review: here we are now by charles r. cross

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Twenty years ago today I was heading home from the mall when a DJ came on to say Kurt Cobain had been found dead in his Seattle home. Charles R. Cross knows where he was too—at The Rocket, the now-defunct Seattle biweekly paper where he was editor. Cross opens Here We Are Now with how he got the news from the KXRX DJ who broke the story. This is not a Cobain biography (for that, see Cross’s Heavier Than Heaven); it is a book about, as the subtitle says, “the lasting impact of Kurt Cobain.” Cross explores the “grunge” movement in both music and fashion (documenting some of the hilarious missteps of top designers) along with Nirvana’s lasting legacy and how Cobain’s former hometown of Aberdeen has mixed feelings about him. After these two decades, it was great to revisit the times of someone Cross calls “the last rock star” and see how his music has sustained over the years.
5/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, It Books.

review: the recessionistas by alexandra lebenthal

The Recessionistas takes place in September 2008 as the recession is starting to hit the wealthy citizens of the Upper East Side. The men are scheming while many of the women are continuing to outrageously spend. It sounded like a great plot, but unfortunately the writing is awkward particularly when it comes to the dialogue. The characters had such a formal way of speaking that it sometimes seemed like I was reading a very bad academic paper instead of dialogue. Furthermore, the characters, with the exception of Renee and Sasha, were not distinguishable other than in terms of gender. It was nearly impossible to remember which self-absorbed woman was married to which self-absorbed man, especially since they experienced the same events (divorce, loss of money, etc.).
1/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Grand Central Publishing.

review: in the blood by lisa unger

With her father on death row for her mother’s murder, Lana Granger seeks out a fresh start in college where no one except her therapist knows who she really is. Although her trust fund means she doesn’t have to work, the lawyer overseeing the money suggests following her mother’s wishes to “earn [her] own way” and “help people.” As Lana browses her college’s job board, her favorite professor and advisor points out a baby-sitting job for a troubled boy named Luke. Luke’s mother immediately hires her. But just as Lana’s adjusting to the responsibilities of baby-sitting a manipulator, her roommate Beck vanishes after a fight with Lana. Luke seems a little too interested in Beck’s disappearance and soon challenges Lana to a “game” that sends her searching for clues all over their small town.

Lisa Unger’s In the Blood is incredible. The excellent writing and gripping plot immediately hooked me. I never wanted to stop reading (or in this case, listening), especially early on when I was desperately trying to figure out who the diary writer was. Although I figured that out a few chapters before it was revealed, In the Blood was full of surprising twists. The reveals were absolutely mind-blowing.

About the audiobook: Gretchen Mol and Candace Thaxon co-narrate with Mol serving as the primary narrator. Both were fantastic and their narration added to the suspense. In the Blood runs 10.5 hours and was published in 2014 by Simon & Schuster Audio.
5/5
Review copy provided by Audiobook Jukebox.

review: the savages by matt whyman

There’s something different about the outwardly normal Savage family. As the book opens, their family secret is about to come out as a private investigator is looking into the father’s business. But that’s not all the family has to worry about: teen daughter Sasha has started dating a vegetarian, 12-year-old prankster Ivan pulls a prank that goes too far, and the mother’s spending is out of control. The characters are fantastically drawn and the incorporation of some self-righteous vegetarians is perfect given the peculiarities of the Savages’ own diet. The amusingly dark storylines converge in a fabulous way, but the ending is unsatisfying with many loose ends (likely because The Savages is intended to be the first in a series).
4/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Overlook.

review: the divorce papers by susan rieger

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When criminal law attorney Sophie Diehl is asked to interview a prospective divorce client (the firm’s divorce attorneys just happen to all be busy), she agrees with reservation but the assurance that it will be the only thing she has to do before returning to her regular duties. That is, of course, not the way things go as the client wants Sophie to represent her. With Sophie’s 30th birthday fast approaching on the heels of yet another failed relationship, working on a contentious divorce involving custody of a young girl (who broke my heart!) brings up issues stemming from the divorce of her own parents. Although Sophie takes the lead in The Divorce Papers, the other characters are as vividly alive as she is due to the interesting format of the novel. The Divorce Papers is entirely correspondence, newspaper articles, and legal briefs. This choice created some distance while also allowing for details that one would not get in some other form. The short sections filled with such high emotions also made it very easy to keep saying, “one more page,” until the last one was reached.
5/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Crown.

review: happily ever after by elizabeth maxwell

Happily Ever After opens with the erotica that Sadie Fuller is writing under her pseudonym, but follows with Sadie’s decidedly unsexy personal life. She’s the self-described overweight ex-wife of a gay man with whom she shares a daughter. Sadie’s life goes along normally, if not boringly, until she spots a gorgeous, but confused man while she’s shopping at Target. It doesn’t take long before Sadie discovers that this man is the character from her manuscript! From there, Happily Ever After ends up being a mix of genres as paranormal elements combine with erotica, romance, and women’s fiction. Via Sadie’s commentary on being a novelist, Elizabeth Maxwell addresses the mixed genre issue which helps make it all work. The characters here were great and it was thoroughly enjoyable when Sadie lost control of her manuscript and then her life.
5/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Touchstone.

review: reconstructing amelia by kimberly mccreight

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From the first pages, Reconstructing Amelia was amazing. The book opens with a glimpse into the life of a high school student named Amelia, then quickly turns to the perspective of Amelia’s lawyer mother, Kate. Kate had Amelia while in law school, but didn’t let a baby slow her down. Although she fiercely loves her daughter, Kate’s also dedicated to her job which she will come to regret after Amelia’s apparent suicide. Kate grieves hard, but then finds something new to dedicate herself to when she receives a text stating that Amelia didn’t jump. Kate learns that Amelia’s death was barely investigated and there was plenty going on in Amelia’s life that Kate was clueless about.

Although Amelia dies almost as soon as the book starts, Kimberly McCreight alternates between Kate’s present-day narration and the final days of Amelia’s life as told from her perspective. There are also a few flashbacks to when Kate got pregnant for good measure. It was wrenching to learn everything that happened to Amelia and all that she kept from her mother. When it all unfolded, I was stunned by the entire truth of these characters.
5/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, HarperCollins.