This book was a little too easy and not in depth enough but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I think it's a fun, quick murder mystery for the end of summer.

So entertaining, I'm on a John Boyne kick right now and yet another book of his I've been enchanted by. This one is extremely different from the previous ones I've read (The Heart's Invisible Furies, The Absolutist) as it's a Victorian ghost story but it's riveting and lots of fun. Highly recommend!

John Boyne is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors! This book is so devastating, heartbreaking, and real. I found myself swallowing back tears. Such beautiful writing, lovable characters in depths of pain, Boyne is a truly special author. A must read!

But I feel good in this prison of books, into which nothing penetrates from without or within.

I really like Ruth Ware. I loved In a Dark, Dark Wood, I liked Woman in Cabin 10, and I am contented by The Lying Game. I think her writing is strong and her character development is good. Unfortunately this novel just needed a little more oomph for me. BUT if you like Ware, Hawkins or even Gillian Flynn, I would still give this mystery/thriller a try.

This book is a fun, wild psychological thriller. I really enjoyed the narration between Cass and Abby. One of my favorite thrillers this year (it reminded me a bit of The Sisters Chase)!

Between a pick and a so-so, the protagonist is so emotionally detached, it's hard to maintain interest in the plot line but I found myself sympathetic to many of the characters and kept going. I really enjoyed the end. Strange but lovely book.

Favorite book of 2017 so far. Can't rave enough about this one. Already excited to read his backlist.

Between a pick and a so-so, I'm leaning more toward so-so. While this mystery was engaging and fun, I thought it was a little too simply written. I was hoping for more concrete depth from the characters and maybe more scenes of other characters besides the three narrators. It dragged a little but I was still entertained.

While Messud's writing weaves a relatively interesting story, the plot lagged and the characters felt flat. I grew bored of this book early on and pushed to the end only to see if it got better--it didn't really. I think if you are a fan of Messud, you can give this book a try but otherwise, I wouldn't really recommend. It's too flat.

I don't often read YA but I picked up this book for its mature themes (abortion, death of a parent) and the quality of the writing and strength of the characters really impressed me. It's a sad but hopeful story of a teenage woman in the throes of heartbreak and pain. Pipkin does a wonderful job sharing first love heartbreak. This book is great.

I'm fine.
I'm fine.
I'm fine.
Say it three times, and make it come true.

Hmmm this book was twisted and relatively creative but it just didn't click for me. The narrator was grating and while I found myself empathetic to many of the horrific experiences she underwent I wasn't pulled emotionally into this book like I expected to be. I'm a little surprised it was as popular as it was.

I just saw that this book is being made into a movie! It's fun, enticing book that rolls along quickly. A young, rich boy falls for a poor girl and they struggle together to find happiness in a world that doesn't support them. It's a little silly but the ending was surprising and I was relatively impressed with the character depth. Not too shabby.

This short little novel about being with a parent during the decline of their health is so beautiful. Khong pairs notes a father took about his daughter when she was younger with the daughter now detailing the account of her father's daily life with dementia. It's sweet and funny and poignantly sad. I loved it.

This book is beautiful and devastating, a young woman searching for love, life, happiness, and home. I found the plot to be engaging enough but, while the writing is impressive, it felt very slow. It's a quick read but I had some trouble staying with the narrator's existential crisis and questioning page after page. Worth a read but it's a slow one.

My love for my mother is like an axe. It cuts very deep.

This book is creepy and sad and brilliantly written. I was completely numbed by the narrator's emotional distance and psychotic actions. I couldn't put this book down. Definitely worth a read if you like college reads and thrillers.

This book had such good reviews from my Litsy friends I thought I'd give it a try. You almost hate every character, every situation they put themselves in, but you end up searching for answers and flipping the pages faster and faster for more. I thought the ending dragged a little and felt like she wrapped it up too nicely, it seemed a little obvious for awhile. A fun, quick read.

Woah. I did not expect this book. I judged it by its cover and reluctantly picked it up because #BOTM sold it so well that I thought I would give it a try. I read it in less than a day. I couldn't stop. The story was like candy, absolutely delicious. It was thrilling and mysterious in all the ways you want a story to unravel. How fun!

You wonder what it must be like to be a man, to be so confident that the final say is yours.

This book continued my creepy reading after I finished The Handmaid's Tale last night but I devoured it so quickly, I have to call it a "pick." The writing could have been stronger but the plot was incredibly engaging and I couldn't put it down. An interesting (but disturbing!) summer read!

The creepiest, most uncomfortable dystopian, I couldn't put this book down. I'm so mad I've waited so long to read it. I'm looking forward to the Hulu series, although I'll admit I'm pretty squeamish and might struggle to watch it. A fantastic insight on a world where women's right are limited even more and where history clearly overtakes herstory. A definite recommend (for those of you who haven't read it yet!).

I don't write about work books often but I love my job at Other Press and I think everyone should read this book when it comes out in October. It's a unique tale of love and loss, with exceptionally beautiful prose. Majestic and elegant, MADONNA will stay with you, even after you put it down.

I love college stories. Despite the rave reviews for this one, I struggled to stay completely engaged. Batuman's prose is alluring and her subject matter was interesting enough: college girl in existential crisis falls in love and is challenged by the philosophy of language and linguistics; I wasn't entirely pulled in. I often found myself with my eyes glazed. The first half of this book was good, but by the second half, I think I burnt out.

There are some books you want to shout to the world about how much you love them. This book is one of them. Maybe the best book I've read so far this year. Pick it up and read it immediately!

It's due back at the library and I haven't been invested enough to rush to finish it. I know everyone is talking about it as the summer literary book so maybe I'll get back to it later. Oh well.

There was nothing sexy about incipient narcissism.

