Tag: women in journalism

REVIEW: Nothing More to Tell by Karen McManus

REVIEW: Nothing More to Tell by Karen McManus

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

It’s the last semester of her senior year, and Brynn is back at Saint Ambrose, the last place she expected to be. But her return could help her out of a jam.

At her last school, a malicious prank left Brynn cut from her school newspaper job and ripped away any credibility she had earned for journalism. But now she’s an intern for a true crime show, and she’s pitched them a story centered at Saint Ambrose.

Brynn’s favorite teacher was murdered on school grounds. Three students found him, including Brynn’s former best friend. But the investigation seemed flimsy, and the crime was eventually blamed on a “drifter.”

So while Brynn is back at Saint Ambrose, she’s determined to find out the truth. And if she gets some bonus points for college by sharing the story with the world, all the better.

Review

This was twisty! From start to finish. Brilliantly plotted. The two storytellers really made this come together.

I was sure I knew what was going on at least 4 different times – but every reveal spun the story in a different direction.

When I was a teen, I voraciously read books by Lois Duncan. And the whole time I was reading this, I kept thinking about Duncan’s books and what I loved about them. Teen me would have been a HUGE Karen McManus fan. I loved this book and the sense that I was tailing a young sleuth looking for the truth while I read.

Fans of McManus’s previous work – One of Us is Lying, Two Can Keep a Secret, etc. – should absolutely pick this up. If you enjoy a tightly plotted mystery with teen protagonists, you will love this! (Language)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read.

REVIEW: Isn't It Bromantic? by Lyssa Kay Adams

REVIEW: Isn’t It Bromantic? by Lyssa Kay Adams

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Berkley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Vlad has been part of the Bromance Book Club for years. The men in the group are his closest friends. But watching them with their wives and girlfriends is tearing him apart. He longs for that sort of love with his wife, Elena. But no one else knows theirs has always been a marriage of convenience. And now Elena wants to end it and go back to Russia. Alone.

But when Vlad is seriously injured in a hockey game, Elena is the only family close enough to help him with his recovery. But being in close quarters with him makes everything more difficult. Each of them is longing for something they think is out of reach. Thankfully, Vlad has the guys in his book club to help him fight for his marriage before it’s too late.

Review

I enjoy any book where these guys are together. I love the men of the Bromance Book Club – the ways they harass each other, the ways they call each other out, and the ways they drop everything to help one another.

The romance didn’t quite click for me in this one like some of the other books in the series. (The Bromance Book Club (♥♥♥♥♥) and Undercover Bromance are my favorites!) It’s a bit of the fake relationship trope, but it’s even more complicated. Vlad and Elena each want to be together. But they make bad assumptions and don’t communicate which causes a lot of trouble.

Vlad’s writing was a nice piece of the plot. I enjoyed the guys weighing in on his story and how Vlad’s book tied into his personal life. Elena’s work – the investigating, the danger – took me by surprise at the end. I would have liked it if this was more concretely explored throughout the book, given just a bit bigger presence so it felt earned when it came to the forefront towards the end of the story. That said, though, I always enjoy a Bromance story, and I hope there are many more to come in the future. (Language, sex)

Rating: ♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥½ = Good +

 

BONUS REVIEW: The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis

BONUS REVIEW: The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Dutton in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

1913
The Lyons live in the Fifth Avenue branch of the New York Public Library. Jack is the superintendent for the library, and he and Laura live in an apartment in the building with their two kids. After work each night, Jack works on his novel, and Laura manages the kids and their routines. But Laura longs for more. She’s been accepted into a journalism program at Columbia University – one that accepts women. Laura wants to write, too. If she could get a reporting job, she could help with the family’s finances so Jack would have more time to finish his book.

1993
Sadie is working on a special collection at the New York Public Library. As part of the exhibit she’s preparing, her boss wants more examples of Laura Lyons’ work or personal effects. Her feminist essays have had a resurgence of popularity lately. Sadie hasn’t told him that Laura was her grandmother. She would have – she found some great examples of her early writing that would be fun additions to the exhibit. But she also found references to some missing books from the time Laura’s family lived in the library. Until Sadie can find out what happened then, she wants to keep her connection to the Lyons to herself. Books have started to go missing from the collection Sadie is curating, and the connection to the 80 year old mystery could make a difficult situation even worse.

Review

This was an interesting split timeline story connected by family relationships and the thefts at the NYPL. Beyond that, Sadie’s story is also about family, her work, and her identity following her divorce. Laura’s story is even more involved, focusing on the role of women in the early 1900s. She goes back to school to pursue a career in a field dominated by men. She longs for meaning and a challenge outside her home, but she also feels guilt for not being available to her children all the time. She connects with women in her community who are pushing for equality, suffrage, access to contraception and health care, etc. The myriad of issues in 1913 made that section of the story more intricate, but my personal preference was for the “contemporary” story with Sadie and her family and work.

The mystery of the book thefts is well done – in both timelines – and I loved the ways they were connected. I didn’t click with the characters very much in this book, but I was captivated by this mystery. The author does a great job putting together a mystery with an historic story that also explores the lives of grandmother and granddaughter. Readers who enjoy split timeline stories should check this one out. (Some Christian examples of this type of storytelling can be seen in Rachel Hauck’s work – The Writing Desk and The Love Letter are two examples.)

(Language, sex, LGBTQ+: Bisexual and F/F relationships. TW: Suicide)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