Book Review: Tayari Jones - An American Marriage (published in 2018)

This book didn't serve me exactly what I was expecting, and that's OK. This book is part of the Black Lives Matter narrative and rightly so. I recently watched 13th on Netflix and I'm happy I did because it taught me a lot of history, which added to my understand of this book.

This isn't a long story about the criminal justice system in the US. Instead it tells you about Roy and Celestial whose lives have been turned up-side down when Roy is put in jail for a rape he didn't commit. 

This book is a believable look at what would happen to a family when something like this happens. It's told through the eyes of Roy, Celestial and their best friend Andre. 

The book has a slow pace, but I think it fit the narrative. I can highly recommend this book especially if you watch it with the aforementioned documentary. 

4 stars

Statistics:

Date read: June 28, 2020

Date published: January 29, 2018

Publisher: Algonquin Books

Format: Audio

Pages: 308

Genre: Contemporary

My Number of Books Read by this Author: 1

Amazon 

Goodreads

 

Please note, this post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission for purchased goods/services at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting my writing!

Book Review: Rusty Young - Colombiano (published in 2017)

Colombiano by Rusty Young was never on my radar until Havelock & Baker Publishing reached out to me with a review copy. 

 

The story sounded right up my alley. It’s been a while since I read historical fiction of such magnitude that takes place in another country; Shantaram is the first that springs to mind. Colombiano doesn't take place in India, but has a setting in Colombia. 

 

The premise is about child soldiers that are enlisted by the Guerilla and Paramilitary groups. It's based on real-life because the author has had the opportunity to speak to people from those organisations to gather stories first hand. 

 

I myself had expected a bit of a different story, but that’s because I’m not really good at reading premises. This is purely a tale of revenge. It’s about a fifteen-year-old Colombian boy and his quest to avenge his father’s murder. Pedro joins the Autodefensas together with his best friend. 

 

The next 600 pages of the novel are about Pedro's growth in the ranks and his search for his father's killers. The novel offers a painful insight into the lives of these young recruits, including the women who also join the fight. 

 

I couldn't put the book down even if I wanted to at times. A novel has the potential to be long-winded if it's more than 600 pages, and this one doesn't introduce any new characters at the 30% mark. It's not a complicated tale, it's shocking in its simplicity. It is what is down there, and there's no need to paint a different picture. I was never bored. I wanted Pedro to get his revenge desperately. 

 

In short, I liked the insights into the Colombian Paramilitary & Guerilla organisations, I liked the character build-up, I liked the overall story. Here's what I didn't enjoy that much. 

 

I wish I had the thought process of this 15 to 17 year-old-year. Pedro outsmarts almost everyone including the military leadership of the different factions. I found that to be quite a stretch. It didn't feel like a realistic tale of a young boy. The story goes from telling a horrible tale of young kids at army training to masterminds trying to take down multiple factions. It didn't ruin my enjoyment of the novel, it did create a gap between me and the characters. 

 

All in all I'm happy that the publishers sent me this book for review. I'm curious to read the author's first book Marching Powder as well, as the plot sounds incredibly promising. 

4 stars

Statistics:

Date read: June 14, 2020

Date published: August 1, 2017

Publisher: Bantam and Havelock & Baker Publishing 

Format: eBook

Pages: 600

Genre: Historical Fiction

My Number of Books Read by this Author: 1 

Goodreads

Book Review: Emily Henry - Beach Read (published in 2020)

I know Emily Henry as a YA Magical Realism author. I’ve read A Million Junes and I absolutely loved every second of it. There aren't many authors who like Henry can make me fall in love with characters and their storylines.

I didn't know if her foray into romance would be successful for me. There aren't many romance authors I like. It's a genre I don't dive into very often. Josie Silver's books are always a hit for me and it turns out it doesn't matter what Emily Henry writes, because I'm there for it.

This novel is about two authors who know each other from college who meet again years later. They decide to challenge each other to write one book in each other's genre. January writes romance novels with sappy happy endings and Augustus (Gus) writes dark literary fiction.

I find the characters and their problems to be realistic. The writing is sarcastic, funny and heart-warming. The fact that Gus is planning to write about a cult adds another interesting layer to the narrative. Speaking of layers, this isn't a light and fluffy read in the slightest. It's about family secrets, cancer, divorce, death, regrets, should I go on or is your interest peaked?

The idea was born out of a writer's block. I don't want to be annoying, but am I the only one who hopes Emily Henry will have another one that inspires her to write another gem like this again?

5 stars

Statistics:
Date read: June 12, 2020
Date published: May 19, 2020
Publisher: Berkley
Format: Audiobook
Pages: 361
Genre: Romance
My Number of Books Read by this Author: 2
Amazon
Goodreads

Please note, this post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission for purchased goods/services at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting my writing!

Book of the Month June 2020: My Considerations

My American friends are incredibly lucky because they can choose one "Book of the Month" from a monthly subscription service. This will book cost $9.99. You can also add more books to the cart for $14.99.

 Unfortunately, this service is only applicable for US residents. That doesn't stop me from perusing the five monthly selections and picking the one I like best. 

Let me share my thought process with you. I'm hoping this post inspires you in terms of new book releases, so you have an idea which new books you'd like to pick up. 

I haven't read any of the books in this month's selection, but one has been on my list for a long time as it's a repeat author whose writing I absolutely love.

Option 1: Megha Majumdar - A Burning

Genre: Literary Fiction

Average Goodreads rating: 4.03 stars based on 418 ratings

Publication Date: June 2, 2020

Description: 

Jivan is a Muslim girl from the slums, determined to move up in life, who is accused of executing a terrorist attack on a train because of a careless comment on Facebook. PT Sir is an opportunistic gym teacher who hitches his aspirations to a right-wing political party, and finds that his own ascent becomes linked to Jivan's fall. Lovely—an irresistible outcast whose exuberant voice and dreams of glory fill the novel with warmth and hope and humor—has the alibi that can set Jivan free, but it will cost her everything she holds dear.

My thoughts:

This is a debut novel by Majumdar. According to the description, it tackles complex themes such as: class, fate, corruption, justice, and what it feels like to face profound obstacles and yet nurture big dreams in a country spinning toward extremism. 

Majumdar was born and raised in Kolkata and she moved to the US to attend Harvard University not to mention the fact that she also did a graduate degree in social antrophology at John Hopkins University. Therefore, I assume she will be well-versed to tackle the subject matters of the book properly. 

It's supposedly a heartbreaking story, so it's not an easy read. Even though it is said that the pace of the book is lightning fast and it could easily be read within a weekend. 

Option 2: Brit Bennett - The Vanishing Half

Genre: Literary Fiction
Average Goodreads rating: 4.42 stars based on 1,027 ratings
Publication Date: June 2, 2020

Description: 
The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern Black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Ten years later, one sister lives with her Black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' storylines intersect?


My thoughts:This is the second book by Brit Bennett which is gathering incredibly positive reviews. As with The Mothers, her latest book is supposed to be a real page turner about families and relationships which is immersive and provocative, compassionate and wise.

I haven't read either of her novels, but many of the people I follow have. I think this is a pretty solid pick if the subject matter speaks to you.

Option 3: Riley Sager - Home Before Dark

Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Average Goodreads rating: 4.34 stars based on 922 ratings
Publication Date: June 30, 2020

Description:
What was it like? Living in that house.

Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book called House of Horrors. His tale of ghostly happenings and encounters with malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling The Amityville Horror in popularity—and skepticism.

Today, Maggie is a restorer of old homes and too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her father’s book. But she also doesn’t believe a word of it. Ghosts, after all, don’t exist. When Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall after her father’s death, she returns to renovate the place to prepare it for sale. But her homecoming is anything but warm. People from the past, chronicled in House of Horrors, lurk in the shadows. As Maggie experiences strange occurrences straight out of her father’s book, she starts to believe that what he wrote was more fact than fiction.

My thoughts:I've read all three of Riley Sager's books so far and I've loved all of them. Every year I'm looking forward to his new release. Each of the books he has written so far have a different concept and therefore present us all with something new to look forward to every time. Final Girls was about the final girl left after a killer has been on a rampage, The Last Time I Lied is about a camping trip and a sudden disappearance on one of the girls and Lock Every Door takes place in an old house where a nanny has to house sit.

This latest one will be about a haunted house. I'm getting real gothic vibes from the description.

Option 4: Kate Stayman-London - One to Watch

Genre: Romance
Average Goodreads rating: 4.26 stars based on 584 ratings
Publication Date: July 7, 2020

Description: 
Bea Schumacher is a devastatingly stylish plus-size fashion blogger who has amazing friends, a devoted family, legions of Insta followers—and a massively broken heart. Like the rest of America, Bea indulges in her weekly obsession: the hit reality show Main Squeeze. The fantasy dates! The kiss-off rejections! The surprising amount of guys named Chad! But Bea is sick and tired of the lack of body diversity on the show. Since when is being a size zero a prerequisite for getting engaged on television?

Just when Bea has sworn off dating altogether, she gets an intriguing call: Main Squeeze wants her to be its next star, surrounded by men vying for her affections. Bea agrees, on one condition—under no circumstances will she actually fall in love. She's in this to supercharge her career, subvert harmful anti-fat beauty standards, inspire women across America, and get a free hot air balloon ride. That's it.

But when the cameras start rolling, Bea realizes things are more complicated than she anticipated. She's in a whirlwind of sumptuous couture, Internet culture wars, sexy suitors, and an opportunity (or two, or five) to find messy, real-life love in the midst of a made-for-TV fairy tale. In this joyful, razor-sharp debut, Bea has to decide whether it might just be worth trusting these men—and herself—for a chance to live happily ever after.

My thoughts: Kate Stayman-London has a pretty impressive CV. She served as lead digital writer for Hillary Rodham Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and has written for notable figures ranging from President Obama and Malala Yousafzai to Anna Wintour and Cher. One to Watch is her debut novel.

The Main Squeeze sounds like a take on The Bachelorette. I like that the author has apparently created a realistic yet funny take on this program. I don't think you have to be a fan to actually like this book.

It is a rom-com novel though, so that really has to be your thing.

Option 5: Julie Clark - The Last Flight

Genre: Thriller
Average Goodreads rating: 4.30 stars based on 565 ratings
Publication Date: June 2, 2020

Description: 
Claire Cook has a perfect life. Married to the scion of a political dynasty, with a Manhattan townhouse and a staff of ten, her surroundings are elegant, her days flawlessly choreographed, and her future auspicious. But behind closed doors, nothing is quite as it seems. That perfect husband has a temper that burns as bright as his promising political career, and he's not above using his staff to track Claire's every move, making sure she's living up to his impossible standards. But what he doesn't know is that Claire has worked for months on a plan to vanish.

A chance meeting in an airport bar brings her together with a woman whose circumstances seem equally dire. Together they make a last-minute decision to switch tickets—Claire taking Eva's flight to Oakland, and Eva traveling to Puerto Rico as Claire. They believe the swap will give each of them the head start they need to begin again somewhere far away. But when the flight to Puerto Rico goes down, Claire realizes it's no longer a head start but a new life. Cut off, out of options, with the news of her death about to explode in the media, Claire will assume Eva's identity, and along with it, the secrets Eva fought so hard to keep hidden.

My thoughts: 

This book seems to cover the question: "What would happen if I would just walk out of my life?" which is a question I think many people are asking themselves at the moment now that we're stuck at home during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The story features strong female protagonists which I think is important in a thriller. One of my tropes are women who complain or who have phobias and then decide to uncover a mystery they invent themselves. I'm looking at you Woman in the Window & Girl on the Train. 

Anyways, that doesn't seem to be the case here. According to Goodreads reviews, it's suspenseful, addictive and it has a tantalising plot and fast-pacing. 

Which book would I pick? 

I'm happy to report that this month I would pick up a book that was unknown to me before the Book of the Month selection came out. Riley Sager's book has been on my wish list since before he even thought about writing it. I have added Julie Clark's Last Flight on my list as well since the plot and reviews sound interesting enough to dive into. 

Please note, this post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission for purchased goods/services at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting my writing!