Better Than Fiction by Alexa Martin

 

Lynnie

contemporary fiction, romance 

 

I am torn about Alexa Martin's Better Than Fiction. I enjoyed the characters and I'm always a sucker for a novel set in a bookshop, but the writing was... not great. The characters, Drew (who inherited a Denver bookshop from her beloved Gran), her best friend, the bookshop regulars, and her half-sister were all great fun as, of course, was love interest Jasper. I kept reading because I wanted to see if it would go anywhere and, in good romantic fiction order, it did.

However, the writing did not do the characters any favor. I don't mind swearing, but in this book it just felt like Martin was trying SO hard to make these characters modern or relatable or something. The constant swearing was just so strange. Once again I both read the book and listened to the audiobook, and I often wondered how the narrator wasn't cracking up at how awkward the dialogue was. If you thought hearing it would sound more natural, you'd be wrong- it was just cringe-inducing. 

 

There is also an entire subplot about Drew's father that could have been cut out completely and not changed anything about the book. It was, again, weird and awkward but also unnecessary.

Nicole Lewis did a decent job with this awkward material. I didn't notice a range of voices for the characters, but fortunately most of the novel is from Drew's point of view so other characters only spoke sometimes. I did not like Lewis' male voices however - there wasn't enough difference between the men and women, which I find pretty common in female audiobook narrators. I give her a B.

I enjoyed the details about Denver in the book - I have family there and have been to many of the places that Martin writes about. This would be a good beach read - for those times when you want to read but don't really want to think.

 

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

Amy   

fiction, family drama

Mia’s family is made up of two parents, herself and her twin brother, and their younger brother, Eugene. Eugene has autism and Angelman Syndrome that cause him to be non-verbal.  When their father disappears while at the park with Eugene, this family’s series of crises over the course of three days begins.

The main reasons for the initial investigation delays belong to Mia herself who, in unsurprising 20-year-old fashion, is fairly oblivious to anything other than herself and her own inner turmoil. The story progresses as Mia tries to do some of her own sleuthing while, at the same time, trying to help support her mother and care for Eugene. She is often a frustrating narrator, diving into too much detail about things which don’t bring the story forward. But I did like the way she would drop little bombs for the reader, giving us more insight into her family’s dynamics.

Honestly, Part 1, which covers the first 20% of the novel, was aggravating for me. Mia’s perspective was tedious, misguided, non-intuitive, self-centered, and slow. I kept mentally berating her on her tangential nonsense. It felt like this was a young adult novel geared toward middle schoolers where everything gets overexplained. The information learned in the first 20% could have been relayed in about 5% so it really tested my patience.  I was in almost constant annoyance that the kids were hindering the police investigation.

The entire first half of Happiness Falls continued to be frustrating because, literally, the family was plunged from one trauma into another without time to really address the previous issues.  A LOT happened to these characters in only a few days!  This book touched on a huge list of contemporary issues like racism, anti-immigrant sentiment, special needs resources, infidelity, feminism, anti-Asian sentiment, parenting criticism, COVID-related difficulties, hate blogs, the juvenile justice system, fact denial, confirmation bias, and stereotypes. In fact, the overall story felt contrived in order to allow Angie Kim to raise her many grievances. They were certainly all valid points. There just wasn’t any subtlety. I kept wanting more story and less agenda (that is, fewer internal musings by Mia).

The most disturbing aspect of the story to me is impossible to describe without spoilers. I will say that it’s shocking and concerning to learn that the criminal justice system could be so utterly ill-equipped to deal with people who have special needs. This storyline was truly eye-opening to me and, frankly, is the most important aspect of the story to be shared widely.  I kept hoping this was an exaggeration by the author but I fear not.

However, at around the 50% mark, there was a major discovery and then the novel became riveting. The second half of the novel was truly interesting and informative. I learned a lot about verbally-challenged people. The timeframe of this novel, in 2020, set it right in the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic. I thought Kim did a great job setting the tone into those illness-related restrictions and fears. The ending felt a bit unsatisfactory in its lack of true closure, but it was the best ending for the family.

The audiobook narrators were Shannon Tyo (voicing Mia and the bulk of the novel), Sean Patrick Hopkins (reading the sections from Mia’s father’s journal), and Thomas Pruyn (voicing Eugene). As an ensemble, they did a great job. Tyo was a good voice actor with a repertoire of voices and accents. I have no complaints about Hopkins’ performance but his role required no real acting or character voicing. And, learning that Pruyn has special needs and is an “unreliable speaker” who can read written words out loud, I thought he was perfectly cast to read Eugene’s words.  I give the ensemble an A for a job very well done.

   

Funny Story by Emily Henry

Amy      

Lynnie  

romance, contemporary fiction

Daphne’s fiancé broke up with her upon his return home from his bachelor party. Apparently, his best friend since childhood--a gorgeous, nearly perfect woman--confessed to him that she’d always been in love with him and, upon hearing this news, he admitted that he had always been in love with her! So, having nowhere else to go, Daphne moved in with her ex-fiance’s new girlfriend’s (ex)-boyfriend.

