#BookReview: Society Of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown

Promising Debut. This is one of those debut books where it absolutely shows flashes of brilliance… yet also doesn’t fully come together. But not in any objective-ish sense, just more of a more nebulous “there should probably be more *there* there”. And because it isn’t objective-ish and because I can’t really put a finger on exactly what my ultimate issue is here, the book by default retains its full 5* in my own rating system.

Ultimately this *is* a reasonably solid mystery-thriller (part of the issue is the tension between the two and the book constantly switching gears and never really settling on one or the other, even just in a “this genre is dominant and that one is a touch secondary” manner) that keeps fans of both genres reasonably satisfied throughout. Set at Princeton among its real life eating clubs, and featuring such real world issues (even well outside Princeton at State colleges) as tutoring a kid getting particularly preferential treatment due to being a Legacy, this is one of those tales that will excite some and turn off others, but I thought it worked well enough for what it was. Far from a Dead Poets Society, this is really more of a The Skulls level tale, but primarily featuring 2 sisters each in two different timelines each.

And I think, ultimately, that is the key to enjoying this tale – if you approach it ala The Skulls (and if you haven’t seen that movie from current Dr. Odyssey Joshua Jackson’s Dawson’s Creek years, you should) – you’ll likely have a great time with this tale. If “Dark Academia” is 100% not your thing… you likely won’t have such a great time here.

Very much recommended.

This review of Society Of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown was originally written on November 1, 2024.

#BookReview: Prime Time Romance by Kate Robb

For The Xennials. Yes, we are a tighter demographic than most others, but we – those born roughly 1978 to 1983 – are still mighty, and this book hits us pretty directly. While directly pulling from a hidden-just-enough-to-prevent-copyright-claims version of Dawson’s Creek, there are also *several* other TV shows and movies of our teen generation (specifically that late 90s/ early 2000s period) referenced here. Pleasantville being not even that arguably the second most obvious, but also The Notebook and Miss Congeniality, among others. So for us + those just older or younger than us who grew up/ became “new adults” watching these things, this was a great nostalgic trip into an interesting romcom premise that I, despite reading roughly 200 books per year, had never come across something *quite* like this.

And yes, it also “draws inspiration from” others of the same period of different forms, such as The Family Man in particular, and it is truly this combination of The Family Man + Pleasantville where the romance side of this truly comes home and works quite well.

As a side note for those who clearly feel opposite from how I do, please stop rating a book 1* if you DNF’d it. I understand Goodreads and their corporate overlords at Amazon don’t allow you to have a direct DNF option, but other alternatives such as Hardcover.app *do* allow you to explicitly note a DNF without giving a star rating – and you can still review the book. It just doesn’t plummet the ratings average the way a 1* is when you didn’t even finish the book, and at least to me, rating a book you didn’t finish feels dishonest – though clearly, you do you.

With that aside out of the way, again, I truly enjoyed this book and its premise really hit home as exactly that age group that it was very clearly targeting, but clearly there are a wide variety of views on this particular book. You, dear reader of this review, should absolutely read it for yourself and make your own call there. (And, remember, if you DNF it, please review it on Goodreads alternatives like Hardcover.app and use their explicit “DNF” option. :D)

Very much recommended.

This review of Prime Time Romance by Kate Robb was originally written on September 7, 2024.