Finally May! Feels like the year is going quick but also not at the same time? It’s technically spring but I’m still freezing my butt off in NYC otherwise known as the arctic tundra. Hope it’s all warm and sunny wherever you are, but don’t rub it in.
Read a bunch of stuff recently and figured I should share my yes and no’s for the month’s reading list!
The Death of Mrs. Westaway
The Gist: Tarot Card reader down on her luck receives a letter claiming she is to inherit a fortune, however,she immediately finds out they have the wrong person.
Thoughts and Feels: I got about half way through this book before I was like “I can’t.” I hate not finishing books, but this one was just so boring. The characterization of the main girl was bad, so I really wasn’t invested in what happened to her. If I don’t care about the main character, it’s a really hard read. I would say she was better at describing scenery than characters. I also kept getting confused on the time period because it sounded like the early 1900s but it was actually the 90s.
Rating: 0/10 just skip it. nothing interesting about it
The Proposal
The Gist: Girl gets randomly proposed to at a baseball game by her boyfriend on the jumbo tron and rejects the guy. It’s a love story, don’t worry.
Thoughts and Feels: This one I liked! It was cute, but predictable. Sometimes you just need a good rom-com after all the thrillers and murder mysteries
Rating: 8/10 cute, but like not the best thing I’ve ever read
The Outsider
The Gist: A boy is brutally murdered in a small town. Police think they have the suspect, but that’s just the beginning.
Thoughts and Feels: I’m embarrassed to say this was my first Stephen King. Also embarrassed to say it did freak me out for a couple nights trying to sleep. It starts off like a normal murder mystery, but he adds a supernatural element towards the middle. Not gonna give anything away but it’s pretty creepy stuff. As I assume with all Stephen King novels, it was very well written. Switches between a few character perspectives, fantastic character development and just all around good story. Longest book I’ve read in a while, but worth it.
Rating: 10/10 creepy in the best way
The Lying Game
The Gist: Woman goes back to her childhood boarding school in order to help her friend.
Thoughts and Feels: If you think that description is weirdly short, you’re right. There’s no other way to describe it without giving anything away other than saying very little. Managed to finish this one, but really wasn’t super into it. Ruth Ware books have a way of jumping right into the story, but not making it a very interesting one. The main character also brings her 6 month old baby everywhere which seemed very unnecessary? Not great, but the idea was pretty okay-ish.
Rating: 5/10 probably just skip it
Where the Crawdads Sing
The Gist: For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life–until the unthinkable happens
Thoughts and Feels: Had to copy and paste the actual summary because my “gist” was going to be something along the lines of “girl who grows up utterly alone find love. Also someone dies?” which sounds like a stupid book. Not gonna lie, when I saw this on the best seller list, I rolled my eyes. I hate the word “craw-dad,” but since its not based in Louisiana, I let it slide. I’m glad I did because this book was phenomenal. Reads almost like a biography, switching from the past to the current state A.K.A the murder. Couldn’t put it down and loved the ending.
Rating:10/10 devoured it
The Woman in Cabin 10
The Gist: Woman goes on a luxury trip on a yacht for work that turns into a possible murder mystery.
Thoughts and Feels: Here we are with another Ruth Ware. Went on a kind of rampage reading them. This one I’d say was the best one. Didn’t hate the main character, although there were times where I wished she’d kept her damn cool–if that makes any sense. Not predictable and went through it pretty quickly.
Rating: 6/10 no Karin Slaughter, but pretty decent