Heard It In A Love Song by Tracey Garvis Graves (2021)Layla, a former lead singer in a rock band, is now in her mid-30s, recently divorced, and an elementary school music teacher. Josh's daughter is in her class, and he is recently separated. Could there be something more between them? I have mixed feelings about this story. On the one hand, I appreciate the simplicity and realness of the plot. There's no crazy drama, no ridiculous situations, just two people getting out of long-term relationships and trying to figure out what they want in life and what their next step will be. Navigating dating apps, trying to recapture old passions - there's so much to relate to here. On the other hand, if the plot is going to be so simple, the writing needs to be stellar, and I didn't feel it was. It was bland and underwhelming, and I hate to say it, but I was bored at times. 3 stars
Daisy Darker and her family reunite at her grandmother's house for her 80th birthday, but over the course of one night, Nana and several other family members are murdered. The remaining members have to face their pasts and long-held secrets in order to survive. First, I kind of accidentally spoiled one of the big twists of the book for myself, which I highly advise against - I would love to know how I would have read the book differently had I known. Also, the blurb references Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, which is a total spoiler for another twist, so I was disappointed in that. I thought the book was a bit overwritten at times - Daisy is constantly spitting out these flowery, cliched statements - but the back and forth between past and present was very intriguing, as we find out more about Daisy's childhood and her relationship with her family. I haven't read a thriller in a while, and this was a decent one to start with. The setting, this crumbling estate that you can only reach during certain tides, was pretty incredible! 3.5 stars
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I understand your points about the Graves book. When I get bored, I give up on books.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I usually have no problem DNFing a book; I guess this one wasn't so bad that I felt the need to, maybe? I was hoping it would get better.
DeleteThat first one is going to have that 70's song in my head all day now. :)
ReplyDeleteDaisy Darker I've been wanting to read.
I think you are going to LOVE Daisy Darker!
DeleteSorry to hear the Graves book didn't work better for you. I enjoyed it more than you did but definitely get where you're coming from with the boredom.
ReplyDeleteI really wanted to love it!
DeleteWhile this wasn't my favorite by Graves, I still enjoyed it. I tend to be a character-driven reader and I'm willing to sacrifice plot over great characters. But even so, this one was still a little underwhelming in that so little happened.
ReplyDeleteYeah, like I didn't need to read about Josh cleaning his house!
DeleteI've been so curious about Daisy Darker! Sounds like a compelling story overall, though I hate when blurbs spoil things–I never understand why they do that! I love the sound of the setting, though.
ReplyDeleteI know! It seems like these days that blurbs/comparisons are either totally misleading or totally spoilery!
DeleteDaisy Darker is on my TBR, so I hope I'll enjoy it but sorry to hear you were spoiled, that's indeed a bummer!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lindsey!
DeleteOh I'm sorry these werent' better reads -- though Daisy Darker sounds like it had some great points to it.
ReplyDeleteI definitely enjoyed it!
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