Layla by Colleen Hoover

Amy   

fantasy

Right from the start, Layla grabbed my attention.  Something crazy was obviously going on with the characters, Leeds and Layla, but the reader was not yet privy to the exact situation.  Layla was going ballistic and Leeds had her tied up and her mouth duct taped. Yet, based on the conversation he was having with a mysterious interviewer, this was something Leeds was doing for Layla’s own good.  The scene was very intriguing.

But the more I read and learned about them, the more I dreaded reading this novel. I found myself only reading one or two chapters every night before bed and then deciding that was all I could take. It was an interesting story but it was also infuriating. Leeds was the narrator and what he’d been doing was terrible. Just because he started out with good intentions didn’t seem to justify his actions. And then, near the end, it completely changed and got very creative. 

This novel was unusual and a bit bizarre. I give Colleen Hoover creativity points.

   

The Lost for Words Bookshop by Stephanie Butland

Amy  

fiction

Loveday generally avoids people and prefers to keep to herself. She works in a second-hand bookstore, The Lost for Words Bookshop, which is owned by an eccentric, jovial man and she loves nothing better than to be left alone so she can read. She agrees to attend a poetry night as a way to avoid a man who is stalking her. And she’s beginning to suspect that her unfortunate past is attempting to poke its way into her life. Her perfectly planned life begins to unravel.

This novel had adorable characters and was a very fun read. It was both heartbreaking and heartwarming. I truly appreciated Stephanie Butland’s sense of humor and laughed out loud a few times at things characters said. The story was told mostly in the present but with flashbacks to Loveday’s childhood. The pacing was terrific and I was never bored, wanting to know what had happened to Loveday and how she would get through this point in her life.

I love the name Loveday and rank it up there with Hermione and Myfanwy as a new name (to me) I will forever treasure thanks to its namesake character in a book I enjoyed.

The audiobook narrator, Imogen Church, was actually fantastic! However, her recording sound quality was bothersome at the beginning.  It was very pointy, sharp, and painful at times. Could it be that the narrator was too close to the microphone? Or was the recording overly digitized? I don’t know the cause but there were times when I almost couldn’t bear it. Thanks to the engaging story and the narrator’s excellent voice acting and vocal repertoire, I persisted. And, eventually, I was no longer bothered by the production quality. I don’t know whether it improved or I just got used to it. Anyway, I give Church an A+!

   

The Watergate Girl by Jill Wine-Banks

Amy  

memoir

This is Jill Wine-Banks’ memoir of her life, focusing mainly on her time as a Watergate prosecutor, the only female member of the team. The book's full title is The Watergate Girl: My Fight for Truth and Justice Against a Criminal President.

I’ve really appreciated Wine-Banks’ insight and input on MSNBC and wanted to read this history of her life. I was afraid I’d be bored during the Watergate details since this case has been re-hashed so many times throughout my life. But I found her memories and experiences to be fascinating. She reviews her entire Watergate experience from beginning to end, describing all the people involved in the case, strategies, considerations, actions, results, and even where most of the people ended up after the case. This book also includes a good bit of her own personal life. She was very candid and it rang genuine.

Jill was a trailblazing female attorney and I applaud her professional efforts. I’m glad she shared her story and I enjoyed reading it.

I listened to the audiobook. The Prologue and the Epilogue were read by Wine-Banks herself. The narrator, Cassandra Campbell, did well enough but I had really hoped to hear the author read her own story since I know what she really sounds like. Campbell did not have a huge vocal repertoire but she was effective with this memoir. I’ll give her a B.

   

The Bear and the Nightingale (The Winternight Trilogy #1) by Katherine Arden

Amy  

fantasy, historical fiction

Vasilisa is raised in a small town in Russia in medieval times to appreciate the stories of the spirits in the woods and to make offerings for their protection. But most people cannot see and interact with these spirits like Vasilisa can. Then, her father brings a new bride home who fears wood spirits and, instead, looks to the church to provide a safe haven. Egged on by Vasilisa’s stepmother, a new priest is driven to change the townspeople’s beliefs and traditions. Trouble ensues. 

