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Jessica Miller is everything she aspired to be when she arrived was a freshman at the prestigious Duquette University; beautiful, successful, confident, enviable. It is the latter characteristic that is driving Jessica’s excitement in attending her university’s ten year anniversary weekend. Not even the unsolved murder of her friend and fellow East House Seven member Heather, committed ten years ago when Heather was stabbed seventeen times with a pair of scissors, can damper Jessica’s enthusiasm. This is going to be her time, her opportunity to show everyone at school who they were missing.
But other people have different ideas.
As Jessica is reunited with her former East House Seven friends, dark secrets and untold truths bubble to the surface and within twenty-four hours the murderer will be revealed along with a damning truth that none of them could have seen coming.
I have become fascinated with dark academia books and this one certainly fits the bill; a gothic university, a group of friends hiding who they truly are from each other, a murder, and tons of atmospheric tension. As a result, I scored this book very highly and found the greatest strength of the book to be its characters.
Before I begin to discuss the various personalities that make up the East House Seven I will state that these characters are not for everyone. With the exception of maybe two or three characters, the people inhabiting this story are not exactly ones I would personally keep, including Jessica herself. Jessica is a very complicated character, set on reinventing herself into the person she so desperately wants to be. She’ll push, scheme, and take out anyone who gets in the way, even if she knows it’s wrong (and that’s an important thing to remember throughout the book). At the same time, I also found myself sympathizing with Jessica. Her home life is a disaster and she, above all else, wants to belong. This is something I feel a lot of people can relate to, the desire to be seen and listened to. That being said, not all of us do what Jessica does to make sure she is seen.
And the “gems” she chooses to be friends with aren’t much better. Without revealing anything, I will say that the East House Seven are the type of students that you see across the hallway in the school, desperately wish to be friends with them, and then when the dirt comes out, you have a breath of sigh and think “Thank God I’m not friends with those people!” At times, it was really hard to find anything likeable about them.
All of this further complicates the main question at hand. Who killed Heather? Everyone will be blamed at least once, but when the true culprit (or culprits maybe?) are revealed, the reader will be left wondering how had this missed it?
5 out of 5 stars
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Dora Davidsohn’s life has changed rapidly, and not for the better. Having left the traditional home of her childhood, Dora has forged a new beginning in Berlin, enjoying the liberties she can take advantage and making new, unashamed friends. However, when Hitler comes to power and Dora is horribly verbally assaulted at her job, the writing on the wall is obvious to Dora and she flees Germany. Years later, after escaping an internment camp, Dora joins the French Resistance and takes on her biggest challenge yet; posing as an Aryan secretary and working for the Gestapo. It’s a dangerous assignment but one, if Dora plays her cards right, could lead to hundreds of others living another day.
If you have followed my reviews and reading choices over the last few years, you will know very well that I am a huge Ellie Midwood fan. Her books are always exceptionally well-researched, superbly written, and very engaging. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to read some of her newest works due to my own hectic reading schedule. However, after reading the summary of this one and learning it is based off a true story, I knew I had to pick it up and read it as soon as I could. A woman posing a secretary and working for the Gestapo in occupied France? How can one not pick that up!
Dora, and many of the supporting characters, are complex characters. Prior to the war, we learn that Dora joins the Communist Party and while you can fully understand Dora’s reasons for doing so, being there are the only other “force” actively fighting Hitler and fascism, Dora does seem naïve in believing that Communism is free of any sins. We see her temporarily questioning her political ideology after she hears about the famine Stalin created for the Ukrainians, but this doesn’t really go anywhere. This could be frustrating to some readers, but my only comment would be is that war doesn’t always give us black and white answers and sometimes, like Dora mentions in the book, we have to choose the lesser of two evils. In any case, I find these dilemmas to be fascinating to read about as it adds another dimension to the characters. They come off as more human.
As always, I would recommend Ms. Midwood’s newest book. It was a quick read and a story I will probably re-read in the future.
5 out of 5 stars
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Evelyn Hugo is a legend. An Academy Award winning actress with a career spanning several decades, Evelyn is not only talented but gorgeous. Perhaps one of the most beautiful women from Old Hollywood. To top it all off, Evelyn has been married a legendary seven times, each marriage more fascinating than the last. However, she has been notoriously tight lipped and, as she fades into her twilight years, it appears it will remain that way.
Until journalist Monique gets an unexpected invitation, from Evelyn herself, asking for Monique to interview her. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity and despite some misgivings Monique agrees. But, the story Evelyn has for Monique is one far from what anyone could have guessed.
