MAY

 

Fever Beach ~ Carl Hiaasen

 It wasn't as satirically funny as Squeeze Me.  This one was a parody centred around Proud Boys wannabes. It was overlong with too many subplots and jokes worn thin.

The Children of Eve ~ John Connolly

 Usually a new Connolly is like slipping into a comfortable pair of slippers.  This was not.

It was way too wordy with useless trivia that did not enhance the plot, did not add to the sense of place, did not bring characters to life.

This was like one of those "filler" episodes in a TV series ... just setting groundwork for what is to come.

Death of the Author ~ Nnedi Okorafor

 A great twist on a sci-fi novel

Malibu Rising ~ Taylor Jenkins Reid

 NO (make that NoNoNo)

What a load of shite writing.  Totally "tell not show". Just bland exposition storytelling, probably aiming for a tv takeup.  Shallow has too many letters in it to describe it.

Mercy (Dept Q #1) ~ Jussi Adler-Olsen

 ****

OK, so I picked the perp very close to the beginning (and felt it was a clumsy insertion) but that was easily overlooked because of the excellent writing, great fleshing out of characters, fast pace of the plot.

The Frozen River ~ Ariel Lawhon

 DNF

OMG ... this rated so well but was totally irksome.

Once I had the image of Snidely Whiplash in my head, I couldn't shake it.  The Villain was sooo bad.  The Husband was soooo good.  She is so brave and full of herself. It was all soooo sanctimonious and shallow

Dream Hotel ~ Laila Lalami

A Black Mirror Dystopian story.

APRIL

 

Heartwood ~ Amity Grange

 ****

Light but gets you in with fast pace, descriptive location, good POV characters 

Broken Country ~ Clare Leslie Hall

 

**

Eminently forgettable lightweight read

Village romance, crime coverup, cardboard characters bleh 

The Berry Pickers ~ Amanda Peters

 

Fugitive Telemetry (Murderbot #6) ~ Martha Wells

 

Beautyland ~ Marie-Helene Bertino

 

Network Effect (Murderbot #5) ~ Martha Wells

 

MARCH

 

Wild Dark Shore ~ Charlotte McConaghy

 ****

A Wild and refreshing novel, a delight the read.

The Snow Child ~ Eowyn Ivey

 Grrr ... thought this seemed cliched ... and it was ... but also familiar because I had read it before (and wasn't impressed the first time)

Exit Strategy (Murderbot #4) ~ Martha Wells

 

Dream Count ~ Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

 

Rogue Protocol (Murderbot #3) ~ Martha Wells

 

The Strange Case of Jane O ~ Karen Thompson Walker

 

Artificial Condition (Murderbot DIaries #2) ~ Martha Wells

 Like #1, a reading palate cleanser ... a quick and enjoyable read, immersive sci-fi world. Fun Murderbot

The Incarnations ~ Susan Barker

 Only just hit **OK

Really shouldn't have bothered finishing ... it was just that I so loved the previous work of hers (Old Soul).

It rated an **OK because of the snippets of Chinese history but the packaging was too long, mostly boring

FEBRUARY

 

All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries 1) ~ Martha Wells

 Rogue Robot

Enjoyable, engaging, snappy sci-fi

I was just looking for a little palate cleanser and this was perfect.  A short book, a quick read ... and have ordered the next in the series!

Let Us Descend ~ Jesmyn Ward

 This really should have been a DNF.

What was meant to pass for magic realism was more like continuing dream-sequences followed by and-then-I-woke-up

Don't know wtf I kept reading

Old Soul ~ Susan Barker

 

Homeseeking ~ Karissa Chen

 

JANUARY

 

The Wedding People ~ Alison Espach

 

The Sequel ~ Jean Hanff Korelitz

 

Fun, fast paced sequel to The Plot : a novel about a novel.

A little repetitive of the first book with characterisation

Margo's Got Money Troubles ~ Rufi Thorpe