Jersey Girl Book Reviews

Saturday, February 22, 2025

The Favorites by Layne Fargo (Book Review)

The Favorites by Layne Fargo

Publisher: Random House

Publication Date: January 14, 2025

Format: Hardcover - 464 pages

Paperback - 672 pages

Kindle - 3 MB / 433 pages

Nook - 2 MB

Audible - 13 Hours 36 Minutes

ISBN (Hardcover): 978-1784745486

ISBN (Paperback): 979-8217013944

ASIN (Kindle): B0D1QKJLYT

ASIN (Audible): B0D47SSRQF

BNID: 978-0593732052

Genre: Women's Fiction

Buy The Book:

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Disclaimer: I bought a hardcover copy of the book via my subscription to Book Of The Month, and received a kindle edition from NetGalley.

Book Description:

To the world, they were a scandal. To each other, an obsession.

An epic love story set in the sparkling, savage sphere of elite figure skating about a woman determined to carve her own path on and off the ice.

She might not have a famous name, funding, or her family’s support, but Katarina Shaw has always known that she was destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating—and each other—to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating the world with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style, and rollercoaster relationship. Until a shocking incident at the Olympic Games brings their partnership to a sudden end.

As the ten-year anniversary of their final skate approaches, an unauthorized documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha, claiming to uncover the "real story" through interviews with their closest friends and fiercest rivals. Kat wants nothing to do with the documentary. But she can't stand the thought of someone else defining her legacy either. So, after a decade of silence, she's telling her story: from the childhood tragedies that created her all-consuming bond with Heath to the clash of desires that tore them apart. Sensational rumors have haunted their every step for years, but the truth may be even more shocking than the headlines.

Inspired by the powerful love and hate that fuel Emily Bronte’s classic, Wuthering Heights, The Favorites is an exhilarating dance between passion, ambition, and what it truly means to win.

My Book Review:

In The Favorites, author Layne Fargo weaves an exciting women's fiction story about love, passion, ambition, scandal, and the determination to win in the world of figure skating.

Ice dancers Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha met at the local ice rink when they were kids. From the beginning of their partnership, they set their goal on one thing, the Olympic gold medal. Through trials and tribulations, highs and lows, and unprecedent success, Team Shaw-Rocha were the favorites to win Olympic gold in ice dancing, that is until a scandalous incident at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia brings a dramatic end to their partnership. On the tenth-year anniversary of the Sochi Winter Olympics, a documentary is released about the Shaw-Rocha partnership with salacious interviews and the unearthing of secrets about the pair from friends, rivals, and skating officials, Kat decides to stop the speculation and tell her own story.

The Favorites is a fascinating story that depicts the complexity of Kat and Heath's story. Their story is wrought with angsty drama, secrets, challenges, heartaches, betrayals, and their enduring bond of friendship/romance. I loved this story! If you are a fan of elite figure skating, then you must read this book! It was an exciting, dramatic, addictive look behind the curtains of the figure skating world. You can't help but get drawn into Kat and Heath's story, and how they took me on their journey to skate all the events leading up to the Winter Olympics.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I grew up as a diehard fan of elite figure skating. As I read this story, I felt like I was taken on one heck of an emotional roller coaster ride, and that this breathtaking story left me emotionally spent but wanting so much more. It just doesn't get any better than that.

The Favorites is a fascinating women's fiction tale that will keep the reader engaged from beginning to end!

RATING: 5 Stars

About The Author

Layne Fargo has a background in theater, women’s studies, and library science, so it’s only fitting that she now writes deliciously dramatic, unapologetically feminist stories for a living. She’s the author of the novels The Favorites, They Never Learn, and Temper, as well as co-author on the bestselling Young Rich Widows series, and her work has been translated into over a dozen languages. Layne lives in Chicago with her partner, their pets, and an ever-expanding collection of books she’s definitely going to read before she dies.

Weekly Book Mail: 2/16-22/2025

This Week's Book Mail

No Book Mail :(

Thursday, February 20, 2025

A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall (Book Review)

Book Review

A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Publication Date: February 4, 2025

Format: Hardcover - 304 pages

Kindle - 3.2 MB / 294 pages

Nook - 3 MB / 320 pages

Audible - 9 Hours 41 Minutes

ISBN: 978-1250343055

ASIN (Kindle): B0D12QMD6L

ASIN (Audible): B0D481YRV6

BNID: 978-1250343062

Genre: Thriller

Buy The Book:

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Goodreads

Disclaimer: I purchased a hardcover copy of the book via my subscription to Book Of The Month.

Book Description:

A woman invited to her wealthy fiancé’s family retreat realizes they are hiding a terrible secret—and that she’s been there before, by the bestselling author of What Lies in the Woods.

A whirlwind romance.

When Theodora Scott met Connor—wealthy, charming, and a member of the powerful Dalton family—she fell in love in an instant. Six months later, he’s brought her to Idlewood, his family’s isolated winter retreat, to win over his skeptical relatives.

Stay away from Connor Dalton.

Theo has tried to ignore the threatening messages on her phone, but she can’t ignore the footprints in the snow outside the cabin window or the strange sense of familiarity she has about this place. Then, in a disused cabin, Theo finds something impossible: a photo of herself as a child. A photo taken at Idlewood.

I’ve been here before.

Theo has almost no recollection of her earliest years, but now she begins to piece together the fragments of her memories. Someone here has a shocking secret that they will do anything to keep hidden, and Theo is in terrible danger. Because the Daltons do not lose, and discovering what happened at Idlewood may cost Theo everything.

My Book Review:

In A Killing Cold, author Kate Alice Marshall weaves a riveting psychological thriller that easily draws the reader into a dark storyline that follows a woman's visit to her fiancé's remote family mountain retreat. It was supposed to be a visit to meet his family, and to share their recent engagement, but it turns into something very traumatic and dangerous.

Set in Idlewood, the remote Dalton family mountain retreat, the reader follows along as Theodora (Theo) Scott and her fiancé Connor Dalton's two-week visit to his family retreat turns dangerous when someone doesn't want Theo there and is determined to make her leave.

A Killing Cold is a complex and multi-layered tale of hidden family secrets, traumatic pasts, wealthy power and control. From the moment Theo and Connor arrive at the family retreat, Theo's attempt to win over Connor's family and gain their approval is met with suspicion over her troubled and secretive past. And if that isn't enough, she is receiving threatening texts to leave the retreat. While wandering the grounds, Theo comes across an unused cabin that slowly brings traumatic buried memories and reoccurring dreams of her childhood to the surface, somehow, she knows that the property is connected to her past. Theo is determined to find out how her past is connected to the Daltons, even though her digging into hidden family secrets ultimately puts her life in danger.

The story is rich in detail and vivid descriptions. It has intriguing and suspenseful twists and turns, and the author plays a clever cat-n-mouse game with the reader as she provides enough clues into Theo's vague past, and the surfacing of Dalton family secrets that keeps the reader guessing, and with no other option than to keep turning the pages to find out what happens next. The dark intensity of the storyline and the complexity of the intertwining connection between Theo and the Daltons' secret and hidden pasts, kept me thoroughly riveted, engrossed, and guessing as the pieces to the puzzle come together.

With a complex and realistic cast of characters, the author does a phenomenal job of delving into the tangled web of secrets, lies, betrayals, and a history of emotional past trauma. The author transports the reader into this fast-paced white-knuckle storyline with her creative interweaving of a psychological cat-n-mouse game between the characters that leaves the reader's heart palpitating until the surprise ending ultimately leaves them completely shocked. It just doesn't get any better than this!

A Killing Cold is one heck of an adrenaline rush that is a must-read for the true diehard psychological thriller junkie!

RATING: 4 STARS

About The Author

Kate Alice Marshall is the author of thrillers and horror for all ages. Her YA and Middle grade books include I am Still Alive, Rules For Vanishing, and Thirteens. Her adult thrillers include What Lies In The Woods, No One Can Know, and A Killing Cold.

She lives outside of Seattle with her husband, two dogs named Vonnegut and Octavia, and two kids. They all conspire to keep her on her toes.

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Weekly New Book Releases: 2/18/2025

Weekly New Book Releases: 2/18/2025

Mystery / Thriller

Amazon

Fantasy

Amazon

Historical Fiction

Amazon

Romance

Amazon

Literary Fiction

Amazon

Non-Fiction

Amazon

Sunday, February 16, 2025

Andromeda by Therese Bohman (Book Review)

Andromeda by Therese Bohman

Publisher: Other Press

Publication Date: January 14, 2025

Format: Paperback - 192 pages

Kindle - 1848 KB / 190 pages

Nook - 3 MB / 240 pages

ISBN: 978-1635424188

ASIN: B0D1QDBZ4P

BNID: 9781635424195

Genre: Literary Fiction / Women's Fiction

Buy The Book:

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Barnes & Noble

Goodreads

Disclaimer: I purchased a hardcover copy of the book via my subscription to Book Of The Month.

Book Description:

Working her way up at a storied Stockholm publisher, a young woman develops an ambiguous, shifting relationship with her boss, in this shrewd novel about the tension between tradition and modernity, and expectations and reality.

The publishing house is anchored like a ship along Stockholm’s main street, a large, bright building with an impressive rooftop terrace. The facade is a grid of wood and granite, flags with a cursive R sway in the wind. R as in Rydéns.

A young woman starts as an intern at this venerated institution, and over many years gains more and more responsibility for its authors and books. All under the supervision of Gunnar, publishing director of the most prestigious imprint behind the finest literature, Andromeda.

Over time their work relationship transforms into something neither of them can truly define. Perhaps built on mutual trust? Or is it something else?

My Book Review:

Andromeda is a thought-provoking novel that looks at the dynamics of a professional mentorship turned friendship/kinship between a young book editor and an older editor-in-chief of a publishing house in Stockholm, Sweden.

