The Monday Check-In ~ 9/25/2023

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My Monday tradition, including a look back and a look ahead — what I read last week, what new books came my way, and what books are keeping me busy right now. Plus a smattering of other stuff too.

Life.

I’m back! My husband and I spent a lovely, relaxing six days in Hawaii this past week. We celebrated my birthday, took a bunch of walks, and basically did not much besides floating in the water, enjoying the gorgeous views, and reading on the beach. Blissful.

Sigh… I have one more day off, and then it’s back to the salt mines!

Blogging.

Here’s a lesson I keep learning over and over: If you want a ton of views, post about something on Netflix. My post about season five of Virgin River last week hit my all-time high number of views for a single day: 19,981! That’s insane.

It looks like overall, Virgin River and Bridgerton posts get more views than just about anything else… which amuses me, since I tend to write about TV only occasionally. Hey, I’m a book blogger! (Sadly, book review posts get a fraction of the views, but I still love ’em.)

What did I read during the last week?

Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons: I posted a review of this excellent book right before I left on vacation last week. Check it out here.

Lost in the Moment and Found (Wayward Children, #8) by Seanan McGuire: Finished my re-read just before leaving on my trip, and loved it once again!

And here’s what I read while I was away:

  • The Measure by Nikki Erlick
  • Marry Me By Midnight by Felicia Grossman (DNF)
  • Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
  • The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center

I’ll post some reviews later this week!

Pop culture & TV:

I didn’t watch any TV or movies this week! Honestly, it was pretty nice to take a break from everything but books.

Fresh Catch:

I won a Goodreads giveaway! The book arrived while I was away:

Also, my preorder of this hardcover new release arrived as well (although I think I’m going to listen to the audiobook):

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano: I read most of this novel on the plane yesterday, and hope to finish today or tomorrow.

Now playing via audiobook:

The Wake-Up Call by Beth O’Leary: I plan to start this audiobook tomorrow, as soon as it lands in my Audible library.

Ongoing reads:

I have two ongoing reading commitments at the moment:

  • Outlander Book Club is starting a group re-read of Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander, #2) this week. We’ll be reading and discussing two chapters per week. Anyone who’s interested is welcome to join in — message me for info.
  • The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle: I started this fantasy novel while on vacation — my used paperback edition got a little wet and sandy on the beach, but made it home mostly intact! I don’t seem to want to read this one straight through, so I’m picking it up here and there to read a chapter at a time. I’ll probably wrap up later this week or next.

So many books, so little time…

boy1

Book Review: Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons

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Title: Fair Rosaline
Author: Natasha Solomons
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication date: August 3, 2023
Length: 336 pages
Genre: Historical fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Was the greatest ever love story a lie?

The first time Romeo Montague sees young Rosaline Capulet he falls instantly in love.

Rosaline, headstrong and independent, is unsure of Romeo’s attentions but with her father determined that she join a convent, this handsome and charming stranger offers her the chance of a different life.

Soon though, Rosaline begins to doubt all that Romeo has told her. She breaks off the match, only for Romeo’s gaze to turn towards her cousin, thirteen-year-old Juliet. Gradually Rosaline realises that it is not only Juliet’s reputation at stake, but her life.

With only hours remaining before she will be banished behind the nunnery walls, will Rosaline save Juliet from her Romeo? Or can this story only ever end one way?

A subversive, powerful untelling of Shakespeare’s best-known tale, narrated by a fierce, forgotten voice: this is Rosaline’s story.

Fair Rosaline is a powerful retelling of Romeo and Juliet, faithful to the major plot beats of Shakespeare’s tragedy, but with a shift in perspective that changes everything. It’s fascinating, fast-moving, and now that I’ve finished, hard to stop thinking about.

In the traditional version, Romeo is first introduced as lovestruck over “fair Rosaline” — until he attends a Capulet party and suddenly falls completely in love with Rosaline’s cousin Juliet. Rosaline is forgotten, and we all know how things turn out for Juliet.

Here in Fair Rosaline, we see life in Verona through Rosaline’s eyes, and it isn’t pretty. With her mother a recent plague victim, Rosaline mourns her loss mostly alone, as her father is consumed by his own grief and has little patience for his 15-year-old daughter. After passing the required period of being locked up to make sure they don’t spread the plague further, Rosaline’s father shares devastating news: It was her mother’s wish that she be sent to the nunnery, and he intends to carry out this plan immediately.

There are no good choices here for Rosaline. Marriage or the convent are the only options, and as her brother is already married and has children, there’s no need to worry about further heirs. Rosaline’s dowry will go instead to the convent, and she’ll be locked behind its walls forever. Her wishes don’t matter. Desperate to prolong her freedom, Rosaline bargains with her father, and in the end, gets a concession — he’ll give her twelve days more at home, but then she must go.

