Book Review: "Don't Look for Me" by Wendy Walker

Wendy Walker does it again with her latest thriller, Don't Look for Me!! Wow!

Molly is driving home in the middle of a rainstorm that’s about to turn into a hurricane. She’s driving home but she doesn’t know why—her husband barely looks at her and her daughter hates her.

She doesn’t know how long ago her empty light went on, but she knows the gas station is coming up. Her car stalls out just before that, and the station is closed anyway for the impending storm.

Her car is found abandoned after the storm passes. A day or two later a note is found in her handwriting telling her family not to look for her, that she’s been a burden to them.

Did Molly just walk away from her life and her family? Where is she, and is she okay?

Walker did such a great job here, ratcheting up the tension and suspense. There’s so much going on in this book but it’s best just to go in not knowing too much and let it all unfold.

I’m a big fan of Walker’s books and this is probably one of her best. If you’re looking for a good, slightly creepy thriller, grab this one!

St. Martin's Press provided me with a complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!!

Book Review: "A Better Man: A (Mostly Serious) Letter to My Son" by Michael Ian Black

Michael Ian Black's A Better Man: A (Mostly Serious) Letter to My Son is full of humorous, moving, insightful reflections shared from father to son.

What does it mean to be a man? And what does being “a good man” entail, especially in these days when it seems we are caught between the “traditional” male roles and behaviors and the paradigm shift that has occurred in the wake of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements?

In his new book, fashioned as a “letter” of sorts to his college-aged son, comedian Michael Ian Black tries to provide advice on how to negotiate manhood in this day and age. He talks about the need to avoid getting caught up in stereotypical male behaviors like refusing to show emotions or ask for help, the need to make your own way and avoid turning to violence.

In many ways, this is a quietly moving book, as Black reflects on his own relationship with his father, who died when he was 12. He also talks about the fear and uncertainty of parenting, especially following the Sandy Hook massacre and other crises.

While Black does interject a little humor into the book, it’s not as sarcastic or snarky as I expected it might be, and that worked well. In some cases he dwells a little too much on history, and those chapters don’t work as well, and he doesn’t shy away from adding his political views periodically, which might not sit well with those who don’t share them. (It didn't bother me.)

Although I’m not a father, this book certainly made me reflect on my own relationship with my father, who died almost 6-1/2 years ago.

I hope that Black’s son—and to a smaller extent, his daughter—realizes how much his father loves him. A Better Man certainly radiates love, as well as the need for reflection.

I was pleased to be part of the blog tour for this book. Thanks to Algonquin Books and Michael Ian Black for a complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review!!

Book Review: "Atonement Camp for Unrepentant Homophobes" by Evan J. Corbin

What would you expect from a book with a title like Atonement Camp for Unrepentant Homophobes? Evan J. Corbin delivers a quirky, moving, and tremendously thought-provoking read.

Imagine that the oldest translation of a Gospel is found in which Jesus explicitly condemns bigotry and homophobia. It changes the world quickly—the U.S. has elected its first lesbian president, the Pope has come out of the closet, and people treat the LGBTQIA+ community with respect and admiration.

Rick Harris, a pastor from North Carolina, is unmoved by these changes and continued to preach against the evils of homosexuality. When one sermon goes too far and offends the most influential family in the congregation, he is given a choice by the church elders: attend an atonement camp or get fired.

The atonement camp, run by drag queens, is utter torture for Rick and his fellow campers at first. Lots of alcohol, pedicures, and scantily clad pool boys loosen people up, but there are important lessons to be learned about the struggles of the LGBTQIA+ community as well as learning to understand the demons that we all carry.

“Binary gender subscribers. Trans deniers. Hypocrites, sinners, and fools. Honestly, I don’t care who you were before you came here. I only care about the people you’ll be when you leave. No one is hopeless. No one is beyond redemption.”

I found this to be funny and emotional, and it definitely made me think. Of course, the campers embodied all of the arguments you hear from those who criticize homosexuality, but you see that these characters are not without their flaws as well. And while at first it looks like the camp plays into all the typical stereotypes, there’s depth there beyond what you expect.

This is definitely a book I’ll remember!!

I was pleased to be part of the blog tour for this book. Thanks to Pride Book Tours and Evan J. Corbin for a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review!!

Book Review: "K-Pop Confidential" by Stephan Lee

Stephan Lee's K-Pop Confidential is such fun!!

Confession time: I know nothing about K-Pop. I don’t know BTS from Y2K or BLACKPINK from blackjack, but I do love reading about the music scene and stories of people going after their dreams of stardom, so this book really appealed to me.

Candace Park is a dutiful daughter. She does what’s expected: studies hard, gets good grades, helps out at her parents’ convenience store, she even plays the viola (badly) in her school's orchestra because her mother says it will make her stand out and be more likely to get scholarships for college.

But what Candace wants is to sing. She thinks she’s good at it, her best friends think so too, but her mother doesn’t take her desire seriously, and thinks singing is something you do for fun; it's not a "real" ability. So one day, on a whim, thanks to the coaxing of her best friends, she goes to audition for the entertainment company responsible for all of the major K-Pop groups. They’re looking for singers for their first-ever girl group and girls from all over are hoping for their chance.

Much to her surprise, the company wants her. She will become a trainee, one of a large group from which the members will be picked. They want her to come to Seoul and train with all of the others for several months. After much convincing, her parents will let it happen as long as she’s ready to go back to school when the summer ends if she’s not picked.

