As has been said in other reviews, anger was the dominant emotion I felt throughout. Time and time again in stories of polygamy, it‘s the males dominating and brainwashing the females. While I feel anger at the men, it‘s the women who make me esp. angry, for allowing this to happen. Fortunately, the author of this book was able to escape and tell her story. I liked the audio, but the author‘s voice was too much of a monotone for this story.

Straddling the “pick” vs. “so-so” on this one, but ultimately going with Pick. No, of course it‘s not as good as Ready Player One because that was amazing and there‘s just no way a sequel could ever be as good. But I don‘t think this deserves quite the bad rep it‘s gotten. Cline does try too hard sometimes w/ the 80‘s references, but there were still some moments of genius in there. Didn‘t care for the epilogue, tho.

We do read more than wine labels, but we certainly read those too! 🍷
This was a portion of the gift I received from our book club‘s gift exchange earlier this month. Cheers! 🥂

I liked this, but given all the hype, I expected to like it more. Still good, and looking forward to reading more by this author.

I‘m not a classics reader, but I was looking for a quick read and this abridged audio fit the bill. I‘m sure I could‘ve gotten a much better feel for the entire atmosphere of the novel had I read the paperback copy on my shelf, but for an abridgment, I thought this was pretty good — not too choppy or disjointed. I enjoyed it! (Though the abrupt and unexpected ending took me by surprise.)

I am sad that this seems to be the end of the Dublin Murder Squad series. I read all of them back-to-back and now I feel kind of lost that I don‘t have another. Might be an unpopular opinion, but this may have been my least favorite of the series. Didn‘t dislike it at all — just liked it less than the others. Tana French has definitely become one of my favorite crime authors.

I‘m working my way through these (Dublin Murder Squad) in order, and each time I finish one I think it‘s my favorite. Yet when I look back at all of them as a series, I‘m not sure I could pic a favorite. They‘re all good and unique. I liked this one because it was set in a girls boarding school. I seem to be a sucker for those.

Read the book, then watched the Netflix adaptation. There were some differences between the two of course, but here‘s probably an #unpopularopinion ……. I liked the show better. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I disliked this book for many reasons. Obviously the subject matter was disturbing (child abuse) but that didn‘t bother me as much as the “why?”s I kept asking. (Why was only one of the 5 siblings singled out? Why didn‘t he run away or seek help? Why didn‘t the father step in? etc.). I don‘t want to minimize the importance of needing to share this horrific story, but it was not that well written. An editor could‘ve made this even more effective.

I‘m really enjoying making my way through the Dublin Murder squad series. This is book #4, and so far, I can‘t pick a favorite. They‘re all unique with a variety of crimes and characters. I‘m off to start #5!

Despite being very lengthy and a bit confusing with numerous characters and a complicated storyline, I do think this series just keeps getting better and better. Love the evolving relationship between Cormoran and Robin. I really am hoping there is another book or two coming!

This almost borderlined as a “so-so”. Not the best memoir I‘ve read, but still quite enjoyable as I learned a lot and had no idea Swayze was so multi-talented. I think it would‘ve been better had there not been so many references to his wife throughout. I get that he loved her and all, but sometimes it was a bit much. Makes me sad that he was gone too soon. 😢

I‘m really getting sucked into this series. Holy dysfunctional family! in this one, but it seemed realistic and was engrossing. I‘m a little sad that there were no references to characters in previous books, but still a good story and mystery.

The premise is a bit farfetched, but still an intriguing and atmospheric crime novel. I missed the character of Rob from book #1, but this was still a good read.

I absolutely loved portions of this book. But that ending…not sure how I feel about that.

I liked this a lot….until the end. It left me wanting more. This was my first read by Tana French, and I have to say I‘m now definitely going to be sucked into the Dublin Murder Squad series. As far as contemporary fiction crime writers go, I feel like French is probably one of the better ones out there. Good plot, but also good character development.

I read the book and then immediately watched the movie. (See above.)

I‘ve read a few (this was my third) of Tess Gerritsen‘s novels over the past few years. This one was more meaty than the others I‘ve read, bordering on historical fiction, which I typically enjoy, and this was my fave of hers so far. I liked it!

A little late to the party with this one, but no worries. Taylor Jenkins Reid writes with a fairly simple style, but in a way that‘s engrossing and easy to devour. Is it worth the hype? Yes, I think so!

I liked this, but it was a depressing story. But as with all of Chevalier‘s novels, it was well-written and good historical fiction.

I liked the book, mostly. Esp. the multiple narrator viewpoints. The movie, not so much.

While WWII rages in other parts of the world, Lithuanians are being torn from their homes under Stalin‘s rule. Though not as well known or as publicized as other aspects of the war, this was nearly as horrible. A sad but important part of history that many people, including myself, knew nothing about. The book was better than the movie (of course), but I finished both yesterday.

I am not typically a fan of circuses, but this was a book club read and despite my reservations, I enjoyed it! A nice mix of past and present, some mystery, some supernatural, and some dark undertones. But I liked the way it was all pulled together.

I liked this better than Six of Crows, I think mostly because I felt like I‘d become invested in the characters and wanted to know how things would resolve and where they would each end up. The book was a little long, but I was sad to have to say goodbye to Kaz and Company.

