As we read these books during the year, we both kept notes so that we could provide our thoughts in one post.
What is great about this is it gets us out of our comfort zones and perhaps picking up novels we wouldn't have before.
Alice's Thoughts on LSC:
To write that I am a bit rusty doing this is the understatement of 2023. It has been a while, roughly 10 years in fact. In that time, I got out of the reading habit. While knitting, I was more into podcasts than audiobooks. It has only been in the last couple years that a few books made their way onto my Kindle or Libby ap. When Julie suggested taking part in the challenge again, I was a bit scared. I wasn’t sure what to recommend since she reads a lot. I didn’t think I could come up with any suggestions for her. Thankfully there were a few books I knew could fit this reading challenge bill. I was really intrigued by her suggestions for me. I had read Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner so The London Séance Society was a no brainer. I was looking forward to that one. I had also read and enjoyed Jamie Brenner’s Blush. Gilt was right up my alley. I went in completely blind with the other two choices. Julie always suggests great reads so I was really looking forward to diving into matchmaking and a proposal.
Julie's Thoughts on LSC:
I love when I have a thought on doing something and then my friend agrees to it. I can't quite remember how I thought of doing this again, if it was going through old emails, old posts or seeing an old list on our shared google drive but I'm happy to have revived it even if it's just for this year.
Book Together:
Julie's Thoughts:
I loved Ms. Penner's first novel The Lost Apothecary and The London Séance Society is a solid follow up. I always enjoy stories that give me multiple POVs especially when they are diabolically different. Lenna is a character that is torn between what she can see, which makes it easy to believe and what she can't see and can't understand. It wasn't too hard to figure out the villain of the story but I enjoyed the story and learning about some history I wasn't knowledgeable about.
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Alice's Thoughts:
I absolutely loved the subject matter and the character of Lenna. The ending completely surprised me. There were so many twists and turns, it kept me guessing to the very end. I really enjoyed it.
Julie's Choices for Alice:
Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book. I especially loved Elodie’s transformation. She reminded me that sometimes things happen when you are ready, not when you want them to. I also loved Celeste. I related more to the older characters. As a Portuguese American, I loved how the author showcased the Portuguese community and their rich history on the Cape. It made me want to take a trip there to experience it myself.
This novel about a Jewish matchmaker was so lovely. I loved the whimsical way people were linked by an invisible thread of light. I’m a romantic at heart, I simply adored that visual. This story contained lots of flashbacks and matches. It was very touching, funny and sweet. I highly recommend this one.
Jasmine Guillory knows how to bring the spice to a contemporary romance. This novel was *chef’s kiss* so good. There were a lot of laugh-out-loud moments plus a strong female lead. I also loved how we knew what was in our main characters’ hearts before they did.
I’m really glad Julie suggested this for us. And if you can’t tell, I recommend reading all these novels. I think you will enjoy them too.
Alice's Choices for Julie:
Thoughts:
This novel is one that focuses on many characters with many backstories. At times, no matter how great Marin Ireland was as a narrator, I had to stop to make sure I had them straight in my head. Mr. Backman does a great job of pulling the puzzle pieces together in the end because at times I'm wasn't sure if it would. What I took away from the novel is that everyone has problems, issues and some even have more pressing issues but it's compassion and trying to understand each other that will help us become a better society.
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I do love a good time travel novel but it really has to be done well so the science of it doesn't go over my head. Ms. Straub accomplished this with This Time Tomorrow. I wont go into the details of the book but this is a definitely love letter from a daughter to a father and I was here for it. Is it really a do-over if you can't fix the past in the one way you really want to? How does it change the future when you go back to the past?
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I would say out of the 3 that Alice picked for me Normal People was probably the most out of my normal realm. Emma Straub never disappoints and This Time Tomorrow was excellent.
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