Welcome to Litsy!

Why don‘t more people talk about Joy Fielding? Cul-de-sac is another gem—tension-filled, character-driven, and packed with secrets, lies, and a deadly twist. Desperate Housewives meets Big Little Lies.

Just finished this audiobook about one year in the life of an LA family of Jewish Mexican descent. There‘s lots of drama etc. But what I found so interesting was the backdrop of the drought and the fires and the Santa Ana winds. Touched a nerve after the terrible fires in January. A Reese‘s Book Club selection

An in depth, pre-Snowden journalistic investigation into the world of whistleblowers and data leakers.

This was a tough read to get into. Interesting, but dry and dense. Every chapter is also an interweaving of multiple people‘s stories. Pair all that with intentional misgendering and deadnaming of Chelsea Manning and glossing over Julian Assange‘s sexual assault allegations, this is not a book I need to keep or revisit. 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑

I had this book on my TBR for a while and when I saw that it was the library summer book club pick, well I figured this would be a good time to read it but it's been months and I'm not sure how I feel about it.

I found a lack of love and empathy within this family. All selfish, especially the daughters. That selfishness is also the catalyst for lot of what happens to them and their individual downfalls and add to the odd mish mash of themes.

I was disappointed by this one. The tone of the story never really gelled into anything coherent - based on the events of the plot, it seemed like a telenovela, but it lacked the wacky, over-the-top feel that would be needed to carry such an absurd collection of events. Instead everything was taken more or less straight, which felt jarring as characters repeatedly made stupid decisions. Also, the theme of “men are awful” got tiresome quickly.

A dual timeline thriller about a woman who escapes a cult. A decent storyline, but I get frustrated when women make stupid decisions- luckily this one didn‘t have too many bimbos. Lots of drama and some good female badassery at the end, 3.5 stars for me! Book #80 in 2023

This is an unsuccessful dual timeline.

While the earlier timeline is fairly interesting, the characters are weak and make stupid decisions throughout, the latter timelime is ridiculous and you have to wonder how this author views women as while they are a little bit more clever, they are shallow and literally only care about playing truth or dare (these woman are in their 30's).

I don't see the point of this book.

Book #5
3/5 ?
I wanted to like this soooo badly. Unfortunately, it was just "meh" for me, though. I didn't find the storyline all that unique. I found the beginning somewhat promising but disjointed from the rest of the story. ?‍♀️

I grew up in L.A. and there was something enjoyable about the familiar and well described setting, but I wasn‘t as invested in the multigenerational saga or individual characters as I should have been.

Overall, the story felt a bit too melodramatic for me.

Book club pick. Family drama about three sisters and their parent‘s lives. Pretty fast paced and entertaining.