"Reckless Girls" by Rachel Hawkins

Reckless Girls is Rachel Hawkins' sophomore novel in the adult thriller genre. Earlier this year I read and enjoyed her The Wife Upstairs, which was a loose retelling of Jane Eyre. This new novel is not a retelling per se, but definitely a nod to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. Our main character Lux and her boyfriend end up taking a pair of vacationers to a remote Pacific island where they run into another couple enjoying this otherwise uninhabited tropical paradise. Just as in other closed circle mysteries, things start going south pretty quickly. We begin learning of unexpected connections between the various characters and their reasons for coming to this island. 

I must say I liked this novel even better than The Wife Upstairs, primarily because I really liked the main character Lux. Most of the novel is written from her point of view, and her character is very relatable and down to earth. As in the first novel, the main theme here also appears to be getting revenge on the rich and powerful, and taking from them what don't deserve. I do think if Hawkins continues to write thrillers, she should probably venture into some other themes as well. 

I received an audio ARC of this novel from Netgalley.com. The audiobook is excellent and I highly recommend this format. 4 out of 5 stars. 

"If We Were Villains" by M.L. Rio

When the weather gets colder, I like to reach for dark academia books. M.L. Rio's If We Were Villains definitely fits the bill. We follow seven Shakespearian theater students as they begin their senior year at an exclusive arts college in rural Illinois. Even though the seven seniors consider themselves to be friends, things are not as rosy as they seem to be, and after a particularly rowdy party, one of the seniors winds up dead. 

The novel follows a dual timeline. It begins with Oliver getting out of prison after serving a 10-year sentence and flashes back to the events on campus as he narrates what happened 10 years prior. The characters in this book might seem overly pretentious as they literally speak in Shakespearian quotes. But I believe it is quite possible for a group of people to be so absorbed in the thing they study and live that they naturally begin to speak in citations that they memorize. I was not bothered by the abundance of quotes. Another thing that fascinated me about the book was that I kept wondering if any of the characters were ever themselves or whether they just kept acting even off-stage.

This is the kind of book where you do not need to know much about the plot. Just expect a dark academic setting and a murder mystery. Everything else will be a bonus. I must say that the best part about this book is the ending. It is absolutely perfect. 5 out of 5 stars.

"The Genius Under the Table: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain" by Eugene Yelchin

I was skeptical going into this book. As someone who also grew up behind the iron curtain, I sometimes find that books catering to the western audience tend to be overly negative, sarcastic or just plain ridiculous. Some descriptions in this book do border on the absurd and many of the characters are caricatures of certain types rather than representations of real people. That being said, this is a great (and accurate) depiction of what life was like in late 1950s-early 1960s in the Soviet Union. 

My mother is only two years older than the author of this book, and her experiences were similar in some ways and very different in others. For one, she did not grow up in a big city. Eugene as a little boy had access to museums, art teachers, ballet, libraries etc. People in provinces did not enjoy the same privileges. So as you read and get horrified by the conditions his family lives in, just imagine that this is the lifestyle the majority of people in the USSR did not get to "enjoy". For example, the house my mother grew up in (and where I also spent the first three years of my life), had no central heat, plumbing, or running water. On the upside, my family had a small vegetable garden so at least we could grow potatoes. But dreams of trips to foreign countries or access to black market goods like blue jeans and records were definitely off the table for anyone living in the provinces. 

I also really appreciated that the Soviet state-sponsored anti-Semitism is such a big focus in this book. Viewed through the eyes of a six-year old boy, it is particularly horrifying and outrageous, and needs to be talked about. This book made me angry, outraged, sad. And even then, I kept thinking that this is a glimpse into the life of a Soviet family that was relatively successful (and was able to emigrate in the early 80s). For many people life was even harder. To sum up, I highly recommend this book. 5 out of 5 stars.

"Next Year in Havana" by Chanel Cleeton

I don't know why I waited so long to pick up this book. I've had it on my shelf at least for a couple of years. If you have Audible, it is included with your membership (you do not need to spend a credit to buy the book). So earlier this month, I decided to listen to it, and I was immediately sucked in by the story and beautiful storytelling. In the novel, we follow Marisol who travels to Cuba with her grandmothers ashes. While there, she starts unraveling family secrets and a love story that her grandmother had kept hidden for over 50 years. 

The book follows a dual timeline: we switch between Marisol's story in the present-day Havana, and that of Elisa, Marisol's grandmother in 1959, as Fidel Castro was about to take over Cuba. The book has two beautiful love stories and gorgeous descriptions of Havana and the Cuban culture. It also examines the violent events that took place in Cuba in 1959, their effects on Cubans, issues of immigration and one's identity; what it means to be a patriot of one's country and the best way to serve it. Ultimately, it is a love song to Cuba, or the idea of Cuba that those who left it and even those who have never set foot there cherish while living far from it. Fittingly, the phrase taken for the title of the book "Next Year in Havana" is the toast Cuban-Americans use on Christmas and New Year's Eve. It represent the yearning not just for the lost homeland but also for the way of life that is no more. I really enjoyed this book and will plan on reading more from this author soon. 5 out of 5 stars.

"All the Feels" by Olivia Dade

Last year I read Spoiler Alert by this author, and All the Feels is set in the same world but follows different characters who had only episodic appearances in book 1. I have to be frank and state up front that I did not like the first book. In fact, I DNF’ed about half way through. My main problem with it was the insta-love and I just hated all the sex scenes. Something about Dade’s writing just did not agree with me.

Now on to book two. In All the Feels, we follow Alex and Lauren’s story. Alex is an actor on the same TV show that we learned about in book one. Lauren was hired by the studio to be his minder and keep him out of trouble. I enjoyed this book much more than the first one. Largely, I would say it is because the romance between Alex and Lauren develops gradually over a span of several months. They get to know each other’s backgrounds and become friends before any romantic feelings emerge. 

That being said, I do still have some issues with Dade’s writing and I think I can now put my finger on what it is. As in book one, we have the heroine who has a larger body and does not fit what would be normally considered the standard notion of beauty. The hero on the other hand, is unbelievably fit and sexy. In addition, in both books the hero has a minor learning/medical disorder. Marcus had dyslexia and Alex has ADHD. What I find a bit uncomfortable is that on the one hand the author seems to want to challenge the established standards of beauty that in romance novels would be exemplified by a gorgeous, fit, slender heroine. On the other hand, her heroes tend to be unrealistically (think, literally movie star quality) beautiful and sexy. The narrative repeatedly emphasizes the hero’s “lean limbs” and “fit body”. So I am not sure why she literally applies this double standard to female and male characters. Also, I was not sure why she needed to endow both of them with learning/mental health disorders. Was that to balance out their gorgeous bodies? 

The other thing that grated on me was the fact the author repeatedly called the main heroine “ugly”. Now, Lauren might have irregular features, or be plain, or unremarkable looking. But ugly? I do think this author needs to tone down her descriptions a bit. 

Finally, I find some of the dialogue between friends incredibly jarring: lots of profanity and sass to the point of rudeness. Yes, I get it, they are close. It does not mean they should be constantly calling each other names. Maybe I live under a rock, but it reads very unrealistic and frankly, makes me cringe. 

Many romance novels have unrealistic plots and situations, but in Dade’s writing they seem especially contrived and over the top. I did like this book better than book 1. My rating is 2.5 out of 5 stars and I think I am done with this author.

An e-ARC was provided by NetGalley.com

A Murder Mystery Set During the COVID-19 Lockdown

56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard is officially the first book I've read that features the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically it is set in the early days of the global pandemic in March-April 2020. The events take place in Dublin, Ireland. Ciara and Oliver meet right before the first lockdown. They are both new in town, they go on a few dates and since both of them are going to be working from home for the next two weeks, they decide to hunker down together in Oliver's apartment rather than spend this time in isolation. Now, 56 days later, there is a dead body in that apartment and the police are here to investigate.

I cannot say much more about the plot for fear of spoiling it. It is one of those mystery novels that you are much better of going into blind. I will however, comment on the writing. The author does a great job with character development. Even though the novel is only 300 pages, we really get to know Ciara and Oliver as well as the two detectives who are called to the crime scene. 

This book features multiple points of view and several different timelines. I think this worked very well in this novel and also allowed the author to drop several big reveals when least expected. Overall, I very much enjoyed this novel. 5 out of 5 stars. 

"The Wolf and the Woodsman" by Ava Reid

The Wolf and the Woodsman is a dark fantasy novel steeped in Jewish and Hungarian mythology. I have to agree with the description on Goodreads that those readers who liked Naomi Novik and Katherine Arden's novels will probably like this book as well. Our main character Evike is from a pagan tribe, where women wear wolf cloaks and wield magic. Evike, however, has no magic, and when the Woodsmen come to take their regular tribute of a girl, she is given to the Woodsmen instead of a seer. So begins the story set in a fascinating world that has equivalents of paganism, Christianity and Judaism, and each religion has its own distinct kind of magic. I for one did really like this world, the characters and the love story between Evike and the Woodsman. I would say this book is much darker than Novik's or Arden's novels, and would make a great October read for the spooky season. I rated it 4 out of 5 stars and hope the author will keep writing. This was her debut novel.