Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Richard Osman’s series has already been heavily read and reviewed so I won’t be quite as detailed as I usually do since the major points of discussion have already been covered. Despite what the genre and synopsis of the book may imply, The Thursday Murder is as much of a senior citizen themed character drama as it is a murder mystery novel and therefore one must adjust their expectations to its crossover intentions. If reading and reviewing this novel purely as a murder mystery investigation procedural story, The Thursday Murder Club is generally an above average, light-hearted affair that’s quite cozy and easy to pick up (although also just as easy to put down and leave down as it’s a bit slow in places). Taken at face value, the murders reveals and movements are mostly functional, albeit slightly convoluted with certain plot developments coming a bit out of left field. I found it to be fine personally, but too ambitious and twisty for its conclusion to pull the whole case back together. However, The Thursday Murder Club’s strongest element in my opinion is the moments where Osman focuses on the lowkey laughs and allows its senior characters to reflect on…

Understated, quietly moving, but absolutely brilliant nonetheless, upon finishing Scott Alexander Howard’s debut novel The Other Valley, it immediately shot to the top of my favorite reads of the year. This had everything I love in ambitiously written novels, including my love for time jump/continuity based speculative fiction elements. But what set apart The Other Valley from other similar books for me was its reserved and meticulous character work with its poignant tone and reflections on the choices one makes in their lives and morals behind it. It’s also a coming of age story that’s equally successful at portraying Odile’s life as a teenager as well as an adult in her late 30’s (coming of adult age) that felt so relevant despite the science fiction premise. I have nothing bad to say about The Other Valley which was a home run for me but as per the norm, I will attempt to write a detailed review that’s far too long to describe why I found it amazing. First and foremost, there are two important things that need to be discussed upfront which are potential deal breakers in this book. The first is Howard’s deliberate choice to forgo the use of…

Side note, it’s hilarious to me how the most liked reviews for this book on Goodreads are in all caps, filled with frenetic energy or absolute distaste for elements that are really quite minor in my opinion. And that’s frankly so amusing to me considering this is possibly one of the least offensive, sickening sweet, and comfy books I’ve read perhaps this year. Falling firmly into the romcom area of the romance/chick lit genres, I thought the Love Hypothesis was a quick read that has a pitch-perfect tone for the story it’s telling. Clearly not intending to change the world nor blow you away with deep and nuanced romance, it’s a fun and light-hearted book decorated with light STEM and academic science references. I previously read Ali Hazelwood’s YA novel Check & Mate based on a friend’s recommendation but had some personal preference issues with some of the teenage angst, so I was encouraged to try her adult novels instead. Interestingly although The Love Hypothesis has a collegiate post-grad setting and two chapters of spice, in many ways it still felt like a YA type of read in that the characters felt quite standard and the plot entirely predictable and…

Unsettling, disturbing, and brilliant in a twisted way, The Possession of Mr. Cave by Matt Haig is an intense read that fully commits to its narrative. Whether most readers are prepared for what that entails is an entirely different discussion (definitely check trigger warnings before hand). The “horror” moniker gets tossed around quite loosely these days, ranging from slashers to psychological insanity to anything that is vaguely related to the supernatural. This book however taps into the quiet, heavy, foreboding type of horror that occurs when someone is witnessing something horrific but can’t look away or stop it; it’s conceptualized like a modern Shakespearean tragedy. The character narration and story is made all the more uncomfortable by Haig’s very effective use of the 2nd person perspective that pulls you into the story and traps you in Bryony’s shoes. The way the novel constantly refers to Bryony as “you” hits home the perspective of the characters and the horrors of what a parent is capable of doing. Complemented by excellent writing and Haig’s now distinctive heavily introspective style, I found this novel to be unlike anything I’ve read in a long time, one that I didn’t necessarily enjoy reading but one…

CJ Wray’s (pseudonym for Christine Manby) The Excitements is a textbook case of a publishing firm doing a fantastic job of marketing and writing a synopsis for a book that is considerably more interesting than the actual book itself. The Excitements has a lot of different elements that feels like they’re going in all different directions with little thematic cohesion or planning. Worse, the actual story is bland, consistently underwhelming (when it’s not being comically unrealistic), and overall poorly crafted. I don’t remember how this ended up on my to-read list (perhaps because it features senior female characters, an accidental trend I’ve been on this year), but I certainly am questioning my past choices and do not recommend this one at all, even if you like cozy historical fiction books. Perhaps it partly on my end for reading too far into the synopsis, but I truly feel like I was betrayed by The Excitement’s marketing that summarizes “Scandal and crime… veterans intend to settle scores, avenge lost friends, and pull off one last daring heist before the curtain finally comes down on their illustrious careers”. To be frank, the “scandals” and “crimes” are used very loosely here, with the scandal…