Monday, November 29, 2021

Mini Book Reviews: November 2021

Disclaimer: Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a PRC of The Maid. This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

November was a mixed bag of reading for me. I picked up several critically acclaimed, best of 2021 books, but they weren't my favorites. This isn't the first time this has happened to me. Sometimes I think that the critics are looking for something different than the average reader. I read for pleasure and to escape. When looking for books to read, my advice is to do what I do and find a few book bloggers who like the same books as you do. Read what they like. Some of my favorite book bloggers include Susie at Novel Visits and Sarah at Sarah's Bookshelves. While you might not always agree with what they pick, it's a good start. I follow both of these ladies on Goodreads as well. 

I'm still processing Beautiful World, Where Are You, but here goes...this is the story of a friendship between two young women and their relationships with 2 men. Sally Rooney is truly gifted with words, but there were times when there were too many words. The emails between the women go off on tangents that are (to me) wordy, weird, and pointless. Both of the women struggle with young adulthood; one is a successful author who struggles with fame and meets a 'regular' guy on Tinder who keeps her grounded. The other woman circles around her true love, a childhood friend, neither of whom can commit to a relationship. I was about to give up on it about 2/3 of the way through when suddenly the story came together and the dialogue flowed. So at least I finished it. Sigh.




The Maid may be one of the best books I've read this year! A quirky maid, who works at a luxury hotel and loves orderliness and cleanliness, gets accidentally caught up in a crime that takes place in one of her rooms. The reader gets to see things through her eyes and her naivete and awkwardness sometimes made me cringe! I absolutely loved how the story unfolded--I had no idea how this was going to turn out. The writing is engaging and I didn't want to put the book down until I was finished. What a wonderful book! To be released January 4, 2022.




We Are Not Like Them
is the timely story of a friendship between two young women, one black and one white, who find their relationship tested. The white woman is married to a police officer who is implicated in the shooting of a black teenager. The black woman is a reporter assigned to the case. The story is told from the viewpoints of the two women in alternating chapters. Deftly handled by the two authors, it never felt preachy or one-sided to me at all. It raises a lot of issues surrounding race, leading me to wonder if we'll ever resolve them. These are conversations we all need to have. Lots of food for thought.



Heard It In a Love Song
is a low-key, sweet romance and after the previous book, it was just what I needed to read! A grade school music teacher offers to dogsit for a single dad so he can take his daughter on a trip. Both divorced, they build a friendship and take it from there--slowly. Meanwhile, the teacher picks up her guitar and revisits her past as a lead singer in a band--which also happens to be how she met her ex-husband. The narrative runs between the present and the past for both characters, providing the backstory to their previous marriages. It all works. This is my second book from this author--I also read The Girl He Used to Know--and it was another enjoyable read!


I loved the premise of The Lincoln Highway--a young man, released from jail, returns to the family farm to pick up his little brother and travel to California to restart their lives. The little brother is determined that they travel the Lincoln Highway and end in San Francisco to find their mother, who abandoned them years ago. Their trip is sidelined almost immediately when 2 of the older brother's buddies from jail show up. This book could have been so good. Instead, there are all kinds of tangents and detours and rambling narratives about Greek mythology. I found myself skimming over these parts, wanting to get back to the main story. I loved the ending--it provided closure and clarity to what was, at least to me, a confusing story.


This is a true story, reminiscent of Educated and The Glass Castle, as told by the youngest daughter of a family on the run. The premise is that they are running from their maternal grandfather, but their own father is a manipulative con man. He moves the family around the world, falsifying documents and changing their identities. The kids had a lonely life, not being able to build friendships and having to pack up and move without notice. As you might expect there is family drama as well and it is heartbreaking. Nowhere Girl is a wild ride and at times, I had to suspend disbelief to continue reading.  It's well worth it.



DNF: Oh William! This highly recommended book is the third in a trilogy, but I was told it could be read without reading the first two. Nope. I was completely lost and couldn't find a groove with this one. I'll put all three books on my TBR list for the future. 

Coming up for December: as usual, I had nothing in my library queue and was all set to read It Happened One Summer. But of course, two of my library holds came in: Doctors and Friends and Imposter Syndrome. And I have a couple of NetGalley PRCs to read. As I always say, too many books, so little time. Stay tuned for those reviews. And as always, thanks for reading!


Tell me what you're reading! Where do you find your book suggestions? Do you have good luck with 'best of' lists? 

I'm linking up with Kim and Zenaida for Tuesday Topics.





38 comments :

  1. I follow both of the book bloggers you mention. I also follow Modern Mrs. Darcy, and Gilmore's guide too books, along with the Biblophile blog. I look at the book lists from book of the month club, and the monthly book picks over at Amazon. Every month on the first I check out my library's website to see what new books they are adding. Also if there are types of books you like to read, for me that would be mysteries and thrillers, so I subscribe to the newsletters Stop Your Killing Me, and Crime Reads.
    Also I follow my favorite authors that are on social media so I read about new books coming out that way too.

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    1. Great info and thank you for all of it! I do also follow MMD. I'll check out the other one's you mentioned. What have you read lately?

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  2. I loved We Are Not Like Them and wholeheartedly agree with what you say about it. I've been enjoying reading millions of novellas for a challenge, Buchi Emecheta's Second-Class Citizen was a real winner for me but I've enjoyed everything I've read!

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    1. Glad to hear it! Hoping that this month is all winners for me!

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  3. Love this post. I get my books from my friends. After we are done running, we brunch and often talk about books.

    I just finished The Plot. Quite a twist at the end.

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  4. Thanks for the blog suggestions. I’m always looking for new books. I keep a list from your reviews and then randomly pick books from suggestions on my Kindle.

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  5. I will definitely look out for "The Maid", thanks for the recommendation, Wendy!

    Yes, I do exactly what you do. Find people who like the same books like you do and go by their advice.
    I read "Intimacies" by Katie Kitamura which you suggested last month. And it was exactly how you described it and I really enjoyed it.
    And then I read "The Last Flight" which Birchie from Birchwood Pie recommended. It was spot on.

    Once you know people with the same book taste, you can't go wrong!

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    1. Exactly! Loved The Last Flight--here in the US, there was a mini-series based on that book on HBO. As always, it wasn't as good as the book. But it was wild.

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  6. Right now I'm reading Katie Couric's memoir Going There that a client loaned to me to read while flying to and from Florida. It's not something I would normally pick, but I am enjoying it since I used to be a big fan of the Today Show.

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  7. I've been curious about about We Are Not Like Them. Sounds like a very interesting and thought-provoking read.

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  8. I have a horrible confession to make- after being on track to reach my (relatively) modest) goal of reading 50 books this year, I totally spiraled off track (after finishing the Harry Potter series) and read NOTHING in November. ARG! A couple of these look good- I want to read The Maid when it comes out- but I think I'm going to pick up the first book in the Outlander Series today. I need another big project to sink my teeth into!

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    1. Good for you! I think the Harry Potter books were the last big series that I committed to. Prior to that it was a trilogy about Napoleon. So good.

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  9. I always pay attention and take notes when you do these posts! I learned about Sarah's Bookshelves from you, and I love her podcast. Most of what I read comes from her and the daily sale list over at MMD.

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  10. We Are Not Like Them sounds like a really captivating book. Sometimes I steer away from books like that because they do indeed sound preachy but the fact that it was written by two authors? Sounds interesting!

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    1. They did a great job collaborating on a very thought provoking topic-race. Let me know if you read it.

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  11. I definitely find sometimes critically acclaimed books are not written for the average reader -- although that is not always the case. I do a lot of Amazon First Reads -- they're free. :) I just finished the Keeper of Secrets (something like that anyway), which I enjoyed -- my second book by that author. At the very end, though, it just seemed to come together way too quickly, but up until then I really enjoyed it!

    We Are Not Like Them sounds really interesting. Thanks for the reviews, Wendy!

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    1. My sister and I have talked about this as well- often those National Book Award Winners and the like are not written for me and you. I also do the Amazon First Reads.

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  12. That is an interesting mix! The Maid really sounds captivating. Thanks for sharing!

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  13. Sounds like some good reads this month! We are flying out of town this weekend so I need to download something!

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  14. Wow you read a lot this month! The maid sounds really good and interesting. I will add to list

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  15. I think I need to find some book bloggers to follow (I do find your posts really helpful!) The Maid sounds like a good read. I'll have to look out for that one.

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  16. I always appreciate your reviews! I've added We Are Not Like Them, Nowhere Girl, and The Maid to my "read next" list. Thanks for the suggestions!

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  17. Thank you for the review of interesting books.

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  18. Always love your book reviews! Just downloaded the Maid on my kindle for an upcoming flight :)

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  19. Thanks for sharing your list. I LOVE your book reviews. However, I did get a few running ones from a few posts ago but could not get into them. Perhaps I need something non running. I have 18 books on my list and will be adding these too. Thanks again!

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