Book Review, Fiction, Holiday

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren ~ Book Review

Morgan

Gallery Books
Romance
Release Date: October 6, 2020
My Rating: 🍪🍪.5

In a Holidaze starts with a Groundhog’s Day-esque time loop that leaves Maelyn Jones reliving the week leading up to Christmas over and over. Each year, her family and close friends spend the week at a cabin in Utah. Their time there is scheduled with daily traditions they’ve been living out since Mae and her friends Andrew and Theo were little. Although they’ve graduated from all sleeping on bunk beds together, the snowman competition is still very much alive. Mae treasures her time at the cabin with the people she loves most in the world, but as she continues to fail at moving forward in time, she’s forced to figure out what she’s doing wrong.

I got all the holiday feels from this book. The descriptions of cozy mornings sipping coffee safe inside from the snow, and the group’s quirky annual activities were so reminiscent of the holiday season. The setting was rich with details and sentimentality that flowed wonderfully through the entirety of the narrative. Long story short, reading this made me want to curl up with a chunky blanket and a cup of cocoa and watch the snow fall outside. 

There were a lot of characters between the two families and some of them weren’t distinct enough for me to be able to keep track of them. I couldn’t keep the parents straight in particular. Besides that, the concept behind this book didn’t feel fully formed. The repeated sequences as Mae relives the days and tries to convince her friends of what’s happening seemed super unbelievable. Usually there’s an a-ha moment when you discover what breaks this type of time loop, but I didn’t get that from this book. Instead, everyone just kind of stops talking about it and goes on with their life? I think this book would’ve been so much better as a cozy holiday romance without Mae going back in time, and instead with more focus on character relationships.

Buy In a Holidaze at an indie bookstore near you
In a Holidaze on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, thriller, YA

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson ~ Book Review

Morgan

Electric Monkey
Genre: YA Mystery
Release Date: May 2, 2019
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪.5

YA is pretty hit or miss for me, but this book has been showing up all over bookstagram, so I figured I’d give it a try. I was a little shocked when I realized it was almost 450 pages, but the format makes this one fly by, and I finished it in two days. The story is interspersed with excerpts from Pip’s high school capstone project, which sometimes include charts and handwritten brainstorms.

For her project, Pip is re-investigating a murder that happened in her town five years prior. When Andie Bell mysteriously disappeared and her boyfriend, Sal Singh, was found in the woods after having (apparently) killed himself, the police ruled him the killer and the case was closed. Pip is less sure, and she enlists the help of Ravi, Sal’s brother, to help her uncover the truth.

I loved the format of the book. By centering it around a school project, it allowed for the excerpts from Pip’s writing, her notes, and her phone calls pertaining to the case, which kept things really interesting and made it unique. Ravi’s storyline, and the way he’s treated in the town after his brother was named a murderer, was heartbreaking, and added a lot to the plot.

There were sometimes a lot of characters to keep track of, but Pip walked the reader through her logic very clearly, and kept things so organized that I never got confused. I read a lot of thrillers, so getting to enjoy a mystery that was so different than anything I’d read before was refreshing. Have I mentioned Pip’s voice and the humor in the writing? Jackson so wonderfully nails high school banter, logic, and humor, and there were lines of description and dialogue that had me laughing out loud.

I will say that I didn’t completely buy the ending (a lot happens), but even so, this was a thoroughly delightful book that completely got me out of my reading rut.

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪.5

Buy A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder at an indie bookstore near you
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, Romance

Ties that Tether by Jane Igharo ~ Book Review

Morgan

Berkley (Thanks to the publisher for my copy!)
Genre: Romance
Release Date: September 29, 2020
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪

I could not look away from this book. Ties that Tether is an exploration of family relationships as much as much as romantic ones. Azere made a promise to her father as he died that she would marry a Nigerian man, ensuring that she and her family would preserve their culture. Her mother has taken every opportunity to remind Azere of her promise and tries endlessly to set her up with someone suitable. Azere’s single-minded approach to dating based on this promise is upended when she meets Rafael, a white man who just might steal her heart.