Into Rosaline’s sad life, Romeo bursts like a ray of light. She sneaks away to attend the forbidden Montague ball, wanting a taste of life before she’s locked away, and there meets the handsome, smooth-talking Romeo, who seems instantly enamored by beautiful young Rosaline. Where Fair Rosaline differs sharply from the story we think we all know is that Romeo is clearly older — late twenties or early thirties, at least. As the author’s notes tell us, it’s just custom that Romeo is usually portrayed as a teen: Shakespeare specifies that Juliet is thirteen, but Romeo’s age is never stated.

What becomes clear in Fair Rosaline is that Romeo is a predator. His beautiful words are creepy here, as he uses his sleek, skillful speeches as tools of seduction, preying on much younger, innocent girls, whose sheltered lives leave them susceptible to his grooming. He doesn’t use physical violence to get his way — instead, he seduces with poetic pronouncements and over-the-top romantic gestures, promises of immediate marriage, and depictions of a future life together that’s always just out of reach.

Love with him was carnal and delicious and all consuming; he wasn’t just a hunter but a thief, stealing from girls their very selves.

When Rosaline finally faces the cruel reality of Romeo’s true nature and confronts him, he turns his attentions to her younger cousin Juliet, another easy victim for his manipulation. Rosaline and her beloved cousin Tybalt are desperate to save Juliet, who is too swept up by Romeo’s suave charm to hear their warnings.

Fair Rosaline sweeps us up into Rosaline’s misery as well as her moments of joy. This is clearly a young woman hungry for life, literature, and music, yearning for freedom that can never be hers. Between mourning her mother and dreading her incarceration behind convent walls, it’s no wonder that she’s an easy target for an experienced man who seems to offer her everything she could want.

Life in Verona at this time is presented at a tangible, visceral level, full of dirt, disease, and smells. The upper class lives of Rosaline’s world are adjacent to the terrible poverty and filth of the poorer quarters, and disease isn’t the only threat, as we see example after example of women dying in childbirth or losing children.

Even Juliet, pampered and protected, isn’t truly safe — even before she meets Romeo. After all, to the wealthy and powerful, a pretty thirteen-year-old girl is considered a candidate for marriage. Juliet’s parents plan her marriage to Paris despite her youth.

It was because of Lauretta and Nurse and Old Capulet and the good honest hypocrites of Verona that Juliet believed it was well and good for her to wed a man when she was still a child. While trying to break her in for Paris or his like, her family had seen to it that she was nicely softened for Romeo. Her arms had already been open and ready for him.

The crypts and graveyards themselves loom menacingly throughout the story. They’re not austere, holy sites to remember loved ones, but reeking pits where the dead rot and stink. Juliet’s pretend death and placement in the family crypt is horrifying: This isn’t a beautiful tableau of a young woman in eternal sleep, but a horror of a scene in which a young girl is entombed among rotting corpses.

I won’t say how the author ends her version of the story, but it’s quite powerful and masterfully told. The author weaves in phrases and moments from Shakespeare, but has them feel like natural parts of the story. Events and people fall in line with the origin story, but only on the surface. There’s more going on, and while the major set-pieces still happen, there are different elements, emotions, and motives at play as well. It’s utterly fascinating to see these pieces come together.

Rosaline is a sympathetic character. It’s easy to understand how she’d be vulnerable to someone like Romeo, and while we know she’s making bad decisions, given her lack of experience and dire circumstances, it’s impossible to fault her in any way. She’s a young girl who’s being preyed upon, and we can only admire her for wanting to take action and protect Juliet once she realizes the truth.

Fair Rosaline is a compelling read, upsetting and moving and thought-provoking. I’ll never think of Romeo and Juliet in quite the same way again.

The Monday Check-In ~ 9/18/2023

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My Monday tradition, including a look back and a look ahead — what I read last week, what new books came my way, and what books are keeping me busy right now. Plus a smattering of other stuff too.

Life.

My birthday is coming up this week, and while we usually don’t make a big fuss, this year my husband and I are actually getting away for a few days. I’m excited — it’s been almost a year since I’ve done any real traveling — but still need to pack, organize, and (most importantly) figure out which books to bring!

A blogging note: I’m not bringing a laptop, and I’m not planning to be online much. I already have tomorrow’s TTT post ready to go, but after that, I don’t anticipate posting until next week’s Monday post.

What did I read during the last week?

Dreambound by Dan Frey: Terrific, twisty fantasy tale. My review is here.

Auggie & Me by R. J. Palacio: A collection of three stories related to the world of Wonder, each focusing on a different friend or classmate of Auggie’s. A nice supplemental read after finishing Wonder.

Woke Up Like This by Amy Lea: A YA timeslip story very much along the lines of movies like 13 Going on 30. Nothing special. My review is here.

All the Dead Shall Weep (Gunnie Rose, #5) by Charlaine Harris: The newest book in a terrific series set in an alternate history US. My review is here.

Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons: Fabulous reinterpretation of the story of Romeo and Juliet. It’s not what you expect! Review to follow (probably next week).

