Buzz Books Spring/Summer 2016 - Adult Fiction

Buzz Books 2016
Spring/Summer Edition
E-book free from NetGalley.com

So, in addition to the quick browse of the YA version of Buzz Books for the first half of this year, I gave a more in depth read to the adult side of things. Specifically, this post is going to deal with the fiction excerpts provided (I'll get to the smaller number of non-fiction excerpts later). I read all but one of them, and the one that I passed over was only because it was a sequel to a book that I plan to read but have no read yet, and I didn't want to set myself up for spoilers.

There are some things here that I am SUPER excited about, some that I am curious about, and some that are probably just not for me. I'll comment in progressively less detail about the titles that fall into those categories.

Category One: YES, please.
Everyone Brave is Forgiven – World War II London, a privileged young woman flees boarding school the day the war is declared to volunteer for the war effort, and finds herself assigned as a school teacher. I liked her, almost instantly. I found her optimism and energy delightful, and based on her voice alone I requested the whole book. I've already been given a free copy from NetGalley, so you can expect to read more about this pretty soon.

LaRose – I loved Eldrich’s The Round House, so I started this excerpt dealing with relationships in the face of morally complicated situations full of hope. I was engrossed in only the first few pages, and was sad to see the little sample that I’ve been given come to an end. I will be reading this book as soon as its released, unless I can get my hands on a copy sooner.

Jane Steele – Jane Eyre is one of the only assigned books in high school that I read cover to cover with pleasure (and at the expense of my “more important” math and science homework.) In this retelling, Jane is apparently a serial killer, and possibly from what this excerpt suggests, a psychopath. I am intrigued.

The Fireman – I love Joe Hill. I’ve read all his books and very much enjoyed them. He’s on my list of authors that I go to the bookstore on the day the new book comes out. So this would have to be truly bad for me not to want to get the whole thing. But it’s not bad. It's very good. I am so curious. Can’t wait.

All Is Not Forgotten – Psychological thriller / mystery in which a young girl who was the victim of a brutal rape is treated with a medication that leaves her with no narrative memory of the event. The premise is interesting enough, and the narrator, whose identity is not at all clear in the excerpt, is a clear enough voice that I will definitely be reading this one at some point.

The Nest - I've been hearing about this book on all of the "Things to look forward to in 2016" lists. From what I had read about it before this, I was on the fence, but the excerpt is pretty great, and now I really want to read it.

Last Call At The Nightshade Lounge - I really liked the voice of the narrator, and I am very curious about where it is going, so they got me.

Category Two: Hummmm, maybe.

The Summer Guest – A novel told in a combination of excerpts from a diary from the late 19^th century, and the modern lives of the publisher and translator that are about to bring it to publication. It appears that the titular “summer guest” will be Anton Chekhov. Interesting because I like Chekhov, but do not know much about his life, and the story seems to be inspired by true events. I was not overly charmed by the excerpt, but it was promising, and I might give the whole thing a go later in the year.

All Things Cease to Appear – A mystery in the vein of Gone Girl, which as we saw just last week can be either amazing or just junk food. The husband who is the focus of the first couple chapters is unlikable, and up to something, but probably not the actual killer. The three year old daughter, absolutely home, but only possibly a witness, adds an interesting twist. I’m curious after reading the bit of this that they gave me, but not enough to make this a super high priority.

Where I Lost Her – I’m not sure about this one. The summary suggests that it’s going to be a suspense/thriller in the vein of Jennifer McMahon, who I generally enjoy. The excerpt doesn’t really get into anything like the meat of the story though and didn’t have the same atmospheric feel, so it didn’t really pull me in. I’ll probably give it a chance, but I am not going to bend over backwards to seek it out.

Brighton – Interesting. Set in Boston, there’s clearly something very bad about to happen, but we don’t actually get to see it in the excerpt. Still, to manage to create an atmosphere of foreboding in such a short space, and one which contains a youth baseball game, is something, and I think that I would like to read the whole thing. High on the maybe list.

