Book Review: "The Safekeep" by Yael Van der Wouden

“She belonged to the house in the sense that she had nothing else, no other life than the house, but the house, by itself, did not belong to her.”

I’ve wanted to read this book since it was published in 2024. I could’ve sworn I bought it but never could seem to find it. Until I discovered the book on the floor of my car’s backseat—I guess it must’ve fallen out of a bookstore bag!

In the summer of 1961, in the sleepy Dutch province of Overijssel, people have finally moved beyond WWII. Isabel lives alone in her late mother’s country house, and serves as its caretaker, but it will eventually go to her older brother Louis when he decides he wants it.

Isabel is a woman who strictly adheres to routine and discipline. Appearances matter to her, and although she rarely sees anyone other than her timid young maid, she believes she is doing exactly what she is supposed to. But when Louis introduces his new girlfriend, Eva, to the family, Isabel takes an immediate and visceral dislike to the woman.

These feelings are exacerbated when Louis has to travel for business and he asks if Eva can stay with Isabel for a month. Eva tries to befriend Isabel, strikes up conversations, tries to help, but Isabel cannot spend an extra moment in her presence. Until one night, when Eva cuts through Isabel’s icy reserve and they begin a passionate relationship.

This is a gorgeously written book. None of the characters—especially Isabel—is particularly appealing but I couldn’t help but be drawn into this story. It’s beautiful, frustrating, emotional, and memorable, and you need to let it unfold for you. One of the most remarkable debut novels I’ve read in some time.

Book Review: "We Used To Live Here" by Marcus Kliewer

Oh, Bookstagram FOMO, you are too powerful sometimes!! I don’t read horror very often because I’m a complete and utter coward, but somehow I felt compelled to read this book that everyone has been raving about. And now, if there’s a knock at the door, I freak out!

Charlie and Eve flip houses. But the newest house they’ve bought is all the way in the Pacific Northwest, and it’s not quite the steal that Charlie told Eve it was.

One night, while Eve is in the house by herself, there is a knock at the door. A man is standing there with his wife and three kids, and he tells Eve he grew up in this house. He asks if he could show his family around. It shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes, tops. Eve isn’t really comfortable with this, but she also doesn’t want to disappoint these people. What could go wrong?

This book is utterly CRAZY! I had an eerie feeling from the start and it got more and more intense as I kept reading…and I couldn’t stop reading it. While I don’t like feeling so uncomfortable, this kind of psychological terror is so effective and unsettling.

This was such a fast and compelling read—or maybe I just wanted to finish it quickly! The ending left me with so many questions that I re-read it a few times just to be sure I got it. I know I’ll be thinking of this one for a long while!

Book Review: "Blank" by Zibby Owens

In thinking of a word to describe this book, the one that keeps coming to mind is “zany.” It’s a book that is about one thing in the beginning but gets wilder and more melodramatic as it unfolds.

Pippa always knew she wanted to be a writer. Her first novel, Poppies, was a surprise bestseller (she was surprised the most) and was even adapted into an Oscar-winning movie (a technical award, but so?). Everyone is eagerly anticipating her follow-up book.

The problem is, it’s been three years and she’s still staring at the flashing cursor on a blank screen. And now her publisher is demanding a book in a week, or she’ll have to return her advance—which she and her husband used to build her a writing office. She’d better come up with an idea fast, or she’s screwed.

But then her 12-year-old son Max jokingly suggests an idea—and she runs with it. It’s definitely risky, but she sees it as an opportunity to make a statement about the publishing world, the arbitrariness of which books sell and which ones don’t, the ones publishers put their weight behind and the ones that languish, barely read. And while the literary world is abuzz about the book, her handsome publisher starts to take an interest in it—and Pippa.

And that’s about when everything goes off the rails. Suddenly amidst the public attention about the book, Pippa starts realizing there’s a lot she doesn’t know about her life, her friends, her marriage, her ambitions, and even her kids. Can she emerge from the chaos stronger and happier than ever? Or at least not have to pay back her publisher?

This was a cute story but it definitely got wacky. I don’t know that I particularly liked many of the characters, although I did like Max and Josh. It’s a quick read that gives you a lot to think about.