Anonymous wrote:I just finished The Women, Kristen Hannah’s new book. Am about to start The Fury by Alex Michaelides.

I just started The Women yesterday. What did you think of it?

I just finished The Women, Kristen Hannah’s new book. Am about to start The Fury by Alex Michaelides.

Anonymous wrote:If you like thrillers/suspense - the perfect marriage by Jenna rose is fun. Added bonus, some good sex scenes.

It definitely has some plot holes but it sucked me in.

I'm reading that right now! Definitely an easy and entertaining read.

I'm also listening to Verity (I always have an Audible book and a Kindle book going at the same time). After It Ends With Us, which I abhorred, I said I'd never read another Colleen Hoover (that was my first one) but many people had said Verity was different and there some was Audible deal on it one day so I got it. I want to find out what happened, but I also wish the book were over already. I really do need to stay away from her in the future, she is just not my cup of tea.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just finished Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane. I really enjoyed it, but like many of his other books it is not for faint of heart. It is set in South Boston (where else) in 1974, during the desegregation of Boston’s public schools, and is a thriller focusing on the disappearance of a young white woman and the death of a young black man which occurred on the same night, set in that historical backdrop.

I loved this book! Hadn't read anything by him before, and it's not my usual genre.

DP but I LOVED Dennis Lehane. If you liked Small Mercies I would highly recommend you check out some of his other books. As PP mentioned, they're sort of intense thrillers but SO good.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just finished listening to Pineapple Street. I thought it was pretty good.

I listened to it on audio and thought it was delightful light fluff. I didn’t understand the hate last year.

Same! I loved the audiobook.

If you like thrillers/suspense - the perfect marriage by Jenna rose is fun. Added bonus, some good sex scenes.

It definitely has some plot holes but it sucked me in.

Just finished “Glorious Exploits” by Ferdia Lennon. It was published just a few weeks ago by an Irish novelist, and this seems to be his debut novel.

Borrowing from another reviewer’s description…imagine an Irish buddy dark comedy, kind of like “Banshees of Inisherin,” but set in ~400 BC (after the Peloponnesian War— which you don’t need to know anything about). Throw in some Greek tragedy and meditations on war/the human condition/victors and treatment of the conquered (and how easily you can move from one of those categories to the other)…and you get this novel. It was written in contemporary, slightly profane and hilarious prose. It was both genuinely funny and sad. A really beautiful mix of tragedy and comedy.

Wow, I loved it. I hope to see more buzz about it and wanted to recommend it here to anyone who may be interested!

Finished Bryan Washington's Family Meal. Left with very mixed feelings. I appreciate that he dealt with some really tough subject matter. But in the end, I didn't feel like the main characters had progressed in any meaningful way. I also felt like the book was mistitled. Food makes a frequent appearance throughout the book, but not on anything more than a surface level; I didn't get the sense that the MCs bonded and resolved their differences over food, which is what I sense the title was trying to convey. 2.5/5 stars.

Started on Chasing Water, a memoir by former Olympic swimmer Anthony Ervin. Great read so far.

I'm starting Learned By Heart, Emma Donoghue's new novel.

Anonymous wrote:I just finished Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane. I really enjoyed it, but like many of his other books it is not for faint of heart. It is set in South Boston (where else) in 1974, during the desegregation of Boston’s public schools, and is a thriller focusing on the disappearance of a young white woman and the death of a young black man which occurred on the same night, set in that historical backdrop.

I loved this book! Hadn't read anything by him before, and it's not my usual genre.

Late last night I stared The American Queen, by Vanessa Miller. It's a historical fiction based on the real life Louella Montgomery. Louella was a freed slave in 1865, who left the south to make a place for similarly freed slaves.

History on The Kingdom of Happy Land - https://blackhistories.org/2020/07/01/the-kingdom-of-the-happy-land/

It's very well written. I can't wait to get back to it tonight.

I read Yours Truly for a Vday themed book and I thought it was just ok. I gave it 3 stars. I preferred Part of Your World.

Anonymous wrote:I just started “Come and Get It” by Kiley Reid. I do not like it so far. It’s mean spirited and unoriginal. The over the top praise for her first book (praise that was undeserved, perplexing) has gone to the authors head. No self awareness.

Agreed -- "Come and Get It" is TERRIBLE.

I somewhat liked "Such a Fun Age." There are so many problems with "Come and Get It." I almost can't believe it got published.

Anonymous wrote:I just finished listening to Pineapple Street. I thought it was pretty good.

I listened to it on audio and thought it was delightful light fluff. I didn’t understand the hate last year.

Anonymous wrote:Being Dead Is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies Guide To Hosting the Perfect Funeral
(light, entertaining, gag gift material)

Hello Beautiful
(underwhelmed after all the hype)

The Sisterhood: The Secret Story of Women at the CIA
(A reminder of misogyny in the workplace from my generation that was so prevalent and widely accepted.)

I love this book title!