Sheltering in place is getting old (it’s day 33 right now), but staying in is allowing me to get a lot of reading done. I’ve gone through five books in the last month—and I’ve got plenty more to turn through yet.
Here’s what I’ve been reading (in my messy living room):
The Stranger in Our Home by Sophie Draper • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I felt like I read this ages ago already, though it was just last month.
Whatever the case may be, I found The Stranger in Our Home to be a satisfying read. There’s a good amount of intrigue, familial secrets that were constantly unfolding and some weird folklore elements I really loved. Also any book that uses a hurdy-gurdy as a motif is a good one as far as I’m concerned.
The Captives by Debra Jo Immergut • ⭐️⭐️
I’ll let Goodreads do the summarizing here: The riveting story of a woman convicted of a brutal crime, the prison psychologist who recognizes her as his high-school crush and the charged reunion that sets off an astonishing chain of events with dangerous consequences for both.
You can see why I’d want to read this. But in the end, I just didn’t really grasp why this psychologist was so into this girl. I found the book to be lackluster.
The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell • ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’m a sucker for any book that’s about someone inheriting a mansion from an unknown relative. It’s just the perfect setup for me. Secrets, wealth, the promise of ghosts…
The Family Upstairs starts with Libby inheriting a large London home on her 25th birthday. She finds out that the home was the site of a murder-suicide by what many thought was a cult years earlier. Sounds so good, right?!
It wasn’t quite as intriguing as it should have been and one element really didn’t sit with me (it made no sense and it was never resolved), but it was entertaining.
How to Find Love in a Book Shop by Veronica Henry • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’ve been loving these cozy kinds of books more and more. Especially when they’re as charming and well written as this one.
How to Find Love in a Book Shop centers on Emilia as she takes over her late father’s bookstore, but also folds in plenty of other characters—all with their own personalities and quirks.
This is exactly the kind of book to read during these stressful times.
The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent • ⭐️
I had really high hopes for this book. The setup was super intriguing: Two girls are left alone in their shack in the woods—they’ve never ventured beyond their homestead. One day, they have to leave to survive.
But I found myself just rolling my eyes through most of this. The characters were bland. The plot to absurd to be believed. Skip it.
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