I’ve hit a rough cycle. At the end of 2021, I was scrambling to reach my reading goal, so I was spending all of my free time reading. Thus, I fell farther and farther behind on book reviews. The further behind I fell, the more I kept pushing off writing them. I am drowning in outstanding book reviews. This is my attempt to catch up. It’s book reviews “lite”. Also, it’s “Part 1” because I’m sure this will happen again.

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

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This book was such a letdown! I read Nine Perfect Strangers earlier in 2021, and really enjoyed it (as I have with most other Liane Moriarty books). However, this one fell flat. Spoiler alert: The “big reveal” in Apples Never Fall is that nothing happened. I’m not even kidding. There was such promise with the storyline that was being setup, and then it was all erased.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict

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Agatha Christie is one of my favorite authors for a good mystery. Not a thriller or anything, just a good whodunnit. The Mystery of Mrs. Christie came to me in one of my Page One Books boxes. It’s a bit of a divergence from my normal reading pattern, and I actually enjoyed it! I mean, it was an okay read. I’d be interested to do more research into her disappearance (beyond the Doctor Who episode) and the happenings around her marriage. Regardless, it was a creative approach to a story that most Christie lovers are aware of.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Fear Nothing by Lisa Gardner

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Oh, my dear Lisa Gardner. I took this book on vacation and could hardly put it down. I had read Find Her, which alluded to D.D. Warren’s injury. Fear Nothing is the book where the injury happens. I would say that this book is a bit more graphic than some of the others, so there were bits that I skimmed over as I was reading, just to avoid any of the nastiness. It wasn’t a ton, but it was quite detailed. It kept me engaged, and I read it in just a few days, which is a hallmark of a great book!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Children of Blood & Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

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I love a good book series. I only found one new book series in 2021, so I’ve made it my goal to discover more in 2022. I purchased Children of Blood & Bone years ago, as part of one of my “I need to spend $10 more in order to get free shipping from Target” shopping trips. Talk about world building! The creativity and detail of these books is amazing. I was positively engrossed, and had immediately put out a library hold for the next in the series (keep scrolling).

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

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Spoiler Alert: Nothing happens to Bob. He is okay in the end! Rock Paper Scissors is one of those books that just messes with your head. You think you understand everything as you’re going, and then there’s that one chapter that smacks you in the face, where you can’t put the book down. I think this was my first Alice Feeney, and now I need to get my hands on the rest of her books.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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I don’t get the TJR hype. Malibu Rising was not that great of a book to me. It was well written, I will give you that. However, it felt long and really dragged on in places. Plus, it’s always hard to read repeating patterns of poor decisions and cheating spouses. It was fine overall, but it didn’t make me want to read more of her books.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Children of Virtue & Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi

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The second book in the series! This book was even more engrossing than the first. There was more conflict, and it was a bit more “political” but I could not put it down. There’s even supposed to be another book in the series, but there’s no talk of where that book is. I think it was supposed to come out last year, but we all know how the world is…

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Raphael, Painter in Rome by Stephanie Storey

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Oil & Marble is one of my favorite books of all time. Stephanie Storey wrote another historical fiction book, this time about Raphael de Santi as he was fighting for his position at the Vatican. In fact, he was trying to get the commission for the Sistine Chapel (after it had already been given to Michaelangelo). Raphael didn’t quite invoke the same kinds of feelings as her first novel, but it was still very cool to read this type of historical fiction in the world of art and the Vatican. Plus, I won an Instagram giveaway and she sent me a signed copy!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

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My first Fredrik Backman. This is a book I inherited from my mother once she was finished with it. Anxious People is one of my aunt’s favorite books, which is very high praise. I will say that it had one of the most beautiful endings I’ve ever read. There were tears, and passages that I bookmarked. It was chaos and nonsense for 75% of the book, which really detracted from my loving of it. I wish it had been less chaotic before bringing in the beauty.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Last One Alive by Amber Cowie

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Last One Alive is a book one of my Books & Brews friends asked me to read for her. She manages a local bookshop and gets a ton of ARCs that she can’t always read them all. The cover of this one promised that it’s a great choice for fans of Agatha Christie and Ruth Ware. Honestly, it is perfect for fans of Agatha Christie because it is And Then There Were None “reimagined”. It was a decent read with a little bit more “creepiness” than ATTWN, but the same kind of storyline.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

This isn’t even all of them! I will work really hard to get the last few up independently from these. I am also on the last book of a trilogy that I’ll review together.

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