The Writing Retreat was really a wacky, over-the-top horror-thriller. Unfortunately, it was so badly paced and written that it flopped. It should have leaned into how impossible and camp the setup was but never did. It was almost embarrassing to read. I was puzzled the whole time about when it was supposed to take place. … Continue reading
I have followed the author of The Survivalists on Twitter for years and was really excited about the book. I suggested it to several library systems to buy. I enjoyed her Grub Street Diet which I read after the book and filled in some blanks for me. I too grew up eating seasonally because it … Continue reading
As you may have noticed I rarely read books by men. It is books like How to Survive Everything by Ewan Morrison that remind me why. Continue reading
I’m going to start by saying that Prom Mom doesn’t come out until July but I was lucky enough to get an ARC on Netgalley. I wanted to write this while the book was fresh in my mind–as soon it was downloaded I started reading. Continue reading
The year is almost over and I thought I’d end on a high note and read the earlier book of an author who wrote a book that landed on my top books for the year list. I wouldn’t say her more recent book Acts of Violets was great literature and a true classic but it … Continue reading
Dirt Creek did one of the best jobs of keeping all the characters in this tiny interrelated town straight and reminding us who they were all the time in a helpful yet unobtrusive manner I’ve seen! I really can’t say enough about how rare that is! There were a lot of characters, a lot of … Continue reading
High hopes dashed! What a boring, corny waste of a good idea. Why would you write a book like Groupies if you have no interest or knowledge of the era? I can only assume Priscus thought people were so desperate for a “new” Daisy Jones and the Six that no one would notice it didn’t … Continue reading
The Family Game is just such a fun book—an orphan novelist gets swept up by a wealthy man and his games-obsessed, insular family. Chaos ensues. Really a fun twist on the thriller genre with a little book within a book going on. Is it the best book in the entire world? Maybe not but it … Continue reading
What a waste of a good idea! The writing of The Bright Lands was so poor. Certain phrases were used over and over again the most glaring was “ridged stomach” and twice on one page the phrase “Joel wondered what the odds were that…” appeared. The word spry was also misused in the description of … Continue reading
Most of Flying Solo was cute enough but what was the point of the duck heist “caper”. It dragged on forever and wasn’t particularly funny or well-paced. It almost felt like the whole point was to drag the brother up from NYC but why? It didn’t add any value to the storyline or give depth … Continue reading
Rachel Reads Books 