Book Review: "The Boyfriend" by Freida McFadden

Ohh…so now I get all the hype. So many of my thriller-loving friends have said great things about Freida McFadden’s books, so it was time to give one a try. My head is totally spinning!

Sydney wants to find Mr. Right. She can’t endure her friends’ social media posts of their baby bumps and happy families. And if she has to hear her mother tell her that someone else older than her had babies, she might scream.

The dating apps haven’t yielded anything worthwhile. Too many guys who don’t look like their pictures, want her to pay the whole check, or expect her to sleep with them. It’s crazy that she finally meets her dream guy when he rescues her from a dangerous encounter—but he walks away.

When they see each other for a second time, they both know it’s right. Tom is a handsome doctor, he’s generous and kind, and he’s amazing in bed. Sydney definitely could see herself spending the rest of her life with him. But of course, there are some strange things she can’t wrap her mind around.

Apparently there’s a guy who has been dating a number of women from one app, and they’ve wound up dead. But the police can’t seem to track him down. Sydney starts to have her own suspicions, but could she be right? Is she in danger of becoming the next victim?

There’s a lot more to this story that needs to unfold, and lots of twists. I’ll admit I didn’t quite figure things out and McFadden definitely kept me guessing. This is the kind of thriller I enjoy the most—it didn’t slow down for a second!

Book Review: "Given Our History" by Kristyn J. Miller

Clara has wanted to teach history for as long as she can remember. She’s finally achieved her goal, teaching at a private college in Maryland, and her department chair wants to submit her name for tenure.

When her boss asks if she’d be willing to share her office with a visiting scholar, she agrees without considering the consequences. And then she learns that the visitor is Theodore Harrison—Teddy—with whom she fell in love when they were teenagers. She’s not seen him apart from a very brief run-in since she broke his heart 10 years ago.

Teddy tries to stay out of Clara’s way, but both feel the pull of attraction and their mutual history. As they work together on a project and reminisce about their days attending a camp for homeschooled children, and think about the relationship that grew out of periodic phone calls and sharing CDs and history books, they can’t help but wonder whether they’re being given a second chance.

However, knowing how things turned out the first time has them both guarding their hearts this time. They’ve both gotten older, and Clara wonders if their past history will keep Teddy from fully trusting her, not to mention the fact that he’s only here for a semester.

The narrative shifts back and forth, between the present and the start of their relationship at camp, to when it fell apart. Along the way we get a glimpse of the challenges that each faced with their families, which also had an impact.

I enjoyed these characters as well as some of the supporting ones. I think the story would have benefited from getting Teddy’s perspective instead of seeing everything just through Clara’s eyes. And of course, far too much of their issues stemmed from miscommunication, which is my least favorite trope. But it was a fun and charming story.

Book Review: "Three Days in June" by Anne Tyler

I will admit that I screamed a little bit when I got the notification from NetGalley that my ARC request for this book was approved. I’ve been reading Anne Tyler’s books for a very long time, and I’m always dazzled by the quiet power of her words. No one can write about irritating or irascible people—and make them endearing—than she can.

Gail’s daughter Debbie is getting married this weekend. But before Gail can get focused on this milestone, she has to contend with some issues at work, with being told she lacks people skills. So she might have quit. Or gotten fired.

Then, Gail’s ex-husband Max arrives, along with a cat that he’s fostering. He was supposed to stay with Debbie, but given that her soon-to-be husband Kenneth is “deathly allergic,” that won’t work. Gail and Max get along fine, so he and the cat stay at her house.

Just before the rehearsal dinner, Debbie confides in her parents a secret about Kenneth. It throws Debbie for a bit of a loop, while at the same time, it causes friction between Gail and Max, stirring up issues long resolved. But they will support their daughter no matter what.

Like many Tyler characters, Gail is easily irked by other people’s foibles. In her case, she feels as if Kenneth’s mother is taking too much of a role in the wedding, her own mother is irritating, and Debbie’s revealing the secret makes her think of things she’d rather not. What does she want from the future? She couldn’t tell you if she tried.

While in general, Tyler’s storytelling is light and unobtrusive, this book packs a bit more of a punch than I expected. I’d love to know what happened to the characters after the book ended.

Thanks so much to Knopf and NetGalley for the advance copy; the book will publish 2/11/2025.

