Between the Pages

Reading and writing, reading and writing, reading and writing: that's what I hope to keep doing all summer (with some swimming and seeing friends mixed in there too!). Here's another review! This is Stuart Turton's The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle,  and it's a doozy.  SUMMARY THE RULES OF BLACKHEATH Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered at 11:00 p.m. There are eight days and eight witnesses for you to inhabit. We will only let you escape once you tell us the name of the killer. Understood? Then let's begin... Evelyn Hardcastle WILL die. And every day Aiden Bishop WILL try to identify her killer and break this neverending cycle he has somehow found himself in. But every time a new day begins, Aiden inhabits the body of a different guest at Blackheath. Some of Aiden's hosts will be more helpful than others. Some of Aiden's hosts are more capable than others. Some of Aiden's hosts start to overcome Aiden's true personality. Then again, who is Aiden? A...

Well, hello there! I have SO many things to write about, but NO time to write about them. Here's a post, though. Y'all, I did it! I finally read it - after months.  Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Ellie Cosimano.  SUMMARY Finlay Donovan has no stability. She is recently divorced, has two small children, and is an author with a mental block. Not only is she failing to put any words on the blank document that she sits in front of every night but she cannot even manage to keep her daughter from cutting tragically jagged bangs. Struggling to pay bills, Finlay meets with her agent at a local Panera (where else?) to discuss getting yet another advance on the book she is failing to write when an unidentified, despondent-looking woman slips a piece of paper into Finlay's diaper bag. A piece of paper that read - "I crumpled up the note and held it over the bin. But the dollar sign - and all the zeros that followed - piqued my curiosity. Who was Harris Mickler? Why did he have s...

I am immensely behind. That's just a fact. I have read so many books over the past couple of months. As we all know, I have not reviewed them. But here's a review:  The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan! SUMMARY Rebecca Porter isn't the fancy twin. She isn't the girly twin or the popular twin or the 'pretty' twin. Her sister Lacey is the one who should have all this. The one who should have this seemingly glamorous life. The one who should be in all the magazines and the topics of everyone's conversations. Nonetheless, Rebecca, Bex, found her prince charming. No really, she fell in love with Prince Nicholas, future King of England, when she found herself living down the hall from Nick at Oxford.  Dating Nick introduces Bex to a whole new world: one of lavish events, cocktail dresses, chasing Nick, his friends, and his charming brother Freddie around London, and learning to keep her legs together when getting out of cars to prevent unwanted paparaz...

 Hello everyone! I am back from vacation with a review of a book about vacations. (Also, can we all just notice how nicely both of Emily Henry's books go together!?) SUMMARY Poppy Wright isn't happy. The question, though, is why? Why is she unhappy? Should she be unhappy? She has her dream job. She lives in New York City - away from her tiny hometown in Indiana and all of her childhood bullies she still holds trauma from. She has made great friends in NYC including her best friend Rachel. Well, not her best friend of all time, that's Alex Nielsen. Alex and Poppy met their freshman year of college and had nothing in common (except not liking when people call boats "she"). But, nonetheless, they became best friends. He was the pair of khakis to her sequined top. She was the extrovert to his introvert. They began going on trips together every summer, as Poppy was an aspiring travel writer and Alex desperately needed a little adventure whether he wanted it or not. The...

SUMMARY Two completely different people. Isn't that how every adult-fiction love story starts. Optimistic, love-believing woman meets sulky, socially awkward, but deliciously handsome man. Woman changes man to be a little happier, and man changes woman to be a little more realistic. Yada yada yada. Not in this one, my friends. Not in this one.  January Andrews is a broke and broken romance writer that no longer believes in love after her father's recent death. In her eyes, he was always the perfect father and supporting husband, but she learns upon his demise that he had a long-term affair with another woman. Oddly enough, January decides to move into their house , her father and his mistress', in North Bear Shore Michigan for the summer hoping to sell it. Augustus Everett writes literary fiction books that always end in literally death and destruction. He and January could not be more different. OK, they do have two things in common: (1) They are both in North Bear Shore f...

  SUMMARY Until now, Nora Seed's life has been one big regret. Well, not actually. Nora has many regrets - not getting married - not continuing her teenaged band with her brother - not majoring in another field of study. From big to small, Nora Seed's regrets are more numerous than her friends. Nora Seed, after a particularly horrendous day (worse than the rest of her days), decides to end her life.  Upon overdosing, Nora Seed arrives in The Midnight Library, a place between life and death. Each book on the shelves holds a life Nora Seed could have had if she had made one decision, small or large, differently. Not every life is a more opportune one either. With the help of an old friend and mentor, Nora Seed tries hundreds of lives on for size. She's a rockstar, a pub owner, a winery-wife, a cancer patient, a glaciologist: Nora tries to sort out her perfect life. But things aren't always as they seem. Before her time runs out, will Nora find the best way to live? REVIEW...

SUMMARY      Kya Clark, the "Marsh Girl", doesn't need anyone's help. Kya was abandoned by her mother at a young age along with all of her siblings one by one, leaving her with her alcoholic, abusive father. After her father leaves, Kya is never surprised at one person or another leaving her life, the Marsh Girl lives off of supplies from a near-by fishing store. Kya Clark's name is whispered in hushed tones while city moms spread rumors and town boys make up stories about her "exotic beauty".  Barefoot, wild, and unconventionally beautiful. Kya Clark is a born naturalist, as she collects species from her swamp. Drawn to two young men from town, two drastically different boys, Kya begins to learn what it means to be cared for and loved, but she also learns what it means to be taken advantage of (to put it euphemistically).  The Marsh Girl isn't seriously spoken of until 1969 when Chase Andrews is found dead in Kya's swamp. REVIEW     Kya Clark...

  While The Simple Wild was a little over the top for me, it is a fine, romantic, early adult novel.  Summary Calla Fletcher leads a perfectly normal and fulfilling life. She has a boyfriend, a job, a good family life with her mother and step-father, a smattering of supportive friends, and a successful website and social media account. She is beautiful, fit, and has a diverse and expensive wardrobe.  She would not live in Toronto with her mother, Susan, and her psychiatrist step-father, Simon, if her mother hadn't have hated her life. Originally, Susan got pregnant with Calla, married, and lived with Wren Fletcher, Calla's father, in Bangor, Alaska. Calla's mother has instilled nothing less than hatred for the early darkness, bitter cold, the occasional outhouse, Wren's tiny-dangerous-plane-charter company, and the constant absence of Wren in Calla.  Over her 26 years of life, Calla has heard from her father in a serious, talking manner about five times. The occasion...

  Jennie Fields's historical accuracy in Atomic Love is unrivaled, but, like everything, is not perfect. Summary Chicago, 1950. Rosalind Porter is just getting herself back together after her long-time relationship breaks up and her long-time project blows up (literally, she was an integral scientist in the Manhattan Project). Her heart is broken by her boyfriend, more like a soulmate, Thomas Weaver, who is also a scientist. Her soul broke though when the bombs fell and burst Nagasaki and Hiroshima into a million pieces that would never truly be put back together. She felt guilty and empty.  She's getting back on her feet though. She spends fun-filled weekends with her mini-twin and niece, Ava. She visits her sister and brother-and-law (more like her mother and father because Roz's mom was so old when she was born), Louisa and Henry. Her life is finally settling down, that's when Weaver starts to call again. And call and call and call and call. Staying strong, Rosalind ...

  The Guest List by Lucy Foley has a great concept and plot, but the wonderful story is buried by inappropriate language and sexual innuendos.  *DISCLAIMER - I knew this book was for adults before I read it. I will explain in the review part of this post. I don't think anyone below 18 years old should read this book.* Summary On a remote Irish island called Folly, Jules Keegan and Will Slater have gathered their closest friends and family. The smart, ambitious magazine publisher and the charming, witty, and handsome television star are getting married. While the sea and cell service are a little choppy, the couple and their friends won't let the setting spoil their fun. A deserted island, a huge house, plenty of alcohol, a four-tiered cake, and the perfect dress make the wedding of the century. "But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human". Jealousies and not-so-fond memories come out before the cake is even cut. Dark clouds loom overhead, physically and...

In  Head Over Heels by Hannah Orenstein, the main character's, Avery, emotional arc demonstrates resilience, determination, and compassion, all of which young women should learn to have.  *DISCLAIMER* This novel is a NEW ADULT book not a young adult book. Please know that I am rating this book for the older readers of this blog. This book is not for anyone below ages 15 or 16. While I loved the break from classics this book gave me, it does have adult language and content. Please do not read this book until you are older if you are not comfortable with mature content. I will refer readers of this post to a professional age rating when this book ages a little. It was released very recently, so there are no age ratings yet. This is my two cents, but I will get a professional rating very soon. ** This is the first time I have reviewed a strictly adult book on this blog. I just want to be careful. I know that young women and girls from 9 or 10 to age 17 read this blog. I have to...