Tag: the divorce

ARC Reviews

The Divorce

A Morrow

Karen is a psychotherapist, and she’s newly back on the job after a long sabbatical, following the death of her husband. Her own demons and grief haunt her even as she tries to help her patients.

Josh and Lydia are a struggling couple who arrive for their first therapy session, bringing numerous red flags with them. There’s something dangerous going on in their marriage and maybe something else lurking in the fog of this relationship. Can Karen help them? Or are they holding something back that threatens all of them? (Dun dun dunnn!)

–

I read through this one quick! It was fun. 

I love psychological thrillers and was immediately drawn in by the fresh feeling of the therapist’s point of view. Hasn’t everyone always wondered what’s going on in a therapists brain during sessions? I do! The choice to use the therapy sessions as a framework for chapters provided a steady pace of balance information and anticipation and was honestly just interesting as hell to me. It also formed this meandering but somehow hypnotic rhythm that kept me reading even when it wasn’t a fast-paced moment. Definitely a successful creative choice.

Another benefit of the uses of sessions spaced out in time and multiple points of view, is that I never knew exactly what was going on in The Divorce. Which I enjoyed very much, to be honest. I didn’t see the end coming in this book and, while I personally felt that the drama could have been amped up even more in the big twist, I enjoyed how well telegraphed and organized the end really was, when it’s revealed.

I’ve seen some less stellar reviews of this one floating around, but I enjoyed it! It’s certainly a freshman novel, in that its the author’s first foray into the genre of a psychological thriller, but overall I found many more positives than not. Its pacing could’ve been tightened up, some unnecessary inner monologue taken out or moved around, I could nitpick more if I wanted to. But it was also so creative in its use of many points of view, it was hypnotic and able to keep me guessing. I didn’t feel that this book’s fumbles over-balanced the rest.

I would recommend this to people who like this genre or haven’t read much in this genre, and especially those who enjoy or don’t mind watching an author develop through their writing. This was great for a first debut into psychological thrillers for Jenkins. I enjoyed this book a lot and will definitely be looking forward to this author’s next foray into the dark and twisty.

WWW

Its “What are you reading?” Wednesday!

A Morrow

I’ve seen a lot of bookish memes and list ideas here on the book-blogging circuit, and I wish I could do all of them! One of my favorites has been a trend of bloggers posting their current reads on Wednesdays.

This week I’ll be taking inspiration from Taking On a World of Words, and trying out their “WWW Wednesday!”

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

What I’m reading now:

David Mogo, Godhunter by Suyi Davies Okungbowa

I’m still reading this one! I’d only started it just before last week’s WWW and to be honest, I’m still enjoying it. It’s a somewhat slower read than I expected, lots of exposition and a style of language that’s new to me, but that’s not a complaint. Though it’s taking me a little longer, I’m loving the tone, humor, and wit of this book, as well as the fresh take on what can easily turn into predictable tropes in urban fantasy. Will definitely be reviewing this more fully when I finish. Fans of The Dresden Files looking for something new and interesting should look forward to this one!

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

I only read my first Christina Lauren book last month, when I reviewed The Unhoneymooners, but apparently she is a romance phenomenon that I have been missing out on for a while now. This book is already so adorable, sweet, authentic, and utterly readable. I can’t seem to put it down and I don’t mind at all. I’m about halfway through this one and am reading it for pure enjoyment and nothing else. Well, except that it’s also Pride Month, that too!

The Swallows by Lisa Lutz

I literally only started this one this morning so I don’t know too much, but I love what I’ve read so far. The synopsis alone has me intrigued: a new teacher at a school gets a disturbing response to a creative writing assignment handed back in without a name and must try and discover what’s really going on in the school, and why she was brought there. It reminds me a little of Big Little Lies so far, but that could also be because it’s on the brain with the new season of the TV adaptation dropping recently. Either way, this book is setting up to be eerie! Look for this one on shelves in August.

What I’ve recently finished:

The Divorce by Victoria Jenkins

I really enjoyed this. This ARC came to me through Netgalley and its also the author’s first foray into psychological thriller. I’ll be reviewing this more fully within the week, but suffice to say that for a first thriller it was pretty good! I didn’t see the twist coming, and the book had a somewhat methodical pace for so long that it did a good job of lulling the reader into forgetting the suspense and just enjoying the book. Can’t wait to share more about it with you all.

What I think I’ll read next:

A lot of fantasy this coming week! Love it.

Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte

I haven’t started this YA fantasy yet, but for exciting reasons! I won this book in a giveaway through my book club, The Book Democracy, and it JUST came in the mail yesterday! Not only that but I’m going to buddy read it with a friend (sup, Haley!) and I always love doing that. I’ve had this one on my TBR since its eagerly anticipated release so I’m expecting great things!

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

This is a Book of the Month pick from my book club and I’m excited about it! I haven’t read any of Victoria Schwab’s other successful books, though they’re almost all on my TBR list, so I’m eager to see what the excitement is all about. This series in particular has so much positive buzz around it that I’m really looking forward to experiencing it myself, and I’m also a sucker for a paranormal story. Bring on the spooky!

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

This is another exciting pick for Pride Month! I can’t wait to read this. Not only is this YA fantasy wonderfully LGBT+ but it’s also one of the featured books in my book club this month! And aside from all of that, it just looks great too and so many of my friends can’t stop talking about it. Very optimistic about this one.

What are you reading this week?? Tell me below in the comments!

WWW

Its “What are you reading?” Wednesday!

A Morrow

I’ve seen a lot of bookish memes and list ideas here on the book-blogging circuit, and I wish I could do all of them! One of my favorites has been a trend of bloggers posting their current reads on Wednesdays.

This week I’ll be taking inspiration from Taking On a World of Words, and trying out their “WWW Wednesday!”

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

What I’m reading now:

The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson

It’s time! I read and reviewed the first book in this series, Truly Devious, last month and enjoyed it a lot. I’m buddy-reading this one with a friend (hey, girl!) and I’m really looking forward to diving back into this mystery. Fingers crossed that we get to find out a little more about who might be comitting these murders! Look for my review soon.

The Divorce by Victoria Jenkins

This is an ARC sent to me through Netgalley and so far it is really riveting. Told through a couple’s meetings with their marriage counselor, it’s been fascinating to read their story from only an “hour” of conflict every week. This book has been all about reading between the lines so far and I expect it to get crazy, it feels like there’s a twist coming. Look for my review of this book in a week or two, and check it out on shelves on July 4th!

David Mogo, Godhunter by Suyi Davies Okungbowa

I’ve only just started, but I am so excited to read this. This is an ARC sent to me through Netgalley and I’ve heard it described more than once as Harry Dresden meets Nigerian mythology. I’m sold! Look for my review of this book in the next few weeks, and check it out on shelves on July 9th!

What I’ve recently finished:

The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

This book was a trip! I loved Head Full of Ghosts, another horror novel by Paul Tremblay, and this one did not disappoint. Set in a secluded cabin in the woods, as scary stories usually are, the terror and confusion that descends upon this home is as eerie as it is bizarre. The Cabin at the End of the World took some crazy turns. I was left wondering “what??” at so many points during my reading and I had a lot of fun.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Wow. This YA historical fiction novel follows a multitude of characters who board the ship Wilhelm Gustloff, headed to sea with more than 10,000 refugees, and how she tragically sank. I was floored by this story. I can’t believe that I had never heard of this happening! The author uses various POVs to tell this story, all youth, and the voices she chose were powerful and heartbreaking.

Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered by Karen Kilgraff and Georgia Hardstark

This book was SO much fun. I loved all of it, the funny and heartbreaking parts. If you don’t follow their extraordinarily popular podcast “My Favorite Murder,” you should check it out. This is the story of how these authors met, how their podcast got started, and some of the key philosophies and important stories behind those events. It was great, and I hope to review it soon.

What I think I’ll read next:

Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte

This YA Fantasy has been on my TBR list since it was released! I’m so excited to read it and even more excited because I just won this in a giveaway in my book club! (If you haven’t heard me talk about how amazing my book club is, check out my book bingo page for more info about The Book Democracy!) This book looks dark, full of intrigue, and hopefully some fantasy and romance. I’m in.

The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh

I’m really looking forward to this one. This is an ARC sent to me by Penguin Random House through BookishFirst, and I am so lucky to have snagged a copy! I enjoyed Ahdieh’s other series, The Wrath and the Dawn, and this one looks completely different and just as good. Set in New Orleans in 1872, The Beautiful looks like it will be filled with magic, intrigue, and the darkest creatures of the night.

What are you reading this week?? Drop me a line in the comments!