Monday, March 18, 2024

The Last Girl Left

The Last Girl Left by A.M. Strong & Sonya Sargent, 333 pages

Five years ago, Tessa Montgomery was on vacation with three friends on a remote island when they were attacked. Tessa's three friends were murdered, and while she was left for dead, Tessa managed to survive. While the assailant was killed in a shootout afterward, Tessa is still living the nightmare, unable to leave her sister's house and taking a baseball bat everywhere with her. But after Tessa nearly attacks her sister's cat, she realizes she needs to do something drastic to get past this paralyzing fear. So she does the most drastic thing she can and rents the same vacation home where her friends were murdered and she was attacked, determined to stay for a full month. But Tessa hasn't been there long when odd things start happening, setting setting her even more on edge than she was before.

This wasn't the worst book I've read, but it was far from the best. I had trouble buying Tessa's decision to return to the scene of the crime (and alone and for a whole month), as well as the fact that she thought nobody in the town recognized her when she returned (seriously, there are about 5 residents and nothing else has happened in this town...and she has a giant scar on her face). Honestly, the main reason I didn't stop reading was because I was afraid that a particularly cliched twist was coming (thankfully, it didn't). Doesn't mean it was worth it though.

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams, 342 pages

Ricki Wilde is the youngest of four sisters, the daughters of a business tycoon. Her sisters are all successful with wealthy husbands and designer clothes, while Ricki has a love for vintage clothing and floral arranging. When she announces her decision to open up her own floral shop, Ricki's parents all but disown her and it's only by the grace of a kind 96-year-old woman that Ricki is able to establish a business in Harlem. However, once she moves to Harlem, Ricki begins repeatedly encountering a mysterious stranger with whom she has immediate chemistry, despite his old-fashioned ways.

I'll admit that's an odd way to describe a romance novel, but this is definitely romance, as it's spicy and focused on the developing relationship between Ricki and Breeze. I don't want to spoil anything, but I'll note that there's a pretty critical fantasy element to this book too, so if you want you romance novels to be believable (or as believable as romance novels ever get), this might not be the right book for you. However, I thought this was fantastic, and I'll definitely be reading more of Tia Williams in the future (her Seven Days in June was also exquisite). Recommended for fans of Casey McQuiston's One Last Stop, and anyone with a love for vintage clothes and the Harlem Renaissance.

Sunday, March 17, 2024

How To Change

How To Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Katy Milkman 2021 (249 pages)

Katy Milkman, an economist/engineer/behavioral scientist, works with a huge team of people worldwide who are trained in varying sciences: economics, medicine, law, psychology, neuroscience, computer science, etc. This book is a fascinating reference on how to make changes in our lives, from saving more for retirement to establishing better fitness habits and more. Milkman has written up the results of their research in a very user-friendly way. The book is filled with great tips based on the research they have performed while working with large companies to help nudge their employees to make better choices.

In the book, I learned that Milkman also hosts a podcast called Choiceology. I listened to an episode that deals with "sludge," a way that companies make it hard to navigate to get to your goals. For example, while companies make it quite easy to make a purchase, they can make it difficult to cancel purchases or close accounts. Milkman and her guests gave information on how to handle these types of situations.

I wholeheartedly recommend reading and/or listening to Milkman.


Saturday, March 16, 2024

Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant

 


Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant by Curtis Chin  291 pp.

This memoir is exactly what the title says. Curtis Chin was one of many children in a family that ran one of the best Chinese restaurants in Detroit's old Chinatown His father was the son of Chinese immigrants. His mother was a Chinese bride who came from Hong Kong to marry at the age of 17. Curtis navigates the not always easy mix of Chinese and American cultures while growing up. Along the way he realizes he is also gay and that adds more pressure to the mix. In spite of his efforts to break free from his often stifling family, his strong connections remain through high school and college at the University of Michigan. This is a very introspective book. You won't find an abundance of action. Just a gay kid trying to navigate his life and make it to adulthood on the hard streets of Detroit, cushioned by a strong family connections and chapters named like menu items. It wasn't what I was expecting, not that I know what that was, but it served the author's purpose. 

Thursday, March 14, 2024

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson, 432 pages

During the Great War, Constance managed the accounts and staff at a large estate in Surrey, but when the war ended and soldiers began returning home, she found herself brutally shifted into a position caring for Mrs. Fog, the elderly mother of the estate's mistress, as she recovered from influenza. It's in the capacity of this continued convalescence that Constance finds herself at a grand hotel in the seaside town of Hazelbourne, and, oddly enough, making friends with a group of women who turned their wartime motorcycle delivery skills into a quirky taxi service. But with more and more men coming back from the front, it's harder and harder for the women to maintain their jobs — or find new ones, as Constance learns as she prepares to leave Mrs. Fog.

This is an interesting, and generally lighthearted, look at the way women's lives changed after WWI, albeit in a very small slice of Britain. While I'm sure there will be gobs of fans of this book for that very reason, it wasn't really my cup of tea and there were a few elements of the last few chapters that felt out of sync with the rest of the book. Still, I'd recommend it for fans of historical fiction featuring women with moxie.

*This book will be published May 7, 2024.

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Lex Talionis


 Lex Talionis by R.S.A. Garcia (2014) 354 pages

I read a science-fiction short story by R.S.A. Garcia that I liked well enough to seek out a full-length novel written by her. Lex Talionis is a fairly common title. It means Law of Revenge. This Lex Talionis is sci-fi noir. There are quite a few characters to keep track of, and the story leaps between locations and times. It is not impossible to follow, but it is challenging. The structure of the story doesn't always make sense, but it maintains a veil of mystery. Our main character is a genetically enhanced teenager. We meet her as she recovers in a hospital from major physical and mental abuse. She does not remember who she is, nor any of her background. She chooses to go by the name Lex until she recovers her memories. A doctor questionably falls in love with her, cops unenthusiastically begin investigating, and a strange alien creature shows up who is telepathically linked with her. There are flashbacks and flashforwards as the mystery of Lex is gradually revealed to the reader. The desert planet where she was raised brought to mind clips from the trailers of the new Dune movies. The hierarchical military culture is heavily based on revenge. The tv show Firefly also sprung to mind at times, although the show's humor was not present here. When we reach the point where we find out what led to her hospital stay, the sexual abuse is graphic and could be triggering. A tale of revenge can be satisfying, but only leads to more violence, and the end leaves a few mysteries unanswered.

The Half Moon

The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane (2023) 293 pages

Malcolm and Jess have been married for 15 years. Their wedding was rushed because Jess became pregnant, but then she miscarried. The irony is that when they were ready to plan their family, it didn't happen, and it was only after years of fertility treatments that they reluctantly decided to stop trying. It was at that point that Malcolm was offered the opportunity to buy the bar he'd been working at for years, and he jumped at the chance to buy the rundown place, hoping to fix it up if/when funds became available. But between paying the former bar owner and repaying Jess's college and law school school loans, money was never easy; their savings had been depleted by the fertility treatments. 

With this as the set-up, the story starts with Malcolm living alone because Jess had moved out 4 months ago, and he has not heard from her. There is a huge snowstorm coming, he learns from good friends that Jess is back in town, but dating another man (a man who has three small children, a ready-made family), and there's a fight in his bar. Oh, and the former owner of the bar keeps sending out a goon to collect payments from Malcolm whenever Malcom's late to pay, which is frequent these days.

It's bleak. I wanted to stop reading, but there was something that kept me going. When the point of view switched to Jess's, a whole new dimension opened. The author wove in the reminder that there's always more than one way to look at a relationship. A few other sidebar issues become larger and add to the story. I felt rewarded for having stuck out the bleak portion of the novel.

 

You Should Be So Lucky

You Should be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian, 400 pages

When he learned on national TV that he was being traded to a struggling expansion team in New York, shortstop Eddie O'Leary let his emotions get the better of him and said some harsh things about his new team. So when the 1960 baseball season started, Eddie found himself getting the cold shoulder from the whole team, something that didn't help his loneliness in a new city or his batting average, as he hit the worst slump of his short career. Meanwhile, journalist Mark Bailey has been in a bit of a slump himself, as he's spent the last 18 months grieving the death of his longtime boyfriend, a lawyer whose political ambitions forced him to keep his relationship with Mark in the closet. But when Mark's editor assigns him to write a series of human interest stories about Eddie, they see something in each other that helps bring a bit more spark into both their lives.

This is a slow-burn romance novel that manages to portray grief and loneliness with care and kindness, and shows how the blossoming relationship helps (but doesn't 100% solve the problem). Also, I appreciated how Sebastian let the relationship flourish while still making it believable for the time in which the story is set. Too often, historical queer romances seem to ignore the social restrictions (or wave them off), which makes the premise hard to buy into, and given the stigma against LGBT professional athletes in the 1960s (and sadly, still today), a grand "hey, this is my boyfriend!" announcement would've pushed it into impossibility. But Sebastian is able to give Eddie and Mark their happily-ever-after in a way that seems very real and relatable. I totally loved this book and recommend it to anyone who enjoys slow-burn romances.

*This book will be published May 7, 2024.

Saturday, March 9, 2024

The Museum of Ordinary People

 The Museum of Ordinary People by Mike Gayle (2023) 324 pages

Jess Baxter is a low-earning receptionist instead of the museum curator that she studied to be at college. She's been living with Guy, and it's clear that she's been bending to his life. After her mother died a year ago, we see via flashbacks the difficulty she had in going through her mother's house, clearing it out. She brought very little back to the apartment she shared with Guy because she knew that it wouldn't fit with his decor. She did, however, bring an old secondhand set of encyclopedias that her mother gave her at age 11, which represented her mother's wish for her future. When Guy decides to sell their apartment to buy a house, he wants the encyclopedias removed so that the apartment looks better for viewing.

Jess is ready to throw out the encyclopedias, when her best friend Luce discovers a Museum of Ordinary People that will take things like this and give them a home. When Jess brings the encyclopedias to the warehouse that the museum resides in, she meets the new owner, Alex, who just inherited the warehouse. Alex is not even aware of the museum's existence. Two employees that Alex also "inherited" show Alex and Jess the museum, and Jess finds herself completely drawn to it. She offers to transform the dusty warehouse spot into a better, more curated museum, and Alex gives her a chance to do it.

The story is quite good until later, when rather more conflict than I thought necessary was inserted. But by the end, I was again a fan.

The Guncle

The Guncle by Steven Rowley (2021) 324 pages

Patrick, a gay man who'd been a well-known actor, is asked to care for his young niece and nephew after their mother's death. Their father, Patrick's brother, is going into a 3-month-long rehab program for substance abuse that he fell into while his wife was dying of cancer. Patrick lives in Palm Springs where he moved after he couldn't find joy in acting any longer, after his partner died in a car accident. However, you'd never know the world of hurt residing in Patrick: his interactions with the children are quite entertaining. But he's also very cognizant that the children need to grieve for their mother.

I loved this story ‒ reading it was almost like watching a movie because the descriptions and dialogue are so well done. (And sure enough, I found out that a movie is in the works for this book.)