Perhaps like many people who have picked up this book, I was inspired to read it after all the praise and hype it’s gotten. I have said it before but I tend to be apprehensive about reading books that have received a lot of attention, given that I often find it falls short of my expectations. My most recent example of this was another loved book of Ms. Reid’s, Daisy Jones & The Six. Loved by many but one I couldn’t really see all the hype about. Despite this, I decided to give Ms. Reid another chance.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is an excellent read, with detailed story telling and an engaging storyline. As a fan of Old Hollywood, I instantly recognized the stars that inspired Ms. Reid’s characters and it was fun to read the author’s own take on what a famous celebrity like Evelyn would have felt and dreamt of. Evelyn herself is a great character; confident, talented, and a bit flawed in her choices. Nevertheless, there is something about her that instantly has the reader entranced in her story.
I am not going to comment much about Evelyn’s true love in the book, that becomes fairly obvious less than half way through. Despite knowing the answer to this question fairly early on, Ms. Reid manages to keep the reader invested in Evelyn’s story. This is partially done through another, small mystery the reader begins to theorize about half way through the story. That answer is revealed at the end and, admittedly, I found that to be the only real drawback of this story. This big surprise the reader is served didn’t leave much of a punch for me and, if anything, I found it distracting from Evelyn’s story and not necessarily needed.
The true strength in his book, however, is it’s lesson about timeless love. Regardless of your background or sexual orientation, Ms. Reid’s story about two people who love and fight for each other over the course of several decades is moving, beautiful, and something that can be applied to everyone. It was sad, yet heart warming at the same time.
I would recommend this book to anyone. It was thoroughly enjoyable, if sad at times but with excellent characters and a great romance story that will stand the test of time.
5 out of 5 stars
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Paloma knows little of her father’s life in Argentina in the 1970s, a time where a military dictatorship seized control and resulted in hundreds of people disappearing without a trace. Having never given it much thought, Paloma is surprised when a woman named Grace appears at one of her family’s parties and introduces herself to Paloma as an old friend of her father’s from their days at university. Intrigued by the mysterious woman, Paloma embarks on a journey to discover what secrets her father is hiding, and some may just be too much to comprehend. Running parallel to Paloma’s story is Santiago’s, beginning in 1974 when he meets and falls in love with Valentina, a confident woman with dreams of a brighter future. As their country is rocked by political changes, Santiago and Valentina find themselves in danger and forced to make decisions that will shape their futures.
The Dirty War was a topic in history that, despite occurring less than fifty years ago, gets little coverage in the historical fiction genre. During this violent time thousands of innocent civilians were arrested, tortured, and eventually killed, often without any of their loved ones knowing. It has left an undeniable mark on Argentina today and I was therefore fascinated to pick this book up.
For the most part I thought the story was well done. I hesitate to use the word “enjoyable” as the subject is very heavy and you can feel the characters’ pain when discussing what happened to loved ones who vanished without a trace and no justice being carried out. Nonetheless, I felt Ms. Clark handled the subject matter very well and I learned quite a bit while reading.
As the summary suggests the book contains a dual storyline which sort of works. I found Paloma’s story to be the most interesting, as she unravels what her father did during this time and also learning about a woman she had never heard before she began her journey. I thought the second storyline, following Paloma’s father, Santiago, and his love interest, would have been stronger if the author had focused on telling events from just one of their points of view. The storyline starts off with Santiago, giving the impression we will be following him but it often went back and forth between him and Valentina, the woman he falls in love with. This could have worked but it felt a bit scattered and sometimes the point of view changed in the same section, making for some slightly complicated reading. To be honest, I would have preferred to have the entire second storyline told from Valentina’s perspective as, quite frankly, most of the story seemingly revolves around her. She was a fascinating character and very well developed and I wish I could have gotten more of her thoughts and feelings. Because it didn’t I felt the story suffered a little bit as I found myself skimming Santiago’s story, hoping to get back to Valentina, and trying to figure out from who’s perspective an event is being seen through.
The story is very engrossing and, in a feat I haven’t been able to accomplish since perhaps high school, I managed to finish this story in one weekend. The story does manage to catch your attention and hold it. However, there were a couple of times where I did struggle as there were some sections that probably could have been caught out. I felt some of Paloma’s sections could have been tightened up and explained a bit more. I would have love to read more about her investigating her father’s past and working that in to what was happening in the second story line. The two story lines weren’t really in tandem and if that had been worked out a bit more I think the story would have been much stronger.
