The Book Was Better

Cassia's business is love. Literally. She and her powerhouse tribe of matriarchs own One & Only: a match-making service that pairs "fateds" using the art of face-reading and a touch of Korean magic. But when Cassia's long-held belief in fate gets tested by free will, her world and her livelihood are forever altered.  This read has everything you could want in just the right proportions -- strong family bonds, spicy (but not too spicy) romance, friendship goals, a love triangle, a swoon-worthy setting, and just the right amount of character growth. While I kind of wanted not to like Cassia is the beginning, her self-deprecating humor, cool-auntie vibe, and vulnerability won me over. There's really nothing not to like here.  One & Only: ★★★★★

  Color me impressed! While Jane Austen was the narrator of my early adulthood, Claudia Gray was a new author for me.  Ms. Gray picked up where Ms. Austen left off, with the Watson family. Youngest daughter, Ada has returned to her family after being raised since age six by her aunt and uncle. The family dynamics are realistic and very Austen-esque, with each daughter looking to secure a good marriage and save their family from financial ruin. Where matters of the heart are concerned, both Austen and Gray stick to their belief in love-matches -- though Ada must fight a harrowing battle against herself and her society if she hopes to secure her own.  Ada represents another strong heroine in the Austen collection and might be perhaps the most outspoken of the lot. The siblings were everything one could hope for in a classic tale, each markedly different, flawed, and delightful. While there were moments of semi-modernity that crept in, I was most impressed that there was no ...

Catherine Saunders is struggling. She’s buried herself in meaningless one night stands and copious amounts of alcohol while she attempts to finish her PhD in Archeology and come to terms with her recent divorce. When the key artifact of her dissertation goes missing, Catherine has to tame her desperation and reexamine her own choices — and her own conscience — to get the vessel back.   The premise behind this read, and the overall plot, were intriguing and fun, making it a light-hearted almost-beach-read. But, the over-academic pretension, underdeveloped side characters, and borderline unlikable heroine, made it a little more of a slog than it should’ve been.   More Mary, fewer daddy issues, a less predictable twist, and more relationship development could have made this a winner.   Huge thank you to NetGalley and Abrams Books for this advance read!  Her Life in Ruins: ★ ★ ★1/2

  Would you open your box?   The Measure follows the intertwining lives of eight people who must decide —and then deal with the consequences. For inside each box is a simple string that represents the length of their lives. Of course, all the best minds pounce on the mysterious strings, trying to determine: Are they real? Where did they come from? What values do the measurements represent?   As the story unfolds, more questions arrive than answers. Should “short-stringers” hold office? Get married? Have children? Are “long-stringers” invincible?   Two elements stuck with me as I read: 1) How scarily authentic the worldwide reaction to the strings was portrayed, and 2) The way the lives of the characters were artfully woven to show the impact that each individual has on the world around them.   And then there were the small things (without spoilers): the girl with the pink-tipped hair, the engraving on the bench, the rescued doctor, the prayer card.   When I...

  It's hard to believe that this is JD's (and my) 62nd edition of Dallas and Roarke. I've been following this journey since the beginning and I love the character arch that spans the whole series. Formulaic? Yes. But this one added in a few unexpected surprises.  Dallas, with her expert civilian consultant, is called away from a charity gala to the home of another wealthy family, where there appears to be a burglary gone wrong. Eve and Peabody's investigation reveals a dead body and a host of secrets, including a hidden vault filled with more questions than answers.  The callbacks and personal connections were a treat for a series that had gone a little stale in recent editions. Whodunits are my jam and even I gave a little gasp at the culprit. This book feels fresh and new, with the friendships and soulmates we've all come to adore. Only request: More Peabody. She's smarter than anyone gives her credit.  Stolen in Death: ★★★★3/4

  A storm, a midnight train, passengers who seem to hold secrets... Murder on the Cornish Train follows newly retired teacher, Jeff, to the rainswept cliffs of Cornwall. Despite having his own agenda for the journey, Jeff quickly becomes swept up with the drama of his fellow passengers and the other guests and staff at the not-so-hospitable Treachery Bay Inn.  This novel had all the Holmesian, Poirot-esque ingredients that would normally be right up my alley, but this one was sadly a miss for me. While I appreciate the narrative technique of the slow reveal, the result was needlessly convoluted prose and sluggish pacing.  The characters were flat, with no real development -- in fact, I almost forgot who some of the key players were, they were so underdeveloped. While the setting was perfect for a murder mystery, it was a little over-described and the title is pretty misleading -- very little actually happens on the train.  While I did figure our "whodunit" (and who-d...