Finally, here is the second part of my May reads with the more light-hearted, fun stuff. Enjoy!
Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
Lilian is a normal young woman with many regrets and missed chances in her past. She lives a modest and to be frank, a bit miserable life at her mother's little house. When her former school friend Madison contacts her to ask for help in a delicate matter, she sees and seizes a chance to get her life back on track. You see, Madison is married to one of the most famous politicians of the country but doesn't know how to deal with her two step kids who will soon live permanently with her family. The problem is that the twins tend to go in flames when upset, which is as inevitable for a pair of twelve year olds as it is scandalous for a well-known person. And they absolutely LOVE Lilian!
Nothing to See Here was a
nice and light read which admittedly and obviously does require a lot of suspension of disbelief but, in
the end, you do it gladly because it is so well-intentioned.
I was only a little bothered about an (social) injustice main
character Lilian needs to swallow in her youth and I really wished there
would be some kind of redemption for what happened, but in my opinion,
ultimately there wasn’t. But other than that, I enjoyed this a lot.
First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde
This was so much fun!
The "Thursday Next" series is literally and psychologically what saved my life a couple of years ago, during the first months of the COVID19 pandemic and the subsequent hard lockdown. The uplifting story of the quirky literary detective Next, who can jump into stories and travel around in books trying to prevent or punish literary crimes, can be roughly divided into two parts: the first four books constituting one unit and the following three books another additional trilogy set about a decade after the first part. After the first four books I stopped reading them but lately I felt that I'm ready to finish the complete series. I don't regret that decision one bit already.
In First Among Sequels Sherlock Holmes as well as Miss Marple
are being killed by a literary serial killer on the
loose and to make it worse, the omnipotent Goliath Corporation is
trying to deregulate book travel. I burst out laughing more than once reading this one and realized how satisfying Fforde can write endings in his signature tying of loose ends perfectly. Nothing is redundant or unnecessary in his books and come together often in hilarious ways - I love it!
This is also the first among the series that I listened to in audio book and a great praise to narrator Emily Gray who's just fantastic!
Liarmouth: A Feel-Bad Romance by John Waters
The cover description says "delirious road trip of riotous revenge" and that's a very accurate description of this book! Liarmouth is by far one of the most interesting books I have read this year. Hell, it is one of the most interesting books I have ever read, for that matter. The adventures of suitcase thief and scammer Marsha Sprinkle and her associate definitely make a riveting and absolutely hilarious reading.
Every sentence in this book drips sarcasm, black humor and comedic genius. If I had a criticism, it is that after a while the constant hilarity starts to tire you a little and I personally couldn't read longer stretches at once and needed to ration cleverly. Maybe that's because I had no idea who John Waters is and didn't really know he has a very original sense of humor that may require some getting used to.
I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by Waters himself and it's read really well, adding to the experience.
On an idyllic family outing Adam Bragg's whole life is turned around: His family is killed and he is attacked too, but manages to run away with a few injuries. During his fever-dreamy escape journey he encounters many interesting things; a plethora of monsters - among them one that favors eating human arms -, a small town that tries hard to cover evil and, of course, shady businesses of the government of the US of A.
That amateur but charming cover art... That crazy premise... That TITLE! Unfortunately, none of these awesomenesses saved this book for me and it was, in the end, kind of a slog through a mound of ripped-off, chewed-on arms.
I have to add that for the life of me, I can't read books that are written in present tense and in first person singular which is the case here and is the main reason of my disenchantment. But yeah...
On the other hand, I really dug the vast variety and creative assortment of monsters and the tongue in cheek tone. And that title makes up for many a flaw the book has - it makes me chuckle every time I see it.
Having gone through the light reads, I'll still throw in a few thriller/mystery reads at the end as usual. Quite good ones too!
A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham
Not much focus is directed towards plot development here - A Flicker in the Dark rather revolves around the inner life, thoughts, insecurities and psychological patterns of main character Chloe. I especially enjoyed reading and recognized from myself how some old behaviors keep coming back to you, your insecurities and hurts from the past making you doubt people in your life even years after.
For me it was a very immersive read that kept me glued to it – definitely recommended!
The Devil and the Dark by Stuart Turton
An Early Modern Sherlock Holmes-like figure on a ship to Amsterdam? Murders? Eerie symbols appearing randomly? A sick man dying and resurrecting...twice? Devilry? Count me in!
Our detective Samuel Pips being incarcerated during a voyage for a crime he may or may not have committed, it is up to his right hand man, Arent, to solve the mysteries happening on-board.
Intricately gnarled, smartly built historical mystery by the author that brought you the awesome Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. A little less enthralling maybe than its predecessor due to the slow pace, but equally puzzling most definitely.
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