Death at the Dress Rehearsal

 Book 76 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from September 28 - October 21

Death at the Dress Rehearsal by Stuart Douglas

published 2024

Summary (via the book jacket)

In 1970, while on a location shoot in Shropshire for the downmarket BBC sitcom Floggit and Leggit, ageing actor Edward Lowe -a "short stocky northerner with a receding hairline and bad eyesight", who plays the pompous and officious lead, a role based on himself - stumbles across the body of a young woman, apparently the victim of a tragic drowning accident. But there's something about her death that rings the faintest of bells in his head and, convinced the woman has been murdered, he enlists the help of his laid-back, upper-class co-star John Le Breton, a man for whom raising a wry eyebrow is a bit too much of an effort, to investigate further.

Crossing the country and back again during gaps in filming, the two elderly thespians make use of their wildly contrasting personalities and skillsets to uncover both a series of murders in the modern day and links to another death during World War II. But, as the body count mounts and a pattern to the killings begins to emerge, can Edward and John put their differences aside to save the innocent victims of a serial killer and still be ready for when the cameras start rolling?

My Opinion

3 stars

This is the first book in the "Lowe and Le Breton Mysteries" series and it caught my interest while browsing at the library.

I liked the characters and want to see their friendship blossom which is why I'll probably give the second book a try but if the series continues for multiple books and the premises continue to be that the actors are in the wrong place at the wrong time (or is the right place at the right time?) to stumble upon murders, I'll probably tire of it.  An ordinary person being constantly surrounded by crime is one of my least favorite things about cozy mysteries but I also acknowledge there wouldn't be a story without it so I read them but also complain about it.  I'm a delight.

As far as the mystery they were solving, it moved at a good pace even though the final threads connecting everything felt tenuous and coincidental.

Oh Miriam!

 Book 75 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from October 7 - 21

Oh Miriam! by Miriam Margolyes

published 2023

Summary (via the book jacket)

Oh Miriam! has been a constant refrain in my life, said in all kinds of tones - laughs, surprised gasps and orgasmic sighs (I'm hoping for all of those from you as you read on!) - that it had to be the title of this book. And with a cast list that stretches from Churchill to DiCaprio, Dahl to Dietrich, Princess Margaret to Maggie Smith, I've so much more to tell you and so much more to say.

My chapters range from 'How to Stay Married' to 'Don't Let the Bastards Get You Down'. Discover how to break the thickest conversational ice; why swearing is actually good for you (though not on the Today programme); the unexpected things I learned at school and what my Spice Girl name would be. Not to mention my Tale of the Unexpected and my very own Vagina Monologue.

Buckle up and join me on another unforgettable adventure, but this time through my heart and head...

My Opinion

2 stars

This is clearly her voice and written honestly.  I thought I only knew her from 'outrageous' clips on talk shoes but it turns out I've seen multiple movies she's been in.

She writes in an entertaining way but enough of the stories elicited a cringe rather than a laugh from me that I bumped it down to 2 stars.  More than one story of flashing her tits at unsuspecting people as a "joke/prank/icebreaker" and more than one story of farting in closed spaces (yet so incredibly angry when someone did it back at her) turned my impression from "kooky old lady" to "bit of a menace".  She knows "when's the first time you had anal sex?" is an opening question that will make people squirm and does it anyway; she thinks it's ok because she thinks it's cutting through the small talk bullshit and fostering an interesting conversation but I think it's rude to deliberately make people uncomfortable, especially as she holds and shares strong opinions of others' rudeness/shortcomings.

All that being said, I probably would read her other autobiography, This Much Is True, if I came across it because her life is interesting but would also be prepared going in for the 'shock value' she enjoys creating.

Regretting You

 Book 74 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read on October 11

Regretting You by Colleen Hoover

published 2019

Summary (via the book jacket)

Morgan Grant and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara, would like nothing more than to be nothing alike.

Morgan is determined to prevent her daughter from making the same mistakes she did. By getting pregnant and married way too young, Morgan put her own dreams on hold. Clara doesn't want to follow in her mother's footsteps. Her predictable mother doesn't have a spontaneous bone in her body.

With warring personalities and conflicting goals, Morgan and Clara find it increasingly difficult to coexist. The only person who can bring peace to the household is Chris - Morgan's husband, Clara's father, and the family anchor. But that peace is shattered when Chris is involved in a tragic and questionable accident. The heartbreaking and long-lasting consequences will reach far beyond just Morgan and Clara.

While struggling to rebuild everything that crashed around them, Morgan finds comfort in the last person she expects to, and Clara turns to the one boy she's been forbidden to see. With each passing day, new secrets, resentment, and misunderstandings make mother and daughter fall further apart. So far apart, it might be impossible for them to ever fall back together.

My Opinion 

4 stars

I read this after seeing a trailer for the movie and wanting to read the book first.  Because I knew some plot points going into the book, it's hard for me to rate this book blindly.  It's a 4 because of its readability but I also think things wrapped up too nicely for such big betrayals.

