October 2020 Book Review

Another month down of 2020 and another list of book reviews I have ready to share! A beautifully written story (a la Where the Crawdads Sing), a thriller, and…a Christmas story, because it snowed in KC and put me in quite the holiday spirit around here!

So let’s get started!

When Crickets Cry

This book was absolutely incredible. I was sucked in from the very first chapter, and stayed hooked because of Charles Martin’s beautiful story telling, descriptive language, and his heartfelt tale. I’ve never before highlighted text on my Kindle as I was reading…until this book. I’ve never been reading and had literal tears stream down my face without even realizing…until this book. It’s described as a book about the heart, and it is that through and through. I would recommend this book to each and every one of you. I LOVED it!

The story takes place in a sleepy southern town and follows a man, Reese, as he battles with a past he can’t shake, and a little girl who doesn’t appear to have much of a future ahead of her. The stories intertwine and perfectly capture the ongoing theme of strength, commitment, and love for others. This book is just a WOW.

The Woman in the Window

I really was excited for this thriller. Stephen King called it “Unputdownable.” Gillian Flynn raved. It’s set to be a major motion picture starring Julianne Moore, Amy Adams, and Gary Oldham. I was so excited to jump into this one, but ended up pretty disappointed by the end of it.

There were two “big twists” in this book that I felt like I had pinpointed early on in the read, which is always a major bummer. If I’m going to read a thriller, I read for the shock value. This one just fell short for me.

And on top of that, I felt like there were just some pieces to this story that just didn’t all together add up. The main character is Dr. Anna Fox, a pill-popping, alcoholic, agoraphobic (yikes!) that watches her neighbors through her windows. One day, she sees a terrible incident inside one of her neighbor’s house, but no one believes her. A great concept and very Hitchcock-esque. However, the point was that no one believed her because she seemingly couldn’t hold herself together. She would slur her speech, stumble, and spill wine over herself; yet, she would give flawless psychologic advice to other agoraphobics online. It didn’t flow. It seemed like it was pushing it only when it benefited the storyline.

I don’t doubt that I’ll be watching this movie when it comes out (duh…Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, and Gary Oldham!!) because I think this will be one of those books that the movie may be done better than the book.

Catching Christmas

I know, I know…

But hear me out: It snowed in Kansas City this week so I’ve been biting my tongue trying not to blast Mariah Carey Christmas all through my house while binge-watching my full share of Hallmark Christmas movies. So to tamp down my holiday excitement, I wanted to plunge into this very Hallmark-like book, Catching Christmas.

This book is just cute. No better word to describe it. It’s an adorable, heartwarming story about figuring out what is actually important in life and chasing that.

When Miss Callie needs a ride to her doctor’s appointments, but her uber-successful lawyer of a granddaughter can’t take her, she catches rides with a cab driver, Finn. He doesn’t love hauling around a wheelchair-bound old woman around town, but he sees a chance to do the right thing, something he feels like he’s missed the mark on a few times in his past. Each character warms your heart and makes you smile through the whole book, and you genuinely root for each one.

It’s cute, it’s a quick read, and it does all the right things to gently get you in the holiday spirit.

The whole month of November, I’m going to dive into some holiday reads to share with you at the end of the month. Some books that you will love to read on those special days leading up to Christmas. I’m thinking all things Christmas, cold weather, small towns, big cities, love stories…all things Hallmark. 🙂

I have a few books that I have lined up to read and review for you next month, but any great holiday books that you think I should read, too? Share them below!

xx Rachel

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