Pop culture & TV:

I finished my Virgin River (season 5) binge. It’s as corny and predictable as ever… and I just can’t stop watching! I wrote up some thoughts, here.

Fresh Catch:

My daughter is amazing (as I’m sure I’ve already established!). She sent me perfect-for-me birthday gifts this week:

The gifts are: A Jane Austen-themed puzzle book (awesome!) and a set of three literary teas (which came with a set of bookmarks too). I’m looking forward to tea and puzzles when I get back from my trip!

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

The Measure by Nikki Erlick: My book group’s pick for September. Just getting started, but I’m intrigued already!

Now playing via audiobook:

Lost in the Moment and Found (Wayward Children, #8) by Seanan McGuire: I read this book when it came out earlier in the year, but I always enjoy the audiobooks as well (and needed something on the shorter side that I could finish before leaving on my trip).

Ongoing reads:

None at the moment!

My book group has two long-term reading projects (one a classic, one Outlander-related) starting late September/early October, but right now, we have a bit of a break — which is fine! It gives me more time to catch up on the thousands of other books I want to read.

So many books, so little time…

boy1

TV Time: Virgin River season 5. Sweaters, scenery, smoke…

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Oh, Virgin River. Never change.

We’re back to this gorgeous town for season 5 — same beautiful rivers and mountains, same quirky townspeople and their quirky squabbles, same odd mix of high drama and silliness.

And hey, this time around, we get a raging wildfire and a town fair, complete with Ferris Wheel and fireworks. What a place!

In season 5, there are serious elements happening, including tragic developments for Mel and Jack, further (awful) storylines concerning drug smuggling (but now with fentanyl in the mix), several consequential health conditions (three under one roof!), and of course, the aforementioned wildfire that threatens to destroy the entire town.

There’s also plenty of romance, bickering among friends, small town politics and power plays, and walks in the woods, and really, what more do we need?

The fire storyline continued across several episodes and provided the season’s most intense sense of urgency and danger, and actually kept me on the edge of my seat. (It also apparently gave the male leads a good excuse to go shirtless, which — while good eye candy — seemed like a questionable choice given all the sparks flying around. Ouch!)

I’m going to get into spoiler territory for the rest of this post, so look away if you haven’t finished the season yet…

Developments of note in season 5:

Charmaine Pregnancy Watch: For those keeping track, Charmaine announced her pregnancy at the end of season 1. At the end of season 4, it was established that she was seven months’ pregnant. So where do we stand as of the end of season 5? STILL PREGNANT. Using Charmaine as a timekeeping device, it would appear that one and a half months elapsed during the 5th season.

Drugs & money: The drug-smuggling plotline is hands-down my least favorite of every possible story covered in Virgin River. Season 5 seemed to end with a major drug bust, and I breathed a sigh of relief. It’s over! Praise be!! But no… the last episode ends with the big reveal that a supposedly dead drug kingpin isn’t dead after all, and after the arrest of the current big bad, he’s back. Ugh. Please make it all stop!

Do-si-do and change partners: Boy, some of these Virgin River folks fall in love on a dime. Preacher – who is too saintly to be real – broke up with two different women within the first couple of episodes, and by the end of the season (again, at most a month and a half later) is apparently in love with someone new. (Which, by the way, I don’t hate, since said woman is played by an actress I haven’t seen since her Battlestar Galactica days.) Brie is also switching up partners, as is her former love Brady. Blink and you’ll miss a new pairing!

Lizzie on the rise: Not only does teen Lizzie gain a snazzy prestigious political career (at the ripe old of 19, I believe), but also falls in love again after her last boyfriend left town to join the Marines. It’s a whirlwind, I tell you!

Medical crises galore: Doc has macular degeneration, Hope is still dealing with the effects of a traumatic brain injury, and Denny has Huntington’s disease. We also have a new character dealing with endometriosis, and a tragic miscarriage for one of the main characters. The people of Virgin River can’t catch a break! Maybe they need a full-fledged medical center instead of Doc’s clinic*.

*and speaking of Doc’s clinic, I am totally here for the May-December romance between Cameron and Muriel. Muriel is one of Virgin River’s best people and she deserves to be appreciated! Although I’m not sure how she suddenly is qualified to be the clinic’s office manager (but — see Lizzie — apparently Virgin River is the land of job opportunities).

**I also strongly appreciated Mel and Cameron providing medical guidance via FaceTime to a firefighter delivering a baby in the middle of nowhere. Now that’s good TV!

Sweaters are back! I live for Mel’s sweaters, and I guess it’s cool enough by late summer for her to be bundling up again in those big, delicious, chunky sweaters once again. (The time frame for this season is summer, since the carnival is identified as being held on Labor Day.)

Fire fall-out: The fire episodes were the most suspenseful and scary of the show so far, and the ripple effects will potentially carry forward for some time, especially since so many homes were lost. Then again, a month later the town is throwing a big carnival with fireworks — and isn’t that a fire hazard in such a wooded area?

