Invisible Girl Book Review

I will start this by saying that Lisa Jewell’s books are either really good, or just okay for me. However, I feel like this one has someone fallen right smack in the middle of that. Invisible Girl was more than just okay – but it didn’t blow me away. However, I do believe that this book could have easily blown me away. I wasn’t 100% sold from the start, in fact, the first part kind of dragged a bit. Nevertheless, I pushed through and ended up enjoying the second half of the story. 

Invisible Girl follows multiple different point of views and they’re all fairly distinct so that they’re easy to tell apart. Their are chapters in the past and chapters in the present in this book. We follow Saffyre’s chapters in the past, and in the present when she’s missing. We also follow Cate and Owen in the present day as all of this is unraveling. 

I absolutely hate Owen as a person; but as a character he is so complex and interesting. He does make my skin crawl but there was a depth to him? If that makes any sense. He definitely reminded me a little bit of Joe from You in a way. Saffyre was also a fantastic character. I really enjoyed how complex and unique she was. Cate was just kind of there and at times, I didn’t care for her chapters at all. 

There is a twist in this novel that I didn’t see coming. This saved the book for me and is what tipped it over the “just okay” benchmark. This novel was mysterious and psychological. The only way this novel could have been better was if I’d been hooked from the start. I do see myself continuing to pick up Lisa Jewell books in the future. 

One Chicago Recap – February 17

Another week has passed and we know what that means? Me rambling/ranting about three certain first responder shows set in Chicago. As the weeks go on, I realize more and more that I’m only still here for Chicago PD because of my ships. I’m still waiting for PD and Med to really surprise me and bring me back invested again.

The Bridge of Little Jeremy by Indrajit Garai – Book Review

The Bridge of Little Jeremy was a bit of a surprise for me, in such a good way. In this novel, we follow our protagonist, Jeremy as he’s dealing with a few conflicts in his life. From contending with his heart condition to trying to help him family out of debt (and keep his mother from going to jail), all while being just twelve years old. 

I have to say that Jeremy was such an easy character to love and to root for. He is extremely likeable even from the start which for me is new, as it usually takes me a while to care about the main character in a story. he is very mature and independent for his age which I think is due to his circumstances. I could just easily get behind his motives. I’d like to say that I would do the same, or at least very similar to him if I were in the same position. 

I connected really well with Garai’s writing style. As I was reading, I really felt like I was in Paris, or as I expect Paris to be, as I’ve never actually been there. The prose was just really beautiful and descriptive. I was able to feel like I was actively going on this journey with Jeremey. 

The only downside to this novel is that at parts, it felt kind of slow and dragged on just a little bit. This lag did turn me off partly, and I think a lot of people may hate that. However I still pushed through and I’m really glad that I did. I was able to experience a really heartwarming and delightful story. 

Overall, The Bridge of Little Jeremy was a bit out of comfort zone and I took a chance jumping into it. Nevertheless, I am so glad that I did and I’m interested in checking out more from this author in the future. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

 

The Truths We Hold: An American Journey Book Review

The Truths We Hold was one that I picked up on a completely random whim but I’m really glad that I did. I will say that I am definitely glad that I decided to listen to this rather than read it physically. I always love listening to famous people’s books – especially if they narrate them themselves.

Going into this book, I wasn’t really expecting much, nor did I really have any expectations of what I was getting into. However, I left this book learning a lot. I had no idea Kamala was so involved in everything that she was. On top of that, I took a lot of life lessons away from this book that I think I’ll keep with me for some time. One thing that really stuck out to me from this book was her importance of books in a person’s life. As someone who is a avid reader, I do think books are seriously important, whether they’re fictional or nonfictional; because there are so many things you can take away from the book you’ve read.

Another thing that really stuck out to me was her take on motherhood. Being a mother is an attitude, not a biological relation. You don’t have to be a biological mother to be a great mother. Kamala is a great mother to Cole and Ella and considers them as her own children. The following paragraph from this book shows her sublime opinion of being a parent.

“Nothing makes a child feel more secure than being tucked in by a parent at the end of a day, getting a kiss and a hug, a good-night story, falling asleep to the sound of their voice. Nothing is more important to a parent than talking with tethering child at night before the child goes to sleep, answering their questions, comforting and reassuring them in the face of any fears, making sure they know that everything will be okay. Parents and children everywhere relate to these rituals. They are part of the human experience.”

The last “lesson” I want to touch on is that failing doesn’t make you a failure. Failing at something doesn’t mean that you’re not successful. “What defines us is how well we rise after falling”  You’re going to fail in life, it’s almost a guarantee. What matters the most is what you do after you fall. It’s about how you get back up, how you move forward from that.

Overall, I loved the experience of reading this book, and I recommend this book to everyone. I want to conclude this review with the lines that inspired me the most in this book.

“Years from now, our children and our grandchildren will look up and lock eyes with us. They will ask us where we were when the stakes were so high. They will ask us what it was like. I don’t want us to just tell them how we felt. I want us to tell them what we did.

