The Downloaded by Robert J. Sawyer (Audiobook)
- This is a sci-fi dystopian mystery thriller, the main male character is voiced by actor Brendan Fraser. I listened to this book on a whim because it was included in the months “free library” on Audible & I happen to like Brendan Fraser as an actor, so I listened. It’s the year 2059, after having his body put into cryogenic sleep & his consciousness uploaded into a quantum computer as punishment for murdering someone, the protagonist Roscoe Koudoulian, voiced by Fraser, finds himself alive at the end of the world. Something goes wrong & the people in this pilot prison program awaken long past their initial “release” dates & are shortly after contacted by ‘extraterrestrials’ which inform them of an apocalyptic level unsurvivable event which is fast approaching. It was a quick listen, interesting, fast paced, ultimately rated 3 stars.
One of Us Is Dead Jeneva Rose (Audiobook)
- Another impulse listen from the months Audible “free library” picks, mostly because I liked the author, Jeneva Rose’s other book You Shouldn’t Have Come Here. This book was “Real Housewives” if someone ended up dead at the finale party. This was a mix of chick-lit & crime thriller, not my usual style but a fun & quick listen/read. Rated 3 stars.
You Will Be Mine by Natasha Preston
- Once again I have to ask, where’s the editor? Is a spell check even being run pre-print? I digress; This book was a compilation of slasher film killer tropes, a group of university students begin receiving threatening messages & the bodies pile up. Someone is accused, it’s not them, police are ineffective, our main character Lyle is already dealing with the loss of both of her parents. It’s definitely a fast paced plot line, ultimately rated 3 stars.
Crave (Crave #1), Crush (Crave #2), Covet (Crush #3) by Tracy Wolff
- I’ve only read books 1-3 of this series, I don’t think I’ll read books 4-6 any time soon honestly. This ones on me, I think the books are fine & I might’ve liked them 10yrs ago but they just read too young for me. It’s another story of young girl losing her parents, her life being turned upside down & make it magical. Our protagonist finds herself newly arrived at a reclusive boarding school run by her estranged uncle after losing both parents & having no other family to go to. Turns out the school is magical, she’s a magical creature herself & just doesn’t know it yet, her family having chosen a “normal” life in California. I rated these books 2 stars, 3 stars & 2 stars respectively, reminiscent of the Twilight series which I also didn’t like very much. Instant teenage “love at 1st sight”, enemies to lovers triangle, hidden family secrets, vampires, werewolves, witches, dragons, gargoyles oh my. Power hungry wanna be rulers of all starting trouble & our protagonist the unbeknownst prophesied savior.
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears (Audiobook)
- Rated 5 stars. Not much to say, it’s a memoir, if you care about her side of the story listen it/read it. I listened to the audiobook, which although she doesn’t read herself is uncannily performed by the narrator. Definitely some heavy moments, triggering family dynamics & heartbreaks all too relatable. Britney was definitely vulnerable in this book.
The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison
- Thriller? Idk about that, to call this book a thriller is a stretch in my humble reading opinion. Todd and Jodie have been together for 20 years, unmarried & childless they live together in Chicago. Jodie works part-time as a psychologist, & lives in denial of her partners many extra relations. That is until she discovers that 40 year old Todd has impregnated his best-friends daughter & is planning to leave her for this new family he’s created. Naturally the solution is murder. Started & finished in the same day I ultimately rated this book 3 stars.
The Last She (#1), The Last City (The Last She #2) by H.J. Nelson (Audiobook)
- These were available on the Audible ‘free’ library, very mush so an impulsive listen just because they were available to be read at no additional cost to me lol. In this series we follow along with Ara at the end of the world, after a virus has plagued the end of humanity she is alone for months before stumbling upon people again. Determined to fulfill her fathers last mission, or at least what she believes it to be, Ara comes into contact with & develops a friendship with Kaden, however he is already with a group of survivors, all male & staying with them isn’t in her best interest. We follow along with Ara & Kaden as the story develops, learning more about the cause of this dystopian future & how it connects to Ara & her father. Rated both books 3 stars.
The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer #1), It’s Not Summer Without You (Summer #2), We’ll Always Have Summer (Summer #3) by Jenny Han
- Cute. I did roll my eyes quite a bit, however I will say I do think this series was a bit out of my “age range”. It definitely read for a younger me, although I’ve felt the same towards these coming of age teen angst “love triangle” tropes since I was barely a teen & started reading the “teenager” books & watching the “teenager” movies so maybe it’s just me, I digress; maybe up till my earliest 20’s at most I might’ve liked this series more. This series has already been adapted to tv by Prime, I have watched it, I think it did come off a little more “mature” but still about the same. In these books we’re with Isabel ‘Belly’ as she navigates puberty, basically, & grief. Belly returns to the ‘family summer house’, although not actually her family the house belongs to her mothers’ life-long best friend Susannah & they have been spending summers there, just the mothers & kids, as one family every single year. ‘The summer she turns pretty’ belly goes from little sister & “third-wheel” to the Fisher boys summer flings, to instant crush to both Conrad & Jeremiah. Throughout the story we watch as she dates both brothers, deals with the realities of Susannahs’ reoccurring cancer & ultimately grieves the loss of her. There are definitely heavy subjects in this story, but being YA it does stay pretty PG. Rated this series 3 stars.
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
- This book was on my TBR for a bit & I will admit was moved up in the heirarchy of the reading list because of the Netflix adaptation, I definitely wanted to read the book before the tv film “spoiled the plot”. That said, I felt quite a bit was changed from book to tv, regardless I rated both the book & film adaptation about the same 3-3.5 stars, with the film getting 1/2 a star less. Parents Amanda & Clay have rented a Hamptons home for a summer getaway with their teenage children Archie & Rose. Late in the evening of day 2 of their vacation, Ruth and G.H. Washington a couple claiming to be the owners of the property, knock on the door in need of shelter. We stay with this group as they discover that some kind of “apocalyptic” event is happening, beginning with city wide power outages & cyber security attacks. Racial tensions add another layer of intensity to the story as media broadcast & internet connections fail leaving the group unable to connect to the outside world. Deciding that waiting it out at the home together until they get more information may be best, the adults spent the following day getting acquainted, however the power outage was just the beginning of the end & they won’t be able to ignore it for long. A lot happens & yet a lot is left to the readers imagination & interpretation, this is my main reason for not rating the book higher. Still a intriguing read & quick, I read this book in about a day & a 1/2.
The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson
- It was thanks to Goodreads that I ended up with this book on my TBR. Told from 2 separate pov’s, we discover how these two young womens’ lives, Ruby Pearsall & Eleanor Quarles, become intertwined. Ruby Pearsall is 15 years old & on track to be the first in her family to attend college. Life in impoverished 1950’s Philadelphia is not easy on her nor her family & when an unexpected situation puts her future at risk Ruby has to make difficult decisions. Eleanor resides in Washington DC, attending Howard University where she also works as an Archivist in the library. However, she is not free of strife in her life either. What she envisioned to be her fairytale life, madly in love with a handsome & respectable man who was just as in love with her, turned sour when members of his wealthy family made her feel unwelcome. Adding heartbreak to an already stressful family situation was her pregnancy troubles. As a historical fiction, black characters living in 1950’s USA, there are definitely heavy, triggering moments but this is ultimately a story of the resilience of two young black women in 1950’s United States. I finished this book in about 2 days & rated 4 stars.
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