At this point, I accept the show for what it is, and I’m still loving the experience of just looking at it. I mean, gorgeous vistas, star gazing, perfect rustic homes and cabins, cozy cuddling with blankets and pillows… what’s not to love?

Yes, the plots and dialogue lean heavily into the cheesy, corny aspects… but five seasons in, we really do know what do expect, don’t we?

Interestingly, this season will have two more episodes later this fall, apparently focusing on a holiday theme. Maybe this means that time will finally move forward? Dare I say it — will Charmaine finally give birth? The episodes drop November 30th, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

PS – More spoilery bits! Here’s a prediction for y’all… Between Lizzie’s pregnancy, Charmaine’s twins, and possibly even Lily’s orphaned baby, I’m guessing that Mel and Jack will end up with a baby (possibly babies!) by the end of the holiday episodes!

What about you? What do you think of season 5?

And the lingering question (which I’m still asking after five TV seasons) — should I give the books a try?

Book Review: All the Dead Shall Weep (Gunnie Rose, #5) by Charlaine Harris

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Title: All the Dead Shall Weep
Series: Gunnie Rose, #5
Author: Charlaine Harris
Publisher: Saga Press
Publication date: September 5, 2023
Length: 256 pages
Genre: Fantasy / speculative fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Sisters Lizbeth Rose and Felicia as well as brother Eli and Peter, are reunited in Texoma only to break apart before the Wizard’s Ball held in San Diego, which will determine all their fates.

Following the murderous events of the Serpent of Heaven, Lizbeth Rose is awaiting the arrival of her sister Felicia and her husband’s younger brother Eli in Texoma. Both needed to leave the seat of the Holy Russian Empire in San Diego after Felicia’s burgeoning wizardly power in death magic became the reason for kidnapping and assassination attempts from her mother’s family of high-powered wizards in Mexico.

Yet bad news has traveled ahead of them, as Eli is called back to San Diego, taking Peter along with him, splitting them apart in more ways than one as their enemies’ plans for revenge come to fruition.

If you’d asked me a year ago, I’d have said that I had no interest in getting involved in yet another fantasy series. Times change! I read book one of the Gunnie Rose series, An Easy Death, in February of this year, and since then have inhaled the rest of the available books. As you can imagine, I was delighted to get my hands on a copy of All the Dead Shall Weep, the newest release in this terrific series.

Quick refresher/overview: The Gunnie Rose series takes place in an alternate world in which the United States fractured during the 1930s. The continent is now divided into separate, independent countries, among them the Holy Russian Empire (our California and Oregon), New America, Dixie, Britannia, and Texoma (our Texas and Oklahoma), home to main character Lizbeth Rose.

Lizbeth is a “gunnie”, a talented sharpshooter for hire who earns a living protecting people and cargo. Over the course of the series, she’s met and fallen in love with Eli Savarova, an aristocrat from the HRE and a gifted “grigori”, a term used for Russian magicians. In this world, magic is real and powerful, and while in some circles grigoris are esteemed, in Texoma, they are generally feared.

The first three books in the series are told from Lizbeth’s point of view, and book four switched to Lizbeth’s sister Felicia as narrator. Here in book 5, Lizbeth and Felicia both narrate, each getting their own chapters to lead us through the story.

Lizbeth and Eli are settled in Texoma, enjoying married life in her small town, earning a modest living and trying to fit in. When Felicia and Peter, Eli’s brother, come for a visit, things start getting more complicated. A previously unknown militia group shows up in town with lots of firepower, and end up causing harm and danger to the family. Following these events, Eli departs with Peter without much of an explanation, and Lizbeth is left to believe that Eli has left her to return to his more privileged, comfortable life in the Holy Russian Empire.

Meanwhile, Felicia, who has astounding magical powers of her own, is being courted by eligible partners from the most elite magical families, and this leads to even more danger for all involved.

It’s challenging to sum up the overarching plot of this particular installment in the series, because it often felt like it lacked one. There are several high-adventure set pieces, and some connecting threads, but I was puzzled throughout about what the main point was and where the story was going. In some ways, this book feels like a bridge between plot developments — we spend time with the characters and certain things happen, but it feels largely like set-up for other major events yet to come.

All the Dead Shall Weep is shorter than the previous books, and I found myself somewhat less engaged by the plot. However, I do love these characters and find the world of the Gunnie Rose series to be fascinating, so spending time on this book was a nice treat despite the slightly less propulsive plot.

Obviously, with an ongoing series like this, the 5th book is not the right place for a new reader to start — definitely begin with An Easy Death if you’re interested! While this particular book wasn’t as great as some of the others, I still enjoyed it, and absolutely can’t wait for the expected huge payoff in book #6, which I hope will come along soon!

