Satoshi Yagisawa - Morisaki Bookshop duology

In my most recent library visit I've stumbled on the gorgeous Portuguese covers of the Morisaki Bookshop duology. I had seen on GR that a few friends had read the books but the opinions were mixed. Since the books are actually not very long (both under 200 pages), I've decided to bring them and read them both in a row. 

The two books are sequential although reading out of order isn't that bad; there isn't a lot of information that feels spoilerish. Still, for those who like things in order, I still think that reading the books in the correct sequence makes the story feel stronger.

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop

Hidden in Jimbocho, Tokyo, is a booklover's paradise. On a quiet corner in an old wooden building lies a shop filled with hundreds of second-hand books.
Twenty-five-year-old Takako has never liked reading, although the Morisaki bookshop has been in her family for three generations. It is the pride and joy of her uncle Satoru, who has devoted his life to the bookshop since his wife Momoko left him five years earlier.
When Takako's boyfriend reveals he's marrying someone else, she reluctantly accepts her eccentric uncle's offer to live rent-free in the tiny room above the shop. Hoping to nurse her broken heart in peace, Takako is surprised to encounter new worlds within the stacks of books lining the Morisaki bookshop.
As summer fades to autumn, Satoru and Takako discover they have more in common than they first thought. The Morisaki bookshop has something to teach them both about life, love, and the healing power of books.

In this first book we are presented to the characters, namely the narrator Takako, and how she comes to stay at her uncle's bookshop for a while. After the end of a relationship, she feels drift, but an apparently random phone call from her uncle inviting her to help him for a while seems both sudden but a blessing. While living above the bookshop and dealing with costumers, Takako will learn a few lessons, which might help her open up to new possibilities in life...

This was certainly cute and certainly very book oriented. I loved the fact the bookshop played a big part in the short novel and that there are references to several aspects of the bookshop and about authors/books in Japan. Well, really references and not as much development because the stories aren't big. However, I think the cultural differences compared with more western exceptions mean the story is a bit too simple. If the goal is to use metaphors or to indicate something by the choice of dialogue, everything is too subtle, so much that I kept wondering how this story is so well liked. There isn't much to the story in fact, which might be, again, a cultural aspect.

Japanese authors I've tried have been both great and average to me but there's this sense of vulnerability which is stoic, where people/characters don't share too much in a very open or expressive manner. Takako is a sweet young woman but she seems to be too passive. Then, when necessary, she changes her life and we don't really follow the evolution. It's a style for sure.

There are other interesting details here and there but I'll have to say the overall impression I had was one of "cuteness". It was fine to read this little book, but not spectacular.

More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop

Set again in the beloved Japanese bookshop and nearby coffee shop in the Jimbocho neighborhood of Toyko, More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop deepens the relationship between Takako, her uncle Satoru , and the people in their lives. A new cast of heartwarming regulars have appeared in the shop, including an old man who wears the same ragged mouse-colored sweater and another who collects books solely for the official stamps with the author’s personal seal.
Satoshi Yagisawa illuminates the everyday relationships between people that are forged and grown through a shared love of books. As time passes, Satoru, with Takako’s help, must choose whether to keep the bookshop open or shutter its doors forever. Making the decision will take uncle and niece on an emotional journey back to their family’s roots and remind them again what a bookstore can mean to an individual, a neighborhood, and a whole culture.

In the second book, we have more of the same, with Takako now dealing with the changes she went through, after some choices at the end of the previous book. I would say this second book was a bit more emotional, and not only for the content. I think some of the things the author used in the first book are now matured, if I can use this word, and the relationships between the characters more solid. 

There is a specific situation here, though, which will offer a different POV of what was only hinted at in the first book. Again, it's not necessary to read in order, but there are things that don't seem to come out of nowhere if one had read the books in order. I also liked we get to keep seeing the bookshop in a prominent status and the conversations about books and authors still happen.

I'd say this installment felt more emotional, yes, but also more focused. I don't know if the author had planned on writing a series, or if the first book was so well accepted he felt why not, and thinking that, I could say there seems to be a method to this. There are scenes which seem very premeditated (unlike the first where it feels some subjects just appeared) and the situations debated a lot more intentionally touching.

As for the writing, the "voice" is the same, things are simply put and told, and there aren't many reflections to do, the story is rather concise. I did like reading these novels, but I would not say I was dazzled by them. As a matter of fact, the covers of the editions I've read are way more gorgeous than the content, for my taste. Still, entertaining and easy to read, without a doubt.

 

All this said, it was worth reading for the experience
The grade for both is average, as the books themselves felt like for me.

Grade: 6/10

Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries

Wanted: One young woman to take care of four-year-old boy. Must be cheerful, enthusiastic and selfless--bordering on masochistic. Must relish sixteen-hour shifts with a deliberately nap-deprived preschooler. Must love getting thrown up on, literally and figuratively, by everyone in his family. Must enjoy the delicious anticipation of ridiculously erratic pay. Mostly, must love being treated like fungus found growing out of employers Hermès bag. Those who take it personally need not apply. Who wouldn't want this job?
Struggling to graduate from NYU and afford her microscopic studio apartment, Nanny takes a position caring for the only son of the wealthy X family. She rapidly learns the insane amount of juggling involved to ensure that a Park Avenue wife who doesn't work, cook, clean, or raise her own child has a smooth day. When the X's' marriage begins to disintegrate, Nanny ends up involved way beyond the bounds of human decency or good taste. Her tenure with the X family becomes a nearly impossible mission to maintain the mental health of their four-year-old, her own integrity and, most importantly, her sense of humor.
Over nine tense months, Mrs. X and Nanny perform the age-old dance of decorum and power as they test the limits of modern-day servitude. Written by two former nannies, The Nanny Diaries deftly punctures the glamour of Manhattan's upper class.

