V Bookish

So there are a bunch of books that I read in 2023 that I did not get the chance to type reviews on. SOOO that is what this post is going to be. The majority of the books on this list are ones that I read in December of 2023 and just did not have time to post about individually because of the holidays.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

A standalone novel by Gillian Flynn, imagine your whole family being killed and having to testify, as a child, that your brother was the murderer. Libby Day and her brother are the only 2 people of the Day family still alive. Years before Libby testified to the fact that her older brother was the one to slaughter the rest of their family. Now Libby, who is trying to make some money by selling her family’s memorabilia, is being confronted by a group of true crime fanatics who think that Libby’s brother is innocent. With this in mind, Libby goes on a quest to figure out what happened the night that the Day family was murdered.

A dark psychological thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thought it was unique in how it switched between what Libby was looking for in the present day and flashbacks to the day of the murder from her brother’s and mother’s perspectives.

Libby was an unlikable character at first who is set in her mindset of what happened the night of the murders. As the story progresses and she starts to question her point of view more she becomes more likeable. Overall character development was well paced. The different characters are interesting and wanting to know more about them makes this book a difficult one to put down.

An ongoing theme is that the truth will set you free and not everything is as it seems. While it did not end like I expected- which is a good thing- the twist and turns in this book made for a very satisfying ending. I love books that have endings that I did not anticipate. It was a little hard to get into but once the events of the day of the murder and as Libby becomes more open to learning what really happened to her family the pace really picked up.

Overall I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars because of the fact that it was slightly difficult to get into, but it was all worth it at the end. I was really invested in the flashbacks to what happened the night of the murder and thought it was interesting how the different points of view added to the story. I stand by the fact that the flashback chapters, especially ones from the brother’s point of view, were better than any of the present day chapters up until the final few “Libby” chapters. I would recommend this book to anyone who like Gillian Flynn and psychological thrillers.

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Another standalone by Gillian Flynn that I decided to reread before starting the mini-series on HBO Max. It can be hard going back to your hometown, especially when it is to investigate a string of child murders. Camille Preaker returns to her old town on a job reporting about a string of missing girls who ended up murdered with their teeth missing.. Camille, covered in scars, both physical and mental, returns under the judgement of her mother Adora forcing her to confront both her inner demons and the murderer at Windy Gap.

Flynn kills it again with the suspense. This book left me with an uneasy feeling all the way through, fitting in well with the mystery/thriller genre of books that I typically like to read. The characters were very complicated and overall not very likable, which makes the story that much better. The narrator, though a reporter, is not reliable, leaving an air of mystery to the novel. Even though I had already read the book I was on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading. Like Flynn’s other novels this book was slow in the beginning but as you got to know that characters more it really picked up.

I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars. I recommend reading the book before watching the mini-series and would recommend it to anyone who has already read some of Gillian Flynn’s previous novels. One thing about this book, you will never look at teeth the same way again.

The Way I Am Now by Amber Smith

This is the second book in The Way I Used to Be Series by Amber Smith. This book follows Eden in the aftermath of her disclosing about her sexual assault. The story centers around Eden as she goes to college and tries to reconnect with her ex-boyfriend, Josh. This is a coming of age story about learning how to trust again.

The story was slow and I found myself not wanting to pick this book p. I think more information about the trial would have made this book more interesting to me. Both Eden and Josh are whiney and not very likable. Overall it was not very realistic in my opinion with how much time skipping there is. The main conflict between Eden and Josh is wrapped up really fast and it felt like the author was rushing to finish the book.

I give this book 2 out of 5 stars. I was really excited about this book at first since I liked the first book so much. While I was let down I still am happy I read this book and got some sort of closure to Eden’s story.

Counting the Cost by Jill Duggar

A memoir from one of the oldest of the Duggar children. I really enjoyed learning about why Jill Duggar pulled away from her family. It is evident in her writing that she suffers from a lot of religious trauma. She is still gracious though and shows that she has a lot of love for her family, though I do wonder how much of it has to do with her fear of backlash. I am curious to know how her family responded to the book when it came out, or if they even read it.

Some notable events include her dad refusing to give Jill and her husband a copy of the contract that he tricked her into signing the day before her wedding. Since he would not give them the paperwork they lost out on being able to do mission work that they really wanted to do which made me frustrated for them. It was also interesting to read about her first experience wearing pants in public and the backlash that she received, especially considering that her oldest brother, Josh Duggar, convicted child predator, has done much worse and he still has support from the family.

I gave this book a 5 out of 5 stars. I have been recommending this book to anyone who likes memoirs and knows about who the Duggars are. Since reading this book I look forward to watching the documentary about the family called Shiny Happy People on Amazon.

Nutcracker of Crystalfall by Kay L Moody

This book can be read as a standalone or as a prequel book to the Fae & Crystal Thorn series by Kay L. Moody. This book was the perfect Nutcracker retelling that I was looking to read during the Christmas holidays. Clara is betrothed to a horrible man, Fritz, and is set to marry him the next day. While at a Christmas party put on by her parents she meets a kind stranger and helps him to repair his scarf. Little does she know she is about to go on a grand adventure involving evil fae and trolls with this man, who resembles a nutcracker, in order to save the pixies of Crystalfall.

This was a cute retelling of a classic Christmas story. The fae were interesting in how they were described, both looks and magic wise. Since it was a novella I did not expect too much world-building but was pleasantly surprised with what was built up in such a short amount of pages. After reading this novella I’m interested in reading the rest of the books the author wrote involving this world, so it looks like I’ll be reading the Fae and Crystal Thorn series at some point during the new year.

For a novella the main characters were well fleshed out. I’m looking forward to meeting more characters and seeing how well the author does with character development when she has more pages to go into detail. The theme of the novella is perseverance. For all the setbacks they had the main character, Clara, was loyal and always able to come up with solutions for the problems that they faced.

I’d give this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars. It was a cute book and perfect for the holidays. This is not a book I would have normally chosen if I had not gotten it on Stuff Your Kindle Day. I like the fae and can’t wait to dive into this world to learn more about the fae of this world and the different courts.

Same Time Next Year by Tessa Bailey

A standalone novella from a leading name in romance, this book is about a girl named Britta who got roped into marrying a Canadian hockey player, Sumner, so that he can get his green card and be able to keep playing hockey in the United States. Sumner dreams of joining the hockey big leagues and commitment-phobe Britta just wants to buy the bar that she works in. This novella chronicles the first year of their fake marriage, but will it still be fake come the end of a year?

This book is outside of what I normally read but I thought this would be a good New Years read. Both of the main characters were well though out. I would have preferred having more of a backstory for Sumner but it is understandable that Britta and her issues were the main focus of the novella.

This was a fast-paced book. I would have enjoyed more scenes about Britta falling for Sumner because it went fast and very predictably. With all the different elements introduced in the book it seems like it was slightly rushed and could have been a longer book.

I give this novella 3.5 stars out of 5. It is not what I normally read but I would recommend it to anyone that likes fluffy romance with a hint of spice. I think I would have liked it more if the conflict in the story was more drawn out.