Review: The Next Thing You Know (by Jessica Strawser)

My Rating:  4 stars



The  past 2 months have been extremely exhausting for me due to having to deal with several major crises at work. Things have been rough and even though we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, I anticipate that it will take several more months for things to truly settle down.  I mention this because, as much as I tried to prevent it, the physical and mental exhaustion from work unfortunately seeped into my personal life as well.  Over the past couple weeks especially, there were way too many moments where I struggled to summon up enough energy (both physically and mentally) to pick up a book and just read — either my mind would wander (inevitably to something related to work) or I would be so tired physically that I would doze off after a couple pages. Normally, reading is a "de-stressor" for me;  it's something I look forward to after a long, difficult day filled with more challenges than I feel I'm equipped to handle.   Because of this, my current circumstances of not being able to concentrate as much as I want to on something I love and enjoy is extremely frustrating, to say the least. Having said all this though, one thing I do know is that this situation is only temporary and I'm pretty confident that, in the not too distant future, I will be able to emerge from this difficult period and get back into the groove of my usual reading routine.

Part of the reason I decided to start this review with the above (aside from me just needing to vent so I can finally get this off my chest), is because going through what I did the past few months helped me to better relate, on some small level, with the main characters in this book (though of course, my situation pales in comparison to the truly "life and death" struggles that the characters face).  Nova Huston is an end of life doula whose job is to help the terminally ill who are seeking to make peace with their impending deaths.  Mason Shaylor is a singer-songwriter facing the grim prospect of a debilitating condition not only putting an end to his career, but also to life as he knows it.  The two cross paths when Mason hired Nova to help him come to terms with his decision.  As they spend more and more time together, Mason and Nova find that they have more in common than either of them expected, and when a connection forms that deepens their relationship, that makes it all the harder to let go.

Truth be told, prior to reading this book, I had absolutely no clue what a "death doula" was.  With the marketing for this book comparing it to Me Before You (which I personally feel is unjustified, as both stories are nowhere near similar), I had the misconception at first (as it seems many other readers did) that a doula was someone who helped with assisted suicides.  That's an incorrect assumption of course, and the story goes to great lengths to explain what a doula actually does.  In this regard, I felt that the author, Jessica Strawser, did a good job shining a light on a profession that few people know much about.  As I'm usually big on learning something when I read, I definitely appreciated this aspect of the story and Strawser's efforts here. 

Overall, I liked this one quite a bit — it was a solid story with an interesting premise that was well-written and obviously well-researched.  Having said that though, the story itself was the slow-burn type and also meandered a bit at times, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it did leave me wondering at some points where Strawser was trying to go with the plot and characters.  I felt that the structure of the story was interesting as well, with the narrative alternating between the perspectives of both the two main characters as well as a few others — though with that said, the timeline jumping back and forth between past and present as often as it did made parts of the story a little hard to follow at times.

Ever since her debut novel 5 years ago made a pretty big impression on me, Strawser has become an auto read author for me.  While not all of her subsequent works were "hits" for me, most were enjoyable enough that I would say my overall experience reading her books has been a positive one. One of the things I really like about Strawser's books in general is that she does try to reinvent herself every so often by attempting different genres, often while exploring difficult themes.  I continue to look forward to Strawser's upcoming works.

Received ARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley

 

Review: Under the Golden Sun (by Jenny Ashcroft)

My Rating: 4 stars

I remember starting off my 2021 reading year last year with Jenny Ashcroft's previous novel Meet Me in Bombay, which I had been apprehensive about at first, but ended up truly enjoying.  At the time, Ashcroft was a "new-to-me" author writing in a genre (historical romance) that could sometimes be a "hit or miss" category for me. After having enjoyed that novel, I went into her newest release, Under the Golden Sun, with higher expectations and I'm happy to report that this one definitely did not disappoint.  In fact, I actually ended up enjoying this one more, perhaps because I found the story more emotionally resonant, for one, and two, I loved all the characters in here — Rose, Walter, Max, Vivian, Esme, Lauren, etc. — to the point that I didn't want their story to end.  

Of course, going into this, I already knew it would be a love story, but unlike Ashcroft's previous novel, this one definitely felt more well-balanced in terms of the way the historical elements and setting (Australia during WWII period) were incorporated into the story. In other words, the love story didn't overwhelm the plot, but rather complemented it.  Much of this is attributed to the beautiful, atmospheric writing, with its vividly-rendered descriptions of the lush Australian landscape against the backdrop of the historical events of the time period.  Even though there were moments of frustration with some of the characters and at times, I felt like yelling out in exasperation during a few scenes, I found myself captivated by the story overall and felt compelled to keep turning the pages in order to find out what happens to these characters that eventually grew on me.  

One thing that surprised me about my reading experience with this book is the resonance I felt with the story, especially on an emotional level.  I wasn't expecting this book to both make me laugh and make me cry at various points of the story, but that's exactly what it did.  I appreciate a book that makes me feel as much as one that makes me ponder and reflect and this one definitely fits the bill.  With this newest release, Ashcroft adds yet another solid historical novel to her repertoire— I can't wait to read what she comes out with next!

Received ARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley

Review: The Golden Couple (by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen)

My Rating:  4 stars

This is the fourth suspense / thriller novel by writing duo Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen that I've read.  Up to this point, I have read all the books they've written and while all were good, none have lived up to their debut novel The Wife Between Us (which was one of those rare thrillers that actually blew me away to the point that I still remember most of the story several years after having read it).  For me, what had set their debut novel apart was the fact that the "shocking twist" in the story was written in a way that truly and unexpectedly floored me — something that doesn't happen often given the number of suspense / thriller novels I read.  However, unfortunately, their subsequent novels weren't able to capture that same level of "excitement" for me (don't get me wrong though — I still enjoyed reading each one, just not to the extent that I enjoyed the first one). Given that context, I went into their newest release, The Golden Couple, already anticipating that it wasn't going to live up to the "thrill" of their first book (and I was right).  While the story definitely did have a lot of compelling moments that were unexpected (and I actually did not figure out the ending), I felt like the writing was a little less smooth this time around, which at times broke the flow of the story for me. 

On the surface, the premise of the story sounds like one that we've heard countless times before: wealthy, suburban couple Matthew and Marissa Bishop live the perfect life, with a marriage that's the envy of the town. However, their idyllic bliss is shattered when Marissa has an affair.  Desperate to repair her marriage, Marissa seeks the help of Avery Chambers, a therapist whose unorthodox methods have proven so successful that she is still highly sought after despite having lost her professional license.   As Avery embarks on her "ten sessions" therapy with the Bishops and enters deeper into their orbit, she begins to realize that there is more than meets the eye with this "golden" couple.  

Not wanting to give away the story of course, I don't want to say too much more about the plot other than what I mentioned above. I will say though, that Avery's story arc was much more interesting than Marissa's — partly because I felt there was too much repetition with Marissa's sections that ended up dragging out the plot a bit more than necessary.  

With all that said, I did enjoy this one overall and I think that those who are already familiar with Hendricks' and Pekkanen's previous works won't be disappointed.  If this is your first time reading this writing duo's books though, I would definitely recommend going with The Wife Between Us, and then moving on to their other works after that.

Received ARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley

Review: Elsewhere (by Alexis Schaitkin)

My Rating: 3.5 stars



When I first got my hands on this ARC of Alexis Schaitkin's sophomore novel  Elsewhere, I was definitely excited to read it, as I had really enjoyed her debut novel Saint X and couldn't wait to see what she would have for us next.  

Now having finished this, I have to say that it was not what I expected.  The writing was actually beautiful and I loved the magical quality of the prose, which flowed so lyrically and seamlessly throughout the story.  Having said that though, the experience of reading this book was actually quite a struggle for me, mostly because, from beginning to end, I wasn't really sure what I was reading.  The world that the main character Vera inhabited was completely foreign to me and I honestly couldn't relate to her actions (or those of any of the other characters) at all.  Much of the plot didn't make a whole lot of sense to me either, though this has nothing to do with the quality of the work per se, but rather my own inability to comprehend the nuances of the story.  

This book falls heavily into the speculative, dystopian fiction category, which is not a genre that I typically read, so I guess it's not a surprise that I struggled through it.  While I don't regret reading this, I definitely prefer Schaitkin's debut novel over this one — though with that said, I also admire her ability to put out a second novel that is so markedly different from the first one.  The imagery in Elsewhere is vivid and stunning, especially when describing the "world" in the mountains that Vera called home.  

Overall, this was a good book, and well-written too, but unfortunately, it just wasn't for me. Hopefully Schaitkin's next book will work better for me.

Received ARC from Celadon Books via Celadon Early Reader program.