Where the Grass Is Green and the Girls Are Pretty by Lauren Weisberger

 

This was fun.

Killer by Design by Ann Burgess

 

Burgess was one of the first criminal profilers, and this story is fascinating. 

Review copy provided by publisher.

When Life Gives You Lululemons by Lauren Weisberger

 

This was great fun.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

 

This was dumb.

The Final Case by David Guterson

 

This was lame.

The Overstory by Richard Powers

 

The first half of this was magical; the second half was good.

Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz

 

I don't usually do YAL because it tends to be shallow and cliched, but this was fantastic. Highly recommended.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Last Resort by Andrew Lipstein

 

Clever plot, some clever dialogue, but just . . . not outstanding?

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Mitford Vanishing

 

I would describe this as "just OK." There are so many British mysteries that are so much better than this.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Hotel Portofino by J. P. O'Connell

 

Surprisingly good -- a nice choice for Downton Abbey fans.

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Hush by Sara Foster

 

This was very interesting and well written.

Honor by Thrity Umrigar

 

This was fantastic. I need to see what else Umrigar has written.

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

 

So I was deeply, deeply emotionally affected by this. I don't want to get into spoilers, but I would love to have someone to discuss this one with. There is a lot going on here.

A Little Devil in America by Hanif Abdurraqib

 

This book seemed to be on every "best of" list, but I resisted reading it because I'm not super interested in music/culture criticism, but I finally picked it up, and it was well worth reading because the writing and insights are so, so good.

The Maid by Nita Prose

 

Very engaging, excellent characters, but the ending was a tad disappointing.

Deliberately Divided by Nancy Segal

 

Fascinating, although would have been better if 10% shorter.

The Mansion by Ezekiel Boone

 

I normally like Boone, and there were some interesting elements here, but this just didn't work for me.

The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain

 

This was excellent, both on the level of mystery/suspense as well as social commentary. I don't want to give any spoilers, but I particularly appreciated how it handled the "white savior" issue.

Review copy provided by publisher.

A Dream to Die For by Susan Z. Ritz

 

I thought this was lame. I'm surprised I finished it.

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

 

This was really interesting and well done.