Roni Recommends: Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I have made no secret that I love Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books, and I think because I love them so much, I’ve taken them slow. I haven’t devoured her backlist because I don’t want it to run out too quickly. So I’ve had Maybe In Another Life on my shelf for probably about a year. But I finally hit a moment where it felt like the right time to read it. I’m so glad I did!

I love that Reid tends to make her books about a particular question. The question explored in Maybe In Another Life: Can we change our fate by making the smallest decision? Like if we turn left on the street instead of right, does our entire life change? Or are we destined to end up how we end up? This also plays with the concept of soulmates, which she’s explored in other books as well. Do we only have one?

So the premise of this story is that the main character, Hannah, goes to her a bar with her friend. In one scenario, she says yes to going home with her ex-boyfriend from high school. In the other scenario, she turns him down. What follows is a story told in two separate timelines. One follows the first version of Hannah and what happens if she says yes. The other story is if Hannah says no.

This story is heartbreaking at times, but I promise, y’all, this isn’t a sad book. That’s what I love about Reid’s books. She makes you worry about how things might turn out, but then she always gives a satisfying ending (even if it’s not the ending you guessed.) I found the book very life-affirming. It had great characters, romance, and made me think. I am very stingy with rating things 5 stars in my reading journal. This is only the 4th novel I’ve read this year out of almost 60 that got that rating from me. Highly recommended!

About the book:

From the acclaimed author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and After I Do comes a breathtaking new novel about a young woman whose fate hinges on the choice she makes after bumping into an old flame; in alternating chapters, we see two possible scenarios unfold—with stunningly different results.

At the age of twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. On the heels of leaving yet another city, Hannah moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles and takes up residence in her best friend Gabby’s guestroom. Shortly after getting back to town, Hannah goes out to a bar one night with Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan.

Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan?

In concurrent storylines, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision. Quickly, these parallel universes develop into radically different stories with large-scale consequences for Hannah, as well as the people around her. As the two alternate realities run their course, Maybe in Another Life raises questions about fate and true love: Is anything meant to be? How much in our life is determined by chance? And perhaps, most compellingly: Is there such a thing as a soul mate?

Hannah believes there is. And, in both worlds, she believes she’s found him.

Buy the book: Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

A Quick, Satisfying Short Story (and it's free!): Evidence of the Affair

Typically, I’m not a short story reader. I have nothing against them and have even written a few that are tucked into the back of some of the paperback versions of my books, but I don’t often gravitate to reading them. I think there are a number of reasons for this. One, often short stories fall under the literary fiction category, and I’m more of a commercial fiction gal. Two, I like to be immersed in a story and short stories have less time to get me into that state. Three, I don’t know if it’s just been my luck, but the short stories I’ve read have often had no real ending or are super grim, and they’ve left me with a “what was the point of that?” feeling.

However, I’m happy to report that none of those are the case in the one I’m recommending today. I’m not even sure how Evidence of the Affair came into my line of sight. I’m sure the Amazon recommending machine was at work. But when I saw the cover (I love mid-century modern architecture—though I’m freaked out by all the windows now after reading I’ll Be Gone in the Dark), my attention was snagged. Then I saw it was written by Taylor Jenkins Read, who has written some of my favorite books of the last decade or so of my reading life. That’s all I needed to know. I was in. Bonus surprise: the short story is free if you’re an Amazon Prime member or if you have Kindle Unlimited. (If not, the 1.99 price is still a steal.)

This story is set in the 1970s (another thing I loved about it) and told all through letters. I love stories told in interesting ways, and the epistolary format really worked here. The main letters being exchanged are from the spouses of the cheating partners. One discovers the affair and writes to the other. Interspersed are letters between the cheating couple. I wasn’t sure where the story would go and it kept me guessing (and got me worried at points), but I will say that it was a satisfying ending.

So, if you’re looking for something a little different or for a quick read to get out of a reading slump (or to beef up your reading challenge numbers!), I recommend picking up Evidence of the Affair. If you like her writing style, I highly recommend tracking down her backlist. I’m still working my way through hers, but One True Loves has been my favorite so far.

