2 Book Lovers Reviews
The Strangers We Know
By Pip Drysdale
I think we can all admit
that to some degree we
have all felt pulled in a
million different directions,
overwhelmed, and
exhausted from time to
time. Well, if anyone can
take a trying time and turn
it into an entertaining read,
it’s Sophie Kinsella.
November's Anticipated Reads!
November is a time to reflect and give thanks. Once again, I have a great deal to be thankful for: family, friends, health, happiness, and books, of course. During a month that is usually bleak, filled with more gray days than sunny, bare trees without any leaves, chillier temperatures, and less daylight, at least we have a way to escape, to step into a different place, season, or world. We have our books. Whether you enjoy your e-reader, a paperback, or you prefer listening to an audiobook, books are a reprieve from the everyday, and for that I am truly grateful. November’s new releases have made my to-be-read list considerably longer, but again, this is something to be thankful for…and I am.
- November 7 – The Good Part – By Sophie Cousens
Sophie Cousens' new releases always have a spot on my TBR list! I do love a what-if scenario in my novels, and this one looks so good!
Lucy Young is twenty-six and tired. Tired of fetching coffees for senior TV producers, sick of going on disastrous dates, and done with living in a damp flat with roommates who never buy toilet paper. After another disappointing date, Lucy stumbles upon a wishing machine. Pushing a coin into the slot, Lucy closes her eyes and wishes with all her might: Please, let me skip to the good part of my life.
When she wakes the next morning to a handsome man, a ring on her finger, a high-powered job, and two storybook-perfect children, Lucy can’t believe this is real—especially when she looks in the mirror, and staring back is her own fortysomething face. Has she really skipped ahead like she’s always wanted, or has she simply forgotten a huge chunk of her life? As Lucy begins to embrace new relationships and the perks of maturity, she’ll have to ask herself: Can she go back to her previous life, and if so, can she stand to leave the good part behind?
- November 7 – Check & Mate – By Ali Hazelwood
A new Ali Hazelwood book? Yes, please!
Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess.
Nolan’s loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What’s even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist....
- November 7 – The Strangers We Know – By Pip Drysdale
If you're like me and you enjoy a good thriller, you really need to check out Pip Drysdale's books. This author knows how to write a novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Imagine seeing your loving husband pop up on your best friend’s dating app. Now imagine that’s the best thing that happens to you all week...
When Charlie sees a man who is the spitting image of her husband, Oliver, on a dating app, her heart stops. Her first desperate instinct is to tell herself she must be mistaken—after all, she only caught a glimpse from a distance as her friends laughingly swiped through the men on offer. But no matter how much she tries to push her fears aside, she can’t let it go. Because she took that photo. On their honeymoon.
When other signs of betrayal begin to surface, Charlie does the only thing she can think of to defend herself—she signs up for the app to catch Oliver in the act.
But Charlie soon discovers that infidelity is the least of her problems. Nothing is as it seems, and nobody is who she thinks they are...
- November 7 – The Beautiful and the Wild – By Peggy Townsend
There's something about a book that is set in Alaska that always draws my interest. This one had me at the first line of the synopsis.
The dangers of Alaska aren't limited to storms, starvation, and grizzly bears. Sometimes the most dangerous thing is the person you love...
- November 14 – A Wish for Christmas – By Courtney Cole
Yes, I know, Christmas is next month, but look at that cover, and I do love books about married couples. This one has that what-if scenario, too, and throw in the magic of Christmas and, well, I am sold!
An unhappily married couple makes a wish on an enchanted snow globe that they had never met, but when they wake up the next day in separate lives, the magic of Christmas helps them to realize that some love is just meant to be...
Happy Reading!
Week of Nov. 27, 2023
Artemis
By Andy Weir
November's Anticipated Reads!
