The Books I'm Reading Now
I'm reading the newest book from Elle Cosimano, in which a misunderstanding has potentially enormous life-and-death repercussions for a young author; the final book in Megan Whalen Turner's Queen's Thief series, in which the impetuous Gen must learn to do what he hates: lead and be responsible in order to keep his people safe; and the gloriously angsty, romantic, missed-chances story from Josie Silver.
I'd love to hear: which books are you reading and enjoying these days, bookworms?
01 Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano
Finlay Donovan is an author and a recently single mom, divorced from a cheating man (his character and his gloating fiance are both in need of a reckoning ASAP). She's struggling emotionally and financially to support her two young children.
The morning has been a disaster. Her daughter cut her own hair (and bloodied her scalp), her babysitter didn't show up, and the unpaid electricity bill finally caught up to her. She's late for a meeting she dreads: delivering the news to her agent that yet again she doesn't have the manuscript she's promised her publisher.
But the women's impassioned brunchtime discussion about the plot of Finlay's suspense novel--along with the bloody cloth in her bag that she used earlier to stanch her daughter's bleeding skin, duct tape used for an emergency fix, and Finlay's vehement ideas about the future monetary demands she'll make for her next novel--catch the attention of a nearby diner, who mistakenly interprets what's happening and leaves Finlay with a mysterious note implying that Finlay is involved in something sinister.
02 The Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
The Return of the Thief is the sixth and final book in Turner's Queen's Thief series (which I listed in the Greedy Reading List Six Royally Magical Young Adult Series).
The series was published over a period of almost twenty-five years, and the story trail traces the charismatic Gen through what are consistently and, for me, wonderfully unexpected developments related to plot, character arc, point of view, morality, origin stories, conflict, despair, and love.
Gen is the uneasy key to the peace between the lands of Sounis, Eddis, and Attolia. He is in love with and married to a wonderfully strong woman, Irene, "Attolia"--and she is the real power behind the throne. Although he is high king, Gen's temper still flares, he behaves spontaneously when he might stop and consider, his grudging affection for others sometimes complicates his view. So far he still bristles at his necessary role as high king, but he'll soon have to lead his people through the conflict of his lifetime.
03 One Day in December by Josie Silver
Josie Silver, who also wrote The Two Lives of Lydia Hill, in One Day in December offers a missed-chances setup with enormous repercussions.
Laurie spies a man out her bus window standing in the December snow. Their eyes meet, and she can't explain it, except to feel that this is what people mean when they say "love at first sight." The bus pulls away before she can speak to the man or even find out his name. It's ridiculous, and fanciful, but the idea that they're fated to be together feels real, and for a year she can't get him out of her head, searching everywhere she goes for that face and that feeling.
Then her roommate and best friend Sarah introduces her to her new boyfriend, who's she's falling for quickly and fully--and it's Him. His name is Jack. And Laurie's heart is broken. She can't tell Sarah the truth, and she's not even sure Jack remembers their non-encounter--much less that he might have felt the same spark.
I'm listening to this as an audiobook as wisely recommended by my friend Jenn, who correctly stated that the British accents are glorious to listen to.