The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

When I was in high school, one of the few classics I enjoyed reading was Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins is a Jane Eyre retelling featuring Jane, a dog walker in an affluent neighborhood in Alabama who is trying to escape an ugly past, and Eddie, a wealthy presumed widower whom she meets while working. Eddie's wife has been missing for months after a boating accident and he takes quite an interest in young Jane. He could be her ticket to a better life, one she's always wanted, but they both have a lot of secrets to overcome.

I really liked this as a classic reimagined. While I knew the plot of the original, I never knew if Hawkins would stay true to it or if she would decide that 175 years of perspective might have changed how we see some of the characters. Social climbing may not have been the original Jane's goal, but this Jane wants to improve her station in life. The mystery of who Eddie's wife was and what happened to her kept me turning the pages late into the night. This was a fun thriller. Add it to your winter reading list!

 

Upgrade by Blake Crouch

Whoa, Nelly! I don't think I was ready for the whirlwind that was Upgrade by Blake Crouch. This technothriller follows Logan, an investigator with the government agency tasked with enforcing the new laws against genetic research. When he becomes the victim of a genome hack, he has to fight against his friends and his family to find a way to stop this from happening to anyone else. He is smarter and stronger and faster than ever before, but would this be the answer to humanity's problems, or will it usher in the end of the world. And how many will die if it all goes wrong?

This fast-moving thriller was exciting and kept me up well past bedtime. It got a little technical at times, but the research that went into writing it must have been massive. The science is fascinating, but the real enjoyment for me came from the philosophical questions raised. If we can, should we? What would make the world better? And what is an acceptable loss to save the human species?

The end of Homo sapiens lies just over the horizon. We can see it in a thousand metrics. Which means we have a chance. But only if we collectively decide to act. If nothing changes, we will die off for the stupidest reason imaginable- because we refused, for so many childish reasons, to do the obvious things that would save us.

Science fiction set in the near future is my favorite. The reader can see the world they know, but also begin to imagine what could be. We know what our problems are now and to see them solved is exciting, even if it isn't quite real. Yet. There are other quotes I'd love to share with you, but I'd hate to spoil such an entertaining read for you. I can't wait to read more Blake Crouch.

 

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

I was really feeling in the mood for something fun and light. Katherine Center is always a good author for that and her latest, The Bodyguard, fits the bill perfectly. Hannah is an Executive Protection Agent, a bodyguard. She looks like she couldn't harm a fly, but as she says, her job is to make sure she stops a threat before it ever comes to physical fighting. And yet, she can still toss a fully grown man to the ground before he can blink. She's just had the worst few weeks of her life: her mother has died, her boyfriend has broken up with her, and her best friend is on the other side of the world. The worst part of it is that she can't distract herself the way she normally does- work. Happy to call herself a workaholic, Hannah feels fulfilled by her job. When her boss finally gives her another assignment, it isn't what she's expecting. She has to pretend to be the girlfriend of a gorgeous movie star. He doesn't want his family to know that he needs protection. But how good are their respective acting skills?

This book was super cute. It was sweet and romantic while not being saccharine. I really liked it, and I can't wait to listen to the audio version. Add this one to your list. It will definitely make you smile.

End of the World House by Adrienne Celt

The world is not doing well in End of the World House by Adrienne Celt. War is rampant, the climate has had enough of humanity, and the economy is devastated. And yet, life continues mostly as normal. People go to work, they hang out in bars, and they argue with their roommates over whose turn it is to take out the trash. The biggest concern in Bertie's life is that her best friend Kate is moving to another city. As one last hurrah and, Bertie hopes, for a chance to change Kate's mind, they fly to Paris. Travel is a luxury, but now that the ceasefire is in place, it may be their last chance before the world ends. One very strange day in the Louvre, and it all changes. Somehow the day keeps repeating itself, but it takes Bertie a while to figure that out.

This book was... interesting. It was confusing and when I thought I had it figured out, it completely flipped on me. A bit existential, a bit of a mindf... well, you know what I mean. Maybe the world doesn't ever actually end. Maybe we don't ever die. Maybe where we are right now isn't where we actually are right now. Maybe this book made me a little dizzy, but I kind of liked it. The choices we make are the foundations of who we are. If we make different decisions, maybe we turn out to be different people.

This book wasn't what I was expecting, but I still liked it. You should give it a try and see how it makes you feel. It could be very intriguing. 

 

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

In The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna, Mika is a young woman who never stays in one place for long. If she moves every six months or so, never making any permanent connections, then no one will ever discover her secret. The only rule she breaks is in making internet videos where she pretends to be what she really is- a witch. No one would ever believe it is real magic, but then someone sees through the facade. This leads her to break more rules, sharing her secret with a ragtag, makeshift family who is trying to raise three young witches of their own.

I thought this book was a sweet read for the spooky season. I've always loved books about witches, and this one was cute. More family drama/ found family than magic spells, I think this one could be enjoyed by most. There are definite feminist views expressed, which I really like, and it kept the romance aspect of the story from pushing it too far into saccharine territory. If you're looking for a cozy read for Halloween, this one is pretty good.

 

Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton

Early this morning I finished reading Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton. I watched the Netflix movie shortly after it came out and I liked it, but I have to admit I had forgotten most of the plot. Last week I stumbled across this slim paperback version at my local library sale and I was intrigued. I brought it home with me and immediately started reading. 

Augustine is a world-renowned scientist at the end of his days studying the stars from a research facility near the north pole. When a mysterious world-ending event forces the evacuation of the post, he chooses to stay. He has no family to go back to and he would rather spend what time he has left gazing through the massive telescope at the universe. When he discovers a small child has been left behind in the emergency departure, he must force himself to keep living a little longer and set up some way for her to survive.

Sully is an astronaut halfway through a two-year expedition to Jupiter when mission control suddenly goes silent. She and the rest of the six-person crew have no idea what has happened and must wait until they are back in Earth's orbit to make a plan for their future. There is no way to know what has become of the families they've left behind or if there is any way for them to return to terra firma.

I loved this book. It is beautifully written and filled with so much emotion in so few pages. It is a quiet kind of book with plenty of internal examination by the characters, and yet it is far from slow. I was struck repeatedly by how a book like this should be a bit boring with all the reflection on memories and lives now passed, but Brooks-Dalton crafted it in such a way that I couldn't put it down. When I finally closed the back cover, all I could say to myself was, "Damn. That was a good book." Over and over again, I said it. It probably seems silly, but I actually cried because it was so good, not because of what the characters faced or their outcomes, but just because it was so good.

I love this book. I wish there were more of it. I wish I knew more at the end, but I also respect the way the author chose to tell the story. It was magnificent.

 

A Beginner's Guide to Murder by Rosalind Stopps

As we were approaching Spooky Season, I thought A Beginner's Guide to Murder by Rosalind Stopps could be a fun way to get into the spirit. Three elderly women are having coffee in a shop when a teenage girl comes running in and begging for help. In that moment they are transformed from lonely old ladies to heroines in the making. Set in southeast London, Meg, Daphne, and Grace must find a way to save Nina from a terrible fate and stop a very bad man.

Told from each of their four perspectives, we get to know these women and the tragedies that have affected their lives. I liked the main characters, but some of the secondary characters were frustrating. It is assumed that old ladies won't know anything about murder, but the bumbling about seemed excessive. Stopps did a good job keeping the tension ramping up, but then the resolution was too quick and without much of a satisfying ending, almost as if she had run out of pages. A good ending could have made all the difference with this book, but as it stands I have to say it was only okay.