What Did I Just Read?

They Could Have Named Her Anything by Stephanie Jiminez

Sometime this past summer, this came up as an Amazon First Read. Apparently, it was the best that was on offer that month, as this was the one I chose. I'd put it out of my mind until I saw it was on the final nominations list for the 2020 TAYSHAS list. Since it made that list, I thought it was likely a good book. I just finished it, and although it would give me a notch on the list, if you will, I hope it doesn't make the list. The writing isn't great, and neither is the storyline.

Maria is seventeen and lives in Queens. She attends a fancy girls' school on a scholarship, but because of her family's financial situation, doesn't feel like she has anything in common with the girls she goes to school with. She has a boyfriend, Andres, who has sex with her but treats her like crap, and she takes it for reasons I don't really understand.

One day, Maria and Rocky, another girl from her school, become friends. She spends the night at her Manhattan apartment, and encounters Rocky's dad, who she is attracted to. Oh, and Rocky's dad is attracted to Maria as well. Maria goes on vacation to Las Vegas with Rocky's family, and spends some time with Rocky's dad. It's clear they want to have sex, but Maria asks that they wait until they get back to New York.

Once they are back in New York, Maria starts and quits a job, and her brother becomes involved with Rocky. Finally, Rocky's dad calls Maria, and they finally have sex, but Rocky and Maria's brother walk in on them. Mayhem ensues.

I am sorry, but I don't think this is the most appropriate subject matter for young adults, but that's my opinion.

Not A Sequel, But Related, Kinda

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

I have been wanting to read this for a while, and when I forgot to take a book to read at school, I downloaded this one. While this was a good book, I think Ms. Thomas is pigeon-holing herself. This was well written, but the story takes place in the same place as her last book, and isn't all that much different in terms of content either.

This is the story of Bri, who wants to be a rap artist. Her father was a rap artist who was killed when Bri was very young. It was gang members who killed him. When she was five, her mother left Bri and her brother with their grandparents because she was too into drugs to take care of them.

Just like in Thomas' previous novel, Bri lives in the projects but goes to a good school that is some distance from her house. Additionally, gangs are an issue, albeit a smaller focus.

Like I said, good book, but too similar to the previous offering of this author.

A Different Title Would be Better

The Lost by Natasha Preston

Unlike most of Preston's books, I am not really clear on where this one takes place. Also, the title doesn't really work for me. Lost implies something unintentional, and the people who are 'lost' in this book are kidnapped, which is not the same thing.

Piper is sixteen, and her older sister died sometime earlier. She is quite the homebody, but goes out to the lake with her friend Hazel one night. While there, she sees Caleb, a hot, rich guy that has taken notice of her. When Caleb and his friend ask Piper and Hazel to go for a ride with them, it seems innocent enough, but boy is she wrong. They end up in a secluded cabin in the woods, where the "games" are just beginning.

Prior to Piper and Hazel being taken, several other young people their age have gone missing over the course of months. As it turns out, these teens were all taken and used as part of a game for Caleb and his friends. There are six rooms that have to be survived, and each room has its own form of torture. Will Piper be able to survive the rooms and escape, or will she die? The only way you will find out the answer to this is to read the book.

The End of the Search

Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco

I have loved this series since I discovered it by accident on the shelves of my local Target store and am sad that it is over. I have loved following the adventures of Audrey Rose and Thomas. To know this was the end saddens me. I'd like to think that is why I took so long to read it, that I was savoring it, but I know that is not true. I just haven't wanted to read. At any rate, this was, as its predecessors were, worth the read.

This installment begins in New York City, with Audrey Rose and Thomas about to get married. There are deaths very similar to the Jack the Ripper murders, and there is speculation that the Ripper has crossed the pond. Of course, Audrey Rose and Thomas have to be a part of the investigation. Meanwhile, they are planning their wedding, which, unfortunately, does not go through because Thomas' father forged a letter that betrothed him to another woman.

