Normal People

 Fiction by Sally Rooney

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is the story of Connell and Marianne, a pair who should just fall in love (and live happily ever) after on about page twenty-five, but instead meander all around in unpleasant ways until the unsatisfyingly ambiguous end of the book, by which time you no longer like them any more and have stopped caring.

Yes, I actively disliked this book. I disliked it even more so because I liked it at first, and then the author spoiled it, slowly, like milk turning bad. AND it's an award-winner with the "smart-person-book" pretension of not using quotation marks when someone is talking. Ugh.

Lady Tan's Circle of Women

 Fiction by Lisa See

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is the story of Tan Yunxian, a real Chinese lady in the fifteenth century who studied women's medicine and wrote a book about her treatments. It's amazing to think of someone (a female!) that long ago working successfully in medicine.

As is usual for this author, the ancient characters come to life for the reader as the story unfolds. It's a good book!

I also read recently by this author: This Island of Sea Women

Monday's Not Coming

 Fiction by Tiffany D. Jackson

https://www.audible.com

Claudia Coleman lives in Washington, D.C., with her family and she's just starting the eight grade at a local charter school. But she's upset because her best friend Monday Charles isn't there to start school with her, although Claudia and Monday have been in school together all along. What's more, nobody knows where Monday actually is! 

This was a pretty interesting story with good characters, but I didn't like how the author kept going all around in time in a confusing way. There was an explanation for the convoluted timeline at the end, but I didn't completely buy it.

Room for Another: A Courageous Adoption Story

 Amazon Prime Kindle Fiction by Diane M. Dresback

https://www.amazon.com

This is the author's own adoption story, told from the perspective of her birth mother. It's a nice story, but a little overly sentimental.

I also read --free!-- from Amazon Prime Kindle: A Little Pinprick

The Lost Night

 Fiction by Andrea Bartz

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Lindsey’s friend Edie killed herself in 2009, when the girls were best friends and in their early twenties. Now it’s ten years later, and Lindsey begins to wonder what really happened that night. 

This was an okay story but I didn’t like it very much.

Furious Hours

Subtitled: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee 
Nonfiction by Casey Cep

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird and nothing else (I don't count Go Set A Watchman as a separate novel from Mockingbird), was apparently working on a novel called "The Reverend" before her death, based on an early seventies murder trial. This author researched both Ms. Lee and the Reverend's trial for this book.

It should have been an interesting story, but I couldn't get into it. I gave it at least 1/3 of the book, and gave up...

A Little Pinprick

 Amazon Prime Kindle Fiction by Paige Dearth

https://www.amazon.com

This was a sad story about a baby born addicted to heroin and raised by her terrible junkie parents, while  no social worker intervenes. It's actually the beginning of a series.

I kept reading and waiting for this kid to catch a break, but the story stayed bleak and terrible. I finished the book but don't want to read any more about this poor kid.

I also read recently on Amazon Prime Kindle: Ask For Andrea

Freefall

 Fiction by Jessica Barry

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

At the beginning of this story, Allison Carpenter is in a private plane when it crashes in the mountains of Colorado, killing the only other occupant. Back in her hometown in Maine, Allison's mother Maggie is notified that Allison is presumed dead; however, the reader knows Allison is still out there, surviving in the wilderness.

But Allison doesn't seem to want to be found. Something else is going on, and Maggie has a hunch that she's not being told everything about the plane crash.

This was a good thriller with a few surprises.

Echo of Worlds

 Fiction by M.R. Carey

https://www.audible.com

This book is the sequel to Infinity Gate, which I listened to recently. This book made a fascinating conclusion to that exciting story, which I cannot describe without spoilers.

I definitely recommend it!

Dreaming of Flight

 Fiction by Catherine Ryan Hyde 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Stewie is eleven years old, a sensitive boy who raises chickens and sells their eggs to neighbors. His older sister, who is his guardian, worries that maybe he is too sensitive. In truth, he is mourning the loss of both the grandmother who raised him from infancy and the parents he doesn't really remember. Then Stewie meets Marilyn, an elderly neighbor who reminds him of his recently deceased grandmother, and forms a relationship with her. But Marilyn has her own secrets...

