Category: Fiction

White Fox by Sara Faring

As a member of the Faring Society, I received a free e-ARC of this book thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group-Imprint in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

In this novel we are following two sisters, Manon and Thais, as they work to uncover the truth behind their famous mother’s disappearance. They’ve returned to their home island, Viloxin, after being gone for years and living in America. They find their mother’s famous last work, White Fox, which holds the clue to truths about her. Now they can try to find out what really happened to her. But with knowledge comes cold, harsh reality. Are they ready to accept that everything they thought they knew about their lives may be lies? 

Y’all, when I read the synopsis for this book, I just HAD to read it. Of course I joined the Faring Society when I had the opportunity because why wouldn’t I?! I love reading spooky stories and psychological thrillers. And let me tell you, parts of this book go there.

The atmosphere of this book really sets the tone. The girls venture back to this island that they haven’t been to since they were children. They haven’t lived in their childhood home in years, and it is described almost as a living entity. It’s creepy but adds to the story in such a necessary way. It almost taunts, but I loved the descriptions of it. Along with the fortress of the childhood home, there are the surrounding woods: Delirium Forest, as it’s called. They’re known for people going in and not coming back out. It was haunting but I was loving the way these areas were described. They were spooky but really created such a vibe that made me want to keep reading.

We’re introduced to so many people on Viloxin and most seem shady or like they’re hiding something. As we come to find out, things are not as they always appear and people are not always who they appear to be. One thing that was frustrating was that, as I said, we were introduced to so many characters and seemingly so many important plot points, and then these plot points would just never be mentioned again. I think we could have done away with so many characters and just focused on a few and really fleshed out their storylines. As it was, we have several characters who seemingly are significant but we never really explore why they’re significant or really go anywhere with them. 

I would have liked the ending to have been different. Without going into any details I’ll just say that it wasn’t what I expected. 

Overall I enjoyed this book. There were a few things I’d have liked to see changed or improved upon, but it was a good read. I recommend picking this one up. It’s a perfect spooky read for fall! Publication is set for September 22.

The Bad Muslim Discount by Syed M. Masood

I received a free e-ARC of this book thanks to Edelweiss and Doubleday Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

In this story we follow two characters and their families: Anvar and Safwa/Azza. Anvar is a Pakistani native who immigrates with his family to San Francisco in the 1990s. Safwa/Azza is living in Baghdad with her father and facing the fallout of the war until they also immigrate to San Francisco. We follow both characters from the 1990s through 2016 and see where their stories ultimately intertwine. 

Why I liked The Bad Muslim Discount

I really enjoyed this book and gave it a 5/5. I felt like the characters were developed very well. They were recognizable and we could see their thoughts, motives, and flaws. The way that Masood wrote them, I felt personally invested in their lives and wanted certain things to happen for them or to not happen. 

The Bad Muslim Discount covers so many important topics. Religion and what it means to be a “good” muslim is a key component of this book. Masood also includes the power of love, what it means to be true to yourself, family dynamics, the power of a community, and identity—both personal and collective.

One particularly poignant passage stood out to me (quote is from e-ARC and may change upon publication):

“‘America is still the most powerful nation in the world. So why are its people so terrified all the time?’

…

‘We live on stolen land,’ I finally said, ‘in a country built on slavery and reliant on the continued economic exploitation of other people. The oppressor always lives in fear of the oppressed. Americans have always been afraid, first of people native to this continent, then of black men, then of the innocent Japanese citizens they interned and now of Muslims and immigrants. So the real question, I think, is who is next?’”

I highly recommend The Bad Muslim Discount and urge you to read it. Syed M. Masood is writing amazing important books and you’ll be missing out if you don’t pick this up. Publication is set for November.

The Bad Muslim Discount by Syed M. Masood ARC

This Is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf

I won a free copy of This Is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf in a Goodreads giveaway. Special thanks to Bookclubbish for hosting the giveaway and the publisher Park Row. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

In this book we’re following Detective, Maggie Kennedy-O’Keefe, as she is the lead who is tasked with reinvestigating the 25-year cold case homicide of her best friend, Eve, when new evidence is found. As she digs deeper into the mystery of who killed her friend on that fateful night, she’s forced to remember the tragedy and confront some uncomfortable truths about herself and those closest to her.

I was excited to read this. The synopsis sounded so intriguing and I was ready for a suspenseful read that would keep me guessing. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t quite make it up to par. About halfway through the book it fell kind of flat for me and I had to force myself to finish it, which was disappointing since it started so strong. I ended up giving this book 2.75-3/5 stars.

There were several main characters that we are introduced to. The story is told in three different perspectives: Maggie, Nola, and Eve’s. Gudenkauf employed flashbacks as a tactic to help draw suspense and move the story along. The two main characters are Maggie and Nola. Nola is portrayed as a psychopath but I felt like it was over the top and a lot of parts didn’t add up or were just thrown in for the sake of trying to freak the reader out. Her character confused me. Maggie was Eve’s best friend and the lead detective on the case when it was re-opened. I didn’t find her character to be genuine and I wished Gudenkauf would have either committed to the unreliable narrator for her or made her more believable and made me want to care about her. There was a part in the story where someone says something to her and she attempts to protest and they argue and she just accepts what they’re saying. It felt extremely fake and I didn’t understand why she would roll-over and it made no sense and if the author wanted it to change the plot, I felt like her character needed to be different before that scene as it didn’t make sense just randomly being thrown in. 

Things about the crime were confusing. Without any spoilers, to say that the events and the ensuing case were shady is putting it mildly. The original case didn’t result in an arrest but whenever Maggie talked about her father, former head detective, working on the case, things seemed off. 

Overall, this book wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t the suspenseful novel that I was expecting. This was my first read by Gudenkauf so that was kind of a letdown, but I’m open to reading more from her in the future.