Big Little Lies - Liane Moriarty

Big Little Lies is about three very different women going through three very different scenarios. We have ex-husbands and their new wives, mothers at war with their daughters and drama in the school play yard. With one little lie leading to the next, the women are pulled into darker depths then they initially intended for themselves. 

This book is packed with lies, honesty and cruelty and a few important messages for the reader. A quick read and entertaining it does deal with dark topics so sensitive readers be aware. I found myself being annoyed as well with the parents and how they acted as young as their kindergarten children sometimes.

I am curious to see what the HBO show did with this!

How to Love a Duke in Ten Days - Kerrigan Byrne

I received this book in a Baecrate subscription and was instantly intrigued! Though it took me a while to finally start reading it. Almost 500 pages long I was intimidated by the size of this little mass market book.

Lady Alexandra Lane experiences the most horrific night a young girl could live through. With the help of her best friends she manages to get past the night and the three form an unbreakable friendship that is called upon 10 years later.

Alexandra has been blackmailed for years, and managed to keep it from her friends. Now though, her family is in financial ruins and she is in desperate need of a rich husband that will be willing to marry her and tuck her away from society. The Duke of Redmayne needs such a bride. Though they go into the marriage with intentions of using each other by staying away, they end up falling for each other.

Though this is historical romance and the women are therefor restricted by different circumstances of the time, Alexandra and her friends are strong willed women that fight for their rights and The Duke of Redmayne appreciates this quality in the group of friends and pushes Alexandra to be the best she can.

The beginning was great, but be warned you start the first page with a graphic and violent scene. Reading the dedication you will see this is a me too movement book, so maybe skip to the 10 years later part if you are sensitive to that. You did feel some of those almost 500 pages in the middle. It slowed down a lot and I think some of it could have been skipped. At the end we got a little suspense and thrilling mystery which hooked you back in and the relationships developed between the couple became important to the story.

Overall, a great read that went fairly quickly and I would definitely look for more works by this author!

How to Walk Away by Katherine Center

Ever read a book and it just punches you in all the feelings. That was this book for me. Was it problematic at times, yup. Was is the best written, eh. This was the book my soul needed at the time I read it though.

Margaret Jacobsen has worked for a perfect life and everything is finally falling into place for her. She is dating a great guy, Chip, and she just landed her dream job. So what if Chip is trying to force her into an airplane when heights are really, really not her thing? It is his thing and Margaret has a feeling that this might be a very special night for them.

One decision can change everything though. One moment is all it takes for everything to change.

This book gutted me. Margaret had goals and life ambitions and it is all dramatically changed when her narcissistic boyfriend pushes her into doing something for him. Margaret has to learn literally how to walk away from the life she was working so hard for.  Just coming out of a terrible relationship, granted didn't end in this same dramatic way, I was able to relate to Margaret so well. She overcame the impossible. While we read about people that let things knock them down and out of life, Margaret never gives up. Even when her friends and family are giving up around her. More importantly though we do see her struggle with depression and losing herself at times.

I needed this book. I loved this book. I highly recommend this book.

Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered: The Definitive How-To Guide by Karen Kilgariff, Georgia Hardstark

One day I was driving home from work and saw a bumper stick saying Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered and I was instantly intrigued. A little research let me know this is a popular slogan from a podcast "My Favorite Murder" and that the podcast creators released a book. So of course, I had to get it.

I am not really really sure what I was expecting, but its not what was delivered in the book. That being said, it wasn't a bad book! I think I was expecting more true crime and this was more memoir and personal stories and how the podcast came to be for the duo.

I am assuming that the titles for the chapters are catchphrases from their show. For each of these the particular author for that section discusses their life experiences as it relates to that particular slogan.   Some were very relate-able like "Fuck Politeness" while others were just meh and probably would mean more if you were invested in the show and the personalities of the authors.

This book hit a variety of emotions and added humor along the way which is my answer for everything. Though it was a good read for someone that doesn't know anything about the podcast I  think the target audience, the podcast listeners, would get more out of the book and enjoy the anecdotes much more.

Get Out of Your Own Way: Overcoming Self-Defeating Behavior by Mark Goulston, Philip Goldberg

Just like most self help books a lot of this is common sense and things that you already know just presented in a slightly different way. That being said. I really enjoyed this book. I listened to the audio version and I was hooked. I would pause it think about it restart the chapters to hear it again. I am even planning on buying a copy once bookstores are open again.