In an effort to buy some time to sort out the forgery thing, Audrey Rose and Thomas head to Chicago, just in time to see the World's Fair, the White City. While there, they discover that many women have gone missing, and of the few bodies that have been found, they learn that the Ripper seems to have come here.

There are a whirlwind of emotions reading this one, but as I have already said, this one is so worth the time. This is a series that I am seriously considering re-reading from the beginning; it enthralled me that much.

The Course of True Love

The Last Letter From Your Lover by Jojo Moyes

This author is becoming a favorite. Everything I have read by her has been wonderful, and this was no different. I will say that it felt a little slow to start, but that may have just been me and my ongoing reading slump.

Two-thirds of this book is about Jennifer, a wealthy, British housewife who meets and falls in love with a reporter named Anthony. At the beginning of the book, Jennifer has been in an automobile accident and has lost some of her memories, including her memories of Anthony. Her husband, Laurence, just hopes she forgets him entirely, but then she finds a letter from her lover. And another, and another. Once she is finally able to piece together who he is, she is told that he is dead, but that is because Laurence is an ass and wants her to stay with him.

Jennifer finally learns that Anthony didn't die, and finds him four years later. They have an amazing afternoon together, when Anthony asks her to leave her husband, but because she has a child, she doesn't feel like she can. Anthony takes off for the Congo, and Jennifer leaves her husband to try to track Anthony down. She never finds him.

The letters Anthony wrote to Jennifer after her accident are somehow left in a file in the newspaper offices. In 2003, some forty years afterward, Ellie finds them and looks to find who they belong to. Ellie, as it turns out, is the other woman. Her boyfriend is cheating on his wife with her, so these letters ring home to her in some way. She does everything she can to piece everything together.

This was a sweet read, and one I needed right now.

When Good Therapists Go Bad

Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Last year sometime, I read The Wife Between Us by the same authors and was enthralled. When I saw they had a new book out, I knew I would have to read it. I have been in a reading slump for months now, so I was unsure I would actually get this read in the time allotted to me by Overdrive, but I did. Holy cow was this an edge of your seat read!

Jessica is in her late 20s, and is a makeup artist in New York City. Her family, including her disabled sister, is in Pennsylvania. There never seems to be enough money to do what needs to be done, so when Jessica hears of a chance to make a relatively easy $500, she does it. All she has to do is participate in a study about morality. Seems simple enough, right?

This probably would have been easy, but the doctor/professor conducting the study is taken with Jessica, and wants to do a more personalized study with her. This includes having Jessica put herself in situations where she has to flirt with men, or arrange dates with them, all because her own husband cheated on her. The good doctor, Dr. Shields pays well, but will it be worth it?

I know I have said this before, but this one is hard to write about. It would be too easy to give away so much of the plot. All you need to know is that you won't want to put this down, and that Dr. Shields is seriously f&^%$#@ up. Don't walk--RUN to get this one. You won't regret it.

Stories of the Marsh Girl

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

At the beginning of the book, Kya is a young girl. Her mother just up and leaves one day, never to come back. Then so do all of Kya's siblings. For a bit, Kya's father is around, but he is a drunk and abusive, so she'd be better off without him there. One day he leaves too, and Kya is all alone. Until Tate shows up, that is.

Kya lives in the marsh on the edge of town, and has only been to school one day in her entire life. She can't read, but she knows the marsh creatures as well as she knows herself. Tate is a few years older, and teaches Kya how to read. He also teaches her what it is to love someone, until he breaks a promise to her.

Then along comes Chase. Chase is the town golden boy, and he likes Kya. He keeps making promises to her, promises he has no intention of keeping, just so he can have her the way that he wants her.

One day, Chase turns up dead, and everyone thinks Kya did it. She has to go on trial for her freedom. Did she kill Chase?

What I liked about this was the way it went back and forth in time. I also liked the vivid imagery the author used. This book was mesmerizing.