Hello everyone,
Welcome to another installment of First Line Fridays hosted by Reading is My Superpower.
Lending a Paw by Laurie Cass
“When I was a little girl, I dreamed of growing up to be the president. Failing that, an astronaut or a ballerina.”
Happy Reading,
Janelle L. C.
Hello everyone,
Welcome to another installment of First Line Fridays hosted by Reading is My Superpower.
The Jasmine Moon Murder by Laura Childs
“Theodosia Browning rested her steaming cup of tea a top a marble gravestone and gazed at the ghostly tableau unfolding before her.”
Happy Reading,
Janelle L. C.
Hello Everyone,
Today’s review is on Normal People by Sally Rooney. Before I jump in, I just wanted to let you know that this review will be a little bit different because it is more stream of consciousness, and it is a collection of the thoughts I had while reading the novel. I hope you like it!
About the Book:
At school Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He’s popular and well-adjusted, star of the school soccer team while she is lonely, proud, and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her housekeeping job at Marianne’s house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers – one they are determined to conceal.
A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years in college, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. Then, as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.
Sally Rooney brings her brilliant psychological acuity and perfectly spare prose to a story that explores the subtleties of class, the electricity of first love, and the complex entanglements of family and friendship.
My Thoughts:
Maybe it’s just that I have been out of high school for so long, but I don’t fully understand why Connell doesn’t want anyone to know that he likes Marianne. I get that he’s popular, but I think that is being a jerk to her. Is it because he is still confused about his feelings for her?
Even though I had seen several reviews that mentioned this, it still took me a while to get used to the no quotation marks when the characters are talking to each other. It is kind of unusual and not something that I have seen done before.
I like college Connell, he seems to have grown up a bit from who he was during the last few months. He does suck at communication thought, especially with what he would like from his relationship with Marianne. He lets her think that he wants to see other people, when he really says that for her benefit. They clearly care about each other, but neither of them wants to say what they really want from the other person.
My heart broke for Marianne when she tells Connell that maybe she deserves to be in relationships where she is physically hurt. She doesn’t, but it’s sad that – apart from Connell – that is kind of all she really knows from her various male relationships. She deserves someone that will lover her with tenderness and compassion. She also deserves a better friend than Peggy.
Ugh! Marianne! You are worthy of so much more than men who beat you up physically and mentally because of their kinks. I know she mentioned before that she is into it, but it is obvious that she isn’t but she believes it is the only love she deserves. I think it proves that wealth doesn’t automatically equate to happiness.
I love how Connell genuinely cares for her, even if it is just as friends.
Normal people is definitely not for everyone, but it will also be a novel that those who read it and enjoy it will love. I will be honest, when i first started it I was debating whether to keep going with it. However, I am so glad that I kept at it and ended up really enjoying it.
The on thing to keep in mind is that this is a novel following two uniquely flawed characters as they try to navigate early adulthood, and their relationship. While there are some things that the characters did that I could not relate to, I found myself relating to their perspectives of themselves. In a lot of ways I found myself relating to Marianne and how she believes she is not worthy of being treated with true love and compassion, and she questions her existence and purpose at times. I would be curious to see where Marianne and Connell would be in the present day.
Without saying too much, then ending kind of wrecked me, but it was a good choice on the author’s part. However, I can also see it being something that a lot of readers won’t like.
Overall, I really enjoyed Normal People. While it took me a while to get into, it was a good character study of two individuals and a character study of their relationship to one another over the course of several years. Also, I recommend reading this if you liked On the Road by Jack Kerouac, and vice versa.
Happy Reading,
Janelle L. C.
Hello Everyone,
Today’s review is on It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey.
About the Book:
Piper Bellinger is fashionable, influential, and her reputation as a wild child means the paparazzi are constantly on her heels. When too much champagne and an out-of-control rooftop party lands Piper in the slammer, her stepfather decides enough is enough. So he cuts her off, and sends Piper and her sister to learn some responsibility running their late father’s dive bar… in Washington.
Piper hasn’t even been in Westport for five minutes when she meets big, bearded sea captain Brendan, who thinks she won’t last a week outside of Beverly Hills. So what if Piper can’t do math, and the idea of sleeping in a shabby apartment with bunk beds gives her hives. How bad could it really be? She’s determined to show her stepfather—and the hot, grumpy local—that she’s more than a pretty face.
Except it’s a small town and everywhere she turns, she bumps into Brendan. The fun-loving socialite and the gruff fisherman are polar opposites, but there’s an undeniable attraction simmering between them. Piper doesn’t want any distractions, especially feelings for a man who sails off into the sunset for weeks at a time. Yet as she reconnects with her past and begins to feel at home in Westport, Piper starts to wonder if the cold, glamorous life she knew is what she truly wants. LA is calling her name, but Brendan—and this town full of memories—may have already caught her heart.
