Images from Goodreads

[26] Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore
Fiction / Magical Realism / Time Travel, saw on Goodreads

Synopsis: It’s New Year’s Eve in 1982, and Oona is going to turn nineteen at the stroke of midnight. The biggest struggle in her life is deciding between studying abroad in London or quitting school to tour with her boyfriend’s band. But when New Year’s Day arrives, she wakes up in 2015 at the age of fifty-one, in a brownstone in Brooklyn she doesn’t recognize, in a body that feels all kinds of wrong, and with no knowledge of her past. She learns from a letter by Earlier Oona that each year at midnight on New Year’s Eve, she wakes up in a different random year of her life, living them all out of order. Thanks to her knowledge of the market and smart investments, she’s wealthy, but that’s the only stability she has. Only her mom and an assistant know what’s really going on with her, and despite Earlier Oona’s (sometimes) efforts, it’s completely jarring to start each new year knowing nothing about her life.

Review: This book completely lived up to my excitement for it! It was a delightful, fun, clever, quick, and easy read. It was exactly what I needed after the long, heavy book I just finished, and I’m so glad my snis bought me a digital copy, because I’ll definitely read it again. In the beginning of the book it’s fun to watch Oona jump around and see her be rebellious against Earlier Oona’s advice. As Oona lives more of her life though, it’s heart-breaking to see her piece it all together – pain she knows is about to come, or finally understanding pain she caused in a future due to something she is doing now. This is a clever book, and I loved how it all came together, and the focus on family and living in the moment, and all the pop culture references. I 100% recommend it; I only wish we got to read more of Oona’s story!

I had an almost 900 page hard science fiction book lined up to read next, but I realized I need to stick to shorter reads right now.

[27] In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
Fiction / Contemporary Women, saw on topshelftext’s Instagram

Synopsis: Dannie has her next five years planned – get a corporate lawyer position at the top law firm in Manhattan, accept her boyfriend David’s marriage proposal, get married, work hard, and move to the Gramercy Park area. On December 15th, 2020, David proposes, and Dannie accepts. When she goes to sleep that night though, she wakes up on the same date, but five years in the future, with a different man in a different apartment. She falls asleep and wakes back up with David, in 2020. She’s shaken by the experience and tries to get past it, but four-and-a-half years later she meets the man from 2025, who is dating her best friend, Bella. Bella’s been like a sister to Dannie since she was young, and she’s very protective of her, and wary of this man from her vision.

Review: Whoa, this is a fast, easy read – I flew through it in a day! I’m having a hard time reviewing this because while I enjoyed it and it made me think a lot about relationships, I would have liked to see more character development and background – you jump right in to the story and it moves fast. Which is great – not all books need to be character driven! But I was left wondering why Dannie is so Type A (besides a few sentences about her brother dying and her wanting to be perfect)? And why is her relationship with Bella so important (which is told throughout the book but could have been deeper)? That I wanted to know more is good, it means I was invested in the characters. I didn’t love Dannie, but as the story went on, I became more interested in her relationship with her best friend Bella, which is (spoiler!) really what the story is about. Well, that, and how you can’t control fate or plan out your life to a T, and that life should be lived in the moment.

[28] Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
Fantasy, continuing the series

Synopsis: As Harry begins his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the muggle and wizard world alike are on high alert due to the escape of convict Sirius Black from Azkaban. What the muggles don’t know is that Black is a dark wizard with a murderous past, and ties to Lord Voldemort. Harry’s friends and the Hogwarts teachers are concerned for Harry’s safety – since he defeated Lord Voldemort as a baby, they assume Black is coming for him. Harry is more concerned about the Azkaban guards (dementors) patrolling Hogwarts though. Every time Harry is around one, he’s filled with a deep despair, hears the voices of his parents dying, and passes out. Harry tries to have a normal school year, going to class (he especially likes the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher), hanging out with Ron and Hermoine (who can’t seem to get along this year because Hermoine’s new cat is after Ron’s rat), and playing Quidditch, but it’s hard to forget the threat of Black.

Review: As I started reading this I was thinking that I liked how the books have a reliable format – each one starts with a bit of the summer before the school year, then goes through the year, and finishes with the students leaving Hogwarts for the year. But as I was reading this one the format was feeling a bit stale, especially when you add the “someone wants Harry Potter dead” recurring theme. I think this may have been the book I tried to read as a stand-alone before because some of it seemed familiar, and I felt that annoyance from that read many years ago coming back. What the heck, Kim? Hopefully I’ll like the next one more. I was glad some of Harry’s family history was revealed, and am hoping a lot of it was set up for more to come. Oh! And the most exciting part of reading this book was the butterbeer and Patronus mentions. I’ve heard about those things many times and I now know what they are!