GMA: Listen for the lie by Amy Tintera

Honestly, this was my favorite book club book of the month, and a great surprise! I did not have the highest expectations to this one, but it turned out to be a fun ride.

The story is easy to follow and Tintera writes well switching between the main character Lucy’s perspective and Ben’s podcast “Listen for the lie”. I thought the podcast was a great way to get to know all the characters and their different experiences with the people involved and their ideas around the murder of Savannah.

I also like that there really were no victims here at all! Haha not even the victim, they’re all morally gray and maybe even more than just gray, it’s pretty dark. But it still manages to keep a light tone and make it an easy read! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Belletrist: Piglet by Lottie Hazell

Honestly, I wasn’t going to read this, but it found it’s way to me so I caved. I should have listened to my gut on this one.

It infuriated me that our protagonist is called “Piglet” or “Pig” through the whole book. It infuriated me that she was betrayed and it triggered a binge eating disorder. And I hated that we never got to know what it was that triggered her.

In the end… I was just… unsatisfied. ⭐⭐

Reese’s bookclub: Anita de Monte laughs last by Xochitl Gonzalez

This was my biggest disappointment this month. I had been looking forward to this for months, since I really loved her book “Olga dies dreaming”, unfortunately it didn’t deliver.

100 pages in I started to struggle with the narrative – not the actual story, but the one that absolutely hates and trashes on all white women (but not white men?) and showcases an angry self hating minority that gatekeeps culture.
There’s a passage about having to field twenty questions going to the bathroom with a bonnet and the “ignorant white girls” that feel “entitled to know”. Really? Are people not allowed to ask questions anymore? Also this narrative doesn’t really fit the 80’s and 90’s for me, because it belongs more after 2010 in the woke movement. If this book wanted to showcase racism in the art world, it missed the mark for me.

I also read that the narrative of Anita de Monte was based on Ana Mendieta’s story, and it really intrigued me to read more about Ana, but this book was a DNF for me.

Say hello to my little friend by Jennine Capo Crucet

Go hang out in Miami for a little while, you won’t regret it! This book was so funny, sad, interesting, educational, inventive and different from anything I have ever read!
“Scarface meets Moby Dick” is the best tagline ever, even if it makes it almost impossible to understand what you’re supposed to expect from this. But the main character is named Ismael and since Pitbull sent him a cease and desist letter for impersonating him, he has decided to make his life that of Tony Montana from Scarface and sets out to cast these roles of people in his life. I think the likeness ends there.
Along for the ride is Lolita – the killer whale in the Miami seaquarium. As I read the narrative from Lolita’s perspective I thought it sounded familiar and quickly realized that this book could also be placed in the historical fiction section.
Apart from giving us a devastating look inside the tanks with Lolita, and trying to find out how Ismael or Izzy, as his friends call him, actually got to to Miami, we get a lot of funny observations and switching perspectives. We see things from his “Michelle Pfeiffer” aka Julisa’s side and paired with what we know is Izzy’s plan, it becomes hilarious. The cherry on top is when they go on a date and we get the waitress’ perspective on top of it all!
Divdied into 6 parts named after Pitbull songs, if you can get into that mood, and maybe preferably get the audiobook, you’ll be transported to Miami and you’ll have the time of your life! (Pitbull: New York is the big apple, Miami is the Pineapple) I did not want this book to end, what a breath of fresh air! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra

If I may implore you to read this book without looking up anything about it – please do that!

I saw a book blogger I personally trust when it comes to reviews and she said it was great, I took her word for it and went in blind and walked blindly through the whole story and it truly made it all the better.
It starts in medias res as a home invasion is happening and it’s just an eerie, scary, confusing ride from beginning to end. I both loved and hated every single minute of it! And honestly, was a little afraid to go to bed last night as I was finishing it. Haha

This is the best book I’ve read that takes place during Corona. It uses the restrictions perfectly to aid the story, without annoyingly being a “corona book”. So well plotted, the details, the tension, the suspense. Don’t walk, run to the bookstore and get this! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Dead Weight by Emmeline Clein

Clein writes a well researched and at the same time very intimate novel about disordered eating and while she holds the pen lightly, it is a heavy subject that will surprise you.

I met myself in the door on this one, reading about BED (binge eating disorder) and daytime anorexia. I only found out that I had an eating disorder about two years ago when I went to the doctor for migraines and he said “well, it seems like your disordered eating has improved” and I said “excuse me?” I see now that “bulimia” is so much more than just eating a lot and throwing up. Because I never threw up, I never knew I had an eating disorder. How crazy is that?

For the long winded paragraphs and endless sentences, I found it a bit of a struggle at times. Those were the times it even felt like I was reading a textbook and it required a bit more effort. But all in all a good book on a topic that many people have opinions on and/or are touched by, especially in the era of Ozempic! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard

2,5 stars rounded up. It’s an interesting premise and I like the bones of what the story is, but the meat is tasteless and a bit dry.
It has placed itself on the literary fiction shelf by shedding all marks of dialogue. No quotation marks, no cursive, no spacing. I don’t really mind that, but I know that will turn off a bunch of readers from this and it feels snobbish for no reason.
“The other valley” is about a valley that lies between a valley to the east that is identical and lies 20 years into the future and one to the west that lies 20 years in the past. The book is divided into two parts. The first part that follow Odile trying to get a spot on the council and becoming a sho-in after witnessing someone she shouldn’t have seen in her time valley. Part two is confusing because it jumps in time and has a completely different mood; darker and more melancholy.

