Welcome to Litsy!

A fun read. A podcaster returns to teach a class, at the fancy boarding school of her childhood where she was an outsider and her once roommate was murdered. Reads like a mystery, layered with interesting takes on the #metoo movement and grooming, collective memory, race and privilege, the exploitative nature of true crime, wrongful imprisonment and so much more. Sharp and nuanced, I found the ending unsatisfying but all the more realistic for it.

I found this very lack luster…. And just because it‘s about three thirty-something women, does not warrant the comparisons to Fleabag or Rooney it‘s been getting. I found the ‘feminism‘ dated, the characters dull, and just generally this didn‘t seem to have anything new or interesting to say. It‘s a shame, because the reverse love story idea is a good one…. #booked2023 #pop23 #lovetriangle #52bookclub23 #letterH #bn2023challenge #aboutafriendgroup

Just… so… good. Love Levy‘s writing…. These are more vignettes than stories, but still loved the heck out them. Perfectly imperfect….

I always love me some dark academia, and although this is no ‘Secret History‘ (what is?) I still really enjoyed this NYC story. The Met Cloisters, a museum specializing in Medieval artifacts, is the perfect eerie setting, and the study at the center of this novel is of divination and historical tarot cards. Secrets are in abundance, a fish is most definitely out of water, and motives are endlessly questionable. Twisty, atmospheric and lots of fun.

Wow. This graphic memoir of a musician and artist, who develops a rare condition after taking a headache tablet on vacation, is moving, harrowing and so heartbreaking. Such a scary story, as ‘friends‘ abandon her abroad, she goes into a coma, loses her sight, at some point her hearing and develops a terrible skin condition. As she briefly regains some sight and races against time to collaborate on this memoir, i felt for her so much. Inspiring.

An epistolary novella, set in the seventies….. A wife of a doctor discovers the evidence of the title. As she connects with the wronged husband on the other end of the affair, a friendship forms. Told through letters between both couples, it‘s a fairly straightforward story, but the ending has a satisfying conclusion.
#Authoramonth #AAM @Soubhiville

A fun epistolary murder mystery, that slowly reveals everything you need to solve the puzzle yourself. Told mostly through emails and whats app messages, ‘The Appeal‘ has a double meaning. Both as a fund raising effort for a poorly child, and for the efforts to release the wrongly convicted murderer of the late revealed victim. Clever and witty but takes commitment. It‘s not short, and there‘s a LOT of characters! But I found it worth the effort.

“People, aging and mortal, are like flowers, seasonal, wilting and finite; while I'm like a tree.”
Quiet and melancholy, a vampire story planted firmly in the ‘sad girl‘ genre, and I loved it. All vibe, little plot (i.e. totally my jam!), Lydia is a lonely young artist, trying to find a place in the world, without her mother for the 1st time, struggling with her ‘food‘ issues, and her immortality. Gorgeous writing, a really great debut. #netgalley

This was delightful, with definite Thursday Murder Club vibes. Richard is a middle aged Brit, running a B&B in the Loire, separated from his wife, and trying hard to blend into life‘s background. A Parisian divorcée Valarie, gives Richard‘s life the kick start it needs. They solve a village mystery, and we meet some pretty hilarious characters along the way. The sweary cleaning lady being a favorite! Funny and silly, and a lovely pallet cleanser.