7.9.23 Reading Recap

 

7.9.23

This is not the post that I promised. I am working on writing up the first post for my June/vacation recap but there's a lot to work through and I don't want to make those posts too long. I also have to pick out what pictures to include and how to explain what exactly I did- it's getting there, I promise. But in the mean time I figured I could make a post about what I've been reading recently. In the future posts like this one will probably include articles that I've read, but since I haven't had a dedicated research topic recently this post is only going to include books. 

The Guest List 
★★★★- four stars 

This is a book that I picked up at Target ahead of my trip, just so that I'd have something to read in the airport and on my flights. This book yanked me out of a reading slump that I've been trying to escape since the end of the school year. 

From the first few pages I knew I was going to enjoy this book. There was quite a bit of foreshadowing and symbolism, which I always love. The setting was immaculate, the mood was set from the beginning and with every description it only got better. I wasn't sure how I felt about the rotating points of view at first but the further along I got, the more I started enjoying it. Each of the characters was well developed and added something to the narrative.  

This book single handedly catapulted me out of my reading slump and into a new obsession with murder mystery/"who dunnit" books. I would definitely recommend this book, it was a pretty easy book to get through, the plot keeps you in a grip, and you'll have a great time learning about the characters and solving a mystery. I will say that there are a few instances of self harm mentioned- so be careful if that's something you need to be aware of. 

The Paris Apartment 
★★★- three and a half stars

So pretty much as soon as I finished The Guest List, I wanted more of that same kind of vibe. I was still on my trip so I figured I could wait till I got home and would just read one of the other books I had bought at that point. Turns out I had grabbed a second book in a series so I was a bit out of luck. But I was wandering around on my own and found a book store that I'd been in like eight years ago, the first and only other time I'd been in Dublin. I looked around had some options to pick between and then found The Paris Apartment. It's by the same author, Lucy Foley, and I figured it was a sign so I bought it and started reading it while I ate lunch. 

 When I tell you this book grips you just as hard, I mean it. It has a bit of a cold open, we start at the scene of what we assume is the scene of the crime. We then spend the whole book following the main character while she tried to figure out what happened. There's the same go around between different points of view but the connection between the characters, beyond the obvious (they live in the same apartment building), isn't clear until the main character discovers it about three quarters of the way into the book. 

As the story progresses it gets more and more intense and it gets harder to put down. The ending absolutely took me by surprise in the best possible way. I didn't totally love the ending but I can forgive it for the rest of the plot. Character descriptions are amazing and you really get a feel for them and the story develops. There is also mentions of drug and alcohol abuse as well as disordered eating patterns, if that's something that you need to be aware of, please be careful!

The Crossing Places 

★★★- three and a half stars

This book might honestly end up being one of my favorites out of everything I've read in the last few months. Which is kind of surprising, given that I had a few more dislikes about this book than the other two in this post. 

If you've ever seen the TV show Bones, the premise of this book is very similar. That is initially what drew me in, and I made an effort to find the first book in the series (it is the first book!). This also falls into the "who dunnit" category that I have become very fond of very quickly. 

As I read I became more invested in the story, but I wasn't super enthralled right from the start. It got off to a bit of a dry start, which I don't really mind but it took me a good chunk of the book to become fully immersed in the story. To me this is far more plot driven than the other two books. I think if I hadn't gotten more attached to the characters as I approached the end I wouldn't be as invested in the story and the series as a whole. 

My biggest irritation with The Crossing Places is the continuous emphasis on the main characters weight. It didn't seem to add much to the story and a lot of the time the comments seemed to take away from a larger issue that the character was dealing with. The other two issues that I took with this book are the pacing and ease of switching between points of view. As the book progresses the switches between points 9of view become less jarring and more fluid as the book progresses but the transitions are a little rough at the beginning. The pacing seems very fast and doesn't really help ease those transitions; the fast pace of the book actually works out fine for the timeline of events but it feels jarring to switch between this character in this month, and then the next page is the other character and its a different month. 

Overall, I did really end up enjoying this books and the twists that it threw at me. And I did impulse buy a box set of the first ten books in this series. So that speaks for itself. I would definitely recommend this book, but it is also probably going to be best enjoyed by people who enjoy the genre and don't need/want a super in depth and detailed story. There's plenty of detail regarding relevant characters and plot lines but not much outside of that. 

These reviews seem pretty strong/comprehensive but there are some more in-depth reviews that can be found on my GoodReads or my Instagram! Feel free to check out either of these and connect with me there. Hopefully I'll have more things to tell you about the next time I do one of these posts- and hopefully I'll get a post or two about my trip up soon!

Until then, keep learning and exploring!

- Anne