She’s not prepared for how immensely hard it all is. She’s up against girls who have been preparing for this their entire lives. Her looks, her weight, her skills, her personality—it’s all under intense scrutiny. And no matter how hard she works, she might not even get picked, and even if she is picked, her group may never even debut if plans change. There's another American girl in the mix, so she wonders if she even has a chance.

As she gets closer and closer to achieving her dreams, she starts to wonder if stardom is worth risking her friendships, changing her life and her family’s, not to mention the way the company treats its stars as well as obsession of the fans, who want their stars to be perfect, untouchable, only available to them.

I enjoyed this so much. It’s fun and soapy and I could picture all of it in my mind’s eye, so it would make a fun movie.

Don’t be put off because you don’t follow K-Pop—it’s a totally enjoyable book nevertheless, and there's even a glossary at the end!

Book Review: "These Vengeful Hearts" by Katherine Laurin

In Katherine Laurin's These Vengeful Hearts, secrets are the most powerful currency of all.

Why do I love books about secret societies and mean girls? My high school experience was hard enough without having to worry about some cabal of students who had the power to make lives miserable. (In my day, we just called them jerks. Or worse.)

At Heller High, the Red Court has all the power. Students ask favors of them—some good, some bad—and the Court’s leader, known as the Queen of Hearts, decides whether the favor should be granted. Whether it’s rigging an election, helping you ace an exam or a class, even breaking up a couple, the Red Court wields its power and then will ultimately demand something of those they help.

Ember has dreamed of taking down the Red Court since she was in middle school, when they led to her sister getting hurt. Now a sophomore at Heller, she’s completely thrilled when she’s finally tapped to be a member.

As she starts to take on her “responsibilities” and build her case against the Red Court, she starts to get caught up in the power she suddenly has access to. And when her tasks get increasingly personal, she knows she has to stop at nothing to take the Queen down.

But first she has to figure out who she is. And who will get caught in the crossfire?

Even though I’ve certainly seen this type of story before, I was still pretty hooked on These Vengeful Hearts. It’s crazy how twisted these students can be but most of what they asked for seemed like things you could see people wanting, be willing to do anything for.

Laurin threw lots of twists in here; some I saw coming and others surprised me. I think a second book may be on the horizon so it will be interesting to see what comes next!

I’m grateful to have been part of the blog tour for this book. Inkyard Press provided a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!!

Book Review: "You Can Go Home Now" by Michael Elias

Michael Elias' You Can Go Home Now delivers some interesting twists. It's not quite a police procedural, not quite a thriller, but it's a fascinating read.

Nina Karim is a tough, no-BS cop in Queens. She’s overcome a lot in her life but it drives her, fuels her to move forward.

Among the cases she's investigating is the disappearance and subsequent murder of a man, an ex-cop. Nina discovers that he used to abuse his wife and she spent time in a shelter called Artemis. And now he’s dead. But it’s more than that—Nina starts to find other cases in which those who abused their significant others are winding up dead, and all of their victims spent time at the same shelter.

To investigate what’s going on, she goes undercover at Artemis as a woman abused by her husband. As she gets to know the women and hear their stories, she has to figure out whether someone within the shelter is playing a role in killing the women’s abusers. If so, is that really a bad thing?

Meanwhile, when her past comes back to confront her, she must make a complicated decision: does she take on the demons that have haunted her for so long, or would doing so even haunt her more?

I thought this was a really good read and it had some interesting twists on the typical thriller/crime novel. I also liked how Elias looked at domestic violence and showed that it's not just perpetrated by men, and also examined some cultural issues relative to this type of abuse.

The book isn't always fast-moving, but Elias definitely threw in a few twists here and there. I found Nina to be a really fascinating, complex, flawed character, and I'd love to see her return in a future book. I’ll definitely keep watch on what comes in the future for Elias’ career!

Book Review: "The Summer of Everything" by Julian Winters

When nothing in your life is going the way you want to, how do you find the courage to fight for it? Wesley Hudson needs to figure that out in Julian Winters' new YA novel, The Summer of Everything.

There’s one month left until Wes starts college. He needs to figure out what he wants to do with his life, because his father keeps suggesting potential college majors. But more than that, Wes is determined this will be the time he finally admits his feelings for his best friend, Nico. They have a month until Nico goes to Stanford and Wes goes to UCLA.

Wes can’t seem to find the courage to tell Nico how he feels, no matter how hard he tries. He's not even sure if Nico feels the same way about him anyway, so is it worth risking their friendship? To make matters worse, Wes’ beloved bookstore is on the verge of closing, and his older brother is getting married and his fiancé is hoping that the brothers can put their animosity aside. It's a lot of uncertainty and chaos for Wes to deal with, at a particularly stressful time.

As he tries to figure out how to save the bookstore with help of the motley crew of friends who work there, he needs to try and take action on everything else in his life, too. Will he succeed?

I was really hooked on this story. So many of us have had that crush on someone we care about and have felt totally paralyzed when it comes to expressing our feelings. Winters really captured those emotions, as you struggle to figure out whether what your heart wants and what your head tells you can mesh.

Winters creates such great, diverse characters you can see in your mind’s eye, and you root for them all the way. There was a lot going on in this book, and the truth is, I could have done without the brother storyline, but it helped show another dimension to Wes. But overall, this was such a good story, and I also recommend Winters' previous books, How to Be Remy Cameron and Running with Lions.

I was fortunate to be part of the blog tour for this book. Interlude Press and Storygram Tours provided me a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!