Amy's Review

 

I assume everyone can guess who ends up together in the end of Funny Story. 😊 But it was a very fun romance. Like Emily Henry’s other novels, the banter between the characters was witty, the characters themselves were likeable people who had their own unique issues, and books played an important part of the story. I did feel that Daphne’s and Miles’ hangups/internal fears seemed a bit overplayed, to my dismay. But, of course, they managed to eventually muddle through their issues until they were able to emerge from their self-punishment and see reality more clearly.

I must say I loved two little things that Henry threw in to this book. First, one of the character’s sons is named Mulder, after the X-Files character! Hilarious! Second is that a barbershop quartet was mentioned at one point. Hooray! I sing barbershop so I loved this little shout out to all of us out there who love harmony.

I both listened to the audiobook and read it on my Kindle, alternating as needed. The audiobook narrator was Julia Whelan who has narrated all four of the other Henry novels I’ve read. She does a great job with these romance novels, obviously. I will say that some of the sex scenes in this one seemed funny to me even though I don’t think they were intended to be. I think this was due to Henry’s writing rather than Whelan’s voice acting. But I also don’t think it would’ve been quite as funny if I’d been reading those scenes instead of listening to them. I actually laughed out loud once at the ludicrous awkwardness. Anyway, I’ll give Julia an A- for this one.

Lynnie's Review

 

It really is the year of the romance novel for me - I have read more romances this year than I ever remember reading in previous years - possibly combined - but honestly... it's kind of nice to know a happily-ever-after is on tap with all the drama in the real world. Funny story is a "meet cute" smorgasborg. Daphne and Peter meet on a windy day while chasing a runaway hat. Then Peter's gorgeous best friend professes her love to Peter and he decides he has always loved her too (sorry Daphne)! Then, Daphne, looking for a place to live, moves in with the Peter's new girlfriend's former fiance, Miles. Whew! Are you keeping track of all that? Obviously, shenanigans ensue.

The hallmark of these novels--miscommunication, bad timing, surprising commonalities and coincidences--all come together to create a genuinely feel-good, tug-at-your-heartstrings story. Daphne and Miles are wonderful (if a little whiny) and as always, Emily Henry has written side characters that make all your best friends look a little bad. Add in a library as one of the settings and what could possible go wrong?

Everything, obviously. But watching the pieces get put back together is a delight. Extra points to Emily Henry for not stretching out the "oh, no this will never work" portion of this romance any longer than necessary (especially after the last one I read!).

I listened to the audiobook and read the Kindle version simultaneously. I've listened to other audiobooks by Julia Whelan (who will ALWAYS be Grace Manning to me...#OnceAndAgain!) and I have the same complaint I had before. I love her character voices - she has a great repertoire - but her regular "narration" voice when she isn't in a character is kind of boring. And I thought the voice she chose for Miles was odd - I liked pretty much every other male voice she did OTHER than Miles, the main character, better. Still, I give her an A- for never letting me forget who's speaking- which is the most important part.

Bottom line, if you enjoyed Emily Henry's other books, you're going to enjoy Funny Story. Also, it might be my favorite cover of any romance book in a while, for whatever that is worth.

Amigurumi Friends by Jade Gauthier-Boutin

Lynnie   

 

crafts

 

This is a great collection of amigurumi animals from Jade Gauthier-Boutin. It has easy to follow directions for anyone with skills from beginner to advanced. I liked the variety of animals and really enjoyed the options of different body styles for each. It's a very clever way to to make each animal unique, even though they have the same basic components.

The pictures in the book are creative and helpful and there are step by step instructions for some of the more complicated directions. Gauthier-Boutin (@allfromjade on Instagram) offers lots of variation - from the body type to eyes and cheeks and a several tips to make your amigurumi extra cute. There are even QR codes that point toward YouTube videos for people who want to see specific stitches and joining techniques rather than read about them - what a helpful resource!

Thanks to NetGalley, Quarto Publishing Group - Quarry Books and Jade Gauthier-Boutin for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. This book publishes on June 18.

 

 

French Braid by Anne Tyler

Amy   

fiction

French Braid is a glimpse into the lives of several generations of one family.

I hesitate to call this novel a family drama due to the lack of anything dramatic. Frankly, I found it pretty boring…especially, the first 40 minutes of the audiobook which was just trivial dialogue between a college-aged dating couple. At the end of that chapter, for perfectly fine but not overly interesting reasons, the girl decides she doesn’t want to date him anymore. I thought, “Well, that’s 40 minutes I’ll never get back.” The only thing those 40 minutes served to do was introduce a couple members of the family. But we didn’t really learn anything about them in this chapter other than the fact that the cousins weren’t close.

The rest of the book wasn’t quite as boring as the first 40 minutes but it also wasn’t overly engaging. The characters were realistic as were their interactions. They led normal family lives. I couldn’t discern any compelling storyline other than to find out (1) where the cousins from the beginning section fit into the family and (2) why the son of the main family was provoked into an unusual mood during a vacation early in the book. 

