Reading Lately: May 2023 Book Reviews

Comedy writer Sally Milz has given up on finding love, channeling herself into her work writing for a television late-night live comedy show. When her average-looking male coworker starts dating a celebrity, Sally decides to write a sketch about how that would never happen for an average-looking woman. As she works on the sketch with Noah Brewster, this week’s pop music host, she realizes that sparks are flying and her life is looking more and more like a romantic comedy.

Romantic Comedy is a light and cute read that started off well but fails to keep your interest. I loved the setup of Sally and Noah working together at an SNL-style sketch comedy show. However, the book takes a hard turn in the second section, with over 100 pages of pandemic email correspondence that was hard to get into. To make matters worse, once Sally and Noah meet again in person, all the tension completely disappears, making the inevitable happily-ever-after less satisfying.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 4 April 2023
Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

In a world ravaged by climate change, Rose takes a job as a sex worker at Camp Zero, an American building project in the northern end of Canada. However, Rose is secretly spying on the camp architect, hoping to win a place for her and her mother in one of the elite climate change survival cities. At the same time, Grant, a newly arrived college professor, realizes the camp is not at all what was promised. Meanwhile, a group of female scientists arrive at a remote research station and begin to question their orders.

I was extremely curious when, for her April book club, Jenna Bush Hager picked this feminist dystopian novel with a f*ck the patriarchy message. I love science fiction, especially dystopian fiction, however, I wasn’t impressed with Camp Zero. Unfortunately, the narration is a step removed from the action, relying heavily on flashbacks. When combined with the slow plot, Camp Zero was difficult to get into.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 4 April 2023
Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

Adelaide’s dreamy life in London is made even better when she falls hard for Rory. He might not be the perfect boyfriend, but she’s fallen so hard for him that he lights up her world. When Rory’s ex-girlfriend dies, Adelaide does all she can to hold him together. However, she worries she is losing herself in the process. A powerful debut exploring toxic relationships and mental health.

Adelaide was an interesting debut novel to read. I had a hard time connecting with the story at first because I desperately wanted Adelaide to just leave Rory. As an outsider, it’s obvious he’s an asshole who needs therapy. Yet, when you are in the relationship, it can be so hard to see the obvious. About halfway through, I was hooked as I began to learn more about both Adelaide and Rory’s past relationship trauma and how that affected their current relationship. While not always a pleasant read, Adelaide was a thoughtful debut touching on intimate topics.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 18 April 2023
Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

When legendary white Hollywood actress Kitty Karr Tate leaves her entire estate to the St. John sisters, three wealthy Black women who were the daughters of her co-star, the media has lots of questions. For Kitty’s backstory is not what anyone realized. Raised by a Black single mother in a segregated Southern town, Kitty began passing as a white woman when she moved to Los Angeles, a decision that would have lasting consequences.

I have mixed feelings about Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?. I can see why Reese Witherspoon picked it for her May book club pick; the plot was intriguing. And not just the premise, but the entire story. I enjoyed learning more about what it was like for a Black woman passing as white: how that affected her relationships with others and with herself. Although the discussions on colorism, racism, and sexism were thought-provoking, the writing quality itself felt subpar and would have benefitted from a better editor. 

My Rating:

Publication Date: 2 May 2023
Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

Jack and her husband Gabe are security experts, hired to break into buildings and hack security systems. When a routine assignment goes awry, Jack returns to find her husband dead. Now Jack is the prime suspect and, on the run, she must decide who she can trust while hunting the real killer.

In Zero Days, Ruth Ware forgoes her trademark gothic psychological thriller for a straight-up action thriller that sorely missed the mark. With just a few chapters, the reader finds Jack on the run for murder, never stopping until the end of the book. Instead of setting a thrilling pace, the plot felt repetitive, with bursts of movement interspersed with Jack’s thoughts as she grieves. With very few characters, it wasn’t difficult to figure out whodunit which always spools the fun of any mystery. Having read all of her books, Zero Days is my least favorite Ruth Ware book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Gallery/Scout Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 20 June 2023
Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

In 1929, a teenage Lenora Hope was accused, but never convicted, of killing her parents and her sister. For decades, ever since polio left her unable to speak or move anything but her left hand, Lenora has remained in her family’s Maine estate. In 1983, after a six-month suspension after a patient’s death, Kit McDeere has no choice but to accept an assignment as Lenora’s home health aide. When Lenora begins to type out her story to Kit, Kit suspects that the old lady might not be as harmless as she appears.

