It’s National Book Lover’s Day! I figured there’s no better day to start off my blog than on this day for book lovers, like myself. Here are five books I reviewed after recently reading to kick off the beginning of The Paperback blog!
Verity by Colleen Hoover
Verity by Colleen Hoover is an obvious choice for anyone who is on BookTok or follows any Bookstagrammer. Lowen accepts the role of completing a book series by Verity Crawford, after Verity was seriously injured. While sorting through notes and outlines from Verity, Lowen comes across an autobiography Verity was working on, one she never intended for anyone to see. Feelings develop in the Crawford household, and Lowen becomes increasingly worried about her safety in the house.
I have loved everything about this book. Verity is one of Colleen Hoover’s most talked about books, and for good reason. Every chapter leaves you wanting more, and the more secrets that are let out, the more tension is built. I gave a rating of 5-stars on my Goodreads account, with Verity being my new favorite book. It is a book you just want to forget so you can read it all over again. Of all the books I reviewed, Verity is at the top of the list of must-reads.
Cover Story by Susan Rigetti
I have some seriously mixed feelings about Cover Story by Susan Rigetti. Readers hear from the perspective of Lora, an aspiring writer interning at ELLE magazine, email exchanges, and FBI correspondence. Lora meets Cat Wolff at her internship and the two quickly become friends. Cat offers her up a deal she feels she can’t resist – dropping out of NYU and becoming Cat’s ghostwriter. Lora moves in with Cat at the Plaza Hotel, but the closer they get, the more Lora discovers.
I normally love a book ending where the reader is left to make some conclusions on their own, but this one was a miss for me. I’m currently loving the Bad On Paper podcast, and this book was one of their Book of the Month picks. After hearing their debate on how they interpreted the ending, it slowly grew on me. So, I was originally disappointed, but after I gave the book more thought, I grew to enjoy it. I found Lora’s character relatable at times, but also incredibly delusional, to a fault. The struggling writer in New York City is a role that so many relate to, regardless of your location, but the delusional aspect was a bit too much. Overall, I would rate this book 3.5-stars.
Lock Every Door by Riley Sager
Lock Every Door was a major page-turner for me. Jules Larsen is struggling to make it when she is offered the job of an apartment sitter at The Bartholomew. It seems too good to be true, but it is her only option. Jules befriends Ingrid, another apartment sitter in the building, who confides in Jules about her fears of living at The Bartholomew. Jules thinks nothing of it until Ingrid disappears the next day. The more digging Jules does, the scarier her reality becomes.
I truly loved reading this book. I couldn’t put it down, with so many unexpected twists coming at all times. Everyone close to Jules is wary of the situation, bringing more intensity into the situation Jules has found herself in. Of these books I reviewed, this one had the most suspense. I easily rated this book 5-stars and am excited to read more from Riley Sager.
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
The Guest List by Lucy Foley is another one of my top reads that I couldn’t put down. The book is told from the perspective of five characters: the bride, the plus-one, the best man, the wedding planner, and the bridesmaid. Off the coast of Ireland, Will and Jules are having an extravagant wedding on an island. Every character has secrets and scandals that they are hiding; some feel guilt, while others feel great. The book starts off with a scream of terror on the wedding night, and then readers hear from the five characters on the day prior and the day of, along with snippets of the wedding night disaster.
There were moments in the book that it felt like it could turn predictable, but I was always second-guessing who I thought was guilty. Every twist and turn left me wondering who was to blame for the terror on the wedding night. The Guest List is by far one of my favorite books that I wish I could read again without knowing the ending. This is a 4.5-star rating for me.
Before I Let You Go by Kelly Rimmer
My most recent read was Before I Let You Go by Kelly Rimmer, to which I gave a 5-star rating on my Goodreads account. Lexie Vidler has her life together in every way imaginable, to the outside world. There are some internal issues that we see unravel throughout the novel, but the main struggle Lexie has is helping her little sister, Annie. Lexie receives a phone call at 2 a.m. from Annie, who is in premature labor, after using heroin her entire pregnancy. With a potential prison sentence in her future, Annie is determined to get sober for her new daughter, Daisy. Lexie and her fiance, Sam, have their lives turned upside down while helping Annie turn her life around.
One of my personal favorite styles of writing is when we hear from multiple characters’ points of view. The novel goes back and forth between the current day with Lexie and a diary Annie is writing from rehab about their entire childhood and her life on her own. I love the way this book tackles the topic of addiction, from Lexie being a doctor herself and having the internal battle of knowing it’s a disease, but also being upset with her sister for using. The girls’ mother was a character that I was rooting for the entire book, I had a love/hate reaction to Sam, and both girls are relatable to anyone who is or knows an addict. I would give this book a 4.8-star rating.
Have y’all read any of these books I reviewed? I’d love to know what you liked about them!
