Author: currentbookstack

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Mexican Gothic

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Pairs well with: Red Wine and the Halloween candy you ‘got for trick or treaters’

I’d seen a lot of people posting about enjoying Mexican Gothic, and then Kelly Ripa posted about it so I was sold. I can only watch Hocus Pocus so many times (according to my husband) to get into the holiday spirit this year so this book was perfect. The author does a great job of balancing the story and character development with the creepiness factor. I won’t lie, when I was walking upstairs to bed after reading I may have turned on every light along the way, but it was a great story.

The story is set in 1950’s Mexico following Noemí. Her cousin married a man quickly and left Mexico City to live at his family home and the family has hardly heard from her until she starts sending some concerning letters. Noemí makes a deal with her dad to go visit and check on her cousin, but when she gets there she realizes there’s something very abnormal about her in laws and their family home.

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Anxious People

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pairs well with: Coffee to stay alert and keep up

I chose Anxious People as my Book of the Month for September after seeing a lot of book accounts post about it. It was a fun, chaotic story about a group of people who go to an apartment viewing and end up the center of a hostage situation. Despite that it’s a very light hearted story, and the narration is very much of the thought process of everyone involved instead of your typical story telling.

It’s a fast paced story and a quick read, perfect for a flight or a vacation read. I enjoy getting books like this from Book of the Month because it’s a story that I likely wouldn’t have picked up on my own but when I saw it as an option was excited. If you get overwhelmed trying to pick new stories it’s a great way to limit the options and have books presented to you. If you’re interested in signing up you can use this link!

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‘One Of Us’ Series

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Pairs well with: Water, minus any peanut oil

I enjoyed this series, it was essentially a combo of Pretty Little Liars x Gossip Girl with a hint of Breakfast Club. One of Us is Lying will be adapted into a show on Peacock, coming out sometime in 2021, I think it’ll do well as long as Peacock gains popularity. Since the sequel One of Us is Next is already written it hopefully won’t fall into the same trap as Riverdale where it goes completely off the tracks after season one.

One of Us is Lying is where the series starts, five high school students are in detention together when one of the students mysteriously dies. Naturally the other four become suspects, but the student who died, Simon, also ran a gossip site about their school so the suspect list continues to grow. I figured out the ending before it got there but still enjoyed the story and the characters themselves.

One of Us is Next is the sequel, we pick up back at Bayview High except this time some of the side characters from One of Us is Lying are who we follow. I prefer this type of a set up in a sequel, the main four characters from the first book are still tied in and the story is consistent but it doesn’t feel like just a retelling of the first one. In this book a copy cat of Simon is playing an online truth or dare with the entire school which leads to another student dying. We get to know more about dynamics of the town and families involved and I may have enjoyed this one more than the first.

If you ever had to defend yourself for how many seasons of Pretty Little Liars or Riverdale you stuck around for you’ll enjoy this series.

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The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Pairs well with: Champagne

Starting this review off with a bold statement, but this might be my favorite book I’ve read all year. The book follows Monique Grant a writer who has been selected personally by the Hollywood icon Evelyn Hugo to tell her life story. Evelyn famously has been married seven times, but she wants everyone to know her whole truth. The background of her rise to fame and the true story of her love life is incredible.

As someone who loves anything pop culture and Hollywood, this book was amazing. I finished this while on vacation and immediately handed it to my mom to read, she finished it in two days it was THAT good. This is ultimately a love story, but the inner workings of old Hollywood and the twist at the end make it so much more.

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The Last Flight

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Pairs well with: An airport sized water bottle

If you love a good thriller/mystery, this is a must read. It has your typical thriller set up where it starts at a huge event and then goes back and fills in holes, but the way that this story comes together in the end is *chefs kiss*. Coming from someone who typically finishes books with 100 questions, I was completely satisfied with how it wraps up.

The book is about Claire Cook who married into a prominent political family and appears on the outside to be living the picture perfect life. We quickly learn this isn’t the whole truth and we start seeing her plot an escape from her marriage. It’s an incredibly well organized and exciting story, but Julie Clark also digs into a lot of bigger issues about why abuse victims don’t come forward, and how the media handles tragedies. A thriller that involves a political family is essentially my ideal book, but even if JFKs grandson is the only news update you’ve had in weeks you’ll enjoy this.

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The Night Swim

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Pairs well with: Coffee pretending you’re listening to a podcast on your commute

The Night Swim was my August selection from Book of the Month and I think my favorite I’ve gotten so far. I LOVE a true crime podcast, so when I read the description I was immediately sold.

The story follows Rachel, a true crime podcaster who gained a huge following in her first two seasons. She decides for season three she’ll follow an ongoing case during the trial right from the courtroom. As she gets to the town to begin coverage she starts getting letters from a fan asking her to also look into her sisters murder. It’s a really interesting concept, you see both investigations, the court room as well as transcriptions of what the podcast episodes sound like and I really enjoyed it.

This is now my fifth month of Book of the Month and I really do love it. It gives me the opportunity to mix up what I’ve been reading and for $14.99 it’s worth it to try out new books. Most of them are also new releases so it’s fun getting to find out about them early. You can sign up through this link if you’re interested!

