This year, I'm putting each book in an actual Instagram post, so you can follow me over there if you want to see what I'm reading in real time. I'm also taking a picture of the actual book I read. Goodreads pics may indicate Kindle/ARC reading.
This was everything I read between January 1-31st.
Really good. A thriller/mystery. Not overly long or drawn out. Completely worth your time.
I have The Marriage Lie on my Kindle from months ago and I never got to it so I plan on reading more of her this year for sure.
This was a decent story. I had no qualms with that part of it.
I had some major character issues, though.
I usually don't seek out books that take place during the 70s. The hippie/commune aspect of this also gave me a headache so I did some light skimming.
I really enjoyed the beginning and I thought she tried to wrap up the end too quickly...meaning this book was way too long but she had 74 plot lines to close-out so she tried to do that in one chapter. Meh.
Husband Material by Emily Belden
c/o Netgalley
A cute rom-com story. I thought the premise seemed a bit deeper than most rom-coms: Charlotte's dead husband's ashes show up on her doorstep and she has to figure out what to do with them and it brings out all kinds of thoughts and feelings.
Charlotte works in the tech industry and I did think the social media/app/tech aspect of this book was overdone. I didn't really care about the app she was developing or her business dealings.
It was almost (almost) akin to a Taylor Jenkins Reid book, if you're a TJR fan. Like, I could see the similarities. (But no one does TJR like TJR :)
13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough
Ahhhh. This was so good. I have a strong distaste for most YA. This is YA for those who don't like YA. It doesn't read like YA. I would liken it to The Cheerleaders (when it comes to YA that doesn't read like YA), the lone YA book I seemed to enjoy in 2018.
But really, I couldn't put it down. I'm being stingy with my 5 stars this year, but this was a good 4.5 for me.
As I said on IG, Pinborough ends her books in THE WEIRDEST POSSIBLE WAY but I really like it.
(I should probably say "YA" again just for fun.)
The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth
Another 4.5 stars! Very good. I couldn't put it down. Most have said they preferred The Mother-in-Law, but I liked this better. It did take me a few chapters to get all of the characters straight but then it evened out. Very much like a Big Little Lies.
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5 books isn't bad for January. I am halfway through a non-fiction book (it's not the type you can binge-read) and halfway through a Lisa Jewell I'm just not enjoying, so I set it aside.
I did finish another mystery-type thriller over the weekend that will make the February book post, because it's definitely already February.
(I think January went really quickly.)
Linking up with Jana and Steph!