This was a lovely little character story. I really enjoyed it.

I also read recently by this author: 

The Current

 Fiction by Tim Johnston

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Audrey and Caroline, a pair of college girls, go on a road trip and end up in some trouble in rural Iowa. What happens to them there is an unwelcome reminder of another tragedy in the past of Audrey’s small hometown, where her daddy is the longtime sheriff and has just retired for medical reasons. Audrey’s father is spurred to investigate, and more trouble follows. 

This was a strange story. There were interesting and believable characters, and the mystery of the past does finally get solved. albeit in a convoluted way. I'd say this was a good book but not great. 

Trust Exercise

 Fiction by Susan Choi

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In 1982 a group of teens begins their time learning theater at a performing arts high school — oh wait, excuse me; I meant “theatre.” Yes, the people in this book are just as pretentious as that sounds. I almost gave up reading after meeting so many unpleasant characters; however, I persevered.

After I finished reading, I went looking for reviews from others who had read it, because I was wondering what the heck had just happened at the end. I discovered that many other readers were confused, but the reviews were split between those who loved and those who hated the book. 

In my opinion it was an unnecessarily complicated story about unlikable people. But to be honest, that is often the sort of thing that wins book awards…

I’ll have to go with the reviewer Becca Hoetger who (cleverly) said, “I did not enjoy this book.”

All the Other Mothers Hate Me

 Fiction by Sarah Harmon

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Florence is a single mother who doesn't really fit in with the other moms at her son Dylan's fancy private school. She used to be in a girl band, but now she just does odd jobs and lives on child support from her ex-husband. But when another boy in Dylan's class is kidnapped on a field trip, Florence is determined to find out what happened, mostly because she is worried that Dylan may get blamed.

This was a really fun story with a surprise ending.

Nobody's Fool

 Fiction by Harlan Coben

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Twenty years ago, Sami Kierce was on a summer trip to Europe when he fell in love with a girl named Anna. The romance ended abruptly when Sami woke up one morning to find Anna stabbed to death. Sami had run away then, but he has never forgotten. So when he suddenly sees Anna again at a class he is teaching, he feels like he can't rest until he finds out what really happened.

This was a really good thriller with several surprises!

I also read recently by this author: I Will Find You

Drawing Home

 Fiction by Jamie Brenner

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Emma Mapson enjoys her job at the American Hotel in Sag Harbor, New York, although it can be difficult when the summer rush is on. Working twlve-hour days makes it hard for her to spend time with her fourteen-year-old daughter Penny. But then an unexpected inheritance changes things for Emma and Penny forever...

This was a pretty good story. I really liked the characters but there were some plot elements that didn't hang together in my opinion.  

I also read recently by this author: The Forever Summer

The Marriage Act

 Fiction by John Marrs

https://www.audible.com

This story, set in the same futuristic Britain the author created in Passengers and The One, explores the idea of a national "Sanctity of Marriage" Act. The Act gives tax advantages and other financial incentives to married couples who participate in a national program called "smart marriage." Smart marriage is ostensibly designed to ensure stable family relationships through keeping legally married couples (both gay and straight) happily together with the the help of AI monitoring. But is that really the goal of the Act, and more importantly, is that goal even achievable?

This was an exciting story with several twists, The narration was also really good!

I also read recently by this author:  The Minders

Darling Girls

 Fiction by Sally Hepworth 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are sisters, but not biological sisters. The three of them were foster sisters together under the supervision of Miss Fairchild, a damaged and abusive woman who looked after them during their childhood at Wild Meadows farm. Although all three girls are grown now and remain close-knit, they are always haunted by Miss Fairchild's influence. The shadow of their past touches each woman in a different way.

Now the three of  them have been called back to Wild Meadows because a body has been discovered, long buried under the house. The sisters must confront their shared traumatic past and its individual effects, and they are desperate to know whom the body belongs to....

This was a really good character story and mystery. There was a little twist at the end.

I also read recently by this author: The Younger Wife