A 5 Book Round-Up: I Kissed Shara Wheeler, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, The Change, and More

From YA Mystery to LGBTQ+ Romance

May has been an absolute whirlwind already, and I haven’t had a chance to sit down a write out full reviews of the books I’ve read so far. So, I figured I’d give you a quick little recap of what I’ve read and what I think, short-form style. After all, you just want to know the good, juicy stuff anyways, right? Well, let’s get to it.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder follows Pip, a girl interested in a case that predates her by five years. The case of a girl who was murdered in her town. After the girl was murdered, her assumed murderer (Sal Singh) committed suicide. Except, Pip doesn’t believe that Sal was the murderer, or that he committed suicide. She dedicates her time to bringing Sal to justice, and uncovers many more secrets in the process.

I’m a huge fan of YA mysteries, and this one has come highly recommended. However, while I loved the characters and the threads of romance, I was kind of disappointed by the end. I wanted that “holy shit” moment after the reveal, but I just didn’t get it. Pip is a great character, but she’s kind of dumb (which makes sense for a high school student). While I loved watching her follow clues and work the case, I couldn’t help but think “why aren’t you doing x” or “why are you doing x?”

While I did really enjoy this book, I definitely wouldn’t give it a five star rating, mostly because I found Pip to be kind of unlikable and ditzy at times. She didn’t ask for help when she needed it and often got herself into trouble because she was in way over her head. But for this, let’s settle on a solid four stars. The story was interesting, the romance was nice, and the reveal wasn’t too predictable.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

Casey McQuiston is the author of the TikTok famous Red, White, and Royal Blue, which I have yet to read. I Kissed Shara Wheeler focuses on a group of three students who were all kissed by Shara Wheeler before she disappeared just weeks before vacation.

While I’m not usually a fan of YA rom-coms, I really enjoyed this one. The characters were all so different and complex, and we got to watch them build relationships and help each other discover their true selves amidst a horribly religious high school setting. Again, I wasn’t a huge fan of the main character, Chloe Green. She always acted like she was better than everyone, and didn’t take other people’s feelings into account. However, getting to watch her grow (even if her growth is limited to the last few pages) made up for her lackluster, trailblazing personality in the beginning of the book.

Where Chloe Green lacks, the side characters make up. McQuiston’s cast of lovable side characters make this book special. For them and the stories they tell in the sidelines, I give this book four stars.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

I’ve truly been putting off reading this book. When something is immensely popular, I always avoid it until the very last minute when I ultimately give in and end up loving it just as much myself. A Court of Thorns and Roses came out years ago, but as the series continues, it gains more and more popularity. It’s a simple retelling of Beauty and the Beast, with complex characters and a beautifully painted landscape. The world building is phenomenal, and I ship Feyre with pretty much every single character in the book, no matter their gender.

Their are mixed reviews with this one, and I can tell why. Almost nothing happens until about 300 hundred pages in. However, the first 300 pages contain character development, joy, worry, and so much more. We get to watch relationships build, and I feel that set up is necessary for what’s to come. Plus, I’m not one to shy away from something that’s labeled as “boring”. I don’t personally find learning about characters to be boring, especially when they’re written by S.J. Maas.

I feel like A Court of Thorns of Roses is one of those “just read it” kind of books. If you are on the fence about whether or not you should because of the reviews you heard, you’re never going to know until you try. I gave it a shot, and it’s one of my favorites so far this month. Four stars, in fact.

The Change by Kirsten Miller

Okay, okay. I give a lot of things four stars. I see that now. But how about this, how about a mind-blowing, angry feminist, five-star magical realism novel to wet our palette? I had no idea what this book was about when I started reading it. I simply thought, “wow, I love magical realism” and placed my order. That may have been one of my better decisions lately, because this book made me feel so many things.

The main three characters, Jo, Nessa, and Harriet, work together to solve a string of murders happening in Mauttak, New York. The three women are witches, though they don’t often refer to themselves as such (aside from Harriet). Nessa can see ghosts, and has the ability to find their bodies. Jo is the protector, though we never learn much about her power, and Harriet is the prosecutor, the scariest of them all. However, all three women learn to harness their anger for the greater good, taking judge, jury, and executioner into their own hands to protect the little girls of their small town.

The Change is a must-read for this year and a read that I won’t soon forget. Five stars, but I would give it more if I could.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I cannot believe it took me this long to pick up this book. Well, I didn’t ever pick it up, I listened to the audio book instead. In The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Evelyn recounts her life story to a journalist named Monique, and we get to watch her life unfold before us. We watch her struggle to become a famous actress and we watch her achieve great success. We watch her use her body as currency and feel no shame for it. We watch her make difficult choices, we watch her screw things up. We watch her be human in the eyes of millions.

Learning about Evelyn Hugo’s life was truly so exciting. I was always eager to hear about her next husband and how she even managed to get married again. Every time she was married I thought, this can’t possibly happen again. And I won’t say much more than that, because I don’t want to give away the true magic of this book. Five stars. More.

What’s up Next?

I’m currently reading quite a bit, so you can expect to see reviews for A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer, The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow, and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (a re-read).