May 11, 2020

April Books 2020






Dead to Her by Sarah Pinborough  3 solid stars
Library ebook

The reviews for this weren't great but I will always try a book by this author. I really liked Behind Her Eyes and really enjoyed 13 Minutes.  << both of those are apparently coming to Netflix this year.
This book wasn't great, but it wasn't bad. I liked the story, the characters were interesting enough, and I did eagerly read to find out what happened at the end.
Unfortunately, there was a lot going on and it did lack some cohesiveness.
I would say if you want a thriller-esque book and need to pass the time, go for it.




Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum 2.5-3 stars
Library ebook

This is YA that isn't awful. It's my second YA of the year. As a rule, I only read YA that others are buzzing about because I don't usually like the genre. I think I expected a lot more out of the second half of this book than I actually got, as a reader. The first couple of chapters were great, the friend-group dynamics were good, the domestic/family storyline was interesting, but spoiler in white: the YA romance was boring and predictable. Completely forgettable. I wanted a Sea of Tranquility ending and this was not it.





This Won't End Well by Camille Pagan 2.5-3 stars
Kindle Daily Deal, ebook

This was okay. It was a good-enough story. I felt like it had a lot going on for not being that intense of a plot...the main character was very odd and kind of annoying to me. I didn't like her. I never really got a good glimpse of who she was. I really thought she was someone with massive trauma like Eleanor Oliphant, the way she came off in her speech/thoughts/quirkiness. Supposedly it's rom-com-ish? I don't know. I didn't mind the writing style at all. For example, The Bookish Life of Nina Hill was one that I didn't like because the writing was TOO MUCH. I always felt like I was being yelled at. This wasn't about style; it was more about me not liking the characters.
I will say that for the first 3/4 of the book, Harper reminded me of Alexis from Schitt's Creek. Spoiler in white: Then the author added in an unnecessary/superfluous plotline that barely made sense to explain away odd behavior, I suppose, and I didn't see her as Alexis anymore. There were some weird plot choices in this book. 






c/o Netgalley, ebook

This is Lisa Jewell's newest book and is coming out in October. I jump at the chance to read any thriller ARC by authors I frequent. 
This story didn't disappoint. It was a page-turner and a little bit of a slow burn. I didn't read it in one day; more like over a week. Generally, unless I want to stay up really late reading, I only read in 10-15 snippets throughout each day. It was a hard story to put down though! 
I won't say much, because it's a typical Jewell thriller: lots of characters whose lives intertwine. Different points of view, different periods of time, etc. I definitely recommend it. 


And let's do a quick recap of how many books I've read this year, since we're 1/3 of the way into 2020:

Read: 18
DNF: 4
Fiction: 16
Non-fiction: 2



How's your reading life going? 

Linking up with Jana and Steph!

14 comments:

  1. I always like bloggers' reading posts! I notice you are often underwhelmed by most of the books you read (no shame there!), so I have a tip that has helped me. Track all your books on Goodreads and resolve not to read anything less than 4.0 stars. This helps eliminate the duds, pinky promise!

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  2. I have Invisible Girl on my TBR, glad you liked it. Tell Me Three Things is on there as well, but I am not in a hurry to read it. I have to be in a mood to read YA.

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  3. I enjoy Lisa Jewell so will have to keep an eye out for that one.
    A YA book you sort of, kinda enjoyed? I'll totally have to check it out.
    I love you do spoilers in white - so smart

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  4. My reading life has halted. I keep starting and restarting kindle books but its hard! I need my library to open, ha!

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  5. I have a special place in my heart for Sarah Pinborough because she graciously responded to my tweets about Netflix's Behind Her Eyes and more, which some writers don't do. So yeah, I'm going to read Dead to Her and probably with rose-tinted glasses and I don't care. :D NetGalley gave me The Family Upstairs from Lisa Jewell which I haven't read and now feel guilty about it. She's a new-to-me author and I hear such great things about her books and have no excuse for being so pokey to read her.

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  6. 13 Minutes is going to be a movie? Good lord, I swear every book I read is a movie now. And why did I give it 4 stars? I don't remember liking it THAT much.

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  7. oh, good to know about invisible girl as i've got it on my kindle.i really liked tell me three things, i don't read YA much anymore but thought that one was super cute.

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  8. I haven't read any of these yet! Thanks for the reviews!

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  9. I just added Invisible Girl to the to read list. Didn't realize she had another one coming out. I'm behind and have to catch up on her books. I've enjoyed all that I've read of hers. Tell Me Three Things is on my to read list. And I did enjoy Behind Her Eyes, so I may give Dead to Her a try.

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  10. I have Invisible Girl to read from Netgalley! Can't wait.

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  11. Glad to hear you liked Invisible Girl. I do love a good mystery/thriller!

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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  12. I can't wait to read the new Lisa Jewell book. I'm also interested in Invisible Girl. My latest book reviews ~ Tanya - The Other Side of the Road

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  13. I'm such a fan of Lisa Jewell! I cannot wait to read this new one of hers. The last few that I've read - I could not put them down!

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  14. I love book/movie tie-ins, so I'll probably get something from that author eventually. The Camille Pagan is on my TBR list already. Thanks for sharing!

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