Book Review, Fiction

The People We Keep by Allison Larkin ~ Book Review

Morgan

Gallery Books
Fiction
Release Date: August 3, 2021
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪

I feel conflicted about The People We Keep. The narrative follows April, who lives largely alone in an immobile motorhome while her dad moves in with his new girlfriend. One day, April decides she’s had enough, takes her neighbor’s car, and drives away. April ends up in Ithaca, NY, and being a little bit familiar with the area, I found the descriptions of the area really fun to read.

April finds a job at a local cafe and works there while living out of her car. The difficulty and confusion she experienced around how to trust was heartbreaking, but the small group of quirky friends who took her in were so wonderful to read about. During this section of the book, I couldn’t stop reading, and loved seeing April learn to let people in.

The book took a sudden turn after this, which saw April once again on the road. From there, the story never recaptured the initial magic it had for me. April tended to define her life by men, which diminished her character for me. I understand that the point may have been that events in Ithaca were catalysts for pushing her back into her old confusion and mistrust, but that didn’t seem fully developed.

The ending of the book, particularly her random reconnection with an ex, felt rushed with a lot of seemingly unconnected events crammed in. I wish this story had built off of April’s time in Ithaca, rather than having her character lose so much again and again.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy The People We Keep at an indie bookstore near you
The People We Keep on Goodreads

Book Review, Memoir, Nonfiction

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey ~ Book Review

Morgan

Crown Publishing Group
Memoir
Release Date: October 20, 2020
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪

What a joy Greenlights was to listen to. Narrated by Matthew McConaughey himself, the audiobook version of this memoir was infused with expressive inflection and made his reminiscing and musing really come to life.

I didn’t have any insight into McConaughey’s life before reading this, and it was a wild ride. I truly never knew what was going to come next in this narrative, so much so, that at times it felt like I was listening to a work of fiction.

I love how unapologetic McConaughey is in his honesty and willingness to expose his experiences to the masses. From getting arrested while playing the bongos naked to only eating ketchup with lettuce in an attempt to be a vegetarian, the range of this memoir was extensive and never boring.

Central to all his stories is the idea of catching ‘Greenlights’ — moments that catapult you forward in life’s successes. This was a fun and interesting thread that tied the memoir together and painted a comprehensive picture of what has gotten Matthew McConaughey to where he is today.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy Greenlights at an indie bookstore near you
Greenlights on Goodreads

Book Review, Fantasy, Fantsy

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas ~ Book Review

Morgan

Bloomsbury Publishing
YA Fantasy
Release Date: May 3, 2016
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪

What struck me most about A Court of Mist and Fury was Feyre’s growth over the slow-burning narrative arc. The strength she grows as she becomes more comfortable and understanding of her new reality was incredible to watch. While the men started out with the most power, I loved watching her take her power back and take ownership of it.

The decision Feyre makes near the beginning of the book felt kind of rushed and not fully explored to me, but it opened the door for her return to Rhysand, which is where the story really took shape. Although I found it a little hard to keep track of all the new characters, their support and acceptance of Feyre was commendable and I liked the way they banded together to try to figure out the underlying mysteries of their world.

This definitely felt more slow moving to me than A Court of Thorns and Roses, but I liked the characters a lot and the action really picked up toward the end. While I was reading I wasn’t sure if I’d feel compelled to pick up the next book in the series, but I can’t stop thinking about the cliffhanger of an ending.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy A Court of Mist and Fury at an indie bookstore near you
A Court of Mist and Fury on Goodreads

Book Review, mystery, thriller

Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough ~ Book Review

Morgan

William Morrow & Company (Thank you to the publisher for my copy!)
Genre: Thriller
Release Date: April 12, 2022
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪

As Emma approaches her fortieth birthday, she becomes increasingly paranoid that it will trigger a psychotic break like it did for her mother. The changes begin with insomnia, and as Emma paces around her house unable to sleep, she increasingly draws parallels between her actions and those she remembers of her mother just before things went downhill and Emma and her sister had to be put into foster care.

I knew there must be more going on than Emma really just losing touch with reality as she got closer to her fortieth birthday, but I had no idea what was at play. What I loved about the big twist in this book is that there were hints along the way that someone could have noticed, but I totally glossed over. I think it’s so cool when a thriller is able to shock me, but the ending wasn’t so outlandish that it came out of nowhere.

There was an element of this book that definitely required a suspension of reality, which I was not expecting, but I found it to be an incredibly interesting layer to the story that seemed like a fresh take on this kind of a thriller.

My one negative comment is that there were certain details of the story that were repeated over and over again, but I was mostly able to look past this because of the intrigue to figure out what was going on.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy Insomnia at an indie bookstore near you
Insomnia on Goodreads

Book Review, mystery, thriller

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins ~ Book Review

Morgan

St. Martin’s Press
Thriller
Release Date: January 4, 2022
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪

Lux and her boyfriend Nico are living in Hawaii trying to save up enough money to repair his boat, The Susannah. When Brittany and Amma offer Nico a generous sum to take them to remote Meroe island, Lux is excited to join their adventure. When the group arrives, they find that there’s a couple already there, the glamorous and friendly Jake and Eliza. Meroe island has a dark history and although the group of strangers hits it off initially, the sudden appearance of another visitor throws things off balance.

Lux followed Nico to Hawaii after only knowing each other for a short time, and more she begins to question the motives of everyone around her, the less she realizes she really knows about him.

The flashbacks we receive about Amma and Brittany’s history makes it clear that there is more to their friendship than meets the eye, and more to their trip to Meroe than they are letting on.

I truly trusted no one in this story, and the setting of an empty tropical island was the perfect mix of picturesque paradise and isolated nightmare. I couldn’t read fast enough through most of this book, waiting for all the pieces to come together.