Happy reading!

Any good short stories to recommend?

Roni Recommends: Two Feel-Good Reads for Your Weekend

First, I just want to say I’m sending good thoughts to those on the east coast who are dealing with Hurricane Florence today. I hope you all are staying safe. As I mentioned earlier in the week, I was supposed to be in Maryland this weekend for a signing at Nora Roberts’ bookstore Turn the Page. Because of the weather and the fact that I would’ve been flying through the hurricane zone, I had to cancel. But I will be working with the bookstore to reschedule sometime in 2019.

Okay, on to the books! This week I’ve been in the mood to read something fun and fluffy. And I say “fluffy” with the upmost respect, by the way. My definition of fluffy is a book that is a page-turner that makes me laugh and smile and get all the warm and fuzzy feels. Fluffy is actually really hard to pull off. So I was delighted this week to not just fine one but TWO great books that fit the bill.

I devoured these two books, reading them in every little crevice of time between work and family stuff, and now I have the dreaded BOOK HANGOVER. I tried to read something new last night and picked up three different books, read the first chapters, and was like…meh. Book hangovers are both the best (yay it means I’ve read a fantastic book) and the worst (now nothing seems to live up to it.)

So, first up, is a book you’ve probably seen everywhere because it’s a new release by the popular writing duo, Christina Lauren. Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating is the third book I’ve read by Christina Lauren this year, so that’s saying something because I tend not to read a bunch of books by the same author in a short span of time. (Weird reader quirk.) The only author recently who had me doing that was Colleen Hoover. So this is a rarity. I think what I like so much about the Christina Lauren books is that they have a lot of humor and a great voice. Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating was no exception.

This book was a romantic comedy with the friends-to-lovers trope (a trope I adore.) Josh and Hazel are friends and decide to help set each other up on dates, and they keep going on these awful, often funny double dates. Hazel is kind of a manic-pixie-dream-girl type but with more substance so she’s very zany, over the top, and totally accepting that she is who she is. Josh is the quieter, more thoughtful type. But together, they were a really fun pair to watch. I laughed aloud a number of times. It’s a really cute book that will leave you feeling good, so if you’re looking for a pick-me-up, you can’t go wrong here.

Next up is Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen, a YA contemporary with a romance. Somehow I have managed to never read a Sarah Dessen novel. I’m not even sure how that is possible. I had three of her books on my e-reader, so clearly I am attracted to the premises in her books, but I’ve managed to not read a one. I have now fixed this—hurrah!—and I’m so glad I did.

Along for the Ride is a story about Auden’s last summer before she goes to college. She lives with her very pretentious professor mother but decides to spend the summer in a beach town with her father, his new wife, and their new baby. Auden was a hard character to connect with upfront because she is so self-contained and has been trained to basically be all work and no play. She’s also supremely lonely and doesn’t know how to connect with kids her own age.

However, once she moves in with her dad, she begins getting exposed to all kinds of things her rigorously academic upbringing has not afforded her. Making friends with girls her age, meeting a boy she likes, and doing fun activities that have nothing to do with academics. There is a sweet romance in this story, but I hesitate to call it a YA romance because though the romance thread is strong, a big portion of this book is about Auden’s journey (her relationship with others, her parents, and how she sees herself.) So this one has some meat to it but still gives you that summery ahh feeling of a beach read. I zoomed through this one even though it’s not a short book. This definitely won’t be the last Sarah Dessen book I read.

So that’s what I’ve got for you and now I must find something to get over my book hangover. I’m thinking maybe a historical romance because I realized when I looked through my book journal that I have read NO historicals in 2018. How is that even possible? I must fix this immediately.

What are you reading this weekend? Or, tell me what’s the last book that gave you a book hangover?

Roni Recommends: Suspense with a Dash of Horror & A Twisty Ending

The other day I wrote a post called You Might Like My Book Recommendations If... that was all about reader personality and book recommendations. In that post, I told you which five main things I personally look for in a book how my recommendations are going to skew in that direction. Well, this recommendation actually falls a little bit outside of that sweet spot because The Last Time I Lied only hits 3 of my usual 5 things I'm looking for, BUT it did the other three so well that I ended up not minding that this was a plot-driven book instead of character-driven.

