fiction

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer: A Tale of Friendship and Secrets

by Stefani

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer

Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie

Published: July 16, 2024 by Random House Audio

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they’d gone or how they’d survived.

Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears scars inside and out but has no memory of what happened during those months. Meanwhile, Jeremy has become a famed missing persons’ investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy.

Jeremy alone knows the fantastical truth about the disappearances, for while the rest of the world was searching for them, the two missing boys were in a magical realm filled with impossible beauty and terrible danger. He believes it is there that they will find Emilie’s sister. However, Jeremy has kept Rafe in the dark since their return for his own inscrutable reasons. But the time for burying secrets comes to an end as the quest for Emilie’s sister begins. The former lost boys must confront their shared past, no matter how traumatic the memories.

Alongside the headstrong Emilie, Rafe and Jeremy must return to the enchanted world they called home for six months—for only then can they get back everything and everyone they’ve lost.

Rating:

Review:

I had very high hopes about this book. The concept of bringing me a grown up fairytale akin to the Chronicles of Narnia was highly appealing. In a lot of ways this book met those expectations. And in some ways it didn’t. So ultimately my feelings about this book are that it was good but not great.

The brightest point of this book was the relationship between Jeremy and Rafe. It was so tortured and complicated and beautiful. I found myself angry at Jeremy for lying to Rafe. I found myself angry at Rafe for rejecting Jeremy. And when the full story of their relationship was revealed, I cried like a baby. It was a slow burn of a relationship and I loved it. I was rooting for them so hard, and I ended up in a puddle of tears in the end.

I have to admit that I didn’t have a single idea what was going on for a large part of this book. That’s what brought the rating down to a three star for me honestly. I said in my progress update last week that I thought I had missed something important and went back to listen again only to discover that I hadn’t missed something, it was just very jarring. It took a long time for me to find my footing in the story. The parts I did understand were amazing. This was a pretty short audiobook at just over 10 hours long, it could have used just a little more length to smooth out some of those transitions to make the story flow better. There was also a lot of missing world building. The author just thrust us into this fantastical world but didn’t give us too many details about it, which was disappointing.

In the end, when it was great it was amazing and when it wasn’t it was okay.

Progress Update Friday – October 11, 2024

by Stefani

The Bitter Truth by Shanora Williams

Progress: 254 of 320 pages

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

An upstanding political candidate. A determined stalker. A shattering lost weekend. Now, when his worst secret comes calling, how far will one man’s elegant, all-too-devoted wife go to uncover the truth . . . or bury it?

For Jolene “Jo” Baker, the least she can do for her adoring husband, Dominic, is give unwavering support for his North Carolina gubernatorial run. He is not only the love of her life, he’s also helping her prove that she’s far more than just a pampered trophy wife. With huge crowds showing up at Dominic’s speeches and the polls consistently in his favor, she’s never been happier to stand proudly by his side . . .

Until she and Dominic start seeing the same, strangely ominous woman turning up all along the campaign trail. Until their tour starts becoming a nightmare of botched events, crucial missed information, and increasingly dangerous “accidents.” Suddenly Jo can’t get any answers from Dominic—or understand why he is acting so paranoid and terrified . . .

What Jo can do is start digging into his past—one she’s never really questioned beyond his perfect image and dazzling accomplishments. What results is an alarming series of events that leave her Good friends turn into enemies, truths are revealed to be lies, and all clues lead back to one secret, shattering weekend that changes Jo’s entire life. With her world splintering into pieces, can Jo risk trying to set things right? Or will hiding the bitter truth by any means necessary destroy her as well?

How it’s going:

This book is really cooking now and I am completely invested. I wouldn’t be surprised if I finish it in one sitting. I am really hoping for a strong ending where the bad guy gets his comeuppance. Fingers crossed.

Playground by Richard Powers

Progress: 9:18 of 13:51

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Twelve-year-old Evie Beaulieu sinks to the bottom of a swimming pool in Montreal strapped to one of the world’s first aqualungs. Ina Aroita grows up on naval bases across the Pacific with art as her only home. Two polar opposites at an elite Chicago high school bond over a three-thousand-year-old board game; Rafi Young will get lost in literature, while Todd Keane’s work will lead to a startling AI breakthrough.