Book Review: Woke Up Like This by Amy Lea

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Title: Woke Up Like This
Author: Amy Lea
Publisher: Mindy’s Book Studio
Publication date: September 5, 2023
Length: 300 pages
Genre: Young adult fiction
Source: Free – Kindle First Reads
Rating:

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Planning the perfect prom is one last “to do” on ultra-organized Charlotte Wu’s high school bucket list. So far, so good, if not for a decorating accident that sends Charlotte crash-landing off a ladder, face-first into her obnoxiously ripped archnemesis J. T. Renner. Worse? When Charlotte wakes up, she finds herself in an unfamiliar bed at thirty years old, with her bearded fiancé, Renner, by her side.

Either they’ve lost their minds or they’ve been drop-kicked into adulthood, forever trapped in the thirty-year-old bodies of their future selves. With each other as their only constant, Charlotte and Renner discover all that’s changed in the time they’ve missed. Charlotte also learns there’s more to Renner than irritating-jock charm, and that reaching the next milestone isn’t as important as what happens in between.

Navigating a series of adventures and a confounding new normal, Charlotte and Renner will do whatever it takes to find a way back to seventeen. But when―and if―they do, what then?

If you loved the movies 13 Going on 30 or 17 Again, you’ll probably love Woke Up Like This. Or… you’ll have no patience for it, because you’ve seen it all before.

In Woke Up Like This, Charlotte is an over-achieving high school senior who needs to plan and control every single element of her life. As graduation approaches, she’s determined to make prom and all the other senior milestones absolutely perfect, even though her demanding nature drives everyone else crazy – – especially J. T. Renner, whom Char has hated since freshman year, and who seems to seemingly swoop in and beat her at everything, even stealing away the senior class presidency that she supposedly had on lock.

But what are high school nemeses except a romance waiting to happen? After a random accident while decorating the gym for prom, Char and J. T. end up somehow transported thirteen years into the future. Suddenly, they wake up in bed — together — at age 30, with no idea how they got there, what their lives are supposed to be like, and biggest puzzle of all, why on earth are they apparently in a serious relationship?

Going from hating each others’ guts to pretending to be engaged and in love at their bachelor/bachelorette party is not easy. Determined to get back to their real lives, they have only one another to count on, and as they struggle to figure out what’s happened and how to fix it, they realize that neither is exactly as expected… and that there might be actual feelings brewing underneath all that loathing.

Woke Up Like This goes by quickly, but it’s such a surface-level look at both high school life and adulthood that it makes little impression. Teen Char is truly unlikable. Yes, we learn more about why she behaves the way she does, but it’s hard to believe that J. T. could have harbored feelings for her all along when her behavior is so awful most of the time.

The emphasis on the perfect prom strikes me as weirdly out of date.

And now, here it is. The best day of a teenager’s life, after years of anticipating, commiserating, and meticulously planning.

Everything about Char’s attitude toward prom and senior week set my nerves on edge. The constant harping on how these weeks represent the peak of their lives feels like a throwback to 1980s teen rom-coms.

To be fair, I was already not loving the book when a scene in which Char’s bag breaks and her tampons spill all over the school hall is depicted as excruciatingly humiliating. Really? In this day and age? That so doesn’t align with what I knew of contemporary high school life via my kids. But who knows, maybe Char lives in a Twilight Zone suburb where biology and bodies are still sources of shame. (That wasn’t my impression though… and I realize I’m totally overthinking this one scene.)

Ultimately, too much of the plot of Woke Up Like this feels trite and been-there, done-that. Char and J. T. don’t seem to learn much from their time in their 30-year-old lives — yes, Char gains some insights into friendships and appreciating family, but there’s still a pretty astonishing lack of maturity once (spoiler!) they make it back into their teen lives.

I picked up Woke Up Like This because it was a free First Reads choice and I’m always interested to see what books are being promoted by Mindy’s Book Studio. Maybe I was just the wrong audience for this YA romance, but to me, it really didn’t offer anything new or different from tons of other teen dramedies.

Book vs movie: Two very different face-offs… which will win?

Posted in Books & Authors, Pop Culture, Uncategorized by

I’m back with two more book-to-screen comparisons… and I have to say, it’s very weird to combine these two extremely different books/movies into one post! But I’m lazy… so here goes.

Which was better — the book or the movie? Read on to find out!

Face-off #1:

The Cabin at the End of the World
Book by Paul Tremblay, published 2018
Knock at the Cabin movie, released February 2023

Thoughts: After reading the book several weeks ago (check out my review, here), I’d been curious about the movie adaptation. The book tells a terrifying story of a family terrorized by strangers who show up at their remote vacation cabin and inform them that they’ve been chosen for a terrible mission: They must willingly chose to sacrifice one of their family members, or the world will end. Are these people crazy? Are they doomsday cultists? Can anything they say be true? The book is scary and claustrophic, and in many ways, the movie captures the feeling of dread and the way a happy interlude can change to absolute terror within mere moments. The movie’s casting is terrific, especially David Bautista as Leonard, the leader of the intruders — a huge, powerful man with a quiet voice and a sad, kind demeanor, whose gentleness makes his instructions all the more awful. The movie is well done and — based on my family’s reactions — very powerful for those who haven’t read the book.

