Two more books in the done column
13. 56 Days by Catharine Ryan Howard
An intriguing little tale set with the backdrop of COVID. The timeline switches between Oliver and Ciara, who start dating a few weeks before a 2-week lockdown, and Detective Leah Riordan, the police officer who is now investigating a dead body found in Oliver's apartment. Oliver and Ciara both have secrets, and the reader must figure out what is the truth and what is the lie as Oliver and Ciara navigate a new relationship. There were a few end of novel twists that I didn’t see coming, which is always fun, but the story itself comes to a bit of a rushed and unsatisfactory conclusion.
Dates Read: January 30 to February 02, 2022
4/5 stars
305 pages
Goodreads Around the Year Challenge 32 - features a female detective/PI/police officer
Tarot 21 - judgement
Thanks again to ashphallcowgrrl for sending me her copy!
**
14. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
When Juliet, the protagonist of this tale, is struggling to write her book, her friend/publisher tells her, "Strings of anecdotes don't make a book." Which is ironic because Guernsey Literary is essentially a string of anecdotes told to Juliet by the inhabitants of a small island that was occupied by the Germans in WWII. Because the stories are told in the form of letters, there is no depth to them. The author doesn't have to fill in sights and sounds, feelings, emotions. It's dry text on a page. And frustratingly, many of the letter-writers sound exactly the same. I lost track of how many 'different' writers used some form of the phrase, "Now I will tell you how [insert event here] happened." I also cringed sometimes at the author's representation of many of the locals as unintelligent and gullible.
Dates Read: February 03 to 04
2/5 stars
282 pages
Goodreads Around the Year Challenge 20 - set during 1900 to 1950
LJ AlphaBook Challenge - "G"
Goodreads Winter Challenge - "G"
Challenge Factory Dusty Bookshelf Challenge - February pick
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