For Better and Worse - Margot Hunt

I'm not sure why people still think they can plan and complete the perfect murder. Listen, I realize the murder clearance rate in our country hovers just under 60%. Wait, that's pretty bad (that's actually really bad, but is a story for another book). But usually, the people who are committing and getting away with murder are somehow involved in the criminal enterprise. But this whole, let's commit the perfect murder thing goes all the way back to Leopold and Loeb and look where it got them.

You know who doesn't get away with murder? White collar suburban intellectuals who think they can PLAN the perfect murder. Because if you don't have the background to either not care about getting caught, or live in an environment where people who could help you get caught don't care about communicating their knowledge to authorities, you're likely going to get caught.

So this is one reason why I had very little doubt that Natalie Clark, a criminal defense attorney, was going to get caught. She thought she was smarter than everyone else, and as I saw her plan out the various aspects of "the perfect murder" she casually looked over all the loose ends she was leaving and believed no one would weaver them together.

The broader aspects of what could drive a suburban mother committed to defending those accused of misdeeds to take another person's life are lost in the shuffle of the plot here and the book would have been better served to delve into these aspects a bit. Otherwise it reads like a thriller which is quick on page turning, but left me feeling like I'd consumed a lot of empty book calories.

I initially didn't like the way this one ended because (so what this lady is just like a serial killer now?) but then I got over myself and allowed myself to just enjoy the ridiculousness of this final note.

3/5 Stars. 

The Flame Bearer - Bernard Cornwell

Cornwell continues to deliver with this series. Somehow Uhtred keeps surviving and each story feels fresh despite this being the 10th in the series so far. In The Flame Bearer, we get a very Uhtred-centric story. For most of the previous books, Uhtred is caught up in political and literal battles beyond his control and he's serving on behalf of one king or another. But in this one, Uhtred is working for himself. He's finally, finally going to take back Bebbanburg.

But of course there is a little wrinkle. Uhtred has continued to make enemies. His championing of Edwards first son Aethelstan has rankled the Ealdorman Aethelham the grandfather of the other possible heir to the throne. Uhtred is unfailingly loyal to those people who have earned his regard and Aethelstan is one of them. So when Aethelham sees an opportunity to cut the knees out from under Uhtred, he goes for it.

I, like Finan, was not quite sure how Uhtred was going to get himself out of this one. He decided to take on a larger enemy in an impenetrable fortress. Classic Uhtred. When will this man ever lose his swagger? Hopefully never. But I'm very interested to see what is going to happen in the next book. Because as everyone knows, North Umbria did NOT remain an independent kingdom. So I'm certain that clash is coming. How will Uhtred thread that future needle?

3.5 Stars

The Friend Zone - Abby Jimenez

It took me about two days to read this book, mostly because I stayed up until 2 a.m. one night (this was not a smart decision but I have no regrets). But one thing The Friend Zone does really well is pacing. The book moves very fast and each chapter leaves the reader wanting to follow the action.

I feel like I'm the last person on Bookstagram to read this one, so perhaps a synopsis is not needed, but essentially Kristen is a woman struggling with uterine fibroids when she meets the best man for her friend's future wedding, Josh. He's a hot fireman who's relocated to California after a bad break up with a woman who did not want children.

Their chemistry is undeniable after a small fender bender meet cute. As their feelings for each other grow, Kristen remains resolute to confine Josh to the Friend Zone. She's aware he wants a large family, and he's not aware she can't have children. So as she continues to push him away, he's very confused. As with any good love struggle, I kept thinking if they just had an honest conversation things would resolve themselves.

Jimenez deals well in this debut novel with making the characters more than just an empty collection of attributes, although I wasn't sure this was going to be the case after hearing Josh refer to Kristen as "a unicorn" and "the cool girl." These types of descriptions kind of make my eyes roll because it sets up unrealistic standards for women. Necessarily, Kristen is "cool" because "she's not like other women." And it's not just enough that she's "cool" because she is also very very attractive apparently without trying. But then Josh is kind of slapped with a hot fireman label as well. And really the characters are likeable because they don't necessarily stick to those roles so the repeated call back to those tropes is unnecessary. Their dialogue is hilarious and again their chemistry is undeniable so I stuck with them when normally, this would have been a no-go.

Jimenez does a wonderful job of building the will-they, won't-they suspense in the book and takes the story out of traditional rom-com with a side story about Kristen and Josh's best friends Sloan and Brandon that well, that sets up the author's next book. As much as I enjoyed this book as sort of a guilty pleasure read, there are some things that keep it from getting four stars. For a first novel it shows a lot of promise and I think Jimenez has a strong career ahead of her as she learns to shed even more of the tropes that detracted from the strong writing in this book.

3/5 Stars. 

Open, Honest, and Direct: A Guide to Unlocking Your Team's Potential - Aaron Levy

I like a good book on communications so I was pleased to receive this from a Goodreads giveaway. While this book's main focus was on inculcating open, honest and direct communication within a group from the leader's perspective, I always find that as a team member, I can also gain insights from this kind of text.