Comment: I had this book in the pile since who knows when. My physical copy in Portuguese still had the price sticker and by the price, of course I got it at a book fair. No idea why it languished so long, but... after finishing the books I had planned for March, I could add a few more until the end of the month and this was one of them.

Nan is a nanny, a young woman who is in need of extra money while finishing her studies, and she decides to accept the position of nanny at mrs X household. At first, the obvious over the top demands don't seem to be so bad and she genuinely cares for Grayer, the four year old she is supposed to take care of. However, the longer she works for the X family, the more she realizes things aren't as perfect as people who are rich and well in life seem to imply. Nan now needs to deal with Grayer and the complicated dance of meeting mrs X demands and even how to not be caught in the middle of what is, clearly, a dysfunctional house. What will she do when things get out of hand?

In this 2002 release, the authors offered a story in which they fictionalize situations and examples of what they had seen personally, as nannies themselves, and what is the expectation of certain behaviors from the families in the upper echelons of Manhattan. The families are well, money wise, but the "price" to pay seems to be the need to fit a pattern of behavior and social choices, which means the children are often means to an end in the status quo.

Nan is the narrator of the story and she is likable enough to me. Of course, not much about her is actually shared and I wonder if it hadn't been better to not make this a fictional story and focus on slices of life of what the narrators had lived through instead. Since this book is fiction, then, I must say Nan comes across as being a little too whiny and submissive to what is, after all, unfair expectations. Now, I have not been a nanny but I have worked for an elderly lady privately and while things are not the same, and I was never "exploited" as Nan here seems to be, I can say it isn't that easy to say no or to not accept certain things.

I've read many readers found Nan to be unrealistic but to me not that much... perhaps what could have helped was to have Nan interact more with other people so that we could see another side of her or have her just share random situations as if in a diary or something. There is a clear separation in the novel between Nan the character and Nan the nanny, and this could have been done better for certain.

Since the plot is focused on Nan's experiences while caring for Grayer, I expected a lot more on children rearing and so on, but the aim here is to portray how the rich families usually treat their children and not much on actual academic content. From the start Nan is seen as the person who will treat the boy well, who will pay attention to him and who will be there for him in a way his absent father and careless mother don't. The parents are characterized as people who don't have genuine love for their child, even if the mother disguises this with all the things that meet the necessary appearances needs, so that others can see how much she tries, such as the plat dates arrangement, the ridiculous amount of extra activities the little boy needs to attend so he can enter a prestigious school.

This dichotomy was what I really was interested in when I've decided to read the book. The fact the parents have a complicated relationship, which is undoubtedly dysfunctional and unfeeling also plays a part in how everything develops. I was reading and more than the specific glimpses of what challenges Nan faced, what really made me glued to the pages was to see when the obvious fall out would happen. The parents reach a point where it's impossible to maintain the balance and their poor child is the one who suffers the consequence. In this case, it did make me feel sorry for all those so-called "poor rich kids" who really didn't have the affection at least of their parents.

The end of the novel is predictable but there were still a few scenes I didn't imagine would happen that way. It's also frustrating that Nan never evolved from being a quiet and helpful nanny to someone who could impose herself when something didn't go right, but that's easier to defend then to do, if one is in need of money or can't simply quit for some reason.

To conclude, there are several aspects which could have been better and perhaps a more experienced author might have used this material in a way that would reach that perfect point but, overall to me, this was quite engaging. I can understand the general low average this book has in certain sites, but to me it still wasn't that bad if I focus on what this is and not on what it could have been.

Grade: 7/10

Chelsea Field - Duty and the Beast

Isobel Avery's first six months as an undercover poison taster haven't exactly been easy. But this week will be worse.
Two people with nothing in common are found dead. Apparently poisoned by an artificial intelligence security system. Now Izzy needs to find out whether robots are taking over the world or if there's a geeky murderer on the loose.
Oh, and she also needs to juggle the demands of her personal life--playing along with Etta's latest deception, rehoming a mysteriously acquired stray dog, cheering up her mopey housemate, and helping Harper cut ties with her worst boyfriend yet.
But Izzy's biggest challenge of all will be helping Connor face the demons of his past. And if she fails, she might lose him forever...

Comment: This is the fifth installment in the series featuring poison taster Isobel Avery. The series is a mix of comedy with a murder investigation and this time, somehow, I wasn't as dazzled by this entry, even though it still felt a little above average when compared with other similar types of series.

Isobel is kind of forced to accept a client for the Taste Society and this is only the last straw that compels her boyfriend and mentor Connor to think they should not be together. Izzy is an optimist and will try her best to turn this around but,in the meantime, the client she was reluctant to accept ends up dead and his father is demanding an investigation. While dealing with several other little things, Izzy and Connor - despite the current state of their personal relationship - start interviewing those who are somehow involved in the case leading to the client's murder. Who could it be and why are the questions, but will they learn the truth before more problems reach Izzy?

If I were to think of this series as a set of adventures the main characters had to deal with while navigating their personal lives, then this is quite an engaging one, and probably why I've kept reading. But if I were to wonder why the personal growth of the characters or why the relationships aren't developed with more complexity, this would have always been a frustrating series.

This is why, for the most part, this wasn't as entertaining an installment as others have been, grades aside. I think the idea of the series is a good one, and the characters are likable in their own way, and I have always appreciated the small mix of comedy and seriousness at the right times. Even though there are several silly things per book, I still feel the overall story is a good one, and that includes how I perceive the main characters' relationship.

