Joy's Book Blog
“The Invited” is a ghost story by Jennifer McMahon. Honestly, I read this book while waiting for another one of hers (I’ll review that when I get it eventually). It tells the story of Helen, a history teacher who convinces her husband, Nate, to leave the city and build their own house in rural Vermont. …
“The House in the Pines” is a psychological thriller told from the point of view of Maya, an adult woman who struggles with addiction and repressed memories of her childhood friend’s death. Maya is convinced her ex-boyfriend Frank was involved, and after viewing a similar strange death involving Frank through social media, Maya sets out …
“Beyond That, the Sea” is an interesting book about an aspect of WWII that I hadn’t read about before. It’s told from two perspectives: the first is that of a young girl who was separated from her parents and sent from England to America for her protection, and the second is that of the girl’s …
My third 5-star book for 2023: “Carrie Soto is Back” was written by Taylor Jenkins Reid. You may recognize her from her other bestsellers, “Daisy Jones and the Six” and “Malibu Rising.” I was one of the few people who didn’t love Daisy…I found the book OK and liked it, but it wasn’t one that …
“Book Lovers” caught my eye mostly for the title, I admit. I’ve read some of Emily Henry’s books before so I knew what to expect: a PG-rated romance with slightly deep characters where everything works out in the end. And that’s what this is. A nice little beach read (although for me, sadly no beach). …
I continue to be on a streak of books that I haven’t enjoyed much. The latest is Sarah Penner’s “The London Séance Society.” I wanted to read this book since I enjoyed her other book, “The Lost Apothecary,” so much. It was advertised on Goodreads, Amazon, and other book lists as a “most unusual mystery” …
I admit I haven’t posted lately because I’ve seemed to hit a string of bad books (or more precisely, “books I didn’t enjoy” is the better term). It’s gotten to the point over the past month where I’ve read at least two books I haven’t even finished! I am not going to review those because …
Love, love, love, I loved “Remarkably Bright Creatures.” First, every other chapter is written in first-person by an octopus. Yep, an octopus. To be specific, a 60-pound giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus living in the Sowell Bay Aquarium in Washington state. And he is NOT happy about it! Understandably, Marcellus wants to get back to …
My first 5/5 star book for 2023! I loved “Lessons in Chemistry” and have already recommended it to several friends. The main character, Elizabeth Zott, is great. She’s a beautiful, quirky, no-nonsense chemist in the 1950s. See the problem? She’s a beautiful, female chemist in the 1950s. Elizabeth doesn’t understand why any of that should …
“Demon Copperhead” was loaned to me by a close friend to read. It was a nominee for Goodreads 2022 Best Fiction book, so I knew it had to be good. And it was good…HOWEVER, this book is a modern take on Dicken’s David Copperfield, so like that book, there are a lot of hard truths …