Books Read This Month
- Lock Every Door by Riley Sager ★★★★★
- The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay ★★★
- Little Darlings by Melanie Golding ★★★★
- Ready Player One by Ernest Cline ★★★★★
- Ready Player One by Ernest Cline ★★★★
- The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman ★★★
- A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum ★★★★
- The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After by Clemantine Wamariya, Elizabeth Weil ★★★
- Necessary People by Anna Pitoniak ★★★
Summary
Lock Every Door was my most anticipated read this month and it did not disappoint. With a gothic feel and ominous undertones, the story unfolds with a thrilling mystery, chilling plot, and tons of gripping suspense. I literally stayed up all night to read this and it was worth every sleepless second. Thriller fans will enjoy this one!
The Far Field was so vividly detailed and beautifully written. I really enjoyed the cultural feel the author portrayed throughout the story. This was a slow burn though. It’s a good book overall, but at 432 pages I felt that it was a little too long for what it offered.
Little Darlings was quite a thrill that offered tons of suspense. Inspired by dark folklore, this ominous and creepy story is quite the page turner with some Brothers Grimm vibes.
Ready Player One is full of nostalgic references that I really enjoyed reliving. Cline did a great job bringing the past, present, and future all together in a way that simply worked. While the movie kept the main points of the story intact, there are enough differences between the two to make this book worth reading.
(A note on book rating: While I gave this book a 4 star rating, Alan gave it a 5.)
A Woman is No Man follows three generations of Arab woman and how their Muslim culture dictates their fate. I was emotionally invested in this book and really felt for the characters. The plot unravels seamlessly and the writing is beautiful. Cultural and/or Domestic Fiction fans will like this one!
The Girl Who Smiled Beads is a memoir about a young girl who survived the 1994 Rwandan genocide. I (shamefully) admit that I had no previous knowledge of this war and it’s impact until I read this book, but I do wish it offered more historical background because of that. Regardless, the book still felt authentic and necessary. Personal stories such as this need to be heard and Clemantine’s account is an important one that should be told.
Necessary People had some interesting dynamics with some unexpected plot twists, but some of the details were a little overdrawn and mundane to me. The suspense really helped spice it up a bit and I enjoyed the ending though. Overall, it was a good read.
