Book Review: "Again and Again" by Jonathan Evison

Eugene Miles lives in an elder-care facility, on the verge of turning 106 years old. Considering his age, his health isn’t horrible, but he’s pretty much ready to die. At this point, what’s left for him but spending time reading books he’s read countless times and doing elaborate puzzles in his room?

When another nursing assistant arrives, Eugene isn’t interested in building a relationship with someone else. But for some reason, this young man’s friendly manner taps into Eugene’s heart, and before long, he starts to look forward to Angel’s visits.

Angel shares stories about his relationship with his girlfriend and looks to “Geno” for advice, and the older man opens up about his life as well.

But Eugene’s reminiscences aren’t typical: he tells Angel that he has lived countless lives before this one: he was a thief in medieval Spain, a cat owned by Oscar Wilde, and many other iterations through the years.

And Eugene recounts meeting and losing the love of his life centuries ago in Spain, only to find her one more time in this life.

Angel is captivated by the man’s stories, but can they possibly be true, or are they just the ramblings of an elderly man? As the truth is revealed, and Eugene’s history becomes clearer, what we’re left with is the strength of stories and the power of love, and how we never can truly know all the multitudes that a person contains.

This is a beautifully told book, spanning between medieval Spain, England, and California in the 1930s and 1940s, and Jonathan Evison really made some excellent choices in how the plot unfolded, as I feared that it could veer into melodramatic and frustrating territory.

It’s a slow-moving story, but I was completely hooked.

Book Review: "The Marvelous" by Claire Kann

Claire Kann's The Marvelous shows what happens when four followers of a popular social media app get invited to the founder’s house for a weekend, and discover they’re in for more than they could ever imagine.

Jewel Van Hanen has always been in the public eye. As an heiress and actress her every move was captured, so it seemed only natural that she’d create a video-sharing app. Golden Rule becomes extremely popular—and then Jewel disappeared for a year. No one knows where she went.

But now she’s back and has decided to make a splash by inviting four of Golden Rule’s followers to her private estate for the weekend. And when they arrive, they realize it’s not quite the weekend they imagined—Jewel has planned for a series of challenges and puzzles and obstacles that will require every last ounce of cunning and intelligence they have. But is money the only thing at stake?

The Marvelous was a really interesting story told from the perspective of three of the followers. (Why not all four followers I'll never understand.) The concept of the book reminded me a little of the idea behind Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in that an eccentric person lets people into their world. But no Oompa Loompas here, lol.

My challenge with the story is that there were a lot of unanswered questions. Many plot points were introduced or mentioned and then never touched on again. But at its core, the book was an interesting exploration of the ever-changing world of social media as well as a fun challenge for those who love puzzles and riddles.

My thanks to Storygram Tours, Swoon Reads, and Fierce Reads for allowing me to be part of the tour for The Marvelous, and for sending me a complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review!

The book publishes 6/8.

Book Review: "The Inheritance Games" by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Jennifer Lynn Barnes' The Inheritance Games was so good I stayed up until 2:00 a.m. to finish it!

Avery Grambs’ life hasn’t been great since her mom died. She’s hoping to nail a scholarship for college so she can become an actuary, but in the meantime she’s barely getting by. She works as much as possible to eke out a living, and every time her half-sister takes her abusive boyfriend back, she sleeps in her car to avoid him.

All that changes in an instant when she is summoned by the attorneys for multibillionaire philanthropist Tobias Hawthorne, whom she has never met. It turns out this man bypassed his daughters and his four grandsons and left the bulk of his massive estate to Avery. With no explanation.

But of course, there’s a catch. The will stipulates she must live in Hawthorne House, his sprawling mansion, with his grandsons and his daughters, for one year, or everything is null and void.

Why would a man she had never met leave this enormous fortune to her? Avery is just as determined to find out the truth as Hawthorne’s family is. It turns out that the man never met a riddle or puzzle he didn’t like and he used to challenge his grandsons to use their intellect, so it’s going to be quite an ordeal to get to the bottom of everything. His family doesn't know what to think: did she somehow bewitch Hawthorne, is she a long-lost relative, or just a con artist?

As she partners with three of the four grandsons—each of whom she’s drawn to in some way—she doesn’t know where the danger will come from, or whom she can trust. And the secrets she doesn’t know are just as confusing.

This book felt like a YA version of the movie Knives Out. It was really twisty and fun and emotional in parts, and it hooked me completely. I heard The Inheritance Games may be the first book in a series, and I definitely hope so!!