Book Chat,  Book Club

Book Chat: Publishing Today 5/29/18

I had to do a special post today because two amazing books are publishing, and I’m so excited to start seeing what people think! Here I’m mostly reflecting on what I loved about each, but I’m linking my full reviews which do have a good spoiler-free plot summary, if you haven’t had a chance to read those yet.

The Death of Mrs. Westaway

The first of these books is The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware. Gosh, do I love Ruth Ware! Her ability to pull the reader completely out of their life and into the settings and stories she creates is truly magical. Hal herself is a fantastic main character. She is physically very weak looking, but emotionally she is shockingly strong. Sometimes I think she even surprised herself. She was ballsy and compassionate and scrappy–a combination I enjoyed. Ruth Ware also tends to work really well with isolated characters–either physically, emotionally, mentally, or socially. This one is no exception! I can’t wait for readers to dive into this one. The settings are almost gothic, with a spooky house, a deserted promenade, and a desolate apartment. I absolutely had a blast reading this! See my review of The Death of Mrs. Westaway here!

Don’t Believe It

Also publishing today is the thriller by Charlie Donlea, Don’t Believe It. This was my first book by Charlie Donlea, but I will definitely be seeking out other books by him. I’ve heard from one of the Traveling Sisters that a character appearing in this book is actually a character from another book, though the stories themselves are unique. I love that! It reminds me of Tana French* and her Dublin Murder Squad books. It is fun for readers to get something new, but still have a favorite character pop in. This was a Traveling Sisters read and as Brenda said in her review, we all ended up dancing in delight in a tongue-tied coulee. So true! This one was a book I had to reflect on for days before I could organize my thoughts. Check out my full review of Don’t Believe It here!

*If you haven’t read Tana French, I could honestly do an entire post just on her. And I probably will!

Let me know your thoughts!!