Book Review, Nonfiction

There is No Ethan by Anna Akbari ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5
Genre: True Crime

There is No Ethan explores the experiences of three women who are catfished by Ethan Schuman, a man on a dating website who appears at first to be charming, committed, and emotionally intelligent. As he throws excuse after excuse at each of them for why he can’t meet them, they independently begin to question his authenticity.

The manipulation tactics used by ‘Ethan’ to pit these women against each other and make them question themselves was truly wild. It is hard for me to fathom continuing to communicate with someone for as long as they did when they keep making excuses for why they can’t meet me, but it speaks to how very convincing this catfish must have been and how deeply entwined in his manipulation tactics these women were.

I found it hard to stop reading because I was so eager to find out the truth and to see ‘Ethan’ get taken down. I unequivocally rooted for these women to band together and uncover the truth. I was also soooo horrified by the lack of accountability once the truth was uncovered, which again, I believe speaks to the power this individual is able to assume over people and just how convincing they must be.

It was frustrating to me how long these women continued talking to Ethan and letting him impact their lives, which definitely affected my feelings towards the book. That said, it was the truth of their experiences and made for a fascinating read.

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Book Review, Fiction, thriller

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5
Genre: Thriller

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are our three narrators who receive a call one day pulling them into the investigation of human remains that were found under a home they were all fostered in as children. We get flashbacks from each of them recalling their time in foster care with Miss Fairchild and the darkness that underscored their time there.

I liked that each of the main women was very different from one another and we got to see how that played out both when they were children in foster care, and as adults. I didn’t find their adult lives terribly compelling and it kept me from feeling fully invested in their stories.

The central mystery was intriguing and I was on the edge of my seat waiting to figure out what had happened. It wasn’t necessarily a jaw dropping plot-twist kind of story, but there were enough questions swirling around to keep me engaged and the ultimate conclusion made sense and was not where I anticipated the story going.

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Book Review, Fantasy

Bride by Ali Hazelwood ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪
Genre: Romantasy

I had fun with this book. I’m not a huge fantasy reader, but a vampire/werewolf romance seemed pretty palatable (despite the choice to spell both creatures in a random different way). Misery Lark, a Vampyre, agrees to a marriage of convenience to the Alpha Were, Lowe. Misery, however, has an ulterior motive to her agreement and is really on a quest to discover what happened to her best friend.

The intricacies behind how the Were/Vampyre worlds and politics came to be did not particularly interest me, but I liked that there was a mystery that was central to the plot. This made the story feel like a little more than a fluffy romance. I found that I wanted to know what was going on that had led to the disappearance and I was looking for clues along the way.

The romance between Lowe and Misery was a slow burn and I enjoyed watching it unfold. The somewhat forbidden nature of it made it especially fun. The details about Were anatomy were…less fun. Honestly it really took me out of the scenes that were supposed to be steamy.

Overall I liked this more than I expected to. I liked both main characters and found the plot intriguing. 

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Book Review, Fiction

The Beach Club by Elin Hilderbrand ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5
Genre: Fiction

The Beach Club takes place over a summer at the Nantucket Beach Club. There are a number of narrators, each who have a connection to the club and we watch them from the time they arrive for the summer until the season ends. I liked uncovering each of their motivations and watching how their plans for the summer changed as relationships developed or devolved.

There was a ton of drama in this story and I felt that all the storylines were equally adept at holding my attention and keeping me invested. All the characters are believably flawed and I was impressed at the complexity of each of their storylines and the way it still created a coherent and easy to follow narrative.

I loved the Nantucket setting and could perfectly picture the club and the surrounding areas. Hilderbrand painted a map of the setting so vividly that I could imagine everyone traveling around and exactly where each scene took place.

I didn’t realize until writing this review that this was Elin Hilderbrand’s first book. In hindsight, it checks out. There were some kind of random moments and ideas (someone randomly pulls a gun, two parents want their college-age daughter to marry a thirty year old), and I think she has really refined storytelling in the years since this came out. That said, I still largely enjoyed this read.

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Book Review, Fiction

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5
Genre: Fiction

Blue Sisters follows Avery, Bonnie, and Lucky in the year following the unexpected death of their fourth sister, Nicky. Each of them has their own distinct lives, goals, and challenges. The detail included about each narrator made it easy to distinguish between them and to become immersed in their lives. They are all believably flawed and, though they didn’t always do what I wanted them to, they seemed real.

We learn how each of them reacted and responded to Nicky’s death and the influence it had on where they are in the present. The different ways they handle grief were nuanced and heartbreaking and we got to see the ripple effect their often destructive behaviors had on the people surrounding them.

The writing in Blue Sisters is wonderful, from characters I felt like I truly knew to settings I could perfectly picture. There was no real big ‘aha’ moment for me with this book. The ending didn’t leave me feeling any particular type of way, but I enjoyed spending time in the Blue sisters’ worlds along the way.

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Book Review, YA

Heartstopper: Volume One by Alice Oseman ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪
Genre: YA Graphic Novel

I’ve watched the first couple seasons of the Heartstopper TV show so I was excited to be gifted a copy of the book. What a sweet warm hug of a story. I read the whole thing in an afternoon and loved watching the unfolding of Nick and Charlie’s romance. I haven’t read a graphic novel in a long time and it was really fun to have the visuals unfolding along with the narrative.

My only complaint is that this was way too short, but maybe that’s on par with graphic novels generally? And it is YA. And a series. So I can’t really fault it for that. Instead I could just go get the next book.

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Heartstopper on Goodreads
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Book Review, Romance

Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪
Genre: Romance

Alison shows up at her ex-boyfriend’s funeral to find that no one knows he dumped her. His mother tearfully embraces her and asks for her support in packing up Sam’s apartment. Upon the urging of Sam’s sister, Alison agrees and soon finds herself back in Sam’s apartment, with his best friend Adam.

You can guess from the beginning where this story is going and I enjoyed watching the romance unfold. Alison is a BRCA 1 carrier and had a preventative double mastectomy, adding a level to her comfort and experience with intimacy. I appreciated the representation, but the way it was addressed started to feel repetitive after a while.

I also found Alison’s insistence that she was a thrill-seeker to be way too harped upon. I get what it was trying to do, but 90% of the references could have been removed and it would have provided the same point.

Alison’s friends were really lovely and I liked that we got to see her life outside of her romance and how her support system functioned as she navigated her strange situation. The ending of the book was also incredibly heartfelt in a way that I was not expecting.

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Four Weekends and a Funeral on Goodreads
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Book Review, Fantasy, Fiction, Romance

The Love of My Afterlife by Kristy Greenwood ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5
Genre: Romantasy

The Love of My Afterlife begins with Delphie choking to death on a microwave hamburger. So sets the scene for the type of humor that permeates this story. When she arrives in the afterlife at the same time as an extremely hot man who she seems to have an instant connection with, only to watch him be sent back to earth, she’s given the opportunity to go back to the land of the living and stay there if she can get him to kiss her.

The satirical humor made this such a fun read. It reminded me a lot of Molly Molloy and the Angel of Death. I had no idea what hilarious actions or commentary were coming next.

Delphie joins up with an eccentric cast of characters on her quest to stay alive, from her non-verbal elderly neighbor, to an intensely passionate librarian. My favorite was her hot grumpy neighbor who coincidentally needs someone to pretend to be his girlfriend in front of his family. Their antics were almost heist-like at times and truly a joy to read about.

The story dragged on just a tad too long for me, which bumped it down a star or so, but it had such a heartwarming ending and I truly enjoyed spending times with these unique characters. They’ll definitely stick with me in a way that few do.

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The Love of My Afterlife on Goodreads
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Book Review, Fiction

Real Americans by Rachel Khong ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪
Genre: Fiction

Real Americans is told in three parts, first narrated by Lily in her twenties, then by her son, Nick, and then by her mother, Mei. In the beginning, she meets charming Matthew, heir to a pharmaceutical fortune, and we follow their love story. I enjoyed their chemistry and seeing how they connected despite their vastly different life circumstances. It was also clear that for some reason, Lily’s parents disapproved of the couple, and I was intrigued to understand why that was the case.

I was surprised by the jump to the future and by the fact that Nick didn’t know who his father was. The first part of the book is told so much like a romance that I was caught off guard by the change (not in a bad way – it made me eager to fill in the blanks of what had happened over time). I found his teenage boy storyline to be less compelling than Lily’s. Her drive as she strove to make it in New York City made me really like her, and I felt like Nick was missing that piece that made me care about him as much.

The underlying conflict in this book that tied together all the characters was unexpected and fascinating. I especially appreciated learning about Mei’s past, her life in China, and the choices she made to lead her to her life in America. Her section, which read like historical fiction, provided a lot of context to Lily and how the future unfolded. I especially appreciated this and how it was included at the end of the book.

It’s unusual to find a book with three so distinct sections in terms of story and tone. I enjoyed how each of them helped to explain the other sections and how the information we know about the central family grows and changes.

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Book Review, Fiction

The Wedding People by Alison Espach ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪.5
Genre: Fiction

Phoebe checks herself into the luxurious Cornwall Inn, a bucket list item, fresh off a divorce and at her lowest point. Little does she know that the entire inn has been rented out for a wedding. When she meets the bride, Lila, and groom, Gary, and begins to connect with each of them, Phoebe slowly finds herself drawn into the antics of the wedding and questioning what she is doing there in the first place.

Although much of the content in this book was heavy, I found myself consistently surprised and delighted by the humor and the witty banter. It made me entirely breeze through the story and never want to put it down. As Lila shows up again and again at Phoebe’s door, the strange nature of their conversations lends itself so well to comedy. Phoebe is at a place in life where she feels she has nothing to lose and thus her words and actions are to the point and show exactly what she’s feeling.

I loved the Newport setting and the way the book was contained to the few days of wedding festivities. We get a lot of background on Phoebe, so the limited time and location don’t make character development or understanding feel lacking. The characters were delightful, and even if the ending was a bit predictable, it was how I wanted things to wrap up for the characters I had come to care deeply about.

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The Wedding People on Goodreads
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