Sadly to me, the relationship between Izzy and Connor feels stagnated because they are already officially a couple. We also have the limitation of seeing everything through Izzy's eyes and not knowing what Connor is thinking, except in very specific (small) chapters here and there throughout the series. I was hoping this situation would not be an issue and, in fact, could be a way for Izzy to feel confident and more of a believer in her new skills, since someone with more experience is helping her. However, assuming this is why, the author seemed to want to add an element of drama by creating doubts in their relationship, making Connor feel trapped with someone who is more of a risk taker than he imagined.

I will say this is believable, of course, considering the adventures Izzy sees herself in all the time, but he isn't exactly a desk employee either and his reaction seems drastic, even accepting some traumas in his past. In my opinion, this plot choice was only a way to create conflict, so that more development could be included and/or intensified. There is one more book after this one, which makes me wonder if, perhaps, the author could not continue with the series and that makes this installment a little pointless.

In relation to the plot of this book, it had its clever moments of course, and I did not suspect the culprit until a certain point and even then only because it felt rather obvious once a specific element is shared. The methods to reach that conclusion were done well enough, I'd say, and all the shenanigans Izzy and her close group of friends see themselves in was fun as it usually is, which means that, this time and in regards to this book in particular, unlike with most long series I follow, I was actually more interested in the plot than in the characters.

All things considered, this was fine, but not great. I hope the next and final installment will be a great one, to finish off the series.

Grade: 7/10

Mini - Comments

The following two books are both part of their respective series and while I liked them both enough for their own merits, even bearing in mind the flaws I've perceived in them, they were not as bad or as fascinating that I feel like writing the amount of text I usually do in my comments.

The Governess Club: Bonnie by Ellie Macdonald, is the second story in a small collection of four novellas about four friends who happen to be governesses. The first one wasn't that great or outstanding but it was concise and, sometimes, it's enough to know the story won't be very big. In this second installment, Bonnie is the governess to two boys, who are devastated after the death of their parents. The estate affairs have not been solved yet but Bonnie cannot leave, as she promised to her friends, because she can't stand to leave the boys. Finally, their new guardian arrives and is caught unaware over what happened. With time, he starts doing what is necessary and Bonnie seems to be a great help...

Since this is a novella, the development is quick and, of course, there are some things that feel under done. I liked the setting up, that felt fluid, and the hint of romance was also believable. I also liked the relationship Bonnie had with the boys and her sense of duty and caring. It's not a big surprise to know the death of the boys' parents wasn't really an accident, and the investigation the new guardian does is understandable. I only wish the romance had been dealt with with more...skill, which I think the author has. Thus, this was a fine story, but not memorable.

Grade: 6/10

Take Us There by Louisa Masters is the fourth and final installment in the Joy Universe series. In this story, Dominic Hurst is getting used to the work and the demands that come with it, of being the new director of Joy Universe, after the debacle which happened in the previous book. He moved with his teenager daughter and things are going well, so much that he even starts dating a teacher at her school, Oliver. The problem is that someone is not a nice person and starts creating problems...

Since I've liked the previous books in the series, this too was easy and pleasant to read. I'd change a few details but as a whole, this delivered once more.Dominic and Oliver are, as all the key characters before them, competent and fair in their jobs and the conflicts sound realistic. Sometimes, a bit too much which might bring in the feeling that something is happening out of nowhere...Their relationship is cute but it wasn't as romantic as I would prefer. This feeling comes since book #1, which I think kind of had a more balanced romance (to me) and at some point they need to face some issues which were, again, a little forced. Still, it was a good enough way to finish the series and it's one I actually liked reading quite a lot, if I think about it in general terms.

Grade: 7/10

Susan Elizabeth Phillips - Just Imagine

Two hard-headed, passionate people . . . Two stubborn opponents with tender souls . . . Sometimes wars of the heart can only be won through the sweetest of surrenders.
The War Between the States may be over for the rest of the country, but not for Kit Weston. Disguised as a boy, she's come to New York City to kill Baron Cain, the man who stands between her and Risen Glory, the South Carolina home she loves. But unknown to Kit, the Yankee war hero is more than her bitterest enemy—he's also her guardian. And he'll be a lot harder to kill than she's figured on . . .
Believing that Kit's a boy, Cain offers the grubby rapscallion a job in his stable. But he has no idea what he's in for, and it's not long before the hero of Missionary Ridge discovers the truth. His scamp of a stable boy is a strong-willed, violet-eyed beauty who's hell-bent on driving him crazy.

Comment: I've had this book in the TBR list for several years. For a while, after "discovering" the author, I've dedicated myself to her contemporary books, of which I've the majority. Since I've managed to read all the titles I had planned for March and there were still some days left, I went on o pick random books and this was the first.

In this historical romance novel, southerner Kit Weston disguises herself as a boy to search for Yankee Baron Cain, the man who has taken over her old home and plantation, Risen Glory. Things don't go as planned, though, and it turns out that Cain is the son of Kit's stepmother, and he is now the heir of Risen Glory and her guardian, but instead of punishing her, he decides to send her to a finishing school. Later, when they meet again, they seem different to one another and sparks fly between them but will they be ready to let go of past prejudices and life lessons to embrace a happy ending?

This book was originally published in 1984 (I was not even born yet - but not my much) and now that I've read it, after also reading many other historical romances from the same period of publishing and, mostly, more recent ones, I can certainly understand why this merited awards back then but also why it didn't seduce me as much as it would have if I had it read before other similar titles.

The plot is very simple and centered on a mix of enemies to lovers and opposites attract tropes, which tend to me my favorites in general. Still, I wasn't as impressed by this story as I was by others in the genre, written around the same time, nor as I was by other books by this author which "worked out" better for my personal taste. I've felt this story has very cardboard characters, not as developed as others the author has written since, and the situations depicted felt superficial and as if they were check lists the author had to use for this type of story (such as the stereotypes often seen in historical characters set after the civil war between North and South).

This said, I can also understand why it was a success when it was released and why many readers cherish it. I just think other books with these tropes and situations were done better. Had I read it before some of those other books, I might have liked it better but now I did read books with better development, this one feels inferior. Unlike other books by the author, the evolution of the main characters feels very static and without enough inner musing, as I've seen in some of her most popular contemporaries I've read. Kit and Cain here are realistic enough for their life paths and vibrant to be charismatic but their relationship was not that deeply developed.

Kit is a young woman from the South and she wants to get back her inheritance, nor to keep up with Southern practices - such as slavery - but because of what it means to her memory and that of her father, whom she still idolizes. Of course, she will learn he wasn't as perfect as he seemed and she needs to grow up and understand life wasn't as easy as her loose childhood and self taught education made her believe.

As for Cain, he is a pragmatic person, who fought for the North for principles but also because he had been abandoned by his parents (each in a different way) and he convinced himself it's best to not be attached to anyone, so after the war and he started winning money in gambling.

The relationship between these two starts off as if they are enemies, then goes on to be a reluctant partnership and later on they become lovers. Always with opposite personalities and ways of seeing life. This should have been great, a strategic way for them to fall in love and to complement each other, but I wasn't convinced by the evolution of things. To me, Kit always read as being somewhat juvenile and naive and Cain remained aloof and a matter-of-fact type. They only seemed to change right at the end, and it wasn't truly believable. This does fit with the usual pattern of these stories from the 80s and early 90s I remember reading, but the author could have done better, I'm sure.

The writing does seem to be very much in par with the style at the time, even the presentation of other situations and more serious discussions felt more like it was information to justify something, rather than a real intention in letting readers be aware of the characters's minds. Things were presented in the correct way for us to sympathize with the key characters.

I should add that, as it is the author's trademark, there's a secondary romance ongoing, between Magnus (the Black stable master if I understood correctly) and Sophronia (the Black nanny who grew up with Kit during the plantation years before the war). I won't spoiler it but to me, this romance deserved and demanded more attention and development... in my opinion, most subjects they addressed were too serious or too dramatic to be seen as secondary.

All in all, this was fine and readable, quite the throwback to the 80s I'd say, but I wasn't completely taken by it and I can even calculate that if the author were to choose to write this novel today, from scratch, she would prefer to write it differently. But, well, that would happen to most writers, perhaps... thus, I'll say I'm simply glad I've read it, at last.

Grade: 7/10

Catherine Ryan Howard - 56 Days

No one knew they'd moved in together. Now one of them is dead. Could this be the perfect murder?
56 DAYS AGO
Ciara and Oliver meet in a supermarket queue in Dublin the same week Covid-19 reaches Irish shores.
35 DAYS AGO
When lockdown threatens to keep them apart, Oliver suggests that Ciara move in with him. She sees a unique opportunity for a new relationship to flourish without the pressure of scrutiny of family and friends. He sees it as an opportunity to hide who - and what - he really is.
TODAY
Detectives arrive at Oliver's apartment to discover a decomposing body inside.
Will they be able to determine what really happened, or has lockdown provided someone with the opportunity to commit the perfect crime?

Comment: I became interested in this book after seeing it being recommended by someone whose opinion I trust. Before that, the author had not even gotten on my radar, but this story proved to be quite interesting.

In this story, Ciara and Olivier meet in a supermarket and exchange some small conversation. A subject in common makes the conversation last longer and they decide on a following date. Days later, a global pandemic affects the whole world and the government imposes a lock-down, whose circumstances now allow them to need to be together for a specific period of time. Later, a neighbor alerts the authorities that a strange smell is coming out of the apartment and the police discovers a decomposing body inside and what seems to be a clean apartment. What happened and why?

The author mentioned in a note (at the end of the novel) that she was inspired by the words of other authors, who claimed they would never write stories where the covid-19 pandemic would be part of it. For Catherine Ryan Howard, the inspiration was exactly the opposite and she wrote this story after the first lock-down was mandatory in Ireland. I've found this to be quite the incentive to think of this novel in a specific way and with this in mind, the book does take on an even more special meaning.

The story is told in alternated voices, Ciara's, Oliver's and Lee's, the police officer who is now dealing with the discovery. I would not say there are chapters because as things move along we have POVs going back and forth between the titled 56 days ago, when Ciara and Oliver meet, and today, when the body is discovered, and even one or two other dates, related to the explanation of some things. This method is clever, of course, because it doesn't show us right away what the secret is, or what is behind the whole thing, but there were times this didn't work so well.

My biggest complaint is that this going back and forth was a bit distracting and sometimes too repetitive... we have, a few times, the POV of both Ciara and Oliver of things that happened in the past. For instance, the first time I've noticed this we had had their first meeting told from Ciara's POV, then we had the POV of the police officer and after that, I thought we would go on to a different scene but no, we went back to see the same thing seen from Oliver's POV. The idea is, obviously, to allow us to see the little things and to start having doubts about what is going on, but this happened enough times to become a bit tiresome.

The plot develops slowly and with having several times in which important things happen, things start to seem one thing at some point and then, by the end, it's something different. There were a couple of revelations which I guessed. Not the how, but the fact itself, just from some hints which the author had to include anyway. Basically, we are told and shown that some situations were random, simple, not much of a big deal, and it turned out that for every seemingly little detail there was something bigger behind. I did like the process of peeling the layers but some of them, for the overall story to make sense, could not be kept a secret completely.