Tessa Bailey is back with a Schitt’s Creek-inspired rom-com about a Hollywood “It Girl” who is cut off from her wealthy family and exiled to a small Pacific Northwest beach town… where she butts heads with a surly, sexy local who thinks she doesn’t belong.
My Thoughts:
I had been putting off reading It Happened One Summer ever since I started hearing about it. However, now that I am starting to get more into romance, I am glad that I finally picked it up.
Before I get started with my review, I do want to let you know that It Happened One Summer can get pretty steamy and if that is something that you are not into, I do not recommend picking it up.
I really liked It Happened One Summer. I liked that it was a fun, light-hearted romantic comedy that provides some escapism, but yet still touches on some serious topics at the same time. Yes, for the most part we are watching a relationship form, but each character undergoes some grow as well – more so Piper.
Even though Piper is fictional, and even if she were a real person, she is very different from me. However, I could relate a lot to her negative thoughts about herself and the self-deprecating things she says. This is something I struggle with and I am working on being kinder to myself. But it is definitely a journey. And just like how Brendan calls her out on it, I am thankful that I also have someone who is willing to call me out on this – my husband, even though it is not his responsibility to do so.
I also liked how Piper helps Brendan see that it is okay to move on and that being shackled to the past can be life-sucking.
I personally found Brendan to be a bit too alpha male for my personal taste, but I also get that some people are into that. And I do think there are times, especially during the third act conflict, where he is too hard on Piper and expects her to have her life planned out after a few short weeks together. There were some big decisions she had to make!
The steamy scenes were pretty steamy, although they contained some rough content, which is personally not my thing. But to each their own, they were still pretty good.
Overall, I really liked It Happened One Summer. it was cute and steamy, with a little bit of an edge. I am looking forward to reading some of Tessa Bailey’s other works in the future. 4/5 Stars.
Happy Reading,
Janelle L. C.
Hello everyone,
Welcome to another installment of First Line Fridays hosted by Reading is My Superpower.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke
“Hannah Swensen slipped into the old leather bomber jacket that she’d rescued from the Helping Hands thrift store and reached down to pick up the huge orange tomcat that was rubbing against her ankles.”
Happy Reading,
Janelle L. C.
Hello Everyone,
Today’s review is on Pretty Things by Janelle Brown.
About the Book
Two wildly different women – one a grifter, the other an heiress – are brought together by the scam of a lifetime in a page-turner from the New York Times bestselling author of Watch Me Disappear.
Nina once bought into the idea that her fancy liberal arts degree would lead to a fulfilling career. When that dream crashed, she turned to stealing from rich kids in L.A. alongside her wily Irish boyfriend, Lachlan. Nina learned from the best: Her mother was the original con artist, hustling to give her daughter a decent childhood despite their wayward life. But when her mom gets sick, Nina puts everything on the line to help her, even if it means running her most audacious, dangerous scam yet.
Vanessa is a privileged young heiress who wanted to make her mark in the world. Instead she becomes an Instagram influencer—traveling the globe, receiving free clothes and products, and posing for pictures in exotic locales. But behind the covetable façade is a life marked by tragedy. After a broken engagement, Vanessa retreats to her family’s sprawling mountain estate, Stonehaven: a mansion of dark secrets not just from Vanessa’s past, but from that of a lost and troubled girl named Nina.
Nina’s, Vanessa’s, and Lachlan’s paths collide here, on the cold shores of Lake Tahoe, where their intertwined lives give way to a winter of aspiration and desire, duplicity and revenge.
This dazzling, twisty, mesmerizing novel showcases acclaimed author Janelle Brown at her best, as two brilliant, damaged women try to survive the greatest game of deceit and destruction they will ever play.
My Thoughts
I’ll be honest, Pretty Things did not live up to my expectations. It was kind of slow, and bogged down with a lot of back story. I did almost DNF it a couple of times, but there was something that made me want to keep reading and see how it all ends.
The novel is told in duel POVs, Nina – the con artist- and Vanessa – her mark. One thing I enjoyed is that we get to see certain scenes from both perspectives, as well as their different motivations.
At its core, this a revenge novel of sorts, or rather it starts out that way. But by the end things have changed and I kind of liked that. There were things that happened in the third act that I did not expect, however there were still some things that were easy to predict.
I also liked how the novel explores how appearances can be deceiving. More obviously with Nina being a con artist, but also with Vanessa and the persona she portrays online when compared to the reality of her life. It also shows the emptiness that can come from being wealthy and an influence. But I also liked that there was more to Vanessa than just being social media obsessed.
Overall, Pretty Things was just okay. My main issue was that it was too long. I felt like some of the exposition could have been cut down. But, as I have already mentioned, there were also aspects of the novel that I liked. I definitely plan on trying some more of Janelle Brown’s books in the future. 3/5 Stars.
Happy Reading,
Janelle L. C.
Hello Everyone,
Today’s review is on The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
About the Book
Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?
Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.
Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.
My Thoughts
I have been meaning to revisit The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo for a few months. One, because I know there is a connection to Malibu Rising, which I am planning on reading soon (at the time of posting, I have just finished Malibu Rising, stay tuned for my review soon!). Second, I read it at a different time in my life where I don’t think I was able to fully enjoy or appreciate it at the time.
I really enjoyed my reread of the novel. it was really good and I struggled to put it down. I found myself thinking about it when I was doing other things. U was also reluctant to finish it. I found myself close to tears at the end too!
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a metanarrative of sorts because we see Evelyn hire Monique to write her memoirs, but most of the is set up as the recordings of Evelyn telling her life story. And the fact that biography that Monique ends up writing has the same title as the novel. I felt like I was reading the memoir of a real celebrity, and I found myself wishing that Evelyn Hugo was a real person. I also loved the newspaper articles about her that were interspersed throughout the novel.
I appreciate how the novel – as well as the character herself – does not strive to make Evelyn Hugo out to be a saint, but she isn’t a villain either. Rather, she is portrayed as flawed as anyone else, she just happens to be famous and therefore her flaws are in full display for the rest of the world. I can also appreciate that the novel doesn’t shy away from the cost of fame, especially in 1950s Hollywood.
It was also interesting to see Monique’s character development and how her interactions with Evelyn has such a huge impact on her life. While it is implied, I would have loved to have seen how she is faring in life several years after her brief time with Evelyn Hugo.
Overall, when it came to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, second time was the charm for me. I think I now understand why this is such a beloved book – it is definitely worth the hype. I am looking forward to reading more from Taylor Jenkins Reid in the future. 5/5 Stars.
Happy Reading,
Janelle L. C.
Hello everyone,
Welcome to another installment of First Line Fridays hosted by Hoarding Books.
I Think You’re Wrong (But I’m Listening) by Sarah Stewart Howard and Beth Silvers
“Over the past few years, conversations about politics have started feeling toxic and hopeless. People we sit in the pew with every Sunday have begun to feel like strangers, and loved ones sitting across our dinner tables feel like enemies.”
Happy Reading,
Janelle L. C.
Hello everyone,
Today’s review is on Book Lovers by Emily Henry.
About the Book:
One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn’t see coming….
Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.
Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.
If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.
My Thoughts:
I will admit that the prologue did not necessarily pull me in. In fact, it made me want to read something else. However, once I read the first chapter, I was hooked. I loved the small town setting, and how it didn’t quite live up to Nora’s expectations, but yet she still settles in.
I loved the banter between Nora and Charlie. It is so dry and cynical, yet also humorous. I literally laughed out loud at some of their dialogue, which almost never happens to me when I read a book. I also enjoyed the romance, and that there wasn’t some huge conflict between them. I appreciated how they both had to grow in different ways, and even helped each other to do so.
I did enjoy the setting of Sunny Falls, however, I do wish we could have gotten to know a few more of the townspeople, but that’s probably just my personal preference.
The one character I did not like was Libby. I felt like she was not a great sister to Nora most of the time, and was inconsiderate too. She just seemed somewhat immature for someone who has two kids and a third on the way. I get her reasoning, but she still rubbed me the wrong way.
Overall, I really enjoyed Book Lovers, in a lot of ways I liked it more than Beach Read. I loved the humor and the romance, but I also liked some of the more serious aspects as well. I highly recommend picking it up this summer! 5/5 Stars.
Happy Reading,
Janelle L. C.
Hello everyone,
Today’s review is on Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake.
About the Book:
When kingdom come, there will be one.
In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born—three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.
But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins.
The last queen standing gets the crown. – Taken from Goodreads
My Thoughts:
Honestly, this should have been a duology instead of a quartet. While it is interesting to learn more about Fennbirn and the three queens, it also feels like one long prologue for the actual events of the series. I feel like everything surrounding Beltane was both rushed and confusing. I also feel like there are too many perspectives, especially in Arsinoe’s chapters. The perspectives would also change mid-scene, which was a little bit jarring.
I did like some of the politics that we get see taking place throughout the novel amongst the different groups and why each group wants their queen to win and be the new ruler of Fennbirn.
My favorite of the three questions has to be Arsinoe, I feel like there is a lot more depth to her character. I did not like Mirabella. However, I wish we got to know Katherine more, because she appears a bit less than her sisters and there seems to be more to her than meets the eye.
I also enjoyed getting to know some of the different side characters, my favorite has to be Jules, and I do want to see what happens to her as the story progresses. This is going to be a mild spoiler, but she deserves someone a lot better than Joseph. If you’ve read the book, you know what I’m referring to.
Overall, I liked Three Dark Crowns. Even though I found that it dragged a bit. I am still on the fence on whether I will read the rest of the series. I might read at least the next book and see where I got from there. 3/5 Stars.
Happy Reading,
Janelle L. C.
Meanderings of a BookWorm 