Shelf Loving: July 2018

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

The House Swap by Rebecca Fleet

Published 05/22/2018

A free ebook, the following review is my own.

A slow- burn mystery. This book took a long winding path of revealing simple clues throughout. There was nothing gigantically shocking but a slow slide into intense drama. I think the story did a great job showing a marriage falling apart. How perceived wrongs and being on the wrong page causes tension and bigger problems room to move in. I think couples can relate to Caroline and Francis and how the child is one of the major glues holding them together during some of the rough patches.

Caroline wants to shake things up so when the opportunity for swapping houses for a vacation comes available she jumps on it. As Caroline and Francis settle into their borrowed home their relationship tensions start bubbling to the surface. It doesn’t help that the house seems to be cropping up clues of a past Caroline does not want to remember.

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The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian

Published 03/13/2018

A free ebook, the following review is my own.

This book was a bit slow for me. I felt like the author focused so hard on Cassandra's drinking problem and repeated it so much that I was too bored to enjoy any of the other workings of the plot. There were some twists at the end that I didn't see coming so that gave it what I needed to enjoy the story. If you like slow burn plots I would highly recommend.

Cassandra “Cassie” Bowden is used to being hungover in the mornings. She is not used to waking up next to dead men. Afraid to call the Dubai police she cleans up and sneaks out of the hotel. The lies build up from there until she thinks she is safely in New York. Trying to piece together the night, and remember if she killed the handsome stranger, she falls too deep into her lies to climb back out and ask for help.

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The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict

Published 10/18/2016

A free physical copy, the following review is my own.

First, the cover on this book is so pretty!

Second, this story… It made me feel all types of uncomfortable, in a good way. Albert Einstein is a well-known historical figure, but what about his first wife? She gave birth to three children and was a brilliant physicist. What is the phrase, behind every great man is a woman who pushed him there?

While Albert’s fame grew, Mileva gave up on her own budding career, or did she? As a woman her thoughts and findings would not have been readily accepted by the public. If Einstein, a man, were to publish them as his own though…

This was a very intriguing book and makes you think more about history that is not told in school. What if Einstein’s theories were not his own? Based on found letters this book could be history, or it could be fiction. Either way it was engaging.

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Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson

Published 05/08/2018

This was a free ebook from Penguin First to Read, the following review is my own.

I LOVED this book. It was constantly on the verge of being cheesy but damn! It was funny, it was sad. It had powers, it had teenage hopes and dreams. It was a great murder mystery with a twist! So happy to have received a copy and I cannot wait to push it onto my friends to read!

Mila Flores is an overweight teenage Wiccan, this doesn’t exactly translate to popularity in high school. When Mila’s one and only friend Riley dies she is devastated. Add that to the two deaths just a week earlier and things just don’t seem to be right in their small town. Mila uses the things Riley taught her and tries to bring Riley back to life to help her resolve what she thinks was a murder. It is not just Riley that comes back from the grave though. With a week deadline before the girls going back to their graves Mila is trying to get the girls to focus on their murders before the killer strikes again.

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Monday, July 2, 2018

The Smoke Thieves by Sally Green

Published May 1, 2018

I received a free ebook copy from Penguin First to Read, the following review is my own.

The first chapter had be hooked. I LOVED Tash's point of view. Then the point of view started switching constantly and initially I thought that it did not add a ton of value. I think the first third of this book could have used some ruthless editing. I know there needs to be world building but it didn’t have to be so dumpy in the beginning. That being said I did enjoy it, the last third especially saved the story for me. I would pick up the second!

The synopsis could use an overhaul as well.

Tash was sold to a demon hunter and has quickly learned and mastered her share of the trade, being the bait. Hunting demons and capturing their smoke to sell is illegal though and when a petty argument leads to a local boy stealing the hard earned bottle for cheap thrills an adventure starts for more than just Tash and the thief. In a town over, the Princess Catherine is about to be forced into marriage. Her knight in shining armor though is the man she really wants to be with. Her father just tortured and publicly humiliated and murdered his sister though. He last words signed though lead her searching for answers to why her death needed to be so brutal and public, what does it have to do with boys and smoke?

Even though it had pacing issues, it was a great YA fantasy and I cannot wait for the rest of the series!

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The Pisces by Melissa Broder

I received a free ebook from Penguin First to Read, the following review is my own.

Wow, just wow, and not in a good way. This book was trash. I should have known from the first page.

“I liked the smell of his meaty breath, which he didn’t know was rancid. I liked the warmth of his fat belly, the primal way he crouched when he took a shit. It felt so intimate scooping his gigantic shits, the big hot bags of them.”

It only got worse from there.

Next couple pages the author took several paragraphs to describe another girls butt cheeks hanging out of her shorts and how the questions a guy was asking her has nothing to do with the question, but about the girls butt line… like…what…

Everything was super repetitive like Bubba Gump listing the millions of way to prep shrimp (thank you Nate).

“I only wanted to lie around and eat sugar and fats: giant chocolaty drinks from Starbucks, bags of Hershey’s minis and gummy candy, tortilla chips with nacho cheese dip.”

As the reader, I am pretty sure I know what has sugars and fats in it. So much wasted space, yet not enough.

The only good part of this book was the description on her split from the boyfriend:

“The confusion of just wanting it to end, seeing someone you don’t love, but then seeing the person you did fall in love with. Getting what you want but it not being what you meant/want now.”

I personally connected on this since I was in a long, serious relationship of almost 7 years and it came to this same feeling. It was an in the same moment, I love him but I am not in love with him realization. This was basically the only sentence I liked though.

This book has a ton of BAD BAD BAD stuff. It was gross. It was not poetic. It was terrible. I only scratched the surface with the "intimate gigantic shit" with how gross this book is.

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The Girl I Used to Be by Mary Torjussen

Published April 24, 2018

I received a free ebook from Penguin First to Read, the review below is my own honest opinion.

The first half of this book was so very slow. Very, very slow. That being said, it was interesting enough though to keep me going and it was totally worth it. When Part 2 hits, those first 30 pages...BAM BAM BAM. There is still some pacing issues but holy twists!

Gemma Brogan is a real estate agent. While out of town for a conference she bumps into a client and has dinner. Waking up though she knows that there are things that went horribly wrong the night before even though she is having difficulty remembering what did happen. For a while nothing comes of it, then she starts receiving things, a photo of a kiss, a video of her complaining and more. Gemma still cannot remember the night though. As the threats mount Gemma fears for her already in trouble marriage. Piecing together clues she tries to find out what really happened that night, and the night from her graduation years and years ago.

Though there was definite pacing issues in the start, and couple at the end, I really enjoyed this story!

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