HIGH FIDELITY (Nick Hornby) - May 29/15

This is much, much better than I remember the movie being. Hornby fills the book with a lot of things about being 30something that I could relate to, and though he's still a little too wordy for my liking, I really enjoyed the book and the protagonist. *** out of ****

SHE'S COME UNDONE (May 25/15)

I kinda loved this book. It's super long but I really got wrapped up in Dolores' almost epic story, which follows her from adolescence to her 30s. Dolores is just a really compelling, interesting figure and I found myself thoroughly engrossed by her episodic adventures. The book kind of peters out in its final stretch - I mean, this is a seriously long novel - but otherwise it's one of the best things I've read in a while. ***1/2 out of ****

THE COLLECTOR (John Fowles) - May 19/15

Ugh, Fowles. The first half of this novel is not bad, but then the focus shifts to the girl's perspective and it becomes repetitive. Worse than that, it becomes preachy and boring as Fowles goes on and on about the girl's hippie inner thoughts. The book picks up in the end but this should've been better. **1/2 out of ****

DARKEST FEAR (Harlan Coben) - May 12/15

This decent yet poorly written thriller moves pretty quick so I was never bored, although the middle felt a lot like an episode of Law and Order since the emphasis is placed on the protagonist's questioning of suspects and tracking down leads. Still it's pretty much a page-turner. *** out of ****

TWO BOYS KISSING (David Levithan) - May 8/15

This is definitely a big disappointment given how much I loved Every Day. The book was kinda unreadable at first, as Levithan has a greek chorus of dead gay people narrating the story. But once the actual characters come into focus, the novel does improve (even though there were always a couple of characters I couldn't quite get a handle on). A decent yet unspectacular effort. *** out of ****

THE WILD OATS PROJECT (Robin Rinaldi) - May 3/15

I was obviously drawn to this because of the subject material and for the most part the book didn't disappoint. Rinaldi's writing style is occasionally just a little too flowery for its own good and the midsection spends a lot of time on Rinaldi's hippy-dippy shenanigans in a commune (bleh, who cares), but overall I found this to be a fast, interesting read. (It also made me question my own worth as a lover, given that most of the men she sleeps with are far more commanding and verbal in bed. Sigh.) **1/2 out of ****

THE THIRD TWIN (Ken Follett) - May 1/15

This is a decent yet somewhat overlong thriller that contains a few good twists and action scenes. Follett seems to have a seriously antiquated view of how men view women, but he's basically a good writer and I enjoyed this from start to finish. *** out of ****