Contemporary Fiction

I had read quite a few critically-written books lately and was in the mood for a more casual comfort read and had added Alexis Hall’s Boyfriend Material to my reading list last year during my post-Red White and Royal Blue movie watch (yes, I still have not read the book itself, working on fixing that soon). While Boyfriend Material is indeed comfortably casual at the surface, I was pleasantly surprised at how relatable and earnest it was. Beyond the expected laughs and genZ pop culture references, I found the story itself to be consistently-paced, well-executed, and quite solid all-around. I was skeptical (as I usually am for all top-rated books here) that it ranked so high on Goodreads’ best romance category in 2020, especially since queer romance novels are usually ranked much lower than heterosexual romance books, but I now understand and agree with the hype. Side note, although it has nothing to do with the book’s content, I love the graphic design for the book’s cover design that’s simultaneously English-looking and also very classy and appealing. Beyond being British, I would be lying if I said the book’s cover didn’t have any influence over me choosing this to read…

Full disclosure, I shockingly had neither read nor watched (apart from a few short clips) Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians, so went in completely blind to Lies and Weddings. TLDR, I found Lies and Weddings to be solidly written, well-researched, tightly plotted, and at times, genius in its satire and social commentary. Following (from what I’ve been told) similar themes and commentary as his previous works, Lies and Weddings was a great book that wasn’t quite for me. I was stuck between a 3 or 4, objectively it’s good but my enjoyment was much lower. However, my reservations and disinterest with the novel’s content are all subjective reading preferences and despite not personally enjoying the read, I have to commend it on its story’s strengths and accomplishments. It took me a long time to grow interested in the main plot and I think most of that could potentially be attributed to the book’s synopsis and description. While the printed description does an excellent job at highlighting the zany and drama-filled moments, I found it to be a surprisingly inaccurate summary of Lies and Weddings. Yes, there are lots of lies and several weddings and yes, Rufus Gresham is put into…

I’m starting to detest the genre and book descriptor “thriller” or “horror” as it sets an unfair expectation for a twisty, fast-paced, intense reading experience which doesn’t fit many books classified under it. And to be frank, Riley Sager’s Middle of the Night is NOT fast-paced nor intense (by my standards anyway), and even calling it slow burn might be a stretch at times. However, despite the slow pacing for almost 60% of the book (slow even by Riley Sager standards), I still found it to be a rewarding and surprisingly sophisticated read! This is my 3rd Riley Sager novel that I’ve had the pleasure of reading and it’s definitely not one that I would recommend if someone has never read any of his other books before. The pacing is deliberately slow and there’s a decently large ensemble cast of characters to keep track of. Constantly jumping between two time perspectives, the bulk of the story is told from the present day perspective of Ethan Marsh as a grown 40yr old, thirty years after the disappearance of his friend and neighbor Billy. Despite much of the past perspective taking place over the course of a few days and the present…

I knew full well going into it that Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous was not going to play to my preferred tastes and interests at all, but I still wanted to give it a try anyway to expand my reading experiences. Unfortunately my initial impression was right. Despite how much I wanted to like the novel for its earnest, ambitious aspirations and to connect with the powerful content and memories, this was a complete stylistic miss for me. On Earth there were briefly moments that were impactful where I thought I would experience what so many others have loved in Ocean Vuong’s debut novel, but the presentation constantly disappointed me and ruined each moving moment rather than enhancing it. Ordinarily I would and should’ve DNF’d this, but I stuck it out with hopes that it would get better since I was recommended this from a friend; it did slightly to an extent. Divided into three parts loosely based around Little Dog’s childhood, adolescence, and young adult/reflective years, I found the 3rd part to be the most impactful and moving. Focusing on themes of death, mortality, addiction, and familial caregiving, these themes were ones that I could understand and…

Check & Mate is a great YA novel that has a lot to like. Despite her works usually being classified as contemporary romance or chick lit, Check & Mate felt like it skewed more towards a coming of age (coming of adult age that is) contemporary fiction story rather than romance. It’s certainly there and shapes a lot of the plot’s overall narrative, but the majority of the book is focused on Mallory’s internal dilemmas and confrontations with her past guilt and perceived responsibilities. Despite finding it well done and solid across the board, as a grown man probably twice the age of the intended readers, unfortunately this was not a very enjoyable read for me (romance was nice, all of Mallory’s drama, not so nice). However this is very much a “it’s not the book, it’s me” scenario. What I found to appreciate in Check & Mate is how well-written and developed the FMC Mallory is, and how relatable she likely can be. I was actually recommended this book to read from a friend who Mallory reminded me quite a lot of, minus some of her questionable emotional thought-processes. The way she thinks and acts, including character flaws that…