Book Review: "A Home for the Holidays" by Taylor Hahn

“I understood how life could be both beautiful and devastating at the same time. Maybe healing was just learning how to live with both.“

⁣ ⁣ Mel has always loved Christmas, ever since her free-spirited mother Connie used to create elaborate schemes to keep the holiday magic alive as long as possible. As an adult, her memories buoy her, especially when she remembers that her mother was, more often than not, an alcoholic mess otherwise.⁣

⁣ Two weeks before Christmas, she gets a phone call from the hospital telling her that her mother has died. While this news isn’t entirely surprising, Mel is full of sadness that Connie didn’t share her health problems, as well as grief that she didn’t pay closer attention.⁣

⁣ Shortly after Connie’s death, a woman shows up at Mel’s doorstep and introduces herself as Connie’s estranged best friend, Barbara. Of course, Mel has never heard of Barbara, but Barbara can explain why, with stories of Connie’s failed music career and their fight over a man, which ended their friendship.⁣

⁣ Through Barbara, Mel gets to see a side of her mother she didn’t know, which made her decline even sadder. But as Mel gets drawn into Barbara’s family, including her son Henry, a soon-to-be-divorced doctor, she realizes that she’s not quite getting the full story, and until she does, she won’t understand her mother or, by extension, herself.⁣

⁣ I definitely loved this book. It’s funny and emotional and hopeful and sad. And while “holidays” is in the title, this isn’t really a holiday book. It’s a beautiful exploration of grief, love, addiction, and understanding how to forgive both whom you lost as well as yourself.⁣

Book Review: "The Book of George" by Kate Greathead

Oh, George…

We all know someone like George. The kind of person who has been able to coast through life on their looks, someone for whom life can be perpetually easy, but they don’t see it. Perhaps you even are a George.

As you might have surmised, this book tells the story of George. It follows him for 20 years, starting at his teenage years. George is an ambitious if unimpressive student; a caring yet generally self-centered son and brother; an adequate if directionless employee; and an affectionate—if not always focused—boyfriend.

The book is told in vignettes, moving forward through his life. His story is interesting but I found it was like reading about someone who vaguely annoys you. I rolled my eyes a lot and wondered why anyone wanted to tell—or read—his story.

This book never really clicked for me. I considered DNFing but kept wondering if George would suddenly become a more interesting—or less likable—character. But that didn’t happen for me. Maybe it will for you?

Book Review: "The President's Lawyer" by Lawrence Robbins

Wow, this was so good! I don’t read a lot of legal thrillers because I feel that they are often too slow or too melodramatic. But this—amazingly, a debut novel—kept me hooked every step of the way.

There is tremendous shock when former president Jack Cutler is accused of murdering his mistress, Amanda, who had worked in his administration’s office of legal counsel. Jack reaches out to his childhood best friend Robbie, a successful lawyer, to defend him.

Initially, Robbie is reluctant to take the case. He knows that Jack has always been a philanderer. But the bigger issue is that Robbie also had an affair with Amanda, and he was in love with her, even after she ended their relationship to be with Jack.

There are lots of salacious details that come out before the trial, one being that Jack had a penchant for rough sex—even light bondage and restraint. Robbie maintains his friend’s innocence but wonders if there are secrets Jack is hiding that might provide motive rather than reasonable doubt.

Like with most thrillers and mysteries, I suspected nearly everyone who popped up in the book. There even were a few times when I offered not-so-silent pleas that certain characters weren’t the killer. (I get attached.)

What a read this was!! It definitely kept me guessing and rapidly turning the pages. This could be adapted into a television movie and be as riveting as the book itself. I hope Lawrence Robbins had another book in him!!

Book Review: "What Does It Feel Like?" by Sophie Kinsella

Eve is at the top of her game. She’s a bestselling author with a handsome husband she met in college, and five children. Her last book was such a huge success that it was adapted into a film, and she and her family got to walk the red carpet during the premiere.

One day, Eve awakens in a hospital bed. Her head hurts and she has no idea how she got there; in fact, her memory is quite fuzzy and she has trouble finding words.

“She keeps searching her head for clues, but comes across great gaps instead. What’s happened to her brain? It feels patchy and incompetent and not like herself at all.”

Eve learns that she had a brain tumor, which required surgery to remove it. She later learns that the tumor was malignant, but she’ll do everything she can to keep it from returning. She has to relearn how to walk, talk, think, even write. But she doesn’t wallow in her diagnosis; she’s determined to fight back.

The story touches on the highlights and lowlights of regaining her health and rebuilding her life. From telling her beloved children about her diagnosis to recognizing all that her husband has gone through since her surgery, Eve realizes how fortunate she is. And she embraces the simple things that bring her joy—a walk with her husband, a good marmalade, buying the dress when you want to.

This is so powerful but it’s shockingly more matter-of-fact than maudlin. The book is told in vignettes marking steps in Eve’s journey. But what makes the book more profound is that this novel is fairly autobiographical: Sophie Kinsella dealt with the same diagnosis and had the same support system. This is a departure from Kinsella’s usually lighthearted books, but her storytelling is impeccable.