Recent Reads

I will be honest, my reading this year has been dismal at best. As of writing this post, I have only finished 11 books in 2020 and I am currently in the middle of what feels like a million others. But, I thought I would link up with Steph and Jana and round up all of my recent reads since my last book post. I'm finally back in the reading mood so here's to hoping I can make progress on my Goodreads challenge (I'm 19 books behind, lol!).

Looking back on my blog, I realized I never talked about On The Way To You. I read this so long ago (in February, I think). It was what I needed at the time- a heartfelt, enjoyable love story. It features a road trip, broken characters haunted by their pasts, and highlight-able quotes. Kandi Steiner is always my go-to for romance, and I'm actually a bit tempted to reread this one. 

I hopped on the Beach Read train over the summer and loved it. Romance author January and Literary Fiction author Gus are in trouble- they are both experiencing writer's block with looming deadlines and pressure from their publishing houses. When they realize they are next-door neighbors, they decide to make a bet- switch writing genres for their upcoming books, and whoever sells the most will be blurbed by the "losing" author. They go on "field trips" to teach each other their writing and research process. I loved this so much.  Don't be fooled by the cover, though- this is not a light beach read at all as the title suggests. This story covers a lot of heavy topics including grief, betrayal, and family secrets. I loved the relationship between Gus and January and all their swoony moments, but also appreciated the deep dive into grief, what that can look like, and how to come up on the other side. I loved this one and I highly recommend it. 

After Beach Read, I didn't read anything for several months until October, when I picked up The Nanny. This one was a twisty psychological thriller at its finest. Seven-year-old Jo wakes up one day to find her beloved nanny Hannah has packed up all her things and left without a trace. She doesn't hear from her ever again. Jo leaves England and her family as soon as she is able to, her relationship with her mother irreparably strained. Years later, Jo and her daughter return to her childhood home and her mother after experiencing a family tragedy. On a boat ride with her daughter in the family's estate lake, she finds a skull and calls the police. Jo can't help but wonder- is it Hannah? And so it begins. I finished this in a couple of sittings. While it is a slow burn, I personally like that in thrillers, because I enjoy finding things out as the characters do. The last 20% of the book was so good, I couldn't stop until I was finished.

I read The Patient by Jasper DeWitt next. It was my first foray into horror- and wow, was it terrifying. The author packed so much in to this 224-page novella. Dr. Parker H. chronicles his experience working in a Connecticut psych hospital on an online forum (think Reddit) in a series of posts. He specifically discusses his treatment of patient Joe, who has been in this hospital since he was only 6 years old, and the strange and unexplainable things that have been happening to him. The most notable detail about Joe is that every single orderly, nurse, or doctor that have attempted to work with him have either gone insane themselves or attempted/ succeeded in killing themselves in very violent ways. This was CREEPY but so good! It's funny that I even read this book- I absolutely refuse to watch horror movies because I'm a huge scaredy-cat, but I loved the reading experience. To be honest, I think it's scarier reading something like this instead watching it as a movie- my imagination was going absolutely wild. Wow, this was so good. It was a perfect Halloween read. 

Right now as I write this I am in the middle of a few different books, each drastically different from the other, and enjoying them all: Educated (Memoir); The Happy Couple (Domestic Thriller); and Thunderhead (YA Dystopian, sequel to Scythe)

                        

And as always, my library stack is massive! I currently have out: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, The Cabin At The End Of The World, Undercover Bromance, and Maybe You Should Talk To Someone. 

Have you guys read anything good lately? I'm always on the hunt for good books to add to my library wishlist.