I think all of us are guilty of self-defeating behavior. Everything from procrastination to chasing dead end relationships. Being a "yes" girl gets me in emotional trouble with myself. I know I am a doormat for most of my "friends".  A lot of what was in this I was able to relate to and the insights made resonated with me and I cannot wait to review my life with this new information in my pocket.

The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse by Robert Rankin

How do I even begin to explain this book...

Let me start with, this isn't for everyone. You will want unusual stories with a specific brand of humor. Though this is a mystery, I am not sure how intriguing that was and was more of a device just to keep moving through Toy Town and to the next character.

I am getting ahead of myself though. 

So this was a book club pick, and this is why I love my book club. I am being exposed to books and authors that I would never naturally gravitate to or pick up. I liked the writing style in this book. I know some of the other members did not but I was entertained by it. It is the rest that kind of fell flat for me. I felt like maybe the author was trying just a smidge too hard to make the story absurd.

Jack is heading to the city to seek his fortune. After having a rough start to his adventure he ends up in The City finally only to realize that its inhabitants are all toys. These toys are second class citizens to the humans that are nursery rhyme characters that are being murdered in the order of their fame.

In this chaos Jack meets Eddie who is an alcoholic teddy bear who is searching for the missing the Detective Bill Winkie who was tasked with finding out who was murdering the nursery rhyme characters.

I liked the play on the characters and would have been happy travelling through Toy City learning about them in this odd retelling. I think the mystery just kind of through a wrench in me liking the story.

For Better and Worse by Margot Hunt

An entertaining book I kept coming back to see what would happen next.

Natalie and Will are married with an 11 year old son, Charlie. Their marriage is okay, fraying a bit around the edges. Then everything implodes. As they pull into school one morning there are police there. As the gossip mill turns the reason is quickly spread around the small community.

The principle, Robert, is being charged with a horrible crime against one of Charlie’s schoolmates. All the parents are shocked, but Nat believes the former family friend might be painted in a bad light.. Being a defense attorney, Nat digs in to learn more and as things are revealed decides to take matters into her own hands to correct what has happened to her family.

There are many difficult topics in this book that I think for the most part were handled well. I did not like Will and this could have been by author design. He was typical party frat boy married facing midlife crisis and blaming everyone but himself for his problems. We think he sees the error in his ways but the ending leaves a lot of open story lines, which I love and hate.

Thanks to Netgalley for sharing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

Agents of Dreamland (Tinfoil Dossier #1) by Caitlín R. Kiernan

I LOVED this cover. If you have a chance to pull it up and look at the detail please do!

This is Lovecraftian horror and slow apocalypse this little novella was disturbing. If this was fleshed out into a novel I think I would have enjoyed it more. It was written well and made me uneasy and horrified but it also left me very confused. Maybe because I dont know Lovecraft enough to understand the origins of the character?

If you love Lovecraft and you like horror, this is the novella for you!

Wayward Children by Seanan McGuire

This series is so hyped that I was worried it would be disappointing. I had the first book, Every Heart a Doorway, on my shelf for over a year before I finally picked it up as one of my last few books to be read in 2019. Now its the end of February and I am completely caught up with the series as its published today, five total books!

These are all short little novellas but they pack quiet the punch. I have to say though that Jack and Jill were my favorite characters and that made book two, Down Among the Stick and Bones, my favorite of all five books.

Though all the books were good the ones with Jack and Jill I definitely enjoyed more and was happy when they made an appearance in most the stories. I cannot wait for the continuation of this series!!!

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

Let's be honest, this book was a total novelty buy. I first saw this on Natasha's, My Reading is Odd, BookTube channel and just knew I had to have it.

Horrorstör looks like an IKEA catalog and is a horror parody of the IKEA store. I expected humor and was excited to dive in to the story and see where the horror part came in, and trust me it did.

The characters were exactly what you would expect when you walk into any box store with its variety of workers from the ones that just want to punch the clock and get through the day, ones just trying to run out the clock before they retire and the ones that want it to be their stable career and family. We get to know each character and their motivation for their actions and reactions and it keeps the plot moving right along.

The first half the book was comedic, the second half moved into paranormal horror and it did freak me out and gross me out and say WTF out loud. It was unique and interesting and I cannot wait to read more by this author!

