He Read/She Read Book Review #2

This book has had RAVE reviews! It looked like such a fun book for Tyler and I to read together. This Sci-Fi thriller by John Marrs sounded intriguing and the premise sounded terrifying. Yes and Yes!!

From Goodreads:

Eight self-drive cars set on a collision course. Who lives, who dies? You decide.
When someone hacks into the systems of eight self-drive cars, their passengers are set on a fatal collision course. The passengers are: a TV star, a pregnant young woman, a disabled war hero, an abused wife fleeing her husband, an illegal immigrant, a husband and wife - and parents of two - who are travelling in separate vehicles and a suicidal man. Now the public have to judge who should survive but are the passengers all that they first seem?

He Said:

This was an excellent read from start to finish. It is a fast-paced thriller with a lot of twists and turns right up to the end. I loved how the author was able to capture the news feeds of the future. It gave you a sense of how it would feel in those circumstances without it being too much of a stretch. This is a very well thought out story with a completely believable future of self driving cars. I highly recommend this book to anyone.

His Rating: Five Stars


She Said:

I LOVED this book!! It was SO GOOD! This was my second page-turner in a row. I love it when that happens. But unlike The Mother-in-Law which wasn't a twisty thriller this book definitely was!! Twist after twist after twist. This book is a near future science fiction story. The premise is so plausible and realistic and that is what made it especially scary.

This was my first John Marrs book and I can't wait to read more. Tyler is already reading another one of his books called The One. I highly recommend reading this book with a friend or a book club because you will NEED to discuss it...while reading it...and after. It was a crazy thrill ride! It was intense, suspenseful, unsettling, and entertaining. I could not put it down!

It also had some thought-provoking social commentary, as you are flying through the pages, on social media, reality TV, implicit bias, classism, racism, artificial intelligence, fake news, mob mentality, lack of personal responsibility, and accountability. In this novel social media plays a part in making moral judgements [of the passengers] without telling all of the facts. Sound familiar? We are already there. There are so many things to discuss such as the effects of technology on moral and ethical behavior. The entire story will spark so much conversation about life and how things aren't as black and white as they seem.

This story will stay with me for a long time...especially since self-driving cars are already here...even Level 5s are being tested in Arizona. Right now!! There was an advertisement during the Superbowl for a self-parking car. I used to think...Yes!...bring them on. Now...not so much. This would make a great movie!!

My Rating: Terrific book! Five Stars. Super fun! Read with a friend or a book club.

He Read/She Read Book Review #1

Here's a new thing that I am doing with some of my book reviews. Kind of perfect for Valentine's Day!! Couples that read together stay together! Ha ha! You may not believe this but this was TYLER'S idea!! If he wants to add something to this blog my answer is always going to be YES! We always try to read a few of the same books each year because it is fun to discuss books together. This year we made a goal to buddy read 6 books in 2020. A book every two months seems reasonable. What was super shocking was that he actually wanted to review these books on the blog!!

So here is the first He Read/She Read of 2020.

The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth

This book has had a ton of hype. Tyler and I picked this book to read together. He enjoys a twisty thriller so we thought this would be a fun read-together book for 2020.

From Goodreads:

A twisty, compelling novel about one woman's complicated relationship with her mother-in-law that ends in murder...From the moment Lucy met her husband's mother, Diana, she was kept at arm's length. Diana was exquisitely polite, and properly friendly, but Lucy knew that she was not what Diana envisioned. But who could fault Diana? She was a pillar of the community, an advocate for social justice who helped female refugees assimilate to their new country. Diana was happily married to Tom, and lived in wedded bliss for decades. Lucy wanted so much to please her new mother-in-law. That was five years ago. Now, Diana has been found dead, a suicide note near her body. Diana claims that she no longer wanted to live because of a battle with cancer. But the autopsy finds no cancer. The autopsy does find traces of poison and suffocation. Who could possibly want Diana dead? Why was her will changed at the eleventh hour to disinherit both of her adult children and their spouses? 

He Says:

I really liked this book. It had my interest from start to finish. I loved the author's style of telling the story from different points of view. Especially when you had the same story being told from two different people. Such a great perspective. I also enjoyed the two timelines and traveling back and forth to give understanding to the various stories taking place. I also enjoyed the mystery element and wondering who killed Diana. The author did a great job of keeping me intrigued throughout the story. I loved how she was able to create a character who in one chapter you hate and the next you feel such sympathy. Great job and a book I would highly recommend. A real pager turner. 

His Rating: 4 Stars



She Says: 

The good news is I loved it! The bad news is it isn't a twisty thriller. It's a mystery for sure and a compelling one but I would never call it a twisty thriller. These are becoming overused publisher hype words and it is irritating. This book is a domestic drama with a page turning mystery. How about describing it like that? I would still want to read it. I am glad that I did because I really liked it!

The plot was fantastic. It was such an interesting look at the daughter-in-law/mother-in-law dynamic. Family relationships are complicated. The author does a great job showing how intentions and actions can be misinterpreted. I thought the characters were interesting and complex. Diana and Lucy were fully-fleshed out. I felt like I understood them and even in the case of Diana I felt like I would recognize her if I saw her walking down the street. I thought the plot was well-paced. It was definitely a page turner for me and it has been a LONG time since I have read one of those.

The book is thought-provoking. How many times do we misread people's motivations or make wrong assumptions? I loved how the author explored Diana's uncertainty about how to relate to her children. Relationships with adult children are tricky. This book did such a great job showing that.

There were some great quotes:

“...I doubt there is a loss in the universe more profound than a daughter losing her mother.”

“Sons see the best parts of you, but daughters really see you. They see your flaws and your weaknesses. They see everything they don’t want to be. They see you for exactly who you are … 

“It occurs to me that only a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law can have an all-out war without anyone so much as raising their voice. The funny thing is, if any of the menfolk were here, they wouldn’t have a clue.”

Despite this book not turning out to be what I expected... I loved it.I think it would be a great book club book. There is so much that could be discussed and so many great themes. I look forward to reading more books by Sally Hepworth.

My Rating: A quick and captivating read. I loved it!

***Our next He Read/She Read will be The Passengers by John Marrs.***