Fifteen Minutes of Shame by Lisa Daily (print, owned): This was a fun and easy chick lit read about a dating expert who finds out that her husband is cheating on her ON NATIONAL TV! Not only is it humiliating, it ruins her career, and worse, he takes his kids with him (her stepkids whom she loved and helped raise). All in all, this was a fast paced story that drew me in and made me cringe (in a fun way). I liked the female friendships and the possible new love connections. Great for fans of chick lit and romance. (4/5 stars)
Scythe by Neal Shusterman (print, library): This was a Forever YA book club choice, and I am so glad it was because I never would have read it otherwise… and I LOVED IT! Scythe is the first in a dystopian series set in a world with no death, disease, hunger, or real pain. That means people could live forever, but in order to keep the population under control, there are designated “scythes.” These people are chosen to end other’s lives as they see fit. They are both feared and revered. This series opener follows two teen scythe apprentices in training. Honestly, the whole book was just super exciting and engaging throughout. I got completely wrapped up in it and found it to be so compelling. It’s such a unique premise with fascinating characters and ideas. It was a fast read that I didn’t want to put down. I absolutely cannot wait to read the rest of the series. (5/5 stars)
Last Party by Clare Mackintosh (eBook, owned): This was a pick for my mystery book club. Pretty standard fare mystery taking place in Wales. A wealthy singer turns up dead at his vacation home, and it turns out… he had a lot of enemies with potential motive. This was a good enough mystery. It wasn’t GREAT, but it certainly wasn’t bad, either. The story line and characters were intriguing, and it moved at a decent pace. I had no problem picking it back up, but also no problem putting it back down. I enjoyed how twisted the mystery itself was, and how many suspects there were… it made it very hard to ever guess the truth. I think some of my issue with the book was just the fact that culturally, I wasn’t familiar at all with the area / setting, or the language. I think that slowed things down for me a bit. I really liked the main character Ffion and I do plan on reading the next one in the series. (3/5 stars)
