STAGS isn’t a conventional “whodunnit” mystery novel. It’s clear from the opening sentence that someone died. But who? Now, that’s the question! Sadly, I figured that out way too early, so the mystery aspect didn’t grip me quite as much as I’d have liked. Thankfully, there still was more to the book than meets the eye — some really twisted events and towards the end, some sinister foreshadowing of the future.
THE CALL by Peadar Ó Guilín
Before receiving a review copy of The Call, I hadn’t heard of it. Reviews on Goodreads were few and vague. The synopsis didn’t give much away either. All I knew was that this would be a book of horror — a genre I generally avoid. In any case, with Halloween around the bend, I thought I should at least read one creepy book this month.
BELZHAR by Meg Wolitzer
One of the books I most looked forward to in 2014 was Belzhar. When I first saw the US cover, I was taken in and when I read the short description, I was sold. I wanted to read the book. It didn’t matter to me that I had never read a word of Sylvia Plath because I had every intention to. (For the record, I read The Bell Jar before Belzhar to preempt spoilers. Hah.) The hook for me was the exploration of mental stability.
FREE TO FALL by Lauren Miller
As I sit down here to review Free to Fall, my mind is till completely lost in Angelfall by Susan Ee, which I finished listening to only a while ago. No matter, I took down notes as I read Free to Fall, and sometimes impressions after a few weeks give a much better idea of the impact of a book.
ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins
I finally decided to join the party and read Anna and the French Kiss. It’s one of those books I read because I wanted to know what the book was about. It keeps popping up everywhere online—in the blogosphere, on Instagram, as well as Twitter—and all the online bookstores seem to have it under their recommendations right now. At first I did mostly enjoy the book. For the most part, I liked Stephanie Perkins’ writing style, which was well-suited towards a sweet romance. Sadly, towards the last third, prominent cracks started appearing for me.