They meet on the history-scarred island of Makatea in French Polynesia, whose deposits of phosphorus once helped to feed the world. Now the tiny atoll has been chosen for humanity’s next adventure: a plan to send floating, autonomous cities out onto the open sea. But first, the island’s residents must vote to greenlight the project or turn the seasteaders away.

How it’s going:

This is my current audiobook. With the craziness of kids and work lately I have found audiobooks a lot easier to get through because I can multitask. So expect quite a few audiobook reviews in the near future. The writing of this book is beautiful. Powers weaves these stories together so flawlessly. The main two narrators (there are 6 altogether) are wonderful too. They have distinct voices but at the same time their voices mesh very well. It’s an interesting dynamic that not all audiobooks get right. As for the story, I am really loving it. There was a portion of the book that dragged quite a bit and I felt myself tuning out, but it pulled me back in and has been very compelling ever since.

Audiobook review: There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak

by Stefani

There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak

Narrated by: Olivia Vinall and Elif Shafak

Published: August 20, 2024 by Knopf

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

In the ancient city of Nineveh, on the bank of the River Tigris, King Ashurbanipal of Mesopotamia, erudite but ruthless, built a great library that would crumble with the end of his reign. From its ruins, however, emerged a poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh, that would infuse the existence of two rivers and bind together three lives.

In 1840 London, Arthur is born beside the stinking, sewage-filled River Thames. With an abusive, alcoholic father and a mentally ill mother, Arthur’s only chance of escaping destitution is his brilliant memory. When his gift earns him a spot as an apprentice at a leading publisher, Arthur’s world opens up far beyond the slums, and one book in particular catches his interest: Nineveh and Its Remains.

In 2014 Turkey, Narin, a ten-year-old Yazidi girl, is diagnosed with a rare disorder that will soon cause her to go deaf. Before that happens, her grandmother is determined to baptize her in a sacred Iraqi temple. But with the rising presence of ISIS and the destruction of the family’s ancestral lands along the Tigris, Narin is running out of time.

In 2018 London, the newly divorced Zaleekah, a hydrologist, moves into a houseboat on the Thames to escape her husband. Orphaned and raised by her wealthy uncle, Zaleekah had made the decision to take her own life in one month, until a curious book about her homeland changes everything.

A dazzling feat of storytelling, There Are Rivers in the Sky entwines these outsiders with a single drop of water, a drop which remanifests across the centuries. Both a source of life and harbinger of death, rivers—the Tigris and the Thames—transcend history, transcend fate: “Water remembers. It is humans who forget.”

Rating:

Review:

This book was written beautifully. I was interested by the idea of all of these stories being intertwined by water. Water that affects the lives of these people across centuries as it goes through its cycle over and over again. It’s such a beautiful idea and an ingenuous storytelling device if you can pull it off. The author definitely pulled it off. These stories intertwined in ways I didn’t see coming and I loved it. The narrator did a wonderful job of telling these stories, her voice was so soothing that I almost fell asleep a few times. She was the perfect choice for this book.

I have to say that my favorite of these four stories was Arthur. I felt like he had the most depth and that we explored his world more deeply than the others. We explore his entire world and as he became more intrigued by the cuneiform tablets and the ancient city. I was so wrapped up with him that I got a little disappointed when we switched to another narrative. This was another piece that the author got right. We didn’t switch POV often. We spent considerable time with each of these people before switching, so it was easier to empathize and connect with them.

Narin was a heartbreaking story. From the very beginning of her diagnosis and her grandmother’s desperation to baptize her in their sacred river, despite knowing that they would likely be slaughtered by ISIS if they were caught. Or worse. As her story played out I found myself even more heartbroken. I won’t say too much more or it would give away the plot.

Zaleekah was probably the weakest narrative of the book. I had a hard time connecting with her because the glimpses we get of her life seemed so unimportant. I wasn’t sure what she was there for until the very end. Eventually that story tied together with the others just as seamlessly but overall her story seemed like an afterthought.

My biggest negative of this book was the length. There were a lot of things that happen that didn’t feel necessary. There were long stretches where nothing happens at all. The middle of the book dragged on and on. I honestly considered putting the book down because it was just so dull. But I decided to soldier on, and I’m glad I did because the ending was magnificent. I certainly recommend this book, but just be aware that the middle is not as interesting as the beginning and end.

Progress Updates Friday – October 4, 2024

by Stefani

The Bitter Truth by Shanora Williams

Progress: Page 200 of 320

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

An upstanding political candidate. A determined stalker. A shattering lost weekend. Now, when his worst secret comes calling, how far will one man’s elegant, all-too-devoted wife go to uncover the truth . . . or bury it?

For Jolene “Jo” Baker, the least she can do for her adoring husband, Dominic, is give unwavering support for his North Carolina gubernatorial run. He is not only the love of her life, he’s also helping her prove that she’s far more than just a pampered trophy wife. With huge crowds showing up at Dominic’s speeches and the polls consistently in his favor, she’s never been happier to stand proudly by his side . . .

Until she and Dominic start seeing the same, strangely ominous woman turning up all along the campaign trail. Until their tour starts becoming a nightmare of botched events, crucial missed information, and increasingly dangerous “accidents.” Suddenly Jo can’t get any answers from Dominic—or understand why he is acting so paranoid and terrified . . .

What Jo can do is start digging into his past—one she’s never really questioned beyond his perfect image and dazzling accomplishments. What results is an alarming series of events that leave her Good friends turn into enemies, truths are revealed to be lies, and all clues lead back to one secret, shattering weekend that changes Jo’s entire life. With her world splintering into pieces, can Jo risk trying to set things right? Or will hiding the bitter truth by any means necessary destroy her as well?

How it’s going:

So I was right about who the stalker is. And I was right about Brynn’s fate…sort of, it didn’t quite happen in the way I expected. Jo actually seems to be finding some answers and strength, which is a positive development. Still liking it pretty well.

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer

Progress: 4.5 of 10.25 hours

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they’d gone or how they’d survived.

Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears scars inside and out but has no memory of what happened during those months. Meanwhile, Jeremy has become a famed missing persons’ investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy.

Jeremy alone knows the fantastical truth about the disappearances, for while the rest of the world was searching for them, the two missing boys were in a magical realm filled with impossible beauty and terrible danger. He believes it is there that they will find Emilie’s sister. However, Jeremy has kept Rafe in the dark since their return for his own inscrutable reasons. But the time for burying secrets comes to an end as the quest for Emilie’s sister begins. The former lost boys must confront their shared past, no matter how traumatic the memories.

Alongside the headstrong Emilie, Rafe and Jeremy must return to the enchanted world they called home for six months—for only then can they get back everything and everyone they’ve lost.

How it’s going:

So far it’s going just okay. I love the idea, I love the interactions between the characters. But the story moves in strange ways. I went back an hour or two because all of a sudden we were talking about unicorns and valkeries and I had no idea what I missed. But, as it turned out, I missed nothing. It really did just jump that quickly from walking through a forest to being enmeshed in a world of magic. I’ve heard that the story really picks up steam at the halfway point, so we’ll see how it goes. It’s a fairly short audiobook at a little over 10 hours.

Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

by Stefani

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

Narrated by: Jim Dale

Published: September 17, 2007 by Listening Library

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

Harry returns to Hogwarts with nightmares about Voldemort looming in his head. This year, there is an exciting event at Hogwarts, but will it be more dangerous than fun? Between the weird dreams Harry’s been having, his scar hurting, and rumors of the Dark Lord’s return, Harry’s godfather Sirius Black grows increasingly concerned as he tries to ensure Harry’s safety. Will Harry’s nightmares come true? Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is an exciting story you won’t want to put down with surprises you wouldn’t expect.

