Emilia Hart’s Weyward is an interesting story about witches, and despite the bad reputation that witches have, I think it would be cool to be a witch with actual magical powers. Weyward is also a predictable story, but then again, the trauma that men inflict upon women is predictable. The novel shows how three generations of women from the same family overcome this trauma and thrive.
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I like Isabel Cañas’s first novel, The Hacienda, so of course I was going to read her next novel, Vampires of El Norte. Also, there are vampires in it, so it must be thrilling, right? Unfortunately, Vampires of El Norte fell a little flat for me.
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I was instantly drawn to the cover of Heather O’Neill’s When We Lost Our Heads. But then I read the synopsis and decided to give it a pass because the main characters sounded insufferable. I ended up buying it because of the glowing reviews, and because I needed one more book to get free shipping for my Book Outlet order. I reluctantly started reading it when nothing else in my TBR pile called out to me. I was right about the main characters being insufferable, but it turns out there is much more to When We Lost Our Heads then the loathsome relationship between the main characters, and I ended up being wholly engrossed in this novel as I read it.
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The House of Eve is Sadeqa Johnson’s follow up novel to Yellow Wife, and it even has a surprising connection to Yellow Wife. The House of Eve is also a historical fiction novel about racism in the US. I did not find this novel to be as affecting as Yellow Wife. It is an interesting story, but some aspects of it are underwhelming.
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Shelley Wood’s The Leap Year Gene has an intriguing premise and is for the most part an interesting novel, but I feel like the last quarter of the novel was rushed and therefore left me feeling dissatisfied by the time I finished it. The novel is about a baby girl, Kit McKinley, who is born on February 29, 1916, and inexplicably only ages one year for every four years. The funny thing about The Leap Year Gene is that even though Kit is at the center of the novel, I found her character to be the least satisfying of the four main characters.
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I decided to read Remarkably Bright Creatures because it features an octopus detective. Yes, you read that right. An octopus that is a detective. Remarkably Bright Creatures turned out to be an incredibly sweet story about friendship, family and hope, with an ending that made me feel both sad and happy. I highly recommend this novel if you are looking for a cozy read.
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Jessica Knoll’s Bright Young Women is a big eff you to society’s weird fixation with serial killers. It takes its inspiration from the victims of a certain American serial killer who has been the subject of numerous documentaries, films, podcasts and television series. The fictionalized version of this serial killer is never named in Knoll’s novel (he is referred to throughout as The Defendant), and for good reason, because his name is not worth knowing and he is not worthy of the attention he received in life and continues to receive in death. Bright Young Women turns the attention given to The Defendant back on the women that it should have been focused on in the first place. It is a well written, quietly devastating read that examines the issues that women face without railing against them.
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This is my first Riley Sager novel, and it may not be my last. I chose to read Home Before Dark first because it is a story about a supposedly haunted house, and I love haunted house stories. I found this novel to be deliciously spooky (so spooky, that I kept telling myself that I really should stop reading spooky stories before I go to bed), but I was disappointed with the ending.
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I have to say that I am impressed with Catriona Ward. Here is another novel (the first being The Last House on Needless Street) that she is written where she has managed to surprise me with one of the story’s twists. I was not expecting the ending at all, which is always a pleasant surprise for me. Overall, Looking Glass Sound is a bang-up psychological thriller that I highly recommend if you like having your mind messed with.
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The Last Garden in England is the perfect novel if you are looking for something low conflict, and where all the characters get a happy ending. If you are a fan of Kate Morton’s novels, then you will most likely enjoy this one. It kind of reminded me of Morton’s The Forgotten Garden, except Morton’s stories have a darker edge to them. The Last Garden in England has an okay story, but it really is not engaging due to its predictability and because the author only skims the surface of the issues the characters face.
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