Just For The Summer by Abby Jimenez 2.5 / 5 stars
Abby Jimenez has always found a way to take a serious topic and turn it into a swooning, hysterical rom-com. She is an auto-buy author for me as I have enjoyed every book she has written, with the exception of this one. Justin believes he is cursed. Every woman he dates goes on to find the love of her life right after they break up. And after reading Justin’s Reddit thread explaining his problem, Emma messages him that she has the exact issue with men. They decide to come together to fake date in hopes of breaking the curse and finding the ones they are meant to be with. I loved the idea of this plot- it’s a fun, fake dating trope that is bound to go wrong for all the right reasons. However, the plot of the curse practically stops there and isn’t revisited until the end of the book. Instead, we readers are taken for an emotional 400 page run around as to why Emma does not allow herself to get emotionally attached to people. Emma has had her fair share of childhood trauma after being raised by her toxic, care-free, absent mother. Throughout the story we are reminded over and over again just why Emma is not willing to get emotionally close to anyone. And while I can have sympathy for our main character’s trauma, I cannot ignore or excuse her behavior towards her best friend and boyfriend due to her unresolved trauma-it didn’t make for an enjoyable read. She has a golden retriever boyfriend and a true best friend that are willing to do whatever it takes to make Emma happy and feel comfortable.. However, due to the unresolved issues Emma refuses to face throughout the book, she hurts the people who love her most. The saying “Hurt people, hurt people” has never rang more true than throughout these pages. Also, if Emma wasn’t ready or willing to get emotionally close to anyone, then why did she want to find the love of her life in the first place?
Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter 4.5 / 5 stars
Whew. Let me start this review by saying this book is not for everyone and you should definitely check the trigger warnings before reading. This book is easily one of the most graphic and disturbing stories I have ever read, hands down. Based around the disappearance of Julia Scott nearly 20 years ago, her sister Claire goes on to find out more and more about what actually happened to Julia the night she went missing. It’s been awhile since I had a book leave me speechless. There were so many twists and turns that I didn’t see coming, and maybe I should have, but the shocking and descriptive details of this thriller had my mind spinning. This is a very dark book- and I do believe it does have some educational aspects about what goes on in our world that we wouldn’t otherwise want think about, especially what *could* happen to girls that go missing. This was my first read by Karin Slaughter and I was so impressed by her story-telling abilities and the way she kept me wanting to know what happens next, even during the darkest parts of this book. This story reminded me so much of a True Detective season- there were so many different aspects that made this story so layered. I wouldn’t recommend this book on a whim, I would check all trigger warnings before going into it. But wow, I loved this one.
