sandro_reads's reviews
102 reviews

The setup feels like old Hollywood noir - a glamorous ingenue sent to visit her ill cousin at a decaying estate. And while I appreciate any author that will take their story to absurd heights, the pacing was inconsistent - going from super slow burn to rushed - and ultimately became silly. 

Sam and Sadie can be infuriating at times - they are complicated characters who do not always know how to speak to one another. But, their life-long bond over video games is a modern take on the universal need to connect. 

The Silent Patient ticks every thriller box: a mental hospital setting, a woman who murdered her husband but will not speak, and a plot twist that I did not see coming. 

A book about chosen family with a split timeline following Yale and his group of friends at the onset of the AIDS crisis in Chicago and then one of those friends, Fiona, present day.

Yale’s chapters sing with every emotion capturing a harrowing time for the LGBTQIA+ community - with Chicago as much of a character. And, while Fiona’s storyline does not work as well as Yale’s, it does serve to bring a sense of reflection and hope to the heavy subject matter. 

A heart-wrenching look at growing up gay and in poverty set in 1990s Glasgow. Beautifully written, it is the type of book that leaves an imprint on your soul. I still find myself wondering where Mungo would be today. 

A sci-fI thriller but do not let the “sci-fI” scare you. A true page-turner with twists and turns that left me open mouthed. But, what truly sets this apart from most thrillers is, at its core, it’s a love story about the lengths we will go through to get back to the people we love.

An often grotesque character study, Eileen is a fully realized, challenging narrator who sees an escape from her mundane life when Rebecca moves to town. It’s a slow burn with the action not picking up until the last quarter but Eileen is not someone you will easily forget. 

While the story is a fun, well-paced page-turner, the reader must increasingly suspend their disbelief around characters that all become less likable as the book continues. 

A tender, poetic look back at first love, set in 1980s France and the lasting effects we can have on one another. 

A diary of a Japanese girl, Nao, washes up on the coast of British Columbia and is discovered by Ruth. A contemplative, split story that deals with heavy subject matter but ultimately leaves the reader with a sense of hope. It explores the relationship between writer and reader - working best from Nao’s perspective with footnotes teaching us about Japan.