goodreads: (Default)
Title: The Happiness Project
Author: Pippa James
Genre: Chick-lit
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 343 pages
Date read: February 2019

1) Exercise more
2) Eat healthily
3) Learn how to live again…

Forty-year-old Alison Lund has always carefully planned everything in her well-ordered life, from colour co-ordinating her beautiful house to persuading her excitable son Alexander that sticker charts are more fun than misbehaving. But Alison’s perfect world has just fallen apart…

Her head is left spinning when her beloved larger than life mother-in-law, Maggie, passes away and Alison is left heartbroken. Every afternoon they’d talk and laugh over a pot of tea, she was the glue that kept Alison together through the first few tough years of motherhood. And now Alison is trying to figure out a future without her.

With a little help from her two best friends, Alison resolves to be more Maggie. After an emotional New Year’s Eve get together, the three women create a happiness project, challenging themselves to step outside their comfort zones and make the most of every single day.

Daring to do things differently, can Alison learn to live more spontaneously and find happiness along the way? Or will letting go be harder than she ever imagined?


A quick and easy read.

Although officially the second in a series, it easily worked as a stand-alone novel as well (I haven't read the first, and didn't feel like I was missing out on anything) and turned out to be a really charming comfort read. It's real life - no big drama or high-stake risks - but just cozy friendship between the three main characters. I'd worried that some of them might be too caricatured, but that ended up not being an issue at all. I really enjoyed getting to know them, and to read about what was going on in their lives.

A low-key book - but sometimes that's exactly what I want and need.
goodreads: (Default)
Title: How to Be a Movie Star (How to Be #2)
Author: T.J. Klune
Genre: Fiction, LGBTQ
Rating: 5/5
# pages: 350, Audiobook ~12hrs
Date read: February 2019, August 2019, June 2023

Josiah Erickson wants to be a movie star. The problem with that is so does half of Los Angeles. But he’s on his way, what with memorable roles as a TV show background cadaver and a guy in a commercial for herpes medication. All he needs is his big break. And that break may come in the form of a novelist who goes by the enigmatic name of Q-Bert.

Q-Bert, who is ready to make his directorial debut in a film Josy would be perfect for. Q-Bert, who Josy may or may not have a friend-crush on, and potentially something more. Being demisexual can be confusing.

From the City of Angels to the small mountain town of Abby, Oregon, Josy will give his all to make sure his dreams come true—even the ones he never thought possible.


*Flail*
Okay, so this is not going to be a coherent review - instead I'm just going to squee here. Because this book? EVERY BIT as good as "How to Be a Normal Person". And so CUTE! So, so cute! I just about died of the cute!

I laughed out loud more times than I can remember, and closed the book with a sigh and a hitch in my voice. I didn't want it to end... EVER!

Somebody has to turn "Tales My Father Told Me" (working title) into a proper movie now!!! I want to be friends with Josy, I want to visit Abby. I want to drink a latte at Lottie's cafe. I want to ride on Vespas with the We 3 Queens.

Well done, T.J. Klune! I didn't think you could write characters I'd love as much as Sam, Gary, Tiggy and Ryan, but you managed - of course you managed.

Loved it!
goodreads: (Default)
Title: Nine Perfect Strangers
Author: Liane Moriarty
Genre: Chicklit, suspense
Rating: 5/5
# pages: Audiobook ~16hrs
Date read: February 2019

Could ten days at a health resort really change you forever? Nine perfect strangers are about to find out...

Nine people gather at a remote health resort. Some are here to lose weight, some are here to get a reboot on life, some are here for reasons they can’t even admit to themselves. Amidst all of the luxury and pampering, the mindfulness and meditation, they know these ten days might involve some real work. But none of them could imagine just how challenging the next ten days are going to be.

Frances Welty, the formerly best-selling romantic novelist, arrives at Tranquillum House nursing a bad back, a broken heart, and an exquisitely painful paper cut. She’s immediately intrigued by her fellow guests. Most of them don’t look to be in need of a health resort at all. But the person that intrigues her most is the strange and charismatic owner/director of Tranquillum House. Could this person really have the answers Frances didn’t even know she was seeking? Should Frances put aside her doubts and immerse herself in everything Tranquillum House has to offer – or should she run while she still can?

It’s not long before every guest at Tranquillum House is asking exactly the same question.


5 stars for sheer totally-unable-to-put-down-this-book-ness! To give you an idea - I "read" this as an audiobook, and ended up listening to 16 hours in 8 days!!

Liane Moriarty is a bit hit-and-miss with me, but she hit it out of the park with this one! I had been warned that the beginning might feel a bit slow, but that wasn't my impression at all. I loved it right from the start, and was fascinated by how Liane Moriarty managed to write about a health retreat (starting with a 5-day "noble silence", even!) in such a way that I still found it interesting to read about. And then, of course, "stuff" happened, and suddenly I found myself with a chick-lit suspense novel, which definitely isn't the genre I've visited the most!