So why did I pick up this book in the first place when I know that thriller/suspense novels are usually not as much in my wheelhouse as a reader? Well, first, it was a Book of the Month club pick and they usually don't let me down with choosing books. (By the way, if you're looking to expand you're reading horizons, I highly recommend joining BOTM. The cost of the hardback is cheaper than you can get it on Amazon, and you can skip months and not get charged if none of the five picks appeals to you. Plus, they offer a good variety each month. Note: the link is an affiliate link but I pay for my subscription and have not been asked to promote it.) But secondly, I picked up this book because I'm a sucker for horror movies and though this book is not horror, Riley Sager's thing is to turn horror movie type premises into thriller/suspense novels. So when I saw this summary (below) and realized it was the classic scary summer camp set up, I was totally in.

In the latest thriller from the bestselling author of Final Girls, a young woman returns to her childhood summer camp to uncover the truth about a tragedy that happened there fifteen years ago.

Two Truths and a Lie. The girls played it all the time in their cabin at Camp Nightingale. Vivian, Natalie, Allison, and first-time camper Emma Davis, the youngest of the group. But the games ended the night Emma sleepily watched the others sneak out of the cabin into the darkness. The last she--or anyone--saw of them was Vivian closing the cabin door behind her, hushing Emma with a finger pressed to her lips.

Now a rising star in the New York art scene, Emma turns her past into paintings--massive canvases filled with dark leaves and gnarled branches that cover ghostly shapes in white dresses. When the paintings catch the attention of Francesca Harris-White, the wealthy owner of Camp Nightingale, she implores Emma to return to the newly reopened camp as a painting instructor. Seeing an opportunity to find out what really happened to her friends all those years ago, Emma agrees.

Familiar faces, unchanged cabins, and the same dark lake haunt Nightingale, even though the camp is opening its doors for the first time since the disappearances. Emma is even assigned to the same cabin she slept in as a teenager, but soon discovers a security camera--the only one on the property--pointed directly at its door. Then cryptic clues that Vivian left behind about the camp's twisted origins begin surfacing. As she digs deeper, Emma finds herself sorting through lies from the past while facing mysterious threats in the present. And the closer she gets to the truth about Camp Nightingale and what really happened to those girls, the more she realizes that closure could come at a deadly price.

Cool premise, right? And I have to say that the setting descriptions were so fantastic that I felt like I was in the forest or on the lake or huddling in a cabin late at night. The descriptions made it an immersive reading experience. This story is also a dual timeline (a technique I love, as those of you who've read my books know) and it follows the story of what happened fifteen years ago and what's happening now when Emma returns as a counselor. The shifting timelines really help build the mystery and plant so many red herrings and possible suspects that I ended up suspecting like five different people and still didn't figure it out lol. So if you love a book filled with clues and misdirection, this will hit those buttons. As I mentioned above, the main character (the only POV we get) wasn't as layered as I usually prefer, but she was sympathetic and I didn't mind spending time in her head. I also had trouble keeping track of some of the other characters at the camp and had to check back for names a few times, but really that was my only issue.

And then the ending, y'all... I had some fears going into this book that the twist would be of a certain type that is super popular right now (and one that I've grown really tired of), but I am happy to report that it is not the case! The ending of this book was SO satisfying and totally got me to send this GIF to my friends:

Shocked GIF from Shocked GIFs

I love, love, love when a book tricks me and when I don't figure out the ending early. So this immediately made me want to pick up Sager's other book (which I already own) Final Girls. So though this is a little outside my normal recommendations, I think those of you who like a great creepy thriller with a good mystery should pick this one up. 

What have you read lately that you loved?

You Might Like My Book Recommendations If...

