How Lucky by Will Leitch

Daniel has a degenerative disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy or SMA that has him confined to a wheelchair. He is slowly losing more and more of his abilities. He can't walk, has minimal speech and his ultimate death is just around the corner. He lives alone and has a job working online for a regional airline. 

Daniel is lucky in that he lives alone, has a support system and people who help make it possible for him to live independently. His life isn't exciting or thrilling but that changes when he sees a women get into a car who is reported missing the next day. 

Daniel reaches out to others but no one seems to believe him, so he reaches out to Reddit, thus setting things in motion making that can endanger his life.

The book started off strong and I was intrigued but then .... it feel flat. I can't exactly pinpoint what happened but I found myself skimming pages to get to the resolution. Skimming pages isn't something I do often but I am thankful that I read this book as I knew nothing about SMA and was able to further educate myself on it. 

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

 The Handmaid's Tale takes place in Gilead, a city in a future dystopian world.  A world in which women are mearley objects. They are essentially put into three categories, Marthas, Handmaids and Wives. The Wives are infertile and the Handmaids have the potential to be fertile. Handmaids are used to produce children for the Wives. There are strict rules to follow and broken rules can result in death. 

Offred is our main character and a handmaiden. Her only purpose it to produce a child for the Commander and his wife. She will be used as a baby factory going from Commander to Commander until she can no longer fulfill her purpose. If she is unable to produce a child her fate will be ugly and uncomfortable. 

Offred's life is told in the past and present giving hints of how the past was and what lead to the formation of Gilead. 

The Handmaid's Tale touches upon many important issues of the past, present and perhaps the future.  The reading can often be slow moving but push through it to get to the message of this cautionary tale.

Too Good to Be True by Carola Lovering

Too Good To Be True is told in alternating points of views and timelines by unreliable characters. There are many twists and turns and the ending is pretty obvious (or at least to me it was). 

Skye is in her early 20s, wealthy and has OCD, which has results
d in her losing man after man. Her friends are getting married, having children and she is alone and lonely. 

Burke is married with three children and has been just let go of the company he has been working at for twenty years. He finds himself at the same hotel as Skye and is drawn to her. He seduces Skye, lies to his wife and starts an intense relationship with Skye.  

Heather is Burke's wife and her story will hook you, she is perhaps the most interesting character in the book.

Be prepared for an entertaining read. 

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

Dark Vanessa is a tough read! This book deals with sexual abuse and could be triggering. 

Dark Vanessa, explores the dynamics between a teenage girl and her teacher, Jacob Strane. Vanessa is only 15 years old when Jacob (44) starts to groom her. She quickly falls victim to his prey. She begins a forbidden romance with Jacob, which is incredibly uncomfortable to read and shows how easily a young person can fall for their abuser and be easily manipulated. 

The story takes place and alternates between 2000 and 2017. Vanessa is damaged and is still in a relationship of sorts with Jacob but when a case of misconduct comes out against him, Vanessa is forced to realize that she wasn't special and question if their relationship was real. 

This is the most disturbing book I have read this year. You might want to consider having a light, fluffy read on hand to read about this book. 

Spilled Milk by K.L. Randis

 I have been listening to a lot of True Crime Podcasts since Covid hit and this novel was mentioned on one of them.  It's a mix of fiction and truth, so I would categorize it as fictional realism. 

The events that take place in the book are true but things have been alte
red. It delves deeply into sexual and domestic abuse. If these are triggers for you read with caution or skip this book all together. There are some editing issues that some readers might find distracting. 

Brooke Nolan is the child of abuse and it's increasing in brutality. She protects her siblings but the price she pays for doing so is high but a glass of spilled milk causes her to spill her family secrets. Expect to cry and be angry. This is an eye opening and captivating novel on abuse.

If you or someone you know is a victim of abuse please use/share the links below.

NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE
VICTIM CONNECT
CHILDHELP
CRISIS HOTLINES

Later by Stephen King

Stephen King is one of those authors I have always read. I was reading his books before I should of and scaring myself half to death when I was in single digits but that didn't stop me from cracking open book after book. I am addicted to his mind thrilling novels and would love to live just a day in his mind to see how he thinks!