My main issue was that I didn’t like Odile as a narrator, she’s bland and she doesn’t seem to do anything – but things happen to her. Her mom has forced her to apply to the council, but she just wants a dull existence and doesn’t aspire to do anything. Her narration bored me because there was nothing interesting about her. She just goes along with everything without ever taking action or control.

The most interesting parts are the ones where she witnesses things she’s not supposed to – but her paralyzed being does nothing about it and the excitement dies with her inaction! It’s so frustrating because this had the potential to be so exciting and fun, but it fell flat. (Or should I say it fell literary.) Towards the end I just completely fell off the wagon and lost all interest. I can’t even tell you how it ended because I already forgot. ⭐⭐⭐

My name was Eden by Eleanor Barker-White

Lucy was supposed to have twins, but experienced vanishing twin syndrome and only gave birth to one – Eden. After Eden almost drowns, she comes out of the accident a bit different and she’s now using the name Eli, the name Lucy had picked for the unborn twin.
The premise is so intriguing that I couldn’t NOT pick it up! And while it took me a minute to get into it, I found my flow.

And then I kept being pulled out of the story by pointless chapters of Lucy as a small child and Eden/Eli’s best friend Charlie. These chapters attempted to be written in the perspective of different ages didn’t work at all and felt frustratingly irrelevant.
The book is marketed for fans of “The push” which I liked and found disturbing and eerie, bur this was not that, even if I see the reason for comparison. Where «My name was Eden» differs is that it’s not disturbing at all and it doesn’t have that tension. It almost just feels like parents dealing with a trans kid – save for the whole vanishing twin thing, but that doesn’t have to mean anything if you don’t put any emphasis on it.
Aaaand then the bodies started piling up and everything just stopped making sense all together. I got through it, but I wish I had just quit, much like the editor must have done. ⭐⭐

Tana French – The Cal Hopper series, The Searcher and The Hunter.

French is a long winded author that uses many pages to tell a very small and straightforward story. But its her imagery and her slow burns that I love. No other books has ever made me relax as much as her books.

The searcher was no different. I settled into it and was looking forward to bedtime every night and even going to bed early so I could read more since her books take a hot minute to get through. The first book in this installment I give four stars easy. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Unfortunately, The Hunter starts up again where it left off, so it’s very much a continuation. And at this point, I kind of had my fill with Cal and the gang. But then new characters ride into town looking for a buried treasure chest of gold. Seriously? And that’s where the Cal Hopper era ended for me. I didn’t particularly vibe with the small Irish countryside or the characters, aside from Cal and Trey – the 13 year old sidekick. The rest of them were kinda off putting and the whole town was sleepy. So the second book became a DNF.

The housemaid series, book 1 and 2 (book 3 coming in June!)

I’ve heard both good and bad things about these books, so when I was gifted both of them from a colleague for easter I dove right in – and let me tell you – I loved them! They are so much fun!

Book one is veeeery similar to “The last mrs. Parrish” so I saw the twist a mile away. The books are very far fetched, but hey, they’re twisty and I lol’d. It’s relaxing and entertaining without trying to be anything more. They’re easy to read and the pages fly by! You can easily binge one book in a day! Solid entertainment if you ask me. Four stars for both of them. Can’t wait for book number 3! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

If you’re looking for a funny, interesting, heartwarming and accessible book about science, look no further! This is THE book!
A story about survival, everyday heroes and unlikely allies. I absolutely loved this book! Compelling and interesting when it came to the science. Did I understand all of it? No. Did I think the book could be edited down a couple of hundred pages, maybe. But I was never bored, it just felt very long! But in the end my face leaked in five different notes. 🎶

If I may, I recommend the audiobook on this one. The narrator Ray Porter is phenomenal and really brings the character to life! But I also read the book in tandem and it has some fun notes and symbols that I found more helpful to see visually.
Upon finishing the book I saw that it is being made into a movie, and production started in 2024 with Ryan Gosling in the lead role. I cannot wait to see this one on the big screen! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Shining by Jon Fosse

I was invited to a meeting with Fosse’s publisher who told us the story of his authorship and life. And of course I felt like I needed to read something by the norwegian nobel prize winner I had learned so much about. A colleague suggested A shining, as it uses punctuation, while many of his other books do not.

Unfortunately his writing style isn’t for me. I read this whole book in the voice or Lorelei Gilmore and I swear it sounds just like the monkey monkey underpants monologue. And just like Lorelei described it, it’s a “wild jungle full of scary gibberish.” ⭐⭐

Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin

Instantly hooked! The vocabulary, the voice, the humor! OY VEY!
I am working my way through Gabrielle Zevins books after absolutely falling in love with her book “tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow”. And I have to say, I love her writing. Her voice is so distinct and her characters come alive on the page. It’s so rare for an author to manage to capture a voice like this.
The first few chapters in Young Jane Young is from the perspective of a woman in her sixties (Jane’s mother)and she really sounds like one! Vocabulary and the way she speaks. And then she switches perspective to her daughter and she’s so believably younger and has the feisty nature of her mother but in a different generation. I cannot applaud this enough. It’s a rare feat. We also get the perspective of Jane’s daughter and the wife of the congressman Jane had an affair with. Almost like Zevin is flexing her muscles here.

This book mentions Monica Lewinsky a lot, and is obviously heavily inspired by that story and slut shaming.
I loved the women and stories in the book of of Jane Young, but I did feel that the “choose your own adventure” style in the end forces accountability on the character and absolves the congressman twice her age. And I felt the story left a few things hanging. I liked the beginning much more than the ending. But I have to say these are good characters, flawed, real, challenging and yet lovable characters. ⭐⭐⭐⭐