A Horse Walks into a Bar. 3 stars. One night of a standup comic working through his demons onstage. In better hands, this could have been phenomenal, but it was just okay.
When Watched. 5 stars. Killer short story collection. I’m in love with the writing and the characters. I think I could read anything she ever wants to write.
Seven Days of Us. 3 stars. Love the premise, but gets too dramatic, then wraps up too neatly. Still a decent vacation/holiday light read.
The Locals. 5 stars. Oh man, did I love this. Inventive storytelling, wide variety of characters. I’m a big fan of this author and this is my new favorite from him.
The Idiot. 3 generous stars. Nothing happens in this book.
Startup. 4 stars. Very sharp, funny, and insightful. It petered out a bit at the end, but overall a surprisingly strong novel.
City Mouse. 1 star. Awful characters, even the ones you’re supposed to like. Extremely obvious and heavy handed story.
My Absolute Darling. 1 star. I honestly don’t think I could hate a book more than I hated this one. I don’t know why people love this but I can’t say a single good thing about it.
We Are Okay. 3 stars. Three stars from someone who doesn’t really like YA. So figure at least one more if you actually do.
See What I Have Done. 4 generous stars. This is good, mostly because the story is good. So the credit really belongs to Lizzie Borden for that.
The Queen of the Night. 2 stars. Very disappointing for me. The synopsis is interesting, a movie could be great, but actually reading it was a chore.
Loner. 5 stars. Loved loved loved this. Works as a companion piece to You, in a way. You was entertaining and darkly funny, but Loner feels more authentic and true. A perfect representation of toxic masculinity in action.
Top picks: Loner, When Watched, The Locals