If you've followed my blog for a while, you know I love to recommend things...books especially. I depend pretty heavily on other people's recommendations to choose what I read next, so I like to try to provide the same service for other readers because omg, SO MANY BOOKS TO CHOOSE FROM AND NOT ENOUGH TIME. #readerproblems And generally, I haven't given my personal recommendations much thought beyond "I loved this and I hope you will too!" 

However, I recently took a writing class with author R.L. Syme (she gives the BEST writer classes--if you're a writer, go take it. You'll thank me.) and one of the lectures was about how what different readers are looking for in their books is based on their own unique personalities. This may seem like a "duh" concept at first shine--we all are unique and are going to like different things. But it's much more layered and complex than that. We like things in books as readers (and if we're writers it guides our writing too) because of our personality strengths/qualities guide what we value in a story.

So, for instance, one of my strengths (according to a super fascinating test called the Strengthsfinder) is Individualization, meaning I have a particular ability to understand the "unique qualities of each person" and am "impatient with generalizations." This probably contributed to me wanting to become a therapist--seeing all the layers in people. But it's also what guides much of my writing. If you read my books, you'll (hopefully) see that I spend a lot of time on characterization, on building each person layer by layer, giving in depth backstory, making their motivation and feelings clear. That's what I love to do. Plot always comes second to me. Character-driven fiction is my thing. But not just as a writer, this class made me realize it's also what I seek as a reader.

This is why I'm often disappointed with the latest thriller everyone is raving about (whatever it may be) because I read it and can't see what others are so excited about. But that's because often in thrillers, the characterization doesn't have to go very deep (though it can and certain writers do that well) because people aren't reading it for that. They're reading a thriller for the tension, the twisty plot, the surprise ending. So to someone with lower Individualization, they don't even notice that the characters may have been depicted in very broad strokes with not much depth. That doesn't bother them at all if the plot and story are fantastic. (I realized this is why a good friend and I often can't recommend books to each other because we're looking for totally different reading experiences.)

So, this got me to thinking about the book recommendations I give (and the ones I seek out.) If you hear me saying that is a book is fantastic, it probably means that most of the following key points were hit because those are the golden nuggets I'm searching for when I pick up a book. (And it's also what you'll hopefully find in the books I write.)

1. Very layered characters - I need fully fleshed-out characters with backstories and flaws and motivations that make them feel real to me.

2. A character I can root for - Unlikable characters can be done well, and this isn't a dealbreaker for me (I've even written some), but I've found that, in general, I need at least one character who is likable or sympathetic (meaning I understand why they are acting the way they are) and who I can spend a whole book with. I want them flawed because that's human, but I don't want to hate everyone in the book because then I don't care what happens to them.

3. A page-turning pace - As much as I love deep characters, I don't read a lot of traditional literary fiction because I still need stuff to happen in the story and for it to move at a good pace. Slow books can put me in a reading slump and I hate that. 

4. A non-ambiguous ending, preferably happy - I'm a romance writer. I love my happy endings. I don't mind if a book puts me through the ringer if I have some hope and happiness at the end of it. I don't read to be depressed. That's not to say I always have to have a bright and shiny ending, but I at least need a satisfying, clear one. I don't want to be left wondering what the hell happened. The couple needs to end up together. The killer needs to be caught. Revenge needs to be had. Whatever it is, wrap it up.

5. Great writing - I'm a writer so I just can't help evaluating the writing. Plus, part of my personality profile is being picky and perfectionistic. If the writing is weak, even if the premise is interesting, it pulls me out of the story. 

So those are my things. If they are yours, then I'm probably a good person to trust for book recommendations (and hey, you'll probably like my books, too!) However, if you're a reader who is more interested in a twisty plot or intricate world-building or lots of back to back sexy times with no time wasted on character history/relationship development (hey, no judgment!) then my recommendations might not land as well with you. It's important to find the friends/book reviewers/recommenders that match up with your tastes.

If you'd like to keep up with my book recommendations, you can find them in a number of different places. Come join me!

• Sign up for newsletter and get my recommendations straight to your inbox (along with blog posts like this one and other fun stuff)
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What makes a book a "must read" for you?