This was how it seemed to me, at least. Of course, the biggest revelation was quite surprising, so obvious in its simplicity. For this, the atmosphere and the vibe created by the author were the key elements, because we keep convincing ourselves of certain things, of the information told by the characters - even when we doubt things are that easy or that all they say is true - and when something else proves that what had been told wasn't that objective after all... the author certainly planned things quite well, but the writing wasn't always as engaging as it should.

Another issue I should point is that, for me, there are situations that aren't easy to imagine, namely how Ciara and Oliver planned for some things while they were having dates before the lock-down and how things progressed in that period of time. I understand some choices had to be less reliable for the plot to reach the goal, but this made me think there was also a certain idea of dissonance, and a few steps they both took felt unlikely to be done that way, even with their personal reasoning behind.

The covid-19 references were, as we can now muse about, quite on point. Who would not relate to that? We all lived it somehow! Of course, this means that the dead person in this novel died and no one found out or thought to pay attention to anything due to confinement. 

What I think was well done is that the way the characters think about the pandemic along with what we slowly discover about them makes them very mundane and relatable for most of the novel. They could be anyone dealing with that situation.

Of course, when the big revelations happen, especially the one I consider to be THE one, we learn that feeling empathy towards a character - or a real person in fact - is always debatable and subjective.

In the end, this was a fascinating novel, although not always fully engaging. I'm still curious about reading something else by the author and will do so in the future.

Grade: 7/10

Allison Ashley - Would You Rather

Noah and Mia have always been best friends, and their friendship is the most important thing to them. Life is going great for Noah and he's up for a promotion in a job he loves. But Mia's life is on hold as she awaits a kidney transplant. She's stuck in a dead-end job and, never wanting to be a burden, has sworn off all romance. So when the chance of a lifetime comes to go back to school and pursue her dream, it's especially painful to pass up. She can't quit her job or she'll lose the medical insurance she so desperately needs.
To support her, Noah suggests they get married-in name only-so she can study full-time and still keep the insurance. It's a risk to both of them, with jobs, health and hearts on the line, and they'll need to convince suspicious coworkers and nosy roommates that they're the real deal. But if they can let go of all the baggage holding them back, they might realize that they would rather be together forever.

Comment: This is the third book I read by this author. Although her books are clearly stand alones, the previous two I've read had some element in common, as does this one. The characters know each other, from a common place, even though the connection isn't a big deal in the plot development.

In this story we meet Mia, a young woman who is waiting for a kidney transplant, and who still dreams of having a degree in her dream nutrition field. When the chance to apply to an adult scholarship to do that, the price to pay is she cannot keep working full time, but that would ruin her finances, since she has many hospital bills and her current job offers insurance. She is lucky to work for a firm where her best friend Noah also works and when he knows about the scholarship, he encourages her to accept and makes a deal: they can marry and she will have his work insurance. She is reluctant but believes her degree will make her be able to pay him back for his help...the problem is that another co-worker listens in to their plans and he isn't one to stay quiet...

From the start, I could feel I would not find this story to be as appealing as the previous ones had been. The issue is very simple, I'm not a big fan of the friends to lovers trope and the fact that this book had that was already a minus but the execution didn't help and only seemed to exacerbate the main reasons why I prefer other tropes instead.

Mia and Noah have been friends since they were children. They have been used to be together and to send messages to one another and many other little things that makes them best friends. One could argue that any couple should be friends too, but it's usually difficult to me to stop seeing the characters are friends and suddenly moving on to be lovers, the dynamics and the relationship always changes and ends up affecting the story, such as here. the fact there's a "marriage of convenience" should be a good element, to bring in specific situations between them, but not really.

First, the marriage of convenience idea is quite a good tactic for this type of situation. It does boggle the mind that so many Americans (such as Mia) have these hospital/medical bills and their lives are practically on hold so they can find ways to pay them, but it is what it is. Such a plot should not even be a possibility in contemporary times, but it is a fact. Thus, I'd expect Mia and Noah to have to deal with the lie and how this would affect their dealings with other people. But their families accept the sudden marriage easily, as do their co workers - except one - and they don't even explain why they are doing it.

Insurance fraud is certainly a big deal and I can see how this would work as a strong reason why they would need to keep things quiet, but the co worker knowing and blackmailing Noah was a bit... unnecessary, if only they had told those they trusted, like the reasonable boss they both had, instead of keeping a secret from him. Perhaps other solutions would have been chosen instead. Therefore, the plot was muddled and we didn't even have the new dynamics between them being something to focus on when they were with other people.

In private, they were also polite to one another but this did star becoming heavy for their friendship to endure. I think the author wrote the tension well, as did the doubts and the issues they faced, but I felt the romance was not romantic. Things between them were so set on their friend status that I simply did not believe they were falling in love. Well, that Mia was, because we are told Noah has always been in love with her. I think this choice wasn't a good one... if they were to start seeing each other differently, going through the same situation would have balanced things between them.

This started to make me think that the two tropes were just not mixing up well and the author had done such sweet romances before... I was not convinced. Then, at some point, we learn why Mia didn't seem to be in contact with her parents, despite she having an illness and we being told they even went into debt to pay for her bills. When we learn why, it was so... well, I think the author had too many ideas for one single story... perhaps less distractions would have made for a better edited but more consistent plot and, ultimately, a stronger romance.

As expected, things end well for Mia and Noah but the road leading there had many cringe and unlikely scenes, which made the story feel contrived. I kept reading, hoping to see an evolution, a click in things, but not even the obvious reprimand they are given regarding their personal decisions in the whole scheme made for the weaker situations. 

I'm still hopeful for another book by the author ,being released this year, whose blurb feels very promising, but this one was definitely one I could have skipped.

