Reading with Carlie

In this debut novel from Renee Shafransky, divorcee Nora lives in the small town of Pequod, New York, where she works for the local paper. Her ex-husband, Hugh, is an artist who uses his personal life to inspire his art, like the time he impregnated Helene while still married to Nora.  Hugh moves his new family to Pequod and Nora, unable to avoid them, fantasizes about the happy couple meeting a violent end. Of course, when Hugh and Helene are murdered, the police start looking into Nora as the prime suspect. But how can she convince them she's innocent when she has no memory of the night in question? Despite the memory loss premise and unreliable narrator, this novel has more of a traditional mystery structure than some of the newer psychological thrillers. There were a few red herrings that were left unresolved in the conclusion, or mentioned once and never again, which took away from the ending for me. This book was enjoyable on the surface but ultimately not the kind of...

This novel follows the Birch family as they spend Christmas together at their family estate in the British countryside. The catch? They're under quarantine; eldest daughter, Olivia, has just returned from treating patients of an epidemic in Africa, and now the whole family is under house arrest to make sure she doesn't spread the deadly disease. Told from the perspective of each family member,  the book reminds you that although your family may drive you crazy, they really are just trying their best. You can never tell what's going on in a person's head. I thought this novel had a cute premise, and I loved the cover, so I was excited to read this debut. However, I had a hard time with this one. While Hornak tries to present each character with their own flaws and insecurities, it definitely felt like some characters were more flawed than others. I really disliked the ending; to be honest, it kind of ruined the book for me. So, definitely not my favorite, but it had i...

This latest novel from young author Chole Benjamin tells the story of the Gold siblings. The four children visit a psychic in 1969 and walk away with a shocking piece of information - the exact day that each of them is going to die. The reader then joins Simon, Klara, Daniel, and Varya individually, as they navigate the joys and tragedies of life, each weighed down with this alleged knowledge of the future. This book is well-written with complicated, realistic characters. I particularly loved the unique careers of all four of the siblings. The narrative itself was melancholy and profound, something I don't generally gravitate towards. There were definitely times I found myself wishing something more would happen and the ending left me feeling kind of empty. Sure, there's a lesson to learn from the experiences of the Gold children and I'm sure many people will appreciate the way that Benjamin conveys that moral takeaway.  But, while I enjoyed the experience of reading t...