Quick takes- September 2017

The Burning Girl. 3 stars. Kind of forgettable, reads too YA for my taste. Good writing, but not much to the story.

Genuine Fraud. 4 stars. I love this writer, and this is a gender swapped Talented Mr Ripley. What else is there to say?

Before Everything. 3 stars. Good story, and semi interesting characters, but the writing is just too weak. Just read The Group instead.

A Kind of Freedom. 4 stars. This one does not pull punches. Awesome female characters, while the men cause no end of trouble.

The Resurrection of Joan Ashby. 2 stars. Ugh, I feel like this book is still going. Where was the editor? So completely overwritten, this was torture to read.

The Antiques. 2 stars. I really expected to love this; the premise is just my style. The writing felt very calculated and inauthentic. A total disappointment.

Caucasia. 3 stars. I like this author’s style, but the story really dragged. Her newest book felt too short, this felt too long, I assume the next one will be perfect.

Cruel Beautiful World. 3 stars. Could easily have been 4 or even 5 if you cut out about a hundred pages from the end. The structure is very off here; the climax should not happen right in the middle of a book, that seems like some basic writing rules.

A Piece of the World. 4 stars. I don’t think I’ll remember much about this, but it’s a solid piece of historical fiction, definitely worth a read.

Eleven Hours. 4 stars. I’m kind of a birth story junkie, so I was guaranteed to love this. Loses a little for me because it’s not clear on the details of how this (apparently) unplanned pregnancy happened, which always bugs me.

Little Fires Everywhere. 5 stars. Sometimes the writing and characters and story are so good, you are willing to ignore some less than believable turns the plot takes.

The Golden House. 3 stars. The story held my interest, despite the writing’s best efforts. I doubt I’ll ever read him again. Goodbye, Salman. (Please pack your pens and go.)

The Stars Are Fire. 4 stars. Really good story, and great main character. This plot is always moving forward. Would be a great one to read on a plane.

The World of Tomorrow. 5 stars. Saved the best for last! Loved this epic book. So many killer characters, and I was on the edge of my seat toward the end. I will write more about this later, but pick this up immediately.