Backlist Briefs: A Round-Up of My January Backlist Reads
/24 Comments/by Suzanne
Those who follow my blog know that one of my big goals for 2020 is to read more of the books I own. My goal is to read at least 50 of the unread books that are currently sitting on my shelves. I had a pretty good January so I’m feeling like this goal can definitely be achieved and hopefully even surpassed. Rather than try to post individual reviews for each of my backlist reads, especially since there were 9 of them in January, I decided an end of the month round-up with my gut reaction to each book would be a much more efficient way to share my reads. So, without further ado, here’s a round-up of my January backlist reads.
THE FLATSHARE by Beth O’Leary. I was drawn to The Flatshare because of the premise – two strangers who, because of their opposite work schedules, are sharing a one-bedroom apartment. The main characters, Tiffy and Leon, were so lovable, both individually and together as their relationship gradually evolves when they become post-it note pen pals, writing each other the cutest little notes every day. The Flatshare is just an all-around entertaining read that features humor, flirty banter, a wonderful cast of secondary characters, romance and more than a few hilariously awkward moments. 4 STARS
ONE DAY IN DECEMBER by Josie Silver. One Day in December is such a charming and heartwarming read, but also one that had my emotions in knots at times. Everything about the story just sucked me right in. I adored Laurie from the very moment we meet her. Laurie is feeling down, and as she’s sitting on a bus pondering her sad situation (nowhere job, lack of love life), her eyes lock with a handsome man standing on the bus platform. Somehow she knows this man is meant to be her soulmate. Laurie pines for her “bus boy” for a year, looking for him everywhere she goes. Laurie finally finds him at a Christmas party and it’s clear that he recognizes her too, but there’s just one big problem – “Bus Boy” whose real name is Jack, is dating Laurie’s roommate and best friend, Sarah. I loved Laurie and Jack, but I also loved Sarah, which just made everything all the more gut wrenching. I was glued to the book because I just had to know how it was going to work out. I loved the balance between the funny, rom-com moments, the potentially heartbreaking moments, and the overall heartwarming ones. I had such a wonderful experience reading One Day in December that I immediately requested an ARC of Silver’s next book and look forward to diving into it. 5 STARS
GET A LIFE, CHLOE BROWN by Talia Hibbert. I have to admit that the super cute cover is what first drew me to Get a Life, Chloe Brown. Chloe suffers from chronic pain and leads a pretty dull and quiet life. After a near death experience she decides it’s time that she starts living her life again. I loved Chloe right from the start and thought it was absolutely adorable that she drew up an actual plan for how to get a life, complete with a numbered list of things to do. I fell in love with her even more when she recruited Red Morgan, the sexy tattooed handyman to help her. The chemistry between Red and Chloe is off the charts and I loved all of their adventures together as Chloe put her “Get a Life” plan into motion. If you’re looking for a read that will put a smile on your face, this is your book! 4.5 STARS
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ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE by Gail Honeyman. Eleanor Oliphant is a character that I won’t soon forget. She’s painfully awkward in social situations. Because of her social awkwardness, she lives a lonely life. I felt so sympathetic toward Eleanor because it just seems such a sad way to live. I also found her quite funny, particularly the way she would comment to herself about other people and their social awkwardness. I adored the blossoming friendship between her and Raymond, the IT guy at work. They’re both pretty clueless about social interactions but somehow they still just work together. It was really cute. We also learn the heartbreaking truth about Eleanor’s past and begin to understand why she’s the way she is. So yes, this book had my emotions all over the place – chuckling to myself one moment, near tears the next. This was just such an unexpected gem of a book and I highly recommend it, especially the audio version. The narrator captures Eleanor’s personality perfectly. 4.5 STARS
ELLIE AND THE HARPMAKER by Hazel Prior. This was one of my most anticipated reads of last year, but it ended up just being an okay read for me. I liked the unique idea of a friendship (and maybe more) developing from a mutual passion for harps. I also loved the quirky, endearing characters, especially Dan the Harpmaker, whose kindness knows no bounds. The friendship between Dan and Ellie was really sweet, but even with that, the story fell a little flat for me and I can’t really put my finger on why. 3.5 STARS
MIRACLE CREEK by Angie Kim. This book caught my attention when I learned that it was set in my home state of Virginia. And all I can really say is WOW. Miracle Creek is a riveting courtroom drama that focuses on the fallout from the explosion of a hyperbaric chamber at a special treatment center that has left two people, one only a child, dead. What follows is a heart-wrenching story filled with secrets, lies, and plot twists galore. I really loved reading this dark tale and as I followed the drama unfolding in the courtroom as we got closer and closer to the truth of what happened, I felt my jaw drop several times. Truly a stellar debut from Angie Kim and I look forward to reading more from her. 4 STARS
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THE WHISPER MAN by Alex North. The Whisper Man is gripping thriller about a small town with a dark past. Widower Tom Kennedy and his young son Jake have moved to the town of Featherbank in hopes of getting a fresh start. Twenty-five years ago a serial killer nicknamed ‘The Whisper Man” killed five young boys in the town. The Whisper Man has long since been caught, but another young boy goes misses not long after Tom and Jake move to town. When Tom and Jake, find themselves caught in the middle of this terrible nightmare, the story takes an even darker and more twisted turn. Suspenseful, atmospheric, and disturbing, The Whisper Man had me turning the pages late into the night, and of course, looking over my shoulder the entire time. 4 STARS
MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLER by Oyinkan Braithwaite. I listened to the audio version of this book and enjoyed it overall. It’s a dark read but not really what I was expecting based on the title. I thought it would be a suspenseful thriller but it’s actually more of a family drama about the relationship between two sisters. My only real complaint with the story is that I wish it was longer so that the main characters could be fleshed out a bit more. Still a very solid read though. 3.5 STARS
A TORCH AGAINST THE NIGHT by Sabaa Tahir. I found the second installment of Sabaa Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes series to be every bit as riveting as the first installment. I’m all for an action-packed story and that is definitely the case with this book. There are numerous fight scenes, which were a pure adrenaline rush, and there’s also some fantastic character development, especially with Laia, who is growing up right before our eyes, and then surprisingly with Helene, a character I thought would only play a minor role. This is definitely one of the more interesting fantasy series I’ve read in a while. 4 STARS.