I remember loving this book when it came out, as twisted as it was. But as much as I loved it, i have a terrible memory and didn‘t remember much of the details or the ending. Didn‘t realize there was a series adaptation until recently. Just finished watching, and it surprised me all over again. Who has seen it? What did you think?

This was okay….nothing to get real excited about. The abridgment was kind of choppy, the plot was predictable. This was my first Nevada Barr read. Not sure I liked it enough to seek out any of her others, though I‘ve heard her Anna Pigeon series is better.

I don‘t even know how to review this one. There were times I thought the writing was brilliant, but then at other times I thought the author was trying too hard. But overall, this novel just did not come together. Lots of storylines that had so much potential in and of themselves, but that really had nothing to do with one another, most of which were unresolved, and seemed to just be compiled into a single book. I hated the ending.

Lots of red herrings here. It kept me guessing. I liked it, except for the fact that I really didn‘t like the main character, and it‘s hard for me to root for a main character I don‘t care for.

Told from the point of view of Wilkie Collins, this did not redeem him as a character at all. I found him cold, chauvinistic, and unreliable as a narrator. The story itself was okay, but dragged on in that way that Victorian period novels do. I likely would‘ve enjoyed this more if I‘d been more familiar with Wilkins and if I‘d actually read Dickens‘ The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which I have not.

I am not a huge fan of heist-type storylines (not sure why exactly….something about over-the-top rescues and unrealistic tasks makes them feel too fabricated in my opinion…But that‘s just me). So I know I‘m in the minority here with a so-so rating. But I do agree that the character development is better in this series, and I‘ll continue on with the next book.

This was okay as a quick in-between-other-books read, but it was somewhat unremarkable and fairly predictable.

❤️ this!

After a somewhat disappointing (to me) book #2, this last installment restored my faith in the trilogy. It wasn‘t perfect, but it did include a few surprises and a satisfying ending. I want to watch the series adaptation, but I think I‘ll read the Six of Crows duology first.

It seems that most readers liked this 2nd book better than the 1st. Hmmm…..not me. 🤔
I raced through Shadow and Bone. But I thought this storyline dragged somewhat. The middle of the book was a bit of a slog. Still….I want to know what happens next, so onward I go!

Audio all the way on this one, baby! Can‘t imagine this being as good in any other format.

I liked it! Quick read and enjoyable. Would‘ve maybe liked a little more background on Ravka and the Grishaverse, but maybe that will come in subsequent books...?
Onward!

I really love and miss this man. He is just such an intelligent and good person. He‘s also an excellent speaker. However, he can also get bogged down in the detail, and I felt like this was the case in this book. While I appreciated the details of his presidency (and didn‘t know or remember many of the events that he chose to highlight), I thought much of it needed to be condensed. It took me MUCH longer to read this than it should‘ve.

Between a pick and a so-so. Good story, but like most Victorian novels, it‘s long and bogged down with excessive details. I did like it, but wish it had been shorter.

This was a quick palate cleanser for me. Actually quite good for an abridgment.

I never know how to rate Neil Gaiman‘s books. I know many people love him, but his stories just aren‘t my bag. But I can‘t deny that he‘s a good writer and I absolutely love listening to his voice on audio. So there‘s that.

Well-written memoir. Though I‘m quite a bit older than the author and fortunately haven‘t had to go through anything remotely close to what she has, her writing style was easy to relate to. And I‘d love to drive across the country like she did, though probably wouldn‘t be brave enough to do it alone.

I didn‘t love this quite as much as most readers seem to have, but I did like it, and the slave conditions were truly appalling and eye-opening. I hope the upcoming pilot from FX does this book justice. Seems as though this has the potential to be great on the big (or small) screen.

Wow. This one‘s amazing. So many layers and really well written. So many thoughts buzzing through my head as I read. I wish I‘d taken notes and highlighted quotes (which I couldn‘t really do on audio). I really cannot wait to discuss this one at book club!

I love almost all of Joshilyn Jackson‘s books, both her older ones and her most recent, where she‘s shifted to more of a suspense/thriller genre. Thumbs up for this one! 👍

I mostly liked this. It was great to be back in the world of Panem. And as much as I wanted to hate Snow, he really wasn‘t such a bad guy, until he was. That was my biggest problem with this book. He seemed to change almost overnight and that just didn‘t flow right for me. But still...not a bad book. I don‘t think it deserves some of the bad reviews it‘s gotten.

Spring break....finally! 🏖 ☀️

I thought this might have the potential to be a little sappy, but it wasn‘t. Well-written with a good storyline. I liked it a lot and was sad to see it end.

Third and final installment of the Chaos Walking trilogy. I hate to say it, but I was increasingly disenchanted the further I got into this series. There seemed to be a lot of repetition in this last book, making it much longer than it needed to be. It‘s too bad. I really liked book one. The movie just came out last week to mixed reviews. I‘m curious about it, and hoping not to be too disappointed.

I‘m maybe not surprised that I‘m the first reviewer for this book. Not sure whether to rate it as “so-so” or “pan”, but going to be generous. The plot was decent, but the writing not so much. Lots of cheese factor.....I was doing lots of eye-rolling. 🙄.

Yet another Megan Abbott novel about mean teenage girls. The girls in this one were especially beastly. I cringe when I read how horrible they can be, esp. when I have a daughter of the same age. Still, this may be my favorite of Abbott‘s so far. I have some criticisms, but it was a wild ride.