[55] My Favorite Bad Decision (The Favorites #1) by Elizabeth O’Roark
Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, saw on Kindle U, Kindle

Synopsis: When Kit shows up for a group climb of Mount Kilimanjaro, the last person she expects to see is Miller West—her sister’s “one who got away” ex from ten years ago that Kit couldn’t stand. Kit is beyond annoyed. But as the days go on, she finds it harder to despise him when he keeps showing up for her… which is the exact opposite of her boyfriend back in the states.

Review: What a strange, strange story—one that tries too hard to be profound and layered. Kit could be interesting in the sense that her story is a chance to peer into how the 1% live—she’s the ultra-privileged daughter of a model and a media mogul. She works for her father but dreams of being a doctor, and even made it pretty far in med school but dropped out (for a mysterious reason that’s revealed later). So she’s smart. She’s also sassy and her and Miller banter back and forth, which is fun. But I just was not buying this connection they made 10 years ago. The story didn’t sell it to me. And this isn’t even letting the fact that he dated and slept with her sister bother me (which a lot of people on Goodreads couldn’t get past). And her status and the ridiculous things her family and boyfriend did (remember, she has a boyfriend!) became less amusing and more “is anyone really like this?” Meh.

Recommend? No

[56] The Perfect Couple (Nantucket #3) by Elin Hilderbrand
Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, third in series, Audio

Synopsis: The body of the to-be maid of honor is found in the harbor just hours before a high-society wedding in Nantucket. The entire wedding party is under suspicion. As the police interview the wedding party and guests, many secrets unravel.

Review: More rich people behaving badly—exactly what I expect from Hilderbrand. This was entertaining, even though I guessed what happened about a third from the end. And you could totally read this as a standalone.

I have some complaints though. I feel like Hildebrand hates women. Maybe that’s too harsh. She writes them of superficial caricatures of how I know real women to behave. Who knows though, maybe this is how women behave in Nantucket, where all her books are set.

Complaint 2: are we still calling women “chunky” in 2018? Maybe. It just rubs wrong.

Complaint 3: this one is on me—the bride develops a lisp while wedding planning and I listened to this on audio, and it made me bonkers. I am an asshole.

Recommend? Sure! Despite my complaints is an easy summer read

[57] The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
Fiction / Literary, Green Light from Knox on The Popcast, audio

Synopsis: When Sara returns home from a trip, she’s detained by a government agency that claims her dreams predict she’ll harm her husband. Sent to a mysterious facility with other women flagged as future criminals, she must navigate shifting rules and mounting uncertainty. As her confinement stretches on, she becomes more rebellious and tries to take what little control of her fate she can.

Review: This is really well written and interesting but it made me feel anxious and upset. The idea that she is being held for something she never did just feels like… something that could actually happen, KWIM? And that all this data is being collected from multiple sources to score your risk factor… also feels like something that could happen soon. It made me feel uneasy. And a book that makes me feel things, even if I don’t want to, is a good book! I’m just leaning more toward good feelings now (which is why I am also struggling with Careless People). I am reading to escape and I did not with this book.

Recommend? Yes if you’re in the mood!