The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sara Pekkanen

OK - I will be honest, I liked this book a lot more than I expected to.  I found the title on NetGalley and requested it because a friend of mine had received an ARC of this as well and I thought that it would be fun for the both of us to read it together.  I love psychological novels but have been burned by the promises of dark and twisty books in the past, (I'm thinking about you Girl on the Train) so I approached this book with a light-hearted open mind.

The Good: They caught me off guard with the switchbacks in the plot.  This jaded reader is not easy to fool but I found myself flipping back a few pages at the end of the first section saying "Wait...What?" and re-reading to make sure that what I thought I read was really how things went down.  So bravo on that front!

I wanted to hate the characters and write them off as your typical, spoiled, rich, New York Housewives that I normally loathe in books - but I ended up really enjoying the development that happened as the novel progressed and you found out more and more layers of each player.

The Notes: Near the end, the actions of the main character stretched where I was willing to go with them.  It's so hard to write this without spoilers but - as calculating as she was throughout the entire novel - I found it hard to believe that the big denouement was as haphazard and left to chance as it ended up being.

The book is credited to two authors and, looking back on the reading experience, I could see those separate voices poking through even where they weren't supposed to.  I'll be interested to see if the writing duo persists and how they continue to smooth out their process over time.

Overall, I am very glad that I was granted a copy of this book by St Martin's Press and Netgalley.  It will make a great summer read and one to reach for if you need a fun and light read that gives you a nice surprise in the middle.  Overall Rating: 3.5 stars.

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke

First of all, Attica Locke is a wonderful writer. She painted a very clear image of the world of Lark, Texas that I felt like I had driven through it before.

 I was so excited to get a galley copy of this book from NetGalley (thank you so much Mulholland Books) after seeing all of the hype on Book Riot.  Maybe this just isn't my genre but I didn't get as sucked into the story as I wanted to.  I read a lot of reviews that talked about the impressive ending, but I had an inkling of what was coming before it was revealed. 

I would still recommend fans of Cop-centered mysteries to pick up a copy of Bluebird Bluebird.  It just wasn't the type of book that was specifically for me.

Every Note Played by Lisa Genova

I have gone hot and cold with Lisa Genova's books in the past.  Every Note Played, however, hits a nice sweet spot between the story and the disease that has been missing for me during some of the other books I have read by this author.  My heart broke a little bit reading about the classically trained pianist who was struggling with his ALS diagnosis and the slow atrophy that occurs as a part of this awful disease.  Anyone who has suffered from this disease and the choices you must make as a result knows about the devastation that it causes.  Genova's choice to make the sufferer fully dependent on the use and mastery of his muscles to fulfill his passion and his career was especially poignant.

The loss of a star only comes from the sudden turn that happened between Karina and Richard.  The turn in their relationship seemed sudden and extreme and wholly unrealistic.  Fortunately, this flaw didn't detract from the remainder of the story and even my stoic heart got emotional in the ending scenes.

Thank you to Ms. Genova, Gallery/Scout Press and Netgalley for allowing me to access this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

This book is a hard one to review because there are so many depths of dimension for this book.

The good: It started off really intriguing, I was hooked by the exile of Catherine Goggin to Dublin and the very specific types of persecution that was going on in Ireland at the time. The first section was a "stay up in bed under the covers read"  I want to be Catherine Goggin when I grow up!
 I found Cyril Avery's unique relationship with his adoptive parents hilarious and heartbreaking especially since I was raised by adoptive parents as well.  His obvious adoration for his best friend Julian and the eventual realizations that he has about them throughout his formative years was very deep and realistic. Then we get to the last section where he has his footing under him, and has grown into himself, both of which were beautiful and mature and lovely.

The not so good: The whole thing went off the rails for just a a little bit in the middle when describing all of the different sexual encounters that Cyril explored throughout his adolescence and early adulthood as he came to terms with his homosexuality.  I understood what the author was trying to do by telling the stories, but there were a few times that I found myself drifting off course because of the sometimes graphic scenes.

Also there is a little red bow tied to the end of the book.  It was a little too neat for my tastes especially with as messy as the plots and interactions.
Overall, this book was lovely and complicated and I highly recommend it, especially to my friends with a love of historical fiction.

Thank you to John Boyne, Hogarth Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo

Where to even start with this book.  It made me cry, happy tears and sad tears all in one book.

It broke my heart to watch two people with the best of intentions suffer so much, as someone with children myself as well as depression, I found myself hugging my boys a little tighter after thinking about what Yejide went through over and over again.

The love that Akin had for her was so pure even though his intentions and execution were so terrible.  Even through everything that they went through, you could still see his love.  I was so pleased with the ending.

I need all of my friends to read this novel so we can talk about its nuances.

Thank you to Doubleday Publishing for providing me a copy of this book for review and Ayobami Adebayo for writing such a lovely book.

The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce

May I begin by saying how much I love Rachel Joyce?  From the moment I read "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" and "Perfect" I have been in love with her writing style and her ability to turn a narrative of a very simple story into something lovely.

So when I got the opportunity to read "The Music Shop" thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing, I jumped at the opportunity.  The writing did not disappoint.  The characters on the dying street in small town England were vivid and well developed.  I felt like I had driven down the street, like I had wandered around the square and past the cathedral and the chain-linked bomb site.

At its heart, this book is a love story. Not just between the two main characters, but with music.  I even created a playlist with all of the musical references that were in the book and closed my eyes to listen to it with the intensity that was suggested by the descriptions in the novel.  As a former choir/band nerd, I instantly connected with the thread that music plays throughout a person's life.

The only thing that kept this from being a true five star read although it is a solid 4.5, was the ending.  Although I can appreciate the simplicity of what Joyce was trying to accomplish, it seemed a bit abrupt after the 20 year wingspan of the book.

I highly recommend this novel - read all that you can of Rachel Joyce's beautiful literature.

Goodreads Rating: 4.5 stars

Artemis by Andy Weir

  I was so excited about receiving this ARC from Netgalley after reading (and loving) The Martian.  Andy Weir has a very unique voice and that was evident all the way through this novel as well.  There are obvious comparisons to The Martian to be made.  The language of Jazz (the protaganist) and the flippant remarks and sarcasm is very reminiscent of the comments of Mark Watney in The Martian.  In the case of this book, however, the attitude grew tiresome and seemed forced perhaps because there was nothing to break up Jazz's dialogue with a different perspective.  Everything is from her POV rather than having interludes of another voice.

  Although the action felt a little contrived in this book, I still got caught up in the moon-walking, sabotage and entrigue of the city on the moon concept.  It was refreshing after a series of "just OK" reads lately to get one that I couldn't put down.  It's a solid 3.5 star read rounded up to four for enjoyability.

Hum If You Don't Know The Words by Bianca Marais

When you think of South Africa, how many of you think of a land where black people are repressed by whites and subject to slave-like conditions?

Set in Apartheid South Africa, this book does a beautiful job reminding the reader that these atrocities happened in the near past as it follows two main characters Beauty, a black woman searching for her daughter and Robin, a privileged white girl of 11.  The stark contrast between their experiences sheds an amazing light on the racial divide in a land where most people think is simply inhabited by blacks.

Bianca does a wonderful job weaving the stories together and sprinkling in other social issues on her way.  I highly recommend this book, it stole my sleep on so many levels.

I am grateful to the author, publisher and NetGalley.com for the chance to preview this book in exchange for an honest review.