A brief collection of what East Idaho Moms are reading: The good, the bad, the make-you-think books, and the ones that sometimes don’t get finished. Volume 2.
Do you ever start a book and think ‘please, I hope this picks up,’ then it does for a chapter and drops back down to the slow, torturous pace that you keep putting the book down, then picking back up in hopes it changed? Well, I hit one of those. Love, Wind and other Highs, a kind of memoir by Lauren Rae is that for me. It is a kind of memoir but more of ‘this is my life and I party a lot and try to fit in while partying a lot. I move out on my own after high school and party a lot’. Then she doesn’t party as much, just drinks a lot at home, while admitting she drinks a lot yet why change when her friends do the same? She complains about all the drinking and forgets what she did before she goes back to it. I quit after a third of the book; I could not stay interested no matter how hard I tried. Maybe one day I will go back but not right now.
I also reread Where the Crawdads Sing since it was so good the first time and especially since it has been made into a movie that I have not yet seen. This book is a bestseller and obviously so. Just read it if you haven’t and discover why it’s a bestseller.
Rebecca Harkness read One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Gregory Rabassa. She was excited to read this book, it had been on her list to read forever, “I was disappointed though. The first 100 pages were not my favorite. Parts of the book reminded me of the Disney movie Encanto. Similar characters but written differently, living in a sort of magical town in the middle of a jungle. The book has so much sadness, heartache, and underage attraction/sex that I probably won’t ever read it again.”
Gigi Ropp finished A Table for Two by Sheryl Lister and said, “While I’m a sucker for books revolving around food, the romance in this one was much slower than I would have liked and felt like it dragged. I knew where it was headed the whole time and felt as though something unpredictable would happen, but it didn’t.”
She also read Shutter by Ramona Emerson and said, “It was a fast-paced thriller with a strong female lead, Shutter kept me hooked from the first page. Especially love that the main character was a minority and learned about the Navajo culture while getting to know her better. Highly recommend this book to those who can stomach crimes and death.”
Ellie Lerum read the Chronicles of the Unseen: Origins of the Word Wielders. She said that “this is a book that looks at raw human emotion; characters are not perfect, you see their inner struggle in very realistic events and you grow to care for the characters. Adam R. Dalhaus did an amazing job portraying raw emotion and put his own heart into the entirety of his work. I absolutely loved this book and was unable to put it down.”
Jerica Stacey enjoyed several psychological thrillers this month. She first read The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose and said, “This was a fast-paced thriller with a huge twist. Written from multiple perspectives, you are immediately drawn into a messy murder investigation, troubled marriage, and small-town drama. The writing is decent and the build-up to the twist is definitely worth the ride but I was a little underwhelmed when the guilty party was revealed.”
She read The Arrangement by Kiersten Modglin next. The first in a series of three, this short book follows a couple as they open their marriage and quickly break the rules for doing so. Jerica says, “this thriller is crazy! Each chapter seemed to reveal a new twist in the story, one surprise after another. The ending is a little far-fetched but I’m excited to see where books two and three go. It’s definitely a quick read and I enjoyed it the entire time.” She’s currently reading Sometimes I Lie (Alice Feeney) and listening to Before I Go To Sleep (S.J. Watson). Let her know if you loved either of these thrillers!
Jerica also read A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole. “This book is a tearjerker! It follows two teenagers navigating first relationships, heartache, family pressures, love, and loss. It is beautifully written—even if at times evident that it is a YA novel—and the characters are well developed. There is no conventional happy ending here but a beautiful story of love and life.”
On audio, Jerica listened to The Reckless Oath We Made by Bryn Greenwood. “This is an unconventional love story that is absolutely worth your time, especially on audio. This book is told from multiple perspectives and has a full cast of unforgettable characters that you will fall in love with including Zee, a troubled, sarcastic, drug-dealing waitress, and Gentry, an autistic man who abides by the knight’s Code of Honor. (Gentry speaks only in Middle English and I am so glad I listened to the audiobook for this character, but the real standout was Alex McKenna who voiced Zee.) If you are looking for adventure, quirky and relatable characters, and an unlikely romance, give this book a try! It is definitely a favorite for 2022.”
