Book Review

As people post book recommendations on social media and as I see books in magazines and stores that look interesting, I take a picture and add them to a "Books to Read" album in my Google photos. This year I finally started making time to read again and have been soaking them up. The Durham County library is well stocked (sometimes with a wait list on really popular ones) so it's been easy to fly through this list. 

So good! I took this one with me everywhere because I couldn't read it fast enough. It was very interesting and a quick page turner for sure!

 

This one was really good! I read it in 2 days. I wasn't sure if I'd like how it was structured. Each chapter bounces back and forth between the 2 lives, but it was very well done and easy to keep straight in my head. It's interesting to think about what would have happened if...

Intense. Page turner. Constant surprises.

I few pages into this one, I realized I had read it before. I thought about not reading it again, but I had already been sucked in and couldn't put it down. As I remembered parts of the plot, there were still things I had forgotten and I couldn't not finish it. I was worried I was remembering a sad ending and I am not a fan of sad endings. Read it yourself to see if I remembered correctly or not. 

Classic Jodi Picoult book. I had read it before so I didn't reread it, but it is a good one!

This is historical nonfiction, which is not usually my cup of tea. It wasn't a page turner for me, but it kept me interested enough to finish. I started 2 other books and finished one of those while reading this one. I don't usually do that either. It's LONG! I wasn't sure if I would pick it back up once I started those other 2, but I was interested enough in the main character to finish it. It is a heart breaking war story to think about all he witnessed and how long he went without sharing his story, especially tough to read as the war in Ukraine was starting. 

This was a long one and slow at parts. It kept my interest enough to finish, but just barely. Usually I really like her stuff, but this one was a tough one for me.

This was really good! It lived up to its hype and had a surprise ending...at least it surprised me.

I can not say enough good things about this one! I could not put it down. I sat down one night to read for just 30 minutes before bed and an hour and a half passed before I realized it. I love this author. Stephen made fun of me for how sucked into this I got. 

This was decent. It was a little slower than I expected, but it held my attention enough to finish. It was easy to fall asleep reading though so it took me longer than usual to read. 

Quick, easy read. She's a great beach read author. I read this in just a couple of days.

This was really good! This one is a mystery instead of her typical easy beach romantic read, but it was still easy to read. It keeps you sucked in for sure!

For the first time in a long time, I returned a book without finishing it. I could not stay awake reading this one no matter what time of day I sat down to read. I found myself choosing to scroll on my phone when I intended to sit down and read. After getting a quarter of the way through, I decided it wasn't worth my time. 

Good, quick read. I thought I had it figured out several times. I had pieces right, but was still surprised at some points. It has good suspense. 

What an incredible, heartbreaking story of redemption. It took me a while to pick it up because I loved the book I read before it so much (this list is not in reading order), but it sucked me right in and was a quick read full of every emotion.

So good! Couldn't put it down. A page turner for sure!

This was good, but didn't suck me in as quickly as the author usually does. It was a slow start for me, but got very interesting about half way in. 

SO good! I was worried from the description that it would so intense I'd have bad dreams, but it wasn't that bad. It is definitely a thriller mystery that keeps you turning the pages. 

Typical Nicholas Sparks...predictable, but good. Took a little longer than usual to suck me in, but I read it quickly.

I've said before I am not usually a historical fiction (historical anything) kind of girl, but I very oddly enjoyed The Grapes of Wrath the summer before my senior year of high school. This description game me Grapes of Wrath vibes and I usually enjoy this author so I went for it. Three super chill days at school (read: testing season) allowed me to move quickly through it. The characters were captivating as was the story. I don't know that I would have read it as quickly if life had been crazy, but overall I enjoyed it!

This was good, but a little redundant for me. She could have accomplished the same plot with "The 5 Husbands..." I was hoping for a bigger twist. She alludes to it several times and that's the real reason it kept my interest. I had to wait a long time for this book at the library so maybe I had too high expectations. 

Excellent beach read as always. If you're headed to the beach, this is the author you want in your bag.

So good! Read it in 2 days. Super intense. Fast moving. Keeps your heart racing waiting to see what happens. 

Quick, short, easy read. Reminded me a lot of the movie Valentine's Day. Several different plots all somehow connected. The author gives you enough about each character to keep you hooked, but wanting more. 

I didn't finish this one. The idea of the "what ifs" from different decisions in life is intriguing, but this one was too depressing for me. A main character who is so miserable she commits suicide and in the "in between," she's so disappointed with each option, she goes back to the "in between." I'm sure/hopeful it has a positive ending/lesson, but I couldn't stick it out. 

This author loves the f word...as in it's really the only profanity used. That and a few explicit sex scenes at the beginning surprised me, but it ended up being really good. It starts off bouncing back and forth between present and past, always leaving you wanting more from each. Then she switches to the past and works her way forward chronologically. It was an interesting way to structure the book, but definitely kept me coming back for more.

This is the first novel I've read by this author. It sucked me right in. I read it in 2 days. It is full of all of the emotions. Predictable, but still a good chick flick!

Really good! Easy read. Not as intense as I anticipated. Excellent plot twist!

Classic Jodi Picoult. Sucks you in and has plot twists you never see coming. It's impressive how she wrote a novel set in the pandemic so accurately so quickly.