The Leap Year Gene by Shelley Wood

The Leap Year Gene by Shelley Wood

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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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Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

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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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Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

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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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Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

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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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Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward

Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward

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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 by Julia Kelly

The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly

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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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The Briar Club by Kate Quinn

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn

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Yay! A new Kate Quinn novel! If you have been following along, you know I love Kate Quinn’s novels. Are they becoming more and more predictable? Yes, but who cares! I am here for the history lesson, and The Briar Club tackles a decade that I have not read much about before: the 1950s.

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The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

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The title of Stuart Turton’s third novel, The Last Murder at the End of the World, sounds compelling, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, I did not find the murder mystery aspect of this novel to be very compelling, which is too bad because I love a good mystery. There are other aspects of the novel that I did find interesting, though, but it may not be reason enough to read this novel if you are not already a fan of Turton’s.

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There There by Tommy Orange

There There by Tommy Orange

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There There is the debut novel of Tommy Orange. Orange is a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, and he was born and raised in Oakland, California. There There is a story about the Urban Indian and is set primarily in Oakland. It is told from the different perspectives of twelve interconnected Native American characters who are all planning on attending the Big Oakland Powwow. I think Orange did a fantastic job of creating twelve distinct and compelling characters, and I appreciate being able to read about Indigenous life in an urban setting rather than a rural setting or on a reservation.

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