Foe by Iain Reid

One Sentence Summary: This is a philosophical novel set in the future where a husband is selected to participate in a space mission while his wife stays home on the farm in the company of an interesting individual.

Number of Pages: 260

Rating: 4/5 stars

Review: Foe by Iain Reid is thought-provoking and unlike any book I've read before. It was advertised as a page-turner, which I can't say I agree with, but it is certainly an interesting, worthwhile novel that sticks in your head after you've completed it. The first half of the book starts slowly, but the second half makes up for it. Reid does a weird thing with punctuation throughout the book: the main character doesn't have quotation marks around his speech. Normally, I hate when authors mess with things like that. However, in this case, it is an excellent choice that makes the conclusion more powerful and adds meaning to the story. Only a talented writer can pull something like that off. Foe is the first book I've read by Reid, and now he's definitely on my radar of authors to watch.

The Invited by Jennifer McMahon

One Sentence Summary: A couple builds a haunted house in rural Vermont.

Number of Pages: 353

Rating: 5/5 stars

Review: The Invited by Jennifer McMahon is the perfect creepy October read. It's scary but not make-your-pants-brown scary, which is just what I was looking for. The story pulls you in right away and keeps you interested the whole way through while gradually getting eerier. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and always had trouble putting it down. I would have preferred a different ending, but the ending was suitable and doesn't ruin the book. If you're looking for a page-turner fit for October, this is your book.

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

One Sentence Summary: A young woman takes on a position as a live-in nanny in a creepy modern house in Scotland and is soon arrested for the murder of one of the children.

Number of Pages: 336

Rating: 4/5 stars

Review: I really enjoyed The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware and went back and forth over giving it a 4 or a 5. It was a solid book but didn't wow me. (Plus, a book has to be really special for me to give it a five-star review.) In the end, I gave it a 4/5 because it wasn't quite as spooky as I was hoping and the ending changed the whole feeling of the book in not a good way. (I don't want to spoil anything so I won't elaborate on that, but if you do read it I'm sure you'll know what I'm talking about.) The Turn of the Key is a good October read, especially if you want to be a little scared but not too scared. I'd definitely recommend it.

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson

One Sentence Summary: A woman named Roux makes a game of blackmailing a woman named Amy but doesn't expect Amy to be such a challenge.

Number of Pages: 340

Rating: 4/5 stars

Review: Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson wasn't super exciting at first. (It started with a women's bookclub meeting getting catty and made me feel a little uncomfortable but not necessarily interested.) However, the book got better quickly and was fun to read. It had several big twists I didn't see coming, and the second half was way better than the first. The one dislike I had was this: why didn't the main character just tell the truth? I kept thinking that would immediately solve her blackmail problem, so that distracted and annoyed me some. If she told the truth then there wouldn't be much of a story though, so I get it. Never Have I Ever was a good read, and I'll be reading more of this author's books in the future.

Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller

One Sentence Summary: A woman in 1969 spies on a couple who is staying in the same dilapidated English mansion.

Number of Pages: 317

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Review: Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller has some problems. The first third of the book suffers from being wayyyy too descriptive of the setting, which prevents any sort of momentum from being developed. The middle third of the book suffers from lack of events. The woman and the couple she spies on eat and drink and smoke together. A lot. In fact, that's pretty much all they do. The entire book suffers from just not being that interesting. The author does a good job of having gradual reveals and shocking little twists, but by the time those happen in the last third of the book I am just not invested in the characters or the storyline. Bitter Orange isn't unreadable, but I am pretty disappointed in what I thought would be a good read.

Cribsheet by Emily Oster

One Sentence Summary: Cribsheet is a nonfiction book that uses data to inform parents' best practices with their children under three.

Number of Pages: 291 (plus more with appendixes, notes, and index)

Rating: 5/5 stars

Review: The author of Cribsheet, Emily Oster, is all about data. In her book she delves deep into all sorts of research about babies and toddlers in order to help parents make the best decisions for their families. Oster presents the benefits and risks around common decisions parents have to make, including topics such as breastfeeding, baby led weaning, crying it out, where babies should sleep, and much more. This book is a helpful read for new parents who want to make informed decisions about their parenting.

The Last by Hanna Jameson

One Sentence Summary: Nuclear bombs exploded all over the world, leaving twenty people alive in a hotel together wondering who they can trust and how they will stay alive.

