We're an Open Book
In this revealing memoir, the bubbly grooming expert from Netflix’s Queer Eye shares their past struggles with addiction, childhood sexual abuse, and disordered eating. Van Ness takes readers along on their often messy and deeply complicated journey to becoming the on-screen persona adored by millions of fans.
Needless to say, this is a heavy read.
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On a wild secluded Irish island, friends and family gather for an exclusive celebrity wedding. As the big day approaches, secrets are revealed and one person won’t make it off the island alive.
I picked up The Guest List because all the marketing described Foley as a modern-day Agatha Christie. I went in expecting a parlor room whodunit mystery but that wasn’t what I got. Instead, it plays out more like a modern-day grip-lit thriller.
I was kind of annoyed that all the women’s stories are rooted in motherhood or their relationship with men. Meanwhile, the men’s stories focused on their ambitions and careers.
The setting is key to this story and Foley nails the ominous and desolate setting of the island. It’s very foreboding.
This book is character-driven and therefore lends itself well to audio. Each of the narrators embodies their characters. Narrator Olivia Dowd in particular nailed Jules–the cold, determined, and successful bride–who accounted for everything when planning her perfect wedding except murder.
Overall a gripping slow-burn mystery with a twist I didn’t see coming.
04/09/2019 | Penguin Publishing Group | 11 Hrs 7 Minutes
When We Left Cuba continues the story of the Perez family after they flee Cuba and seek refuge among Palm Beach’s wealthy elite. Eldest daughter Beatriz Perez has always been bold and unconventional. She isn’t one to sit around waiting for marriage and she soon begins a scandalous affair with a promising young politician (read: JFK) and is recruited by the CIA to kill Castro.
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10 Hours 18 Mins | Harper Collins | 03/02/2021
The Lost Apothecary was one of the first books I saw all over TikTok and decided to give the audiobook a listen. This book travels through time as an American tourist unravels the mystery of a nameless apothecary who dispenses poison and justice to women in need.
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10 hours 15 minutes | Listening Library | 08/31/2021
The first half of this book felt like it was all aesthetic and no bite but wow did the last half of this book flip the script! This twisted story of two schoolgirls and a centuries-old murder becomes an absolute page-turner as the pair dive into a centuries-old tragedy.
…I read more thrillers!
The Dry by Jane Harper
Finance investigator Aaron Falk hasn’t visited the struggling farming community of Kiewarra in over 20 years—not since he was run out of town for his association with a dead girl. But when his childhood best friend commits a grisly murder-suicide Aaron is called to attend the funeral and gets roped into the investigation.
This was a solid crime novel, to quote one of the blurbs on the back; it has twists on every page. My favorite thing about Jane Haper’s books are her endings–she writes revelations right up to the last word on the last page.
I’ve been experimenting with crime thrillers this year and this is one of my favorites. I liked that it had a character-driven angle with Falk’s past.
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