I’ve got a few more book recaps for you.

And by “a few”, I mean 9… lol.

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
★★★★/5
Mystery
The characters were lovable and quirky. The story passed the time just fine. It’s a 3.5 in my mind, but I round up. Honestly, though, this one was very slow moving with lots and lots of subplots. Folks on Goodreads complained that the murder/mystery itself is actually pretty secondary- and they’re not wrong. I actually don’t even remember who dun it. I really cannot, for the life of me, remember the outcome to the murders. So I wouldn’t call it memorable or one that sticks with ya… I don’t really care one way or another about continuing the series, so I likely won’t.
BUY IT on BookShop

To Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters
★★/5
Historical Romance
The long and the short of this one is: Don’t waste your time. I’ve read a large handful of romances- including regency romances- and this one fell so flat it’s one-dimensional. Both main characters are immature and dumb. A lot of good comes from talking, but you have to do it with one another. I’m okay with miscommunication and misunderstanding- but they let this drag on for 5 years and that’s just so unrealistic and insane.
Some of the friends/side characters were interesting, and I know they have their own sequels, but I just can’t read another one of these. So I will be abandoning ship on this series.
BUY IT on BookShop *(but don’t)

Piece of Cake by Mary Hollis Huddleston & Ashley Fogle Paul
★★★/5
Romance
This was another incredibly “meh” romance. I’m not even sure it should be called a romance.
The female MC is immature, jaded, and overly/unnecessarily competitive. The male MC is likable, thus the higher rating than THATH above, but it was still a dud.
The romance was lacking and there were so many opportunities to take it beyond flirting… but the authors never really did. It was more about self discovery and acceptance for the female MC. Which is great and all… I guess… but it’s not really what we’re here for.
BUY IT on BookShop

Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum
★★★★/5
Contemporary Fiction
Fortunately, after a few bad eggs, I read a winner.
This book was dramatic with a handful of shallow, unlikable, deceitful characters. And as long as you know that going into it, it’s very enjoyable to read. I don’t read a ton of contemporary fiction, but this was like reading a Bravo show plus a little bit of (possible) murder. A guilty pleasure without any real guilt. The characters were plentiful but easy to remember and keep straight. The setting was exclusive and quiant. It was the perfect storm (pun intended) for a juicy novel.
BUY IT on BookShop

The Lover by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
★★★★★/5
Short Story | Romance
This was an Amazon Original/First Read. I’m so glad I chose it because I flew through it and found it so memorable.
It’s about woman named Judith and how she struggles- quite literally- with her demons. I thought it was really beautiful and I loved the ending. This story is dark, and it explores Judith’s natural tendencies toward love, lust, jealousy, feeling wanted, kindness, and loyalty. I felt like there were many big themes in this short story. It’s one I will read again on a cold, dark night.
BUY IT for Kindle

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
★★★★★/5
Science Fiction
This was a book club pick and I wouldn’t have chosen it without their influence. I’m so glad we read it. Funny enough, I was only able to really discuss it with my brother and we had completely different take-aways. (I missed the book club meeting due to distance/time.)
There was a heavy theme of doing the thing right vs. doing the right thing. There was also the question of having nothing to lose vs. everything to lose. My brother and I most disagreed over the important of the individual vs. the important of the group. I think you really digest this book based on your headspace and worldly outlook.
It’s a great book to discuss and I’d strongly recommend it for a book club!
BUY IT on BookShop

Same Time Next Year by Tessa Bailey
★★★★/5
Short Story | Romance
Another Amazon Original, thus the Kindle link below.
This was a cute, quick, steamy novella. There was nothing earth shattering or memorable about this one, but it was everything you want in a quick romance: attractive male athlete, strong independent female, a little tension but nothing too heavy, serious HEAT. Entreprenuer and athlete have a marriage of convenience that becomes something more. We’ve all seen it before but that’s okay.
I read it quickly and blushed quite a bit, so if that’s what you want, you’ll find it here.
BUY IT on Kindle

The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
★★★/5
Contemporary Fiction
I feel like I should’ve loved this book and I didn’t. It was “just okay.” Five college friends make a pact to reunite every time one of them needs a reminder about how loved and worthy they are… and each friend calls in on the pact for various reasons: divorce, death, the threat of jail time… It was an interesting story, given the macabre premise of living funerals, but I didn’t love the relationship between the friends. It felt guarded, even when it wasn’t supposed to.
I used to be very guilty of holding my close friends at arm’s length and I’ve let those walls down… so to see these five people be callous and sarcastic without ceasing and then say they are the closest friends they’ve got… it just didn’t jive for me. But other people loved it! So you might, too!
BUY IT on BookShop

Resting Scrooge Face by Meghan Quinn
★★/5
Short Story | Romance
My final Amazon Original for the year. Apparently I was a big fan of them this last quarter.
I’ve enjoyed Meghan Quinn books in the past and I was hoping for a cute Christmas novella when her name popped up in my email. It was Christmasy, but it was so so cheesy. Like, cringe because my hot cocoa is too sweet and needs more cream kind of cheesy.
The MCs were grumpy and scrooge-y until they suddenly weren’t. They had a past but they got over it very quickly and magically healed all years-long-wounds with a few cheesy words. I know it was supposed to be jolly and cheerful- and maybe I’m the Grinch here- but it was just too much.
BUY IT for Kindle

WHEW! If you’re still here, I’m impressed. That was a long one but I wanted to wrap up all my 2023 reads before my final 2023 book review post!

Now that this is done, we can move on to the yearly recap! Coming soon!

But before we do, did you read anything from my list? What were your thoughts?

-Audrey