Spring has sprung, and I’m still here {Spring book reviews}

Remember me? Since I started my blog over six years ago, I have never gone this long between posts. I feel like I’m in a confessional. My name is Dana, and it’s been four weeks since my last blog post.

I have no earth-shattering reason for my absence, but it is possible this blog may be dying a slow, natural death. I’m not ready to bury it yet, though, so I’ve motivated myself enough to write what has been the backbone of this blog since the beginning – my latest round of book reviews.

Since my last post at the beginning of February, I have read nine books and listened to four. I rated five of them as three-star reads, which is equivalent to a B…books I recommend and are worth the read. Four I rated as two-star, so you won’t see those here. The final four I rated as four-star, which is fairly rare in the world of Dana’s Book Ratings.

Here are the my favorites. As always, my disclosure is that the book titles are affiliate links from which I earn one gazillionith of Amazon’s profits.

If you grew up in the eighties, read

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

In the mid 1980s, Yale Tishman’s career is taking off, and he’s living with his boyfriend in Chicago. The AIDS epidemic is also taking off, and his circle of friends diminishes until only Fiona is left.

Present day, Fiona is staying with an old friend from Chicago while she tries to track down her estranged daughter. As she struggles to come to terms with the way AIDS affected her life and her daughter’s, the old and new stories intertwine. 

I remember the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, but to read it through the eyes of the men and women who experienced it firsthand was horrifying and fascinating. This novel personalizes the fear, the ignorance, and the heartbreak, allowing the reader to experience it all through the eyes of one young man and one young woman. It is a story that is worth reading even though you know the ending.

If you like a unique psychological thriller, try

The Perfect Wife: A Novel by JP Delaney

I received an advanced reader copy of this novel from Netgalley; publication date is August 6, 2019.

I’ve been reading quite a few psychological dramas lately, and this is one of the best. Abbie wakes up to find she’s an AI of the presumed-dead Abbie, wife of tech genius Tim and mother to son Danny, who has autism.

The story unfolds as Abbie discovers the details of her human’s life, and it’s a thoroughly enjoyable ride. The plot kept me guessing, even when I figured out one thing and assumed I knew it all. This is not a sci-fi read despite the AI focus; it’s a fascinating exploration into what it means to be sentient, to be human, and a glimpse into what our future could hold.

My only complaint is the title…just too boring and inaccurate for the complexity of this novel.

If you want an easy, entertaining book, pick up

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Reid Jenkins

Evelyn Hugo is a former Hollywood star, married seven times and always providing fodder for the tabloids (think Elizabeth Taylor). When she’s ready to write her memoir, she insists that small time magazine reporter Monique Grant pens the book. No one knows why, including Monique herself.

The novel alternates between present day and the past, as Evelyn tells her life story to Monique. It’s an engrossing story, with the perfect mix of gravitas and entertainment. There are glitz and glamour, scandals and secrets, love and heartbreak. The reader finds out why Evelyn chose Monique by the end, and it was a twist I didn’t see coming. I chose The Seven Husbands for my bookclub pick, and everyone agreed it was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

If you like historical fiction and learning about other cultures, read

The Storyteller’s Secret by Sejal Badani (audio)

Like two of the other books I reviewed, this novel alternates between two time periods. In the present, Jaya has suffered her third miscarriage and her marriage is disintegrating. When her mother receives word that Jaya’s grandfather is dying, Jaya travels to India in her mother’s place, hoping to find solace in the country of her heritage. There she meets Ravi, her grandmother’s former servant and confidante.

Ravi tells her the story of her grandmother’s life, with all of its romantic and heartbreaking secrets. As Jaya learns of the tribulations her grandmother faced, she begins to see her own troubles from a new perspective.

I appreciate a novel that educates me about another culture. Badani’s India is a major character in her novel, and I was swept up in her tale.

I listened to this novel, but the inability to tell when a character was speaking or journaling was confusing and annoying. I recommend reading it instead!

If you prefer a novel that is relevant, entertaining, and a little weird, check out

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green (audio)

The premise is strange, I know. But go with it, because this quirky novel is an intriguing exploration of the interconnectedness of our world, and the positive and negative power of social media.

April May is just twenty-three years old, and she and her friend Andy become internationally famous after they film the first video of New York Carl. The Carls spontaneously appeared overnight, in dozens of cities around the world. Carl seems to be a ten-foot tall statue, made of a material that is not of this Earth. Why is he here? What do the Carls want? How does April figure into the whole equation? Discovering the answers along with April and her friends is a delightful ride.

Want more book recommendations? Check out my book index for a list of all the books I’ve reviewed here. Happy reading, and happy Spring!