Book Review: "Hungry Eyes" by Anthony McFly, translated by Nicola Clitheroe

“I don’t know anything about this guy, except that he lives in my street and in my mind.”

Thanks so much to Anthony McFly for sending me a copy of his novel, which was recently translated from the French by a friend of his. It was definitely a wild ride, and I wondered where he was going to take the story!

Amaury is a young man who lives a solitary life. He works hard on his studies and is anxious about the fact that he’s losing his hair at a young age. But what gets most of his attention is the handsome man who lives in the apartment directly across the street from his.

“…his inability to live in an enclosed space gives me full access to see deep inside the interior of his home.”

Amaury watches the man every day, and in fact, every night he turns off his lights so he can watch without the possibility of being noticed. He dreams of a life with his neighbor and hopes that one day he’ll notice him. One night, after watching the man getting closer to a date, Amaury decides to follow them, and winds up having an awkward yet eye-opening evening.

This was well-written and certainly a bit creepy. You don’t know whether to feel sorry for Amaury or worry about what he’s capable of. I definitely needed to read this in one sitting!

Book Review: "Full Speed to a Crash Landing" by Beth Revis

I don’t read much science fiction, but when my friend suggested we buddy read the first book in Beth Revis’ new Chaotic Orbits series, I thought, why not? I mean, it was described as a “high octane sexy space heist,” so how could I resist?

Ada is a looter, trying to salvage anything she can from abandoned or wrecked spaceships. And while she found Roundabout first, she can’t profit from the spoils when she winds up with a giant hole in her ship and her spacesuit is running out of oxygen. She signals a nearby ship (obviously looking for loot as well) in distress, but it takes a long time for them to rescue her.

When she is finally saved by the crew of the Halifax, she is under scrutiny right away. They’re on a secret mission and really don’t want Ada tagging along, but she’s more than happy to take advantage of the luxuries aboard their ship.

While Ada tries to convince the crew to let her do the job she was paid for, the crew has other ideas. The captain of the ship isn’t actually the one in charge; it’s Rian, a handsome government agent who’s calling the shots. And he’s not convinced that Ada is an ordinary looter.

Rian fascinates Ada (and he’s great to look at), but she’s not sure what she’s up to. Who will win the battle of wills and flirtation to get what they want?

This was a quick read, partially because Revis didn’t do much world building to set the scene. Because it’s a novella, everything felt a bit rushed, and while I enjoyed Ada’s snark, it got to be a bit much after a while. I’m really curious to see how the story will develop, however.

Book Review: "The Hollywood Assistant" by May Cobb

Holy twists and turns, Batman! May Cobb’s upcoming thriller definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. While not everything was a surprise, there was a lot that kept me guessing.

Since the end of her last relationship, Cassidy has been struggling emotionally and professionally. An aspiring novelist, she can’t seem to find the right story to hook a publisher. So her best friend Lexie convinces her to move to Los Angeles, and she lines up a job for Cassidy, as the personal assistant to a famous couple, Nate and Marisol Sterling.

Cassidy quickly realizes the job is a dream come true. She does a lot of shopping, runs errands, and organizes Marisol’s stuff, but there are a lot of perks, including being gifted a large amount of clothes that Marisol doesn’t need. And when Nate offers her the opportunity read a script and share her opinions, she gets to do that fairly often.

With Lexie shooting a film in Prague, Cassidy is pretty lonely, so she enjoys the easy camaraderie she feels with the Sterlings. They are a tempestuous couple, often fighting and then making up, which is awkward to watch, especially the more Cassidy feels a connection to Nate.

And then things start to go off the rails for the Sterlings, and Cassidy finds herself entangled in the mess. Amidst the chaos, she learns that things aren’t what they seemed. But is Cassidy, for that matter?

This definitely reads like a movie, and it is twisty and melodramatic. It’s fun when you don’t know whom to trust or how things are going to unfold. Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for the advance copy. The book will publish 7/9.

Book Review: "Vladimir" by Julia May Jonas

Vladimir is a searing character study about a woman of a certain age. (Plus it's a book with a creepy-looking cover.)

The book's unnamed narrator is an English professor at a small college. She teaches alongside her husband, who is in danger of losing his job for having a significant number of relationships with female students. She isn’t troubled that he slept around—they’ve always kept their marriage fairly open with regard to sexual pursuits. In fact, she’s more upset at the scrutiny she’s being forced to endure, to play the outraged or wounded spouse, to suddenly have her every move analyzed. And she’s even angrier at the women who’ve raised a fuss because in her mind, they knew what they were getting themselves into.

When she meets the college's newest English professor, Vladimir Vladinski, a handsome writer whose first novel has gotten some recognition, she finds herself becoming increasingly obsessed. She’s jealous of his literary success (her first novel got a blip of notice, her second novel failed), she's drawn to him sexually, and his life and presence are causing her to evaluate her life, her femininity, her marriage, her career, growing older, and her relationship with her husband and adult daughter.

At one point, the book takes a little bit of a strange turn, and I wasn’t sure where Jonas was going to take the plot, but luckily it never got too weird for me. Vladimir was an interesting one—completely character-driven and thought-provoking, but I never quite warmed up to it. Others have loved it, though, so if character-driven books are your jam, definitely give it a shot!!