Ok, I've been putting this off. February's books were surprising and not in a good way. I don't recall where I picked up recommendations for either of these and I'll admit neither will in my top 5 for the year and will likely be at the very bottom.
I saw a warning that Verity by Colleen Hoover was disturbing, but didn't dig deeper because I like to be as unbiased as possible. The title character is a famous novelist who has become incapacitated. Her publisher and husband seek a ghostwriter to finish her successful series. Lowen, who is close to penniless and homeless, meets Verity's husband in a very unusual way and is made an offer she cannot refuse. Lowen goes to Verity's home to conduct research and finds a manuscript of Verity's - her own personal story of twists and plots. There were several cringeworthy moments where I physically recoiled in response to what I was hearing. This book was psychological manipulation and leaves you wondering what is truth vs. fiction.
I assumed The Royals Next Door by Karina Halle would be a chick lit book, but I wasn't prepared for the sex. Now I'm no prude, but it seemed rather gratuitous. Two royals, ala Harry and Meghan, abandon royal life for the peace and tranquility of a small Canadian town. Piper Evans and her mother happen to live in the cottage next door. Piper is a school teacher about to start her summer vacation when a run-in with the royals' lead protection officer leads to a predictable will they/won't them storyline.
TBR List
- The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
- The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
- A Beastly Kind of Earl by Mia Vincy
- The Good House by Ann Leary
- This Must Be the Place by Maggie O’Farrell
- Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams
