God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Oh y’all, I loved this book. It’s got everything -an atmospheric setting, a family mystery, rich people being terrible, townies being interesting, and a strong feminist theme throughout. I always wanted to go to summer camp so the setting and descriptions of the camp really drew me in. It’s not a fast-paced thriller, more of a slow burn with multiple perspectives. Highly recommend.
Isola by Allegra Goodman
If you’re a Bad on Paper listener this was a pretty polarizing book club pick but I really enjoyed it. It’s historical fiction and a tale of survival based on a real person. The story takes a while to get going but when it does, it’s just devastating and brutal and I couldn’t get enough. The ending was a bit of a fizzle for me but the bulk of the story is interesting and the writing is impeccable. Women’s stories need to be told and I’m so glad this one was. I can very much visualize the movie or limited series this could become.
Magic For Liars by Sarah Gailey
I don’t remember where I heard about this book but it sounded like a cool premise - a nonmagical private detective goes to a high school for magicians to solve a murder. The twist - her twin sister from whom she’s estranged is a mage who teaches at the school. Unfortunately, this was a miss for me. It just felt a one-dimensional and the main character seemed like a cliche PI rather than a real person. Overall it was okay and there were a few really cool scenes (I love how magic works in this world) but I can’t really recommend it. There are just much better magical-school-based novels already out there.
Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley
I’m currently about two thirds of the way through this and I like the second half way more than the first. It’s one of those books where I don’t really love the main character but I do really empathize with her (in a “we listen and we don’t judge” kind of way) because the journey through your 20s is a hard one. I love that it’s based around music but I’d probably connect better with it if I was the same age as the main character because I’m not nostalgic for the same songs. I’m still into it though and curious to see how it ends.
Two DNFs:
Kiss Me At Christmas by Jenny Bayliss
Woof. This book is SO AWFUL. Most of the characters felt like caricatures and the main character is self-righteous and prissy. I’ve enjoyed other books by Jenny Bayliss but this was not it. I can’t even link it, you guys. Walk away.
The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman
I love Lev Grossman’s Magicians series so I assumed I’d enjoy his take on Arthurian legend. It’s certainly well-written but it’s so fucking long and right around the time I thought it was wrapping up I realized I was only a third of the way through. Also, it’s roundly fails the Bechdel test. It wasn’t that it was bad, I just fizzled out with this one.
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Yay for God of the Woods! She's an author I never miss. I want a whole series with Judyta.
I always enjoy hearing about what you’re reading! God of the Woods was amazingly good! Have you read her book Long Bright River? You probably have but mentioning it too because it’s also so good & it’s been made into a series on Peacock. Good, not great, but I did like it. They probably could have shortened it by an episode or 2, in my opinion.
I’m pretty sure you’re a Tana French fan (I love her)…because of her, I’m trying to read more Irish authors. Specifically, brooding Irish mysteries because they are the best. So, I wanted to recommend 2 I’ve just recently finished and throughly enjoyed: Kala by Colin Walsh (3 adults who were part of a friend group as teens are reunited in their town when a body is discovered— their friend who went missing 15 years ago) and The Dark Hours by Amy Jordan ( a retired Cork detective is called back to consult on a serial killer case much like one she was involved with years ago).