Mini-Reviews #1: The Guest List, The Truth Project, Anna K

I’ve decided that I want to review all of the books I’ve read since I stopped filming BookTube videos in July… which is a lot of books! So bear with me while I get up to date. Since I have the majority of them written, I’m likely going to alternate between posting some backlog reviews along with what I’ve newly finished.  Not that you’ll know the difference!

The Guest List by Lucy Foley – The Guest List takes place on a remote Irish island and follows several perspectives of wedding goers. We follow the bride, the wedding planner, the best man and the plus one as they discover a dead body on the night of the wedding. The story alternates between the recent past leading up to the events of the wedding night with what’s happening in the moment. I really enjoyed The Guest List. I tend to love thrillers but I haven’t reached for them much in the last few years (though this book has incited a change in my reading habits).  The story is more of a slow burn mystery than a true thriller.  There weren’t many stressful moments and I loved the small island setting.  However, I did not like a single character (which is fine!)- I think they’re written that way intentionally so the reader doesn’t empathize with them.  There were some predictable elements of the story that I’m certain anyone who reads mystery thrillers would pick up, but Lucy Foley did manage to surprise with some of the final reveals which is always a pleasure.  I will say that the resolution was a bit convoluted, but nonetheless, I enjoyed it overall.

The Truth Project by Dante Medema – The Truth Project is a beautifully written story that packs a very serious emotional punch. I devoured this book in one sitting (which is made easier by the fact that’s written in verse) and trust me when I tell you that there were tears.  The Truth Project follows a teen named Cordelia who embarks on an intense journey of self discovery after the results of a genealogy test shake her to the core.  She uncovers family secrets and in turn is burdened by them while she closes herself off from the people she loves.  She feels like her very existence is a lie and begins to question everything. I could not get enough of Cordelia’s story! I really love books that deal with familial relationships and I appreciated that it was the main focus of things. But I do have to mention how much I loved the friendship between Cordelia and her best friend Sana which is relayed via text messages throughout the book. And the romance with Kodiak, Cordelia’s childhood best friend turned bad boy, is so sweet.  I would honestly recommend this book to anyone, even if they’re not used to reading in verse.  I’m not a big poetry person, but I loved this book to pieces!

Anna K (Anna K #1) by Jenny Lee – I was immediately intrigued when I first heard about Anna K, and superficially, extremely drawn to such a lovely cover.  Anna K is a modern day story inspired by Anna Karinnina and knowing how that tale goes, I was incredibly curious how Jenny Lee would pull it off. Anna K’s story takes place in NYC  and Greenwich and it reminded me so much of Gossip Girl (the books, not the show) but with even more drinking, drugs and sex (if you can believe it). Anna is basically our Queen Bee but she has a very kind demeanor.  Everything seems to come to her easily and Anna’s always been the model daughter until the night she meets Alexia “Count” Vronsky.  Anna K is a story of first love and first heartbreak peppered with scandal upon scandal in the elite world of Manhattan’s richest.  One reason why I enjoyed Anna K so much is because Jenny wrote New York City very well.  The places she chose, down to the addresses, were so accurate in representing real Manhattanites.  While I wasn’t overly fond of the book as a whole- there were lots of problematic elements, the characters are basically the worst humans, and I was on edge about all of the drugs they were doing and bad choices they were making, I did read it pretty quickly.  It’s a very digestible book and in my experience, it was like being unable to look away from a car crash. With that being said, I will definitely be continuing this series but I’ll likely see if I can borrow it from the library.