Book Review: The Overnight by Heather Gudenkauf

The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf
Publisher: Park Row
Publication Date: January 29, 2022
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

True crime writer Wylie Lark doesn’t mind being snowed in at the isolated farmhouse where she’s retreated to write her new book. A cozy fire, complete silence. It would be perfect, if not for the fact that decades earlier, at this very house, two people were murdered in cold blood and a girl disappeared without a trace.

As the storm worsens, Wylie finds herself trapped inside the house, haunted by the secrets contained within its walls—haunted by secrets of her own. Then she discovers a small child in the snow just outside. After bringing the child inside for warmth and safety, she begins to search for answers. But soon it becomes clear that the farmhouse isn’t as isolated as she thought, and someone is willing to do anything to find them.

Another great thriller!

Wylie is a true crime writer staying at a remote cabin to finish her latest book. A huge snowstorm is raging outside when she encounters a small child who will not speak. Who is this child and why are they alone outside in a snowstorm?

The book also flashes back to the 1990s when the crime Wylie is currently writing about occurred. That is another mystery – who committed that crime and why?

This is the kind of thriller where I really can’t tell you much more about it without spoilers. Just trust me when I tell you that the twists are crazy. And the last part was so suspenseful, my stomach was in knots. Heather has a long backlist – I can’t wait to read more of her books!

Audiobook Review: The Daddy Diaries: The Year I Grew Up by Andy Cohen

The Daddy Diaries: The Year I Grew Up by Andy Cohen
Narrator: Andy Cohen
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Release Date: May 9, 2023
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

Andy Cohen has taken on the most important job of his life—father—and boy (and girl!) does he have a lot to say about it!

One of Andy Cohen’s most momentous years starts off with a hangover the morning after an epic New Year’s Eve broadcast. But Andy doesn’t have time to dwell on the drama, as his role as media mogul is now matched with the responsibilities, joys, and growing pains of parenthood.

This fast-paced, mile-a-minute look behind the scenes of living the so-called glamorous life in Manhattan now takes firm aim at life at home. With a three-year-old son, Ben, and a daughter, Lucy, born in May, stories of late-night parties are replaced by early mornings with Ben, drama at the playground, and the musings of a single dad trying to navigate having it all. All this is set against the backdrop of constant Housewives drama, hijinks behind the scenes at Watch What Happens Live, a revolving door of famous faces, and a worried mother (and newly minted grandmother) in St. Louis.

Buckle up, bottle up, and get ready for a laugh-out-loud and surprisingly poignant look at the ways in which family changes everything and the superficial gets very real. Watch what happens!

Andy Cohen’s new book is his third book of published diaries. It starts when his son Ben is three and his surrogate is pregnant with his daughter Lucy to when Lucy is a few months old.

Even though Andy is wealthy and has a nanny, his struggles as a single dad were actually relatable. He writes about feeling insecure at one of his son Ben’s birthday parties because he doesn’t feel he measure’s up to the other parents. My favorite relatable moment is when he moved Ben to a toddler bed and Ben would not stay in it and would get up super early. Andy wrote, “This toddler bed is ruining my life!” I’ve totally been there, Andy!

I listened to this on audio, which is a must. Andy reads it himself which makes it even funnier. His comedic timing is spot on. And he spills tea all over the place, which I love.

I hope he keeps publishing his diaries – they’re the best!

Other books I’ve reviewed by Andy Cohen:
Most Talkative: Stories from the Front Lines of Pop Culture
The Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look at a Shallow Year
Superficial: More Adventures from the Andy Cohen Diaries

Book Review: The Other Mothers by Katherine Faulkner

The Other Mothers by Katherine Faulkner
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: December 5, 2023
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

When a young nanny is found dead in mysterious circumstances, new mom, Tash, is intrigued. She has been searching for a story to launch her career as a freelance journalist. But she has also been searching for something else—new friends to help her navigate motherhood.

She sees them at her son’s new playgroup. The other mothers. A group of sleek, sophisticated women who live in a neighborhood of tree-lined avenues and stunning houses. The sort of mothers Tash herself would like to be. When the mothers welcome her into their circle, Tash discovers the kind of life she has always dreamt of—their elegant London townhouses a far cry from her cramped basement flat and endless bills. She is quickly swept up into their wealthy world via coffees, cocktails, and playdates.

But when another young woman is found dead, it’s clear there’s much more to the community than meets the eye. The more Tash investigates, the more she’s led uncomfortably close to the other mothers. Are these women really her friends? Or is there another, more dangerous reason why she has been so quickly accepted into their exclusive world? Who, exactly, is investigating who?

Tash is a journalist who recently quit her job to start free-lancing. The projects aren’t exactly rolling in so when she hears about the mysterious death of an area nanny, she decides to investigate and write an article about it.

