The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

 

I do not recall where I got The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo but I figured I needed a break from mysteries for awhile.

While not sure what to expect I did not really enjoy the story after the first two marriages. Evelyn is ruthless and willing to do what it takes to get to Hollywood and get her chance at becoming a movie star. I liked that part her doing what it took no matter what to rise to the top. Once she got to the top the story took a distract turn that I felt was boring. This left me highly disappointed in around three fourths of the story it just felt repetitive and like Evelyn really gained nothing for fame from her last five marriages. 

Despite transiting between the past and present I never was confused what time period it was or if it was about Evelyn's life or Monique's life. The writing was fine the story just got boring for me and it became a chore to finish reading it around husband number four. 

Verity

 

I was playing around learning how to use Libby when I saw Verity was available. Have heard a lot about Colleen Hoover but not having read one of her stories I decided to give it a try. 

Lowen is trying to figure out how she is going to make her finances work when her agent is approached asking her to finish a book series for a popular author who had a car accident. Unable to believe her good luck Lowen quickly accepts the assignment and is soon in over her head as she wades through the boxes of documents in the authors home office hoping to find an outline or even basic ideas for the authors seventh book. 

I was not sure what to expect from Verity since the title is just name of a character in the story. My major complaint is that the story had far too many adult scenes and I get why that was important but it does make me wonder if all of Hoover's books are like that. The writing was smooth and I never struggled with any of the transitions. Despite having several side characters I really only felt like Lowen was the character I got to know and she was a bit needy at times which annoyed me. Lowen's big terrible secret was sort of boring and never really explained fully just glossed over which was frustrating since it seemed to bother Lowen a lot. While I liked the overall plot line of Verity I am not sure I will seek out further work by Colleen Hoover. 

Apples Never Fall

 

I was pretty sure I had read something by Liane Moriarty before and when I saw Apples Never Fall was available in the E-library I checked it out. 

Joy is missing and despite a text of gibberish no one knows where she is or even if she is alive. Her four children want to believe their father is innocent but he does not seem overly concerned that his wife is gone and fresh scratches are on his face. 

This story was a hot mess. I thought I was reading a mystery about what happened to a wife who suddenly disappeared with a husband not willing to talk about the day she disappeared. Instead I got a story about four adults who are complaining about their life and never take accountability for their actions. It was so boring I quickly skimmed parts to pick up the key points of the story. 

Girl, Forgotten

 

The first book I checked out on the Libby app and no where did I see Girl, Forgotten was the second book in a series. 

Emily is pregnant and unsure how, having no memory of the event she decides to investigate and attempt to figure out who could be the father of her child. Soon though she is asking the wrong questions and ends up barely clinging to life in a dumpster. Sadly Emily does not make it but her child does and years later a freshly initiated Marshall has reason to figure out who killed Emily and fathered her child. 

Andrea just wants to forget her father and that he is in prison but suddenly his past comes back to haunt her. Having graduated as a full fledged Marshall Andrea is shocked she is being given an assignment protecting a judge. Determined to do her best she is floored when she learns the assignment takes place with an unsolved murder and the town her father grew up in. 

Since I knew nothing about what Clay had done to Andrea and her mother I was in the dark about that it was never explained but mentioned a few times. I did not really feel a connection to Andrea but I did Emily. I skimmed a lot of parts just taking in the main parts of this story and nothing from the previous story. The writing was okay it switched between the past and present every chapter. 

The Year My Sister Got Lucky

 

Since I have not learned how to use Libby yet I choose a random book in my Nook library. I believe The Year My Sister Got Lucky is an old Free Friday book. 

Everything was told from the younger sisters point of view and boy was Katya (or Katie) annoying as heck. While I understand she is a fourteen year old girl all she did was complain. It was clear Katie was majorly jealous of her older sister, Michaela, and her talent at ballet. If only she could think about someone else and their personal struggles maybe she would have been more relatable. 

While I did not like the personality of Katya I did enjoy how the writing was consistent, it went smoothly and never had hiccups that left me confused. Besides Michaela all the other characters felt one dimensional and more like an after thought which was disappointing. I wanted to see Katya get closer to people besides Micaela. It was nice to take a break from all the mysteries I have been reading lately. 

The Shadow House

 

I really struggled with The Shadow House despite it having been on my reading list. It took me to almost the end of the story to realize some was being told from a current time and some from the past. The overall story made way more sense when that finally clicked for me. A date of the chapter that switched to the past would have been nice. 

Alex was so annoying she just complained all the time about her toddler crying a lot and her teenage son being moody. The story moved super slow and I fell asleep several time trying to read. I did end up skimming some paragraphs that seemed to add nothing to the story. Just not a mystery that clicked for me overall. 

The Nanny Diaries

 

I wanted a lighter read after finishing Dawnlands so I choose The Nanny Diaries. 

While the story held my attention enough to keep reading I was pretty bored with the overall plot line. Mom's who want their kids to be seen never heard and locked away when they do not want to show them off. Expecting a young child to be perfect all the time and not explore like kids want to just seemed so unrealistic. My other issue was the main character's name was not revealed until around page two hundred. I thought it was a disrespectful thing calling her Nanny and not her name but maybe it was a nickname? Add in a misbehaving child that just wants attention from his parents and you have an odd mix of a story with sad yet funny moments.