On My Shelves This Week: Haunted Houses, Dark Secrets, Deadly Superbugs |

What a week of reading! For clarification, my “week” is Saturday-Friday, so a lot of my reading time takes place on the weekend. I also hit a big book slump this week; one of the problems with reading so many books!

What I read this week:

She is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran: READ IT (with warning)! This was an uber-creepy book set in Vietnam. In order for Jade to get the money she needs for college, she’s agreed to spend time with her father in the French colonial house he’s restoring. She’s always had to lie to fit in, so this shouldn’t be a challenge. But her father is obsessed with this house, putting all of his resources into it. Yet night after night, Jade wakes up to the sound of the walls thrumming, and bug carcasses keep appearing despite her frequent cleaning. At night, the ghost of a young bride visits her, warning her not to eat. Her father and younger sister don’t believe her, so she has to find evidence to prove her suspicions. They have ancestral ties to this home; strong and deadly ties they must break if they want to survive.

The warning: bugs. Lots of bugs. Apparently I wasn’t aware to how nauseated they made me.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers: READ THIS NOW! I wrote out a long synopsis of this book, which I ultimately deleted. Part of the journey in reading this book is for the reader to reveal it on their own. This is the sort of book that warms your heart and soul. I’m so thrilled this is just the first book in a new series! These are short novellas, so I’d get this and the second book, A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, too!

Book Lovers by Emily Henry: READ IT. READ ALL OF HER BOOKS! It’s been a practice of mine to always have an Emily Henry book, unread, in my TBR stack. Her books are the perfect medicine for whatever ails you. This one is my favorite. The setting, the characters, I loved every bit of it.

Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover: Don’t Read It. I’ve never read any of Hoover’s books, so I don’t understand the craze. I caved. While I can see (but not agree with) why people may enjoy her books, it’s just not my cup of tea. Consider this the book version of a “thank you bite.”

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay: Read it. Three completely unique individuals were once the best of friends. They grew up together in a group home over twenty years ago. They’ve since grown and lead accomplished but troubled lives. They haven’t seen or spoken to one another in years, so why is someone trying to kill them? The only way to survive is to reawaken the buried memories of their childhoods and face the secret that has haunted them all these years.

Super fast and intense read, one that I can easily imagine as a movie. The characters are all flawed and damaged, but that’s what makes them so believable.

The Night Travelers by Armando Lucas Correa: Did not finish. I really wanted to read this one; I was sold by the premise (a young woman gives birth to a mixed-race daughter in Nazi Germany) but I couldn’t get into it. I got through half of the book, but the jumping around in time and place lost me. I think there was a huge portion of this book that could have easily been cut-out to keep the reader engaged.

The Perfect Predator: A Scientist’s Race to Save Her Husband from a Deadly Superbug by Steffanie Strathdee, Thomas Patterson: READ IT. This is actually a memoir, but read like a thriller! An epidemiologist and her psychologist husband are traveling to Egypt when he comes down with what they think was a stomach bug. He quickly turns critical, and after being transported via emergency medevac, they learn he is fighting an antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Fortunately, they have connections that allow them access to world-class medical treatments and staff who are willing to try anything to save him. What saves his life is a treatment that ceased over 100 years ago after the discovery of antibiotics, the “perfect predator” that can kill the most deadly of bacteria. Honestly, I did find myself skimming some of the overly-medical bits, but my favorite parts were the chapters in which Tom, the patient, shared his dreams while he was under. Truly fascinating to witness the experience from his point of view!

Whew…that was a lot! Now what’s up for me next week: