Recent Reads Book Review: What’s Worth Checking Out?

I made progress with my 2021 GoodReads Reading Challenge again. This is thanks to the two books I recently read from two of my favorite authors, Colleen Hoover and James Patterson. For those who’ve loved reading my blog to check out my recent reads book review, then this post is for you!

Regretting You by Colleen Hoover

It’s been a while since I had a recent reads book review that had Colleen Hoover in it. The last book I read from her was Without Merit which was from last year. Still have so many books to read from this author! But anyway, let’s talk about Regretting You first.

What’s the Story?

Morgan Grant and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara, would like nothing more than to be nothing alike.

Morgan is determined to prevent her daughter from making the same mistakes she did – getting pregnant and married way too young. She put her own dreams on hold and Clara doesn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Her predictable mother doesn’t have a spontaneous bone in her body.

With warring personalities and conflicting goals, Morgan and Clara find it increasingly difficult to coexist. The only person who can bring peace to the household is Chris – Morgan’s husband, Clara’s father and the family anchor. But that peace is shattered when Chris is involved in a tragic and questionable accident.

With each passing day, new secrets, resentment and misunderstandings make mother and daughter fall further apart. So far apart, it might be impossible for them to ever fall back together.

My Thoughts on the Book

What can I say about this recent read? Great story. Moving. That’s how my book reviews have usually been when it came to Colleen Hoover. She’s such an amazing author. From all the books I’ve ever read from her, it’s only Maybe Not that I wasn’t so crazy about.

Colleen managed to make me gasp in shock when I read those twist in this story. Then I got angry. A part of me wanted to understand why it happened, and when it happened too. If you read this book, you’ll know what I’m talking about. But after a while I saw it through Morgan’s point of view. The “when” and the “why” didn’t matter. Nothing could be repaired or undone anyway. Chris was gone. What mattered was she moved forward with her daughter.

I, Alex Cross by James Patterson

Next up is this book from James Patterson, I Alex Cross. If Colleen Hoover hasn’t made it in the list of my recent reads until recently, regular readers of this blog know that James Patterson is the opposite. I’ve written a few book reviews on this author. I did buy quite a few James Patterson novels from Big Bad Wolf Books book sales so he’s often part of my recent reads.

What’s the Story?

Detective Alex Cross is pulled out of a family celebration and given the devastating news that his niece, Caroline, has been found brutally mudered. Cross vows to hunt down the killer, and soon learns that Caroline was mixed up in one of Washington’s wildest scenes. And she wasn’t this killer’s only victim.

The search leads Cross to a place where every fantasy is possible if you have the credentials to get in. Alex is soon facing down some very important, very protected, very dangerous people in levels of society where only one thing is certain – they will do anything to keep their secrets safe.

As Cross closes in on the killer, he discovers evidence that points to the unimaginable – a revelation that could rock the entire world.

My Thoughts on the Book

I was intrigued by the plot so I chose to read this book next plus I’m always interested in his Alex Cross’ novels. The main thing I can say about this book is that it was a good read. Kudos to Patterson for keeping me curious enough to stick to the end to know who the mystery killer is. It had a pretty good ending. Quite exciting scenes that led to the end. I think my only problem with the book was there were too many characters given a spotlight. Some may have been unnecessary. Still, this book is worth picking up and reading.

So anyway that’s it for my recent reads book review for now. I haven’t been able to get in the mood to read again. But hopefully I will soon. I’m so close to meeting my 2021 GoodReads Reading Challenge, would be a shame not to meet that goal!