rpweber15's reviews
273 reviews

The Golden Couple by Sarah Pekkanen, Greer Hendricks

3.5

I'm in a "Creepy Book Club" and this was June's pick. I had a hard time getting into this book, mostly because I really didn't like any of the characters. By the end of it, I couldn't put it down because I just had to know how all the pieces were going to fit together. It was maybe a little predictable (and the writing a little manipulative), but still a decent ending. I think the book is full of too many red herrings and side plots that don't really mean much to the whole story. Overall, it was a decent read. I look forward to the book club discussion at the end of the month and am curious about next month's read. I think I like my thrillers to be a little more thrilling and complicated...this just felt like a Lifetime movie.

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

5.0

I knew within a few pages that I was going to absolutely adore this book. I also ordered every single other Fredrik Backman book before I was halfway through this one. I haven’t felt this way about a character since I read A Prayer for Owen Meany (my favorite book) for the first time. Such a lovely story about such a lovely man.

Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson

4.25

It’s been a long time since I read a good old-fashioned mystery like this. This is my first novel of Swanson’s and I’m quite pleased with it. I think I finished it with an amused smirk on my face, not because the book is amusing, but because I thought the book was very enjoyably clever!

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I gave this 4.5 stars the first time through. Three (?) years later and I’m giving it 5 stars. Why? Well, the state of the world is infuriating and depressing; this story is a healing salve on my soul. 

I absolutely loved this book and the characters. Such a charming story in which I was really rooting for everyone. I really hope we get a sequel because I loved these characters!

The Power by Naomi Alderman

4.0

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

2.0

Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton

5.0

Feral Creatures by Kira Jane Buxton

4.0

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

2.5

This was SO disappointing given Nettle & Bone and What Moves the Dead, both of which I loved. The writing style is wonderful and I felt a smidge attached to Toadling but I didn’t care about anything else in the book. At all. I was just trying to finish it. The magic, the fairy lore, the twist on the classic fairy tale…they were all poorly developed and barely described, yet extraneous to the simple tale that should have been a lot more. Really disappointed with this novella. Kingfisher has previously done so much more in the short pages of a novella…and those stories were complete. This one though? I barely cared enough to finish the book. I’m still not sure what the point was.

The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green

4.25

My first John Green book…and my first audiobook! I thoroughly enjoyed them both. It feels weird to rate this particular book, but I’ll give it 4.25 stars. As an epidemiologist, I loved all the disease related chapters, but I found myself really moved by the way John has a habit of waxing poetic about really mundane things that really make them mean something. There really are not just little things in life. That hot dog stand in Iceland? I’m not sure why but I especially loved that chapter. You’ll Never Walk Alone was incredibly moving. Googling Strangers…that one hit my tear ducts. I feel like these essays can hit someone differently each time they read them because the context of life is so important. That feels like a John Green thing but it’s just life. He just happens to tell the stories so well…and so unpretentiously. 10/10 would recommend.