One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

Kindle edition

I latched onto this book after reading Red, White, and Royal Blue by the same author. Loved that book! This one was different than the first one I read. I have to say right now, I loved this book!

I started reading it on May 2 and finished it on May 10. A quick read that I absolutely wanted to finish fast but didn't want to end.

This is a bit of a time-loop love story for August, a 23 year old girl who moves to New York City and her life takes some unexpected twists and turns. From random roommates, working at a pancake diner, to meeting an amazing girl on the train, Jane.

August sees Jane repeatedly on the same train, and she's always wearing the same thing. Peculiar. Fast forward a little and we come to learn that Jane is stuck on the train, and became stuck there in the 1970s. Insert time-loop drama here. August and her unique roommates have to figure out how to get Jane un-stuck from the train. Therein lies the rest of this book. It's so good!

Read it!

Post written on July 7, 2023. Publication date reflects date I finished the book.

Cobble Hill: A Novel by Cecily von Ziegesar

Kindle edition

I'm fairly certain this was a Real Simple recommendation, but I can't find the blurb. Oh well. I read this book. I started it on April 12 and finished it on April 17. A very quick read.

As I'm writing this more than a year after I read it, I'm using basically word for word the write-up from Amazon.

This book chronicles "a year in the lives of four families in an upscale Brooklyn neighborhood as they seek purpose and community—until one unforgettable night at a raucous neighborhood party knocks them to their senses."

"Welcome to Cobble Hill.

In this eclectic Brooklyn neighborhood, private storms brew amongst four married couples and their children. There’s ex-groupie Mandy, so underwhelmed by motherhood and her current physical state that she fakes a debilitating disease to get the attention of her skateboarding, ex-boyband member husband Stuart. There’s the unconventional new school nurse, Peaches, on whom Stuart has an unrequited crush, and her disappointing husband Greg, who wears noise-cancelling headphones—everywhere.

A few blocks away, Roy, a well-known, newly transplanted British novelist, has lost the thread of his next novel and his marriage to indefatigable Wendy. Around the corner, Tupper, the nervous, introverted industrial designer with a warehouse full of prosthetic limbs struggles to pin down his elusive artist wife Elizabeth. Throw in two hormonal teenagers, a ten-year-old pyromaniac, a drug dealer pretending to be a doctor, and a lot of hidden cameras, and you’ve got a combustible mix of egos, desires, and secrets bubbling in brownstone Brooklyn.

“Breezy, witty, and compulsively fun to read” (Kirkus Reviews), Cobble Hill is highly entertaining portrait of contemporary family life and the colorful characters who call Brooklyn home."

I fully agree with the summary from Amazon. This book was funny, engaging, and really painted a fun and funny picture of life for these people in Brooklyn. I really enjoyed it and laughed out loud several times. I would definitely recommend this book! Reading this sort of pushed me to read the first Gossip Girl book. For me, the TV series (original) Gossip Girl was way better than the book. I didn't feel compelled to read any more of that series. To me, Cobble Hill was way better.

Post written on July 7, 2023. Publication date reflects date I finished the book.

On The Wings Of A Sleepless Knight: Chronicles Of A Freight Dog by Lee Jones

Kindle edition

My dad is a pretty avid reader. He loves some of the same book series as I do (Harry Bosch by Michael Connelly, Dirk Pitt by Clive Cussler, and a few others). I often read books after he's told me about them (as long as they seem interesting)...

He told me about this one and I was really interested. I started reading it on April 7 and finished it on April 11. Since it's been more than a year since I read it, I'm relying on parts of the summary from Amazon to jog my memory. The summary seems to have been written by the author, Lee Jones - it's in the first person.

"On the Wings of a Sleepless Knight is the story of my singular passion for flying starting from the first moment I saw an episode of "Sky King" to beginning my pilot's lessons at twelve to flying covert missions in war-torn middle eastern countries, Columbia and communist Russia. 

As a young man, I cared only about one thing. That singular focus served me well as I got my license at seventeen years old and shortly after began teaching others to fly as a senior in high school and chartering flights around the country. With each new facet of my flying career, the rewards became greater while the risks grew more dangerous. After countless near-crashes in large jets and cargo planes, I was recruited into a sketchy company that flew under the radar performing top secret trips that the government would likely deny. This memoir details my journey as a pilot from first learning to fly to retiring my wings and everything in between."

