The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes

 Book 25 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from February 22 - 26

The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian

published 2022

Summary (via the book jacket)

Marian Hayes, the Duchess of Clare, just shot her husband. Of course, the evil, murderous man deserved what was coming to him, but now she must flee to the countryside. Unfortunately, the only person she can ask for help is the charismatic criminal who is blackmailing her - and who she may have left tied up a few hours before...

A highwayman, con artist, and all-around cheerful villain, Rob Brooks is no stranger to the wrong side of the law or the right side of anybody's bed. He never meant to fall for the woman whose secrets he promised to keep for the low price of five hundred pounds, but how could he resist someone who led him on a merry chase all over London, left him tied up in a seedy inn, and then arrived covered in her husband's blood and in desperate need of his help?

As they flee across the country - stopping to pick pockets, drink to excess, and rescue invalid cats - they discover more true joy and peace than either has felt in ages. But when the truth of Rob's past catches up to him, they must decide if they are willing to reshape their lives in order to forge a future together.

My Opinion

4 stars

I'm kind of new to the Romance genre and am discovering I'm a fan.  Similar to cozy mysteries, sometimes a mushy story just hits the spot, especially to counteract the fairly heavy non-fiction book I'm also currently reading.

 The witty, flirty banter made me laugh out loud more than once and I appreciated that the obstacles that had to be thrown in to continue the story weren't unnecessarily complicated and the characters were pretty upfront with each other.  Even when he wasn't telling her everything, he told her he was keeping a secret and not telling her everything.

I liked the characters and would read more if the author further developed the underlying inequality/justice plot into more books.  I see this is actually the second book in the London Highwaymen series and I will definitely read the first book which appears to feature the more secondary characters of this book. 

Since I'm new to the genre I have no idea about "spice levels" and how to categorize them.  What I will say is that this book gave me a jolt about 75% through when we went from nothing but kisses and glances to sticking a finger up his butt.  I didn't mind but if someone was reading this and lulled into thinking it's a light romance, it has some heat.

Why Fathers Cry At Night

 Book 24 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from February 22 - 24

Why Fathers Cry At Night by Kwame Alexander

published 2023

Summary (via the book jacket)

In an intimate and non-traditional memoir, Kwame Alexander shares snapshots of a man learning how to love. He explores his difficulties as a newly wedded, twenty-two-year-old father, and the precariousness of his early marriage working in a jazz club with his second wife. 

Alexander attempts to deal with the unraveling of his marriage and the grief of his mother's passing while sharing the solace he found in learning how to perfect her famous fried chicken. With an open heart, Alexander weaves together memories of his past to try and understand his greatest love: his daughters.

My Opinion

4 stars

I'm a fan of Kwame Alexander's work so I picked this up from the library after seeing it in People Magazine.

Beautiful lyricism of tough topics, this was unflinching and at times uncomfortable, like I was seeing something intimate I wasn't meant to.  He wrote from a vulnerable place and I hope he's found peace with his loss and past.

He wrote that maybe he should've shared some of these notes about his daughters with them face-to-face and that reenforces something I felt throughout the book.  I hope he shares some royalties from this book with his ex-wives because many of his learned lessons he writes about appear to have been taught, unwillingly or not, by the women surrounding him.

10 Truths and a Dare

 Book 23 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read on February 21

10 Truths and a Dare by Ashley Elston

published 2021

Summary (via the book jacket)

It's Senior Party Week, that magical in-between time after classes have ended but before graduation, chock full of gimmicky theme parties, last-minute bonding, and family traditions. Olivia couldn't be more ready. Class salutatorian and confident in her future at LSU, she's poised to sail through to the next phase of her life.

But when the tiny hiccup of an unsigned PE form puts Olivia in danger of not graduating at all, she has one week to set things straight without tipping off her big, nosy extended family. Volunteering at a local golf tournament should do it, but since Olivia's mom equipped her phone with a tracking app, there'll be no hiding the fact that she's at the golf course instead of all the graduation parties happening at the same time. Unless, that is, she can convince the rest of the Fab Four - her ride-or-die cousins and best friends Sophie, Charlie, and Wes - to trade phones with her and go through the motions of playing Olivia for the week.

Sure, Olivia's sudden "passion" for golf is met with some suspicion. And sure, her grasp of the rules is a little shaky. And yes, okay, a very cute, very off-limits boy keeps popping up in her orbit. But she is focused! She has a schedule and a plan! Nothing can possibly go wrong...right?

My Opinion

4 stars

First, a note about the acknowledgements.  The author dedicated this book to the classes of 2020 and 2021 and talked about the bittersweetness of finishing this book at the beginning of lockdown in Spring 2020, writing about all the traditions and events of a high school graduation as her own son was a senior not able to experience these things.  I also had a 2020 graduate and can remember very vividly the delays turning into cancellations and trying to navigate those emotions.