Tash puts her son in a playgroup (it seems in England playgroup is what we call preschool or mother’s day out in the US) and finds she is envious of the other mothers’ seemingly perfect, lavish lifestyles. When they invite her into their inner circle, she feels special but also like a bit of an imposter. Her husband is a doctor, so they don’t have enough money to keep up with the Jones’s as it were. (I guess in England, being a physician isn’t a high paying career like it is here!) As Tash gets further into her investigation of the nanny’s death, she starts to wonder if the women in her playgroup know something they aren’t telling her.

The Other Mothers was so good! I had high hopes going in because the description gave Stepford Wives vibes and that’s one of my favorite books. I was not disappointed! There were so many twists – this book was expertly plotted. I want to go back and read it again. I feel like I felt after I read Gone Girl – just amazed at how everything came together at the end. The Other Mothers definitely has earned a spot on my favorite thrillers list! Now I must read Katherine Faulkner’s other book Greenwich Park. If it’s even half as good as The Other Mothers, it’ll be great!

***The Other Mothers was one of my  December 2023 Book of the Month Club selections. You can join Book of the Month with this link and get a hardcover book for only $5 with no obligation to continue your membership.***

Book Review: Wreck the Halls by Tessa Bailey

Wreck the Halls by Tessa Bailey
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: October 3, 2023
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

Melody Gallard may be the daughter of music royalty, but her world is far from glamorous. She spends her days restoring old books and avoiding the limelight (one awkward tabloid photo was enough, thanks). But when a producer offers her a lot of money to reunite her mother’s band on live tv, Mel begins to wonder if it’s time to rattle the cage, shake up her quiet life… and see him again. The only other person who could wrangle the rock and roll divas.

Beat Dawkins, the lead singer’s son, is Melody’s opposite—the camera loves him, he could charm the pants off anyone, and his mom is not a potential cult leader. Still, they might have been best friends if not for the legendary feud that broke up the band. When they met as teenagers, Mel felt an instant spark, but it’s nothing compared to the wild, intense attraction that builds as they embark on a madcap mission to convince their mothers to perform one last show. 

While dealing with rock star shenanigans, a 24-hour film crew, brawling Santas, and mobs of adoring fans, Mel starts to step out of her comfort zone. With Beat by her side, cheering her on, she’s never felt so understood. But Christmas Eve is fast approaching, and a decades-old scandal is poised to wreck everything—the Steel Birds reunion, their relationships with their mothers, and their newfound love.

Melody Gallard’s mother was in the band the Steel Birds with Beat Dawkins’ mother, but they broke up years ago due to an unspecified feud. Beat and Melody are offered a lot of money from a reality TV producer to convince their mothers to reunite for a Christmas Eve performance.

When Beat and Melody met at sixteen years old, there was chemistry, but they haven’t seen each other since then because of their mothers’ fight. When they meet again, the spark is still there. However, Beat harbors a few secrets that might keep them from being able to get together.

This book was way steamier than I expected based off the cute cartoon cover. I’m probably the only one who didn’t know that Tessa Bailey writes super spicy books. I’m totally down for that, it just caught me off guard. Beat and Melody’s chemistry leapt off the page. Beat was super protective of Melody which got a little annoying because she was a strong, capable woman from the get-go. At least she seemed that way to me. I know that Tessa Bailey is supposed to be the “Michelangelo of dirty talk” but Beat’s dirty talk was just a little too…something. Cheesy, maybe? I don’t like a lot of talking in my spicy scenes. More action, less talking!

I enjoyed Melody. She was charming and funny. I liked how she handled Beat and his overprotectiveness. They made a great couple. Overall, I thought this was a fun, holiday read, and I definitely want to check out more of Tessa’s books. From the list in the back of the book, it appears that there are several more to choose from.

Page to Screen: Let it Snow

After I finished reading Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle, I decided to watch the Netflix movie based on the book.

Going in, you should know that the movie is only very loosely based on the book. Like it’s actually so different, you can’t even compare the two. The characters have the same names and the same basic outline of their story in the book and that’s about it. Luckily, I had heard that was the case before I watched the movie, so I knew what to expect.

So usually when I do a Page to Screen review, I compare and contrast the book and movie, but I can’t really do that in this case since they were vastly different. I will say that I really enjoyed the movie in and of itself. It wasn’t a goofy, teenage movie with horrible acting and a cheesy plot. I liked the characters and I felt invested in them. They had substance. The Duke is played by Keirnan Shipka from Mad Men and Tobin is played by Mitchell Hope (Ben from the Descendants), both of whom are great actors. And Joan Cusack is The Tin Foil Woman! I didn’t recognize anyone else but that might be because I’m old.