Wow! Time is flying by. It's hard to believe that November is here already. Where does the time go? My reading hasn't exactly gone as expected, but that is a problem that I have of setting goals that are a bit too high; sometimes life just gets in the way. With winter well on its way, it is the time to curl up with a great book and a warm beverage and relax. November has some great-looking books that are sure to find a place on my TBR. So, it's time to kick back and get in some great reading before the holiday season arrives and then all bets are off.
- November 10 – A Dark Roux – By Blaine Daigle – The dark waters of the Louisiana bayou seems to be a fantastic backdrop for a great horror story. Blaine Daigle has a knack for putting together a magnetic cover with a captivating synopsis.
Beneath the black waters of the Louisiana bayou hides a world of dark mysticism. A world steeped in superstition and the decay of family legacies. A world Rhiannon LeBeau thought she’d left behind fifteen years ago after a summer of tragedy and horror.
But following the death of their mother, Rhiannon LeBeau and her younger brother Rhett find themselves drawn back to their crumbling ancestral home deep in the sugarcane farms of Terrebonne Parish. A place full of family secrets and lost memories that will force both siblings to come face to face with the demons of their past…and present.
Because something has been waiting for their return. Something with a long memory and a debt to collect. Something tied to the bayou in blood. Something that intends to make sure Rhiannon and Rhett never leave again.
- November 14 – The Book of Dog – By D.J. Molles
This book really grabbed my attention, a sort-of dystopian world where the humans are gone and the pets are left to their own devices. I'm certain that D.J. Molles will do this right.
Banger and Mash knew something strange was happening when their peoples’ scent began to fade. Sweetpea the cat knew it too, but…you know…he just wasn’t that worried about it. But when their human vanishes into thin air right before their noses, they race to get help from the other dogs in the village, only to discover that EVERYONE'S humans have disappeared.
Banger, a rescue with a traumatic past, convinces the other dogs that they must have done something Very Bad to incur this terrible punishment. Determined to become Perfect Dogs to entice the humans to return, a draconian system of laws is put into place to keep dogs from doing anything that might be seen as Bad—no more eating trash, no more sleeping on the couch, and definitely no humping. Sweetpea is more than happy to use his prodigious feline memory to help them keep track of their ever-more-complicated rules…so long as they refer to him as His Masterfulness, and pay him homage.
Mash, on the other hand, is not so sure that they’re going about it the right way. He wants to be a Good Dog, but he’s pretty sure that the whole reason the peoples loved them in the first place was because they were…well…dogs.
As differing philosophies give rise to conflict amongst the canines, a new theory of how they should behave arises from an unlikely source: Sweetpea--AKA, His Masterfulness--who is either the only cat capable of hearing the voice of the peoples…or maybe he’s just going crazy.
- November 14 - Good Girls Don't Die - By Christina Henry
The title of this book has a definite final-girl vibe. One look at the synopsis and, yeah, this is going there.
Celia wakes up in a house that’s supposed to be hers. There’s a little girl who claims to be her daughter and a man who claims to be her husband, but Celia knows this family—and this life—is not hers…
Allie is supposed to be on a fun weekend trip—but then her friend’s boyfriend unexpectedly invites the group to a remote cabin in the woods. No one else believes Allie, but she is sure that something about this trip is very, very wrong…
Maggie just wants to be home with her daughter, but she’s in a dangerous situation and she doesn’t know who put her there or why. She’ll have to fight with everything she has to survive…
Three women. Three stories. Only one way out.
- November 21 – Mister Lullaby – By J. H. Markert
I guess you could say that this book really has the It factor going on, just look at that cover. There is a lot going on in this synopsis and it all sounds good: a decrepit old train tunnel, bodies left with old lullabies, mythical monsters. All of this sounds like a whole lot of fun, count me in.
Something is waking up in the tunnel—something is trying to get through. And Mr. Lullaby is coming...
Week of Nov. 27, 2023
Beartown is a story that came highly recommended to me. As someone who grew up in a smaller, northern town and spent many hours in the local arena, both as a player and a parent, I could hear the call of Beartown loud and clear.
What he's reading!
What she's reading!