Well. This past weekend was in the mid-70s every day, so I didn’t find the time to read as much as I would have liked. Warm temps just scream hiking and paddle boarding, and it’s really hard to read while doing either of those things
I finished three books this month.
(As a reminder: I always track my reading both on Goodreads and via Instagram stories.)
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“ROCK PAPER SCISSORS” BY ALICE FEENEY
Amelia and Adam’s marriage is failing. So, when Amelia wins a weekend getaway at a historic church-turned-vacation home, both Adam and Amelia hope to use their romantic weekend in Scotland as a way to rebuild their relationship. But, when Adam and Amelia arrive, it’s immediately obvious that things are not what they seem… and one or both of the Wrights may be in danger.
It’s really hard to even summarize this book without giving away the ending. I read Feeney’s “Daisy Darker” last month and I absolutely hated it, so I’m happy to say that I did like “Rock Paper Scissors” a lot better. The writing was still a little grating (so many fortune cookie quotes and philosophical sayings that just seem incredibly out of place) but I absolutely loved the twist and didn’t see it coming at all. However, despite the twist, I hated the ending.
“REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES” BY SHELBY VAN PELT
Tova Sullivan, a widow who has been grieving over the disappearance of her teenage son, Erik, 30 years ago, spends her evenings working as a janitor at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. Tova becomes acquainted with Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus, living in one of the tanks Tova diligently cleans. Marcellus,
I loved this book! The premise of it sounds very weird — a book partially narrated by an octopus? — but it works so, so well. The writing was good and I love how all the various plot lines connected at the end. I’m not ashamed to admit that I cried, either. Van Pelt wrote remarkably complex characters and I ended up loving all of them, faults and all. It reminded me a lot of “A Man Called Ove” in the best way.This was such a pleasant read!
“THIS TIME TOMORROW” BY EMMA STRAUB
It’s the eve of Alice’s 40th birthday, and her life is… alright. She lives alone in an apartment she doesn’t love or hate. She has a job she doesn’t love or hate. She has a relationship she doesn’t love or hate. But, Alice’s father is dying. One day, Alice wakes up, and she’s back in her 16 year old body… and her dying father is young, alert, vibrant. Alice has to work to figure out why she’s back in the past, how she can get home and whether she can save her father’s life.
I love a good time-travel-do-over book. “Midnight Library” was one of my favorite books I read last year. But “This Time Tomorrow” just missed the mark. It progressed so, so slowly. It spent way too much time following along with Alice’s every thought, but also somehow didn’t do a great job of developing her character. At 40 percent of the way through the book, I couldn’t believe I was almost halfway through because nothing at all seemed to be happening. I found myself skimming and flipping through pages throughout the whole second half just trying to get the plot progressing. I know this book was supposed to focus less on the plot and more on the relationship between Alice and her father, and maybe I would have been a little more into it if I had a better relationship with my dad, or if I had children. But, this one just wasn’t for me.
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And there you go! The best book of the month was definitely “Remarkably Bright Creatures.” I just started “Girl in Pieces” by Kathleen Glasgow because I loved “You’d Be Home Now” so much last month, so that will likely be my first read of next month. Excited to finish it!
