a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick – Rosepoint Publishing

Still Me: A Novel by Jojo Moyes #BookReview

Me Before You Trilogy Book 3

Best Literature & Fiction

Winner for Readers’ Favorite Fiction 2018

Book Blurb:

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Giver of Stars, discover the love story that captured over 20 million hearts in Me Before You, After You, and Still Me.

Louisa Clark arrives in New York ready to start a new life, confident that she can embrace this new adventure and keep her relationship with Ambulance Sam alive across several thousand miles. She steps into the world of the superrich, working for Leonard Gopnik and his much younger second wife, Agnes. Lou is determined to get the most out of the experience and throws herself into her new job and New York life.

As she begins to mix in New York high society, Lou meets Joshua Ryan, a man who brings with him a whisper of her past. Before long, Lou finds herself torn between Fifth Avenue where she works and the treasure-filled vintage clothing store where she actually feels at home. And when matters come to a head, she has to ask herself: Who is Louisa Clark? And how do you find the courage to follow your heart—wherever that may lead?

Funny, romantic, and poignant, Still Me follows Lou as she discovers who she is and who she was always meant to be—and learns to live boldly in her brave new world.

My Review:

I had to eat some crow in February when I read Someone Else’s Shoes having formed an opinion of the author when she immediately followed The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson with her own version of the same story she called The Giver of Stars. (Someone Else’s Shoes is just plain fun and if you missed it, I’d definitely recommend.)

This book, the third in the Me Before You trilogy, is an interesting final installment. I can’t comment regarding the episode I preferred as I neither read Book 1 nor Book 2 and it might have worked better if I had.

This novel finds the MC, Louisa Clark, in New York following Nathan, her line into the home of ridiculously wealthy Leonard Gopnik. She is to be Gopnik’s wife’s assistant. His much younger wife Agnes, an immigrant, is finding it very hard to settle into the role of supportive eye candy on the arm of a rich and powerful man where she is expected to accompany him to an endless schedule of society gimmies. The ladies have tuned her out and not accepted her into their hierarchy.

She does manage to find some locals who are happy to accept her at face value, which is good when she suddenly finds herself out of a job and shelter. Where I groaned just a bit was with the local society-climbing boyfriend thing balancing act with the London-based hot paramedic guy.

While some (most?) may find the conclusion satisfying, I was less than impressed. Didn’t we all see that coming? (Including being busted for something she didn’t do?) Predictable.

What I did enjoy was the description of Manhattan, her first person view of New York, her short but unhappy reunions with Sam both here and abroad. Dialogue (including self-talk) is so believable, relationships so palpable, support characters well developed, and enjoyed the writing style. I sputtered a few times with the caustic old woman, but it certainly added spicy interest to the storyline.

Not a new one, but a favorite author of many and I’m sure fans of Jojo enjoyed this one. Yes, and I’ll continue to look for another by her as well.

I received a digital copy of this book from my local library that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Mothers & Children Fiction, Contemporary Women’s Fiction, Women’s Domestic Life Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Books
ASIN: B073YTMMQS
Print Length: 400 pages
Publication Date: January 30, 2018
Source: Local Library

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Jojo Moyes is a novelist and journalist. Her books include the bestsellers Me Before You, After You and Still Me, The Girl You Left Behind, The One Plus One and her short story collection Paris for One and Other Stories. The Giver of Stars is her most recent bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick. Her novels have been translated into forty-six languages, have hit the number one spot in twelve countries and have sold over thirty-eight million copies worldwide.

Me Before You has now sold over fourteen million copies worldwide and was adapted into a major film starring Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke. Jojo lives in Essex with her family.

Happy Holidays--Have a great Sunday!

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes- #Audiobook Review – #psychologicalthrillers

Book Blurb:

Armed with only hazy memories, a woman who long ago witnessed her friend’s sudden, mysterious death, and has since spent her life trying to forget, sets out to track down answers. What she uncovers, deep in the woods, is hardly to be believed….

Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, mysteriously dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man named Frank whom they’d been spending time with all summer.

Seven years later, Maya lives in Boston with a loving boyfriend and is kicking the secret addiction that has allowed her to cope with what happened years ago, the gaps in her memories, and the lost time that she can’t account for. But her past comes rushing back when she comes across a recent YouTube video in which a young woman suddenly keels over and dies in a diner while sitting across from none other than Frank. Plunged into the trauma that has defined her life, Maya heads to her Berkshires hometown to relive that fateful summer—the influence Frank once had on her and the obsessive jealousy that nearly destroyed her friendship with Aubrey.

At her mother’s house, she excavates fragments of her past and notices hidden messages in her deceased Guatemalan father’s book that didn’t stand out to her earlier. To save herself, she must understand a story written before she was born, but time keeps running out, and soon, all roads are leading back to Frank’s cabin….

Utterly unique and captivating, The House in the Pines keeps you guessing about whether we can ever fully confront the past and return home.

My Review:

It’s not like I haven’t sucked up to a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick before (witness my recent review of both the audiobook and the Daisy Jones and the Six Netflix series, but really—this one?

Yes, I noticed it was a book pick, but also read the blurb and thought it sounded interesting. After all, it was billed as a “can’t put it down” debut and I needed an audiobook. I thought I’d wised up to that kind of hype, but obviously needed to read a few of the posted GR reviews first.

Maya has issues, lots of baggage, and she’s steadfastly refused to let it go through seven years of meds, booze, and shrinks. Now that she’s seen a video that duplicates the death of her best high school friend, up to and including the very man that was in attendance of the former death, she’s at it again, while trying to dodge accusations of mental illness, issues with drying out and investigating two similar deaths.

Maya has returned to her Berkshires hometown to look into the matter further. She has a boyfriend, but he is unaware of her struggles with drugs, memory lapses, and booze. The support characters are not fully developed and except for Frank, couldn’t engage in either them or Maya. Frank is just…creepy.

I had a problem with the flip-in-time sequences, the entry into the mystery of the Guatemalan father’s book, and the law student (oblivious) boyfriend. The pace is slowww and there were periods when it just seemed to die. Then something would happen and I’d tune back in.

There are times when it just doesn’t mesh and there are holes that aren’t filled with logic. The big reveal isn’t a big surprise as it seemed to be hinting—heading that way. The conclusion, while disquieting, is unfulfilling.

Maybe I’m just getting tired of damaged MCs, and I won’t call this a snooze fest, but neither did it capture my interest from the beginning. I got tired of Maya’s problems (guess I just don’t have the patience anymore) and areas that ran in disbelief.

Do you read Witherspoon’s book picks? This one? If so, do you agree or disagree with this pick?

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Women’s Psychological Fiction, Women’s Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Fiction, Psychological Thrillers
Publisher: Penguin Audio
ASIN: B09X51M1NK
Listening Length: 8 hrs 34 mins
Narrator: Marisol Ramirez
Publication Date: January 3, 2023
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: The House in the Pines [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Rosepoint Publishing: Three stars

The Author: Ana Reyes is a writer in Los Angeles with an MFA from Louisiana State University. Her work has appeared in Bodega, Pear Noir, The New Delta Review and elsewhere. The House in the Pines is her first novel.