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Month: November 2024

The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel

The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel

A long time ago I learned that authors get paid to write reviews of other authors’ works, which I thought was disappointing because I liked to believe that authors are giving an honest opinion when they write their reviews and are not influenced by monetary gain. But after seeing the praise for The Hitchcock Hotel from the likes of Riley Sager, Alex Michaelides and A. J. Finn, I am convinced that authors are pocketing money as they trick us into reading crappy books, because The Hitchcock Hotel is not a good novel.

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The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

I probably never would have read Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible if I had not read Demon Copperhead first, and I am so glad I did not miss out on this incredible story of family, religion and race. I completely understand now why The Poisonwood Bible is such a well-regarded novel, and I highly recommend it, just do not let its thickness deter you.

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Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

I liked Jessica Knoll’s Bright Young Women enough that I decided to read her debut novel, Luckiest Girl Alive. I am glad that I read Bright Young Women first because I probably would not have bothered to read any other of Knoll’s novels if I had started with Luckiest Girl Alive. That is not to say that I think Luckiest Girl Alive is a terrible novel. I actually ended up liking it by the time I finished it. But Luckiest Girl Alive is a more sensationalistic story compared to Bright Young Women, and it is a real exercise in empathy with one of the most disingenuous protagonists I have come across in my literary travels.

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The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft

The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft

I wanted to read The Extinction of Irena Rey because of the pretty cover, but also because the plot does sound like it might be interesting: The novel is about eight translators who gather in Poland at the house of the writer Irena Ray to translate her next novel, but then Irena goes missing. The thing is, as soon as I started reading the first chapter, I knew I had made a mistake and that I was not going to like this novel.

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