Grade: 5/10

Katy Brent - How to Kill Men and Get Away With It

Meet Kitty Collins.
FRIEND. LOVER. KILLER.
He was following me. That guy from the nightclub who wouldn’t leave me alone.
I hadn’t intended to kill him of course. But I wasn’t displeased when I did and, despite the mess I made,
I appeared to get away with it.
That’s where my addiction started…
I’ve got a taste for revenge and quite frankly, I’m killing it.

Comment: I got this book by impulse the last time I purchased physical books in a shop (as opposed to order online). It was Christmas time and I was contemplating getting it to give to a friend but the premise was so crazy I felt I would want to try it for myself.

Kitty Collins is a young rich influencer who has a very privileged life and one night, after trying to discourage a man who went after her when she left a bar, she is followed by that man and due to an accident, he ends up dying. This affects Kitty in such a way that she starts thinking she has the time and the motivation to erase the world of men who prey on women, especially if they had said no already. The problem is that the rush and the planning are quite the commitments once she embarks in this quest and perhaps it's not doable with falling in love and having time for this person. Or is it?

The premise if really wild, in the sense this book does not have the atmosphere nor the gravitas for this to be a traditional thriller. It is one after all, but I wasn't too impressed with the execution. It's the first book I try by this author so I had no real expectation when it came to writing, but to me the issue is that something was not matching properly. The author added a note (at least my edition had one) in the end where she mentions her inspiration and I can see why the #MeToo movement might be an interesting inspiration, but the execution failed, for me.

The biggest problem to me - and for the majority of the readers whose grade is the same and/or lower than mine that I've seen in GR - is that no character is likable. There isn't one person in this story one could root for. Of course, in thrillers this isn't imperative anyway, but since this isn't a traditional thriller, I've found the lack of connection to be a very negative point. Killing others is never something one can consider to be good, but the idea here of having a woman killing as if she is a vigilante type of person who only chooses bad men is quite the message... too bad about the execution.

Kitty narrates the story and from the start we are given a negative view of her because of all the privileges she has and of all the negative connotations associated with people who have the type of life Kitty describes as having. I suppose this was done so that the distinction of class could be a reason for how Kitty is able to hide her killer side and get away with it for so long. At the same time, this makes Kitty seem like a careless, whiny woman. Her actions lost all kinds of "morality greyness" they could still have just by the fact she was being so obnoxious.

The method she uses to find her victims is also very ridiculous and with an agenda of course this makes her loose any reason she could use to want to punish these men, The fact things sometimes go wrong is just another detail that makes what she does distasteful. I'm thinking that the author probably wanted more of a satire, a social commentary on several current issues, but this story with these characters and written, sometimes, in a seemingly inconsiderate way, made the story loose any solidity she might have wanted to convey.

While Kitty is dealing with all her privileged influencer existence's dilemmas and killing men, she discovers she has a stalker. I wondered if the idea was to add drama and a "conscious voice" to her actions, after all if she knew someone was watching and judging, would this affect her choices? It turns out that it doesn't and we simply need to accept that Kitty is a killer with no real boundary of what is good or not, despite any attempt at justifying herself. I thought, surely, this story had to go on to the path in which Kitty is caught and sentenced to jail, but... not really.

In fact, this is another way this was a disappointment, because the story is superficial and is written in an dismissive way, as if the content is yet another silly plot one can find in countless other books. To make matters worse, in my opinion of course, the stalker issue goes on to develop in an even sillier situation, which seems to come out of nowhere. I think this is the author's debut so I will not say all had to be perfect, but other debuts seem more consistently presented, so I think how the editors could let this be published as a thriller... perhaps this more a dark comedy or something (although I'd say it was not fun either) and should only be labeled as such.

Since nothing of what I assumed would be the goal here actually happened, I was feeling pretty disappointed. Then I saw there's a sequel, so... but to be honest, even if Kitty pays her dues, I don't feel that interested anymore. Perhaps this idea written differently would be a better plot but most of the author's choices felt they weren't suitable. If that was the goal anyway, then it wasn't well executed.

This book was worth it for the idea and for the easy way the text did flow, meaning it was easy to keep turning the pages.

Grade: 5/10

Andrea Penrose - Murder at King's Crossing

Celebration is in the air at Wrexford and Charlotte’s country estate as they host the nuptials of their friends, Christopher Sheffield and Lady Cordelia Mansfield. But on the afternoon of the wedding, the festivities are interrupted when the local authorities arrive with news that a murdered man has been discovered at the bridge over King’s Crossing, his only identification an invitation to the wedding. Lady Cordelia is horrified when the victim is identified as Jasper Milton, her childhood friend and a brilliant engineer who is rumored to have discovered a revolutionary technological innovation in bridge design. That he had the invitation meant for her cousin Oliver, who never showed up for the wedding, stirs a number of unsettling questions.
Both men were involved in the Revolutions-Per-Minute Society, a scientific group dedicated to making radical improvements in the speed and cost of transportation throughout Britain. Is someone plotting to steal Milton’s designs? And why has her cousin disappeared?
Wrexford and Charlotte were looking forward to spending a peaceful interlude in the country, but when Lady Cordelia resolves to solve the mystery, they offer their help, along with that of the Weasels and their unconventional inner circle of friends. The investigation turns tangled and soon all of them are caught up in a treacherous web of greed, ambition, and dangerous secrets. And when the trail takes a shocking turn, Wrexford and Charlotte must decide what risks they are willing to take with their family to bring the villains to justice . . .

Comment: This is the 8th installment in the Wrexford and Sloane series by author Andrea Penrose, featuring a couple who is often involved in solving mysteries surrounding the death of someone that they might be familiar with.