A great read all around.
goodreads: (Default)
Title: Claimed
Author: Fred Alvrez
Genre: Suspense
Rating: 3.5/5
# pages: 300
Date read: February 2019

Lives depend on them discovering gold, but what price are they willing to pay?

Two best friends fly to their gold claim on a remote part of Vancouver Island, both in desperate need of large amounts of money. It’s their annual pilgrimage, but this year there’s added pressure to deliver.

What they find shocks the pair, when they discover a small community that’s been shut off from the world and living underground. The rituals that they perform cause the two men to feel shock, revulsion and anger. Regular earthquakes only add to the danger, along with two sisters who they must rescue if they are to succeed.

Will they find gold, and what will it cost?
Will they even survive?

Two men go on a tortuous journey that will change both their lives forever.


A 3.5 star review. Rounded up on Goodreads as it kept me fascinated enough to finish in a day!

Very different from Fred Alvrez' other books. I love that I've now read three books by him, and they literally couldn't be more different from one another! Just goes to show that no author needs to feel stuck in one genre.

The first few chapters made me google images of Vancouver Island... Oh, my goodness! I want to go there now! Definitely a new spot to add to my bucket list - it looks absolutely gorgeous!

The story itself is every bit as engaging as I have come to expect from Fred Alvrez. I was kept on the edge of my seat throughout the journey (trying not to give too much away here) and absolutely adored Maya.
goodreads: (Default)
Title: Every Three Hours (Darby McCormic #6)
Author: Chris Mooney
Genre: Suspense
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 390
Date read: February 2019

Forensic investigator Darby McCormick queues to enter Boston Police Headquarters on a freezing winter morning. Lured back to her hometown to help solve a cold case, Darby won't get far inside the station - and this will be no ordinary homecoming...

Because someone suddenly takes a woman hostage and a stand-off ensues. The man has explosives strapped to himself and other bombs hidden around the city, rigged to explode - every three hours - until he gets what he wants.

Working desperately against the clock, Darby realizes she is trapped between a kidnapper who would kill to expose the truth and people who would let others die to hide their lies...


I bought this book not knowing it was the sixth in a series! Fortunately it turned out not to matter at all - sure, there were a few references to things that happened earlier, but anything you really needed to know to enjoy this book was suitably described, without having it feel too much like an info-dump (BSC, I'm looking at you!)

And enjoy it I did! It turned out to be a very captivating suspense novel, and I had a hard time putting it down. It's not high literature in any kind of way, but you kinda know that going into it. I'd guessed some of the events ahead of time, but definitely not all.

As unfortunately often happens with such books, the end was a bit of a let-down, but not enough to detract from my enjoyment of the book as a whole.
goodreads: (Default)
Title: How to be a Normal Person
Author: T.J. Klune
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 5/5
# pages: Audiobook ~11hrs, 264 pages
Date read: February 2019, April 2020

Gustavo Tiberius is not normal. He knows this. Everyone in his small town of Abby, Oregon, knows this. He reads encyclopedias every night before bed. He has a pet ferret called Harry S. Truman. He owns a video rental store that no one goes to. His closest friends are a lady named Lottie with drag queen hair and a trio of elderly Vespa riders known as the We Three Queens.

Gus is not normal. And he's fine with that. All he wants is to be left alone.

Until Casey, an asexual stoner hipster and the newest employee at Lottie’s Lattes, enters his life. For some reason, Casey thinks Gus is the greatest thing ever. And maybe Gus is starting to think the same thing about Casey, even if Casey is obsessive about Instagramming his food.

But Gus isn’t normal and Casey deserves someone who can be. Suddenly wanting to be that someone, Gus steps out of his comfort zone and plans to become the most normal person ever.

After all, what could possibly go wrong?


An absolutely adorable story! I LOVED it, and lost count of the number of times I laughed out loud, or literally "Awwww!!!"'ed out loud while listening to it.

Very different from T.J. Klune's other books, but just as good. And as always, his characters are something out of the ordinary...
- a socially awkward (think Sheldon Cooper +) orphaned video clerk/landlord
- an asexual stoner hipster
- three elderly biker chicks who are either sisters or lesbian lovers
- three ironic amigos
and of course a ferret!

The best thing by far about this book was seeing Gus grow from being a determined loner to actually loving other people and allowing himself to be loved in return. Casey forced him out of his shell, by not even noticing that he HAD one, and it was just delightful to see. It was equally lovely to see Gus (and everybody else) just accept Casey for who he is, and not make a big deal out of him being asexual, or having it be something he needed to be "cured" of.

Very sweet and heartwarming book.

Profile

goodreads: (Default)
goodreads

July 2025

S M T W T F S
  12345
6789101112
13 141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jul. 14th, 2025 21:06
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios