56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard

 

Hello my lovely readers!

The COVID-19 novels are coming! 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard is a prime example of it. I'd been itching to read a novel or just fiction in general. I've been so into my history books and non-fiction, that I needed something different. I know that the second to last book I reviewed was a novel (The Color of Justice), but I was left underwhelmed with it.

I'm actually very selective with my fiction. I honestly can't give you any criteria that I have, but it has to be a book that has an interesting plot and will keep me reading...and maybe be a little offbeat. Two memorable fiction novels I read in the past were The Woman in Valencia  and Adele.  They were superb. However, 56 Days....was just kind of middle of the road for me. Let's just jump right into it.

SUMMARY
56 days ago two people meet in a Dublin supermarket queue. This is just as COVID-19 was first detected in Ireland. 

35 days ago, Ciara and Oliver move in together after a whirlwind relationship and so that COVID lockdown restrictions won't keep them apart. No one knows they've moved in together.
Now, detectives find a badly decomposed body. So what happened? Did one of them commit the perfect crime?

Fasting Girls: The History of Anorexia Nervosa by Joan Jacobs Brumberg

 

Hello my lovely readers!

I recently finished Fasting Girls: The History of Anorexia Nervosa by Joan Jacobs Brumberg and while it was a good and informational book, I don't think I'll keep it on my shelf. There was nothing inherently wrong with it, but it just didn't WOW me enough to keep it.

I actually bought this book while I was in Costa Rica, so let me give you a quick travelogue about my time there.

BACKGROUND
Nico and I went to Costa Rica in August 2021 for my birthday. I've never been too interested in the outdoors and all of those nature activities, but we had a great time! We went whitewater rafting, which was terribly frightening, but I'm glad that I did it.

Me trying not to get my hair wet since I just spent three days braiding it

We were in the La Fortuna/Arenal area for the majority of the trip and stayed at this cute boutique hotel that had an AMAZING view of the Arenal volcano. We also went on an UNBELIEVABLY grueling hike up and down, all the way around the Arenal volcano. I mean, great views, but I was not ready for that in the slightest.

We went back to San Jose (which is about 3 hours from La Fortuna) to catch our plane back to the States at the end of our trip, but of course, I had to stop at a bookstore!

Hello from San Jose, Costa Rica!

We visited La Mora bookstore which is this independent bookstore and has books from floor to ceiling. It's small, crowded and smells of old books, but I loved it. The owner was lovely as well and I ended up finding this book! Let's get into it!

Color of Justice by Gary Hardwick

 

Hello my lovely readers and HAPPY AUGUST!

So after reviewing this book on my Goodreads account and giving it three stars, I feel like I have a less than stellar review to give it now that I've had time to marinate on it. Here we go!

SUMMARY
Danny Kavanaugh is a white Irish Catholic detective who works in Detroit. He's dating a Black woman named Vinny and everyone says he acts like a Black man. However, when several affluent Black people are murdered, he learns first-hand how powerful and deadly the color line in the Black community truly is.