Confessions by Kanae Minato

Wow...just wow.

This book, excuse my language, was a mind fuck.

You know when a comedian has his first joke and the punchline is great? Then he moves on in the story about something unrelated and then all the sudden you are back at the same punchline and it makes it even better? That is this book.

Have you learned about the Butterfly Effect/Ripple Effect? Where one action causes another and so on until the bat of a butterfly wind is a tornado on the other side of the world or the little stone ripple on this side of the ocean is a huge wave on the other? That is this book.

Yuko Moriguchi is a single parent that works as a school teacher. Her four-year-old daughter Manami is found dead on the grounds of the middle school where she works. It was ruled a tragic accident but Yuko knows better. Before she leaves the school though she has one more lecture and one more lesson to give. This sets ripples that were already going through the students to grow exponentially and over the course of the next school year to grow into a wave of punishment, despair, fear and anxiety to tidal over everyone.

This was told in multiple perspectives covering relatively the same time frames and events. It was a crazy ride and being a shorter novel packed a gigantic punch.

Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill

"No one puts on all that armor unless they been hurt by someone who didn't have no right to hurt them." Judas Coyne is an aging rock star that is sent unique and bizarre things just because that is his image. One day though through random circumstance he is put in the position to buy a suit that is supposedly haunted by a ghost and he just has to have it. When it arrives in a black heart shaped box the adventure begins. I was entertained but I was also a little bored. I think this book could have been shortened up a bit and had a better thriller/horror impact. It was a weird mix between slow burn terror and lots of crazy action. That being said, I enjoyed the book and can see where Joe Hill is finding his niche and pulling away from his father's shadow to claim his one place in the horror genre. I cannot wait to read more by him!

When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton

Another five star read by Chanel Cleeton!

I absolutely loved Next Year in Havana and had high expectations for When We Left Cuba.

Next Year in Havana we follow Marisol as she travels to Cuba to visit Havana and see where her family is from, specifically her beloved grandmother. In When We Left Cuba we follow those family members through the time of the political upheaval and how they got ousted from their home.

Though the books do not have to be read together I loved that we got to step into the characters lives. Where Next Year in Havana was more a romantic read When We Left Cuba felt more like a political mystery with a dash of romance. So keep that in mind when selecting which one you want to read! I highly recommend both though!!!

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Life was good

before I

met

the monster.

Crank is not the easiest book to read. It touches on very dark topics, but so do all of Ellen Hopkin's works.

As a kid I was exposed to a lot of drugs and alcohol. It wasn't very taboo and I had a very casual view on them. Kristina's dad was a drug addict that her mother divorced and tried to keep away from her children. It worked for a little while.

Due to a set of events Kristina willing travels to spend time with her father and her life is changed forever. Gone is the young naive girl and in her place is Bree, a drug craving and very angry heartbroken teenager. As with most scenarios with young girls and drugs, she experiences the lowest of the lows as her obsession and addiction with "the monster" grows.

I liked this book because I saw a lot of similar struggles in it. Not light reading. Lots of triggers. Be careful with the monsters.

Locke and Key by Joe Hill

In true form, I am behind on reviews. This being a new year though I am trying to to stay on top of my goals and actively reviewing is one of those for this year. Better late then never.

I ended 2019 and started 2020 trying to cram in some short books. I know that gets mixed reactions from the book community. It isn't that I just wanted to meet my goal (I was shy by two) but I also have a lot of short books on my shelves that I constantly overlook.

I saw Locke and Key on booktube first. I then found a copy of the first one at my local used bookshop, Bookman's. I eagerly snatched it up since we all know graphic novels cost so much! I was so happy to start this series and was greatly rewarded when I ended up loving it.

I read the first four books in 2019 and the last two in January 2020. I passed on the first one to my bookish coworker/friend and have haunted my local used bookstore since then waiting for copies to filter in to pick up the rest of the series since I borrowed them electronically from my library (love Libby by Overdrive <3).

The art in these books are fantastic and the story is unique. I absolutely loved my experience in this world. It was thrilling, it made me cry, it made me laugh, it made me want to jump in and protect the children from the demons and it made me want to fly.

I highly recommend this to anyone that loves horror/thriller/mystery and not afraid of gore and "triggers". Welcome to Lovecraft...