However… the movie changes the ending in significant ways, and that was a bit of a dealbreaker for me. The book’s impact is enhance by its ambiguity — we’re left to wonder whether any of what the intruders said was real, and whether there really was any connection between the events inside the cabin and the fate of the world. I actually loved that about the book — we’re left to consider for ourselves whether mass delusions and coincidences were at play. The movie removes the ambiguity, as well as changing the family members’ fates, and I thought both changes cheapened the overall impact. I’m glad I watched the movie, but it just doesn’t live up to the book.

Verdict: The book for the win!

Face-off #2:

Wonder
Book by R. J. Palacio, published 2012
Movie released 2017

Thoughts: After reading White Bird by R. J. Palacio a couple of weeks ago, I was inspired to finally read Wonder, a book which has become a phenomenon in the 10+ years since it was first published. This middle-grade book is sweet and thoughtful, with an emphasis on kindness, inclusion of multiple points-of-view and experiences, a remarkable main character, and even plenty of humor. I was a little hesitant about watching the movie, worried that it would lean too heavily on the sweet to the point of becoming saccharine, but actually, I found it very, very good. Given that the parents are played by Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson, their roles are a little more prominent than in the book, but not distractingly so. The focus remains on Auggie and his experiences going to school for the first time, and the young cast is quite impressive. The movie captures most of the book’s plot beats, although by necessity, some elements end up left out or diluted. Still, it’s a very well-made adaptation, and well worth checking out.

Verdict: The book for the deeper looks into characters’ experiences… but the movie is great too!

Have you read any of these books or seen the movies? Do you have an opinion on my face-offs? Please share your thoughts!

Book Review: Dreambound by Dan Frey

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Title: Dreambound
Author: Dan Frey
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication date: September 12, 2023
Length: 400 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction / fantasy
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

In this thrilling contemporary fantasy novel, a father must uncover the secret magical underbelly of Los Angeles to find his daughter, who has seemingly disappeared into the fictional universe of her favorite fantasy series.

When Byron Kidd’s twelve-year-old daughter vanishes, the only clue left behind is a note claiming she’s taken off to explore the Hidden World, a magical land from a series of popular novels. She is not the only child to seek out this imaginary realm in recent years, and Byron—a cynical and hard-nosed reporter—is determined to discover the whereabouts of dozens of missing kids.

Byron secures a high-profile interview with Annabelle Tobin, the eccentric author of the books, and heads off to her palatial home in the Hollywood Hills. But the truth Byron discovers is more fantastical than he ever could have dreamed.

As he uncovers locations from the books that seem to be bleeding into the real world, he must shed his doubts and dive headfirst into the mystical secrets of Los Angeles if he ever hopes to reunite with his child. Soon Byron finds himself on his own epic journey—but if he’s not careful, he could be the next one to disappear…

Told through journal entries, transcripts, emails, and excerpts from Tobin’s novels, Dreambound is a spellbinding homage to Los Angeles and an immersive and fast-paced story of how far a father will go—even delving into impossible worlds—to save his daughter.

Dan Frey’s previous novel The Future Is Yours was a fantastic read, so I jumped at the chance to read his newest, Dreambound. I’m happy to report that Dreambound absolutely lives up to my high expectations!

In this new book, told through the main character’s investigation notebook and email exchanges, Byron Kidd’s world falls apart when his 12-year-old daughter Liza disappears. A note left tucked inside one of her favorite books, a volume in the massively popular Fairy Tale fantasy series, indicates that she’s left voluntarily. With no leads, no sightings, and nothing to go one, the case quickly goes cold, and Liza’s parents are left to cope in their own ways — her mother escapes into rituals of mourning and therapy, and Byron, an investigative journalist, decides to pursue the one lead they do have: the Fairy Tale fandom and its secrets.

Internet rumors draw connections between other missing children cases, all of which seem to be tied to Fairy Tale in some way. Yet when Byron tries to pursue this angle, he’s told that he’s chasing conspiracy theories, and warned not to let his grief and despair tarnish his professional reputation.

But Byron is convinced that he’s onto something, and heads to Los Angeles, where a single ping from Liza’s cell phone was detected after her disappearance. Through manipulation and subterfuge, he manages to get an interview with the author of Fairy Tale, Annabelle Tobin, whose sixth and final book in the series has been long delayed and who lives a reclusive life in her secluded Hollywood Hills mansion.

Things get weirder and weirder — is there truly a “hidden world” that these missing children have managed to get to? Or is the fandom so overly immersed in the fictional Fairy Tale world that predators and traffickers have been able to lure young readers with false promises?

Early on, Dreambound establishes the power of reading and the lure of imagination and fantasy. Byron, wrapped up in his obsessive need to find Liza, contemplates whether he made a fundamental mistake as a parent:

Then I’ll tell you who I am. I’m the guy who can’t sleep, wondering what I did wrong. Wondering how I could have possibly prevented this. Wondering if I made a mistake by teaching her to read, or giving her those stupid, dangerous books.