Riley Sager’s thrillers are usually a summer staple for me, but The Only One Left was a struggle to read. The plot is mind-numbingly slow. Admittedly, it’s hard to introduce drama when your prime suspect is a paralyzed old lady who can’t talk. The first half of the book spends most of the time in Kit’s head, looping on the same anxious thoughts. The book finally picks up near the end, adding in some unexpected twists, but it took way too much forced reading to get to that point.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Berkley Dutton through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

My Rating:

Publication Date: 20 June 2023
Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

Ever since her aunt’s death, Clementine has put her head down to work harder toward her goals at her publishing company. Living in her late aunt’s apartment, one day she finds herself shocked to find a man in her kitchen. With kind eyes and a seductive Southern drawl, he’s the perfect man for Clementine. Except for the cosmic mistiming: he actually exists seven years ago. When Clementine encounters him in the modern day, she is shocked by how much he has changed.

I haven’t read The Dead Romantics, Poston’s big hit last year, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from The Seven Year Slip, especially since I’m not much of a romance reader. To my pleasant surprise, I fell in love with Poston’s nuanced love story, which reminded me of a few of my favorite Josie Silver’s writing. This twist on a time travel story keeps you guessing, for every time Clementine slips into the past, it affects her interaction with the present. Poston takes the concept of right person/wrong time to a whole new level, giving you an engaging and enjoyable summer read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Berkley Publishing Group through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 27 June 2023
Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

Diving into the latest scientific studies, Emily Nagoski helps you understand women’s sexuality – the why and the how it works – so that you can improve your sex life. Focusing on both physical and psychological factors, Come as You Are teaches how your brain and body work together and how to harness that to have a more satisfying sex life.

My library hold on the audiobook ran out before I finished, but found Nagoski’s sex book well-written, informative, and interesting. If you’ve ever wondered Is this normal? about your sex life, Nagoski’s answer is an emphatic yes. Unlike the little representation of sexuality you see in movies or porn, in real life, sex lives, anatomy, and desire considerably vary from person to person. Nagoski also highlights the latest research on how desire works, explaining your brakes and accelerator, the differences between spontaneous and responsive desire, and how to find what works best for you.

My Rating: DNF
Publication Date: 3 March 2015
Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

With all the work that has been done to push women’s equality forward, why are modern progressive couples falling back into traditional gender roles once they have children? Why do women do so much more in the home than men? Lockman looks at why the promised true domestic partnership didn’t come to pass for modern married dual-income households.

Be aware that All the Rage is a book that will get you all riled up. Instead of looking at all marriages, Lockman zeroed in on progressive dual-income households where the domestic labor was equally split before children. Yet in nearly every case, once the couple has a child, they fall back into traditional gender roles, with the wife taking on disproportionately more of the childrearing responsibilities. Hearing other women’s stories, I felt validated in my own frustrations and enraged that we haven’t made more progress toward equality. But it also helped me understand why progress toward equality can be frustratingly slow; it’s hard not to slip back into the patterns we have seen modeled for us our entire lives. 

My Rating:
Publication Date: 7 May 2019
Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

In the fifth book of the Throne of Glass series, Aelin Galathynius uses every trick up her sleeve to unite the people of Erilea to fight against the looming darkness from Morath. Yet the gods have a bigger plan for Aelin, one that might require more than she is willing to give. Despite the increasingly large cast of characters, Maas was surprisingly able to focus on each character’s development individually. With plenty of action and an intense ending that makes you immediately want to pick up the next book, Empire of Storms gets five stars from me.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 6 September 2016
Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

After leaving you with a massive cliffhanger, Maas spends the sixth book of the Throne of Glass series on a side quest of Chaol Westfall, former Captain of the Guard. Paralyzed by the King of Adarlan and traumatized by recent events, Chaol sets off with Nesryn to request aid in the war from the Khagan of the Southern Continent. Working with a talented healer, Chaol learns more about the Valg than they realized.

Although Tower of Dawn made Chaol more understandable and added to the greater world-building of the series, it was a let-down to go from Empire of Storms‘s high-action cliffhanger to Tower of Dawn‘s slow predictable storyline.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 5 September 2017
Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

In the seventh and final book of the Throne of Glass series, Aelin Galathynius must use every strength she can after being captured and tortured by Queen Maeve. Meanwhile, without Aelin, Aedion and Lysandra must try to hold her kingdom together as Erawan sends his forces against Terrasen. As Rowan and his companions try to free Aelin and Dorian, Chaol and Manon set off on their own quests, the final battle for Erilea comes to an exciting conclusion in this excellent ending to an excellent series.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 23 October 2018
Amazon | Goodreads | More Info