Liv wakes up in the back of a cab with no idea how she got there or where she’s going, the only clues a bloody knife in her pocket and messages scribbled on her body, many of which urge her to “STAY AWAKE” (*snap snap*)
Meanwhile, detectives are investigating the murder of a man who was stabbed in his bed, the same “Stay Awake” message left at the crime scene. Is Liv a victim or a murderer? Not even she knows the answer.
Stay Awake is a well plotted and paced, twisty thriller. It held my interest and had me anxious to find out how all the pieces fit together. Thrillers aren’t always my jam, but I quite enjoyed this one.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced review copy.
I’ve sat on reviewing this book for a long time because I struggle to find the words to convey my thoughts about it in a succinct way.
I’m giving up on a comprehensive review and instead I’ll say Against the Loveless World is beautiful and wrenching, an immersive story of a Palestinian woman displaced by politics, colonizers, and patriarchy trying to survive, live, and love in an inhospitable world.
The title comes from James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time. The writing is gorgeous and impactful; both the writing and reading of this story is a political act.
Against the Loveless World is a 2021 Aspen Words Prize Finalist.
Thank You for Listening is my first experience with Julia Whelan, both as an author and audiobook narrator, and I now understand the love!
Sewanee was poised to become the next It Girl in Hollywood until an accident left her physically and mentally scarred. Years later she’s a successful audiobook narrator, content in her life and career if not exactly thriving or chasing dreams any longer.
While normally eschewing romance books with their unrealistic HEAs Sewanee accepts an offer she can’t refuse to narrate a romance book for which she has been handpicked by a beloved novelist opposite Brock McKnight, a lusted after voice in romance narration whose real identity is a well kept secret and who has secrets and scars of his own. Over the course of their audiobook production Sewanee and Brock’s relationship develops from professional, to friendship, to something more.
I especially enjoyed the behind the scenes look at the audiobook world Thank You for Listening provides and the way Whelan plays with common romance tropes within the story, and I always appreciate some witty repartee of which this story has plenty.
I listened to most of the book on audio and Whelan’s narration really does elevate the story. Having come to enjoy audiobooks somewhat reluctantly and relatively recently, this experience has given me new appreciation for the value a skilled narrator can add.
Julia Whelan has narrated more than 400 audiobooks and her catalog consists of many familiar bestsellers, very impressive!
Thanks to Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an advanced review copy and Libro.fm and HarperAudio for the advanced listening copy.
Bookish People is a book about, well… bookish people. Set at an indie bookstore in Washington D.C. the week in 2017 which began with the white supremacist Unite the Right Rally of Charlottesville, VA featuring “very fine people” like neo-Nazis and Klansman, and Trump enthusiasts, et. al., and ended with the once in a century solar eclipse (what a week, huh?) The story features a cast of bookstore employees but primarily focuses on owner Sophie, who at 54 has recently been widowed and is grieving the loss of her husband while ever so subtly carving out a secret room behind shelves where she can go into hiding, and her much younger events manager Clemi, an aspiring author, who is hosting an event featuring a controversial poet who might bring protestors to their door and who might also be her absentee father, there’s also a tortoise named Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
I didn’t realize this going in, and I don’t think I’m alone in this, Bookish People is a character driven work of satirical literary fiction. I feel like perhaps the cover or synopsis may have given me a different impression, but once I caught the vibe I was really very pleasantly surprised by this story!
It’s very of the literary world, Readers will recognize some of the employees and customers (they may even find themselves within the pages) and humorously peppered with gems like describing a new buzzy author as “Lauren Groff meets Haruki Murakami meets Jodi Picoult” or fictional fiction such as a speculative work featuring Vice President Dan Quayle as an undercover narcotics agent, and of course, there’s this seasons bestseller which everyone is reading and the store just can’t seem to keep stocked: The Girl in Gauzy Blue.
The humor is sharp and sophisticated, the characters relatable and endearing, I just really enjoyed this book!
Recommended for fans of Tom Perotta, those who enjoyed Backman’s Anxious People (somewhat similar vibes, I think!) and bookish people everywhere!
This one is severely underrated on Goodreads those reviewers just aren’t getting it!
Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Muse Books for an advanced review copy.
Jen Dixon, now mom of 2 young adults, 1 middle schooler, and grandmother to 1 precocious 4 year old, is back in the fourth installment of the Class Mom series.
Being just over 1 week (why? how?!) from sending my own 7th and 4th graders back to school, it felt like the perfect time to mentally prepare myself with my fictional bestie Jen’s latest antics.
