Happy Monday! I’m pretty excited, this past weekend I finally finished The Nightingale, and oh my goodness I couldn’t stop crying, it was incredibly beautiful and rich with emotions. Lately, I’ve been kind of a sucker for WWII Historical Fiction books, like this one that I finished the weekend prior.
I also realized that I’m ahead of pace with my 30 books in 2016 goal (yay!), as this weekend I finished my 13th book of 2016 — nearly halfway there! A majority of the books I’ve read this year have been great, truly captivating, wonderful books that I had a tough time putting down. And some that were not so great.
Here are the 3 reads that I highly recommend you skip:
1. The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens
I really wanted to like this book. I said that the entire time I spent reading it, but it was just so hard to enjoy it. With not one likable character, poor writing, and lame dialogue, it was not a good read. I will give the author some credit, because the plot twist was pretty shocking, but not enough to make up for a moderately boring book.
2. Black Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin
This book had serious potential. I was very much intrigued up until about the halfway point, which is where the plot line started to come apart at the seams. It went in 15 directions, none of which were interesting, suspenseful, or had much of a twist. Oh, and at the end of the book, the author failed to tie up any of the loose ends created. The chapters flashed back and forth from past to present, which I always enjoy, but it just felt… weak. Maybe I’m alone here, because the reviews were so great, but just… no.
3. Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica
This was the biggest disappointment out of all three. I devoured Mary Kubica’s first book, The Good Girl. I was utterly obsessed, a story that left me with a serious book hangover, so I purchased Pretty Baby, hoping it would have the same captivating effect. Let me tell you, it didn’t. It was a story that felt like it took forever to get off the ground, and when it finally did, it was sorely disappointing. There were some pretty rough and gruesome parts — even for someone like me (who loves that stuff!) and it felt like it abruptly ended, leaving the reader with a ton of unanswered questions.
How is your reading list for 2016 coming along so far? Have you read any any of the books above? Do you share my take?