Due to my recent production (more on that later this week), reading definitely had to take a backseat to memorizing and rehearsing.
However, the two books I focused on during this busy time (besides the digital preview I got to check out) were well worth the effort.
• The Last Mrs. Parrish, Liv Constantine
I have two stories related to reading this book that basically define my life.
1 – I was on the waiting list for this book via my public library for months. The day before my hold request was to expire, I noted “oh, I’d better log in tomorrow to be sure to renew the hold.”
I logged in the next day – to learn that holds expire at 1:00 a.m. the day of…. not after 11:59:59 p.m. the NIGHT of. I sighed and placed another hold, resigning myself to another several months of waiting.
Three days later, I got a text notification that the book was ready for pickup.
2 – I was so excited that I finally had time on a Friday the 13th to get little “13”-based flash tattoo from one of the many local artists I follow. I even had an appointment so I could skip the walk-in wait.
The night arrived, I cooked Hampton dinner as an apology for making plans a night he was home, then threw the book and things from my purse into a tote bag and headed to the tattoo studio.
Where, after waiting a bit for my turn, I realized that my wallet was NOT one of the things I had thrown into my tote bag. Which meant I had no ID. Which is necessary for a tattoo.
Anna was very sweet as I profusely apologized and ran home. She started filling in her time with some walk-ins. And I got quite a bit of this book read while she alternated between appointments and walk-ins and it was finally my dumbass turn. A hour and a half later than I should have been back to Hampton and the puppies on the couch on my last lazy Friday night before rehearsals started.
– Both these stories to say: I am the queen of terrible timing. And it’s only sometimes my fault.
NOW, on to the actual book review.
I don’t remember how this book got on my To Be Read list, but the wait was 100% worth it.
Much in the vein of Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train, etc., The Last Mrs. Parrish is a juicy psychological thriller, this one written by sisters under a pseudonym. Amber is tired of her unimportant life and decides to go after what she wants – no matter who suffers for it.
Everyone loves an underdog, and this book made me giggle with schadenfreude quite a bit. Both theSkimm and Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club have praised it, so I’m clearly not the only one who enjoyed it.
• The Immortalists, Chloe Benjamin
I know definitively that this book – like so many others – earned a spot on the TBR via my dear friend Charlie. As I have mentioned before, he is a much more profound reviewer, so please give him a follow.
This tale is that of four young siblings in the late 1960s who visit a fortune teller and learn the dates of the deaths. From there, we follow the family members through their pain and joy – both that they experience individually and that which they share with – or foist onto – the others.
I must confess, I made more than one stranger concerned as I read this book in public. You would think I would have learned after the nail salon incident not to finish it at a bar post-dayjob pre-theatre….
But tears are not always bad. Especially when related to a story so well-told. I look greatly forward to feeling through other works of Ms. Benjamin.
Ann Davis-Rowe 