Like many others who've posted about this book, I enjoyed the first half a lot. I thought Lehane did an excellent job building characters and his readers' interest. But the second half, like an action movie, completely turned everything he had built in the first half on its head. He lost momentum and the second half felt disjointed. I wouldn't say I didn't like it but I wish I had be able to keep my interest.

Although a little pretentious at times, I thoroughly enjoyed Courtney Maum's new novel, TOUCH. It was both devastating and inspiring to see how tech and innovation have diminished our sensory capabilities--our enjoyments in pure, natural experiences and feelings. I found this book to be informative and captivating.

A fun, quick satire about the tech industry and startup culture in NYC. It was a bit fluffy and the character development was on the lighter side but I found myself engrossed several times during my reading. It's between so-so and pick for me. A good summer fun book to enjoy at the beach!

I loved learning about Mary Mallon, or Typhoid Mary as she's known in history books. This story was a little bland and rambling but the content was emotionally engaging and brought you to the heart of NYC at the turn of the twentieth century. An engaging read, I would recommend. I'm still on the lookout for a stronger book about Typhoid Mary if anyone knows of one!!

Beautiful and moving and painful and heartbreaking and unbearably relatable, this book was an amazing short journey into the life of Andrea, a woman struggling to find her place as she slogs through life. I could not put it down. Depressing but worth every witty, well-crafted word.

A really creative, thrilling novel I was impressed with Murphy's originality but I think she lost control of the plot and her characters by the end. It dragged along towards the end and felt a little sluggish. Overall, an interesting read that did hold quite enough water for me.

Heartbreaking, hopeful, and real, this memoir stood out to me as a book that champions difference and asks (no, demands) acceptance. I don't know Lindy West but I'm excited to go read her pieces on the internet now. She's a bitingly funny, honest woman whose book will hopefully help us change the way we think and act. A great, powerful read.

This book was very thoughtful, in the head of a woman who is very much in her own head. The detached writing of the characters, rarely knowing someone's name except the boyfriend, I found it moving but also frustrating. While it was an interesting, short piece into the life of a complicated academic, I did not love the execution.

I love J Courtney Sullivan's writing and this was like all her previous--a quiet, domestic novel with so much heart it'll tug at your heartstrings again and again. I could barely put this book down. Not because it was thrilling but because I loved the men and women in it. Highly recommend.

A compelling and gripping story, I flew through this novel but I have to say, I'm not totally satisfied. I enjoyed the multi-character perspective (although it was a bit much at the beginning) but I think maybe Paula Hawkins could have used less voices and more depth to the story/town history. A good thriller but not a perfect one.

I devoured this book in a day. Lisa Ko impressively captures characters who are so real, so captivating, you won't want to leave them. A heartbreaking and truly emotionally gripping tale, it's in incredible debut. My only complaint is that I felt the end seemed a bit rushed as she tried to wrap everything up, but it was still very well done. A great novel but an exciting new writer!

The plot was engaging and the characters held my attention but I couldn't truly enjoy this book. I thought, at times, it was too disjointed and not fully fleshed out. There was a lot going on and I'm not sure the author had complete handle over all that happened. Intriguing but not wholly captured, it's a so-so for me.

This book is packed with raw emotion, devastating events, love and friendship, and most of all--the ways we find to kill off loneliness. I devoured this crazy, heart-pounding, traumatic debut. I'm so impressed by Whitaker's writing, I'm already looking forward to reading what comes next.

An epic, sweeping tale of a multi generational Korean family in Japan. Heartbreaking, heartwarming, this book gave me all the feels. I knew absolutely nothing about Korean-Japanese relations and am now determined to study up on my history. Definitely a pick for me!

I'm going to miss this book. It was maddening, frustrating, heartbreaking, loving, beautiful, kind, wild, and raw. The characters in Beartown are unforgettable, and sometimes unforgivable, but honestly, Fredrik Backman will have you rooting for many of them in the end. I love his novels, I love his characters, his writing style, and I enjoyed this one a lot. Warning: I found it started off a little slow but picked up quickly. Don't give up on it.

The unreliable, unlikeable narrator was a lot to handle, even for this short, funny story. While I thought the entire novel was well written, clever, and poignant about death, being an outsider, and finding purpose in life, I still found myself struggling to enjoy it. I read this book in a day but it didn't grab me as I had hoped. Not a perfect, but well-crafted read.

It took me awhile to get into this one but I seriously recommend continuing even if you feel like the plot doesn't have much momentum. I found myself struggling to put it down as I moved further into the trial. I loved the intricacies of the trial procedures as well as the background story Maja shares. A great, complex read!

Amanda pretended to be engaged in things and I pretended I didn't care. And we were so good at pretending that we fooled everyone, including ourselves.

This book was problematic but I do like a good academic story. It wasn't deep enough, it felt too shallow but I still devoured the pages, wanting to know what happened. I really liked You Should Have Known, and this one didn't quite do it for me.

I understand that, in normal times, we are defined by our differences, and differences are fine and beautiful things. But these are not normal times.

I picked this up after Big Little Lies, hoping for the soap opera drama that I loved about the show (I never read the book, I know, shameful). This book had the makings of a good story and at times, was extremely affecting, but I found it dragged too long and anticipated too often. It was a solid read but don't be misled: it's not a thriller, it's not a mystery. It's drama. Decent, slightly boring, drama.

A book about a spiraling heroin addict trying to take control of her life and failing. Her obsessive behavior with drugs, sex, men, and failed relationships is pervasive throughout. The language Sharma uses to depict loneliness, addiction, helplessness, apathy, anxiety, and sickness is jaw dropping. This book is hard to read but worth the struggle. It's relatable and frustrating all at once. A great read.