What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown

Amy     

Lynnie  

 

historical fiction, family drama

Jane was raised by her father in a 700 square foot cabin in the middle of the Montana woods during the 1980s and 90s, away from civilization and without most common household luxuries. Her father was brilliant but anti-government, paranoid, and reclusive. She had only one person she could call a friend with whom she rarely had contact. But she didn’t realize this was an unusual life until about age 17 when she began to want more exposure to the world and more control over her own existence. On the day she planned to escape, her father’s shocking actions completely changed her life.

Amy’s Review

This book has strong vibes of Educated by Tara Westover and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls—parents who have checked out of society and raised their children outside of modern reality, according to their own distorted world views. But this one was different, and possibly more egregious, since it was only Jane and her father in the family. There were no other people from whom Jane could learn about different types of personalities and socialization. And her lack of communication/news from the world stifled her understanding of human interaction and invention. All she knew was what her father taught her and she worshipped him throughout her childhood, up until she made a secret discovery which caused her to doubt her father’s integrity.

This book was entirely engrossing and topical. Even though it takes place a few decades in the past, the technology concerns in the novel still resonate and make even more sense today. Did Jane have some lucky breaks? Sure. But What Kind of Paradise is relatable, suspenseful, and parts will break your heart. I really enjoyed Janelle Brown’s writing.

I both read the Kindle version and listened to the audiobook. The main audiobook narrator, Helen Laser, did a terrific job. I thought she was perfect. Peter Ganim’s brief sections were a bit one-dimensional but his material was also one-dimensional so all is forgiven. I give them an A as an ensemble.

 

Lynnie's Review

 

While I found Jane's life fascinating, I found that after a certain point the story itself was completely predictable. There was really only one way everything could play out and... it did. Many years ago I read Janelle Brown's Watch Me Disappear and felt the same way. It was interesting, but most people enjoyed it much more than I did.

I'm not sure I would have read What Kind of Paradise if my sister and some other friends hadn't loved it so much. But don't let my lack of enthusiasm dissuade you from reading it, particularly if you like a thriller. The characters are interesting and I enjoyed revisiting the 1990s technology (though I'm going to stubbornly refuse to call this historical fiction) and remembering the internet's early days.

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

Amy   

science fiction

In an alternate reality of Portland, OR, George is able to affect the world via his dreams. Since he has no control over what he dreams, it frightens him that he has this power to change the world. In an effort to stop dreaming, he tries to suppress his dreams via drugs. Once his illegal drug use is discovered, he is sent to receive mandatory psychiatric help from Dr. Haber. Through Dr. Haber’s experimental dream guidance, George’s dreams are steered to make many impactful changes of questionable value and moral fortitude.

I think I’ve decided that science fiction dealing with alternate realities is not really my thing. I’ve read many novels of this type that lots of people love and I’m always underwhelmed. But I’ve finally decided it’s just not my favorite sub-genre of science fiction.

That said, The Lathe of Heaven had an interesting premise. The story was a little too heavy on the dream science and too light on the character’s lives for my liking. I probably would’ve liked it better had the ratio been the other way. But there were some really cool moments and Ursula K. Le Guin’s story gave the reader things to think about. 

The audiobook narrator was George Guidall. He was okay but has an old-sounding voice which didn’t really fit with George, the young protagonist. His voice acting was decent and he had a limited vocal repertoire. I’ll give him a B for this one.

The Love Haters by Katherine Center

 Lynnie 

contemporary romance, rom-com, audiobook

The Love Haters is my second book by Katherine Center and as much as I was looking forward to it, something about it didn't land right with me which is interesting because there is a lot I liked about it.

The Love Haters is about a documentarian, Katie, who is assigned to make a promotional video about the Coast Guard, specifically focused on rescue swimmer Hutch - who is internet famous for saving Jennifer Anniston's dog (yes, that's the story they're going with). Other characters include Katie's cousin and confident, Beanie; Hutch's brother, Cole, who also happens to be Katie's boss who gave her the assignment; their Aunt Rue, and her friends, known as "the Gals;" a great dane named George Bailey and some other Coast Guard side characters who were never important enough for me to learn their names. 

The thing is, I liked and wanted to cheer for all the characters (except Cole, he's a jerk from start to finish), and I still couldn't bring myself to really like this book. I was constantly frustrated with Katie's negative self-talk and the inability of the characters to actually TALK to one another. As much as I loved Rue and the gals, I just couldn't forgive that everything with Katie was one step forward three steps back. Was it realistic? Maybe. Was it fun to read? No. Absolutely not. Especially not in a book billed as a rom-com. 

There are some great books out there about overcoming insecurities and mental health challenges; this isn't one of them. While Katie's past experiences with therapy are discussed, it's clear she still has some work to do and it would have been a kindness if at least one character had said, "hey, maybe you should talk to someone" instead of trying to offer dime-store advice (looking at you Beanie).

I was particularly angry about some of the situations Katie is put in during the book. She is put in a terrible situation without her knowledge and I nearly stopped reading at that point, but decided to skim through some of it just to get to the promised happily-ever-after.

I read the book and listened to the audiobook, narrated by the wonderful Patti Murin, who has narrated a few audiobooks I've listened to recently AND I just realized is a bunch of Hallmark movies (my 2025 obsession - who knew?). As always, she did a fantastic job with the variety of characters and voices. 

