The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Goodreads blurb: Throughout her life Sybil Van Antwerp has used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings around half past ten Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter. Sybil expects her world to go on as it always has. A mother, grandmother, wife, divorcée, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a full life. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes the letter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.
My take: 4.5 out of 5. I don’t think this would have been a book I picked out on my own, But I had heard so much buzz, and it was at the top of best books of the year by Jordy’s book club that I though I had to check it out. I am so glad I did because this book is gorgeous. All told in letters, the whole concept is brilliant. I did this in audiobook and highly recommend it as the narration is stellar and all the characters are so well done. In general I did not think I could be this engaged about a book of letters, but oh how I absolutely adored Sybil by the end of this book and was at the edge of my seat as to what was going on in her quiet retired life and also who the mystery writer was. Gorgeous writing, gorgeous characters, vibes throughout.
The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young
Goodreads blurb: In the small mountain town of Jasper, North Carolina, June Farrow is waiting for fate to find her. The Farrow women are known for their thriving flower farm—and the mysterious curse that has plagued their family line. The whole town remembers the madness that led to Susanna Farrow’s disappearance, leaving June to be raised by her grandmother and haunted by rumors
It’s been a year since June started seeing and hearing things that weren’t there. Faint wind chimes, a voice calling her name, and a mysterious door appearing out of nowhere—the signs of what June always knew was coming. But June is determined to end the curse once and for all, even if she must sacrifice finding love and having a family of her own.
After her grandmother’s death, June discovers a series of cryptic clues regarding her mother’s decades-old disappearance, except they only lead to more questions. But could the door she once assumed was a hallucination be the answer she’s been searching for? The next time it appears, June realizes she can touch it and walk past the threshold. And when she does, she embarks on a journey that will not only change both the past and the future, but also uncover the lingering mysteries of her small town and entangle her heart in an epic star-crossed love.
With The Unmaking of June Farrow, Adrienne Young delivers a brilliant novel of romance, mystery, and a touch of the impossible—a story you will never forget.
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
My take: 4 out of 5. I really liked this book, but I wanted to love it and there were just things that didn’t fully gel for me. It also might be a matter of expectations, I’ve loved her books and everyone in my book club adored this book so I felt like it was going to be a 5 star read for me. IT was great but not perfect. What did I love? I always love the mysterious and this had it in spades, and the unwinding of how this story came about is amazing. However that was one of the downsides when it gets so confusing that you start loosing some of the plot in the how is this happening? Did I really understand? at some point I was lost and thinking the timeline did not make sense.
I absolutely loved all the female relationships, but I felt there was something lacking in the romantic relationships. I didn’t fully believe them and their power as much as I did the family relationships. The twist at the end? Gorgeous!
Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson
Goodreads blurb: A twisty thriller about a young woman trying to solve her own murder.
In seven days Jet Mason will be dead.
Jet is the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Woodstock, Vermont. Twenty-seven years old, she’s still waiting for her life to begin. I’ll do it later, she always says. She has time.
Until Halloween night, when Jet is violently attacked by an unseen intruder.
She suffers a catastrophic head injury. The doctor is certain that within a week, the injury will trigger a deadly aneurysm.
Jet has never thought of herself as having enemies. But now she looks at everyone in a new light: her family, her former best friend turned sister-in-law, her ex-boyfriend.
She has at most seven days, and as her condition deteriorates she has only her childhood friend Billy for help. But nevertheless, she’s absolutely determined to finally finish something:
Jet is going to solve her own murder.
My take: 4 out of 5. This is a weird one to rate. On the one hand this has to be one of the best premises and ideas for a book that I have read in a while. Truly original and bonkers and for a who dunit lover like me, a great ride. So for that all the stars. However it lost me a bit in execution. First of all do not do the audiobook, the voices are just absolutely terrible. Second, the execution of her solving her own murder had some practical issues. I could not believe after her being in the hospital she was running around and doing all she was doing. It was fun, but somewhat farfetched and not really believable. I still however loved the process and was taken for a loop in the end.
