Review: The Reunion Dinner

The Reunion Dinner by Jesse Q. Sutanto
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This takes place during Chinese New Year. Josephine has always wanted to host CNY at her place. But Big Uncle has always hosted. But not this year! He had a fall and broke his hip, so now it is Josephine's year!!
So, Josephine's son brought home his fiance- his parents have never met her. She dies (poison) and someone is guilty. But who? It turns out, she is a horrible person. She cheated Porter (a nephew) out of his business, dated Fran (a niece) and cheated on her with George (Fran's father and Yolanda, Josephine's sister's husband). This led to Yolanda's divorce. So, lots of suspects. This was so good, I did not see that coming! Very nice twist!

View all my reviews

Review: Staged

Staged by Elle Cosimano
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lyda is a new realtor who hasn't sold any houses and is desperate to sell her first one. The house happens to be a fixer upper and she sunk some of her own money (that she really didn't have) to fix it a bit to sell. Her best friend Dani (who is aspiring to be a home designer/stager) is helping her. Sawyer is one of those she hired. He is apparently hot and a serial dater and player. Dani was also openly eyeing him (cause he's single at the moment!).
Lyda and Dani return from errands to find a dead body. Sawyers.
I was pleasantly surprised, this had nice pacing and plotting. It got straight to the point. Decent mystery.

View all my reviews

Review: Mister Hockey

Mister Hockey by Lia Riley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Breezy is a child's librarian who also LOVES hockey.  Her whole wild, kooky family LOVES hockey.  Jed "Westy" is the star played of the local team, The Hellions.  They meet when Jed comes to children's story hour as a favor to Neve, Breezy's sister who is also a sports reporter and was interviewing Jed.

This was a fast romance from first meeting to hooking up.  The pacing wasn't too bad and overall worked.  There is a lot in the story when all is said and done.  From job loss/retirement to starting a new business to healing things with a parent to dealing with the affects of concussions and CTE; there was a lot to unpack in this.  

View all my reviews

Review: Heartstopper: Volume Three

Heartstopper: Volume Three by Alice Oseman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Charlie and Nick are out to their families and now are in the process of telling their friends. Tao and Elle have something going on. Aled also has someone he may be interesting in. And let's not forget the Paris trip!
Charlie may have an eating disorder. Mr Ajayi (Truham's art teacher)and Mr Farouk (Truham's science teacher) may also have something going on.

View all my reviews

Review: The Lives of Lee Miller

The Lives of Lee Miller by Antony Penrose
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Elizabeth "Lee" Miller.  She was a former model turned photographer.  Not many know about her; another woman almost forgotten to history.  

I picked this book up to learn more about her after seeing the movie "Lee" with Kate Winslet.  

Lee had a harder upbringing; she was raped at 7 and got a STI and her mother had to give her a dichloride Mercury solution via douche for a month to treat (era before antibiotics).  She also posed for her father so he could take pictures.  

She had a hard time staying in one place, always wanted to be on the move, to travel.  She had many interesting friends (like Picasso).  She was able to parlay her love of photography into a career.  She was in London during the Blitz.  She took pictures during WWII for Vogue.  She was one of the first people to see and photograph liberated Paris and later Dachau.  Her most known photograph is her in the bathtub of Hitler's Munich apartment.  She had just come from Dachau (if you look at the picture, there is dirt/ash from her boots on the bathmat).  

I wonder how much of the issues she had with relationships were related to her childhood assault.  She didn't have the best relationship with her son either.  Lee was such an interesting person, flaws and all.      

View all my reviews

Review: The Third Mrs. Durst

The Third Mrs. Durst by Ann Aguirre
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5*

Marlena grew up poor with multiple half siblings (different fathers) and a drug addicted mother.  She ran away as a teen for something better.  She makes a friend with Jenny and together they protect each other while on the street.  Jenny has a similar background and is a few years younger.  They are eventually discovered by a talent scout (they had heard of this person and arranged to "spontaneously meet" him) and get piecemeal modeling work that put a roof over their heads.  

Marlena does land a much better contract in Europe after catching the eye of Michael Durst, an investor in the modeling company she works for.  She is able to go to college and end her modeling career when she wants to.  Michael eventually makes his move and they began dating and eventually got married.  Marlena was be his third wife.  The first died in a car accident and the second committed suicide.  But where they really murdered and deaths made to seem otherwise?   Michael did get a HUGE insurance payout from wife number 1 which funded his business ventures.   

This is somewhat dark.  There is rape, but it is not gratuitous and is brief.  It is mentioned Marlena was raped as a child by one of her mother's boyfriends, the one that is on the page is early in the book and her modeling career.  Michael is not a handsome prince.  He is controlling and Marlena can't have her own friends or activities without his okay.  He controls what she wears and what she eats.  He also invented a new backstory and parents for her (she's an only child of Croatian parents).  

I enjoyed the twists in this.  Let's just say that Michael gets exactly what he deserves.  Marlena is not the innocent person you first think she is; revenge takes time and years of planning.  

View all my reviews

Review: Saint X

Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Claire (age 7) is on vacation with her family in the Caribbean when her older sister (who is in college now) goes missing and is found dead. Locals are questioned, but released due to lack of evidence. Her death goes unsolved (was it an accident? was she murdered? we don't know).
Claire grows up and as a twenty-something runs into a boy who was questioned when her sister died. Having idolized her sister, she decides she needs to find out what really happened.
This was a decent mystery, but a thriller this is not. It was slow and boring in places, and seemed longer than it really was. I didn't particularly like Claire (or her sister Alison). I do think the book tackled difficult subject matter (like race and class differences); hence the 3* (instead of a 2*).

View all my reviews