The Bear and the Nightingale had a VERY slow start.  I almost abandoned it. In fact, I would have if not for the fact that a couple of my “similar book friends” enjoyed it. But there sure was a lot of mundane setup to get through—excruciating descriptions about things, people, and conversations. None of the characters were overly interesting at the beginning. I assume Katherine Arden based this novel on ancient Russian tales similar to the German tales made famous by the Brothers Grimm. But, truly, nothing was pulling me into the story at all.

Finally, around the 25% mark it started getting interesting enough that I was motivated to keep listening. And Vasilisa turned out to be a great character. But, while the ending was, gratefully, gripping, it then ended too abruptly. Even though the best part of Vasilisa’s story is likely to come, I am left without desire to read the next novel in the series due to this author’s pacing. I just did not appreciate this one. I was obviously expecting too much from it.

The title surprisingly names two minor characters—one did not even show up until the end of the novel. I found that odd. Again, I’m sure the best is yet to come. Too bad I have no will to experience it.

The audiobook narrator, Kathleen Gati, was incredible. In fact, she is also part of the reason I was willing to keep listening to the story and not abandon it entirely. Her vocal repertoire is excellent, her accents were on point, her voice acting was fantastic. A+

   

Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon

Amy    
Lynnie 

 

young adult, fantasy

Evie, a high school senior dealing with stress, has an odd encounter with an old woman who has, apparently, cursed her with the ability to see people’s love stories—beginnings, middles, and ends. A book the woman gave her called Instructions for Dancing leads Evie to a dance studio for lessons where she is convinced to join a dance competition with the handsome grandson of the studio owners.

Amy's Review

Because I loved Nicola Yoon’s other novels, I was excited to read this one. However, I got worried at the beginning because it seemed like a teen angst novel that wouldn’t interest me. Thankfully, I was quickly sucked in by the fantasy element to the story and by the adorable characters. I had forgotten how marvelous Yoon is with her characters. They and their situations were compelling. I especially adored all of the chapters that dealt with “typical” romance novel tropes and structures. So fun!

It was a quick, fun read with a bittersweet ending and was just what I needed after reading several ho-hum, overly long novels recently.

Lynnie's Review

I've read a few books by Nicola Yoon (The Sun is Also a Star, and Everything Everything) and enjoyed them so I was thrilled to pick up another novel of hers.

Like her other books, Yoon has created a really wonderful set of characters and I absolutely enjoyed their story. A little bit of magic, a lot of dancing, the exuberance of teenage love and friendship, and the dynamics of broken families were a wonderful combination and kept me interested throughout. Still, as much as I enjoyed the story, I didn't love the bittersweet ending. I just felt that Evie, X, and all the supporting players somehow deserved... more. And yes, I realize that was exactly the point, but I was still a little sad about it all.

This was a quick read- you know it must have been if I finished it within a week- and I think that fans of Yoon's other books will absolutely enjoy it.

   

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich

Amy  

historical fiction

The Night Watchman is about the people in a South Dakotan Chippewa community in the 1950s.  Louise Erdrich introduces us to many characters and takes us through a slice of their life and interactions as they battle for their rights, their loves, their families, and their futures.

The night watchman of the title is based on the author’s grandfather and Erdrich shines light on the struggles of native Americans to retain their own lands and customs. But, for me, the most engaging storyline was Pixie’s. I found myself disappointed every time we moved to anyone else’s point of view. Sometimes Erdrich even gave us the point of view of animals and ghosts. It was meant to get to the heart of the Chippewa culture and lifestyle and I give her creativity points. Her story effectively described the hardships and pleasures of these people. However, it was pretty slow-paced overall.

The narration was performed by the author. This is the second of her novels that I’ve heard her narrate. She does a reasonably good job at voice acting which helped me enjoy the novel. I think she did a better job with this one than the other one I listened to. I’ll give her a B.

   

The Hidden Palace (The Golem and the Jinni #2) by Helene Wecker

Amy   

fantasy, historical fiction

Picking up where The Golem and the Jinni ended, Chava (the golem) and Ahmad (the jinni) attempt to build an acceptable life together in New York City at the beginning of the 20^th century. Helene Wecker does a good job reminding the reader about the events of the first novel which I really appreciated since it had been seven years since I’d read it!

