Recursion by Blake Crouch

Lynnie   

Amy     


science fiction, thriller

When a small group of scientists develop a method for allowing people to go back and “reset” the world to a prior point in time, the results are catastrophic. 

Lynnie's Review

I previously loved Blake Crouch's book Dark Matter so I was eager to read Recursion. Let me say this- Crouch really knows his way around a multi-verse.

Focusing on memories- preserving them, navigating them- Recursion is a wild ride that keeps you on your toes and makes you question the way time and memory can be manipulated and what they really mean. The book builds slowly as we get to know the characters and the circumstances that brought them together but once things coalesce, the story pushes ahead full steam ahead and gets difficult to put it down.

Make no mistake, this is a thriller. There are good guys, bad guys, and a lot of grey area in between while reality bends and shifts, often with harrowing results. There were a few times while listening that I tried to predict what would happen, but I was rarely successful- which made me very happy.

I listened to the audio book during a road trip. I really enjoyed listening to Jon Lindstrom (Kevin and Ryan Collins on General Hospital!) and Abby Craden- their voices really helped me feel immersed in the story.

Amy's Review

Again with the alternate realities!  Blake Crouch makes a habit of forcing his readers to explore string theory, the Mandela Effect, and other space/time theories that blow our minds.  While I love to contemplate time travel in the simplest sense, I don’t like having to think so hard to swallow his science fiction in Recursion.  However, once he sets the rules for this novel, he does creatively explore all the nooks and crannies of his defined universe. There are moments when this novel is gripping. But I spent most of the novel thinking that I probably won’t read any more of his novels.  Don’t get me wrong. Recursion wasn’t bad. It was just a bit over the top for me.

The story was told from two perspectives (Helena, the scientist who made this technology possible, and Barry, whose life’s tragedies are fixed, erased, and altered) and various time periods.   I really liked Barry as a character and he was my favorite thing about the novel. I also liked the way the novel ended.

The audiobook was narrated by two people: Abby Craden voiced Helena while Jon Lindstrom voiced Barry. Abby did a great job.  I give her an A for her voice acting, character voices, and accents. Jon disappointed me with unemotional delivery through much of the novel. He displayed great voice acting when narrating heart-wrenching portions of Barry’s story. But large portions were bothersome. I give him a B.

Diamond Doris by Doris Payne

Lynnie

nonfiction, memoir

According to the book jacket, Doris Payne used charm and wit to steal jewelry across six decades and multiple countries. Diamond Doris purports to tell her story, her way.

Unfortunately I was disappointed throughout this book. I saw something about Doris Payne on the news recently and thought that she, and her story sounded interesting. I was wrong.

No doubt, Doris had a rough and tumultuous childhood but her over-inflated sense of entitlement and her need to steal just didn't entertain me. Her tales felt very exaggerated to me and her note at the end of the book, "Did I imagine some of this, make it up, elaborate it, polish it like a good diamond...?" just confirmed for me that her legend is biggest in her own mind.

What Doris thought was exciting, adventurous, and bad-ass, I thought was sad, lonely, and pathetic. She's a thief, who had utter contempt for her victims, little regard for her own family, and an absurdly high opinion of herself. This book is how Doris wants to be remembered, (and based on the movie coming out, it will be), but I just found the entire tale miserable.

Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Amy   

romance

In this fictional alternate reality world, the 2016 U.S. presidential election was won by a woman (a fictional woman—not Hilary Clinton). The novel is told from the viewpoint of her 21-year-old son, Alex, the younger of the two First Children who are both living in the White House.  Alex finds himself falling in love with the Prince of England (whose family is also an alternate fiction) and it doesn’t seem like the 2020 U.S. election year is the best time for this relationship to become public knowledge.

