I’m happy to say that for my latest GoodReads Reading Challenge update, I’ve been able to finish reading two books for the month of March, for a total of 3 out of 20 books for 2021. My shelf full of books waiting to be read would probably also be rejoicing if they could talk since I’ve been able to really put the time to read again.

Jane Green’s Summer Secrets

goodreads 2021 reading update
What It ‘s All About

This is the plot from GoodReads:

June, 1998: At twenty seven, Catherine Coombs, also known as Cat, is struggling. She lives in London, works as a journalist, and parties hard. Her lunchtimes consist of several glasses of wine at the bar downstairs in the office, her evenings much the same, swigging the free booze and eating the free food at a different launch or party every night. When she discovers the identity of the father she never knew she had, it sends her into a spiral. She makes mistakes that cost her the budding friendship of the only women who have ever welcomed her. And nothing is ever the same after that.

June, 2014: Cat has finally come to the end of herself. She no longer drinks. She wants to make amends to those she has hurt. Her quest takes her to Nantucket, to the gorgeous summer community where the women she once called family still live. Despite her sins, will they welcome her again? What Cat doesn’t realize is that these women, her real father’s daughters, have secrets of their own. As the past collides with the present, Cat must confront the darkest things in her own life and uncover the depths of someone’s need for revenge. 

What I Thought of the Book

This is the second Jane Green novel I’ve read. The first, The Beach House, was the first book I read this year as part of my GoodReads 2021 Reading Challenge update. The story had two settings: London and Nantucket. While the first book made Nantucket sound like a charming place to live, I didn’t get get the same feels from this novel.

Summer Secrets is a story about a woman dealing with an addiction which also reminded me of another novel I previously read that also talks about addiction, a drug addiction, Jennifer Weiner’s All Fall Down. Addiction is really a disease that must be hard to deal with. It’s not just the person who’s suffering from one that will struggle but also the people he/she loves. That’s what this book will show you – the struggle and the consequences of choices.

I wasn’t too into this book. Saved for the gay best friend, I didn’t think much of the characters. Not the heroine. Not her sisters. Honestly felt like the conflict between Cat and her family wasn’t fleshed out much. Maybe it focused too much on her struggle with alcoholism that the relationship with her sisters wasn’t tackled as much as it deserved which is a shame. I think if Jane Green had developed that part of the story more, it may have been a better read.

Overall Rating

3 out 5 stars

James Patterson’s When The Wind Blows

The second book I read this March is from one of my favorite authors, James Patterson. He’s been a favorite since I read Postcard Killers. I think I got this book from The Book Stop Project from a couple of years ago.

What It ‘s All About

This is the plot from GoodReads:

Frannie O’Neill is a caring young veterinarian living in the Colorado Rockies, trying to erase the memory of her beloved husband’s mysterious murder. It is not long before another neighbor suddenly dies, and FBI agent Kit Harrison arrives at Frannie’s doorstep. Kit is hell-bent on solving the heinous case despite resounding protests from the FBI and the thrashing of his own internal demons.

Kit secretly pursues the investigation, yet witnesses keep turning up dead. Then Frannie stumbles upon an astonishing discovery in the nearby woods, and their lives are altered in ways they could never have imagined. Simply knowing the secret of Max — the terrified 11-year-old girl with an amazing gift — could mean death.

As more and more diabolical details are unearthed, the murderer’s bloody trail ultimately leads the trio to an underground lab network, known as “the School.” Here scientists conduct shockingly incomprehensible experiments involving children and genetic alteration.

What I Thought of the Book

My previous reads from James Patterson were all crime thrillers. This book is a little different since this involves a bit of science fiction ala X-Men. Who knows if there are really people of science these days trying to play God? With how advanced technology is nowadays, it may not be far off that someone might actually be doing this right? As I recall, some conspiracy theorists have said COVID-19 is a biological weapon created from a lab in Wuhan, China. The whole story is intriguing, thrilling, action packed with a bit of romance.

I could feel the chemistry between the two main characters, Kit Harrison and Frannie O’Neill. Kakilig! As for Max, the other heroine of the story, I also liked how she was both strong physically and mentally but also vulnerable and innocent.

Overall Rating

5 out 5 stars

So that’s it for so far for my reading challenge update. There’s still so many books I have to read and want to read guys. I might talk about what’s on my reading list next time around.