Katy’s Comments (group member since Aug 04, 2010)

Katy’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

20.8 Soups On!

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

This was a pure fun read. Finlay is a struggling author and divorced mom of two. Her husband is pressuring her on money and custody, and her bills are piling up. And then she ends up accidentally becoming a contract killer. It's a lot of fun and I enjoyed a lot of the characters, especially Vero, the babysitter. Reading this required a fairly large dose of suspension of disbelief -- there were some really inexplicable choices that characters made (like a police officer offering to just tell our main character a lot of pretty confidential information) and I just chose to move on and enjoy the story. But that aside, it was plenty of fun!

+20 task (Ch 2 - "I tested a mouthful of soup. It tasted like cardboard.")
+10 review
+10 combo (10.2 - U.S - "grew up in the DC suburbs"; 10.4 - part of series of at least 3)

Grew up in US - https://www.bookbrowse.com/biographie...

Post Total: 40
Season Total: 80

20.10 Happy Birthday

The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan

Whew, this was a twisty ride! The setup is that a young law student, Hannah, joins an Innocence Project type program at University of Virginia, ostensibly to help free innocent prisoners, but in fact to ensure that a particular prisoner STAYS locked up. The story is mostly told from Hannah's perspective, with some interludes from her mother's past diary. What I liked about this was it was a super interesting study in perspective and how as we - and as different characters - learn more, perspectives shift. In doing so, I also felt like I could understand different motivations around exoneration projects as well. What I liked a little less -- I saw a number of the twists coming. I'm not sure that was actually something the author cared about, as it didn't really negatively impact my enjoyment, but it's always a bit more fun when a twist truly takes you by surprise.

+20 task (published 2022)
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.2 - Ireland; 20.9)

Post total: 40
Season total: 40

The Hacienda would be perfect for this. Luckily I got less than halfway through at the end of August and saved the end for this season! I'm enjoying it.

30.35 G58 Ghosts!

This Coven Won't Break by Isabel Sterling

In this second (hopefully not the last?) installment of the lesbian teen witches series, the entire witchy community in Salem is dealing with the devastation that the witch hunters wreaked on the town in the last book. Meanwhile, Hannah is starting her senior year of high school, dating Morgan, and grieving her father - plus her magic doesn't quite work like it used to. Fun, action-packed follow up to the first book.

+30 task (shelved as Paranormal 63 times!)
+5 review

Task Total: 35
Season Total: 1095

30.34 N36 Not a Novel

The Desperate Hours: One Hospital's Fight to Save a City on the Pandemic's Front Lines by Marie Brenner

I really, really enjoyed this book. It was a long one, but because it was SO in depth. It tells the story of one hospital system, New York-Presbyterian, in the early days of Covid - up until the delivery of the first vaccines, basically. I live in NYC, so it was especially interesting to read about history that I lived. I still remember the endless days and nights when it seemed like sirens didn't ever stop and it was both interesting and horrifying to read that the folks inside hospitals were basically just as confused and overwhelmed as all the rest of us. It also gave me an even greater appreciation for the vaccines and treatments that have come out in the past 2.5 years -- remembering how bad it really was. Definitely recommended if you're interested in the topic, like nonfiction that reads like a novel, or are interested in mostly oral history.

+30 task
+5 review

Task Total: 35

Season Total: 1060

30.33 I21 - First Letter of Title found in "Inflow"

We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza

Interesting read. Not entirely sure how I felt about it, but I'm glad I read it. The book is told in alternating chapters, one white woman and one Black woman, who have been best friends since childhood. The white woman, Jen, is married to a police officer and her husband is involved in the shooting of an unarmed Black teenager, and the Black woman, Riley, is a newscaster. The story reveals a lot about the many, many ways that most of us struggle with communication in relationships, especially when dealing with tough topics.

+30 Task
+ 5 Review

Task total: 35

Season Total: 1025

30.32 O68 - Author's name does not contain the letter O

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

This was a twisty & bizarre book! It jumps back and forth in time between 11 years ago when 2 women and a child went missing and now, when that child returns. I really disliked the first chunk of the book, describing the child escaping from her captor. I'm obviously a fan of people escaping from captivity but the writing did not appeal to me. However, once we got into unraveling what happened, it was extremely compelling - I couldn't put it down. But then the ending left something to be desired! I had a few moments of "oh my god..." - some because the twist was so good and some because it was so weird!

