The Plinko Bounce by Martin Clark

 

Very clever plot with a nice twist. The narrator was not create, especially with the child's voice, but the book was solid.

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Dispatcher by John Scalzi

 

Good set up, decent novella.

Murder by Other Means by John Scalzi

 

Interesting premise, but the first one was more interesting.

Counting the Cost by Jill Duggar

 

I've always been vaguely embarrassed by my interest in the Duggars.

Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon

 

meh

Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss by Rajeev Balasubramanyam

 meh

How I Won a Nobel Prize by Julius Taranto

 

What if everyone who had been cancelled moved to an island where an eccentric billionaire ran a libertarian college?

What if a not-cancelled, not-libertarian woman physicist moved there because her colleague did?

This book was great fun, with a fantastic twist. 

Review copy provided by publisher.

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

 

meh

The Breakaway by Jennifer Weiner

 

Fun.

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

 

I loved, loved, loved this.

Enchantment by Orson Scott Card

 

In some ways, this hasn't aged well. In some ways, it's quite clever.

We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman

 

This was amazing.

The Rift by Walter Jon Williams

 

The was very long and, I guess, decent.

The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp by Leonie Swann

 

It almost seems like "quirky old people solving a mystery" is becoming its own genre. I have certainly read some very funny, very engaging books in that niche. This one definitely qualifies. Recommended.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Hope: A Novel by Andrew Ridker

 

This was really good. And a bit weird.

Grey Mountain by John Grisham

 

meh

Broken Ice by Matt Goldman

 

Solid.

Atomic Habits by James Clear

 

I'm torn between thinking this was really insightful and really pedestrian.

Far from the Tree by Robin Benway

 

Decent.

Ms. Demeanor by Elinor Lipman

This was really funny.

The Index of Self-Destructive Acts by Christopher Beha

 

I virtually never read (as opposed to listen to) books, but I am developing a preference for paper books on vacation, so . . . I picked this up at a little store in Winter Park, Colorado. It was really good.

Gone to Dust by Matt Goldman

 

While the plot suffered from some of the same weird extremeness as other mysteries, the protagonist's voice made it worthwhile. I'll probably continue with the series.

Dark Corners by Megan Goldin

 

In general, this was solid -- the brief sections from the killer's perspective were handled well. However, the scorn for influencer culture felt a bit over the top. I mean, we get it: they are shallow.

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Ninth Metal by Benjamin Percy

 

This was really fun.

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

 

So this was fun.

Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum

 

I don't know why everyone is raving about this.

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen

 

This was very clever. I listen to so many books that a lot seem derivative, but this felt fresh. 

Review copy provided by publisher.

Friends and Strangers by J. Courtney Sullivan

 

meh

The Deluge by Stephen Markley

 

This was a bit overstuffed, but still terrifying.

Mrs. Plansky's Revenge by Spencer Quinn

 

This was epic fun. The Romanian setting was fun, and I appreciated the quirkiness of the plot.

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

 

Some of the expository parts got a bit long-winded, but overall this was just lovely and charming.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

 

Yeesh, this did not age well.

We Are Satellites by Sarah Pinsker

 

This worked really well.

The Wives by Tarryn Fisher

 

Clever, with good twists.

What Remains by Wendy Walker

This was really well done -- it was unusual enough to hold my attention. I find that I am often disappointed that endings to mysteries are so bizarre, but this one stuck the landing.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Cutting Teeth by Chandler Baker

 

Chandler Baker is one of my favorite authors (doesn't hurt that she lives in Austin, so when women in her books get stressed, they eat Blue Bell straight outta the carton). Sometimes when I really like an author, my high expectations set me up for disappointment.

Well. This book far exceeded my already lofty expectations. It was brilliant funny, clever, and really worth reading. Highly recommended.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Queen Wallis by C. J. Carey

 

I was looking forward to this because I really enjoyed Widowland. It exceeded my expectations with its very clever alt-history. That said, the title is a bit off -- it really isn't about Wallis very much.

Review copy provided by publisher.

American Mermaid by Julia Langbein

 

Unique, clever, wicked funny, etc. Highly recommended.

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman

 

Overall really well done, but the beginning was stronger than the ending. 

The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi

 

So. I don't even know where to start. This was laugh-out-loud funny, with an excellent narrator. And then it takes this super-dark, super-weird twist. And I'm not sure how to feel about that. But I think I could recommend this for book groups because it's definitely one of those "I need to talk to someone about this" books.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Summer of '69 by Elin Hilderbrand

 

meh

What the Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman

 

Lots of interesting elements here, but I think we need a new rule banning multiple improbably events in one novel serving as plot resolution.

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley

 

Decent.

Hestia Strikes a Match by Christine Grillo

 

I am still not clear whether this was a dystopian novel, a romance, social criticism, satire, or a feel-good novel. There were a lot of interesting elements here, but they just didn't seem to gel, and the tone felt confusing.

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis

 

meh

The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand

 

fun

The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova

 

Decent.

The Silent Bride by Shalini Boland

 

I kept thinking that this was going to get stupid, but it didn't. I was surprised that it was quite good.

Drowning by T. J. Newman

 

meh

Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See

 

Decent.

Night Will Find You by Julia Heaberlin

 

Such an interesting set-up with a lot of tension over whether psychic abilities are real . . . and then a really silly plot twist. 

Review copy provided by publisher.

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

 

Unique, compelling, showstopper of a conclusion.