TESSA TALKS BOOKS

Contemporary Fiction

🌷Never Too Late by Danielle Steel 🌷

• One-word review: Beautiful
• Emojis: 🗽😰🥰
• Rating:  3.5🌟s

My thoughts:

I picked up this Danielle Steel book because I haven’t read a book by her since my early twenties (maybe even my teens – she was a favorite of my mother, so they were always around the house for reading). Unfortunately, I’m not ready yet to read about explosions in NYC – even if they are fictional. I may never be. It just feels too real. Besides that, I enjoyed the beautiful people in beautiful places with lots of money, which I remember from Steel’s books all those years ago.

I loved the journey Kezia traversed in this story. She had to figure out who she was now that she was a widow, her daughters were out of the nest, and she decided to move from San Francisco to New York City. Her old life is gone, and how she bravely forges a new life is inspiring.  

I also loved the family themes and the various relationships within the families. Kate’s struggles were particularly touching. She needed to resolve why her biological father had never been in her life in her own mind. The many unanswered questions weighed her down and made her unable to open up to new experiences and relationships. I loved watching her face that relationship head-on.

Never Too Late is a beautiful look at family members in transition and the bravery it takes to achieve self-actualization.

Psychological Suspense

🌷Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering 🌷

• One-word review: Fascinating
• Emojis: 😨👩🏻‍🤝‍👩🏼🫣
• Rating: 4 🌟s

My thoughts:

Bye, Baby isn’t a psychological thriller, as I was expecting. I would consider it psychological suspense, though, and it is an intriguing psychological study of the two main characters, Billie and Cassie, separately and together.

There aren’t any likable characters – they are all flawed and need counseling for big and small reasons. Billie and Cassie tell this dual timeline story in somewhat unreliable ways alternatingly. The past timeline seems unimportant, but clues are hidden to Billie and Cassie’s psychological state in each flashback, making it essential to understanding the current timeline and choices.

I enjoyed the few surprising twists and the fast pace. I also found the evolution of a friendship tragically intriguing – as both characters progress in their life in vastly different ways. The ending is delightfully thought-provoking, and I bought into it as a possibility, considering everything.  

I also enjoyed the social media aspect. It wasn’t a vast aspect, but it is very now and fits Cassie’s psychological framework—it fulfills her need to present the perfect picture to the world. If you like psychological studies, you will love reading this story and dissecting the main characters!

YA Fantasy

🌷The Encanto’s Daughter by Melissa de la Cruz🌷

• One-word review: Imaginative
• Emojis: 🥺🫣👑
• Rating: 4🌟s

My thoughts:

The Encanto’s Daughter is so vibrant and imaginative. I was instantly drawn into the story.  

I was captivated by the Filipino lore of Encantos, dark witches, and other magical beings and the intriguing similarities and differences to the stories I’m familiar with. The shared threads of stories across cultures always pique my interest, sparking thoughts about the universal foundations of these tales. For instance, this story features a distinct, fae-like realm within our world that you can access through a portal. Despite the characters being called by different names than I am used to, many can be easily related to those found in European lore, fostering a sense of cross-cultural connection.

However, the strikingly unique details offer a new and wondrous world to explore. The world-building is engaging and meticulously crafted. It drew me into its mysteries and the thrills that come with the political intrigue and old promises made.

 While the narrative leaned toward the younger side of YA, despite the characters’ near-adult age, I yearned for a more intense experience. Yet, the story’s compelling nature left me eager to uncover what happens next, eagerly anticipating the release of book two in this series.