Overall I have to applaud Ms. Clark for tackling such a serious topic and doing it was grace. I would recommend this book but only to someone who is really interested in this time in history as, since I felt the book did struggle in a few places, it could have someone casually reading the book to lose interest. Still, I don’t think what I learned during this dark time in history will leave me anytime soon.
3 out of 5 stars
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Written in a biographical/interview style, Daisy Jones & The Six tells the story of the fictional band The Six and the mesmerizing, talented Daisy Jones. Through interviews, the reader learns the story of how the band came to be and how, at the peak on their success, it all fell apart.
To be honest I never had any intention of picking this book up. Rock n’ roll and stories set in the 1970s are not my particular interest. But when I saw the trailer for Amazon’s adaptation of the book, I acknowledged it looked good and I should read the book first before the series comes out. Going into the story I felt confident enough I would, at the very least, enjoy the story as it had received rave reviews from most people. And there is a decent amount here that I could see why people enjoy this book.
For starters, the character Daisy Jones is interesting to follow. Born seemingly into a life of privilege, Daisy had a difficult childhood with parents who really shouldn’t have been parents in the first place. Left to her own devices, Daisy forms an independent spirit that, while gets her into some good situations, also leads her to make some poor decisions that will come to haunt her. Most noticeable her drug addiction that Daisy repeatedly acknowledges but does little about. She is flawed, but there is also something about her that makes the reader hope she gets her act together. As seemingly expressed throughout the character interviews, Daisy is someone everyone wants to be or someone they wish to be friends with, but she also encompasses some of our worst traits. She is a fascinating character.
Unfortunately, the same can not be said for her male counterpart and lead of the band The Six, Billy Dunne. To be frank I could not stand Billy. He starts off good enough, a young man dreaming of starting a band and battling his addictions, addictions he does work hard to overcome and that is admirable. However, Billy is also incredibly self-centered to the point where I stopped having any sympathy for him or his struggles. This is perhaps an intentional part on Ms. Reid’s part and if it was intentional than I would say mission accomplished. Billy repeatedly does things to upset or anger his fellow bandmates and even when he admits he might have been out of line to the interviewer, he never expressed any real remorse or a desire to set things right with his band. And, he yet he wonders why people get upset with him.
The causalities of Billy’s narcissism and Daisy’s drug fueled living is the remaining five band members, all of which are fairly interesting and sympathetic characters. Karen is a great character that could warrant a spin off of her own, Warren is the typical hard rocking drummer who provides much needed comical relief, Graham is the loyal brother who deserves way better than Billy, Eddie is often the victim of Billy’s attacks, and Peter is pretty much non-existent. While it could be argued that Eddie’s clashes with Billy are warranted on both sides, the same can’t be said for Billy’s relationship with brother Graham. As far as I can tell Graham does nothing to warrant Billy’s indifference to his band member’s problems (and they all have problems) and even when it was obvious Graham was going through something, Billy never makes it a point to support his brother or, in the interviews, admit he did his brother wrong. Not even an apology is muttered and for me that was enough to make he really dislike Billy.
But perhaps that was only my opinion and this leads me into the part of the book that I am still very split on, which is the style of writing.
As previously eluded, Daisy Jones & The Six is written as if it was a biography of the band, but is conducted in an interview section, weaving in and out of each person’s narrative of the story. What I liked about this way of writing the story is that you do get everyone’s point of view on the situation. If this book had been written in the more traditional style it would have been impossible to write the story from seven people’s point of view. However, I also missed the traditional way of structuring the story because I felt like I didn’t get the opportunity to view the situation and arrive at my own opinion. The characters are essentially telling you their version of the story, which often contradicts, and I was often left wondering what truly happened. As a result, I can see why some people love the way it was written and while others disliked it.
As far as the pacing of the book I found the first half to be a bit slow but moving at a decent rate. When I got to the second half the book picked up pace as the disagreements and tensions began to take place, getting me excited about the ending. From the summary we know the band breaks up, but why? I began forming my own theories, putting together possibilities of what breaks the band.
And then I read the ending. Sigh.
I won’t reveal the ending but I was very disappointed. Ms. Reid had done such an excellent job of building up tension and ager and resentment but that all seemed to melt away with the ending. I was left feeling like I had been robbed of a good ending not to mention that I felt like Billy learned absolutely nothing. All the other band members seemed to grow but the one character who needed some serious growth did not display any, a major frustration.