Believe me, there is a LOT in between Lee learning to fly and the end of the book. Some of it seems to fantastical to be true. I hope it is all true. 

So here's the thing - I really liked this book. I love hearing about peoples' life and their stories. I love listening to my dad's stories (and he has a lot). This felt a lot like one of my dad's stories, maybe that's part of what made it so good. I don't know. Here's the other thing - there are some (many) typos in the book that I had to work hard to overlook. It felt a little self-published, but whatever. It was chock full of great stories. And it gave me something to connect with my dad over.

If you love a good adventure story (or 5 or more), this is a pretty good book to read!

Post written on July 7, 2023. Publication date reflects date I finished the book.

American Royals II: Majesty by Katharine McGee

Kindle edition

I started the 2nd book in the American Royals series on December 13 and finished it on December 20. Another great read!

I don't want to give too much away, but America has a new queen, Beatrice! This book covers what happens once Beatrice takes the crown. As you'd expect, there is major drama - with family (Royal family), friends, strangers, paparazzi.

If you liked the first book, you'll like this one.

Post written on June 4, 2023. Publication date reflects date I finished the book.

American Royals (book 1) by Katharine McGee

Kindle edition

I think I may have heard about this book from the Real Simple magazine reading list, but I don't fully recall. I can tell you that I really liked this book and couldn't wait to read the rest of the books in the series.

I started this one on October 4 and finished it on October 12.

Imagine, if you will, if America after the Revolutionary War became a country with a King and Queen - a royalty class? That's the premise of this book. America has a King and this book is about his family - the Washingtons (yes, related to George Washington, America's first King).

It's set in modern time. There is the oldest daughter (Beatrice), the one who will inherit the crown. And there are twin younger siblings, a boy (Jefferson) and a girl (Samantha), who are the spares. This book is about their relationships with each other, their relationships and desires (or not) for the crown, their friends who are less royal, and their lives navigating through protocol, school, family, and friends.

This was certainly a page turner and I loved it!

Post written on June 4, 2023. Publication date reflects date I finished the book.

Red, White & Royal Blue: A Novel by Casey McQuiston

Quarantine Reading

Kindle edition

I read about this book in Real Simple Magazine, I think. It's been on my "to read" list for at least a year. I finally requested it from the library via OverDrive - shout out to eBooks and Kindle!  I started it on June 15 and finished on June 21.

Though I read the description when I first put this on my "to read" list, I didn't entirely remember what it was about when I started reading it. Let me tell you - this book is really fresh, funny, and I really loved it.

It's a love story, coming out story, and political book all in one. This book tells the story of the first family of the United States. The president is female (YAHOO!) and divorced and has two adult-ish kids - Alex and June. Alex's arch nemesis is one of the Princes of England, Henry. Through a turn of events, these two men who hate each other have to become besties to quell a potential PR nightmare of their causing. Their fake friendship evolves into a real friendship and an entirely new actual PR nightmare to deal with.

One of the several things that made me laugh out loud while reading this book is the "nickname" Alex gave Henry in his phone - HRH Royal Dickhead 💩.  I was laughing so much at that.

If you like a love story, have an open mind, I think you'll love this book. It's fresh, it's modern, it's funny, it's sad, it's engaging, and I definitely stayed up too late at night reading this. I just couldn't put it down.  Now I'm left with the "what's next" desire for a sequel.

Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan

Quarantine Reading

Finished #2 in this series and immediately moved on to Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan. I started this on June 1 and finished it on June 11.

Again, no movie (yet) so used the images from movie #1 in my mind as I read this book. Also again, I like learning the "what's next" for all of the characters from the prior book.  And, again, I kept thinking that this was so much more over the top, so much "more," so much "excess," so much "money," so much "disfunction" with most of these characters.

Don't get me wrong, I really liked this book, it was very entertaining, engaging, a page turner, and I definitely stayed up too late reading at night. Unlike Hamilton, which I'm still "reading" (yes, I'm using quotes around reading because that book is still by my nightstand, it's been in progress for at least 2 years now, it still pains me to read it, it's still boring, and I still want to finish it) and literally puts me to sleep in 5 or fewer pages, the Crazy Rich series is so entertaining, even if I'm super tired, I stay awake to read. It's the polar opposite of Hamilton in many ways: Kwan's books are light, funny, engaging, easy to read and understand. Chernow's Hamilton, is not those things.

If you liked the other two books in this series, I'm certain you'll like this one.