This was a five star book for me until the end. There was a plot twist that seemed to leave a huge gaping hole in the plot that I could not find a way to see past. Ultimately, the way everything was explained seemed unbelievable to me and the ending left me deeply unsatisfied.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy Reckless Girls at an indie bookstore near you
Reckless Girls on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, mystery, thriller

The Shadow House by Anna Downes ~ Book Review

Morgan

Minotaur Books
Mystery
Release Date: April 5, 2022 (Thank you to NetGalley for my copy!)
My Rating: 🍪🍪

The Shadow House follows Alex as she and her two children move into a new community called Pine Ridge. It’s clear that Alex is running from something as she tries to placate her teenage son about the necessity of another move.

Upon their arrival, Alex finds a box on their doorstep with a dead bird in it. Several days later, a similar box with a disturbing doll arrives. As Alex learns more about the land the community was built on, she begins to worry that there may be something sinister afoot.

I was expecting so much more out of this book. All along, I was waiting for a big reveal about Alex’s traumatic past and a big reveal about what was happening at Pine Ridge. I got neither. There was so much build up and suspense and it fell totally flat for me. There were random side plots of Alex getting to know the other residents, which I expected to all tie together, but they seemed to just be tangents that were ultimately hard to keep track of.

Check out my bookstagram: Treat.your.shelf
Buy The Shadow House at an indie bookstore near you
The Shadow House on Goodreads

Book Review, Fantasy, Fiction

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas ~ Book Review

Morgan

Bloomsbury Publishing
Fantasy
Release Date: May 5, 2015
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪.5

The hype is so real!! For some reason I was convinced that I wasn’t much of a fantasy person (despite loving Harry Potter), but A Court of Thorns and Roses proved that very wrong. When Feyre accidentally kills a faerie disguised as a wolf, she is forced to live out the rest of her days in the faerie world, or lose her life.

I got major Beauty and the Beast vibes as Feyre begins to get to know her captor, Tamlin and explores his grounds and her new world. The world-building wasn’t too overwhelming, and I was able to get sucked into the story fairly quickly.

The romance in this book was so unexpected and well done. It was a pretty main theme throughout the story as Feyre learns more about Tamlin and his past. I loved the setting of Tamlin’s estate and the atmosphere it set (I got a Bridgerton feel).

The action picks up a lot in the last quarter of the book and the pacing change kept me completely invested until the end. I will absolutely be picking up book two.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy A Court of Thorns and Roses at an indie bookstore near you
A Court of Thorns and Roses on Goodreads

Book Review, Nonfiction, Uncategorized

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green ~ Book Review

Morgan

Dutton
Nonfiction
Release Date: May 18, 2021
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪

I struggle with short stories and essay collections, so take my review with a grain of salt. In The Anthropocene Reviewed, John Green takes the standard 5-star review concept and turns it on his head, rating a manner of everyday occurrences from the current geological age. He really ran the gamut of types of things he reviewed and kept me on my toes.

Some of these essays were light and humorous, while others discusses the pandemic at length and how it has impacted loneliness and society. I appreciated that this randomness highlighted the enormous scope of objects, experiences, etc. that exist, but I wished for a little more cohesiveness. I felt that I couldn’t get truly invested in one essay before we switched to an entirely different topic and it made it difficult for me to stay engaged.

Buy The Anthropocene Reviewed at an indie bookstore near you
The Anthropocene Reviewed on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, mystery, thriller

I’ll Be You by Janelle Brown ~ Book Review

Morgan

Random House
Thriller
Release Date: April 26, 2022
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪.5

Janelle Brown has a unique skill for creating characters with detailed backstories and layers that make them believable and deeply intriguing. Sam and Elli, the twin main characters of  I’ll Be You are no exception. Once childhood actresses, Sam is single and now struggles with addiction while Elli is married with her own floral business. That is, until one day when she mysteriously disappears to a retreat and stops responding to all communication. As Sam begins to worry about her sister, whom she’s been estranged from for years, she realizes that Elli’s happy life may be a mere façade.

Brown shows the progression of the sisters and their bond as they are discovered, become famous, and first learn to switch places. These flashbacks add such a richness to their present-day story and helped me understand their motivations.

I didn’t expect the cult aspect of this book going into it, but I found it especially fascinating, particularly the introspection into the members and how they ended up where they did.

This wasn’t a thriller in the traditional sense, and definitely was a little slower moving, but it kept me glued to the pages trying to guess how everything fit together and how the sisters would end up at the end of it all.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.Your.Shelf
Buy I’ll Be You at an indie bookstore near you
I’ll Be You on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction

Wahala by Nikki May ~ Book Review

Morgan

Custom House
Fiction
Release Date: January 11, 2022
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5

Wahala is the story of Ronke, Boo, and Simi, longtime friends living in London. Simi introduces the others to her friend Isobel, who ricochets into their lives. At first, Isobel seems like a harmless bundle of energy, but as she begins to worm her way into the other ladies’ lives, they begin to find themselves turning against each other.

Each of the main characters has a detailed and believable life, relationships, and backstory. Each woman had a very different personality and way of thinking about life, and they were each dealing with different struggles. Their friendship was believable and I enjoyed learning about Nigerian culture through them.

Some of the choices these characters made, and the way they were so easily influenced and manipulated by Isobel really rubbed me the wrong way. It would seem that after so many years of being friends, they would have had a little more allegiance to the other girls and wouldn’t be so quick to turn on them. Also, the way the drama ramped up and got very dark toward the end was a lot – I wished the book hadn’t been so backloaded.

Buy Wahala at an indie bookstore near you
Wahala on Goodreads