It’s your friendly neighborhood slacker here, wondering where the year is going.

I am (not) proud to report that my writing has literally screeched to a halt for no reason other than I’ve been lazy. My reading, however, has been at a steady pace. In the first six months, I’ve managed to read 13 books. Less than I’d like, but I only read on the weekends, so not bad, I guess.

Let it be said, I only reserve 5 stars for books I absolutely love. It takes a lot to get me to give anything 5 stars, so let’s just say 4 stars can be considered top marks, while 5 is my “drop everything and read this now” rating.

Let’s start with The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley. I really enjoyed The Guest List, and this book read similarly to that one. It’s about Jess, who has arrived at her brother’s apartment in, you guessed it, Paris, only to find him not to be home. As the book moves on, Jess starts to wonder if something has happened to her brother, and the tenants in the building all look guilty…of something. I rather enjoyed this book and gave it 4 stars.

Onto House of Sky & Breath by Sarah J. Maas. This is the sequel to House of Earth & Blood, a book I gave 5 stars, and I am by no means a fantasy reader. But, HoE&B was so good, I re-read it before picking up its sequel, HoS&B, which is saying a lot because NEVER EVER do I read books twice. I may have read only three books in my life more than once, mostly because there are SO MANY BOOKS out there I want to read, I don’t want to waste any time. But, the 800+ page re-read was worth it, if anything, for the setup of this new book. It’s the continuing story of Bryce and Hunt…just when you thought they were done fighting the bad guys…more bad guys appear. It’s terrific, but now we are waiting for the third installment. It’s not coming out until 2024! 4 stars for this one despite the cliffhanger.

One of the most fun books I have read this year is by one of my new favorite authors, Grady Hendrix, called My Best Friend’s Exorcism. Please note, the movie adaptation is terrible…Coyote Ugly is Oscar-worthy compared to the garbage I watched immediately after finishing this book. But, someone loved the book enough to take the time and spend the money to make a movie, and for that, I commend them. But, dear lord, it’s bad bad bad. Anyway, the book is a delight. Think Stranger Things. Envision the best decade - the 80s. A nerdy outcast girl makes a friend who suddenly has a major shift in her personality (and hygiene habits). There are so many references to my favorite pop culture icons from that era, it made me giddy. It took me back to the books I used to read during the 80s - horror being my all-time favorite genre back then. 5 shining stars.

At work, I belong to our Book Club, and so many members tout Elin Hilderbrand’s novels, so I thought I would give it a try. The Hotel Nantucket not only surprised me by how good it was, but it also made me want to read everything this author has ever published. It’s about a haunted hotel, yet it’s not a horror novel. It’s about a woman reinventing herself and a rundown hotel in the hope of getting high marks from a famous blogger/influencer. The ghost is an inventive way to look into the lives of all the guests and tell a little backstory. 4 stars, and I can’t wait to read more by EH.

Next up, I simply needed a good old-fashioned bodyguard romance. In Against the Sky by Kat Martin, Nick and Samantha have a one-night stand. They go their separate ways, but soon, Samantha finds herself being invited by Nick to his home in Alaska, where they get tangled in murder, kidnapping, and other dangers. I give this one a solid 3, because it was a decent story, except for one tiny plot point that always irks me. I won’t spoil it for you.

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins had been on my to-be-read list for a while. I figured if Oprah liked it, I should give it a read. This was an epic story of a woman and her son trying to cross the border in the U.S., but I have to say, it was dreadfully depressing. Not a feel-good book by any means, but still a good read. I did like some of the twists, turns, and suspense. I could see a movie of it being made. Solid 3 for this one as well.

I have a few books by Nora Roberts on my shelves, I even met her once, but have never read her. I selected Blue Smoke, frankly, because it was the shorter of the books I owned, and I wanted to give her a whirl. I loved this book. 5 star read for sure. We start with some back story, setting up the premise of why Reena becomes an arson investigator. There’s a love interest who has spent years trying to find her, and although it’s a little predictable, an enemy with a grudge who keeps committing crimes. More Nora in my future, for sure!

I listened to The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama. I love her voice and her stories about Chicago and Barack. I needed something for a long ride to and from Springfield, where we have an office, so I chose this follow-up to Becoming. I walked away from it feeling a little “meh,” because she didn’t really share any earth-shattering discoveries or ideas that I hadn’t already heard before. I give it 3 stars. I did love her Oprah special on Netflix, where she retells parts of the story.

Onto another Grady Hendrix book, How to Sell A Haunted House. I had actually heard about this one many times on a Booktuber’s channel (that’s a YouTube book reviewer). Hendrix, once again, knocks it out of the park with a story about two siblings whose parents die. They are left to clean out and sell their family home, but…the puppets…oh those little f*ckers. I went into this book thinking there was no way I was going to like it. I mean, I grew up with Chuckie (not scary), Puppet Master (creepy, but again, they’re dolls), and the movie Magic with Anthony Hopkins (just plain weird). Dolls, as the bad guys, just seemed silly. But man, I did not expect to be so creeped out by this book. It was downright scary, and I loved every minute of it. 5 stabby stars.

I read the classic, The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton in a matter of a few hours and immediately followed it up with the movie. It’s been decades since I read the book, and the whole time I kept thinking how young the author was when she wrote it and got it published. I don’t think I need to tell anyone what it’s about…it’s a classic. 3 stars, and I hope schools are making it part of their reading curriculum. Stay gold, Ponyboy.

I adore Penn Jillette. Say what you will about him; sure, he’s brash and sure, he lost an extraordinary amount of weight on a diet consisting of nothing but potatoes, but the man can be really entertaining. His book, God, No! Signs You May Already Be an Athiest and Other Magical Tales was, however, a bit disappointing. While I liked his thought processes on the whole idea of a god and religion, I found his stories about his other experiences a little disjointed. 2 stars, but I still love the guy.

I have been lucky enough to have also met Christina Lauren - who, if you didn’t know, is actually two authors, Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. Since I truly enjoyed one of their other books, The Unhoneymooners, I went out and picked up two more of their novels. I read Something Wilder, and while I didn’t think it was nearly as good as The Unhoneymooners, I did enjoy it. Lily is a tour guide, who takes vacationers on fake treasure hunts, and who desperately pines to be back at her family ranch - but her father sold it, and now he’s dead, and she’s scraping to make ends meet. When a group of men meets up to take her tour, one of them being the love of her life who disappeared years ago, she finds herself on a real treasure hunt. I give it 3 and a half stars.

Colleen Hoover novels always make me feel a little icky, but I loved Verity, and couldn't wait to read Ugly Love. 4 stars for this one, even though the characters have a ton of baggage. It’s about Tate, who moves in with her brother, and their neighbor, Miles, who is her brother’s best friend. Neither one of them want a relationship, but they find they are totally attracted to each other. The story is peppered with flashbacks, Miles’ told in what looks like poetry on the page (cute, but sometimes annoying). It’s heart-wrenching in some spots, but the payoff is worth it.

And that’s where I’m at with reading for now. I debated putting links to all the books, but everyone knows how to google, so have fun.

With a long weekend ahead, I hope to finish what I am currently reading and start something new. Riley Sager has a new book out, and I want to get caught up on all his books I haven’t read yet - he is, by far, one of my favorite authors right now. Reminiscent of Stephen King, who I devoured back in my teens and early 20s, Sager writes those books you can’t put down.

As far as the writing, well, this is about all I have in me when it comes to putting words on the page. But I have hopes of getting back to it…soon-ish.

Happy 4th of July!

Kelly