thoughts on books

Author: Angie Miale

  • entitlement by rumaan alam

    A haunting story of wealth, youth, and the legacy we leave behind. Brooke is not living up to her potential, a black woman raised by a single white mother who adopted her. She is a graduate of Vassar and left her job teaching at a charter school after being disillusioned that the school cared only about STEM, her literature studies went unappreciated. Brooke is now “program manager” for Asher Jaffe, an 80-something divorced billionaire who lost his only daughter, born the day Kennedy was assassinated, on September 11th in the twin towers attacks.

    Asher and Brooke have a friendship that evolves over the course of the book, Brooke’s proximity to Asher makes her more and more numb to seeing wealth. Asher has $4 billion and the goal of the foundation is to give away a lot of the money before his death. At some point, he realizes that being that wealthy looks impolite. Jaffe made his money selling erasers, very symbolic.

    Alam’s writing is tantalizing, the use of growing more descriptive declarative sentences is very readable, and this is a good foray into lit-fic. I was less impressed with the dialogue and characterization but very intrigued by the symbolism and elements of surprise. Over the course of the book, the reader goes from identifying with Brooke to- in the last few pages- wanting to turn away and hide from her sense of entitlement.

  • abigail and alexa save the wedding by lian dolan

    A delightful book about a big fancy wedding! Penny’s mom, Alexa, is a successful travel guide in California, and Chase’s mom Abigail is a rich housewife. Penny and Chase call to say they are engaged, and Alexa is shocked- a strong Greek woman, she doesn’t see the point of the paperwork of a marriage. And Abigail isn’t much better, as fortunes have been on a downturn for her husband as she holds it all together. Chase is the right hand man of the mayor of New York, both Chase and Penny’s jobs are very important to them.

    Planning a wedding and combining families is a common storyline, fighting between the couple and their mothers is practically a trope… but this book is such a refreshing take on it. The couple are very much supporting characters, we know them but they don’t take the spotlight, this is like a romance novel where the love interests take a back seat. This is definitely Alexa and Abigail’s story, of how they come together, overcome problems with their lives and the wedding planning, and really become amazing mothers to married adults. Interspersed within the narrative are bits of an advice column website to the “betrothed and beloveds” that is all about wedding planning etiquette, it is very funny, pokes fun at family dynamics and how stressful this can be.

    I haven’t been a bride in 20 years, and I won’t be a “mother” to a bride or groom for probably 10 more years since I have teenagers. So for my own life, I am in that plateau of not attending any weddings for awhile. It was so much fun to jump back into that wedding planning world 20 years later, as so much has changed and yet so much remains the same. I absolutely requested this book because of the cover, my wedding had a lemons theme. I expected the book to be cute, fluffy beach read, and it definitely is, but I enjoyed it more than I thought. I would love to read a second book about Alexa and Abigail. They really put aside their own needs in order to make that transition into how your role changes as your adult child creates a new family of their own.

  • one in four by lucinda berry

    This book definitely takes a turn. The first 25% revolves around a murder/accidental death of a celebrity in a sober house. This has multiple POV and the main character is the therapist and sober coach that is working with the houseguests, Dr Laurel Harlow. She watches the security tape that sees Maddie; a young g Disney star, have a seizure and bleed furiously to the point of death.

    The police investigate as a possible murder and soon they see Laurel as a suspect. Laurel has been sober since she was 23 and has some sad and traumatic stories that happened to her while she was drinking in her early 20’s. She doesn’t believe in AA, how convenient, she prefers the brand of sobriety that has associated profit.

    I don’t want to include spoilers in this review, but the blurb really doesn’t describe it appropriately. I will just say this is dark. Lots of betrayal. Not the most satisfying ending. Personally I feel like some of the narratives around sobriety are harmful here.

    Thanks to NetGalley and the published for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Book to be published May 13, 2025.

  • how to seal your own fate by kristen Perrin

    The second installment in the Castle Knoll Files series is much like the first- class warfare, historical murder mystery, police procedural. For fans of Tana French, only without the length. How to Seal Your Own Fate is a faster paced, deep mystery of questioning and generational secrets. Annie Adams lives in Castle Knoll and learns that Peony Lane, the local fortune teller, is now dead. Peony has an interesting past and even a former identity. Annie looks into the death to see if there was someone trying to cover up a murder from the 1960’s. Set in a lovely English village, this quaint small town setting is perfect for- while not exactly a closed room mystery- a small town has that vibe as the story unfolds. 

    I found this to be a suspenseful story with a satisfying ending. I normally find procedural mysteries to be a bit tedious, but this is readable and engaging. The characters fell a bit flat for me, as the conversation seemed stilted and somewhat boring. This is a good mystery that will not take long to read and will hold your attention until the very last page.

    Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Book to be published April 29, 2025.

  • havoc by christopher pollen

    This book is a dark psychological thriller about an 81 year old wealthy American woman living out the pandemic days in an Egyptian resort. Maggie just can’t stop interfering in the lives of the other guests and employees at the hotel. She finds herself surrounded by dear friends and connecting with the front desk manager and a gay couple. However, then a mother and a 10 year old son come to stay, and Otto becomes her bitter enemy. He creates havoc for her, and vice versa.

    This was a much darker read than I typically go for, with an unreliable but likable narrator. At times cringeworthy, the character inner dialogue gets crazier and crazier at the story unfolds. The last 3 pages are a jaw dropper, what a wild ride.