One Chicago Recap – February 10

Another week, another round of Chicago Fire, PD and Med episodes for me to ramble about. I must say, I kind of enjoyed these episodes a lot more than last week. I enjoyed Fire more than the others; but that’s no surprise since Fire has always been my favorite of the three. 

Hidden Bodies Book Review

Hidden Bodies is the long awaited sequel to You – which happened to be one of my favorite books of 2019 or at the very least a very close second. I will admit, that Hidden Bodies did not hold up to it’s predecessor. While, I didn’t hate this book, I enjoyed parts of it – it was kind of a big disappointment for me. 

Whereas You was written in second person and followed Joe as he was “stalking” you, Hidden Bodies was written in first person. This on it’s own, definitely threw me out. Though, I don’t think this book would have worked as a second person narrative, it needed the first person narrative in order to flow. It was just a jarring change that brought me a little bit out of the story. 

I will preface this by saying that yes, Joe Goldberg is not a good guy, he’s not a good person. He does shitty things and you’re not supposed to root for him. However, there was always a reason for his actions in You – be that as fucked up as they were. On the downside, in Hidden Bodies, I couldn’t really find that motivation. It felt as if Joe was just going through the motions for the majority of the book. He didn’t seem to really have a purpose in this one, or at least not one that I could find. 

As for the “romance”, in this book between Love and Joe – I didn’t hate it. I didn’t really love it either and I wished there had been a little more to make me actually care. Maybe I was just thrown off by her name and how she’s supposed to love, love? I can’t help but wonder if Love is going to play more a role in the third installment, or if Joe has already moved on to stalking another woman. 

It kind of bugged me that the events of the last book weren’t really mentioned until the last half of this novel. I mean, the whole reason Joe left New York was because of what happened in You. And it’s hardly touched on until it becomes relevant? It’s almost as if Joe forgot about it until it was forced in front of him again – which, let’s be real, Joe would never do. 

Overall, it wasn’t a terrible book, however, I expected a lot more from it after the brilliance that was You. I’m really disappointed that this was a disappointment to me. However, I’m still invested enough to read You Love Me.  

The Inheritance Games Book Review

The Inheritance Games is a YA mystery/thriller that follows Avery Grahams as she finds herself becoming the sole owner of the majority of Tobias Hawthorne’s fortune. Even stranger, the will sets out a series of odd requirements. One being that Avery must spend at least one year in Hawthorne house, the family manor, and that she must allow Tobias’s disinherited family to live there with her. Talk about awkward. And maybe even dangerous.

I definitely enjoyed my time reading this novel. I spilt my time physical reading and listening to the audiobook – and all of the Texan accents were fantastic. This was such an intriguing and captivating book that kept me hooked. The way Barnes craft her characters really brings them to life and makes you care about them. 

I found Avery to be a fairly relatable main character, she’s a little rough around the edges; but if you grew up like she did, you would be too. I think my favorite thing about her is that she doesn’t take any shit from the rich people. Even when they constantly judge her throughout the entire story and are constantly trying to discredit her. 

The puzzles and riddles sprinkled throughout were a great touch and I really enjoyed them. They felt almost Nancy Drew like to me. I didn’t really put too much thought into them while I was listening, so any reveals came as a surprise to me, so I didn’t find it to be predictable. 

There has been so much talk about a love triangle with this novel, however, I didn’t really see it? Sure, there were two characters who developed feelings for Avery. However, the way it came to be, it kind of resolved itself before it even went anywhere? I have to say that I definitely enjoyed how it all played out. 

I really enjoyed The Naturals series by Barnes – it was one of my favorites of last year, and I also really loved this. Overall, it was a fun ride, with a intriguing story, compelling story and a great arc. I can’t wait to see where things go in The Hawthorne Legacy. 

One Chicago Recap – February 3rd

Another week, another set of, pretty disappointing Chicago episodes.  I know they all can’t knock me out of the park; but we’ve been on a decent uphill climb with my enjoyment for the past few episodes. Then these just kind of sucked for a lack of better words. I have to admit there were some pretty great scenes spread throughout all three shows this week; however, as a whole, they just didn’t hit the mark for me. 

Television Wrap Up

Since I posted my bookish wrap up the other day, I wanted to talk a second and chat about all of the full television shows that I’ve watched this month. On top of reading 17 books this month, I managed to also watch six whole seasons of different television shows? I’m still amazed at myself for this; because holy shit. But I guess you can tell that all I’ve done this month was work, read and watch tv. 

There will most likely be spoilers for these seasons – well there will definitely be spoilers for The 100. 

January Wrap Up

So, we’re at the end of the first month of 2021. I’ve got to say, it’s flown by a bit faster than I thought it would. Now I’d like to say, 2021 has started off great; but well, I’d be lying. I literally started the month off by getting into a wreck, in my work’s parking lot. With a coworker. So let’s just say that was awkward – but it’s all good, we’re both fine. I’ve also chopped a good like 5 inches off my hair and dyed it red. I mean what better way to start off a new year than with new hair. 

Anyway, I managed to read 17 books this month despite everything. Which I’m still shocked about. I’ve never in my life have read this many books in one month. Or even within two months. So let’s just jump into the books that I read because this post is going to be long enough as it is!