Rating:

Review:

I have always remembered this book as being the weakest one in the series. But I found new levels of depth when I re-listened to it. Jim Dale is still the absolute perfect narrator, no one else could have done what he did with these audiobooks. He brought them to life in such a cool way.

This book is not just a simple story about a boy and a tournament at school. In this book we dive to the depths of some of the hypocrisy in the wizarding world. I had forgotten how much focus we give to how house elves are treated in this book. Most decent wizards abhor how some wizards view themselves as superior to Muggles, but those same wizards who see the bigotry on that front, utterly fail to see it with house elves. At one point Ron, who managed to accidentally curse himself retaliating on Hermoine’s behalf, actually says that house elves enjoy being enslaved. Astounding blind spot. It was fascinating to see Rowling explore this interesting dynamic. Unfortunately, I seem to remember that this largely gets abandoned after this book and I think that’s a shame.

It’s funny when you spend a lot of time watching the movies for these books and then come back to the books, there’s a lot of things you’ve forgotten. I completely forgot all of the interesting little side stories we get adjacent to the tournament. This book is a really good mystery. And Rowling lays out so many clues about the identity of the dark wizard along the way. It was very well done. Honestly, at a certain point the tournament is a minor side plot, more of a vehicle to introduce all of these other stories. I think I may have to retract my statement about this being the weakest book in the series. There’s too many gigantically important things that happen.

Progress Update – September 30, 2024

by Stefani

The Bitter Truth by Shanora Williams

Progress: 151 of 320 pages

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

An upstanding political candidate. A determined stalker. A shattering lost weekend. Now, when his worst secret comes calling, how far will one man’s elegant, all-too-devoted wife go to uncover the truth . . . or bury it?

For Jolene “Jo” Baker, the least she can do for her adoring husband, Dominic, is give unwavering support for his North Carolina gubernatorial run. He is not only the love of her life, he’s also helping her prove that she’s far more than just a pampered trophy wife. With huge crowds showing up at Dominic’s speeches and the polls consistently in his favor, she’s never been happier to stand proudly by his side . . .

Until she and Dominic start seeing the same, strangely ominous woman turning up all along the campaign trail. Until their tour starts becoming a nightmare of botched events, crucial missed information, and increasingly dangerous “accidents.” Suddenly Jo can’t get any answers from Dominic—or understand why he is acting so paranoid and terrified . . .

What Jo can do is start digging into his past—one she’s never really questioned beyond his perfect image and dazzling accomplishments. What results is an alarming series of events that leave her Good friends turn into enemies, truths are revealed to be lies, and all clues lead back to one secret, shattering weekend that changes Jo’s entire life. With her world splintering into pieces, can Jo risk trying to set things right? Or will hiding the bitter truth by any means necessary destroy her as well?

How it’s going:

I put this one down for awhile, but not because I didn’t enjoy it. The ARC I received has VERY small print, so even though I was enjoying the story that aspect was a bit offputting and made it difficult to read. But, this is a perfect popcorn thriller. If you wanted to, you could read it in an afternoon. It’s also getting pretty dark. I expected this to be about bad people who do bad things, but these are really bad things. I wasn’t entirely prepared for how bad. I am also getting an idea about who is stalking Dominic, we’ll see if my theory pans out.

There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak

Audio progress: 4.5 of 16.5 hours

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synosis:

In the ancient city of Nineveh, on the bank of the River Tigris, King Ashurbanipal of Mesopotamia, erudite but ruthless, built a great library that would crumble with the end of his reign. From its ruins, however, emerged a poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh, that would infuse the existence of two rivers and bind together three lives.

In 1840 London, Arthur is born beside the stinking, sewage-filled River Thames. With an abusive, alcoholic father and a mentally ill mother, Arthur’s only chance of escaping destitution is his brilliant memory. When his gift earns him a spot as an apprentice at a leading publisher, Arthur’s world opens up far beyond the slums, and one book in particular catches his interest: Nineveh and Its Remains.