On to the book itself.  One of my kids read it in a day after checking it out from the library and she gave it to me thinking I would read it quickly as well.  I definitely did, also reading it in a few hours, but I have to say that if she hadn't been pushing me along, I probably wouldn't have picked this book for myself.  I have a low tolerance for situations getting out of hand unnecessarily so I had to keep asking her, "does this level out? is it going to be okay? am I going to be mad?"  She reassured me that it would be okay, and it was.

So why the 4 stars?  Because even when I was aggravated I was still reading and I know I'm not the demographic for this book either in age or in temperament.  And I liked the characters and setting.  

This was a quick read with a "High School Musical" vibe, situations that felt overwhelming in the moment but with an underlying tone that it will all work out.

**Note: as I went to add my review on Goodreads, I see this is actually the second book featuring this family.  I will definitely tell my daughter about the first but haven't decided for myself if I want to dive in again.

Leg

 Book 22 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from February 15 - 19

Leg: The Story of a Limb and the Boy Who Grew From It 

by Greg Marshall

published 2023

Summary (via the book jacket)

Greg Marshall's early years were pretty bizarre. Rewind the VHS tapes (this is the nineties) and you'll see a lopsided teenager limping across a high school stage, or in a wheelchair after leg surgeries, pondering why he's crushing on half of the Utah Jazz. Add to this home video footage of a mom clacking away at her newspaper column between chemos, a dad with ALS, and a cast of foulmouthed siblings. Fast-forward the tape and you'll find Marshall happily settled into his life as a gay man, only to discover he's been living in another closet his whole life: He has cerebral palsy, a diagnosis that has been kept from him since birth. (His parents always told him he just had "tight tendons" and left it at that.) Here, in the hot mess of it all, lies Greg Marshall's wellspring of wit and wisdom.

My Opinion

3 stars

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

Have you ever told a funny or quirky story from your childhood only to be met with a shocked or pitying reaction instead of laughter, making you realize your childhood isn't as typical or sunny as you thought it was?  That's how this whole book felt to me.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

 Book 21 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from February 15 - 17

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Summary (via the book jacket)

Reclusive Hollywood icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant to write her story, no one is more astounded than Monique herself.

Determined to use this opportunity to jump-start her career, Monique listens in fascination. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to leaving show business in the '80s - and of course, the seven husbands along the way - Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. But as Evelyn's story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique's own in tragic and irreversible ways.

My Opinion

5 stars

DAMN.  It's been awhile since a book has ripped my heart out so unexpectedly.  I knew I was invested but wasn't prepared for the gut punch.  I'm glad 2 of my daughters have also read this so I have someone to talk about it with.

You Could Make This Place Beautiful

 Book 20 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from February 10 - 15

You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith

published 2023

Summary (via Goodreads)

In her memoir You Could Make This Place Beautiful, poet Maggie Smith explores the disintegration of her marriage and her renewed commitment to herself in lyrical vignettes that shine, hard and clear as jewels. 

The book begins with one woman’s personal, particular heartbreak, but its circles widen into a reckoning with contemporary womanhood, traditional gender roles, and the power dynamics that persist even in many progressive homes. With the spirit of self-inquiry and empathy she’s known for, Smith interweaves snapshots of a life with meditations on secrets, anger, forgiveness, and narrative itself. The power of these pieces is cumulative: page after page, they build into a larger interrogation of family, work, and patriarchy.

My Opinion

4 stars

I added this book to my 'to-read' list after seeing it in Booklist.

I wavered between 3 and 4 stars but rounded up to 4 because of the beautiful lyricism.

I can't explain why I wavered without being a little mean-spirited, something I especially don't enjoy doing when reviewing memoirs.  But my feeling after reading this is that the author avoided delving into subjects further when she didn't want to by saying she was protecting someone or it wasn't her story to tell or something that would sound perfectly reasonable if she didn't also spend pages alluding to the same things.  For example, mentioning multiple times how bitter and contentious the divorce was but saying it's not your place to air it out leaves the reader to draw negative conclusions without the author getting her hands dirty.  We know her ex-husband joined a dating app and moved in with a woman but the author says she won't talk about her own post-divorce dating/sex life (while also coyly saying that she will say everything gets better with age, yet another subtle dig at her ex).

So I liked the writing but I also felt manipulated.

