieth Century Classics]
The Picture of Dorian Gray [Penguin Twentieth Century Classics] by Oscar Wilde
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I know this book and story are very famous and I can give it 5 stars for the concept but overall I didn’t think the story was as compelling or interesting as the 250 pages warranted. Maybe it would have been a more interesting short story.

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Review: Tell Me Three Things

Tell Me Three Things
Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A YA novel about a girl who loses her mom and then her dad remarries a woman who lost her husband and has a son so they move from Chicago to LA and she has to assimilate to all the changes in a school full of new people who are not big fans of her. Until a secret boy starts emailing and texting her and they start connecting through shared loss. Beautiful story.

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Review: Body Grammar

Body Grammar
Body Grammar by Jules Ohman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a quiet, slow moving coming of age story about grief. There’s some modeling but really it’s mostly about grief and finding your way to yourself. I loved it.

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Review: Gilt

Gilt
Gilt by Jamie Brenner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

I read Brenner’s “Drawing Home” a while back and this book gave me the same feeling of immediately being swept up and lost in someone’s world with characters that are interesting and all lovable in their own way. A perfect summer book, for me.

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Review: Delilah Green Doesn’t Care

Delilah Green Doesn't Care
Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

Liked this romance between two women, Delilah and her sister’s best friend. Interesting, fun and layered characters with some family drama thrown in.

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Review: Georgie, All Along

Georgie, All Along
Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really well-done story about Georgie who goes back home to where she grew up to briefly collect herself after losing her job. She discovers her middle school dream book where she’d written down all the things she and her best friend were going to do and decides this is the perfect task for her as she figures out what to do next in her life.

Thrown together with the older brother of her high school crush, she forges ahead and tries to find a way back to herself.

This story is filled with interesting and layered characters who surprise you in delightful ways and worm their way into your heart. Loved the time I spent with it.

with gratitude to Kensington and edelweiss for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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Daily Joys – 186

Daily Joys – 186

 

A little bit of ennui. But really grateful I got sleep study moved up and all is healing well.