Book Reviews: June 2015

I picked this up because it looked like a good summer read. I think I read about it in a magazine before it was published, then I placed a hold at my library so that I could borrow it as soon as it came out. Isn’t it cool that you can do that?

In this novel, Imogen Tate is the Editor-in-Chief of a popular women’s magazine titled Glossy. When the book begins, Imogen has recently taken a leave of absence due to health issues. When she returns to work, she finds that things have completely changed as her magazine tries to compete in the digital age. What’s most surprising to Imogen is that her former assistant Eve is now calling the shots (has anyone seen All About Eve?). Will Imogen adapt to the new regime, or will she become extinct?

Clearly this is very of the moment, as several print magazines are shuttering or scaling back. Lucky Magazine recently announced that it would no longer have a print component and Women’s Wear Daily moved to weekly issues. I’ve always loved fashion magazines, so I appreciate that the authors wanted to comment on a current phenomenon. Naturally, I loved all of the fashion bits, from the descriptions of the clothes characters were wearing, to the somewhat exaggerated portrayal of what it’s like to work at a magazine. I even heard that one of the characters was based on Eva Chen, who I absolutely adore and stalk on all forms of social media.

Overall, I enjoyed the subject matter and felt that this was an entertaining read. I do wish that the characters had been a bit more developed. I found it a little hard to believe that Imogen could be 100% clueless when it comes to technology in the year 2015, but perhaps that’s a function of the fact that I grew up with computers. I guess I wanted more from this book, but I did like reading it. It’s light and easy and would be a good beach read pick for those who are interested in fashion.

Adventure novels are so perfect for summertime, right? This book follows a cast of characters as they cross the Egyptian desert in search of a long-lost tomb. I picked up this novel because one of my booktube friends was hosting a read-a-long last month.

I like reading books set in far away lands- it makes me feel like I’m seeing the world, even though I haven’t actually traveled anywhere. This book started off a little slow for me, but then it did pick up. My favorite character was Jenny, the niece of the archaeologist who leads the expedition. She grew up in the American frontier, so she’s plucky, skilled with a gun, and unafraid to speak her mind. I love spunky female characters! In this book, there’s travel, codes/riddles, archaeology and adventure- all good things. I will say that the last third of the book took an unexpected turn, which I didn’t enjoy as much. I thought it was a bit weird, confusing, and philosophical. However, the parts I enjoyed outweighed the parts I didn’t like as much. Now I want to go on an expedition in Egypt and have an adventure!