Azere struggles between her desire to maintain her culture after immigrating to Canada and her longing to also be able to adopt influences of her new country into her life. Her bond with her mother and entire Nigerian family is so strong, and her fight to try to please them is heart-wrenching. It’s clear how important Azere’s Nigerian roots are to her, but her difficulty in conveying this to her mother while also trying to steer her life in a direction that makes her happy tears her up. Igharo includes descriptions of different parts of Nigerian culture smoothly in the narrative, so readers who are unfamiliar with them are able to seamlessly learn about it without feeling disjointed from the storyline. I would encourage you to read Own Voices reviews to get a deeper sense of how Nigerian culture defines familial relationships and personal values.

I loved the romance in this book. It was steamy and oh so bingeable. The banter between Rafael and Azere was believable and flowed naturally. Toward the end, there was definitely some whiplash with ‘will they, won’t they,’ which felt like a bit much, but overall, their story was wonderful.

Ties that Tether is a powerful contemporary romance that covers a lot of depth. I’ve never read a romance story before that also had such a focus on the importance of culture, the difficulty of trying to combine cultural traditions from different parts of one’s own life, and the impacts that may have on family.

Buy Ties that Tether at an indie bookstore near you
Ties that Tether on Goodreads

Book Review, Nonfiction

The King of Confidence by Miles Harvey ~ Book Review

Morgan

Little, Brown and Company
Genre: History
Release Date: May 12, 2020
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪

The King of Confidence, described as ‘A Tale of Utopian Dreamers, Frontier Schemers, True Believers, False Prophets, and the Murder of an American Monarch,’ introduced me to interesting nuggets of American history I wasn’t previously familiar with. The book follows the rise of James Strang, beginning in the 1840s as he claims to have been chosen as the successor to Joseph Smith as the leader of the Mormons.

I loved that this book brought in aspects of American life and culture that were taking place concurrent to James Strang’s rise into the “King of Earth and Heaven” (yes, that’s what he had people call him). From P.T. Barnum to the Gold Rush, I appreciated how well-rounded Harvey made this account of one man’s life. It was about James Strang, above all else, but not just him insulated from what was going on in the country around him.

Before this book, I actually didn’t know that con-man stood for confidence man. It was pretty remarkable (and horrifying!) to learn how Strang rose to power and fame merely being confident and using his charisma to convince people he should be in power. He was able to settle an entire island, become active in politics, lead the Mormon people, and take many wives.

Although I enjoyed learning about James Strang, this book definitely got repetitive for me, and I had some trouble focusing toward the end. Many of Strang’s tactics are employed over and over, which is, I’m sure, historically accurate, but made for a little bit of a dry read at times. Nonetheless, this was an educational and eye-opening book.

Buy The King of Confidence at an indie bookstore near you
The King of Confidence on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman ~ Book Review

Morgan

Atria
Genre: Fiction
Release Date: September 8, 2020
My Rating: 🍪.5

I’ll premise this review by saying that I am absolutely in the minority in my feelings about Anxious People. The writing style in this book really didn’t work for me. It’s very self aware. It breaks the so-called fourth wall a lot, addressing the reader, telling you what to think about and focus on. This kept me from fully feeling engaged by the storyline. It felt to me like the writing was really trying to push the boundaries of ‘quirky’ and went several steps too far.

The story itself follows a web of characters who are involved in a hostage situation at an apartment viewing, and their subsequent interviews at the police station about what they went through. There were a lot of characters and their interviews felt extremely repetitive. This is a slow moving, character-driven story. If that’s your jam, give this one a try. You get in-depth background on a number of unique and distinct individuals. I’m very plot-oriented, which I think is another reason I struggled with this one.

The ending of the story really pulls all the characters together and shows beautifully crafted flash-forwards of how their shared experience affects and influences their lives for the better. This emotional and heartfelt wrap-up was really powerful, but unfortunately, I was so frustrated by the characters that it was hard for me to really feel for them all by then.

Buy Anxious People at an indie bookstore near you
Anxious People on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, Historical Fiction

The Paris Model by Alexandra Joel ~ Book Review

Morgan

Harper Perennial (Thanks to the publisher for my review copy)
Genre: Historical Fiction
Release Date: September 1, 2020
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5

The Paris Model is such a unique story that’s jam-packed with more action than I ever anticipated. I mean, a lot happens in this book, seriously. It opens with Grace Woods living an uninspiring life in Australia in the 1940s with her childhood sweetheart. Grace is driven and passionate about traveling and finding more for herself, and after a shocking discovery, finally takes the leap to leave her home. I was especially intrigued by Grace’s choice to become a mannequin for Christian Dior in Paris. There wasn’t actually as much of a focus on this side of her life as I was expecting, and I would have loved more.

While living in Paris, Grace strikes up friendships with the other mannequins, starts a steamy affair, and finds herself tangled up in political espionage. That last part is what I really wasn’t expecting. That extra layer added a lot of depth to the story. It was interesting to see how Grace’s relationship with her body and her sexuality changed throughout her life, especially when it came to using her appearance as an asset for a political agenda.

There were about ten different plot twists throughout the narrative and although some really did shock me and were exciting, after a while it felt like a lot. I was in a little bit of disbelief that all the things would happen to this one person and that they’d then all wrap up so perfectly. That being said, this was truly so different from anything I’ve read before and it felt like multiple books in one, in the best of ways. From life in the Australian outback, to glittering masquerade balls in Paris, to thwarting assassination attempts, The Paris Model has something for everyone.

The Paris Model on Goodreads
Buy The Paris Model at an indie bookstore near you

Book Review, Fiction, thriller

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager ~ Book Review

Morgan

Dutton Books
Genre: Thriller
Release Date: June 30, 2020
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪

I’m generally a big fan of Riley Sager, but Home Before Dark missed the mark for me a little. It’s more of a haunted house/ghost story than a thriller, which isn’t usually my thing. I do like the trope of a setting that takes on a life of its own, which this book definitely has. Maggie Holt and her parents moved into Baneberry Hall when she was a child, and promptly fled the premises three weeks later. Citing the haunted halls as the reason for their departure, Maggie’s dad went on to write a bestselling tell-all account of their time there.

The book has haunted Maggie throughout her life, with people constantly asking her about her time there. The problem? She doesn’t remember any of it. I enjoyed Maggie’s grappling with the book that thrust her family into the spotlight. Following her dad’s death, she’s still unable to forgive him for what she suspects is total fiction he passed off as real for his own benefit. After inheriting the house, Maggie goes back to check it out and hopes to jog her memory as to what happened there so many years ago.

The chapters are interspersed with the pages of Maggie’s dad’s fictional book, which I honestly found kind of confusing at times. It could be a little difficult to remember what was actually happening and what was from the book.

For me, the supernatural elements of this story just didn’t fully work. The randomly ringing bells and random use of the Ouija board seemed clichéd and random. Although the ultimate conclusion of the book was interesting and unexpected, I didn’t find it all that satisfying. I think the loose strings were all tied up neatly, but I didn’t really buy the explanations for all the ghosty stuff.

Buy Home Before Dark at an indie bookstore near you
Home Before Dark on Goodreads

Book Review, Memoir, Nonfiction

When Harry Met Minnie by Martha Teichner ~ Book Review

Morgan

Celadon Books (Thank you to the publisher for my review copy)
Genre: Nonfiction
Release Date: February 2, 2021
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪.5

This book far and away exceeded my expectations. I’ll start with Martha Teichner’s writing, which is fantastic. Her descriptions and details are exceptional, and she is an adept storyteller. Her illustrations of New York City were wonderful — I’m a sucker for story set in Manhattan.

I had no idea what to expect from this story, and even now, it’s hard for me to explain. Martha has owned Bull Terriers for years, evidently, a very specific breed of dog. She takes her dog Minnie to the farmer’s market every week and the vendors know them both by sight. When a mutual friend approaches Martha about his friend Carol, who is dying of cancer and looking for a home for her own Bull Terrier, Martha finds herself at a crossroads.

So begins a tangled love story of dogs and humans. Carol and Martha hit it off immediately, and begin to introduce their Bull Terriers in small doses. Harry is old and high maintenance. He requires special food and daily medication. Martha’s unsure if it’s a burden she will be able to take on. As Martha is drawn further and further into Carol’s world, it becomes clear that Carol and Harry will become deeply entwined in her and Minnie’s life.

Teichner explains the bond between dog and human exquisitely. She evokes emotion from the stories of her past dogs, and the toll their deaths have taken on her and her other Bull Terriers. She introduces dogs with so much personality and detail that they easily became main characters.