While I wanted to keep reading because I loved The Golem and the Jinni so much, The Hidden Palace was very slow-paced for the first third of the novel and I had trouble finding the motivation to pick it up and read. Chava and Ahmad were living mundane lives and there was no growth, no action, nothing to pull me in. A few additional characters were introduced but they did not have storylines that were overly interesting either. Finally, the plot kicked into gear around the ¾ mark. But that sure was a long slog considering I gave The Golem and the Jinni 5 stars and listed it as one of my favorite novels read in 2014! This one was nowhere near as satisfying. In fact, I might’ve abandoned it if not for my love of the original novel.

I alternated between reading the novel and listening to the audiobook. The audiobook narrator, George Guidall, spoke in a clipped manner, sometimes sounding as if he’s got a slight speech impediment (dentures maybe?). I sometimes had trouble understanding him and had to rewind to listen again. After looking him up, I was shocked to learn he’s “widely recognized as the world’s most acclaimed and prolific audiobook narrator” (per his website). I honestly did not appreciate his narration. He has almost no vocal repertoire. He takes breaths at odd places within sentences and rushes through the text in between these breaths. Perhaps he was better in his younger years. His vocal acting isn’t terrible but it’s not what I view as worthy of “acclaim” either. Since I am only grading him on this performance, I have to give him a C+. I’ve had a string of really terrific narrators lately and he is not in the same league as them, in my opinion.

   

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Amy   

fiction

In Malibu Rising, the Riva kids have grown close through their childhood hardships. Now they’re in their 20s and on the verge of making important life decisions. Told over the course of 24 hours on the day of Nina’s big annual party, we learn about their past and the drama of their lives.

The book description did not really interest me but I have really enjoyed the two other novels I’ve read by Taylor Jenkins Reid so decided to give it a chance. Her novels are always soap opera-ish.  In the other novels I’ve read, the stories developed quickly into something that felt more complex or meaningful. However, this one really is mostly just a soap opera. At first, it’s a family drama involving a rich, famous family. It becomes a character study on the Hollywood elite types of personalities. The people in this novel all felt real, sadly. I enjoyed the heart of the story involving siblings sticking together through difficulties. But I can’t say I was overly entertained about the rest of it. In the end, this novel was exactly what I expected and not nearly as good as Reid’s two prior novels.

   

The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary

Amy   
Lynnie

contemporary fiction

Addie and Dylan broke up a couple years ago but are both on their way to a mutual friend’s wedding when Dylan’s car crashes into Addie’s. The five people who had been riding in the two cars must now squeeze into an Austin Mini for The Road Trip to the wedding.

Amy's Review

The novel switches between scenes from “Then” (when Addie and Dylan met and dated) to “Now” (while on the road trip).  From the Then sections, we learn about their relationship and their past. From the Now sections we see that both of them seem to have unresolved feelings toward each other and some obvious mutual physical attraction. The point of the story is to find out what eventually happened to break them up and how they will find their way back to each other.

It was a cute story but I found myself lacking desire to return to reading it. It isn’t the kind of tale that grabs you. Rather, the reader can see how this one will end up and I think the journey (both literal and figurative) to get there feels like it takes longer than it should. I kept looking to see how much was left of the novel. The toxic relationships were a bit excruciating. But I did like the quirky characters and the bizarre situations in which they found themselves on many occasions. Sadly, I did not enjoy it as much as Beth O'Leary's other novels. But her trademark humor was evident.

Lynnie's Review

Having read, and loved, a few other books by Beth O'Leary (The Flatshare and The Switch), I was eager to give The Road Trip a try.

As always, O'Leary has written wonderful characters that it's easy to grow fond of and cheer for. However, this book is my least favorite of the three books by her that I've read- mostly because it was SO predictable, and kind of dragged on sometimes. The chapters alternated between "now" and "then" or as I began to think of them as "I hate you" & "I'm obsessed with you"- at some point all the back & forth felt really ridiculous.

So, I'd put this firmly in the beach read pile- uncomplicated, occasionally sexy, with fun characters (even the villains are lovely, which is actually sort of disturbing now that I think about it) and an easy story to follow.