Book Blog #403: The Tenant by Frieda McFadden

 

Title: The Tenant

Author: Freida McFadden

# of Pages: 344 (paperback)

Genre: Adult, Thriller, Mystery

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Blake Porter is riding high, until he's not. Fired abruptly from his job as a VP of marketing and unable to make the mortgage payments on the new brownstone that he shares with his fiancee, he's desperate to make ends meet. Enter Whitney. Beautiful, charming, down-to-earth, and looking for a room to rent. She's exactly what Blake's looking for. Or is she? Because something isn't quite right. The neighbors start treating Blake differently. The smell of decay permeates his home, no matter how hard he scrubs. Strange noises jar him awake in the middle of the night. And soon Blake fears someone knows his darkest secrets... Danger lives right at home, and by the time Blake realizes it, it'll be far too late. The trap is already set.

Review: This was an EXTREMELY fast and easy read. 

This is my first McFadden book, and it's clear that she knows how to write for the masses. The writing style is quite simple and very plot-focused (definitely not some literary masterpiece). The story is told in from a couple point of views (for the most part in series) in first person present tense, so you are along for the ride with Blake in figuring out why his life is going so wrong so suddenly. Usually I strongly dislike first person POV switching, but since the different POVs weren't intertwined, this actually didn't bother me. 

I'm not a huge fan of thrillers (this was meant to be a daytime-only read for me), but I was glad to find this was scary in the sense that weird events happen in Blake's life that the reader doesn't find out how it happened until later. There's less explicit "thrilling" scenes compared to Verity (e.g. no freaky lady jump scaring the main character by staring at her), although the concept of strange events happening at home while a couple lives with a random new person is coincidentally very similar. It also reminded me a bit of the Black Mirror episode Bête Norie (but based in reality), so the story's premise is nothing super original. 

I was totally expecting to not be entertained by her books (since she's so popular with The Housemaid series, I was bracing myself for an overhyped read). However, I was pleasantly surprised that I incorrectly guessed the twist, and I couldn't put the book down (read in <1 day). 

Something I didn't like is how the characters wouldn't follow through with logical solutions (e.g. if you're bothered by loud noises and can't get them to stop, why not try wearing earplugs or doing something else within your control? If you're broke, why insist to talk to someone in person rather trying first to call them and save the drive out as a backup plan?). The story also relies on the miscommunication trope which is always frustrating. The very ending seemed rushed; didn't really need the epilogue. 

Overall a very light (but still somewhat thrilling) read; would recommend it to people who already like the mystery-thriller genre. 

Book Blog #402: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

 

Title: The Love Hypothesis

Author: Ali Hazelwood

# of Pages: 383 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Rating:★★★★☆

Synopsis: As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn't believe in lasting romantic relationships--but her best friend does, and that's what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees. That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor--and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford's reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive's career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding...six-pack abs. Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

Review: This was WAY more enjoyable and fun than I expected.

The premise is nothing new; it follows the usual progression of any other friend to lovers romance, male savior fantasy. I was really in the mood to read something strongly focused on a love story, especially after reading a lot of books that had 0 romance (e.g. Dungeon Crawler Carl, The Poppy War). It checked all the boxes, plenty of yearning and sweet moments where the characters show how much they care about each other.

"This is a Hallmark movie. Or a poorly written young adult novel. That will not sell well."

What made this story standout is that its a metafiction. Hazelwood is self-aware of exactly what is serving the audience; a protagonist who is "a living, breathing, rom-com trope machine." I loved the commentary from the other characters on the ridiculousness of the premise and how exaggerated each trope plays out. 

But one trope I didn't enjoy was how prominent miscommunication is central in the conflict, especially at the end of the story. ESPECIALLY since this is not some high school romance; these are supposed to be more mature, intelligent adults in a relationship.

Hazelwood also does her signature "throw in a few tidbits of women empowerment in STEM". While the messaging is good, the execution feels random and non-cohesive with the main plot.

Overall, much much better Hazelwood's Deep End that I read earlier this year, despite both stories suffering from the bad communication trope. The characters were more likable, and it was more believable that the two main characters developed a relationship that isn't just based on lust.

Would recommend this to people who are interested in a fun, easy to read romance!