I appreciated that the cast of the movie was more diverse than it is in the book and that there are LGBT characters as well. I don’t recall any in the book. This is a smart holiday movie that the whole family can enjoy. Teenagers will relate but adults will be entertained as well.

Book Review: Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle

Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle
Publisher: ‎ Speak
Publication Date: October 2, 2008
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

An ill-timed storm on Christmas Eve buries the residents of Gracetown under multiple feet of snow and causes quite a bit of chaos. One brave soul ventures out into the storm from her stranded train, setting off a chain of events that will change quite a few lives. Over the next three days one girl takes a risky shortcut with an adorable stranger, three friends set out to win a race to the Waffle House (and the hash brown spoils), and the fate of a teacup pig falls into the hands of a lovesick barista.
 
A trio of today’s bestselling authors—John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle—brings all the magic of the holidays to life in three hilarious and charming interconnected tales of love, romance, and kisses that will steal your breath away.
Let it Snow is a collection of three short, loosely connected holiday romances written by three different authors: John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle. In Maureen Johnson’s The Jubilee Express, Jubilee is sent on a train to her grandparents’ house after her parents are arrested for getting in a brawl while Christmas shopping. The train breaks down in a small town next to a Waffle House, leaving Jubilee stranded.

In John Green’s A Cheertastic Miracle, a group of friends is at home watching James Bond movies when another friend working at the Waffle House calls to tell them that a train full of cheerleaders has just arrived and they need to get down there asap. The cheerleaders want to play Twister!

In Lauren Myracle’s The Patron Saint of Pigs, Addie must admit and overcome her self-centeredness to help out her friends with their teacup pig.

It’s so hard to review short story collections because the quality of the stories can vary so much. And since in Let it Snow, they are all written by different people, each story has a distinct style. Of course, John Green’s story was my favorite. No surprise there – we all know that I’m a huge John Green fangirl. A Cheertastic Miracle is John Green through and through. If I had read the stories without knowing who wrote each one, I could have picked his out a mile away. The friend group in his story has that snappy dialogue that his characters often have, and the Duke and Tobin reminded me vaguely of Alaska and Miles.

The other two stories were entertaining as well but it was Green’s that made the collection. If you’re looking for a fun YA holiday read, put Let It Snow on your list.

Audiobook Review: Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory

Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory
Narrator: Janina Edwards
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Release Date: October 1, 2029
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description

Vivian Forest has been out of the country a grand total of one time, so when she gets the chance to tag along on her daughter Maddie’s work trip to England to style a royal family member, she can’t refuse. She’s excited to spend the holidays taking in the magnificent British sights, but what she doesn’t expect is to become instantly attracted to a certain private secretary, his charming accent, and unyielding formality.

Malcolm Hudson has worked for the Queen for years and has never given a personal, private tour – until now. He is intrigued by Vivian the moment he meets her and finds himself making excuses just to spend time with her. When flirtatious banter turns into a kiss under the mistletoe, things snowball into a full-on fling.

Despite a ticking timer on their holiday romance, they are completely fine with ending their short, steamy affair come New Year’s Day…or are they?

Vivian Forest is excited to accompany her daughter Maddie to England, where Maddie has a job styling a member of the royal family for all of her holiday events. Vivian relaxes and hangs out with the staff of the cottage where they are staying while Maddie works. There she meets Malcom Hudson, who works directly with the Queen. When he gives her a private tour of the grounds, sparks fly. However, Vivian is only in England for a brief time. What will happen to their relationship when she leaves? Are they having a vacation fling or is it more?

This is a cute little holiday romance. It’s part of The Wedding Date series but from what I gathered on Jasmine Guillory’s website, it’s not a series that you have to read in order, but there are characters who are the main characters in one book and supporting characters in others. Anyway, you could totally read this book as a stand-alone – I don’t think I missed anything by not having read the others. After reading this book, I do want to read the others at some point.

I liked that the main characters were over fifty and were still portrayed as sexual beings with desires and passion. At the same time, they had a maturity that comes with life experience that I appreciated. I listened to the audiobook, which was great except that the narrator had a pretty bad English accent when she read the dialogue of the British characters. If fake accents bother you, you might want to read this book in print!

Royal Holiday is terrific addition to a romance lovers’ holiday TBR.

Book Review: Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: November 7, 2023
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess.

Nolan’s loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What’s even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist….

As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren’t only on the board, the spotlight is brighter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce (-ly attractive. And intelligent…and infuriating…)

Mallory was once a chess prodigy, but she’s given up the game for good to take care of her mom and her two younger sisters. She’s just graduated high school and she needs to get a real job. But her best friend talks her into playing a charity chess tournament as a favor to her. She ends up playing the reigning world champion Nolan Sawyer and kicking his butt! Well, after that, she gets sucked back into the world of chess and finds herself drawn to Nolan, against her better judgment.