Maestra – Art dealer in a not great job, wants more. Not completely sure where this is going, I’ll wait for the buzz to see if I want to get sucked in.

Don’t You Cry – Roommate disappears. Again, what we’ve got isn’t enough to make me decide to read the whole thing, so I’ll let other people go first.

Christadora – Interesting premise, taking the spot in a neighborhood and using it as the basis for a long story talking about the modern history and near future of New York. I can see it being interesting, but I am not sure that I got there in this short introduction, on the fence.

Modern Lovers – Adults with children becoming adults and the challenges of that identity. Felt a little meh. Will maybe take it on if the buzz is good, but I don’t think that I need to preread.

Invincible Summer - The blurb makes it sound like a co-ed version of A Little Life (which was 2015's best book), but the excerpt was only OK, so we'll see when the release date gets closer.

The Versions of Us - A bunch of slight variations on the same story, interwoven in a kind of "what if things had gone only a very little bit differently?" sort of way. I can see it being very good, I can also see it being not good at all, so I will let other people take it on and let me know.

Under the Harrow - Thriller by debut author. Maybe great, maybe just meh. Will wait for others to tell me which.

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper - Elderly man finds his deceased wife's charm bracelet and learns about the life that she had before he met her. Just maybe.

The Decent Proposal - Pair of strangers offered half a million dollars to sit and talk for two hours a week. Who knows why? Could be great, but there wasn't enough to convince me.

Magruder’s Curiosity Cabinet - Young girl who is apparently going to be saved by the interesting people of a side show type museum. I think that I would have put this on the read right away if I hadn't just been relatively unimpressed by The Book of Speculation. Instead it goes on the top of the maybes.

Category Three: Probably not.

The Choices We Make – Very clearly “women’s fiction.” I say this not to put that whole genre down for literary merit (just in case Jennifer Weiner ever reads this blog), but it is not always my cup of tea. The story of a woman who agrees to be a surrogate for a friend, and then suffers a severe medical complication at the very edge of viability. I didn’t find the writing enough to pull me in to a tag that I wasn’t all that engaged with initially.

At The Edge of The Orchard – A family of settlers ripe with conflict regarding the management of their apple orchard in northwestern Ohio. I didn’t find the teaser summary interesting, and wasn’t impressed with either of the narrators in the sample. Skipping.

There Will Be Stars – I get the impression from the blurb and the general feel that this is going to be something like Groundhog’s Day, without the comedy, and with a more religious redemption, which just doesn’t appeal to me.

If I Forget You – Not much from either the concept (old lovers reunited following a chance encounter), or the excerpt to really pull me in. The main female character’s daughter is away at Miss Porter’s, which is amusing, but not a reason to read the whole book. I’ll probably skip it unless the buzz pulls me in more than this little bit did.

My Best Friend’s Exorcism – Four teen girls, one gets lost alone in the woods overnight and comes back not quite herself. Felt very YA, don’t think that I need to read the whole thing.

Before the Fall – My read on the premise is that most of the characters are about to die in a crash, and that the book is going to bounce between the story of the aftermath and the backstory of how they all came to be on the plane and a possible sinister reason for the crash. Reasonable in theory, but the excerpt didn’t pull me in, so probably not unless the buzz when it comes out wins me over.

The Sport of Kings – A little dense, and maybe just not for me.  

Girls on Fire – The author has published mostly YA before, and this felt very YA to me, so maybe later if what I hear from other people is great, but I am unlikely to seek this one out.

Daredevils - Girl converted to Fundamentalism Mormonism, married off against her will. Just didn't feel all that interesting.

The Last Road Home - Meh. I didn't get any feel that there was something here to really love.

Jazz Moon - I found the characters annoying even on the first couple of pages, so no thanks

And the One I Skipped:

Glory Over Everything – A sequel to The Kitchen House, a book that I haven’t read yet, but plan to. I figure reading the first couple chapters of a sequel is inevitably going to give me spoilers for a book that I have been told I will enjoy very much, so why ruin it?