Weekly Recap #141: Week of 2/2 – 2/8
/32 Comments/by Suzanne
It’s time for another weekly recap post of all things happening on and off the blog. This week I’ll be linking to the Sunday Post, which is hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and to Stacking the Shelves, which is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews.
Why is every week such a blur to me when I sit down to recap it? I guess because it’s mostly the same old, same old and therefore nothing stands out. There’s also drama at work again that consumed me for the past few days. I learned this week that a woman I had been training and mentoring for the past eight months applied for another job within our firm. She had apparently just used my team to get her foot in the door of the firm and then move on to what she really wanted to do. She had her interview on Friday so now we’re all just sitting around waiting to see if they’re going to let her move and leave my team short-staffed yet again just as we’re going into our busiest time of the year. So frustrating.
Anyway, on to other things because I don’t want to think about work anymore. Since it was rainy here all this past week, I stayed inside a lot and ultimately fell down the Disney + rabbit hole again. Toy Story 4 is now on there so I finally watched that (I’m still not sure how I feel about it) and I also watched the first four episodes of Diary of a Future President, which I thought was really good.
In odd news, my dog has developed a weird little growth right in the center of his nose right around Christmas time and it still hasn’t gone away. It looks almost like a little tube or horn. His veterinarian doesn’t think it’s anything serious, maybe a wart or a skin tag, but without removing it and sending it off to be tested, she’s not entirely sure what it is. Based on his reaction every time someone tries to touch it, I think it hurts him so we’re going to go ahead and get it removed this week. It will be minor surgery but he’ll still end up wearing the cone of shame for a few days, lol.
On the reading and blogging front, I finally sat down this week and wrote mini reviews for all of the backlist books I read in January. I finished 9 books so it will be a pretty big post. It probably sounds silly, but I also have to say it’s very satisfying to look at my TBR shelf and actually see a few gaps in there for a change. I’m sure I won’t be able to keep that pace up all year but I’m going to try. Wish me luck!
Oh well, I think that’s pretty much it for me. Have a great week, everyone!
WHAT I POSTED LAST WEEK
- [2 Feb] Weekly Recap #140: Week of 1/26 – 2/1
- [3 Feb] Reviews for THE LOOK ALIKE and BEHIND EVERY LIE
- [3 Feb] The Look-Alike by
- [3 Feb] Behind Every Lie by
- [4 Feb] Top Ten Tuesday – Books On My TBR I Predict Will Be 5-Star Reads
- [5 Feb] Can’t Wait Wednesday – THE SULLIVAN SISTERS by Kathryn Ormsbee
WHAT I’M READING THIS WEEK
UPCOMING REVIEWS
STACKING THE SHELVES
NONE
TOTALLY RANDOM
Can’t Wait Wednesday – THE SULLIVAN SISTERS by Kathryn Ormsbee
/16 Comments/by Suzanne
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about. It is a meme that I have loved participating in for over a year now, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.
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My selection for this week is THE SULLIVAN SISTERS by Kathryn Ormsbee. I’m a sucker for a good story about sisters and this one caught my attention since it’s about three sisters who used to be close but have drifted apart. Then when I saw the bit in the blurb about a sinister family mystery and a possible murder, I was 100% sold!
THE SULLIVAN SISTERS by Kathryn Ormsbee
Publication Date: May 26, 2020
From Goodreads:
Time changes things.
That painful fact of life couldn’t be truer for the Sullivan sisters. Once, they used to be close, sharing secrets inside homemade blanket castles. Now, life in the Sullivan house means closed doors and secrets left untold.
Fourteen-year-old Murphy, an aspiring magician, is shocked by the death of Siegfried, her pet turtle. Seventeen-year-old Claire is bound for better things than her Oregonian hometown—until she receives a crushing rejection from her dream college. And eighteen-year-old Eileen is nursing a growing addiction in the wake of life-altering news.
Then, days before Christmas, a letter arrives, informing the sisters of a dead uncle and an inheritance they knew nothing about. The news forces them to band together in the face of a sinister family mystery…and, possibly, murder.
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I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