Michelle’s Comments (group member since Dec 08, 2021)

Michelle’s comments from the On The Same Page group.

Best of luck Bill! I'll be watching and adding to my TBR no doubt.

So many great challenges Martha! Best of luck!

Thanks Ioana! I'm pretty excited about it. It's been a great reading year.

#146 Lovelight Farms The latest addition to my Ugly Christmas Book Binge. This was a cute little rom-com playing on the save-the-Christmas-tree-farm and the BFF's-to-lovers tropes. My main criticism is that the backstory came a little too slowly. I felt like I missed something for several chapters. It was also very fluffy but perfect for my UCBB reading (that is not really complimentary). 3 not too terrible stars. Audiobook. Romantic Comedy-Holiday.

#147 Legends & Lattes An Orc retires from the mercenary business and opens a coffee shop (because of course, right?). This was fun and sweet and somehow very adorable. I didn't know there was such a thing as a Cozy Fantasy until I listened to this book. I'm already in the library queue for the next in the series. Can't wait! 4 time to make a Starbuck's run stars. Audiobook. Fantasy-Cozy.

#148 The Blue Sword A young woman in a strange country is suddenly thrust into her destiny. Robin McKinley never disappoints. 3 call of destiny stars. Audiobook. Fantasy-YA.

#149 The Scourge Between Stars The remnants of a failed colony limp home to Earth but something terrible is aboard ship reducing their chances of making it back with every attack. A quick but satisfying read. It is billed as SciFi/Horror but I would say less Horror and more Suspense. Full on SciFi though packed into one nice little book. 3 don't open the door stars. Audiobook. SciFi/Suspense.

#150 The Two Lives of Lydia Bird So is it just me or does Josie Silver only write really, really sad romance novels. A young woman struggles with the sudden death of her fiance but finds that she can visit a world where he still exists in her sleep. You can guess the rest. This was a really sweet book and I cared about the characters but the obvious ending may have dragged out a little too long. And did I mention it was sad. A good sad but still very sad. 3 life goes on stars. Audiobook. Romance-Sad.

Star Tally 2023
5 stars - 18
4 stars - 67
3 stars - 59
2 stars - 6

150 books. Woohoo!!!!! It occurs to me that I could just stop right here and 2023 would end nice and tidy but I would have to stop reading/listening for a couple of weeks and so no. That is not going to happen. Books are my stress relief and boy do I need it this time of year.

Holly first appears in the Mr. Mercedes trilogy. A great King series. If you're not up to that though Holly could be read stand alone. Happy reading Patricia! You've definitely got some good ones lined up.

Lea wrote: "I'm getting excited about Holly.

I went back to your first post to see how your counting stars worked out for you and wow...you knocked it out of the park!!!"

Thanks Lea! I think I have. Quality not quantity was the idea but somehow that idea brought on quantity as well. Somehow, not tying myself to a number or to specific books or even a specific kind of book really freed me up this year. I have listened to way more audiobooks than I have read print books but somehow it has not bothered me. I didn't have a set number in my head for various goals. They just had to be good and for the most part they were. Also, my quality percentage goals were set a little low. I didn't know exactly what would happen since it was the first time I tried it. I also would never have predicted how many books I would read.

Alondra wrote: "I haven't picked up Holly yet; waiting until the buzz dies down. I really have enjoyed her character arc and these stories that King is developing around her. She is quite different than most of hi..."

I felt like this story really gave Holly her independence finally. There was quite a lot of Barbara and Tyrone also which I liked. Most of all I liked that King wrote a straight up mystery with no supernatural villain at the bottom of it. I felt like turning it over to the supernatural in The Outsider was something of a cop out. This one proves that Holly doesn't need that to be a more than interesting MC.

Ioana wrote: "I am so happy to hear you liked Holly, it's on my 2024 list, as soon as I get If It Bleeds from the library. Given the number of people waiting and the number of copies, hopefully i..."

Maybe it won't be that long Ioana. Hope you enjoy!

#142 The Matzah Ball A jewish author who writes Christmas romances has been asked to write a Hannukah romance instead. Looking for inspiration she volunteers to help with the Matzah Ball. Unfortunately, the man in charge is the first person who ever broke her heart. There is a lot more to the story (the author also has chronic fatigue syndrome and uses a pen name to keep her Christmas books a secret) but that gives you the gist. So this was an attempt to keep my Ugly Christmas Book (thanks for giving it a name Lillie) Binge going. I think though that they are getting better as we get closer to Christmas. This one was good. Of course, it was Hannukah not Christmas so I think we can count it in. 3 chocolate rugalach stars. Audiobook. Contemporary Romance-Holiday.

143 Holly A break from Christmas with a new Stephen King and one of my favorite characters - Holly Gibney. Kudos to King for this one. It is a great little mystery and he did not resort to the supernatural to explain this one. As the book points out, that makes it even more horrifying. In the middle of the pandemic Holly brings a serial killer to justice. 5 Holly's biggest fan stars. Audiobook. Mystery/Great King.

#144 Faithful A young woman struggles with years of guilt and self-loathing after a car crash leaves her best friend in a coma. Like all of Alice Hoffman's books the main character is compelling even when you don't like her. I had to finish the book to make sure this character was going to be OK. Not a happy book but so well written and with characters who show so much compassion. 4 bring a tissue stars. Audiobook. Contemporary Fiction.

