November Reads {2021}

The year is almost over and I’m so close to my Goodreads goal of 75 books. My November reads included a lot of holiday reads, a classic and some suspense books. There were even 2 Netgalley ARC reads. I read a total of seven books this month which I’m sharing with Steph and Jana’s monthly Show Us Your Books linkup.

3 stars:

The Lifeguards by Amanda Eyre Ward (Fiction, April 2022) (c/o Netgalley) Three teenage boys are best friends and so are their moms. They are spending a summer as lifeguards. But when they end up finding a dead body, it’s every family for themselves. I found the ending of this book to be very unsatisfying. It felt disjointed and I felt like things went unanswered.

The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer (Holiday, 2021) A Jewish girl secretly is a famous Christmas romance novelist. When tasked with writing a Hanukkah romance, she decides she must attend The Matzah Ball. This is the sold out, biggest Hanukkah celebration in the city and she will do anything she needs to, to attend. Even though it’s run by her summer camp archenemy. I think this may be the first Hanukkah holiday fiction book that I’ve read. I felt the author made every Jewish food and culture reference possible, which was over the top. But I did like how the book shed light on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, something I was not very familiar with.

Passing by Nella Larsen (Classic/Historical Fiction, April 2003) The edition of the book I read was published in April 2003, however, the book was originally published in 1929. Passing tells the story of an African American woman “passing” for a white woman. But when a friendship with a childhood friend is reignited, the woman realizes that she wants to be part of her old community. I read this book because it was the first pick of the Netflix Book Club. I can’t say that I loved it but I thought the storyline was progressive for the time.

4 stars:

Always in December by Emily Stone (Holiday, October 2021) Girl meets boy in a literal collision. Neither are looking forward to Christmas and they end up spending the holiday together. But then he leaves for New York and she doesn’t see him again…..until she does several times over the next year. It seems they are destined to be together……While this book looks like a light, romance read, it is not! It’s a well-written, enjoyable but. But beware that it’s a heavier read that had me in tears at the end.

In a New York Minute by Kate Spencer (Romance, 2022) (c/o Netgalley) On the day she’s laid off a young woman is saved from potential embarrassment, due to a subway mishap, by a handsome young man. The two end up becoming a meet-cute internet sensation. Although they never exchange contact info, the two keep running into each other and become friends that may lead to more. I listen to Kate Spencer’s podcast, Forever35, and enjoyed this book a lot.

The Mothers by Genevieve Gannon (Fiction, May 2021) Two women are trying to conceive. One woman ends up getting implanted with the other woman’s embryo, which has tragic consequences. This was a heartbreaking story as I imagined how difficult the situation was for both women involved.

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney (Mystery/Thriller, September 2021) A husband and wife are spending a weekend in Scotland, hoping this time away will help their marriage. I didn’t know anything about this book before reading which I recommend. It’s filled with so many twists and I found it to be a great read. The husband has prosopagnosia (facial blindness), which before reading this, I had never even heard of. I also really enjoyed Sometimes I Lie by this author.