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Something In The Water

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Pairs well with: A seltzer on the beach

I read Something In The Water at the beginning of quarantine and have found myself repetitively recommending it to people who are looking for a great beach thriller. It has a good balance of twists and turns without getting too dark.

The book actually starts at the ending but there are enough twists throughout that it’s hard to figure out how it will even get there. We then go back and see Erin and Mark on their honeymoon where they find a mystery in the water. Their decisions after the discovery will give you the same feeling as when you watch someone in a horror movie go into a dark basement alone. *Disclaimer: you may scream WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT while reading.* If you’re looking for a thriller but nothing too crazy on the gone girl scale this is a great choice.

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A Jasmine Guillory Appreciation Post

I was introduced to Jasmine and the Wedding Date series when The Proposal was a Reese’s Book Club pick. I loved it and ordered more of her books without realizing they were a series to be read in order. Don’t get me wrong, you don’t NEED to have all the history to enjoy them but I’m here so that you don’t make my mistakes.

Each book has their own story (and perfect romcom ending) and can be read on its own, but each of the main characters stems from the original book. It’s a really fun concept where the timelines and stories tend to overlap between books which makes it interesting to see multiple perspectives of the same events. I love that the characters are all written very authentically and not in the typical perfect romcom way. They have real fights, nights where they only want to eat pizza and watch Great British Bake Off, and are just good people that you want to root for to find love. If you love romcoms you will love these, i’m dying for the movie rights to be purchased for all of them.

The Wedding Date is the first in the series and where it all kicks off. Alexa and Drew turn my worst nightmare, getting stuck in an elevator, into a meet cute and it leads to Alexa agreeing to be Drews date to his ex’s wedding that weekend. The story goes past the wedding where we meet both of their friends and family (and set up the other four books) and see where their relationship goes.

The Proposal is where I started the series and fell in love with Jasmine’s story telling. Carlos (Drew’s best friend) is at a Dodgers game when he sees an awkward proposal on the jumbotron where the girl, Nikole, turns it down. He ends up sneaking Nikole out of the stadium and away from all the media and the book follows their story from there.

The Wedding Party is about Alexa’s two best friends that secretly become friends with benefits. Also, we’re 3 books in, I assume you figured out Drew and Alexa are madly in love and getting married at this point and this isn’t a spoiler? We get more into Maddie and Theo’s lives, jobs, their friends and family and see their story unfold as well as getting to see Drew and Alexa’s wedding process.

The Royal Holiday starts with Maddie taking a stylist job for the royal family and taking her mom along as it’s over Christmas. Her mom Vivian meets Malcolm the personal secretary to the queen and the book is focused on their time together. I love a Hallmark movie so even though this isn’t my favorite of the series it still hits all the classic story points you expect from a British Christmas romance.

Party of Two was my absolute favorite. It follows Alexa’s sister, Olivia, as she moves to LA to start a new law firm with her friend and starts dating a senator. As a romcom lover and a political science major, this was my holy grail. Jasmine also ties in more history to a story about Olivia that we hear about in both The Wedding Date and The Wedding Party which is great.

One last obsessive note: Anyone else that’s read them all – let me know your theories but I’m hoping book 6 is about Theo’s brother, I’m already so entertained by him and his life and I want to know more.

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We Should All Be Mirandas

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Pairs well with: A Cosmopolitan

I’m a sucker for a self help book, but this book was incredible. It combines great advice with humor and pop culture references, what more could you ask for. No matter which character you identify with on Sex and the City you’ll be able to learn a few life lessons and laugh along the way.

The book was written by two friends who during a rewatch of SATC created an instagram account posting all the iconic outfits and realized how many people identified with Miranda. There are quizzes, drink recipes, and advice on everything from fashion to how to ask for a raise. It doesn’t come off as preachy or telling you how to live your life like some self help books, you feel like you’re just gossiping with friends. You don’t have to be a huge SATC fan to enjoy, but just a warning that you’ll want to at least watch the movie if not the full series after.

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Head Over Heels

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Pairs well with: Gatorade as you pretend you can still throw your back handspring & Doritos for when you realize you’re washed up

For my July Book of the Month I chose Head Over Heels. I wanted a cute romcom story to break up all the thrillers I’ve been reading, and after watching Athlete A I’m fully back into my USA gymnastics obsession so it fit perfectly. The book came out so recently that the forward talks about COVID and the Olympics being postponed which honestly was very weird to see. I feel bad for the author as she wrote this on a timeline of releasing it during the Olympics where interest in gymnastics would be at a peak, but despite that it was a great book.

The book hits all the essential parts of a feel-good story while still discussing some of the larger issues in the gymnastics world like mental health and sexual assault. The story starts with Avery, a retired elite gymnast, moving back home from LA after a break up. While at home and trying to figure out her next steps she gets a call from a gymnast she knew growing up and had a crush on (naturally) to help train an Olympic hopeful. It was a great summer read while still bringing light to serious issues and I loved it.

This is my fourth month doing Book of the Month and I really like it so far. It’s nice just having options sent to your email without having to search and an opportunity to pick books that break up what I’ve been reading lately like Head Over Heels did. Here is a link to sign up if you’re interested! The first month is $9.99 and after that its $14.99 monthly.