#145 Bright Lights, Big Christmas This Christmas romance by Mary Kay Andrews includes all the trademarks of her writing: luscious descriptions of food and decor, lots of DIY, southern charm and a plucky MC who turns her life around. In other words it was cheesy but good. It really doesn't deserve to be included in my Ugly Christmas Book Binge but the binge has taken on a life of its own and sucked it in anyway. 4 save the farm stars. Audiobook. Romance-Christmas.

Star Tally 2023
5 stars - 18
4 stars - 66
3 stars - 55
2 stars - 6

Night Train to Lisbon ebook. Still.
Once We Were Home ebook. Good but progressing slowly.
Lovelight Farms audiobook. Another save the Christmas tree farm romance. Definite Ugly Christmas Book Binge potential.

Alondra wrote: "Completed: Lone Women



5 Stars

I really thought it was a vampire. Hell, this is even better!

We start off with Adelaide and a fire, and then Eliz..."

I enjoyed it too Alondra. So unexpected right?

Bill wrote: "I'm glad you enjoyed, if you can call it that, On the Beach. For an end of the world saga, it does indeed kind of leave you with positive thoughts. Strange, eh? Have you ever tried [book:Alas, Baby..."

I second Bill on the Alas Babylon recommendation. I read it growing up too and loved it. Beware though, I credit that book with my love of Apocalypse Lit.

Fun list! And you are right they all do have ugly covers. Best of luck!

Cool challenge Bill! I like the idea of picking one author. I have only read a few Le Guin but they were all memorable. I have read the first in the Earthsea series and The Left Hand of Darkness. I will be interested in your reviews.

Fun challenge. Best of luck!

Exactly! I don't think I can stop here.

I just finished it Patricia and I did enjoy it. Hope you do too.

Lillie wrote: "Michelle wrote: "#139 The Last Devil to Die (Thursday Murder Club, #4) by Richard Osman The Last Devil to Die The latest in the Thursday Murder Club mystery series deals with some more somber topic..."

You know I might just continue the bad Christmas book roll. It's becoming a thing now.

#137 When Christmas Comes I'm not even going to bother telling you the plot on this one except to say that it was an attempt at a Christmas murder mystery. There was nothing evil, bad or scary about this book, but the MC was a total creeper. I couldn't separate the story from my feelings of wrongness about this character. 2 Ted Bundy solves a Christmas mystery stars. Audiobook. Mystery.

#138 The Christmas Bookshop I bounced from the last book right into this one looking for something more traditional. How could we go wrong with a book store right? Ah let me count the ways: sarcastic, resentful main character, overachieving big sister, love interest a Quaker PHD of trees from Brazil, really, really mean Nanney, three children with issues, a perky self-help author with a sleazy alter ego, bookstore owner the illegitimate son of a Nazi. I could go on but I won't. Overall the story worked out OK for everyone so I'm giving it 3 Christmas miracle stars for pulling all of that together. Audiobook. Contemporary Fiction.

#139 Sparring Partners I needed a break from Christmas so I picked this up. Three short stories in which Grisham revisits some of his more memorable characters from previous short stories. The first story gave a sort of update on what was for me one of the more memorable stories from Ford County. 5 revisiting old friends stars. Hardback. Contemporary Fiction.

#140 The Last Devil to Die The latest in the Thursday Murder Club mystery series deals with some more somber topics but also has plenty of hijinks as the club tracks down a friend's killer. I like that there was a lot of character development in this one. 4 senior avengers stars. Audiobook. Mystery.

#141 Silent Night A young boy enroute to the hospital on Christmas Eve to deliver a St. Christopher medal to his dying father is kidnapped by an escaped murderer. Need I say more. 3 stars for winding it up quickly. Audiobook. Christmas Thriller???

Star Tally 2023
5 stars - 17
4 stars - 64
3 stars - 54
2 stars - 6


Current:
Night Train to Lisbon ebook. I don't know maybe I will finish it.
Once We Were Home ebook.
The Matzah Ball Audiobook. I know right???

An update on my attempt to read a Christmas book for my RL book club. I thought I wanted to something a little unusual. Shake things up a bit. Alas, I did not follow the advice of my Goodreads friends but jumped right into a Christmas murder mystery that I saw hyped online. Bad move. Really, really bad move. See my reviews below but I will just say that I am now on Christmas book 4 and things are not looking much better. I usually read one Christmasy book during the season, but I don't think I have ever read this many and all of them have been bad in their own way. I'm actually listening to all of them on audio so I may just find an audiobook of A Christmas Carol and cut my losses. On the other hand, I'll have plenty to talk about at the book club meeting.

This whole experience actually reminds me of a local radio station that plays Christmas music only 24/7 from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day. They dig up some of the worst and most unusual Christmas music known to man. My family actually likes listening to it in the car to see what cheesy song they can come up with. This is my version of that with Christmas books I think.

Lessons in Chemistry was a 5 star read for me as well but I have not only found all the comments here interesting, I find that I agree with most of them. I could even add a few. For me it was more about the concept than how realistic the story was. I like how so many people can read the same book and take away different parts of it.