LADYKILLER
Katherine Wood
First half:
Sexy
Sharp writing
Playful
Exotic
Luxurious
Second half:
Stereotypical storyline
For Gia, it’s champagne toasting on an ordinary Tuesday, island hopping, sex on the beach, and staying in daddy’s summer house for the week rent-free and writing to tell all about it.
For Abby, it’s textbooks, torts, and memories that haunt her. Although best friends their lives have never been the same. Gia had everything handed to her that Abby had to work hard for.
Off the cusp of a quick marriage, her father’s death, and the publishing of her first successful book Gia invites Abby to stay with for a time. Abby is at first hesitant but reluctantly agrees. Gia’s first book was a memoir and Gia told it all. Including what happened to both in Greece 12 years ago.
We follow along as old wounds resurface, secrets that were buried deep are unearthed, and rough times from the past look like a walk in the park in Katherine Wood’s LADYKILLER.
Told in part through excerpts from Gia’s sexed-up manuscript. The story starts out hot, but the fire gets extinguished by introducing a stereotypical storyline. It was a little too easy to pick out the bad guy and unfortunately, once I identified them as such the material never deviated from its original course.
LADYKILLER unraveled as it went on. Tying up all the loose ends was an effort and it felt like reading it. It was such a bummer because I enjoyed the first half. I will check out the next book Wood writes if the timing is right.
Thanks to Netgalley, and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine | Bantam for the advanced copy and the opportunity to provide feedback!
LADYKILLER…⭐⭐⭐
“That place has been my whole life. Everything I thought I knew about myself was constructed in those few months I spent within touching distance of the sea. Everything I am is because Alistair loved me.”
Rachel has been in love with Alistair for fifteen years. Even though she’s now married to someone else. Even though she was a teenager when they met. Even though he is twenty years older than her.
Rachel and Alistair’s summer love affair on a remote, sun-trapped Greek island has consumed her since she was seventeen, obliterating everything in its wake. But as Rachel becomes increasingly obsessed with reliving the events of so long ago, she reconnects with the other girls who were similarly drawn to life on the island, where the nights were long, the alcohol was free-flowing and everyone acted in ways they never would at home. And as she does so, dark and deeply suppressed secrets about her first love affair begin to rise to the surface, as well as the truth about her time working for an enigmatic and wealthy man, who controlled so much more than she could have ever realized.
Joining a post #MeToo discourse, The Girls of Summer grapples with themes of power, sex, and consent, as it explores the complicated nature of memory and trauma––and what it takes to reframe, and reclaim, your own story.
THE GIRLS OF SUMMER
Katie Bishop
THE GIRLS OF SUMMER is both more than I expected and less than I wanted it to be.
Questions of consent, a handful of messy characters, and a vacation that turns into a lifestyle-what else could you ask for out of the next BIG book of the summer?
Apparently, a lot!
THE GIRLS OF SUMMER is the story of Rachel and the summer she’ll never forget. Rachel went on vacation in the Greek Islands only to end up staying longer than intended. She meets a man named Allistair who is sexy and older and mysterious. There is something about him that drives Rachel wild.
Years later, Rachel still hasn’t forgotten about her summer in Greece or Allistair. She is married and trying to create a life worth remembering yet is hiding parts of herself from her husband and it’s creating mixed results. She’ll never be the same after that fateful summer and maybe she doesn’t want to.
THE GIRLS OF SUMMER is approachable and thrilling and I was invested in the characters and the story from the beginning. My complaint is a big one and one I couldn’t get over. The author gave me a character to hate with a cause that I wanted to fight for. A complete contradiction.
And I wish I didn’t feel so conflicted.
I appreciated seeing the question of consent explored through this lens. However, I felt the book normalized inappropriate behavior without being declarative enough in its message. I gave THE GIRLS OF SUMMER three stars for its mixed messages and for wasting an opportunity to talk about an important topic.
THE GIRLS OF SUMMER comes out on June 6, 2023.
Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martins Press, and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copies!
THE GIRLS OF SUMMER…⭐️⭐️⭐️
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
Synopsis.
New York Timesbestselling author and National Book Award finalist Akwaeke Emezi (they/them) reimagines the love story in this fresh and seductive novel about a young woman seeking joy while healing from loss.
Feyi Adekola wants to learn how to be alive again.
It’s been five years since the accident that killed the love of her life and she’s almost a new person now—an artist with her own studio, and sharing a brownstone apartment with her ride-or-die best friend, Joy, who insists it’s time for Feyi to ease back into the dating scene. Feyi isn’t ready for anything serious, but a steamy encounter at a rooftop party cascades into a whirlwind summer she could have never imagined: a luxury trip to a tropical island, decadent meals in the glamorous home of a celebrity chef, and a major curator who wants to launch her art career.
She’s even started dating the perfect guy, but their new relationship might be sabotaged before it has a chance by the dangerous thrill Feyi feels every time she locks eyes with the one person in the house who is most definitely off-limits. This new life she asked for just got a lot more complicated, and Feyi must begin her search for real answers. Who is she ready to become? Can she release her past and honor her grief while still embracing her future? And, of course, there’s the biggest question of all—how far is she willing to go for a second chance at love?
Akwaeke Emezi’s vivid and passionate writing takes us deep into a world of possibility and healing, and the constant bravery of choosing love against all odds.
The Review
YOU MADE A FOOL OF DEATH WITH YOUR BEAUTY
by Akwaeke Emezi.
Can we just take a second and reread that book title. Because the title alone is worth that. And then let’s give a shout out to that cover-because it is beautiful.
If you’re going anywhere on vacation this summer, may I recommend YOU MADE A FOOL OF DEATH WITH YOUR BEAUTY by Akwaeke Emezi.
The perfect vacation read. It’ll have you rapidly turning pages and raise your humidity. Cause it’s 🔥
Let’s talk about it!
I had to scrap my review of YMAFODWYB and my thoughts about Akwaeke Emezi just a few pages into the story.
I was wrong about a lot of things.
I was wrong about everything.
I was wrong about the path the character would take and I was wrong about the simplicity of the situation EMEZI had created for us as readers.
I was blown away entirely by the trajectory of this story and felt inspired by Akwaeke Emezi’s choices.
It is a very messy love story. With characters you will want to scream at and very unexpected arcs. This is my first book by this author and I was completely surprised.
My only request is that EMEZI next writes a book entirely about food. Because the food writing in this book was flawless and I wanted more.
A very hottttt book with a fiery main character, YOU MADE A FOOL OF DEATH WITH YOUR BEAUTY…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