The World's Worst Serial Killers

 Book 19 of my Reading Challenge

read from February 1 - 12

The World's Worst Serial Killers: Shocking Crimes and Unspeakable Murders

by Al Cimino

published 2024

Summary (via the book jacket)

Serial killers are the most terrifying criminals out there. They find themselves driven to kill and kill again, and no amount of reason or logic can stop their orgy of violence. Many masquerade as ordinary members of society. The body counts continue to rise until their shocking crimes are uncovered by dogged detective work or through their own mistakes.

This collection features more than 60 of the most evil serial killers from across the globe, including:

 - John Wayne Gacy, who worked part-time as a clown for children's birthday parties while in secret took home teenage boys to abuse and kill;

 - Ted Bundy, who charmed women into returning home with him before revealing his true self;

 - Charles Manson, who led a cult of death and destruction in Los Angeles;

 - Tamara Samsonova, the 'Granny Ripper' who chopped up her victims and dumped them outside her flat;

 - and Daniel Carmago Barbosa, the most prolific serial killer of all time, with more than 150 victims.

My Opinion

4 stars

This book was an impulse buy while browsing.  Even though it's hefty it's digestible, with a few pages devoted to each person and pictures throughout the book.

This was a good book but one I could only read a little at a time before it started affecting me, especially at night.  It wasn't overly gruesome but it was graphic and reading page after page of depravity was tough.  There were so many serial killers in this book, I had no idea so many different people were able to murder for years and years before being caught.  

It's frustrating how many times the killer would be on the police's radar yet still able to continue killing, sometimes even for years.  At first I thought this was the reason this book was hitting me so hard, because of the seemingly unnecessary deaths if they'd been stopped sooner, but then as I continued reading a new layer of this discomfort hit me.  I realized so many of these killers are white and I feel that's a major contributing factor to why they would be questioned and let go, or flimsy excuses/alibis would be accepted, or they would be found guilty but put on probation, etc.  How many minority suspects have been jailed and/or lynched for much much less evidence?

A Constellation of Minor Bears

 Book 18 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from February 5 - 10

A Constellation of Minor Bears by Jen Ferguson

published 2024

Summary (via the book jacket)

Before that awful Saturday, Molly used to be inseparable from her brother, Hank, and his best friend, Tray. The indoor climbing accident that left Hank with a traumatic brain injury filled Molly with anger. While she knows the accident wasn't Tray's fault, she will never forgive him for being there and failing to stop the damage.

But she can't forgive herself for not being there either. Or for letting the deadline to accept her university entrance offer pass.

Determined to go on the trio's postgraduation hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, even without Hank, Molly packs her bag. But when her parents put Tray in charge of looking out for her, she is stuck backpacking with the person who incites her easy anger.

Despite all her planning, the trail she'll walk has a few more twists and turns ahead.

My Opinion

4 stars

I picked this book up on a whim from a display of diverse books at a library.  Saying it took 5 days to read is correct but not the full picture...the only reason it took so many days is because I would become so absorbed so quickly that I didn't want to read it unless I had time to devote to it.  I would say it's a 2-3 sittings book if you have time.

It's a very very high 4 but I just couldn't get to a 5 after the second round of Brynn and how it was resolved.  The plot twist before she left was outstanding and I was happy to see her again but the seriousness of the situation didn't mix with the off-camera quick resolution in my mind.

I will definitely read this author again.

I've Tried Being Nice

 Book 17 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from February 5- 7

I've Tried Being Nice by Ann Leary

published 2024

Summary (via the book jacket)

Having arrived at a certain age (her prime), Ann Leary casts a wry backward glance at a life spent trying - and often failing - to be nice. With wit and surprising candor, Leary recounts the bedlam of home bat invasions, an obsession with online personality tests, and the mortification of taking ballroom dance lessons with her actor husband. She describes hilarious red-carpet fiascos and other observations from the sidelines of fame, while also touching on her more poignant struggles with alcoholism, her love for her family, her dogs, and so much more.

Prepare to laugh, cry, cringe, and revel in the comically relatable chaos or Ann Leary's life as revealed in this delightful collection of essays. 

My Opinion

5 stars

I picked up this book while browsing at the library.  A catchy, relatable title of a book of personal essays?  Sold.

I was engaged from the opening paragraphs of the first essay when she described an agent giving her feedback on her first project.  He said he wished the narrator was more likable and she wrote back that she agreed but unfortunately, her book was a memoir and she was the narrator so that probably wasn't an option.  Hilarious.

This was rare because as open and honest as she was about herself, she didn't really "expose" her children or husband.  That was refreshing both to read about a wife/mother that actually focuses on herself when writing essays about her life and as someone that usually feels a tinge of sympathy for people in an author's orbit that don't have a choice about their stories being told.

I didn't know anyone would be able to out-empathize me but the way she talked about animals, especially the bats in her attic, made even me give pause.

I'm adding her book, An Innocent, A Broad to my 'to-read' list immediately.