In 2014 Turkey, Narin, a ten-year-old Yazidi girl, is diagnosed with a rare disorder that will soon cause her to go deaf. Before that happens, her grandmother is determined to baptize her in a sacred Iraqi temple. But with the rising presence of ISIS and the destruction of the family’s ancestral lands along the Tigris, Narin is running out of time.

In 2018 London, the newly divorced Zaleekah, a hydrologist, moves into a houseboat on the Thames to escape her husband. Orphaned and raised by her wealthy uncle, Zaleekah had made the decision to take her own life in one month, until a curious book about her homeland changes everything.

How it’s going:

The writing in this book is absolutely beautiful. The author uses a single drop of water as a vehicle to weave these diverse stories together. What was a raindrop that fell upon the Mesopotamian king became a snowflake that fell on Arthur’s face at his birth, that became a tear shed for Narin, that later fell on Zaleekah. Water is the vehicle for describing these humans and it’s just perfect. I love this story so much so far. It is beautiful and moving. So far Arthur is my favorite story but Narin is very compelling too.

The Archived: A Unique Take on Life and Death

by Stefani

The Archived by Victoria Schwab

Published: January 22, 2013 by Hyperion

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was: a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn’t just dangerous—it’s a constant reminder of those Mac has lost, Da’s death was hard enough, but now that her little brother is gone too, Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself may crumble and fall.

Rating:

Review:

The synopsis for this book drew me in immediately. I loved the idea of it. Where a person’s life isn’t recorded in memories or pictures but in a flesh and blood embodiment of their life. And they can wake up and become dangerous and disturbed. It was giving me haunting vibes and zombie vibes all at once. And really it was a perfect combination of both of those things. It was an utterly unique idea that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before.

I got a little worried when I started this book because I noticed it was the first in a series. The second book was published shortly after the first, in 2014. Then an adjacent short story that acts as a 2.5 in the series was published in 2015. But nothing since then. The third book in the series is just noted as “having been outlined and plotted but with no timeline for completion”. Uh oh. Did I really want to get invested in a series that will likely never be finished? I decided to finish this one because I had already started it, and my answer is yet. I am totally willing to be invested in this series. Even if it will never be finished.

Mac was a great character. She is a young woman in the midst of dealing with immense grief. She has been given the knowledge of the Archive from her grandfather, knowing that when he was ready to pass away that the job would pass to her. So she’s grieving her grandfather and then her younger brother dies. And her family, in their grief, is determined to get a new start in a new city. They purge the home of all of her brother’s belongings and refuse to speak about him. Which is devastating for Mac because she KNOWS what happens when someone dies. She KNOWS that her brother’s History is sitting on a shelf somewhere. She knows that if she tried to wake him that it wouldn’t really be him. But at the same time, she is mourning his loss and has nothing else to remind her of him. I identified with her grief in so many profound ways.

I loved the story and the mystery of this book too. At first it seemed like Mac was trying to invent a mystery so that she didn’t have to think about her grief. But soon it became apparent that all of this was intentional, all of this is part of a larger plan, and that she is one of few who can figure out what that plan is.

My only complaint about this book is that I didn’t understand why Mac being a Keeper was such a big secret. So much of a secret that she couldn’t even tell her parents. As far as I understood, the ability to “read” things is what makes a good Keeper, and it’s genetic. Her grandfather says that her father had the ability too, he just didn’t think that his son has the temperament to be a Keeper. So, it seems like this should be able to be known to other people in the family. All those generations of it being passed down in the family and nobody ever knew except the person who was chosen? Keeping it a secret from the rest of the world made sense, but it didn’t make sense that it had to be a secret from her parents. That confused me and I couldn’t see a purpose behind it.

The ending of this book was an adventure filled ride. I read the last 125 pages in a single sitting because I couldn’t put it down. I never saw it coming. It was fantastic! It sold me on reading the next story, but I would also be content with the ending even if I never read the second book. I am hoping that the second book ends in a similar way, just in case this series never sees a third book.

