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2020 -- Share Your Book Reviews
Finished Long Bright River by Liz Moore. Atmospheric and engaging, this was a great read to start off the new year! I rated it 4.5 stars. Here’s my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Bkwmlee wrote: "Finished Long Bright River by Liz Moore. Atmospheric and engaging, this was a great read to start off the new year! I rated it 4.5 stars. Here’s my review: https://..."Thanks, Bkwmlee. Our first Book Snail review of 2020!
For fun, I'm thinking of keeping most of my reviews this year to 20 or fewer words (since its 2020). But I reserve the right to gush over the occasional 5-star book, or bash an awful one.
StarMan wrote: "Bkwmlee wrote: "Finished Long Bright River by Liz Moore. Atmospheric and engaging, this was a great read to start off the new year! I rated it 4.5 stars. Here’s my ..."Yay! :-)
And here’s my second read of 2020! I finished Diane Chamberlain’s newest novel Big Lies in a Small Town. Definitely enjoyed this one! I like the way Chamberlain crafts her stories and also the way she develops her characters. I rated this one 4 stars. Here’s my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Mammoth Book of Mind Blowing SFReview: 2.51 stars. Some slightly mind-stretching stories; nothing mind-blowing. Mostly 2-3 stars. Worst = 1 star, best= 4.1.
Heartbreak Hotel by Jonathan KellermanReview: 2.2 stars. Fairly interesting beginning (99 yr old lady murdered; WHY?), then molasses-slow till the end. Not a thriller.
Finished The Girls with No Names by Serena Burdick. This was an ok read for me -- liked it but didn't love it. I rated it 3.5 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Darkness Falls by Kyle MillsA bio-terrorism "thriller." Under 2 stars for me. 20 word review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished You Were There Too by Colleen Oakley. I thought this was an okay read....I liked it well enough but didn't really connect with the story. I rated it 3.5 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Little Gods by Meng Jin. Rated it 3 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu. I enjoyed this one quite a bit, as it was funny, clever, and culturally resonant. I rated it 4 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Why We Can't Sleep: Women's New Midlife Crisis by Ada Calhoun. There were some good insights in this book, but I also felt it was lacking in some areas. I rated it 3.5 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished All the Ways We Said Goodbye by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White. This was my first "Team W" read and I quite enjoyed it! I rated this one 4 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong. Rated it 3.5 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Hollywood Park: A Memoir by Mikel Jollett. This is a powerful memoir that greatly resonated with me. I rated it 4 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson. Rated it 3.5 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A really good historical fantasy, set in Russia. Enjoyable for adult or young adult readers. 
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
I say 4.5 stars. Short review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
A good YA book about a girl (or two) with an eating disorder. ~3.67 stars for me, but I bumped it up to 4 since I'm not a YA, and this may be an important topic for some readers. Some trigger content (self-harm, (view spoiler), etc.)
Two books with wicked characters, by Gillian Flynn (author of Gone Girl):Sharp Objects
4 stars. Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Dark Places
4 stars. Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Wilder Girls by Rory Power
YA post-Apocalyptic-ish. More feelings than action, but what horror there is is pretty good. 3 stars. Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Resistance Women by Jennifer Chiaverini. Powerful and inspirational read! Rated it 4 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished In Five Years by Rebecca Serle. I rated it 3 stars. Here’s my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Deceit and Other Possibilities by Vanessa Hua. This is a short story collection by an author I've read before. I'm not usually a fan of short story collections, but this one was excellent and highly recommended! I rated it 4 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Days of Distraction by Alexandra Chang. I rated it 4 stars. Here’s my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Daughter of the Reich by Louise Fein. Emotionally resonant historical fiction! Rated this 4 stars. Here’s my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Simon the Fiddler by Paulette Jiles. I loved the writing but the story didn't really work for me. I rated this 3.5 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler. Enjoyed this one alot! Love Anne Tyler's low-key style of storytelling! I rated this 4 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Candace wrote: "Where is the discussion for The Bear and the Nightingale?"Hi Candace, try this link please:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Finished A Hundred Suns: A Novel by Karin Tanabe. Good story overall but not really what I expected. Rated it 3.5 stars. Here’s my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout seems to divide readers. I can see both sides of the argument - and here's why. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished I'd Give Anything by Marisa de los Santos. This was a wonderful read -- loved it! Rated it 5 stars (my first 5 star read of the year!). Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I recently read 'Bunny' my Mona Awad (I think that's her name anyways), and I'm just confused as hell. I could follow what was going on, so that's not what's confusing me. What was so confusing, was that I still don't know how I feel. It was a great book, but to me it also felt like a drag and it was really boring to read imo. If anyone has read this and wants to share how you felt about this book, feel free to do so. It's been a couple of days since I read it and I still haven't given it a star rating because I honestly don't know how I felt. That's my review. Don't think it was very helpful to people interested in this book but oh well.