In this story Charlotte and Wrexford are hosting the wedding of their friends Christopher "Kit" Sheffield and Cordelia Manfield, and all seemed to go well except one cousin of the bride could not arrive on time. Then, news of a body washed up after a storm reaches them and the police shows up asking questions and everyone fears the dead man might be Cordelia's cousin Oliver but an information about the dead man's body is enough to prove that no, the deceased is Jasper Milton, a friend of Cordelia and of her missing cousin. Wrexford and Charlotte decide to investigate when sudden new clues point out to the possibility of a plan by a french group of radicals wanting to get their hands on revolutionary plans Milton had for bridges in his possession so they could sell them and pay for the rescue of Napoleon. At the same time the investigation is ongoing, other people are killed in what seems suspicious circumstances. What might be going on and is Cordelia's cousin the actual culprit?

The installments in this series are sequential and a lot of what happens when it comes to the lives of the protagonists and their friends and family members develops in a way which assumes the reader does have that knowledge already. The mysteries being investigated, however, are presented and solved book by book, which means that, technically, one could read them randomly. I still think it's better to read in order, but that is not a deal breaker for a new reader, for instance.

I liked this story because it's part of yet another series I'm following and that has now reached comfort status for me. The characters are familiar, their relationships more or less established, and the main couple is married and happy. If there is one thing I could complain about is that while the domesticity among all the characters (Wrex and Charlotte, their adopted wards, their friends and so on) is appealing and allows the reader to appreciate things from time to time about how lucky their lives have evolved until the current point, I still feel this element of the story is rather bland at times. 

I'm especially thinking about the romance, to be honest. Wrex and Sloane trust each other, they suit each other and in the first books, when they were still getting to the point where they would be comfortable with one another at a personal level before they became a couple, this was fine. Now that they are married and from what we see, in love, I kind of wanted more demonstrations. I'm not saying the intimacy should be graphic, but more than sweet thoughts and proper behaviors.. yes. More passion in an obvious way, I'd say.

The plot wasn't the most engaging one, but I always feel curious to see how things will go and, more importantly, how they think about the clues until they unravel the mystery. It's also a huge plus to see them all plan things together and which steps each person will take, so it's all a team effort. I suppose the wards (kids, in fact) have bigger roles than what might be necessary, but that is overlooked by their personalities and obvious cleverness.

Mrs Penrose is a good writer and clearly likes to investigate all the themes she uses in her books, even more so to adapt facts correctly to her fictional stories. I didn't know much about how one went on to invent techniques about the math needed to build bridges. This is all fascinating and the author's notes at the end are interesting too. Perhaps, the stories have a bit too much emphasis on correctly use the theme to the point some information is a bit boring, a bit too technical for the type of story we are reading. It's great the characters are smart and focused on investigating and in understanding the whole situation by having technical data but... not always very fictionally alluring.

If I overlook these little things, the story is appealing and I do like spending time with the characters and see what is next for them. But I think a few changes might elevate the books...

Grade: 8/10

Kelly Jensen - Chasing Forever

Malcolm Montgomery was a history teacher and track coach until an accident left him with two broken legs. He’ll recover, but life has knocked his feet out twice now. He’s not sure if he’s ready to try again, especially when it comes to love—and slick guys like Brian Kenway. Still, he needs help mentoring the school’s LGBTQ society, so he asks Brian to take some responsibility.
Brian has been hiding behind his reputation as a liar and a cheat for so long that he actually believes he’s that guy—until his nephew, Josh, turns up on his couch, tossed out for being gay. Brian has never considered being a father, but he knows all about being rejected by loved ones. Now Brian wants to be more: a partner for Mal and a role model for Josh.
But when Mal’s recovery is set back and the sad truth of Brian’s past is revealed, the forever they’ve been chasing seems even further from their grasps. It’ll take a rescue effort to revive their sense of worth and make Brian, Mal, and Josh into a family of their own.

Comment: This is the third installment in the This Time Forever trilogy by author Kelly Jensen. I liked the first book well enough and liked the second one a little less but there was no doubt I'd finish the trilogy. Thankfully, this one was quite the emotional journey.

In this third novel we have the story of Brian Kenway (the seemingly "bad guy" from book#1) and how he goes from being a man who is only interested in his job and casual hookups since his break up with Simon to being in love with nerd professor Malcolm. They meet each other at a bar and both recognize the other one is the exact opposite of what they are looking for, but still there's an attraction. Their slow relationship isn't easy though, with personal challenges for both of them and Brian's nephew suddenly showing up to live with him after his mother kicked him out. This does bring out many memories to Brian, but will everyone learn to deal with one another in time to save all their connections?

I would not say this book is a redemption story for Brian but it does feel like it. To be fair, there isn't much I remember about him from the first book but some allusions and a conversation he has with Simon in this book made me recall a few details. Nevertheless, Brian isn't the bad guy it was suggested he was and as with everything in life, truth is a matter of perspective.

Brian is the main character in this story, but Malcolm is the other one and he, too, has quite the challenges to overcome. Malcolm is a fit man of 50 but his life took another turn when a car run him over and he broke his two legs. Physical therapy and and all that it entails makes him feel he is a burden at times, especially for his twin brother Donny. He had been checking Brian at the bar for a while for isn't the type of person to make the first move until, one day, they do have a small conversation.

This is how things begin for them but the road is certainly a rocky one because of Brian's reputation, because of Malcolm's need for stability and because a teenager shows up and makes them both think about things, both at school when Malcolm starts taking over the GSA, and when Brian becomes the person who his nephew now needs to depend on. Of course these challenges make both men think about their lives and what it means to be there for others and how that is a sign of trust and change.