Number of Pages: 340

Rating: 5/5 stars

Review: The Last by Hanna Jameson is an excellent, fast-paced page turner. I have a hard time reading books in airports, but my mom recommended I take this one along with me on a recent flight. I'm glad she did. Starting with the very first page, I was drawn in and didn't want to stop reading. I find most post-apocalyptic novels to be depressing, but that wasn't the overwhelming tone of The Last. This book had one of the best female characters I've found in a long time. If you like Deb from the TV show Dexter, you'll love Tomi, too. I have zero complaints about this book. Check it out if you want a quick, entertaining read.

Sunset Beach by Mary Kay Andrews

One Sentence Summary: A 36 year old woman who has issues with her dad moves back to her hometown to work at his law firm and solves two murder mysteries by herself.

Number of Pages: 441

Rating: 3/5 stars

Review: While Sunset Beach by Mary Kay Andrews is a good book to pick up and read on a beach during the summer months, it's just an okay read. My two biggest issues were with the main character and with the implausibility of her detective skills. I found the main character annoying and full of herself. She becomes obsessed with solving two murder mysteries but is not a detective or a lawyer or a part of the police force. And she doesn't have any training or experience whatsoever to qualify her to check into these cases. I literally had to roll my eyes at some parts in the book. It's an easy and a fast read, but I wouldn't recommend it.

The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth

One Sentence Summary: A difficult mother-in-law is found dead under peculiar circumstances.

Number of Pages: 340

Rating: 5/5 stars

Review: The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth is a fun, quick, entertaining read perfect for summer or a vacation. It's not a book that will change your world, but it is a perfect easy read, especially for anyone with a hard to love mother-in-law in her life. I have no criticisms of this book.

Cherokee America by Margaret Verble

One Sentence Summary: A one sentence summary is impossible to do for this book. I have no idea what it was about. I wish I did. The book took place in the 1800s and it was kind of about relations between blacks, whites, and Native Americans.

Number of Pages: 385

Rating: 2/5 stars

Review: I had high hopes for Cherokee America. A trusted source recommended it and Ron Rash (author of Serena, which I loved) talked it up. The book started with a solid 4/5 stars, but it lost me along the way. There were a bazillion characters, and 90% of them were forgettable. Somehow, there were almost as many plots and subplots as characters. I kept reading thinking the plots would link together and make sense, but they never conjoined and many seemed to get lost and left unresolved. Cherokee America was filled with interesting historical tidbits and the writing itself was actually good. However, the book had zero focus. Maybe it would be better as a set of short stories. Or perhaps trimmed of characters and plots to create a narrower focus. As is, though, the book was a big, swirling mess of a disappointment.

American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson

One Sentence Summary: A woman writes to her sons about her past as a spy in Burkina Faso during the late 1980s.

Number of Pages: 289

Rating: a weak 3/5 stars

Review: American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson could have been a better book. It was an interesting subject, but the writing was difficult to follow and interfered with my understanding of the plot. The book left me with questions, not because I was moved by the story and couldn't stop thinking about it, but because there were many loose ends that weren't tied up. There were a lot of ideas that came together to make this book, and those ideas didn't seem to fit together in a cohesive storyline. This book was meh.

The Lake House by Kate Morton

One Sentence Summary: An unsolved missing child case in 1933 gets another look in 2003.

Number of Pages: 492

Rating: a strong 4/5 stars

Review: I really liked this book. The story gradually unfolded and had multiple mysteries and backstories that were enjoyable to read. The plot that occurred back during WWI and WWII was especially interesting to read.  I myself liked the descriptions of the lake house and the surrounding area, and there were plenty of those. I could see how another reader, though, would just want the author to get on with the story and lose a few details—it was a pretty lengthy book. However, the reason this book didn't earn a perfect review from me was because of the ineptitude of the police force; it was almost unbelievable at times. Also, the conversations wrapping up the story at the end of the book didn't seem to naturally fit in with the rest of the writing. Overall, I'd recommend this book.

The Peacock Emporium by JoJo Moyes

One Sentence Summary: A woman opens a store called the Peacock Emporium and discovers more about her past and what she wants for her future.

Number of Pages: 389

Rating: 3/5 stars

Review: I love JoJo Moyes and The Peacock Emporium was one of the first books she wrote. Although her other books are generally very enjoyable, this book was only mediocre. For the first half of the book it was difficult to tell whose perspective was being shared and that caused recurring confusion. Suzanna, the main character, wasn’t very likeable and was frustrating at times. The plot was fairly predictable. The Peacock Emporium wasn’t a terrible book, but it certainly wasn’t great either. Since writing this book Moyes has become a much more skilled writer. Unless you are a huge fan of JoJo Moyes, I would not recommend this book.