A Hundred Suns by Karin Tanabe

A Hundred Suns by Karin Tanabe
Publisher/Year: St. Martin’s Press, 2020
Format: ARC – paperback
Pages: 370
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Goodreads

Summary

Sun-drenched days and champagne-soaked nights of secrets, betrayal, and passion will transport you, leaving you intoxicated and longing for more.

1933 Indochine is a lush and dangerous land filled with men and women looking to make their fortunes and leave their secrets behind. Into the expatriate community steps Jessie Lesage, the American wife of a Michelin rubber heir, ready to abandon her past and revel in newfound prosperity. She quickly befriends vivacious Marcelle de Fabry and her lover, silk tycoon Khoi Nguyen–but discovers that Marcelle might have her own hidden desires that could mean deadly trouble for their tight-knit circle. As political intrigue builds and Marcelle plays both sides of the line between friend and foe, Jessie begins to wonder if her world of gold is nothing more than a house of cards.

What I thought

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was such a breath of fresh air for me. You ever have those books where you know that it was exactly the right moment for you to read them? That was this book for me. This story was so different and lush, and it was just not what I was expecting. I love it when that happens–it’s so refreshing. A Hundred Suns transported me to a time and place that I had never read about before, and I think that historical fiction fans will really love this one. Other than the atmospheric prose, I really enjoyed Jessie and Marcelle as characters and became completely invested in their stories. And then on top of that, the deeper look at things like colonialism and communism in French Indochine gave me so much food for thought. Simply put, I got lost in the pages of this book, and during a year like 2020, what more could you ask for? If you’re a fan of historical fiction or if you’re looking for the next selection for your book club or even if you’re just looking for something totally unique, I’d highly recommend this one!

Moments of Glad Grace by Alison Wearing

Moments of Glad Grace by Alison Wearing
Publisher/Year: ECW Press, 2020
Format: ARC – paperback
Pages: 242
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Goodreads

Summary

Moments of Glad Grace is a moving and witty memoir of aging, familial love, and the hunt for roots and belonging. The story begins as a trip from Canada to Ireland in search of genealogical data and documents. Being 80 and in the early stages of Parkinson’s Disease, Joe invites his daughter Alison to come along as his research assistant, which might have worked very well had she any interest–any at all–in genealogy.

Very quickly, the father-daughter pilgrimage becomes more comical than fruitful, more of a bittersweet adventure than a studious mission. And rather than rigorous genealogy, their explorations move into the realm of family and forgiveness, the primal search for identity and belonging, and questions about responsibility to our ancestors and the extent to which we are shaped by the people who came before us.

Though continually bursting with humor, Moments of Glad Grace ultimately becomes a song of appreciation for the precious and limited time we have with our parents, the small moments we share, and the gifts of transcendence we might find there.

What I thought

Thank you to Shelf Awareness & ECW Press for the free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I immensely enjoyed this memoir for a number of reasons. For starters, Ireland is somewhere I am dying to travel, and even though Wearing doesn’t spend a lot of time sightseeing, I still felt like I was vicariously experiencing Dublin, what between the various Irish strangers she encounters and the simple day-to-day recounting of the places her and her father meander. Besides that, I was a huge fan of Wearing’s use of humor. I was expecting this memoir to be a bit of a “downer,” but even though she manages to infuse poignancy into the pages, I lost count of how many times I found myself howling with laughter. Bravo! I felt like I was there myself, a fly on the wall. And somehow, despite being Wearing’s own personal reflection, I still walked away contemplating my own “moments of glad grace.” This is not a pageturner, folks. This is a story that would be best enjoyed while sipping Guinness and kicking back while you take in this touching, yet hilarious, father-daughter trip.

Going Down Easy (Billionaire Bad Boys #1) by Carly Phillips

Going Down Easy (Billionaire Bad Boys #1) by Carly Phillips
Publisher/Year: CP Publishing, 2016
Format: E-book (Nook)
Pages: 147
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Goodreads

Summary

Meet Kaden Barnes.

Alpha-licious in the most unexpected ways, Kaden Barnes always gets what he want.

Enigmatic and exacting, he’s unable to keep an assistant for long. Until Lexie Parker arrives. She’s no-nonsense, efficient and all business…She’s also hot as sin and soon starring in Kaden’s dirtiest fantasies.

When their passion for each other reaches a boiling point, Kaden may think he’s calling the shots, but for this billionaire bad boy, going down easy has never felt so good.

What I thought

This was a short ‘n’ steamy billionaire boss romance. And when I say steamy, I mean there was some serious heat in this story. I don’t read a ton of romance, so I’m by no means an expert, but I really enjoyed this one. I had a few minor quips, but that really came down to my own personal preferences–I’m not a huge fan of instalove, and so I felt like everything moved a little quickly. But like I said, that’s just me, and it didn’t detract from the story at all. I also appreciated the added depth to this story with the look at family issues and mental health awareness. All in all, this was a quick, enjoyable romance read, and I’m looking forward to the next installment in the series.

Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore

Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore
Publisher/Year: Harper, 2020
Format: ARC – paperback
Pages: 308
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Summary

Mercy is hard in a place like this…

It’s February 1976, and Odessa, Texas, stands on the cusp of the next great oil boom. While the town’s men embrace the coming prosperity, its women intimately know and fear the violence that always seems to follow.

In the early hours of the morning after Valentine’s Day, fourteen-year-old Glory Ramírez appears on the front porch of Mary Rose Whitehead’s ranch house, broken and barely alive. The teenager had been viciously attacked in a nearby oil field–an act of brutality that is tried in the churches and barrooms of Odessa before it can reach a court of law. When justice is evasive, one of the town’s women decides to take matters into her own hands, setting the stage for a showdown with potentially devastating consequences.

Valentine is a haunting exploration of the intersections of violence and race, class and region, in a story that plumbs the depths of darkness and fear yet offers a window into beauty and hope. Told through the alternating points of view of indelible characters who burrow deep in the reader’s heart, this fierce, unflinching, darkly funny, and surprisingly tender novel illuminates women’s strength and vulnerability, and reminds us that it is the stories we tell ourselves that keep us alive.

What I thought

Thank you to Harper for the free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was one of the most breathtaking books I’ve read this year. At times heart-wrenching, at times infuriating, at times empowering, this was one of those books that I know will just stay with me, y’know? It will never cease to amaze me that someone can write like this with their debut novel. I swear, I’ve underlined at least half of this book, because I was so in awe of Wetmore’s atmospheric and hard-hitting writing. I’ve never been to Texas, but I could have sworn I was there as I read. And even though I want to say this isn’t an easy read (let’s be clear, it isn’t), I hesitate to say that. It’s not easy because it’s real. I dare any woman out there to read this one and tell me that you don’t relate to at least some part of it. But at the same time, this was just as much about the strength and resilience of women and the camaraderie (even if oftentimes reluctant) between women. Not to mention, we all known how much I love character driven stories, and I was highly a fan of this one. My only complaint was that the ending left me feeling a little indifferent.

A stunning, atmospheric work of literary fiction that begs to be discussed during book club!

Providence by Max Barry

Providence by Max Barry
Publisher/Year: Putnam, 2020
Format: ARC – paperback
Pages: 303
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Goodreads

Summary

An inventive speculative adventure, a riveting thriller, and the intimate tale of four people facing their most desperate hour–alone, together, at the edge of the universe.

Seven years after first contact with an alien race, Providence Five launches. Like all Providences, it carries a crew of four– tasked with monitoring the ship and keeping humanity up on the war effort by way of social media.

But while pursuing the enemy across space, Gilly, Talia, Anders, and Jackson confront the unthinkable: their communications are cut, their ship decreasingly trustworthy and effective. Their only hope of getting home is to win a fight that is suddenly and terrifyingly real.

What I thought

Thank you to Putnam and Goodreads for the free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I will be the first to admit–I don’t read a lot of science fiction. But holy shit, you guys, this book was GOOD. I think I shy away from sci-fi because I worry it will be jargon-heavy and incomprehensible. Providence was anything but that, and it blew my expectations away. I thought it was fascinating and thought-provoking and deeply frightening, but also deeply funny. The prose was clear and direct, making this an easy read, and the plight of the four crew members kept the pages flying and the tension running high. And can I just say–for me, the idea of being stranded in space, trillions of miles from home, is one of the most horrifying things I can think of. But this story is more than just that. Some of my favorite aspects were the look at the psychology of interpersonal relationships, the unnerving question of whether or not to fully trust the almighty A. I., and the satire which examines war and media and corruption. And let’s talk about the unsettling parallels to our current state of affairs! All of this is to say that I found this book to be absolutely excellent. There’s so much to dig into, if you want, and if not, the story alone makes for a riveting adventure. I highly recommend this one–even to the most reluctant sci-fi readers!

Sparrow by Mary Cecilia Jackson

Sparrow by Mary Cecilia Jackson
Publisher/Year: Tor, 2020
Format: ARC – paperback
Pages: 364
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Goodreads

Summary

In the tradition of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, a devastating but hopeful YA debut about a ballerina who finds the courage to confront the abuse that haunts her past and threatens her future.

Though Savannah Rose–Sparrow to her friends and family–is a gifted ballerina, her real talent is keeping secrets. Schooled in silence by her long-dead mother, Sparrow has always believed that her lifelong creed–“I’m not the kind of girl who tells”–will make her just like everyone else: Normal. Happy. Safe. But in the aftermath of a brutal assault by her seemingly perfect boyfriend Tristan, Sparrow must finally find the courage to confront the ghosts of her past, or lose herself forever…

What I thought

Thank you to Tor Teen for the free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was one of the best young adult books that I have ever read. Before I go any farther, I want to mention a few trigger warnings: domestic violence, child abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, grieving, and loss of a parent. Needless to say, this was not an easy read, by any means. I have to give Jackson credit where it’s due, however: I cannot remember the last time I read a book where I had such a strong, visceral emotional reaction to the story. Every time I’d put this book down, I felt like you do after a good long cry–hollowed out and raw and like I just got sucker punched. I just LOVED this book, even though I can’t quite place my finger on why. I think mostly it was because these characters came to life for me–every single one (and I think my favorite was Granny Dei rdre). I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that I hugged this book when I finished it. It made me cry, but it also made me laugh and even swoon, and it warmed my heart as much as it angered me at times. When it comes to a good book, can you really ask anything more?