The Re-Do List by Denise Williams
Goodreads blurb: What would you do with a second chance at your first time? Following a bad breakup, Willow Lewis tackles a re-do list with the help of her brother’s best friend in this sweet and sexy new romance from USA Today bestselling author Denise Williams.
Willow experienced all her big firsts with her high school sweetheart. Now, reeling from their very public breakup, she wants to get a re-do on those important moments. While dog-sitting for her brother during his deployment, she has a chance to start over and spending time with his best friend gives her the confidence to start checking items off her “Re-Do list.”
Deacon promised his best friend two things when Cruz left for a that he’d look out for Willow, and that he’d keep his hands off Cruz’s baby sister. “Operation Re-Do” is innocent enough at Deacon likes Willow and he’s willing to help her out any way he can. But when the list of firsts turns from a first dance to first kisses and more, Deacon can’t deny the connection he feels to Willow.
As Deacon’s and Willow’s firsts turn to seconds, thirds, and fourths, this pair can’t get enough of each other—and they support each other through new challenges. But they are both aware there’s an end date to Willow’s time in town… and even if she were to stay, Deacon doesn’t know how to choose between his loyalty to his closest friend and the woman he’s fallen in love with. With no more romantic moments on her list for them to re-do, can these two still find a way to stay together?
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
My take: 3.75 out of 5. I absolutely love Deacon and their chemistry just oozed out of the page. The redo concept was a bit farfetched, but it did provide give a great opportunity for them to hang out, so I will not judge the reason for her re do list, even though it seems a bit dumb. As much as I enjoyed the couple and the banter, something that really took me off the book was the little notes at the beginning. I really hated these the little notes, or the part of the to do list they were doing, at the begging of each chapter because they became a total spoiler. They should have been at the end of the chapters. Like if they are checking the first kiss one, Im here expecting the kiss all chapter instead of being surprised when it does.
Sidenote: I kind of love how its a trend in romance books for the sexiest outfit to be a man in sweatpants, I might not agree but im here for the debate.
The Dead Husband Cookbook by Danielle Valentine
Goodreads blurb: She has the recipe for the perfect murder… Maria Capello is a celebrity chef like no other. A household name, an inspiration, an icon. Her dozens of cookbooks and weekly television show, broadcast from her beautiful Italian-style kitchen, not to mention her line of bestselling supermarket sauces. And of course there’s her history. Once just the timid wife of famous chef Damien Capello, she stepped into the spotlight after Damien’s mysterious disappearance twenty years before. An event she’s never spoken about publicly until now, when it is announced that she is looking for a publisher for her memoirs.
Why is Maria willing to finally break her silence? Why does she turn down seven-figure offers from large publishing houses and sign up with a small press? And why does she do so on the condition that it is edited by Thea Woods? Thea is a lifelong fan but has never met Maria and can’t figure it out, plus she had been planning to hand in her notice that very day. But when she is invited to Maria’s remote farm to work on the manuscript, she can’t resist. After all, she may finally learn whether the rumors are that Maria killed Damien for his recipes and the legendary ‘secret ingredient’…
My take: 2.5 out of 5. It’s less gruesome than the cover makes it out to be, but far less engaging. I really wanted to like this but I was not enthralled with the mystery of it all. I instead moved to 2.5x listening and just wanted to know how it ended (basically i just wanted to know if there actually was a dead husband, and where they actually eating dead people?). I have to say the twists at the ends made me happy I didn’t DNF and kept with it, but they should have hooked me way before the 90% mark,
Something that probably works great in print but didn’t translate to audio were the recipes. Here I was wanting the action to go faster and I was stopped in my tracks at the end of the chapter with a narration of a cooking recipe. By the middle I just wanted to fast forward, but not always being able to.
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