My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

3.5/5

226 pages

Summary: Korede is bitter. How could she not be? Her sister, Ayoola, is many things: the favorite child, the beautiful one, possibly sociopathic. And now Ayoola's third boyfriend in a row is dead. Korede's practicality is the sisters' saving grace. She knows the best solutions for cleaning blood, the trunk of her car is big enough for a body, and she keeps Ayoola from posting pictures of her dinner to Instagram when she should be mourning her "missing" boyfriend. Not that she gets any credit.

A kind, handsome doctor at the hospital where Korede works, is the bright spot in her life. She dreams of the day when he will realize they're perfect for each other. But one day Ayoola shows up to the hospital uninvited and he takes notice. When he asks Korede for Ayoola's phone number, she must reckon with what her sister has become and what she will do about it.
Sharp as nails and full of deadpan wit, Oyinkan Braithwaite has written a deliciously deadly debut that's as fun as it is frightening.

This book seems to be everywhere.  I've seen multiple reviews, and it's appeared on all kinds of lists and blogs I follow.  So - I had very high hopes.  I mean, look at that cover art!  Stunning.  And the title!  Thriller.  Sadly, for me, those were the best points of this novel (really, it's a novella as the chapters are very short, some only sentences long).  There is so much crammed into this short book, and with the added choppiness of the chapters, the pace is just off.  This is a novel of scenes.  Don't get me wrong, there are some gems in this book.  The characters are interesting and the ending surprising -  I just wanted this to be so much more than it is.

"A Forbidden Rumspringa" by Keira Andrews

This very well written story focuses on two young men living in a strict Amish sect in northern Minnesota.  Isaac is eighteen and feeling pressure from his parents to start courting a girl so that he can soon marry and start his own family, but he knows he's not ready.  For one thing, he hates farming and must learn some other sort of trade so that he can support himself.  His father sets up an apprenticeship with carpenter David Lantz, a quiet twenty-two-year-old who has become the head of his family after his father dies in the field of a heart attack.  He works hard to support his mother and four younger sisters but is being pushed to join the church and get married.  Although their sect does not allow "rumspringa", Isaac and David take a few prohibited trips into the "English" world where they see movies and eat junk food.  Soon, their friendship turns to love and both must figure out what they are willing to give up, or not, in order to be together.

The details of  strict Amish life and the toll it takes on those who do not or cannot abide by its rules make this much more than the average forbidden love story.  Both Isaac and David have older brothers who could not conform, and their actions have had large influences on them and their desire to please their families.  The terrible angst and guilt these two young men felt was palpable to the reader as was their surprise at falling for each other.  This book was a gripping read, and I can't wait to get ahold of the rest of the series.  224 pages (Kindle edition).

Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen

Rise and Shine is a tale of two sisters.  Meaghan Fitzmaurice is a successful television journalist, happily married, and the mother of a wonderful son.  Her younger sister Bridget has had many careers over the years and has finally found her life's calling as a social worker.  They have settled into their proscribed roles over the years but everything changes when Meaghan slips up and makes a derogatory comment on-air.  The gaffe was but a symptom of a personal unraveling. The beautiful life is falling apart and Meaghan runs off to the Caribbean. Once again Anna Quindlen creates a realistic story of women coping with changing circumstances and re-negotiating personal relationships. And it has a happy ending!  337pages.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Posted for Andrea Dennis

I have decided to read/listen to a list of 100 books to read before you die. And this was #1. I am pretty sure I am like the only person left on the planet who has not read/listened this book. But it was very good. I loved the drama!

Audio: 10 hours 23 mins

Pgs: 279

Harvest Moon by Robyn Carr

Posted for Diann Stark

Audio Reading time:  8 hours, 59 minutes.  368 pages.

Kelly Matlock a rising sous-chef suddenly realizes that the life she thought she had is gone. She was in love with her married boss, who had her convinced that he was divorcing his wife, which was a lie. She has put her heart and soul into the restaurant and it broke her spirit that she could no longer work there. Her life as she had known it was gone; she goes to her sister Jillian's house in Virgin River to rest and figure out what she will do next.

As Kelly helps in Jill's garden and cooks up delicious meals with the heirloom vegetables Jillian grows, it’s a far cry from the type of cooking and lifestyle she is used to. Then she meets handsome Lief Holbrook, a widower who is a screenwriter. But less appealing is Lief's rebellious stepdaughter, Courtney. She's the reason they moved from L.A., but Courtney's finding plenty of trouble even in Virgin River. Over time Lief, Kelly and Courtney realize how much they love each other and become a family.

"Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen

I first read this classic many years ago as an undergraduate and really enjoyed it, so I thought I'd pull it out and reread it now that I'm more "mature" and have read many historical romances of that period written by modern writers.  However, I really can't compare them since the language and phrasing was so different when Austen wrote it in 1813.  I kept picturing Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy and Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet from the 1995 BBC miniseries which was made after I read the book the first time.  I was surprised to read that Darcy was bewitched by Elizabeth so early in the novel; I certainly don't remember that.  It seems quite wordy but is still compelling in how it conveys the idea that sometimes our first impressions of others are all wrong.  292 pages.

"Head Over Heels" by Jill Shalvis

In this third book in the Lucky Harbor series, youngest sister Chloe is still trying to figure out where she belongs.  She and her two older half-sisters have been in Lucky Harbor about a year now, and they're all trying to run a B & B together.  She's a constant thrill-seeker who has caught the attention of no nonsense sheriff Sawyer, whose two best friends happen to be engaged to Chloe's sisters.  Can a free spirit with severe asthma and a repressed sheriff with a checkered past be right for each other?

This was a quick and enjoyable read, but little details that didn't make sense kept getting in the way for me.  Like why does Sawyer answer every call the sheriff's department receives, no matter how minor?  Does he have no deputies or no time off?  Does Chloe really travel all over the west coast only on a Vespa?  That's my problem with contemporary romances; I get caught up in the little details that don't make sense.  354 pages.

(For my posts about the first two books in the series, see "Simply Irresistible" and "The Sweetest Thing.")

Bitsy’s Bait and BBQ by Pamela Morsi

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

The main character was married and divorced in the city of Saint Louis, with child and the help from her sister, she moves to the Ozarks to start a new life and the laughs begin.  Morsi is a Missouri author.  352 pages.

Now in November by Josephine Johnson

(Posted for Ann Roberts)

Continuing with my effort to read more Missouri authors, I checked out a book with great promise, as it gleaned a Pulitzer Prize in 1935 for 24-year-old Josephine Johnson, a Missouri native.  Johnson wrote the novel while living in her mother’s attic in Webster Groves.  Remarkable!  She also wrote poetry, short stories and eventually her memoir, which I would also like to read.  Now in November is the story of a poor family, struggling to make ends meet on mortgaged land during the Depression and a great drought. Compared to Ethan Frome and The Grapes of Wrath, Johnson is able to evoke the drudgery and hardship of the day-to-day struggle of farming during extreme drought and economic Depression.  The family consists of three daughters, mother and father, and the hired man, Grant, around whom much of the story unfolds.  The oldest of the three sisters, Kerrin, is mentally ill and tends toward anger and violence and becomes increasingly erratic in her behavior as Grant does not return her affections. Margret, the middle child, and narrator of the story, loves the land, beauty in nature, and Grant, too, and Merle, the youngest is high spirited and oblivious to the fact that Grant fancies her.  The story unfolds, as they work side-by-side to plant and tend the crops and animals on the farm. Written in beautiful prose, Now in November should be recommended reading for all Missouri students of literature.  It is a tragic, yet hopeful story, beautifully written.  231 pages, hardcover

"The Sweetest Thing" by Jill Shalvis

This is the second in the Lucky Harbor contemporary romance series and focuses on eldest sister Tara.  She's an uptight southerner who's moved to Lucky Harbor, WA, to help her two half-sisters run an inn that they've inherited from their mother.  Tara spent a summer in this small town as a teenager and left forever changed thanks to Ford Walker, her first love.  Seventeen years later, they're both back in town and must face their shared past in order to move forward.  I didn't like this novel as much as I did "Simply Irresistible," the first in the series, maybe because I found Tara more annoying than likable, but it was still a quick and easy read.  348 pages.

"Midnight Pleasures with a Scoundrel" by Lorraine Heath

What an awful title for a lovely and well-written story.  Eleanor Watkins has traveled to London to avenge her sister's abuse at the hands of an evil aristocrat.  However, she's being followed by Scotland Yard Inspector James Swindler, who, as a young orphan, spent time on the streets supporting himself as a thief.  There's an immediate attraction between Eleanor and James once they meet, but they both have hidden motives for spending time together.  Unexpected twists kept me reading when I should have been cleaning the house, and the characters' surprising emotional depth only added to my enjoyment.  I'm looking forward to reading more by this author.  372 pages.

"Simply Irresistible" by Jill Shalvis

This is the first in the "Lucky Harbor" trilogy about three estranged and very different sisters who inherit their mother's ramshackle inn in the coastal town of Lucky Harbor, WA.  It is well-written with great dialog between the sisters as well as the locals who become important parts of their lives.  This contemporary romance focuses on Maddie, the middle sister, and Jax, the contractor they hire to renovate the inn.  He also happens to be the town's mayor and a former cut-throat lawyer with a big secret.  I chose this book after reading a good review of it in "Library Journal" and am looking forward to the next in the trilogy.  320 pages.