To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara

I do not know why I finished this book. It might have been the author's skill in writing a story, but the story's content did not hold me the way I hoped it would.It is a tome of a book, or at least felt that way. It is the primary reason for my not enjoying…

The Fine Art of Invisible Detection by Robert Goddard

This was an odd book. I picked it up at the library in a hurry because I felt like I had seen it make the rounds on the blogosphere and was curious about its content.The book features an odd protagonist for a male writer, a female middle-aged Japanese woman. Umiko Wada has a job as…

Laura Lake and the Hipster Weddings (Laura Lake #1) Wendy Holden

This is another book I picked up at the library when I was in a hurry. I liked the look of the book and brought it home. It was not a book that I enjoyed particularly.The book has its moments, and the writing was quite good, which is why I expected more from it. I…

Seven Down by David Whitton

I was excited by the blurb of this book. I love a random plotline, and this promised that to me. The story is told in multiple voices, over different times, and it swings a little around in time before it finds its footing.I did not like the book as a whole, but there are parts…

The Things We Don’t See by Savannah Brown

I reviewed another book by the author previously here I picked this book up because I found the previous work by the author interesting. This had me expecting something from the book that I did not arrive.I may be starting my year with books I did not enjoy, but I gave them a fair shot,…

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

It may not seem too auspicious to start my year in reviews with this review, because I did not get along with the book but I have set a few targets for myself this year. This is just to change things up (very, very little) and to tackle books that I have otherwise been ignoring.…

Anna, A Child of the Poor House by Pat Mestern

Although this is a reprint, it still qualifies as historical fiction because of the timing of the narrative. I picked it up because it sounded a little like a serious version of Anne of Green Gables, and I am fond of reprints of late.There were parts of this book that worked but overall, I was…

Freckles by Cecelia Ahern

There were many reasons this book did not work for me. I have read the author many times in the past few years and usually enjoy her books. There was one surprise, though, I decided to stick with it all the way through to give it justice, and I think it had a very good…