coric's reviews
1243 reviews

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack

funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

4.0

 Well, this was a delightfully fun romp of a cozyish mystery. It is the perfect read for your summer vacation with bonus points if you are headed to Italy. If you love stories that immerse you in travel to another country or you enjoyed Benjamin Stevenson’s meta style of locked room mysteries, then you must pick this one up. Just like Stevenson, Mack gives a peek behind the curtain into the process of writing mysteries with her main character Eleanor Dash who is a burned out mystery writer tired of writing a series that seems to benefit everyone else more than her. And of course, what could go wrong while on tour with a group of author frenemies…. 

This Country: Searching for Home in (Very) Rural America by Navied Mahdavian

funny informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

 A compelling graphic memoir that immerses you in small town Idaho while Mahdavian illustrates the juxtaposition of he and his wife trying to build connections and a home while continually feeling like the outsiders. It demonstrates all aspects of human nature in the experiences he shares.

 

Shae by Mesha Maren

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

 

Mesha Maren writes about the modern South in a way that shows her love for the region while not shying away from the social and economic challenges faced by certain inhabitants. As always, she also invites you to inhabit queer lives and shares a humanizing experience of what it means to navigate this place and time with this identity. Readers are given an immersive coming of age story that illuminates how a series of life choices and circumstances can pull anyone into the unrelenting thrall of opioid addiction. If you loved Demon Copperhead, then pick up this one for a completely different voice  with similar themes and setting. Maren successfully captures the voice and setting with her exquisite writing that simultaneously manages to be both spare and rich. Her beautifully crafted characters will capture and then break your heart.

 

Bride by Ali Hazelwood

mysterious tense slow-paced

2.75

 

A vampire and werewolf enter into a marriage as an alliance for the good of both species that basically turns into an enemies to lovers' romance. Meh… it was fine. I don’t regret finishing it, but it wasn’t quite as compelling as I hoped it would be.

 

Never Leave the Dogs Behind: A Memoir by Brianna Madia

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective fast-paced

5.0

 This was a completely different reading experience from Madia’s first book because most of the stories she shared in that one were new to me. As a long time Insta follower, her new book found me reliving much of what I’d already read but with a new layer of understanding and with, well, a new filter. This reads like a series of vignettes picking up mostly where she left off with her last book. Brianna’s storytelling almost felt like we were sitting at the bar night after night as she doled out stories that slowly connected together like puzzle pieces. Each one on its own is seemingly just an interesting story. But taken together, they provide a clear picture of why she has chosen to move forward planting and nurturing fragile roots as she also reclaims her life and sense of self. This is a story about adversity, alienation and loss and Brianna’s not always graceful (but very human responses) as she pretty much hits rock bottom. The lasting effects of being targeted by a malicious online bullying and harassment campaign are still quite evident. You can see how she wants to bare her soul and share the nuanced layers of her story as she strives to heal and recover, but what really happens is a guarded vulnerability and tentativeness as she recounts a truly dark and muddy time in her life. I can only imagine how challenging it must be to revisit those moments and determine what and how much to share of herself given her complicated relationship with the public. At other times, her accounts were colored with outright humor and the brash give no “f’s” that Brianna prides herself on with how she shares herself with the world. And then in other moments, I was sucked into her joy as she described the beauty of the landscape and her adventures with her beloved and adventurous canine companions. Writing a memoir requires strength to revisit difficult moments and a strong sense of self to know how to write about yourself in a way that is both honest and interesting to a reader. Reading a memoir is always going to be this unique mash up of the personal: the writer’s shared experiences and how the reader receives and filters them. At the end, I felt a bit uncertain and confused as to how I was to feel about what I read because it is a deep dive into the highs and lows of her life during this time. And perhaps that is my one true critique, which I think is a critique of editing decisions and not her writing. There was an abrupt transition from Baja to the final chapter of the book. I thought the final chapter was a strong and perfect ending that summarizes Brianna’s journey throughout the book and poignantly highlights the importance of the title, but I also felt like I missed something in between those two moments. 

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

3.75

 Another fun thriller that was an easy and fast audiobook. I loved the twists and turns of the cat and mouse elements, and it’s best to go into without much information. No one is who they seem and everyone has ulterior motives and secret lives that will slowly be revealed. Excellent southern setting. 

Heads Will Roll by Josh Winning

dark tense fast-paced

3.0

   I flew through this horror novel with a summer camp setting. However, this summer camp is actually an escape place for adults who’ve made bad decisions. Are the rumors about the camp’s past just campfire stories or did they happen? Suddenly, people start dying in this remote location and the biggest questions are who is doing it and will anyone survive before they figure out what is going on?

 

The Mars House by Natasha Pulley

challenging emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

 

This is the most compulsively readable slow burn story that I’ve encountered in a long time. It has the perfect balance of political intrigue, science fiction, and romance. I love how it uses a futuristic setting of a colonized Mars and a very public marriage of convenience to explore immigration, human rights, and cultural differences. Pulley has created a nuanced and thoughtful world that truly provides a wide array of storylines and touch points for a diverse group of readers.

 

A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

 

This book could be the love child of Morgenstern’s The Starless Sea, Schawb’s The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, and Harrow’s Ten Thousand Doors of January. Aubry certainly takes us an adventurous, page-turning journey around the world, but this is more than just an adventure story. Without the ability to ever stop her journey, it raises many questions about what it means to be human and to endure. It results in a singular coming of age story that explores who we might be without the ability to develop roots and relationships or take the time to learn who we are and what we might become within a community. Aubrey shows us the tenacity of the human spirit and the ability to endure and live a very different life with her nomadic existence.

 

The Frame-Up by Gwenda Bond

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 

A heist story set in Kentucky with magical elements and a bit of a mystery AND a redemption story arc…. Uh… yep, sign me up! An easy quick read that had just the right ending.