As all readers know, books have power. For a little while, at least, books transport us to new worlds and new ways of thinking. But Dreambound suggests that there’s more: What if the shared belief of enough readers is enough to make these fantasy worlds manifest within our own? What if what happened to the missing children isn’t shared delusion, but the literal opening of a portal to the hidden world, accessed through the power of believing it to be real?

I mean, what is magic if not a way to transform the world through the power of our thoughts? What are books if not spells? What are stories if not the most powerful and mysterious force known to man?

Dreambound is complicated and mind-bendy, taking us deep into Byron’s investigation through his notes, embedded transcripts of conversations and interviews, and the stories Byron encounters through a mysterious book called (naturally) The Hidden World. To others, Byron may seem to have been driven mad by his loss — but as he digs deeper, the clues he discovers lead him to startling discoveries and unexpected allies, and impel him onward even while outside forces want to stop him.

Annabelle Tobin seems an obvious stand-in for a certain real-world author of a blockbuster, bestselling series of children’s books and movies which have so indelibly changed our pop culture reference points. Not to get too meta, but it’s hard not to draw parallels when reading lines such as this in an email from her editor:

Right now, your work is being tarnished and overshadowed by a public conversation that we’ve lost control over.

Still, Annabelle differs in key ways, ends up being more sympathetic than I’d originally believed, and has unique secrets that we can only assume are not shared with her real-world counterpart.

I loved the adventure, the unraveling of clues, and the emphasis on the role of books and fantasy in our lives, as well as the underlying mythos in which beliefs shared across enough people gain power to stand on their own. Byron is not always a likable person (some of his tactics are fairly despicable), but he can be forgiven his crueler moments for the sake of his devotion to getting his daughter to safety, no matter what he has to sacrifice.

At points, I wished that the glimpses of the world of the Fairy Tale series went more in-depth. I do love a good story-within-a-story plot device, and in this case, the bits we do see of the Fairy Tale fantasy world seem very alluring — it’s easy to see, based on these snippets, how they might generate such a devoted fan base.

Still, the point is not the Fairy Tale series itself, but its effect on its readers — particularly those still young or open enough to both understand the real world in which they live yet still hold out hope that fictional ideals might somehow be true.

The concepts here are wonderful, the plot is convoluted and twisty, and the fantasy elements are immersive and imaginative. Dreambound is a compelling, entertaining read that kept me turning the pages until way past my bedtime. Don’t miss it!

The Monday Check-In ~ 9/11/2023

Posted in The Monday Check-In by

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My Monday tradition, including a look back and a look ahead — what I read last week, what new books came my way, and what books are keeping me busy right now. Plus a smattering of other stuff too.

Life.

Another busy workweek… not much to say about that! I feel like I didn’t have much down time, although I did manage to squeeze in some reading and got outdoors a bit, and even got my laundry done… gotta see the positive whenever possible!

What did I read during the last week?

The Innocent Sleep (October Daye, #18) by Seanan McGuire: Have I mentioned lately how much I love this series? Of course I have! My review of this upcoming new release is here.

Wonder by R. J. Palacio: I’m very late to the party, but after reading this author’s graphic novel White Bird, I finally picked up a copy of Wonder, and loved it. I’m hoping to get a chance to watch the movie this week.

The Breakaway by Jennifer Weiner: I loved this story, and the main character is terrific! My review is here.

Over at my book group, we finished our group read of Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons. Such an entertaining, quirky read! I’m going to try to find time to check out the movie version this week.

Pop culture & TV:

I made no progress with The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem (season 2 – Netflix) this week. I’m really enjoying the show, but got distracted by too many other things.

Virgin River is back! I’ve watched about half of the new season (season 5) so far. Oh, it’s just as corny and weirdly-paced as ever, but I can’t stop watching!

Fresh Catch:

I realized that I just haven’t been buying physical books much lately. I tend to read almost exclusively on my Kindle, since it’s portable and I always have it handy (either the device itself or my mobile app). So, no new hardcover or paperback books this week, although I did add a few more ebooks to my collection:

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

Dreambound by Dan Frey: I actually finished this book late Sunday. So good! I really couldn’t put it down. Review to follow later this week.

Now playing via audiobook:

All the Dead Shall Weep (Gunnie Rose, #5) by Charlaine Harris: I got hooked on this series earlier in the year, and I’m so excited to be starting this new release.

Ongoing reads:

None at the moment!

My book group has two long-term reading projects (one a classic, one Outlander-related) starting late September/early October, but right now, we have a bit of a break — which is fine! It gives me more time to catch up on the thousands of other books I want to read.

