Book Review: Murder at the High School Reunion (Maya and Sandra Mystery, #5)

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Murder at the High School Reunion (Maya and Sandra Mystery, #5)  by Lee Hollis  opens with Maya and Sandra taking on a case of a former high school classmate and mean girl, Tawny,  right before their twenty-fifth high school reunion. When Maya and Sandra get stuck on their case, they enlist the help of another former high school classmate and friend turned actress, Alyssa. Soon after, they all attend the reunion, and Tawny is murdered after making a scene with her soon to be ex. When Alyssa becomes a suspect, Maya and Sandra must prove the innocence of their friend. I received an Advanced Readers Copy ARC of this book from NetGalley for free in exchange for my honest review. Being approved to read Murder at the High School Reunion (Maya and Sandra Mystery, #5) by Lee Hollis made my day, and I wasn't disappointed in the least. As soon as I started reading the book, it drew me in, and it felt like I was with an old friend, in the form of a story. I absolutely loved that the...
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Book Review: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

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Book Club Book Review of Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang is about Yale classmates and friends, June Haywood and Athena Liu, debuting their novels at the same time with both expecting to become well known authors.  When Athena suddenly dies in front of her friend, June makes a rash decision and steals Athena's manuscript, pawning it off as her own in hopes of attaining some of the fame Athena found.  Will June be caught?

This novel was the October selection for the book club I belong to.  Although the synopsis sounded intriguing, I was afraid I was going to be dissatisfied with the direction that the story would take.  My assumption was correct.  

book review yellow face r f kuangJune ended up being as unlikable as I thought she would be and literally had no redeeming qualities.  She kept making excuses and trying to rationalize the reason for stealing Athena's manuscript and publishing it as her own.  I kept waiting for her to get caught or reveal what she had done, but neither one really happened, which just made my blood boil.

The ending made me almost as angry as the ending of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  Since I read Yellowface on my ereader, I refrained from throwing it across the room like I did with Gillian Flynn's book, which was a paperback.  With that being said, R.F. Kuang has a way with words that kept me wanting to read until the very end.  It was engaging and entertaining while bringing up very real things like racism and plagiarism.  Five out of five stars.


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