Quote from the Book

"I've gone through life flailing about aimlessly, trying to figure out how to behave in various situations. I didn't know it, but it turns out, I'm a "rules" person. I just often don't know the rules."

Love in the Blitz

 Book 16 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from January 19 - February 5

Love in the Blitz: The War Letters of Eileen Alexander to Gershon Ellenbogan

by Eileen Alexander

published 2020

Summary (via Goodreads)

On July 17th 1939, Eileen Alexander, a bright young woman recently graduated from Girton College, Cambridge, begins a brilliant correspondence with fellow Cambridge student Gershon Ellenbogen that lasts five years and spans many hundreds of letters. But as Eileen and Gershon’s relationship flourishes from friendship and admiration into passion and love, the tensions between Germany, Russia, and the rest of Europe reach a crescendo. When war is declared, Gershon heads for Cairo and Eileen forgoes her studies to work in the Air Ministry.  

As cinematic as Atonement, written with the intimacy of the Neapolitan quartet, Love in the Blitz is an extraordinary glimpse of life in London during World War II and an illuminating portrait of an ordinary young woman trying to carve a place for herself in a time of uncertainty. As the Luftwaffe begins its bombardment of England, Eileen, like her fellow Britons, carries on while her loved ones are called up to fight, some never to return home.

Written over the course of the conflict, Eileen’s letters provide a vivid and personal glimpse of this historic era. Yet throughout the turmoil and bloodshed, one thing remains her beloved Gershon, who remains a source of strength and support, even after he, too, joins the fighting. Though his letters have been lost to time, the bolstering force of his love for Eileen is illuminated in her responses to him.Equal parts heartrending and heartwarming, Love in the Blitz is a timeless romance and a deeply personal story of life and resilience amid the violence and terror of war.

My Opinion 

3 stars

I like that Eileen is listed as the author even though this book was put together years later after David McGowan randomly bought a collection of letters off of eBay.  I also like that they found and got permission from Eileen's grandchildren before publishing.  There were also quite a few photos in the book, some from the family's personal collection.

What a prolific writer Eileen was!  These letters would be a treasure to her family as well as researchers of that time.  They may be less of a treasure to relatives of the friends/coworkers she wrote about, as many of her opinions about their life/appearance/morals etc. were fairly harsh.  It makes me wonder if she was as outspoken to their faces as she was in her letters.

It felt longer than it actually was and that showed in how many days it took me to read it.  On the bright side, when I'm not fully engaged in a book I spend more time than usual on the little tasks that are easy to put off until another day...I accomplished a lot over the past week!

Christine Falls

 Book 15 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read from January 26 - February 1

Christine Falls by Benjamin Black

published 2006

Summary (via the book jacket)

Quirke and Malachi Griffin were raised as brothers, though Quirke - rescued from an Irish orphanage by Malachy's father, the eminent Judge Garrett Griffin - was always the favored son. But Malachi married the American girl Quirke loved, and Quirke settled for her sister, who died in childbirth soon thereafter. Malachi went on to become a prominent obstetrician and Quirke a hard-drinking pathologist, and for the past twenty years the two have coexisted uneasily as brothers-in-law as well as rivals.

Then one night, after a few drinks at an office party, Quirke shuffles down to the morgue and discovers Malachi altering a file he has no business ever reading. Odd enough in itself to find him there, but the next morning, when the haze has lifted, Quirke begins to suspect that his brother-in-law was in fact tampering with a corpse - and concealing the cause of death. It turns out the body belonged to a young woman named Christine Falls. And as Quirke reluctantly presses on toward the truth behind her death, he comes up against some insidious and very well guarded secrets of Dublin's high Catholic society - which includes members of the Griffin family. But when he is urged - at first subtly and then with considerable violence - to probe no further, he nevertheless finds himself drawn inexorably down a trail that leads him across the ocean to Boston, and deep into his own past.

My Opinion

4 stars

As I read I couldn't shake the feeling that it was very familiar.  The book was published in 2006, years before I started tracking my books on Goodreads, so I considered the very real possibility that I'd actually already read it.  But I don't remember books well so I continued on and by the time I hit some plot twists I was genuinely shocked.  So I don't think I've read it before and maybe the familiarity was from similar themes or settings...a hard drinking pathologist faces his demons and his family.

Somebody who read this book before me (a library copy) made many notes in the margins.  That reader was making literary connections I wasn't, reminding me that I read on a fairly superficial level and there are people who really dig in and analyze books, even silly mysteries like this one.

I'm not interested in continuing the series but I did read the summaries on Goodreads for the rest of them; they gave quite a bit away so I know which characters die and which relationships continue.  That's good enough for me.