Monthly Book Review: June 2023

Four books this month!! and quite a variety. In order of most to least favorite - 

One Night on the Island by Josie Silver is about finding oneself where you least expect it. Cleo is a London dating columnist (think Sex and the City) sent by her editor to a remote island to self-partner (a term coined by Emma Watson). Cleo sees one other passenger on the boat taking her to the island. Turns out both Mack and Cleo are on Salvation Island for solitude yet stuck in the same lodge due to a reservation mix-up. Amidst the tension, they find a way to tolerate each other. Cleo finds warmth and belonging amongst the islanders. Mack starts to come to terms with the fact that life is not turning out how he designed. Warm, romantic and fun. Loved - A++

Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan is the latest book by one of my favorite audiobook narrators. The story follows Sewanee (or "Swan" for short), a former actress who is now an audiobook narrator. There's a lot going on here, but it all works. A freak accident caused her to lose one eye and the related guilt/shame impacts all her decisions. She has a close relationship with her grandmother for whom she feels protective and responsible, especially since her father is a bit of a flake, She has a one-night stand with a charming Scotsman that she can't forget. She's given an amazing opportunity to narrate a romance book with the #1 male romance narrator, Brock - a genre she started out in but now hates. The anonymous banter between Swan and Brock is witty and sexy. The behind-the-scenes peek at the audiobook industry is fascinating. The only thing that felt a bit forced was the best friend relationship. A+

The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton follows three women in 1935. Three stories in one about Helen, a heavily pregnant local waitress, Elizabeth, a New York socialite whose family lost everything, and Mirta, a Cuban newly wed to a man with a reputation in New York and Florida. The Labor Day hurricane of 1935 (the strongest to ever hit the United States) is the ticking timebomb that drives the intersection between the women. This was an easy, good read.

Search by Michelle Huneven was recommended by a church friend. This is about a search committee at a Universalist Unitarian Church in California. According to Wikipedia, UUs " assert no creed, but instead are united by their shared search for spiritual growth". Search details the long, intense process of searching for a new minister and the snarkiness that accompanies a diverse panel of stakeholders with their own failings and biases. I didn't love the interspersion of food (main character is a restaurant reviewer) - fell flat for me, like she was trying too hard - I don't recall a single dish. I did love the back-and-forth amongst characters regarding what they were looking for in a minister and why, as well as the main character's introspection about her own biases. 

TBR List

• Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
• Well Met by Jen DeLuca
• Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis
• Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen
• The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner
• Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi
• Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
• Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks
• The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen 
• Blue Love: Blue Valley High by MJ Fields 
  

Monthly Book Review: May 2023

May was not my best reading month - two books that were meh.

All Adults Here by Emma Straub seemed promising, especially with a quirky beginning, but it just didn't jell for me. Astrid witnesses a terrible accident one morning - a school bus kills someone she doesn't particularly like on the way to the hair salon. Turns out there was an incident years prior with one of her sons that biased Astrid against the woman. With her death, Astrid starts thinking about what kind of parent she's been and her own legacy. I was looking forward to more depth on unpacking this as well as parenting adult children (something I've found challenging myself). However, there are so many characters - Astrid's partner, her daughter who is about to be an unwed mother, two sons, one of which is an actor with a 13 yo daughter with her own incident so sent packing to Astrid's, daughters-in-law, the daughter's former high school flame and a rekindled female relationship. And reflections on Astrid's first husband who died. That's a lot of relationships to manage and it all gets watered down for me. I may have been looking for too much so perhaps a good light read if that's what you expect.

I was really looking forward to In Five Years by Rebecca Serle. Serle wrote One Italian Summer, one of my top 10 reads of 2022. Like Adults, this starts out promising - a story of friendship and fate. Dannie is a high-power NYC attorney with a plan and timetable for everything ... career, marriage, family. Bella, Dannie's childhood best friend, is more laid-back, glamorous and artsy. One night Dannie has a dream so vivid and clear that is five years in the future, but she doesn't recognize the apartment or the guy in her life; she just knows that she's happy. She revisits the dream several times but is unable to recreate the magic. Fast forward four years when she meets THE guy - and it's Bella's new boyfriend. I expected it to get juicy from there ... unfortunately it does not. Another potential light summer read; I guess I'm looking for deep thoughts and nuanced perspectives in my books.

Thanks to a couple of Audible sales I've loaded up my to-be-read list - better get cracking!

TBR List

• The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton
• One Night on the Island by Josie Silver
• Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan
• Search by Michelle Huneven
• Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
• Well Met by Jen DeLuca
• Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis
• Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen
• The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner
• Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi
• Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
• Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks
• Blue Love: Blue Valley High - Senior Year by MJ Fields