Ruth Ware’s In A Dark Dark Wood is a grim glimpse into a few days in Nora’s life. Her former best friend, Clare, who she has not seen in ten years, invites Nora to her hen party and disastrous events ensue. Alternating chapters find her scratched and bruised in a hospital bed with no idea how she got there. I enjoyed this story very much. Ware captured the darkness and foreboding nicely and while a few elements were far-fetched, overall, it was a good thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Looking for something sweet, mindless, and just for fun? Then Jennifer Weiner’s Who Do You Love should be your next read. Like her other books, this one is nothing taxing, but is a nice story. Andy and Rachel keep weaving in and out of each other’s lives, making good and bad choices. The chapters alternate between their points of view and the book moves quickly. If I weren’t so busy, this would have been a one day read.

The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler was on a number of “must-read” books for the summer. The premise sounded interesting – a multi-generational story of women who are able to hold their breath for many minutes underwater who then mysteriously drown. The story toggles back and forth between present day, when Simon receives a mysterious book about these mermaids, and the past tale of the traveling show that employed the mermaid. The book felt like an Alice Hoffman, but didn’t really grab me the way Hoffman most often does. I almost abandoned the book multiple times, but finally rode it out. I am not sorry that I read this one, but I didn’t enjoy it very much. I didn’t really like any of the characters, and the story itself was just a little too far-fetched.

I had to read Circling the Sun by Paula McLain in a hurry because it was due at the library. I wanted to read the book because I had read good reviews and because I think I liked The Paris Wife (though I read The Paris Wife before I began this blog and can’t really recall – most of the reason I started writing down my thoughts was so I could remember what I read and liked). The main character of Circling the Sun, Beryl, was raised in Africa. She was abandoned by her mother as a young girl and raised by her father as a wild child who ended up training horses as her father did before her. It was an interesting story and I enjoyed reading it. However, I hated the choices Beryl made and this made me irritated all the way through the book. While I didn’t dislike the book, my distaste for the protagonist certainly made it more challenging to read.

I didn’t love Nadia Hashimi’s first book, The Pearl That Broke Its Shell, reviewed here, but I really enjoyed When The Moon is Low. This story of Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban was moving, exciting, and ultimately, hopeful. And yet, at the same time, it was such a sad story and quite timely. The pages turned quickly in this story and I recommend it.

This summer I have attempted to clear out my “to read” list. So many books end up on there and I wanted to go back to the beginning and read the ones that have been on there for many years. David Sedaris’ Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls was one of these older selections. I used to really like David Sedaris, and while I am usually not a short story or essay kind of reader, I thought I would give this one a whirl since it gets such great and consistent reviews. While I enjoyed the book, and read it in about a day, most of it wasn’t as laugh-out-loud funny as I remember his other books to be. This would be a good choice to have on the bedside table to pick up in between longer selections as a change of pace.

The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell has been on my “to read” list for a long time. I feel like I have read something else by Jewell, but I can’t remember what it was. The House we Grew Up In is the story of a family broken apart by the death of one of the four children and the mother’s hoarding disorder. While it was an interesting story, I found it depressing and parts of it entirely unbelievable. I stuck with it and am glad I read through to the resolution, but I can’t say that I found it an enjoyable read.

Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica is similar to her book, The Good Girl, which I reviewed here. In Pretty Baby, a still grieving mother takes in a homeless girl and her baby with devastating consequences. We learn as the story progresses about the history of both characters, which explains their motivations and decisions. Pretty Baby moved along much more quickly than The Good Girl and, while it was predictable, I enjoyed watching the story come together. Unfortunately, this was the first book I read after finishing The Nightingale (my review here), and any book that followed that would lose out by comparison.

Having recently poo-pooed Sarah Pekkanen’s last title, Things You Won’t Say, I finally finished one of her older books, Skipping a Beat. I have had Skipping a Beat on my Kindle for a while. Even though it was a quick read, I kept putting it aside in favor of more appealing books that were arriving from the library. Since it was on my Kindle, though, whenever I had a moment of peace (waiting at gymnastics, waiting at the eye doctor, waiting during baseball warm-ups), I would pick it up again. The book was so light that I could remember where I was no matter what I else I was “really” reading. Consequently, it took me a long time to get through this one. Skipping a Beat was a little better than Things You Won’t Say, and it had a more creative premise about a husband and wife managing life, relationship, and wealth after he has a near-death experience. Clearly it was not compelling enough, however, to keep me moving or to put it ahead of other books. Sadly, I can’t even remember all the characters’ names at this point…which I suppose is not a ringing endorsement. Again, I keep hoping I’ll like Sarah Pekkanen’s books more than I do. Since she’s local, I have a soft spot for her. I suppose I’ll keep trying with the hope that something appealing will materialize.

I rarely purchase books anymore, being lucky enough to get them either from the library or by using gift cards given to me by friends and family. Having read reviews of The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, however, I decided to buy it – at this moment, the book has over 10,500 Amazon reviews, 86% of which are five star. That’s a hard book to beat. As I finished it last night, tears dripping, I realized why people loved it so much. Not only is the story one of courage against unbelievable adversity, but it is also a touching story about family and love. Yes, the topic is depressing. Yes, I have read lots of books that cover World War II and the Holocaust. But, this one is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Absolutely purchase this book. I can’t imagine that you will be sorry you did.