The whole novel is basically a collection of short stories, each focusing on a few family members at different points in time. Yes, a few of the family members were a bit bizarre but no one was extraordinarily so.  I think French Braid is about family, change, and acceptance. The reader never got to know all the family members well enough to keep straight who belonged to which branch of the family tree. Even the characters themselves couldn't keep it straight. 

This is the second book I’ve read by Anne Tyler and I was also pretty bored with that one, The Accidental Tourist. Rereading my review for that book, this same statement about Macon in The Accidental Tourist applies to Robin in French Braid: "he couldn't seem to summon the emotion and drive necessary to make any changes". I know she is a beloved author but I guess she's just not for me. She seems to love writing about undriven men with no sense of self-advocacy. I prefer to read stories that take me out of the boredom of reality whereas Tyler seems to love writing about the mundane people in the world. I will say that the reason for French Braid's title is finally revealed at the 96% mark and it made me smile. It's a good title for this book.

This was the first book I've read that actually had a good-sized section about living through the COVID-19 pandemic and I thought it was well done. This was my favorite section in French Braid. 

The audiobook narrator, Kimberly Farr, was immediately recognizable to me from another audiobook I heard her narrate recently. And, as with the other book, I had to increase the listening speed because she speaks too slowly. Other than that, her voice acting and vocal repertoire were right for this novel. I especially loved that she sang a few times and I always love when narrators do that! She had a nice singing voice. I’ll give her an A-.

Sicker in the Head by Judd Apatow

 Lynnie 

nonfiction

I really enjoyed Judd Apatow's Sick in the Head and the interviews in it so I was looking forward to this follow-up. Unfortunately, I found myself bored more than interested.

Sure, there are some gems among the interviews (Cameron Crowe is among the best), but most of them felt like a lot of naval gazing and conversation I didn't really care about. In the original Sick in the Head, all of the interviews were interesting, even when they were with people whose work I was less familiar with. In Sicker in the Head however, I was often bored by the conversations I was reading and felt that if I had walked up to this conversation in the wild, I would have walked away and not even tried to join in.

Perhaps this book could have benefited from editing, or by including fewer interviews--it's hard for me to say. I only know it took me ages to read because I just wasn't that interested. The takeaway is that Apatow loves comedy and knows lots of other people who do, too. I think most readers' enjoyment will vary based on how much they like comedy, Apatow,  or the collection of people he interviews.

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

 

Amy   

fantasy

Tress has grown up on a remote island in a small mining town where she works as a window washer.  The “sea” around her island is made up of millions of sand-like spores which are toxic and fatal. The people in this world have adapted to these local dangers.  When the boy Tress has grown to love is taken off the island by his father and traded to The Sorceress, Tress decides to rescue him. She sets off on an impossible mission with hardly any preparation or resources.

This “girl saves boy” story is a refreshing twist on the typical trope. The world Brandon Sanderson created for this novel is as unusual and creative as his other novels. The characters are also terrific, as expected. However, Tress of the Emerald Sea is geared towards a younger audience than I typically enjoy reading.  Don’t get me wrong, it was fun. But it was also goofy with juvenile humor which fell flat for me. And the spore-science and experimentation scenes didn't hold my interest, causing me to speed up the audiobook through those sections.

I was, however, charmed by the novel’s narrator being one of the secondary characters in the tale. I don’t believe I’ve ever read that sort of point of view before. The narrator refers to himself in first person and also makes side comments to his audience of readers, similar to some movies I’ve seen where the actor steps out of his role momentarily to address the audience. I liked that aspect.

The audiobook narrator, Michael Kramer, narrates all of Sanderson’s novels.  He did a good job like he usually does. He had a nice variety of voices and accents which complemented the story. I give him an A-.

Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller

Lynnie

contemporary fiction

 

As a Little Free Library steward, Kristen Miller's book, Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books, immediately got my attention. I was smitten by the idea of the community coming together to fight against book banning and the first chapter had me laughing out loud. This book is a liberal revenge fantasy where the young people are here to save us all. Miller paints a world in which a good book in the right hands and a little bit of common sense can shame and tame even the hardest of hearts or most hateful of individuals - or at least save those who suffer from their ignorance and violence.

Honestly though, the book got tedious very quickly. As someone who is pretty darn liberal, it was was weird to think about how much this book is going to turn away about half the country almost immediately. Are you very conservative? Big fan of Fox News? You are not going to like this book one bit.

It was interesting to see it described as satire; I would not have categorized it that way with the exception of the first scenario with Wilma Jean Cummings, the 80-year old former attorney general. The topics Miller chooses to tackle through her characters are varied and serious though she does maintain a remarkably light tone in the face of such difficult subjects (topics include: rape, Nazis, racism, homophobia, slavery, suicide...). Some of the situations infuriated me more than others, but by the fifth or sixth scenario I found myself stuck thinking how awful the entire town is. They have chosen to elect and elevate the people they have; they have chosen to keep their secrets. And while I believe in the power of a good book to open hearts and minds, it really just seemed to trivialize some of these very serious situations.

Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books will be published on June 18, 2024. Special thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.