Sofie Andersson accepts an internship at the prestigious Rydéns Publishing House in Stockholm, Sweden. Her thoughts on a recently published novel draws the attention of Gunnar Abrahansson, the legendary editor-in-chief. This leads to a professional mentorship and collaboration, and over the years their relationship grows into a friendship/kinship. Their story is complex and multi-layered, told in two parts: Sofie and Gunnar share how their shared kinship for literature and cultural arts develops, a personal connection between a young woman and an older man, and what could have been if it was in another time.

Andromeda is an intriguing story that drew me in because of my curiosity towards the publishing world, but because this a Swedish Literature novel that has been translated, I felt that it read like a very dry and intellectual story. In any case, the story was told in two parts: Sofie and Gunnar's point of view. Sofie's story reflected upon the development of her mentorship/friendship with Gunnar, and how over the years her feelings became an unrequited attraction towards him. Gunnar's story reflected his life story from childhood to adulthood, and how his love for books led to his storied career in the publishing industry. He touched upon his professional relationship with Sofie, he felt they had forged a bond and how she made him feel young, and that their age difference didn't exist. But with time comes changes in both the literary publishing world and their personal lives as well. Overall, while I commiserated with Sofie's story of unrequited longing for Gunnar, I really enjoyed reading Gunnar's life story, it was fascinating, and I wished it was the major portion of the story instead. I also would have loved if the author had delved more into the fascinating world of the publishing industry.

Andromeda is a compelling story that delves into the complicated dynamics of a professional and personal relationship within the literary world.

RATING: 4 STARS

About The Author

Therese Bohman is an editor of the magazine Axess and a columnist for Expressen and Tidningen Vi, writing about literature, art, culture, and fashion. She lives in Sweden.

Author Website / Blog

Saturday, February 15, 2025

Rental House by Weike Wang (Book Review)

Book Review

Rental House by Weike Wang

Publisher: Riverhead Books

Publication Date: December 3, 2024

Format: Hardcover - 224 pages

Paperback - 224 pages

Kindle - 1876 KB / 218 pages

Nook - 2 MB / 224 pages

Audible - 5 Hours 47 Minutes

ISBN (Hardcover): 978-0593545546

ISBN (Paperback): 978-0593949030

ASIN (Kindle): ‎ B0CVR8VZHV

ASIN (Audible): B0CXBR95H5

BNID: 978-0593545560

Genre: Literary Fiction

Buy The Book:

Amazon

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Goodreads

Disclaimer: I purchased a hardcover copy of the book via my subscription to Book Of The Month.

Book Description:

From the award-winning author of Chemistry, a sharp-witted, insightful novel about a marriage as seen through the lens of two family vacations

Keru and Nate are college sweethearts who marry despite their family differences: Keru’s strict, Chinese, immigrant parents demand perfection (“To use a dishwasher is to admit defeat,” says her father), while Nate’s rural, white, working-class family distrusts his intellectual ambitions and his “foreign” wife.

Some years into their marriage, the couple invites their families on vacation. At a Cape Cod beach house, and later at a luxury Catskills bungalow, Keru, Nate, and their giant sheepdog navigate visits from in-laws and unexpected guests, all while wondering if they have what it takes to answer the big questions: How do you cope when your spouse and your family of origin clash? How many people (and dogs) make a family? And when the pack starts to disintegrate, what can you do to shepherd everyone back together?

With her “wry, wise, and simply spectacular” style (People) and “hilarious deadpan that recalls Gish Jen and Nora Ephron” (O, The Oprah Magazine), Weike Wang offers a portrait of family that is equally witty, incisive, and tender.

My Book Review:

Rental House is a thought-provoking novel that looks at the dynamics of an interracial marriage, and the complicated cultural differences of their families.

Keru and Nate are an interracial married couple who met in their senior year in college. Keru and her parents are Chinese immigrants, while Nate is from a white southern American family. Author Weike Wang weaves a realistic tale that follows the cultural differences that Keru and Nate face in their marriage and within their families. Their story is complex and multi-layered, they are complete opposites in their views of life, and when you add in the obvious cultural differences of their families, it makes it harder to keep their marriage together.

I really wanted to enjoy reading this story, but the characters were so annoying and rigid, it seemed like there were no happy times within their marriage or with their families. This story delved into the complexities of this interracial marriage, and how dysfunctional their family unit really is. It seemed like their families never really took the time to get to know each other, and their rigid maintenance of their cultural traditions demonstrated just how far apart this family really was, and how they were unable to embrace their differences, and find a way to make the family connect. Like the old saying goes, when you get married, you also marry your in-laws!

Rental House is a realistic and compelling story that will make you ponder your own family dynamic.

RATING: 3 STARS

About The Author

Weike Wang was born in Nanjing, China, and grew up in Australia, Canada, and the United States. She is a graduate of Harvard University, where she earned her undergraduate degree in chemistry and her doctorate in public health. Her first novel, Chemistry, received the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Fiction, the Ploughshares John C. Zacharis First Book Award, and a Whiting Award. She is a “5 Under 35” honoree of the National Book Foundation and her work has appeared in The New Yorker. She currently lives in New York City.