Review: Slip of the Tongue by Jessica Hawkins

Quick review for a rather compelling read. I probably think of this book on the same level as Megan Hart’s “Tear You Apart” – and considering how much I respect Megan Hart as a writer, that’s high praise, even if that wasn’t one of my favorite narratives in her bibliography. Jessica Hawkins’s writing pulled me into the novel from point one all the way to the very ending. I’m surprised how invested I was in this novel despite how frustrated I was with the very flawed cast of characters and their respective situations. Granted, I didn’t like the subject matter of this book (it deals with romantic relationships involving cheating), but I went into the book for the experience of the story. This narrative laid bare many of the complex emotions and flaws for each of the characters. I honestly understood and learned why each character acted and reacted the way they did. There are some clashes that feel formulaic for narratives of this genre, but I think Hawkins did a good job of adding layers of dimension, moral conflict and intimacy (physical, mental, emotional) throughout the narrative on more than one level.

Review: Her Mother’s Hope (Marta’s Legacy #1) by Francine Rivers

Quick review for a progressive read. If there’s something I’m learning from reading Francine Rivers’s books, her books always take me into the heart of another time and firmly through the mental, physical, and emotional journey’s of her characters. This was a mammoth of a book to get through, not so much for length as it was for the dramatic rollercoaster it takes you on.

Review: The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon

Quick review for a somewhat quick read. I actually liked “The Sun Is Also A Star” more than I liked “Everything, Everything”. It’s a very ambitious novel that covers a lot of ground, probably more than I think one book could really cover, but what it manages to do still resonated with me on more than one level, and the cross-cultural elements of the novel really stayed with me after I finished the novel, even when I found the events not as satisfying as I would’ve liked.

Review: Scientific Secrets for Self-Control

Quick review for a quick read. This isn’t the first “Great Courses” audiobook I’ve listened to, but it was one of the ones I was most disappointed by. A shame because the topic is very fascinating in terms of how self-control is regulated by the brain. It touches on several topics with support from several studies: brain injury and how it affects self control, mental energy and fatigue, dietary influences in brain energy, making decisions, how fatigue factors into difficult topics, self control and finances, etc. I found that I wasn’t really the biggest fan of the audio lecturer. His dictation didn’t feel immersive/enthusiastic about the topic and the transitions between topics weren’t as smooth from lecture to lecture as I would’ve hoped. I did have a few takeaways for the knowledge base and topics this series of lecture covered, but not enough for the time and energy that it took for me to move through this audio course (which was well over 3 hours).

Overall score: 2/5 stars.

Review: Gem & Dixie by Sara Zarr

Quick review for a quick read. Another emotional and engaging read from Sara Zarr. “Gem and Dixie” is a story of sisters as well as knowing when to let go and grow. I enjoyed the journey, though the story had more compelling points in certain turns than others. It got a little muddled in the middle trying to march itself towards the ending, but still pulled at my heartstrings for showcasing the relationship between the characters.