So many books, so little time…

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Audiobook Review: The Breakaway by Jennifer Weiner

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Title: The Breakaway
Author: Jennifer Weiner
Narrator: Nikki Blonsky, Santino Fontana, Jenni Barber, Soneela Nankani, Joy Osmanski
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication date: August 29, 2023
Print length: 400 pages
Audio length: 13 hours, 30 minutes
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Purchased (audiobook); E-book ARC from the publisher/NetGalley
Rating:

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner comes a warmhearted and empowering new novel about love, family, friendship, secrets, and a life-changing journey.

Thirty-three-year-old Abby Stern has made it to a happy place. True, she still has gig jobs instead of a career, and the apartment where she’s lived since college still looks like she’s just moved in. But she’s got good friends, her bike, and her bicycling club in Philadelphia. She’s at peace with her plus-size body—at least, most of the time—and she’s on track to marry Mark Medoff, her childhood summer sweetheart, a man she met at the weight-loss camp that her perpetually dieting mother forced her to attend. Fifteen years after her final summer at Camp Golden Hills, when Abby reconnects with a half-his-size Mark, it feels like the happy ending she’s always wanted.

Yet Abby can’t escape the feeling that some­thing isn’t right…or the memories of one thrilling night she spent with a man named Sebastian two years previously. When Abby gets a last-minute invi­tation to lead a cycling trip from NYC to Niagara Falls, she’s happy to have time away from Mark, a chance to reflect and make up her mind.

But things get complicated fast. First, Abby spots a familiar face in the group—Sebastian, the one-night stand she thought she’d never see again. Sebastian is a serial dater who lives a hundred miles away. In spite of their undeniable chemistry, Abby is determined to keep her distance. Then there’s a surprise last-minute addition to the group: her mother, Eileen, the woman Abby blames for a lifetime of body shaming and insecurities she’s still trying to undo.

Over two weeks and more than seven hundred miles, strangers become friends, hidden truths come to light, a teenage girl with a secret unites the riders in unexpected ways…and Abby is forced to reconsider everything she believes about herself, her mother, and the nature of love.

In Jennifer Weiner’s wonderful new novel, we spend time with Abby Stern, a smart woman in her 30s who’s comfortable in her body, happiest on a bicycle, and questioning whether her seemingly perfect boyfriend of two years is actually perfect for her.

Abby has spent her life subject to her mother’s constant criticism of her size and weight, and was even forced to spend three summers at a “fat camp”. But as an adult, Abby knows that her active lifestyle keeps her healthy, and refuses to chase diet fads or deny herself the pleasure of good food in pursuit of the elusive slimness everyone thinks she should want.

As for her love life, Abby is adored by her podiatrist boyfriend Mark, and she knows she can have a good life with him, but she’s hesitant about taking the next step. Something seems to be missing. On the verge of having to make a decision about moving in with Mark, Abby is offered a last-minute job leading a two-week bike trip from Manhattan to Niagara Falls, and although nervous about it, she decides that this might be just what she needs to clear her head, escape for a little while, and even have a little fun.

As the group assembles, Abby gets two shocks: Her mother has joined the trip, and so has Sebastian, the gorgeous guy she had an out-of-character one-night-stand with a couple of years earlier. She’s never forgotten how amazing the night with Sebastian was, even though she never expected to see him again. What’s even more shocking to Abby is how delighted Sebastian seems to be to see her, and how excited he is at the idea of spending time with her.

The story is told largely through Abby’s perspective, although we also get sections from Sebastian’s point of view, as well as shorter interludes from others on the trip. Sebastian’s chapters are interesting, as we get to see what’s going on in his head and understand the backstory of his sudden social media infamy, and also powerful are chapters focused on a teen girl and her mother.

I loved seeing Abby in her element, and I truly appreciated the portrayal of her as someone comfortable in her body and embracing health without focusing on her weight. Abby is a great example of body positivity as well as empowerment, and as we see her developing plans for the next stages of her life, I was impressed by her goal of empowering younger girls through cycling education and riding.

One secondary plotline involves the women of the bike trip coming together to support a teen girl, enabling her to access the health care and choices she’d be denied in her home state. The sense of community and the way the women all participated in keeping the teen safe were lovely and inspiring to read about.

And of course, there’s a romantic element which works really well, although in some ways, the love story aspects are less important than the soul-searching and self-discovery that several of the characters undergo throughout the book. Also really fun? The bike trip itself! Apparently, I’m a sucker for a good outdoor adventure tale, and even though I haven’t been on a bike in years, the trip sounded just wonderful to me.

The audiobook has several narrators, but Abby and Sebastian’s voices are of course dominant throughout the story. Abby is voiced by Nikki Blonsky (who starred in the Hairspray movie), and Sebastian is voiced by Santino Fontana (the original Greg in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend). Both are terrific.

Jennifer Weiner is one of my must-read authors at this point, and The Breakaway absolutely delivers. I think I still have a few of her earlier books to get to , and I’ll certainly be reading whatever she writes next.

The Breakaway is enjoyable, entertaining, and emotionally moving and satisfying. Highly recommended.