Because Drood took me so long to read, I fell behind on my Goodreads goal this year of reading 40 books. As in past years, I picked some shorter works in order to make the goal. And I did – just under the wire! New Year’s Eve! I’ll probably go for 30 next year because I have a lot of longer books to get through, and 30 seems much more do-able.
Here are some mini reviews for the books that I read to finish out my Goodreads challenge:
The Soul Summoner by Erica Hyder
This doesn’t seem like an appropriate title. This title makes this seem like some kind of dark, supernatural kind of thing is going to be the focal point of the story. In reality, it’s a suspense and romance hybrid with a strong female lead and two competing love interests. And Sloan, our “soul summoner,” can summon or conjure people, but it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with their souls. Still kind of an entertaining read, but nothing special.
The Fantastic Fable of Peter Able by Natalie Grigson
This was a different one. The YA book explores the concept of what happens to fictional characters when they aren’t being written about anymore. The author imagines a world in which these forgotten characters live, including former Boy Wizard Peter Able. After his series is discontinued, he tries to figure out his next steps. Author Grigson tries a lot of cool experimental things with words on the page, and delivers a series opening book with some definite promise.
Always Know What to Say by Peter Murphy
Turns out I read this one already. It was still on my Kindle app, so I assumed I hadn’t. But then I ran into a highlight on one of the pages, which seemed strange to me because I didn’t remember the text at all. I wanted this to be helpful, because who DOESN’T have social anxiety and not know how to carry on conversations with strangers? But yeah, there’s not much substance here.
Just After Sunset by Stephen King
My boy Stevie K. I love him. But man, he should stick to what he’s good at … which is writing an 800-page thriller you can’t put down. I put this one down a lot. Hard to get into these short stories, and honestly … sorry Stephen … they’re not that good.
Grown Up Book Reports 