5/5
This book was fantastic! It was deeply emotionally riveting, and had a lot of characteristics of Indian society that I hadn't known about. While I probably wouldn't recommend basing your opinion and getting your knowledge of India from this book solely, it does speak a lot about the cultural ways in which society progresses and is seen in India. This is especially true about girls and women; the book highlights a lot of ways in which girls and women are oppressed in India; how they have trouble finding work, gaining status, bearing pregnancies, etc.
Basic plot: Lakshimi, a well-known henna artist in the higher societies of Jaipur. Lakshimi has run from her abusive husband, and after several years has managed to establish herself. She is slowly becoming wealthy enough to build her own house, a dream she has been working on ever since she ran from her hometown. Her sister comes to visit, and from there Lakshimi's world sort of spirals.
This book was excellently written. Like I mentioned earlier, it shows a lot about Indian society (and about society in general) and how so many people refuse to respect women based on their choice in work, their clothing, their status, etc. So many people look down on Lakshimi because she touches women's feet while she is drawing her henna.
There are also so many well-written characters. The relationship between Lakshimi and her younger sister blossoms, then wilts, then flowers, as they make their way through Jaipur and try their hardest to get by. It's very emotionally driven; as Lakshimi makes her way through the world, you both feel bad for her and mad at her at the same time, in a way. She's definitely a character you can empathize with, but at times you feel yourself wondering why she's making certain decisions. And then you remember she's a woman in a world where women are treated pretty poorly.
Overall, I believe this book would be great for someone who likes reading about strong, driven, female characters. Lakshimi's life and story was fascinating to read.

3.5/5
I received this pick in a My Thrill Club box and was really excited to read it because I just love this cover. I think the cover is so freaking cool. Needless to say, this book was...interesting. I found myself pretty engaged throughout the book, but it was definitely written for a primarily male audience. Of course, that's not to say women can't or shouldn't read it. As somebody stated in a previous review, this is without a doubt a perfect example of dick lit.
Like much dick lit, the characters are mostly men and/or based around men. However, unlike typical dick lit the characters are actually pretty diverse and well-rounded. The Oracle, Will Dando, navigates life with a series of predictions that were handed down to him from some unknown presence. He writes most of them down, starts publishing them on a website, and quickly becomes famous once people start realizing these predictions are coming true. However, the catch is: nobody knows who he is. Everyone everywhere is trying hard to figure out who the Oracle is and how he got his predictions. He remains evasive.
I won't give too much of the rest of the plot away, but I will say that this book is pretty...well, good. Decent. The characters kind of only exist to serve Will. From his money-grabbing best friend to his best friend's selfless wife to the women who run his website...it seems as though their entire lives are based around him. I guess because the story is about him? But still, it seems as though their worlds freeze once he's gone and then he comes back into the scene and presses play, allowing them to move again. It's kind of weird, but I guess also makes sense?
It also wasn't really much of a thrill. I mean, I guess it was thrilling and engaging and all, but it wasn't what I expected.
I would recommend this to somebody who loves soft, yet masculine, thrillers and people who enjoy books about running away from the clock and stuff like that.

4/5
I'm not really sure what I thought of this book. It was good, yes, but also...kind of...I'm not sure of the word I'm trying to use here. Boring, no. Unrealistic, yes. I assume I have no right to judge as 1) I am not too clear on the entire history of World War II, 2) I was obviously reading fiction, and a spy thriller at that, and 3) I still thoroughly enjoyed the book. Not sure why, but I was expecting it to be more vivid.
Basic plot: Kate Rees enters into a mission to shoot Hitler while he's in Paris. She misses her mark, and is forced to run from German Nazis as she makes her way away from Paris. She journeys through France, all the while cleverly and narrowly escaping from her pursuers.
The above being said, this book was very good and well-written. Kate was pretty well-written. She was a highly intelligent women set up for failure. Essentially, her boss sets her up for death and she escapes. She does beat herself up over not accomplishing her task (which she wasn't supposed to feat in the first place), but she does make it out alive and with a stealth of useful information. Her back story was not entirely sound proof, if only that it wasn't developed enough. However, I appreciated the cuts between her current situation (escaping from the Fuhrer's security) and the reason why she is fighting against Germany in the first place (the death of her husband and young daughter). She is essentially seeking revenge, and this motivates her so much that she makes it out alive.
I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes reading historical fiction, especially about World War II. Any WWII novel is going to be pretty heavy, but this was not as emotionally draining as some. The focus is on the thrill of the escape, and not on death and misery. That of course has its place, but this is, for the most part, not that.

4.5/5
This novel was very well-written, from a unique perspective and in a very unique writing style. It definitely was not what I was expecting, but I'm not too sure what I was expecting.
Basic plot: Casey Peabody navigates life, love, work, and drama, all while remaining a struggling attempted author. She's writing a book. I know, I know, don't write a book about writing a book. So many authors have failed miserably at this (I'm thinking of one I read recently in particular), but King really does pull it off. Casey really does go through it throughout this novel. Losing her mother to cancer, going through a messy breakup...are all where she starts off this story, and it only gets worse from there. However, she pulls herself up, finding a reason to get her act together. ****Slight spoiler, though very little as it's pretty obvious**** She finishes her book! I was so happy for her at the end.
King writes in a way that enveloped my into the story. I really felt for Casey, even though she was highly frustrating. I understood where she was coming from...even though her actions oftentimes annoyed me. I was ecstatic to watch her succeed at the end, watching her rise up from absolute rock bottom. She finds the courage the recognize what she needs, both from herself and from her family, friends, and potential partners. Casey's story is both inspiring and fresh, though it might not seem like it (struggling writer? What a trope).
I would recommend this for anyone who likes, well, fiction. I'm not quite sure how else to categorize this. It really was a lovely story, and might even be considered "classic literature," at least according to some on bookstagram.