When Harry Met Minnie is a beautiful tale of unexpected connection, the unpredictability of life, and the many ways that love finds its way to people. I don’t quite know how I would classify this story besides as nonfiction, but get ready to have your heart pulled in a thousand different directions, and maybe have some tissues ready.

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪.5

Buy When Harry Met Minnie at an indie bookstore near you
When Harry Met Minnie on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction

The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult ~ Book Review

Morgan

Fiction
Ballantine
Release Date: September 22, 2020
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪

The Book of Two Ways explores Dawn Edelstein’s past, present, and future. It’s structured to illustrate the two possible futures she could have, the ‘two ways’ her life could go. This parallels the ancient Egyptian Book of Two Ways, a map of two possible routes through the afterlife. The structural tie into the focus on Egyptology throughout the story itself, was unique and very cool, although it made for a bit of confusion as to when different timelines were actually taking place.

Dawn lives with her husband Brian, and daughter Meret, and works as a death doula, aiding her patients comfortably toward their deaths. Dawn is haunted by her past as a Yale PhD candidate, studying at an archaeological dig site in Egypt. More specifically, she’s haunted by the man she left behind there, Wyatt, and what could have been if she pursued the path to complete her PhD.

These dueling possibilities drive the storyline, and create a rich and layered character in Dawn. The descriptions of her past made for a really interesting and unusual story, and I liked seeing how it informed her future, and how she got to the place she was. This book offered an in-depth look at the complexity of the decisions that altered the course of Dawn’s life. The painful confusion associated with the ‘what-if’s that Dawn grapples with is an emotion that I think a lot of people can relate to.

Dawn’s work as a death doula was fascinating, and I liked learning about how this profession works. The amount of history about Egypt and Egyptology was also extensive. That being said, at times the scenes with her patients seemed a little unnecessary to the overarching plot, and I occasionally found myself skimming the depictions of hieroglyphics and historical context. Regardless, there is a staggering amount to learn from this book and the extent of the research that went into bringing Dawn’s story to life is evident on every page.

Buy The Book of Two Ways at an indie bookstore near you
The Book of Two Ways on Goodreads

Book Review, Nonfiction

Eat a Peach by David Chang ~ Book Review

Morgan

Clarkson Potter Publishers
Genre: Memoir
Release Date: September 14, 2020
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5

I knew nothing about David Chang before picking up his memoir, besides my love for Milk Bar, which is owned by his Momofuku restaurant group. That, combined with my love for food writing, was enough for me to be intrigued (and yes, these cookies are a Milk Bar recipe). 

Chang chronicles his entire history working in the restaurant industry, starting from the bottom. A lot his success is due to taking big, possibly disastrous chances, and he admits to this. He also warns that the way he’s achieved all he has is not really an advisable plan for others. His honesty throughout the memoir was really commendable. It often doesn’t make him look good.

Chang lays bare his struggles with his explosive temper, manic episodes, and periods of extreme depression. A lot of the stories he tells make it clear that working for him would not be enjoyable. Although there’s no way to know if he will change in the future, it’s obvious that he is trying, and the first step is publicly owning his problematic behaviors in the past.

I found the history of each of the Momofuku restaurants to be really interesting. David Chang paved the way for a lot of different styles of restaurants in Manhattan. His philosophy that good, high quality, interesting food should be accessible to everyone was novel when he started out, and is now ubiquitous. As he began each new venture, he came up with a piecemeal concept, which often changed along the way. I loved getting to see how these came to be. His first restaurant served ramen, which was fairly unheard of in America at the time.

The cultural conversations Chang included in his memoir were really interesting. From general racism and prejudices he’s experienced as an Asian American throughout his life, to food biases and racism towards Asians on a larger scale, the theme was tied in all throughout the narrative. This added a lot to the book, and kept it from feeling really repetitive (although it was at times).

Overall, I enjoyed learning about how David Chang climbed his way up the ladder of the restaurant industry, why he took on certain ventures, and how he’s failed and succeeded along the way. Although he doesn’t seem like someone I’d ever want to work with, he tells his story in a straightforward manner that I appreciated.

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5

Buy Eat A Peach at an indie bookstore near you
Eat A Peach on Goodreads