Sunday Salon: Bookworm by Robin Yeatman

 I'm fast getting into the ARCs on my list, hoping to keep up and catch up before the holidays are here. It's taking longer than I imagined to listen to some of the audiobooks, but I'm enjoying them nevertheless. 

Reviewed:

Bookworm

by 

Robin Yeatman

Publication: Feb. 14, 2023, Harper Perennial; NetGalley ARC 

Genre: literary fiction, dark comedy

My review:

Imagine an avid book lover whose vivid imagination is fueled by all the books she reads, and whose mind makes her imagine the lives of strangers, sometimes accurately. Her invention of the people she meets in public, in cafes, pubs, on the street are fanciful and extraordinarily creative. But her wild dreams, too, of escaping from a restrictive, confining marriage, are often wickedly fiendish.

The novel, Bookworm, is described as a black comedy, and it is entertaining as well as clever. We cheer for Virginia, up to a point, when she tries to find a life away from a controlling husband, a book-hating, germaphobe who tries to separate her from her books. Her imagination carries this unusual novel, and I was surprised by the ending as well.

Now Listening, Audiobooks:

The Favor

by 

Nora Murphy

Publication: May 31, 2022; Macmillan Audio

Genre: suspense, women's fiction, domestic drama

Review: Excellent suspense novel about two women, one a lawyer and the other a pediatrician, who are in abusive marriages, with husbands who refuse to allow them to work, for one. I appreciated the tight plotting that follows the two women, who don't know each other, but who nevertheless are connected in this fast paced novel.

Superb writing and character development. The author in her notes at the end says her book highlights domestic abuse which has become an endemic situation, in all social classes and education levels. 

The narration was excellent and held my interest throughout. 

The Kimono Tattoo

by 

Rebecca Copeland

Audiobook, April 26th, 2022, Brother Mockingbird

Genre: thriller, suspense, set in Tokyo

About: "I jostled her shoulder and noticed when I did that her skin was cold to the touch....her entire torso was covered in tattoos from her collar bone to the midline of her thighs. All were of kimono motifs-fans, incense burners, peonies, and scrolls." 

As Ruth Bennett struggles to unravel the cryptic message hidden in the kimono tattoo, she is forced to confront a vicious killer along with her own painful family secrets. (publisher)

What are you reading/listening to this week? 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday

Sunday Salon: In The Mail and a Book Review

 In the mailbox:

Cashmere Comes from Goats by S. Portico Bowman, May 1, 2022, Stonehouse Originals

Genre: women's fiction, contemporary romance

Source: review copy from Saichek Publicity

As Robin contemplates a sabbatical to see puffins in Newfoundland, a fateful google search puts everything on hold.

Letters to Singapore by Kelly Kaur, May 1, 2022, Stonehouse Originals

Genre: women's fiction, contemporary fiction, multicultural

Growing up in Singapore, Simran always knew what was expected of her: to learn how to be a good mother and wife. The only problem? Simran has no interest in any of this.

Review:

The Favor by 

Nicci French, October 18, 2022, William Morrow Paperbacks

Genre: thriller, suspense

When Liam seeks out Jude after 11 years and asks for what seems like a simple favor, Jude inexplicably agrees. Liam was her high school sweetheart eleven years earlier, but after a terrific car accident, they went their separate ways, until now, when he returns to ask for The Favor.

Thrilling and suspenseful, the book leads you to the links between the two very different people and Liam's strange request. The favor leads Jude into Liam's present life, revealing a strange assortment of uninhibited arty types all living together in a large rundown house that Liam inherited. 

 Well plotted and written, this is another of Nicci French's thrillers I truly enjoyed.

What are you reading this week? 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday