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.

Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale

 

There was a lot to like about this, but the ending was not one of those things.

Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas

I liked this enough to continue with the series.

Sisters of the Southern Cross by Jean Grainger

 

So there's a sense in which I realize that Grainger's characters are way too binary, with no character development. But there's another sense in which I really love her books.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Poster Girl by Veronica Roth

 

meh

Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie

 

Really well done - - and that ending . . .