+30 Task
+ 5 Review

Task total: 35

Season Total: 990

30.31 G46 - Set in Germany, Greece, Georgia...

How Lucky by Will Leitch

This was a really interesting read -- a man who uses a wheelchair and can't speak verbally due to SMA is sitting on his porch in Athens GA when he sees a woman get into a car. A few days later, he sees reports that that same woman has disappeared. He involves himself with the case, sharing what he saw, but also ends up attracting the attention of the abductor himself. It's a compelling premise and an engaging read, though not a 5 star read for me. I did learn a lot about SMA which was interesting!

+30 Task (set in the US State of Georgia)
+ 5 Review

Task total: 35
Season Total: 955

20.30 B13 - Nominated for 2+ Awards, hasn't won

Milk Blood Heat by Dantiel W. Moniz

This was a GORGEOUS collection. I don't typically love short story collections, but I do enjoy a few really good ones and I *loved* this. These stories are all set in Florida and there was an intense sense of place suffusing each story - you could feel the heat emanating from the pages. The stories each captured a tiny, key moment that evoked so much more beyond that one thing. And at the same time, they pushed the boundaries - there were at least 3 occasions when I audibly said "Oh my God!" when I finished a story, and I found that I wanted to let this collection linger, and not devour it too quickly. Highly recommended!

+20 Task (nominated for Dylan Thomas Prize, PEN/Bingham Award, PEN/Jean Stein Award, didn't win)
+ 5 Review

Task total: 25

+50 Bingo: Sixth Bingo - B13, I19, N43, G57, O61

Post Total: 75
Season Total: 920

20.29 N43 - Title Has 3 Words

This Wicked Fate by Kalynn Bayron

This is book 2 in a series (possibly the end of the series) about a girl who has power over plants - they are drawn to her, she can grow them from her mind, and she's resistant to poison plants. In book 1, she discovered that her birth family shares this power - because of a deep heritage connection to Greek mythology. There is a lot here!! In this second book, she and her community are forced to travel the world to save a family member and pursue their power. It's a fun action story - and the Greek mythology connection is interesting (and bolstered from book 1).

+20 Task
+5 Review

Task total: 25

Season Total: 845

20.28 I19 Author Name Isabel, Ivan, etc

These Witches Don't Burn by Isabel Sterling

Lesbian teen witches in modern day Salem! Need I say more? (Well, to get to 50 words I do). I picked this up because the premise was interesting but I found I enjoyed it even more than I expected. Granted, I am a sucker for teen witch type stories, but I found it fresh & unique, and I did really enjoy the characters. I could imagine a teenage me really liking this, and so there is a part of adult me that was enjoying it now as well as on behalf of my teenage self! In the story, Hannah is part of a coven living in Salem - it's a lovely witchy community that by necessity keeps their powers absolutely secret. She goes to high school, has non-witch friends, etc. The challenge comes when dark magic starts appearing around town, and possibly Witch Hunters, equally ancient groups dedicated to hunting down and killing witches.

+20 Task
+5 Review

Task Total: 25
Season Total: 820

20.27 O61 Opposite Words in Title

Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado

Enjoyable adventure/semi dystopian YA read, with a side of Bronx history! The premise for the book is that young adults are getting drawn into a sort of internet challenge that is all too real - they're being sort of summoned into the worst (or at least a very bad!) historical time in the place they're in - and in the Bronx, that's drawing people into a sort of dystopian version of the 1970s with slumlords and fires. The "echo" will keep players trapped there if they don't find a way out - and Raquel and her friends are trying to do so. Along the way, there's love & lots of local history to learn :). I enjoyed it - fast paced, engaging, and a quick read.

+20 task
+5 Review

Task Total: 25
Season Total: 795

20.26 G57 On the Guardian 1000 List

Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

Quick and enjoyable Christie - possibly my last for the summer, though I have been enjoying my mini-binge! I enjoyed the humor in this one, including the Vicar's self-deprecating humor. He says things like describing his "usual faded, indeterminate self" and that feels both entertaining and probably very true to the character - so lovely characterization and laughter all in one.