This school year Jen is a “Mat Mom” for PMS (Pioneer Middle School) as her youngest son, 7th grader Max, dips his toe into the wonderful world of sports with wrestling and there are fundraisers, travel tournaments, and even a mom-on-mom wrestling match to contend with. Jen is also juggling her career as a cycle instructor (her banging throwback playlists make me actually want to take her class), her father’s declining health as he struggles with dementia, the adjacent drama of her two adult daughters going into business together, and changes in her own life and marriage as she moves further into middle age.
Smells like Tween Spirit is another funny, relatable story. These books go down so easy and I will happily read as many Class Mom books as author Laurie Gelmen wants to write.
Thanks to Henry Holt and Company for an advanced review copy.
When prom queen Shara Wheeler disappears leaving behind a trail of handwritten notes in her wake three unlikely allies team up to find her: her jock boyfriend, the literal (stoner) boy-next-door, and her academic rival, our narrator, Chloe. The only thing the three of them have in common? They’ve all kissed Shara Wheeler.
I Kissed Shara Wheeler is part rom, part com, part dram, part mystery, part coming of age. It defies categorization, but is something delightfully akin to The Breakfast Club where not only do the jocks and nerds and [insert high-school clique of choice here] have more in common than they know it turns out many find a home on the queer spectrum.
An entertaining read about discovering and living your truth in an ultra conservative environment.
I found Shara to be more solidly YA than Red, White & Royal Blue and One Last Stop, which lean more new adult.
A massive solar flare disrupts electric grids across the world. In the US two connected families, one the average suburban variety, the other tech billionaires, weather the all too realistic apocalypse with varying success.
I really love this type of story; the grid goes down, only the crafty survive as society is thrown into more and more chaos. It’s really much more entertaining to read about than to live.
Aurora is a solid offering for the genre. A cinematic – unsurprising as apparently author David Koepp is a famous screenwriter (Jurassic Park, Mission Impossible, War of the Worlds), this is not something I pay attention to, I’m an avid reader, not an avid movie watcher – and fast paced page turner that’s ultimately satisfying. Likely to be enjoyed by those dipping their toe into the dystopian/apocalyptic/climate disaster arena as well as familiar fans.
P. S. It looks like a Netflix adaptation is already in the works for Aurora!
Groupies is a story about, well, groupies, the young women and girls who follow musicians around for a contact high of fame.
After the death of her mother, co-ed Faun, now alone in the world, travels across the country to reunite with her high school best friend in 1977 LA, the charismatic Josie who is dating Cal Holiday, the lead singer of Holiday Sun, an iconic pop rock band whose celebrity is waning. Faun, an aspiring photographer is soon inducted into the groupie way of life, partying the nights away and sleeping with men like they’re collectibles alongside a posse of other young women and girls.
Groupies is a wild ride and everything I was hoping it would be! Set in the glitter and grit of the 70s and with an interesting juxtaposition of second-wave feminism Groupies is a must read if you enjoyed books like Mary Jane, Songs in Ursa Major, or The Final Revial of Opal & Nev. A most excellent debut!
Thanks to Bibliolifestyle and William Morrow Books for an advanced review copy.
This is one of those books I’ve been meaning to read for way too long. It originally published in 2020 and I’m really glad I finally picked it up.
The Prettiest Star tells the story of a young gay man, Brian, who escaped oppressive, rural, small town Ohio for NYC now returning to his conservative family home in the foothills of Appalachia in 1986, dying of AIDS and having watched many of his friends and loved ones succumb to the disease including his own partner. The story is told from three viewpoints: Brian, his mother, and his young teenaged sister.
The novel, at fewer than 300 pages, is just brimming with heartbreak and humanity and hope. Author Carter Sickels is a gay trans man from small town Ohio and he absolutely nails both the characters and setting of this story.
If you haven’t yet read The Prettiest Star take this as your sign that it’s time to do so!
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow // Gabrielle Zevin
In 1986 California 12-year-old Sam and 11-year-old Sadie happen to meet in the hospital. Sadie is there because her older sister is sick, Sam because he’s recently been in a devastating car accident which mangled his foot. The two become fast friends united through their love of video games. They soon have a falling out, as adolescents often do, and are estranged until bumping into one another in NYC in the 90s while college students. This reunion leads to a partnership where they create what will become a very well known video game and launching a gaming business together.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow follows the story of Sadie and Sam across the country and through decades as they live, love, and create. Theirs is a platonic relationship though no less intimate or compelling than a great romance, I just adored this unique angle!
I was skeptical about the video game aspect as that’s not a particular interest of mine, but rest assured the video game piece really works here and I found plenty of nostalgia from my own childhood within. I love when a book can make me care deeply about something I have no interest in outside of the story!
Tomorrow is beautifully and thoughtfully crafted, a layered story with characters who will capture your heart.
Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday for an advanced reading copy.
That Bookish Life 