4/5
This book was a really good story. Though I really have no say in this as I am a privileged white woman, I do feel as though it highlights several issues faced by the Black community, particularly Black women. Emira faces fetishizing and general weirdness from her white boyfriend, as well as white savior-hood from her white client/employer. Not to mention, she faces discrimination at a grocery store, where a white woman reports her for allegedly kidnapping the white child she has with her (the one she is babysitting).
This novel brings to light lots of ways in which white people can be racist or even just prejudiced. From Alix (the woman she is babysitting for), Emira witnesses a white woman trying to "save" her, trying to "rescue" her, though she doesn't need rescuing. From Kelley (her white boyfriend) she experiences a sort of...weirdness. I'm not sure how to describe it other than fetishizing. Kelley stands up for her, yes, but also in a sort of weird, white savior, performative, "I'm-definitely-not-racist" way. Even from a fellow black woman, Alix's friend, whose name is slipping my mind right now, Emira experiences the friend telling Alix that her savior-hood is necessary and "the right thing to do."
I also liked this book because it was incredibly easy to read. Not only was it thought-provoking, for me as a white woman, it was also, just, fun. Emira is such a likable character, though I did find myself feeling kind of sorry for her at points. She's fun! She's a normal, slightly-out-of-teenagerhood young Black woman.
I will say, and I could be entirely wrong on this part, this book was most likely written for white people. White women, I suppose. Again, it can and should be enjoyed by many people, especially those who like drama-ridden, contemporary fiction. However, I believe its primary audience is white women. It was very good though, and I would definitely recommend.

3/5
Eh. This book was alright. I was interested in it, especially towards the beginning. However, the main character, Alice, is just so dang unlikable. She's manipulative towards her husband, she's not really a great friend. Although, I will say that her husband is kind of a loser as well. He forced her into a home in the suburbs, pressures her constantly to start having babies and make a family. Meanwhile, she goes behind his back and gets an IUD, which, while she definitely has the right to do, she should've told her husband. The whole relationship just seemed really unhealthy and unstable to me, and I was rather disappointed that they ended up together.
The recipe books, however, I really ended up liking. I really enjoyed reading the little cards from '50's housewife Nellie. Her relationship with her husband is also unbalanced, but only because he is a terrible, abusive person. He constantly pressures her into having children, and gets ridiculously angry when she can't/doesn't get pregnant. When he finds out she lied about being pregnant, he hits her. It's a terrible story, but I guess it kind of ends happy? No spoilers!
Overall, half of this book is good. That's my conclusion. Nellie's half is great and tragic and rebellious; Alice's half is...decent, but had me rooting against her. I suppose Alice is a normal human being, and normal human beings do things like that...but nevertheless, I was not a huge fan of Alice. I would recommend this for somebody to read in between reading other books. For people who are a fan of books that highlight the power dynamics between wives and their husbands.

2.5/5
It was a good book, I will admit. I read it before all of the controversy with the Book Woman, and I will say I did enjoy it. I would've given it 4/5, and here's why:
This book was dramatic. It had me grasping onto my seat the whole way through. I was stressed, nervous, anxious, excited, to find out what was going on. Moyes is a fantastic author; some of her author work is fabulous, which is why I was so excited to read this one! Admittedly, it was a pretty good book.
However, I really can't get over the plagiarism thing. I understand what other reviews are saying: it was a good book, a different take, everyone has different perspectives, every book is unique, etc. I just can't bring myself to give this higher than a 2 star rating...I'm sure Moyes had great intentions in writing this book. I'm sure she didn't "mean" to plagiarize, whatever. But there is without a doubt a resemblance to the Book Woman novel.

3.5/5
****TRIGGER WARNING: SEXUAL ASSAULT*****
Please do not read this book if you get easily triggered by, or if you are sensitive to, scenes of sexual assault.
Basic plot: a young Mexican girl of age 14 is raped by an older white man; this book is basically her story as told through the eyes of numerous women in the town of Odessa, TX where this book takes place.
My thoughts: This book had way too many perspectives. The female characters were all written fine; they were diverse in opinion, with some siding with Glory, the victim/survivor, and others refusing to believe her story and instead, siding with that of her rapist. This book was very...hard to read in the beginning. The first couple of chapters had me anxious. The assault is not explicit per se, but the reader does see the damages done to Glory -- her bruises and scars, her ruptured spleen, etc. It's not graphic, but it's definitely not for the faint of heart. With that, the book did get a lot easier to read, mostly because it kind of turned on a wild tangent...
As I said, this book is told through various perspectives, all of them women. We see Glory, the victim/survivor; we see Mary Rose, the first person to see Glory after the assault; we also see characters like Suzanne, who believes Glory's story is a "minor mishap" or a "miscommunication." I appreciated the way we as an audience get to see sort of the different ways in which rape is seen and portrayed by the community, especially by fellow women.
However, I feel like Glory's story got completely swallowed by all of the different voices. I get what the author was trying to do in not making the entire story about the assault; after all, people's lives go on. However, I feel like it could have been done a lot better. It kind of seemed as though Wetmore was trying to erase the assault as a whole in favor of focusing on the trials and tribulations of housewives, waitresses, etc. It would've been great...if the book was about waitresses and housewives, and not about an assault. It just felt kind of poorly done; rape is something that we tend to brush away and push aside. I feel like a book that told the story of a young girl being assaulted could've been written in a way where the focus was on that young girl, the brutality of her attacker, and the ways in which the justice system so often fails women and girls. Instead, the focus was on a woman going on a camping trip with her husband and a girl helping a man find his way back home.
Overall: this was an alright book, but not a favorite. Definitely was not a favorite for me, but I am glad I read it as I know it's become really popular as of late.