+20 Task (on the "crime" list)
+ 5 Oldies (pub 1930)
+ 5 Review

Task total: 30
Season Total: 770

20.25 B8 - Author's name is Bob, Brian, Barry, Beverly, Barbara

How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them by Barbara F. Walter

This book is written by an international relations expert who has studied how countries descend into civil war and political violence. It's an easy to read, fascinating look at several factors that make a country more or less likely to have a civil war - and specifically, the ways that the United States is now displaying some of those same factors. It ends on a hopeful note, but also raised some really important (and slightly terrifying) ideas about the challenges the US is facing right now.

+20 task
+ 5 Review

Task total: 25

+50 Bingo: Fifth Bingo - B8, I30, N40, G53, 063

Post Total: 75
Season Total: 740

20.24 I30: Published in the 30s

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Enjoyed this one! Of course I've heard of it many times, always been a vague to-read, but it was nice to actually read it. I enjoy a good locked room mystery and this one, plot-wise, was fun and twisty. I did roll my eyes a little at Poirot - I know it's part of the fun and part of the character, but some of his sheer arrogance is both funny and somewhat grating. What do you mean you haven't solved the mystery? What's wrong with you? Then he reveals something that no one else could have ever guessed. I definitely would not have wanted to be his friend, but reading about him is fun.

+20 Task (pub'd 1934)
+ 5 Oldies
+ 5 Review

Task total: 30

Season Total: 665

20.23 063 -Title starts with a letter of Orphan

Hostage by Clare Mackintosh

This was a fun read, purely for action (and probably a bad choice for someone who flies for work!). In the story, Mina is working as a flight attendant on the heralded first nonstop flight from London to Sydney. She gets a note from a passenger threatening her family on the ground in order to get her to help them take the plane down. Of course, many big reveals and twists ensue, some truly surprising and some predictable. Despite the subject matter, it makes a good plane read, for better AND for worse. I wouldn't say this is an amazing piece of literature but it was fun.

+20 task
+5 review

Task Total: 25
Season Total: 635

20.22 Group Reads!

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

I deeply deeply enjoyed this one! The plot follows Daunis, an 18 year old girl with deep ties to her Indigenous heritage through her father and to her white mother. Her community is facing a string of strange drug-related deaths and she winds up trying to help by working undercover. I loved the plot and action, I was carried along by the smooth writing, and I adored the character of Daunis - she felt realistic enough as an 18 year old, while still being someone strong enough to be a heroine. Highly recommended!

+20 task (on RWS bookshelf)
+5 review

Task Total: 25
Season Total: 610

20.21 N40 Book published in the 40s

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie

I enjoyed this but not as much as another Poirot, ABC Murders, that I also read recently. In this one, a regular sort of dentist seems to commit suicide - but why? And did he really? This one initially was hard to get into because of the sheer number of somewhat unlikable characters (to me) - but eventually, as always, Agatha Christie drew me in with the plot. (I am doing a real Christie binge this summer while I don't have to worry about Lexiles!)

+20 Task (pub'd 1940)
+ 5 Oldies
+ 5 Review

Task total: 30

Season Total: 585

15.20 G48 - Go, Going, Grow, Growing in Title

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

The premise of this book is that a woman, Christine, has a brain injury such that every day when she wakes up, she doesn't remember anything - she feels years younger, doesn't know her husband, doesn't recognize her house. But, because it's a thriller, of course there's an interesting twist. Without spoiling it, I will say that when the twist FINALLY emerged, it was pretty good. But I felt like it took too long to get there. My other quibble was that a LOT of the book was Christine talking about feeling panicked or anxious or stressed about her situation. I feel very sympathetic - I'm sure in this situation, I would feel similarly! But it wasn't the most fun to read. So, the book was not terrible but also not amazing.

+15 Task
+ 5 Review

Task total: 20

+50 Bingo: Fourth Bingo - B2, I25, N32, G48, O75

Post Total: 70
Season Total: 555

15.19 075 - 75 Years - the Author is Aged

The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie

I am glad I finally got to this one! I had heard about this book for so long that I already partly knew the solution - nonetheless it seemed like a good one to read to get the full Christie experience! And it didn't disappoint - turns out I only knew part of the solution. It's clear why this particular book is a classic Agatha Christie - it's full of lively characters, confounding twists, humor, and an interesting puzzle.

+15 task (AC died at 86)
+5 review
+5 earlier than 1997 (1936)

Task Total: 25
Season Total: 485