I think more story before the accident would've helped me feel more investment in the betrayal, like more scenes between the adults to fully feel the deception.  Also, I didn't see any of the "family anchor" stuff referenced in the summary; there weren't really interactions between Chris and Clara, Chris and Morgan, or Chris acting as a buffer between Clara and Morgan.  Yes, Clara and Morgan were disconnected after the accident but that would be expected no matter what the relationship was beforehand.

So I read the book quickly and did enjoy it but I think I would've been frustrated if I didn't know what was going to happen; I think the emotions I did feel were more from the trailer than from the text.  And unless I missed it, the payoff of the watermelon Jolly Ranchers never happened in the book even though they were referenced multiple times.  Another example of the trailer adding depth to the reading experience for me. 

Youth in Revolt

 Book 73 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from September 21 - October 9

Youth in Revolt by C.D. Payne

published 1995

Summary (via Goodreads)

Youth in Revolt is the journals of Nick Twisp, California's most precocious diarist, whose ongoing struggles to make sense out of high school, deal with his divorced parents, and lose his virginity result in his transformation from an unassuming fourteen-year-old to a modern youth in open revolt. 

As his family splinters, worlds collide, and the police block all routes out of town, Nick must cope with economic deprivation, homelessness, the gulag of the public schools, a competitive Type-A father, murderous canines (in triplicate), and an inconvenient hair trigger on his erectile response—all while vying ardently for the affections of the beauteous Sheeni Saunders, teenage goddess and ultimate intellectual goad.

My Opinion

1 star

*I always write and publish my review first so it's solely my opinion and then I go to Goodreads and read other reviews for different perspectives.  However, I had a little cheat when I went to Goodreads for the summary of the book and saw this book has a 4.06 rating.  I can't wait to go back and see what other people had to say because apparently I'm in the minority with my 1 star rating.

No.  During the first half of the book I was questioning if I actually hated the book or if I just hated the characters because they're so unlikable.  The answer is I hated the book.  But by that point I was already 300 pages deep into a 500 page book and I needed to finish it, both to see if there would be resolution (there wasn't) and to get credit for the pages I'd already invested.

There were felony-level catastrophic events impacting multiple people that had zero consequences.  I was waiting for redemption or remorse or even a sociopathic "recognition of hurt but don't care" but none of those things happened.  He just hid until everything worked out for him.  Gross.  And you can be selfish without being mean, especially to "friends".  Yuck.

Something I did find interesting is that even though this book was written in the 90's, it didn't feel dated.  Other than the collect calls and the lack of technology which would've made hiding much more difficult in current times, the emotions (or lack thereof) and priorities of teen boys still felt relevant.

Oscar Wars

 Book 72 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from September 2 - October 5

Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears

by Michael Schulman

published 2023

My Opinion

3 stars

I picked this up from the library after seeing it in People Magazine.

Overall, I found most of it interesting but nothing really rave-worthy.  Taking a month to read it in sections like an educational non-fiction book helped; when I first started reading it like a 'regular' book I felt bogged down with too much information.

The smallest change/biggest impact to me was when Allan Carr made the change from "And the winner is..." to "And the Oscar goes to..." to help ease competitive winner/loser feelings.

Dad Camp

 Book 71 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read on September 27

Dad Camp by Evan S. Porter

published 2024

Summary (via the book jacket)

After his daughter, Avery, was born, John gave it all up - hobbies, friends, a dream job - to be something more: Superdad. Since then, he's spent nearly every waking second with Avery, who's his absolute best bud. Or, at least, she was.

When now eleven-year-old Avery begins transforming into an eye-rolling zombie of a preteen who dreads spending time with him, a desperate John whisks her away for a weeklong father-daughter retreat to get their relationship back.

But John's attempts to bond seem only to drive Avery further away, and his instincts tell him she's hiding something more than just preteen angst. Even worse, the campus far from the idyllic getaway John had in mind, with a group of toxic dads who can't seem to get along, cringeworthy forced-bonding activities, and a camp director who has it out for him. With camp and summer break slipping away fast, John's determined to conquer it all for a chance to become Avery's hero again.

My Opinion 

5 stars

I picked this up on a whim while browsing at the library and I read it in a day.  Light and a little hokey but not super formulaic, this was a pleasant surprise.  

It was refreshing to have the clingy parent be the dad; this camp isn't for him to overcome being an absent parent but the complete opposite.  The choices and behavior were so cringey but understandable based on how clearly the author wrote the characters.  And the outcomes were plausible and uplifting but not magical and completely resolved.

I really liked the dynamics between the dads and how the relationships built throughout the week.  I didn't fully understand the director but it didn't seem to affect much.  I think this could make a good movie or short series (maybe an episode a day or something).

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

 Book 70 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from September 19 - 21

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things by Naomi Wood

published 2024

Summary

My Opinion

2 stars

I checked this out from the library after seeing it in People Magazine.

I don't like how I feel after reading this.  The writing must've been good to affect my mood so much but it was emotionally draining, like I'd just had a marathon phone conversation with a sad, needy friend.  Not everything has to have a positive spin but 245 pages of stories with multiple characters when everyone seems to feel hopeless and not a hint of a happy ending in any of them felt too heavy.