Overall, Daisy Jones & The Six was an entertaining if slightly frustrating book that provided something interest for the reader who doesn’t want the same old stories. It was an easy read and for the most part held my interest. One final item I will mention is that this book is considered historical fiction and I don’t think I would agree with that. It certainly does take place in the past but if someone is looking for a fictional story setting during a historical period, featuring real people and actual events, than this isn’t the book for one. But if you want a different read and love some good old band fighting, than you might want to give this book a try.
3.5 out of 5 stars
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Based on true figures and historical events, The Lost Girls of Paris tells the story of the fearless female agents who risked everything to win the war against the Germans during World War Two. Following three women, the reader learns the story of these brave women and what became of them after paying the ultimate sacrifice.
As the summary of the book suggests, The Lost Girls of Paris is told from the perspective of three women. Grace is living in New York City in the year after the end of World War Two. Widowed and heartbroken Grace stumbles across an abandoned suitcase in Grand Central Station, containing several photos of unknown women that strike Grace’s interest. Two years earlier, Eleanor Trigg is tasked by her superior to oversee a new and risky project, to recruit young women that will be sent to occupied France and pass important information between the French Resistance and the British in the lead-up to D-Day. Among the women recruited is single mother Marie who finds herself thrust into a situation that she had no way of preparing for.
Though a fictional story, the characters of Eleanor and Marie are based on several historical figures and while Marie’s story was not necessarily groundbreaking of innovative, Eleanor’s story and her actions during and after the war was fascinating, especially as it was based on historical fact. In this way I found myself wishing the story focused solely on Eleanor and her journey from starting the program until the conclusion of her duties to the young women she recruited. Grace’s story was interesting and engaging at first, but seemingly fizzled out halfway through the book. As the story of Eleanor and the female agents takes over the story, Grace’s becomes a bit of a roadblock and something I had to get through versus something I wanted to read.
There is a lot of good material here and for the most part it was an interesting and insightful story. However, the pacing of the three stories is odd and often took me out of each character’s story. I would have preferred Ms. Jenoff to focus on one or two characters, but not three to allow me to stay in the story and become fully invested in the story of all the women.
3 out of 5 stars
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Unbelievable. Masterfully written. Mesmerizing. Addicting.
These are just some of the words I would use to describe Alex Michaelides’ debut novel and now I understand all the hype behind this true compelling book. The Silent Patient is told from the perspective of psychotherapist Theo Faber, who applies for a position the Grove where convicted murderer Alicia Berenson is held. Alicia, whose life had appeared so perfect on the outside, was found by the police after shooting her husband, Gabriel. But that isn’t the most unbelievable part. From the moment she killed her husband Alicia has not said a word. Nothing. No explanation. No defense. Not a single word, leaving many unanswered questions. It is those questions that has driven Theo to the Grove and to Alicia. Theo is obsessed with the case and determined to not only learn the truth but to free Alicia from her silence.
From the first chapter I was hooked on this story and this is mainly due to the writing. Mr. Michaelides’ writing is simple but also complex in a way that is hard to describe. He writes as if you are having a conversation with his narrator, and boy does Theo Faber have some things to say.
Arguably the biggest reason why I loved this book was because of Theo. Told from his perspective, Theo drags the reader into the story, all told from his perspective and while Theo seems like a good guy with a few bad experiences that he has surely shaken off by now there is something lurking, something that Theo is hiding from us. In other words he’s a Nick Carraway. An unreliable narrator. And that is intriguing.
In between Theo’s musings and detective-like determination to find out why Alicia not only killed her husband but why she doesn’t speak is excerpts from Alicia’s diary. A picture is painted of a woman trapped, with hardly anyone to turn to and someone who is slowly losing their sanity. Or is she? Between Theo’s investigations and Alicia’s writing, the reader is left wondering if Alicia is truly insane after all and, if she is, what pushed her over the edge? Was it the husband? An overly aggressive brother-in-law or the unreadable longtime friend who Alicia has grown apart from? Everyone seems to have a motive to do Alicia harm, but do any of them act on it? These are just some of the questions the reader will be asking themselves as they speed through this fast-paced novel.
As more answers and questions are revealed, I found myself guessing nearly every possible explanation but when the reason is suddenly revealed I found myself gob smacked and shocked. Never could I have guessed the ending and that’s why I highly recommend this thriller. I am sure that not only will this book be one of my favorite reads of 2023 but will be one of my favorite books of all time.
5 out of 5 stars