The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett

Amy     

family drama

63-year old PJ reads in the newspaper that his first love is now a widow. He also finds out that he has a young grand-niece and grand-nephew, that they have been orphaned, they need a parental guardian, and he is their only living relative. He’s also recently found out that his ex-wife and his best friend are getting married. And he’s trying to stop drinking. So he decides to take the kids on a cross-country road trip to find his old girlfriend and ask her to spend the rest of her life with him. They are joined by his prickly, unemployed, 20-something year old daughter and a special cat who recently showed up. What could go wrong?

This was a crazy story! I really enjoyed the humor. I laughed out loud a couple times! Annie Hartnett even gave voices to the cat and some inanimate objects, which I loved! But this story deals with truly heavy topics: grief from losing a child/parent/sibling, alcoholism, loneliness, depression, and death (by suicide, murder, accidents, and natural causes…lots of death). The heavy serving of humor made the story usually feel more hopeful than heavy. But this novel won’t be for everyone.

The book title, The Road to Tender Hearts, is based on the fact that PJ’s first love lives in a senior community called Tender Hearts and they’re on a road trip to that destination. But PJ himself has an extremely tender heart. He’s had three heart attacks and can’t handle bad/sad news very well. He’s been through a lot with his own daughters and has been in need of mental health resources and support for a very long time.

The audiobook narrator, Mark Bramhall, did a great job voice acting. My one complaint is that his saliva was heard frequently. Other than that, he was well-cast as PJ and did a good job with all the characters and accents. I’ll give him a B+.

Time Loops and Meet Cutes by Jackie Lau

 Lynnie 

contemporary fantasy, rom-com, magical realism

 

I think this is my third timey wimey book of 2025 - in author Jackie Lau's version, it's a rom-com. 

In Time Loops and Meet Cutes, we meet Noelle, a mechanical engineer who goes to the night market and eats some magical dumplings that the vendor says will give her what she needs most. Evidently, what Noelle needs most is to relive June 20 over and over and over again. That's right, Noelle is stuck in a time loop, where her actions don't have consequences and she has no idea how to move forward. As always happens in a time loop, shenanigans ensue. 

Fortunately for Noelle, she meets another person who is also stuck in the loop. Avery notices some of the changes Noelle makes one day and they realize they have both eaten the dumplings and are able to become friends and support each other through the many frustrations of the loops. Noelle also meets Cam on June 20 and comes to believe that he is the key to breaking out of the loop because she keeps running into him at different places in her loop. Unfortunately, with each new June 20, he doesn't quite remember her as more than a sense of deja vu.

As expected, Noelle and Avery are eventually freed from the time loop and that's when things get particularly interesting. Unfortunately, that's also when I got most frustrated with Noelle. Where I had enjoyed the focus on their friendship during the loop and how much Noelle seemed to grow as a person, I was disappointed as she reverted to her lack of self-confidence and tucked herself back into her quiet pre-loop tendencies once time began to move forward again.

This is a rom-com, though, so I knew that Noelle's issues would resolve themselves including finding her happily ever after with Cam eventually. I mean, it's on the cover, right? It was a quick, easy read a would make a very fun vacation read when you're looking for a fun novel. 

I read the book and listened to the audiobook which was narrated by Cindy Kay and Raymond J. Lee. This is the second book I've listened to by Cindy Kay and I enjoyed her voice work once again. I liked Lee's voice, but sometimes he sounded a little stiff. 

Home of the American Circus by Allison Larkin

Amy   

fiction

Freya grew up unloved by her parents and, after a trauma, ran away, leaving behind her young, adoring niece. When she ran out of money and had to return many years later to her inherited, dilapidated family house, she finds her now teenage niece in need of her support. And Freya begins to rebuild her life. But it’s scary to be back near the people who previously hurt her.

The Home of the American Circus covers topics of childhood traumas, mental illness, found family, depression, drugs, and rape. By returning to her small town, Freya is forced to deal with the memories and people from her previous life. These turn out to be a mixed bag—some wonderful memories and some awful ones.

Allison Larkin does a terrific job writing this heartbreaking/heartwarming story and was particularly effective with the flashbacks triggered by what Freya was experiencing in real time after her return. Freya finally develops the courage and support to make positive changes for her life as well as for others’ lives.

The only parts of the novel that I wasn’t crazy about were the sections about the elephant, Old Bet, and Hachaliah Bailey (better known as half of Barnum and Bailey Circus). Bailey was from Freya’s home town, Somers, NY. So, the novel’s title plays on that. Plus, as I learned in the acknowledgements at the end, Somers is also Larkin’s home town. Larkin was using the idea Bailey’s circus as a metaphor for Freya’s crazy home life. I get it. But those Bailey/elephant sections pulled me out of the story every time. Thankfully, they were short interludes. True, Old Bet was significant to both Freya and Larkin, but I bristled at Larkin’s choice to interrupt the story frequently. I’d have preferred she put more of that information in the section about Freya’s research paper. But that’s just me.

This story does not end with all the loose ends wrapped up in a pretty bow. I think it’s right for Freya’s story. While she still has struggles and decisions ahead of her, much of her internal turmoil and unfinished business has been dealt with which is a huge improvement for her well-being.

The audiobook was narrated by Julia Whelan who always sounds snarky to me. But she worked well as Freya’s voice. Of course, she also has a good repertoire of voices and accents which served her well in her portrayals of the characters of this novel. She surprised me when she actually sang a few times! I love a narrator who sings and I don’t believe I’ve heard her do that before. Good for her! I’ll give her an A.