This was such a cute YA romance. I loved Mallory’s sex positive attitude. Nolan is the one who is inexperienced, and I thought the role reversal was refreshing. Because they are teenagers, they have an innocence to them, and their relationship was adorable. How many different ways can I phrase just how cute I think this book is! Ali Hazelwood can do no wrong as far as I’m concerned. She has once again created a smart, strong female lead character. This is a YA book, but I would consider it “upper YA”. It doesn’t talk down to the reader. And the main characters are all over eighteen, not teeny boppers. The bedroom scenes fade to black but that’s really the only thing reminded me that it was YA while I was reading it. I highly recommend Check & Mate for Ali Hazelwood fans and romance fans of all ages!

***Check & Mate was one of my  November 2023 Book of the Month Club selections. You can join Book of the Month with this link and get a hardcover book for only $5 with no obligation to continue your membership.***

Book Review: Stars in Your Eyes by Kacen Callendar

Stars in Your Eyes by Kacen Callender
‎ Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: October 10, 2023
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

Logan Gray is Hollywood’s bad boy—a talented but troubled actor who the public loves to hate. Mattie Cole is an up‑and‑coming golden boy, adored by all but plagued by insecurities.

When Logan and Mattie are cast as leads in a new romantic film, Logan claims that Matt has “zero talent,” sending the film’s publicity into a nosedive. To create positive buzz, the two are persuaded into a fake‑dating scheme—but as the two actors get to know their new characters, real feelings start to develop. 

As public scrutiny intensifies and old wounds resurface, the two must fight for their relationship and their love.

Logan Gray is a broody, troubled former child actor who is known to be a jerk. The only reason anyone puts up with him is because he’s also very talented. Mattie is an up-and-coming actor – the new It Boy in Hollywood. He is cast as Logan’s love interest in a new romantic movie. When asked about Mattie at an event before filming has begun, Logan says that Mattie has zero talent, which is horrible publicity for the film. The powers that be convince the two of them to start a fake relationship, hoping that the buzz around the two stars dating will create hype for the movie.

Logan and Mattie start hanging out per their obligation to look like they’re in a relationship and the line between what’s real and what’s not gets blurry. Logan is a clearly troubled person while Mattie exudes positivity. Can he help Logan without losing himself?

I really like the fake dating trope and I think it was done well in Stars in Our Eyes. It’s also got the grumpy/sunshine thing going on. However, Logan has some pretty serious issues – this is not a light romantic comedy. The author states the trigger warnings upfront so I wasn’t surprised at how serious the story actually was. Sometimes I think narration could sound a little clinical when explaining certain things and it would take me out of the moment. For instance, when the characters thought about consent, their thoughts kind of read like a magazine article about consent. That’s really my only criticism.

I liked the authenticity of Logan and Mattie’s relationship. The way their issues were handled seemed realistic and made sense. This book was fun but it had substance as well. Recommended.

***Stars in Our Eyes was one of my October 2023 Book of the Month Club selections. You can join Book of the Month with this link and get a hardcover book for only $5 with no obligation to continue your membership.***

Audiobook Review: Crying in H Mart

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Narrator: Michelle Zauner
Publisher: Random House Audio
Release Date: April 20, 2021
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother’s particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother’s tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food.

As she grew up, moving to the East Coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, and performing gigs with her fledgling band–and meeting the man who would become her husband–her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother’s diagnosis of terminal cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her.

Vivacious and plainspoken, lyrical and honest, Zauner’s voice is as radiantly alive on the page as it is onstage. Rich with intimate anecdotes that will resonate widely, and complete with family photos, Crying in H Mart is a book to cherish, share, and reread.

Crying in H Mart is Michelle Zauner, of the band Japanese Breakfast’s memoir of growing up Korean American in the very white town of Eugene, Oregon. After she struggled with being one of just a few Asian kids in her schools growing up, she moved to the East Coast for college, where she met her husband. When her mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, she moved back home to take care of her.

First a warning: Do not read this book while hungry. In Michelle’s family, food equals love so there are a lot of vivid descriptions of tasty food. When Michelle moves back home to take care of her dying mother, food becomes even more important. As her mother declines, it’s harder and harder for her to eat. Michelle cooks all sorts of things trying to find something her mother finds appetizing.

Crying in H Mart was heartbreaking, as one would expect. The writing flows like a novel even though it’s a memoir. It’s the story of family love and identity. Michelle reads it herself, which made me even more invested in her life. Highly recommended.