This story is quite emotional, but it's not cheesy. This means we get to think about what is happening along with the main characters and more or less root for them and for their willingness to reach for happiness. There are some small conflicts between them which I think were more to add drama than to evidence any special trait or situation but that is minor to the situations depicted.

Malcolm is a very interesting character, easy to sympathize with and I especially liked he was such an athletic person but accidents in his teenager years and more recently both somehow affected his choices and how he can feel about himself. Setbacks yes, but this doesn't mean he becomes morose or resigned, even if the feelings sometimes are there... I liked him and I could even excuse some little things he does badly and that I'd change to make the story more to my taste.

In regards to Brian, he is the real "star" of this book, and a lot of the plot is about him. It was already obvious he wasn't as bad as he seemed from the past books, nor as mysterious either. The truth about him is revealed here and it is as heartbreaking as one could imagine but the author didn't go as far as other authors have, when it comes to descriptions and actual scenes (the worst things are shared in conversation). In a way, this makes the book feel more grounded and less about pity and misery, something I did appreciate.

I think the author did a good job portraying Brian, portraying the different relationships in the story and even in how things often happen in subtle but believable ways. I think the romance could have been even more romantic, although I do like the fact these two are at a place, in terms of maturity and age, where it's not all about the physical. Thinking of that, I also things could have been made to be more special, but it's depicted good enough.

I also liked Malcolm's issues with his legs and health weren't magically solved and remained an important part of the plot's scenes. All in all, a satisfying novel, much better than I anticipated, in fact.

Grade: 8/10

TBR Challenge: Jeaniene Frost - Shades of Wicked

Master vampire Ian is unrepentant, shameless…and every shade of wicked. He’s made one too many enemies in his two centuries of existence, including Dagon, a demon who now lays claim to his soul. Ian’s only chance to escape Dagon is to join forces with a Law Guardian, but he's never been able to abide by the rules for long.
Veritas’ normal role is police, judge, and jury to reprobates like Ian. But she has her own ax to grind with Dagon, so if she can use Ian as bait...well, all’s fair in law and war. As they scour supernatural hotspots to perfect their trap, Veritas soon realizes Ian’s carefully cultivated, devil-may-care roguish image hides something much more powerful. And Ian discovers Veritas has shocking secrets of her own. As they’re drawn to each other with a passion as intense as their peril, either love or justice will prevail. But each will have devastating consequences.

Comment: Today is the day for another TBR Challenge post. The theme for March is "Rizz" which I really did not get until I've read our host's Wendy's explanation. Thinking of "rizz" as something related to charisma and appeal, I've looked at my TBR and picked a PNR/UF by Jeaniene Frost. 

For years, I religiously purchased the new paperback of her ongoing Night Huntress series and one of the secondary characters was Ian, a fascinating but uncertain vampire who was both good and seemingly bad at times. Therefore, I've picked this book, the first of a spin off trilogy from that other series, whose main character is Ian.

After centuries of existence, Ian is known for his rebellions and seductive manner, and he has collected enemies as well, such as Dagon. The demon wants to collect on Ian's soul but suddenly Veritas, a law enforcer, shows up making a deal with Ian, telling him they could join forces to defeat the demon. Ian was never one to turn his face on a challenge but surely Veritas has some secret agenda she isn't sharing... in the meantime, his charm and personality can certainly make up for most of his insubordination but will he be able to abide Verita's rules?

What time and memories do to us... I loved PNR back in the day and to an extend, I still do, but it is also true that it's not the genre that seduces me the most nowadays. Still, I was fond of the memories I got back when I started reading this book, which is a follow-up to events from the other books in the Night Huntress series. What fascination I had with this series.... Some beloved characters also have cameos and that was quite a treat, especially since I do think Ian, the protagonist, has the "rizz".

Actually, this is interesting because unlike what I assumed, the story is not told from Ian's POV. The Night Huntress books and all the spin offs are narrated in first person, usually a heroine, and the same happened here. The POV we have is that of Veritas, a law enforcer for the vampires and in this story she pairs up with Ian so they can trap and defeat a demon who has a deal with Ian, with the price of his soul. Veritas has a plan to kill Dagon, the demon, and she hopes that with Ian's help things will happen quicker, but of course it's not that easy.

As Veritas and Ian go along with their plans, they deal with some obstacles and they need to elude friends so that they don't get in danger, but while they go on with all this, they still start becoming reluctant friends and, at some point, more than friends. It's to be expected that they share personal things and a huge part of the novel, as it had happened with all the other books before, is focused on seeing them bond and slowly trusting one another the more things they find out about each other.

Reading this story brought back memories and some notions of what had happened in other books, but I'll have to say there were some more specific elements I no longer recalled. I think the author did a good enough job to create a story for a new reader, someone who might not have the information from past books, but not so much that a fan would be fully bored. Still, some things aren't as easy to remember... I must also say that Ian was still as charming but I must have let my impressions slide because I thought he would still be as cocky and rebellious as I remember him being in some books...here, he was a little less revolutionary.

To be fair, the last book I had read by the author was in 2017 and that certainly makes for some of my poor notions. I was still marveled by Ian in general, don't get me wrong, and I did like how he was seen by narrator Veritas, but even accepting this is a romance too, I was expecting more about Ian and not as much about them as a couple...after all, there are more books to come. We do learn things about them and their pasts, things we had not known from the other books, so that did pay off somehow.

The plot is what one would expect, with two more books means things don't get solved right away and we do discover interesting tidbits for what might come next. I'm not yet certain I'll read the other two books...on one hand, I want to know what will happen, on the other I don't feel like making that effort... choices, choices... for another time.

Grade: 7/10