‘Red River Road’: A Gripping Tale of Mystery and Vanlife

by Stefani

Red River Road by Anna Downes

Published: August 27, 2024 by Minotaur Books

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

Katy Sweeney is looking for her sister. A year earlier, just three weeks into a solo vanlife trip, her free-spirited younger sister, Phoebe, vanished without a trace on the remote, achingly beautiful coastal highway in Western Australia. With no witnesses, no leads, and no DNA evidence, the case has gone cold. But Katy refuses to give up on her.

Using Phoebe’s social media accounts as a map, Katy retraces her sister’s steps, searching for any clues the police may have missed. Was Phoebe being followed? Who had she met along the way, and how dangerous were they?

And then Katy’s path collides with that of Beth, who is on the run from her own dark past. Katy realizes that Beth might be her best—and only—chance of finding the truth, and the two women form an uneasy alliance to find out what really happened to Phoebe in this wild, beautiful, and perilous place.

Anna Downes takes us on a twist-filled journey into the dark side of solo female travel, in this gripping novel that explores what drives us to keep searching for those we have lost, the family bonds that can make or break us, and the deception of memory.

Rating:

Review:

Like a lot of people, I have been intrigued by this sudden explosion of “vanlife” influencers on social media. It seems to be this interesting mixture of people who love to travel, people who can’t afford a home and are forced to live on the road, and people who love adventure. And, naturally, we’ve all heard the media stories of times it has gone very badly in the last few years too. So, with that in mind, I was intrigued by this book. The premise sounded very promising, a girl looking for her missing sister. I expected that the mystery would be finding out what happened to her, it was….in a way.

My biggest complaint with this book is that it seems to be described by a lot of people as a “slow burn”. Normally I am fine with a slow burn of a book. But this book is only 369 pages. That’s a pretty average sized book. And the pace of this book, plus the length of the overall book, led me to feel like this was less of a slow burn and more like a book where nothing happens. It felt like nothing happened for SO LONG. The best part of the book was the last 25% because things actually happened.

I also didn’t like how many characters and POVs this book had. We have Katy, Phoebe, Beth, and Wyatt. And just for fun, sometimes Beth goes by several other names, so it’s virtually impossible to figure out who all these people are. I kept forgetting who we were talking about when Katy would mention Lily…who the hell is Lily? Oh right, Lily is Beth. I had to go back and re-listen to whole chapters because I couldn’t remember which POV we were in because all of the characters sound exactly the same. It was so confusing. I felt like I had no idea what was going on for most of the book.

The twist at the end of the book was okay. It wasn’t what I expected, which was a nice touch. But as more information kept spilling out it started to get a bit silly. It felt like a Billy Mays commercial. “Just when you thought the twists were done..wait there’s more! And for only $14.95 shipping and handling you can have yet another twist on the house!” It was too much. All of the characters were unreliable narrators, none of them were telling me a truthful or accurate story. So, by the end of the book it felt a bit pointless. I am no stranger to unreliable narrators but when it turns out that all 500 narrating characters are lying and have ulterior motives…well…what did I just read?

I did appreciate the beautiful writing about the scenery of Australia. This author has a beautiful way of describing things. I liked the narration of Phoebe’s social media posts, they were whimsical and captivating. I also appreciated the book’s discussion about domestic violence and how it intersects with the “vanlife” community. In the end this book had some redeeming qualities, but it just wasn’t my jam.

New Releases Wednesday – September 25, 2024

by Stefani

The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel

Published: September 24, 2024 by Berkley

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Alfred Smettle is not your average Hitchcock fan. He is the founder, owner, and manager of The Hitchcock Hotel, a sprawling Victorian house in the White Mountains dedicated to the Master of Suspense. There, Alfred offers his guests round-the-clock film screenings, movie props and memorabilia in every room, plus an aviary with fifty crows.

To celebrate the hotel’s first anniversary, he invites his former best friends from his college Film Club for a reunion. He hasn’t spoken to any of them in sixteen years, not after what happened.

But who better than them to appreciate Alfred’s creation? And to help him finish it.

After all, no Hitchcock set is complete without a body.