Red, White, and Royal Blue was the Goodreads Choice 2019 winner forthe Best Romance Novel and the summary sounded unique, so I decided to read it. I'm so glad I did! The alternate world in which this story took place felt feasible and the young characters were all smart and fun. The adults were a bit extreme in their behaviors but the novel still gave the reader an impression of life at the White House and within the British monarchy. It also gave insight into political affairs and people who have to worry about their public image. The romance was heated and fast-paced. I really enjoyed it and found it to be a welcome escape from the reality of self-isolation. I loved the message of acceptance and diversity and love. I believe this was Casey McQuiston’s first novel and I’ll be happy to read more from her.

Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes

Lynnie

Amy   

contemporary fiction

Evvie Drake is a widow whose husband was emotionally abusive though she never told anyone about it. After her husband's death, Evvie withdraws from her community, with the exception of her best friend, Andy, and some family. Enter Andy's childhood friend, major league pitcher, Dean, who, suffering a serious case of the yips, moves into the in-law apartment in Evvie's home to get away from the rumors and the stress of being in the city.


Lynnie's Review

In Evvie Drake Starts Over, Linda Holmes has created a charming, frothy book  --  nothing deep or profound in its pages, but filled with interesting, quirky characters and a story that made me smile. I'm shocked how long it took me to read this book, but I enjoyed meandering with the characters and wasn't in a great hurry to leave them. This would be a great beach read (or a great read when you're stuck inside during a Pandemic) that will warm your heart.

Amy's Review

Two people who are unhappy in their current situations are brought together by circumstance and turn out to be just what the other needed.  This is not an original story idea but is almost always satisfying. This was a balm for the crazy state of things these days. There is no mystery about how things would turn out but I still enjoyed reading it. The characters were likeable, their banter was cute, and their need for help to get out of their ruts was obvious.  Dean’s inability to pitch for the major leagues seemed like a more believable story than Evvie’s inability to move forward despite being rid of her husband as she wanted. But I went with it. I don’t have much more to say because there isn’t much to the story. The romance was fun to watch and, by the way, this one was not sexually explicit. People make differences in other peoples’ lives, people address their own issues, and people end up happy.

This was the third audiobook I’ve heard narrated by JuliaWhelan. She does a great job.  She has a good repertoire of voices and accents and does good voice acting.  She was sort of stuck with the characters of Evvie and Dean who don’t really show much emotion but I’ll give her an A.

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

Lynnie

young adult fiction, series

From the Goodreads description: Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is a millionaire, a genius, and above all, a criminal mastermind. But even Artemis doesn't know what he's taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit. These aren't the fairies of bedtime stories—they're dangerous!

I bought Artemis Fowl years ago for my son to read (he enjoyed it) but never read it myself so I thought I'd give it a shot after seeing a trailer for a Disney version (which now that I've read the book, seems to be a dramatically different version). It's a cute and quick book, but also more juvenile that I usually read- I would guess it's a great read for middle schoolers.

That said, the story was fun and I enjoyed most of the characters and events Eoin Colfer created, particularly the descriptions of fairy life. There were several scenes that made me chuckle along the way, particularly those involving Mulch Diggums, the thieving dwarf.

It would be a great story for families who still like to read aloud to one another.

The Ritual Bath (Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus #1) by Faye Kellerman

Amy   

mystery

In The Ritual Bath, Rina’s friend, Sarah, is raped outside of the mikvah (a Jewish ritual bath house).  Detective Peter Decker is put on the case and finds himself drawn to the close-knit Jewish community and, particularly, Rina.

I really enjoyed this mystery. I liked getting to know the characters and learning about life in the Orthodox Jewish yeshiva community.  The casual religious slurs, sexual harassment, and racial prejudices portrayed were relevant to the time setting of the story but stood out to me today. The pacing of the discoveries and the character building were terrific.  I would like to read the next one in the series to find out how the romantic interests develop. I had never read a book by Faye Kellerman before and am glad someone in my book club suggested it.

The audiobook was read by Mitchell Greenberg. His knack for performing different character voices got better as the novel progressed.  At the beginning, I wasn’t impressed. But, by the end, I thought he did a good job.  I’ll give him an A-.  However, the production of the recording wasn’t great.  There was often a loud hissing noise in the background which was disruptive.