    Although I am more of a happy ending type person, this book was still really well paced and well written. For fans of Steven King.

  • run for the hills by kevin wilson

    The most surprising, heartwarming road trip of a novel with unique character snapshot. This has the energy of a quest reminiscent of Percy Jackson or Pixar’s “Onward.”

    Madeline “Mad” Hill is in her early 30’s and enjoys a quiet life on her Tennessee farm with her mother, since her dad abandoned them when Mad was just 10. One day a PT Cruiser pulls up and she meets Rube, a Boston man in his 40’s who introduces himself as her half brother. It seems her father had already abandoned one wife and child when Mad was born… and it seems he went on to do that twice more. Rube and Mad set off for Oklahoma to meet their half-sister Pep, a college basketball star, and then plan on going to Salt Lake City to meet their 10 year old half brother Tom.

    Rube has gathered information about his father and half-siblings through a private investigator, and what a story it is. They learn from each other than the “dad” they grew up with was so much different than the “dad” the others knew. With whip smart dialogue, brilliant characterization, and more than one symbolic theme, you will be forced to contemplate how the parent you know is different than the person they are throughout their life. Run For The Hills is an instant classic in the “found family” trope.

    One of my top ten books for 2025.

    Thanks to @netgalley and @eccobooks for the ARC. Book to be published 5/13/25.

  • life hacks for a little alien by alice franklin

    An interesting and quirky tale for all the awkward souls written in the second person (you). It is written about a young girl, descriptive of her experience in not fitting in and not quite feeling human. She gets a friend that is a “new kid,” Bobby, who has moved to her school. She loves the library and the ability to research languages. “Little alien” is an endearing, neurodiverse character, as a mom of an autistic son I do love main characters who are on the spectrum, and have not come across one that I liked as well that was a child. British accent with audiobook “footnotes” was a bit awkward and I would have rather read with my eyeballs. The alternating “book titles” are distracting and take you away from the character development and story. The book has a middle that drags on but I loved the ending. “You don’t know what to do with your mind, or your body. But especially your hands,”

    Thanks to @netgalley and @hachetteaudio for the audiobook e-ARC. Book to be published February 11, 2025.

  • next to heaven by james frey

    Friends, this book was not for me.

    Extremely wealthy couples in the richest, whitest part of Connecticut decide to swing/have orgies. Literary fiction is sometimes overtly sexual and it seems to be egregious and even pandering to me. “All Fours” by Miranda July certainly had a lot of good reviews and was considered to be a favorite amongst critics, but I find it depressing.

    James Frey has this very distinctive style of writing short, then longer and longer declarative sentences to design a paragraph and it ends up being distinctive pacing and descriptions. I do love his style of writing but the overall plot of this one and sheer unlikable characters made this one fall flat for me.

    Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher Author’s Equity for a free copy in exchange for an honest review. Book to be published June 17, 2025.

  • the perfect plan by caitlin weaver

    Fabiola, Liz and Alice have been friends since college. Liz and her husband Peter can’t conceive naturally because she had a hysterectomy years ago. But since she froze her eggs, they are hoping to conceive via a surrogate. Fabiola, who has 3 kids of her own, volunteers to be the surrogate for Liz and Peter. After all, she loves being pregnant, and why not help out a friend? Fabi’s husband, Aron, is chasing his dreams of becoming an entrepreneur and hopes his tech company, which has never been profitable, will be sold. Aron is really gambling on himself as they rely on Fabi’s income and hopes that something happens soon.

    Fabi has twin boys and an older girl. Vivi, her daughter, is challenging as she is talking back, changing friend groups and throwing away expectations. Fabi isn’t sure how to connect with her. She has a great dad, but Fabi’s mom left them the day before Fabi turned 14.

    There is no shortage of plot elements, I don’t want to get too much more into the plot elements but I enjoyed them all. The ending is not what I would have expected, but it was a satisfying conclusion.

    I love Caitlin Weaver’s novels, this is her 3rd and I genuinely enjoy them, they are female focused and easy to read. The dialogue of the kids in these books work very well. Fabi’s kids bicker at each other and at her and it is very true to life. These are women’s stories, they are stories of friendship and – I would say- suspense. They read as if they are mysteries, but they are more family drama. The women in her novels are not perfect, they are very real, very insecure, they make mistakes and they keep showing up as mothers. The men — not so much. lol.

    Caitlin Weaver is just an auto-buy for me.

    Thanks to @netgalley and @stormpublishing for the ARC. Book to be published January 15, 2025.

  • disappoint me by Nicola dinan

    A haunting, sad yet funny Literary Fiction commentary and character study in an experience of being a Transgender millennial navigating the modern landscape. Max is a 30 year old lawyer and poet, flirting with sobriety and in a new relationship with Vincent. Her brother, who can’t commit to a relationship, is going to start a family and be a co-parent. She has a good community and friends, but constantly worries about being forgotten and being out-of-place. Of not being self-aware to her own destruction.

    This is a painfully constructed novel, helped create a sense of empathy to those of us who benefit from heteronormativity in our complicated world. There are characters across a gender and sexuality spectrum, with a powerful community but similar insecurities that all of us have on a daily basis. This book is descriptive and smart, not one that I would read over and over again, but that gave me an insight into someone else’s experience.

    The POV is mostly Max but also changes to her boyfriend Vincent, with a very engaging thread that alternate in London and Bangkok. A somber yet hopeful story about the messiness of life and love.

    Thaks to @netgalley and @thedialpress for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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