The Arrangement, The Amendment, The Atonement by Kierstin Modglin
I was actually searching for The Arrangement by Robyn Harding (still no luck on Kindle Unlimited) and this author's the Arrangement kept popping up. It's been like 6 months so I gave it a try. I was definitely enthralled and pulled in and read it in like a day. A solid 4 1/2 to 5 stars. I won't even tell you the plot because the plot changes completely by the end of the book.
Then, I kept going just because why not? The second book was passable. 3 stars, I guess. It got a little weird. The third book, I read just because it was there and I suppose I wanted to finish out the series. I was not a fan. It was too much. She should've stopped with two.
Did anyone else read these?
I also tried The Liar's Wife by the same author and I only read a few chapters. I struggle with any storyline involving a baby. Especially one where a mom goes back to work two weeks after having a c-section.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt 5 stars
I legitimately thought this would be a grown-up version of The One and Only Ivan (The Worst Book Ever). I assumed the octopus would be telling the tale of his life, from the viewpoint of captivity and he'd have a bunch of friends in the aquarium. And every animal would die from abuse or untreated illness.
It was not that.
First, the octopus was a very well-adjusted creature and he'd been rescued and nursed back to health by the aquarium. While he orchestrates the whole story, he does not tell the whole story. It's really about an older lady named Tova and her story and then a man named Cameron and his story and how they intertwine, which happens to be at the aquarium, and how the other people in the small town interact. It's more of a mystery than literary fiction.
The only part I didn't care for was the Avery storyline...I thought it was unnecessary. The Brad/Elizabeth storyline gave me "Cameron is like Jesse in Breaking Bad" thoughts.
Anyway, it's not about animals. It's about people, but there's a delightful animal at the center of it. I really liked the character of Marcellus.
The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean 2.5 stars
Another very hyped up book. I didn't think it was anything special. I thought the last 1/4 of the book was so non-believable. Authors are going too far with these true-crime-esque mysteries these days. However, I didn't hate it. I just thought it wasn't as good as I expected it to be based on the library wait time. I believe it was up on Kindle Unlimited randomly and I grabbed it there. My wait time is still at "several months" and I put it on hold in the fall.
It reminded me of how Listen for the Lie was not that great but everyone pretended it was. (If you want a book about a true crime podcast, read Sadie. So much better. Sadie is currently FREE on Kindle Unlimited!)
The Collapse of Parenting by Leonard Sax 5 stars
I heard him do a two hour interview with Megyn Kelly on my drive from Pennsylvania to Missouri (earbud in, kids asleep in the car) and I couldn't download his book fast enough. He's right. He's right about everything. I see the mistakes parents have made in real time. I'm cognizant of trying not to do the same with my own kids but I know I do things like let them watch too much TV. The thing that struck me is that we spend all this time putting our kids into activities (well, not me, I'm too lazy to force my small children onto team sports they don't care about to begin with) and they are overwhelmed and over-scheduled and the family unit disappears. As a kid, we didn't start going to our separate activities each evening until high school. But we often had practices in the evening in elementary school. It wasn't so much that a family couldn't handle it; there was little to no financial commitment involved. It was rec league soccer or baseball, usually, and definitely not year-round. Something happened after I was a kid that made parents lose their absolute minds, assuming their children would be professional athletes or something. I regularly am met with: I can't have homework. I have soccer. Or We're driving 90 minutess for a game this weekend. Or We have to be at the field all day on Saturday for the tournament. I get it. You want your kids involved. But it's the parents doing the involving 90% of the time in the 2020s.
If you don't want to invest hours into the book, at least listen to or watch the Megyn Kelly clips. Every single adult needs to read something he's written; it's the explanation for why America's kids have fallen so far behind academically.
The Devil Wears Scrubs and The Devil You Know by Freida McFadden
These are somewhat older books she wrote (2013, 2017) but I grabbed them on Kindle Unlimited. I would say the first is very much like Grey's Anatomy and it's really fast-paced and pulls you in (I'm not a Grey's fan at all, aside from that first season, and I still enjoy a good medical drama though). *I* enjoyed it. The reviews on Goodreads weren't awesome. The second book was so-so. I still read fast to see what would happen but I didn't like the ending. No spoilers! I think I wanted more drama and upheaval. Also the depiction of the VA hospital is exactly what civilian-driven government work is: no one does anything. ever. (Although I hear that is now changing and the American people are seeing just how little work gets accomplished in the federal government now!)
Freida McFadden likes the medical topics in books because she's an actual practicing physician who writes thrillers for fun. But this makes me wonder if she's also worked in a VA.
My Sister's Daughter by Liv Constantine 3.5 stars
This was a long novella and it was fine. Held my attention for sure. But I don't like books where the kids are evil? Liv Constantine is usually a solid bet.
Did not finish:
All the Colors of the Dark was vague and an example of trying to show, not tell. I don't want to have to visualize THAT much. Quit at 9%.
If Something Happens to Me is an example of something written to be turned into a tv show. It read like a script and I didn't like that. Alex Finlay books are almost always a miss for me for this reason.
Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
I preordered this last summer when I went on a rampage of pre-ordering whatever my favorite authors were writing next. I have to say: Alice Feeney is hit or miss for me (Same for Peter Swanson..it can be the best book you've ever read or something you DNF).
This was a miss. I'm annoyed I paid for it.
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I'm already 9 books into my 40 book goal for the year but I think I've hit a bit of a rut. I'll be looking for inspriation in the link-up! I can tell I went with two series and then genres I'm comfortable with.
Linking up with Tanya!