Book Blog #297: The Guest List by Lucy Foley

 

Title: The Guest List

Author: Lucy Foley

# of Pages: 9 hours, 53 minutes (audiobook)

Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding fit for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed. But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast. And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?

Review: I would recommend reading this book rather than listening to it. 

There is first person POV switching, which I already don't like when I'm reading a book. It's even more confusing when listening to the audiobook, especially if you are listening to it sped up because it's harder to distinguish the voice actors. 

The big reveals of some of the mysteries in the plot were revealed very undramatically, which was a bit of a let down for a mystery book. One of the biggest appeals of mystery for me is the shock of the big reveals, and this one fell short.

I also was expecting this book to be faster paced and gripping, but the whole mystery only takes place over the course of one wedding, which made progress feel really slow.

Overall, an okay book, but I don't think I will be recommending it to anyone anytime soon. I would have preferred to spend my time reading something else.

Book Blog #296: My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

 

Title: My Sister, The Serial Killer

Author: Oyinkan Braithwaite

# of Pages: 226 (paperback)

Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Korede is bitter. How could she not be? Her sister, Ayoola, is many things: the favorite child, the beautiful one, possibly sociopathic. And now Ayoola's third boyfriend in a row is dead. Korede's practicality is the sisters' saving grace. She knows the best solutions for cleaning blood, the trunk of her car is big enough for a body, and she keeps Ayoola from posting pictures of her dinner to Instagram when she should be mourning her "missing" boyfriend. Not that she gets any credit. Korede has long been in love with a kind, handsome doctor at the hospital where she works. She dreams of the day when he will realize that she's exactly what he needs. But when he asks Korede for Ayoola's phone number, she must reckon with what her sister has become and how far she's willing to go to protect her.

Review: This was almost a four star book. It was a pretty quick read for me, and the story was interesting enough to have a good flow. However, it wasn't emotionally moving; I at first felt a little stressed, but as I read on, I soon felt pretty indifferent toward the characters. Because of that, I think it doesn't quite hit the four star mark. 

Categorizing this book as contemporary and mystery is definitely accurate, but it was almost too contemporary and casual to instill any thrill into the reader. There were also some claims that this book is humorous; I didn't laugh at all, but I was reasonably entertained. 

Most of the characters other than Korede are not particularly likable, and the author purposefully weaves together different timelines (as in Korede's experiences in the past with her experiences in the present) to draw parallels, but this can sometimes get confusing.

Overall, this was an okay read. It's quick, so it wouldn't hurt to give the book a shot. However, I definitely wouldn't make it a priority. 

Book Blog #295: The Rosie Result by Graeme Simsion

 

Title: The Rosie Result

Author: Graeme Simsion

# of Pages: 375 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Humor

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Don Tillman and Rosie Jarman are about to face their most important challenge. Their ten-year-old son, Hudson, is struggling at school: he’s socially awkward and not fitting in. Don’s spent a lifetime trying to fit in—so who better to teach Hudson the skills he needs? The Hudson Project will require the help of friends old and new, force Don to decide how much to guide Hudson and how much to let him be himself, and raise some significant questions about Don’s own identity. Meanwhile, there are multiple distractions to deal with: the Genetics Lecture Outrage, Rosie’s troubles at work, estrangement from his best friend Gene… And opening the world’s best cocktail bar.

Review: This book lands somewhere between 3 stars and 4 stars. I opted for 3 stars since I liked it less than the previous two books. 

Not sure what happened with The Rosie Result; I think there wasn't enough that was new in this book, so the novelty might have worn off. This plot is a lot messier than in the first two book; a lot of characters involved in a whole list of issues. Don even lists them all out at the end of the book; it's literally a list of issues. 

Bill Gates's love for Don Tillman series hasn't gone unnoticed by Simsion; he mentioned Bill Gates directly in the book as well as mentioning the Microsoft and Melinda Gates Foundation. Thought this was an interesting fun fact.

Overall I feel very lukewarm about The Rosie Result. I put reading on this book on hold because I just wasn't interested in the story. If you are a fan of the other two books, you can give this book a try, but I believe the series ran out of steam.