Later follows, Jamie Conklin. Jamie sees dead people but not like that kid in The Sixth Sense! He can also talk to them. His mom knows his secret but asked him to keep it under wraps. His "gift" can be traumatizing or harmless and sometimes he can use the information to help others but it could cost him. 

Later takes place in NYC and is only 248 pages! It's a one day read, two tops! It moves at a fast pace and a wee bit frightening! The twist ending his a plus! This is one King book you will want to read, it's a bit thriller, a bit horror with  a mix of  detective work! 

Can we also talk about the cover? I love it! Reminds me of older book covers by King. 

The Comeback by Ella Berman

Up and coming Hollywood Star, Grace Turner was at the height of her career but then she disappeared. She has spent the last year  hiding away from the public eye. She's returned to her parents home and is dealing with the demons from her past. She is learning to survive and dig herself out the spiral of self-destruction she was on but then she is asked to present a lifetime achievement award to Able York, the man who helped her rise to fame and she is faced with confronting her past.

The story is told in short chapters with flashbacks. The flashbacks help the story unfold and add depths of emotion to an already emotionally charged read. 

Able York, made Grace Turner into a star but his intentions were not pure. He groomed her and she had no one to protect her and prevent her childhood from being stolen from Able but she's ready to take the power back he stole from her and rebuild her career. 

Expect a lot of intense relationships, abuse (kudos to Berman but not being explicit in the details) and to be invested in this read. While I enjoyed the read it had moments that were slow and connecting to the character of Grace was at some times difficult. 

Girl A by Abigail Dean

 Girl A, is NOT an easy read. It has a large cast of characters and every relationship is more complex than the other. This is a look into the long term effects of child abuse and could be triggering for some readers.

Lex and her six siblings were tortured both physically and psychologically for years until she escaped. It's been 15 years and she still struggles with what happened in the House of Horrors. Her mother has died in prison and let Lex as executor of her will resulting in Lex having to reconnect with some of her siblings and reopening old wounds.

The story is told in present day, mixed in with childhood memories of what happened in her abusive childhood. 

The book jumps around quite a bit and Lex is not a likable character. The story is tragic but I had to push through it to finish it.

The Push by Ashley Audrain

 If you are a fan of Baby Teeth , We need to talk about Kevin or The Bad Seed this book is right up your alley. 

Ashley Audrain, psychological thriller is rather sinister.  Her debut novel is multilayered, complex and will keep you on the edge of your seat. 

Blythe and her husband are expecting a child. He is over the moon but she is going into it with trepidation and fear. Women in her family have a history of not adapting well to motherhood (which is explored further in the novel). Blythe was abused as a child but she tries to put it all behind her when her daughter Violet is born. She goes into thinking she will be a good mother but it's hard to mother a child like Violet. 

Violet is difficult to love and there is something fundamentally wrong with her. Blythe is trying to push through it bu than an incident occurs that breaks the foundations of her marriage and her relationship with Violet to the core. 

Expect an emotional, raw read with flawed characters. 

The Dating Plan by Sara Desai

I am not usually a fan of Rom-Com but this book was cute and had adorable characters which made for a easy, fast yet predictable read.

Daisy runs into her High School crush, Liam at a work conference. They enter into a beneficial agreement, in which the fool both families into thinking they are dating but things do not go as planned. 

Chaos ensues, plans fail and secrets are revealed, making you like one character a lot more and another less. 

Daisy while adorable can be unlikable but eventually redeems himself. Liam oozes confidence and sex. These two characters combined have chemistry which makes the read worth it, if you are a fast reader. 

Frankly in Love by David Yoon

Frankly in Love is about Frank Li. He is a high school student who is a first generation Korean American,  who is caught between two worlds. The world of his parents and their culture and the world of being a "typical" American teen. 

Frank Li's parents only have one rule about dating and that is to date Korean and when he falls for Brit Means, his life becomes complicated. Frank and Joy (a girl who is the daughter of his parents friends) make a pact to fake date so that they can date their prospective partners in secret. Thi
s results in an unexpected (or in my case expected) turn of events.

This is an okay read and the only moment I was truly intrigued was when Frank Li's father becomes a central part to the story, which lead to me wanting to know more about the Li's and less about Frank. This is a great book to read after having read something heavy.