Finished Lovely War by Julie Berry. This book is historical fiction / young adult, which is not a genre (the YA part) I would usually read, but I picked this one up for book club and found it delightful! I rated it 4 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I didn't write a review for This Tender Land (just not into reviews right now) but boy, this was a great book that I would recommend to anyone. Very readable, lots of ups and downs emotionally. Deals with orphans during the depression, treatment of American Indians, and the odyssey of an intrepid group of kids escaping child abuse for each to find their literal and metaphoric Home.
Candace wrote: "I didn't write a review for This Tender Land (just not into reviews right now) but boy, this was a great book that I would recommend to anyone. Very readable, lots of ups and downs ..."I absolutely agree with you, Candace! This Tender Land is one of my favorite books! Definitely would recommend it to anyone! :-)
Finished These Women by Ivy Pochoda. This was a difficult read, but a necessary one! I rated it 4 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished The Library of Legends by Janie Chang. Rated 3.5 stars. Here’s my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Morningstar by David Gemmell
4-star anti-hero fantasy with swordplay, magic, humor, and light romance. Short review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell
3 stars. A collection of Gladwell's essays from The New Yorker, covering a variety of topics (sample: teachers, ketchup, hair dye, mammograms, Ronco TV products, birth control pills, and more). No review from me yet.
Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young
4 YA stars. Sci-Fi, interesting group of girls at an unusual 'finishing' school.
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Book 2 in the series (Girls with Razor Hearts) was also good.
Finished Beach Read by Emily Henry. I don't read romances much, but I did end up enjoying this one. I rated it 3.5 stars. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Sea Wife by Amity Gaige. Rated it 3.5 stars. Here’s my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished The Wife Who Knew Too Much by Michele Campbell. Didn’t like this one at all...third book that I’ve read by this author and second one I’ve rated 2 stars. Most likely not going to read her books anymore. Here’s my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I recently reread the hunger games for the first time in at least 5 years I think. It’s just an accumulation of my thoughts because I’m pretty sure everyone has read it already so I didn’t feel like doing a ‘regular’ review. If you’re interested click the link below. But be warned, it does contain spoilers for the first (and I think also the second book). So if you haven’t yet read it, maybe skip this one.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Thanks for posting the nice reviews, Julie, Bkwmlee, Candace & others. Really helps us find some books to peruse (or avoid!).
Finished That Summer in Maine by Brianna Wolfson. I read this author's debut novel and loved it, so was hoping her second would be just as great. Unfortunately, this one ended up falling a little short. It was still good overall, but wasn't as keen on it as her first book. I rated this one 3.5 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished 28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand. Not a genre I read often, but I happened to like this one quite a bit! Rated it 4 stars. Here’s my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton. The 3rd book I've read by this author and loved it just as much as the previous ones. I rated this 4.5 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished The Second Home by Christina Clancy. Frustrating characters but overall a good read. I rated it 4 stars. Here’s my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The book of the moment, Normal People. I had to read it to see what the fuss was about. An easy read but a bit disappointing. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...Normal People
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2 0 2 0 BOOK REVIEWS
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A new year, and a new discussion thread for you Book Snails who like to share the good, bad, and ugly book reviews with us...
Please share reviews of books you finish reading in 2020 here, or feel free to review one you haven't shared with the Book Snails before.
You can type a review right here, and/or provide a link to a review you already posted on Goodreads, your blog, etc. Thanks!
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Note: Older member book eviews posted from 2016 to 2019 can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...