Spring Break Reading

I had a glorious week of reading while I was on spring break. I'm currently having a little bit of a hard time with finding what to read next, but I'm going to attribute that to the fact that I got through nine books this past week.  Here are four fiction titles worth noting:

 

Who Is  Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews is a debut novel that I loved.  If you're familiar with Elena Ferrante and the fact that that's a pseudonym, this story might feel a little familiar. Maud Dixon is a pseudonym for Helen Wilcox and Florence Darrow is excited to have an opportunity to work for this author.  But Helen has a lot of things she is hiding, and so does Frances.  I loved the suspense of this novel and kept turning pages faster and faster.

The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon - I have read quite a few romances this year (blame it on Covid, I guess) and enjoyed them.  This is one of my favorites.  Shay and Dominic both work for a public radio station that is struggling to stay afloat. When they decide to host a podcast with the premise that they are exes, they know they are deceiving people but are also enjoying the popularity of the show.  And there's also the fact that as they get to know each other, they are finding a lot to like about each other, too.  Just as with any good rom-com there are obstacles in their way, but eventually true love wins out.  

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles- I'm pretty much up for any book about libraries and this one doesn't disappoint.  I loved the dual timelines of this story as we move from WWII in Paris to Montana in the 1980s. Odile was a young woman working at the American Library in Paris during WWII. What we know of her at that time is vastly different than the Odile who is in Montana in the 80s.  I loved watching her story unfold, and the wisdom Odile shared about friendship is something everyone could learn from. 

What's Mine and Yours by Naima Coster- this was a Jenna Bush Hager book club pick. Usually I love hers, but blame it on a week of amazing reading already or just my mood, I didn't love this one.  This story moves back and forth in time chronicling the lives of two families: there is Gee whose father is killed when he is still young, and Lacey Mae and her daughters who she will do anything to protect.  The story comes together in an interesting way. I did feel that Coster did a great job of developing these characters and although I didn't love this one, it certainly did hold my attention.

I also got a few non-fiction books read over this break as well.  Hooray for good reading!