It’s been a while since I’ve done of these, so I had to check back to what the last book I read was. I keep trying to pop in more often, but you know… life! I’m sure I’ll get it together one day. I’m a routine kind of person, and I haven’t figured out one of those for blogging. Toddler-saurus wakes up at the crack of dawn, and I go to bed by 9 pm. We run on old people/little kid time in our house.
I recently switched to WordPress, after the comments issue with Blogger. I haven’t finnagled with it too much yet, but let me know if you notice anything not working! I’ve thought about moving to WordPress many times and the Blogger comments thing was enough for me to finally make the switch.
Engrossing Reads
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel – 5 stars
This has been on my to read list for a LONG time, and I am so glad I read it. I could not put it down for unexpected reasons. It was a slow burn and entrancing. All the characters’ lives are intertwined and I loved every time two of those stories came together.
Books Worth Reading
Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse #1) and Caliban’s War (The Expanse #2) by James S.A. Corey – 4 stars
If you like The Expanse tv show, you’ll also like the books, because the show follows them closely. It’s a space thriller/adventure about a close set of characters who get involved in something they didn’t mean to but now ride around like space cowboys trying to undo the weird shit going on. I don’t want to mention any specific plot points, to keep it spoiler-free. Watching the show added a lot to the books for me; usually I read the books first, but I happened to do it the other way this time around, and it worked fine. Amos and Miller are two star characters for me – I love watching or reading about them. You may especially enjoy watching Amos, and that’s all I’ve got to say about that.
The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn – 4 stars
This thriller has an interesting premise: the main character has agoraphobia and cannot leave her house, and she witnesses something through her window she shouldn’t have seen. I think it developed well and it took me a long time to figure out some bits. It did get really dark at one point. So, fair warning, there’s a dark plot point, but you can probably see it coming by the time it’s revealed.
The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena – 3.5 stars
This book had me turning the pages, but by the end of it, I didn’t care about any of the characters and they seemed extreme and unrealistic. The story pulled me in, though, and I probably would have sat down and read most of this in an afternoon if I had the chance.

Unraveling Oliver by Liz Nugent – 3.5 stars
This story is told from multiple viewpoints, which I usually avoid, but Oliver is a jerk (spoiler alert?? I don’t think so – it starts off with him beating his wife and the reader discovers bit by bit why he became so suddenly violent), so I’d probably have thrown this out the window had it been from his viewpoint the entire time. There’s a mystery to piece together, and it wraps up nicely.
Meh
One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus – 3 stars
I think I read too much hype about this one, because my expectations were quite high and the reality just didn’t match for me. It was good read but more YA than I was in the mood for.
Burn for Me (Hidden Legacy #1) by Ilona Andrews – 3 stars
I was into this book for the first half, but somewhere along the way, my interest tapered off and I got fed up with the Rogan character.
Currently Reading:

The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1) by Stephen King
I have not read this book in probably over 10 years, and I have had this itch to reread it ever since I heard rumors of the movie (which I will probably not watch due to the reviews). And I decided I couldn’t read it on my Kindle; it needed to be in book form, so I’ve been trying to find a copy in the secondhand book store, but no luck. Long story short, I finally borrowed my mom’s copy, and I need to order myself a used set on Amazon or elsewhere! I am 1/4 way through and I remember NOTHING about this so far, besides there being a desert. Everything else is all new in my mind.
I’m linking up with Steph & Jana today for Show Us Your Books. Have you read any of these books? Can’t wait to see what everyone else has been reading.