Why this caught my eye:

I am a big fan of Hitchcock. I would find the offering of a Hitchcock themed hotel irresistible. Even if a body was necessary, I would take that risk. A few years ago I also read and reviewed this author’s debut novel, Darling Rose Gold. And I really loved it! I made a promise that I would keep an eye out for this author in the future and here she is. The review for Darling Rose Gold is here.

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

Published: September 24, 2024 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common.

Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties—successful, competent, and apparently unassailable. But in the wake of their father’s death, he’s medicating himself to sleep and struggling to manage his relationships with two very different women—his enduring first love, Sylvia, and Naomi, a college student for whom life is one long joke.

Ivan is a twenty-two-year-old competitive chess player. He has always seen himself as socially awkward, a loner, the antithesis of his glib elder brother. Now, in the early weeks of his bereavement, Ivan meets Margaret, an older woman emerging from her own turbulent past, and their lives become rapidly and intensely intertwined.

For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude—a period of desire, despair, and possibility; a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking.

Why this caught my eye:

Lately, I find myself drawn to books that discuss grieving and loss. I’m not entirely sure why, but I am compelled by those kinds of stories lately. This one sounds profound and moving.

I’m Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom by Jason Pargin

Published: September 24, 2024 by St. Martin’s Press

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Outside Los Angeles, a driver pulls up to find a young woman sitting on a large black box. She offers him $200,000 cash to transport her and that box across the country, to Washington, DC.

But there are rules:

He cannot look inside the box.
He cannot ask questions.
He cannot tell anyone.
They must leave immediately.
He must leave all trackable devices behind.

As these eccentric misfits hit the road, rumors spread on social media that the box is part of a carefully orchestrated terror attack intended to plunge the USA into civil war.

The truth promises to be even stranger, and may change how you see the world.

Why this caught my eye:

Obviously the title and the cover is what initially drew my attention. But this just sounds fun! It sounds like a great adventure through insecurity and anxiety over the unknown.

Progress Updates Friday – September 20, 2024

by Stefani

The Archived by Victoria Schwab

Progress: Page 95 of 327

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was: a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn’t just dangerous—it’s a constant reminder of those Mac has lost, Da’s death was hard enough, but now that her little brother is gone too, Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself may crumble and fall.

Thoughts so far:

Whether this series will end up forever unfinished or not, I’m hopelessly invested. I am so compelled by Mac. I want to watch her on her journey. I am saddened by her journey through grief. Though there are a few things that I find confusing, I am hoping that we get some answers. But I just love it.

Red River Road by Anna Downes

Progress: 65% of 12 hours

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Katy Sweeney is looking for her sister. A year earlier, just three weeks into a solo vanlife trip, her free-spirited younger sister, Phoebe, vanished without a trace on the remote, achingly beautiful coastal highway in Western Australia. With no witnesses, no leads, and no DNA evidence, the case has gone cold. But Katy refuses to give up on her.

Using Phoebe’s social media accounts as a map, Katy retraces her sister’s steps, searching for any clues the police may have missed. Was Phoebe being followed? Who had she met along the way, and how dangerous were they?

And then Katy’s path collides with that of Beth, who is on the run from her own dark past. Katy realizes that Beth might be her best—and only—chance of finding the truth, and the two women form an uneasy alliance to find out what really happened to Phoebe in this wild, beautiful, and perilous place.

Thoughts so far:

I keep reading reviews that this book is a “slow burn”. But it’s only 12 hours of audio (369 pages in print). How much of a slow burn could it be? When I got about halfway through I determined that slow burn might mean that nothing actually happens. That’s how I’m feeling right now. There are too many characters. Too many POVs. I have no idea what’s going on. For context, this book is 369 pages and has 102 chapters. We change POV approximately every 3 pages. I have no idea who these people are, and none of their stories seem particularly relevant. It also doesn’t help that at least one character goes by 3 different names. I am also getting worried that all of these characters might have been lying to me so far. I don’t mind an unreliable narrator. But when ALL of them are unreliable it makes me feel like I’ve wasted my time. Hopefully it doesn’t go that way.