I read this on two legs of a cross-country, multi-state work trip, and I really took to heart the chapter on effective listening. We're all aware of the edict that we work on active listening. But despite knowing this, Open, Honest, and Direct gave me a very explicit instruction to listen to what my inner dialogue was doing when I was supposed to be listening. Sorry friends and co-workers, I have not done a good job. My inner dialogue runs from trying to race ahead the speaker to the point, to trying to figure out what I am going to have for dinner.

This book's real strength lies not in its content as much as it's design. See, Aaron Levy openly talks about what a waste multi-day seminars are that teach teach teach without any application. So Levy lays out the principles, then discusses how to put those into practice, but then MOST importantly, talks about the reflection that is needed for continuous improvement of these principles in action. This is where most leaders fail. I've encountered so many managers who know all the right buzz words to describe how a working environment should function, but they are terrible at actually practicing the principles they espouse.

3.5/5 Stars. 

The Slow Regard of Silent Things - Patrick Rothfuss

I was initially stoked when I realized Rothfuss had written an Auri-centered novella. I ordered The Slow Regard of Silent Things and when it arrived I peeked at the Goodreads reviews and then I got nervous. Some of the reviews are terrible. Rothfuss' preface even notes that people will not even like this book. But me? What can I say, I like it weird.

One of my favorite works is Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Giildenstern are Dead - an absurdist tale of what happens to two minor characters when they're not the focus of action in the major work. And I have been so curious about what happens to Auri when she's not on the rooftop with Kvothe in the Name of the Wind series. Well, now I know. She's very busy keeping the Underthing in Order.

Auri is a tragic character, terribly broken by experience and hardship, but she's also resourceful and while she seems scared and timid, she is actually playing by a rigid set of rules that only she understands. And in her world, in her mind, those rules are what keep the universe in order. It's a tall ask for a small person.

The language of the novella can be maddeningly confusing. I'm sure Rothfuss had an elaborate map or reference guide to keep it all straight. To write in Auri's voice for so long must have been a painstaking process. I'm glad he took the time, because no one sees Kvothe as Auri does and it's interesting to see the why behind how she behaves.

4/5 Stars. 

Committed - Elizabeth Gilbert

I must be the one person who has not read Eat, Pray, Love, but I follow Elizabeth Gilbert on social media and I have found her thoughtful and compassionate. And I really felt her pain when her partner Rayya passed away last year. So when I received Committed I was first confused about the topic of the book being her hesitancy to marry her second husband and her doubts about the institution of marriage.

I have to say, knowing that the marriage she was so hopeful for does not work out was a bit of a downer but Gilbert has such a great narrative voice that I couldn't help but get caught up in her story. And also, the background she provides about marriage and the ways it has evolved throughout history and cultures was very fascinating.

Each marriage is unique and Gilbert readily admits she is no expert. This is essentially a self reflection on whether she should enter an institution she does not trust and has believed herself to be bad at. The level of honesty with which she approaches her analysis shows a lot of maturity that I honestly don't think I could muster - or at least I would not be brave enough to put it out into the world.

I know a lot of people just don't relate to Liz Gilbert. But a memoir can't speak to everyone and she's not trying to be something she's not, which is painfully obvious in this book. While this wasn't my favorite book of 2019, I appreciate Gilbert's writing style and her honesty.

3/5 Stars.

Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster - Alex Higginbotham

I was five years old when the Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred so let's just say that I didn't really follow the story at all. But throughout my childhood I was aware of the accident. Perhaps through follow up stories of the remaining radiation or the ghost town of Pripyat. In any case, I thought I knew what happened there. Nuclear reactor meltdown, radiation fall out. Some kind of heroics of fireman. End story.

I actually love finding out I'm insufficiently informed - woefully ignorant. It's such a joy to learn new things. But Midnight in Chernobyl tore my understanding down and showed that the reality of the disaster was so much worse than I could have imagined.

Do I now understand nuclear physics? Not even a little but. But this book does an excellent job of walking the reader through some painfully complex science so that when the explosion finally occurs around chapter 7, you are well and painfully aware of just how easily this accident happened and you're just as surprised it didn't happen earlier and all over the Soviet Union.

That this accident could only have happened how it happened, when it happened, and how it was responded to in the Soviet Union cannot be understated. From the attempts to protect reputation, to oversell quotas and timelines, to the blind adherence to authority over safety, this disaster snowballed out of control and then only through the essential sacrifice of bodies was it contained.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/moving_to_Chernobyl

The true extent of the loss and fall out will never be known (mostly because the government didn't want to have to tell anyone), but the human toll is overwhelming and obvious from the pages of this book. Every chapter brought some knew horror of response and loss. At times I just needed to take a break and walk away from the staggering details. I definitely want to read this again as I think there is just more to be gleaned from a second reading.

5/5 Stars.