While I hated considerably less books than I did last month, I don’t know that I’ll ever write a book review better than that one. So don’t get your hopes up.
Here’s what I read in April! Don’t forget that all sales from the links in this post go to benefit Twice Told Tales: our new/ used bookstore in McPherson KS.
The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentil
Download the audiobook here.
Order your copy here or in person at Twice Told Tales
I really like this author’s works–I LOVED The Woman in the Library and I might even have liked this one more than that if it weren’t for all the… tedious inaccuracies that I kept catching throughout the piece. It’s so important to get a reader/ editor from the place where you’re going to set your book if you’re not terribly familiar with it.
It felt like there was a lot of research done to determine, say, the names of streets and certain landmark businesses in Lawrence, which was fun! Love it when my favorite bookshops and restaurants get a shout out in fiction! But then other basic things were overlooked. For example, an American would never say “I just got out of hospital.” They’d say, “I just got out of the hospital.” I know it’s small but it really sounds strange to an American ear. Also, there’s no such thing as the Kansas Police Department. Here, it’s the [City] Police Department (so, in this case, Lawrence Police Department) or the [State} Bureau of Investigation (Kansas Bureau of Investigation).
Anyway, if you’re not an insufferable snob like me, and you really enjoy mysteries and have even a passing interest in the conspiracy-theory community, you’ll probably love this book!
When You Are Mine by Kennedy Ryan
Listen to the audiobook here.
Order the paperback here.
What… the fuck, Kennedy Ryan. And I don’t mean that in a good way. Technically, I didn’t finish this book. But I read 90% of it. Until I realized that it was part of a duology and this story would not be resolved at the end. At which point I actually threw this book in the trash so no one else would be subjected to it. YOU’RE WELCOME, MCPHERSON KANSAS.
All the marketing for this story makes it seem like such a fun rom-com. A cutie girl who grew up in foster care with few resources starts her own vintage resale shop and falls for a dark and broody millionaire in a forbidden lovers trope. Fun right? NO! Everyone has endured the worst trauma imaginable. And the author goes into too much detail. Like, a lot a lot of detail. Which would be fine if it served the plot in any way but it does not at all.
Content warnings for childhood neglect, severe childhood SA, kidnapping, graphic description of a shooting, spousal r*pe as a form of punishment (which, by the way, no one–including the author, seemed to think was a big deal. They kept saying, “I’m so glad he didn’t hurt her.” What the fuck you guys.) And there’s probably more but I definitely quit after the last one.
Anyway–Kennedy Ryan has been getting so much attention lately! This is one of her earlier works, so I am eager to read a more recent book of hers. But I checked the reviews on StoryGraph and it sounds like her books generally have a lot of trauma in them. So… we’ll see.
Worry by Alexandra Tanner
Download the audiobook here.
Buy the hardcover here or in-store at Twice Told Tales.
Ordinarily I don’t enjoy books in the “depressed twenty-something woman who lives in NYC” genre but I rather enjoyed this one. Maybe because it’s about sisters and I currently have such a complex, non-relationship with my sister that a story about sisters who love each other–even if they hate each other, was what my soul needed. But also, this story stayed on the humorous side of realistic. It didn’t get too depressing but it still felt very honest.
I liked the way that this book found a way to put words to the existential yearning of “god I wish I could just put down my phone and live my life!” Also it made me miss my sister.
Till Death Do Us Part by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn (pub date: Aug 13)
Pre-Order the Audiobook here.
Pre-Order the hardcover here.
Sometimes I need to hear from someone else before I know exactly how I feel about a book. And this is one of them. That’s why as soon as I finished this book, I gave it to my book bestie, Shulah. She loves mysteries and thrillers like I do. She also loves wine and this book takes place in the wine world (really made a case for natural wines and now I want to try some out).
Ten years ago June’s husband (to whom she’d been married for only a week) drowned and his body was never recovered. Now, a decade later, she’s ready to settle down with a new husband and a new life. But… suddenly she starts seeing her first husband almost everywhere she goes. And before she can commit to this new life, she needs to find out if she’s just seeing things or if he really is alive.
Funny Story by Emily Henry
Download the audiobook here. (My favorite narrator by far.)
Order the hardcover copy here or in-store at Twice Told Tales
THIS IS WHAT I’VE BEEEN LOOOOKING FORRRR!!! I’m sad this book is over because wow I loved it. It’s everything I want in a romance. It’s Emily Henry’s best work IMO. It busted me out of my reading rut thank goodness.
Daphne and her fiance Peter break up when Peter leaves her for his best friend, Petra. Petra leaves her long-time boyfriend, Miles to hook up with Peter. Which leaves Daphne out on the street and Miles with a free room in his apartment. So they become roommates.
The banter: impeccable. The fake dating: somehow perfectly believable. The side characters: utterly delightful. The spicy bits: maddening. In a great way. I have no complaints about this book and considering the mood I’ve been in lately–that’s nearly a miracle.
(In the middle of writing this a customer asked me what I’m obsessed with, and I so quickly sold this book to her. I worry that I overhyped it? But I know I didn’t.)
Open Wide: A Cookbook for Friends by Benny Blanco
Order here.
I read this book from page 1, skipping nothing. I think Benny Blanco is such a weirdo with a big heart. The way he talks about stuff is just strange and delightful and he seems to always default to a position of generosity when he talks about other people. Reading about how he stocks his kitchen is such a treasure. Hearing why he likes certain foods or memories of times with buddies is so endearing and also hilarious.
What I loved about this book is the way it’s organized. When I was just mindlessly flipping through it felt so random to me. One page you have a recipe for tres leches cake, another page you have a recipe for fried chicken, then a breakfast burrito, then oatmeal cookies. But once I sat down to read it, I recognized that each chapter is split up into different menus that he would make for different themed parties with his friends! Which is honestly the only way that I ever want a cookbook to be organized for as long as I live. Never again do I want to be expected to come up with my own menu.
Anyway–will I ever make anything from this book? Probably not. I have so many cookbooks and I still get all my recipes from Pinterest. I’m just gonna pass it off to a buddy so they can enjoy.
April started off kinda shitty in the reading dept but we ended on such a high note! Spring has sprung baby!