January 2024 Book Reviews

lizzmg77

February 7

I started 2024 off by reading a great selection of books! Towards the end of 2023 I struggled to read more than 1-2 books per month and I was so glad I got back into reading again at the end of the year. I know that there is a possibility that I will have another reading dry spell in 2024, but so far I am starting strong. Two of the books I read were for book clubs, so you'll see those reviews later on this year. I have read 7 books this month! You will start seeing a pattern in these reviews on when I started these novels!

Here are my reviews:

The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose: I started this book back in 2023. I read the first novel in the series, The Maid, last year and really enjoyed it. This novel starts similarly to the first with a suspicious death/murder in the posh hotel where our main character works. I liked the flow of this novel. I liked that the author showed flashbacks to the past where the main character knew the deceased and how the past fed right into the present day, helping to tie up loose ends. I liked that the author shows how talented and skilled the female characters are to the story and how pivotal they play a role in the investigation. I like how it is not centered around male characters and sheds light on many strong female characters. I loved seeing that the character had other strengths and skills that were showcased in the story and that she had talent in investigating crimes. I liked this novel a lot. I rated this book four out of five stars.
4 Days in Paris by Lexi Haddock: I started reading this book in 2023 - as I said earlier, I had a bit of a reading dry spell and this was one that fell to the back burner for me. It did not help that I just did not get into it quickly and I did not love this novel. I wanted to, but some romance novels are pedantic and predictable. It read really elementary and I struggled to get through parts of the story that felt forced. I liked some of the banter and turmoil, but it became too much for the story. It was written by a fellow Kappa Alpha Theta member, so I really wanted to like it. I just did not connect with the story. I rated this book two out of five stars.
Two Women Walk into a Bar by Cheryl Strayed: I got this free from Amazon for January. It was about 30 pages. I liked this a lot. It was quick, it was real, it was heartfelt. I liked that the author was truthful in her depiction of taking care of her mother in law who was deteriorating and how true it is and real it is to take care of a loved one. It was a good quick essay and I recommend you pick this up. I rated this short essay four out of five stars.
Almost Surely Dead by Amina Akhtar: This was a Mindy Kaling publishing company book and a free one I got this month from Amazon as well. I liked the premise and the injection of culture and the supernatural that the author put into the story. It was mysterious, compelling, gripping, and intriguing. I wanted to keep reading to see what became of the main character. It was a little jumpy with the podcast entries and the flashbacks, but I liked the use of the podcast to interject nuance into the story. I liked that the author used her culture to narrate some of the crimes that happened. It felt raw and relatable even for someone from another culture. It was not my favorite this month, but I liked it nonetheless. I rated this three out of five stars.
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford: Again, I started this back in 2023. It took me a while to get back into this book. It was a Reading Women book club pick for 2023, and while I tried to finish it before the discussion, I just could not get into this right away. Once I got past Part One of this story, I was hooked and I needed to get through this one. It was so interesting, but there were many points of view and time periods in the story, that it was hard to keep up with at times. I realized after Part One why the author did this with the characters. Their lives were all connected, one in the same if you look at it that way. It was interesting to see how closely related these women's lives were, how they all had tragedy and hardship thrust at them from different angles. It was so interesting and I loved the premise of the book. The author uses epigenesis to bring the time periods together. I loved that the characters had strength that they did not know how to harness and how their struggles culminated into issues for their descendants. I liked how the book moves forward with the main character's daughter ending the story; but it feels like it is just beginning again for her in the end. I thought this was a unique story and I really liked it. I rated this book four out of five stars.

Overall, I enjoyed the books I read this month. They were all very good and I would recommend most of them to those of you who like reading. Check back next week for more updates and book reviews!