Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

 

For some reason, I always suspect that Hepworth books are going to be relatively lame, and then they always end up impressing me with clever plots.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Invisible Woman by Katia Lief

 

 

Novels are allowed a max total of one extraordinary circumstance and/or coincidence. This otherwise promising book well exceeded that limit.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Upcountry by Chin-Sun Lee

 

 A decent book that tried to tackle a lot of interesting issues but just didn't sparkle.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Cold to the Touch by Kerri Hakoda

 

  On the one hand, this is a solid mystery. On the other hand, it doesn't really distinguish itself from all of the other solid mysteries.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Big Time by Ben Winters

 

 This was fun.

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

 

 Pretty cheesy.

Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran

 

 Excellent, but wrenching.

The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan

 

 Mostly good, but the ending was over the top.

Pym by Mat Johnson

 

 Funny.

End of Story by A. J. Finn

  

 Very clever, very well written.

The Murder of Mr. Ma by John Shen Yen Nee and SJ Rozan

 

 This was so much fun: the same vibe as classic mystery novels, with an interesting cultural twist. Recommended.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman

 

I was predisposed to like this, but it just didn't work for me. It seemed like it wanted to be social commentary, but it fell flat as a book?

Review copy provided by publisher.

Close Enough to Touch by Colleen Oakley

 

 Cheesy, but I liked it.

The Hunter by Tana French

 

 meh

Annihilation by Jeff Vandirmeir

 

 meh

A Love Song for Ricky Wilde by Tia Williams

 

 So, so good.

Women Are the Fiercest Creatures by Andrea Dunlop

 

 This was really fun.

Maybe Next Time by Cesca Major

 

 meh

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner

 

 I really liked this.

The Extinction of Irena Ray by Jennifer Croft

 

 meh

Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark

 

This is one of the most rewarding books I have ever read.

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

  

Fun local-ish color, a great read, but -- like so many mysteries -- it got to be a bit bizarre at the end.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano

 

This may be my favorite series. It's excellent, funny, screwball comedy.

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Excitements by C.J. Wray

 

 This was super fun.

Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice

 

meh

The Book of Doors by Garth Brown

 

Fantasy and magical realism are so not my thing, but I was just in love with this story.

The Guest by B. A. Paris

 

Started strong, but too many weird relationship connections.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Piglet by Lottie Hazell

 

I think I liked this? It was cringy, often, not in a funny way but in a devastating way. At some moments, perhaps a little over the top?

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Rumor Game by Thomas Mullen

 

I don't do a lot of historical fiction, but this was really solid. It was an interesting sliver of WWII that isn't overdone, with of course interesting parallels to today.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

 

 Fun.

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay

 

 meh

Come Home by Lisa Scottoline

 

 decent

Please Report Your Bug Here by Josh Riedel

 

 meh

Past Crimes by Jason Pinter

 

 The first half of this was fabulous; the second half was like average YA fare.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Original Sins by Erin Young

 

 

I'm like the ideal target audience for this plot, but the execution was too heavy-handed.  I didn't like it.  

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Book of Love by Kelly Link

 

 Why are people raving about this? It reads like a generic Harry Potter knock-off.

Never Ask Me by Jeff Abbott

 

 meh

Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson

 

 So much fun.

One Wrong Word by Hank Phillippi Ryan

 

Decent, but, ultimately, not particularly memorable.

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Heavens May Fall by Allen Eskens

 

Very solid. I plan on checking out whatever else he's written.

Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

 

So, so good. I'm not sure how I missed this when it came out.

The Women by Kristin Hannah

 

First, anything Julia Whelan narrates is 20% better for it. And she does not disappoint here. As for the story: well, there are some cheesy elements, but I suspect that's par for the course for a coming of age novel. But, overall, it was solid.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Reader, I Murdered Him by Betsy Cornwell

 

 meh

The Scholar by Dervla McTiernan

 

 Nicely done.

Come and Get It by Kiley Reid

 

  I was so looking forward to this because I loved her first book, but this was disappointing.

The Book of Polly by Kathy Hepinstall

 

 This is one of the funniest books I ever read.

The Sweet Spot by Amy Poeppel

 

 Quirky and fun.

Murder Most Royal by SJ Bennett

 

 This may be my favorite series.

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell

 

 Oh my gosh, this was so much fun.

Hold My Girl by Charlene Carr

 

 Great, until it jumped the shark.

The Busy Body by Kemper Donovan

 

This was fantastic. I read so many mysteries that it's hard for any one of them to seem fresh, but this one was.

Review copy provided by publisher.