February Book Club Reviews

Betting on You by Lynn Painter

When seventeen-year-old Bailey starts a new job at a hotel waterpark, she is less than thrilled to see an old acquaintance is one of her coworkers. Bailey met Charlie a year ago on the long flight to Omaha, where she moved after her parents’ divorce. Charlie’s cynicism didn’t mix well with Bailey’s carefully well-behaved temperament, and his endless commentary was the irritating cherry on top of an already emotionally fraught trip.

Now, Bailey and Charlie are still polar opposites, but instead of everything about him rubbing Bailey the wrong way, she starts to look forward to hanging out and gossiping about the waterpark guests and their coworkers—particularly two who keep flirting with each other. Bailey and Charlie make a bet on whether or not the cozy pair will actually get together. Charlie insists that members of the opposite sex can’t just be friends, and Bailey is determined to prove him wrong. 

Bailey and Charlie keep close track of the romantic progress of others while Charlie works to deflect the growing feelings he’s developed for Bailey. Terrified to lose her if his crush becomes known, what doesn’t help his agenda is Bailey and Charlie “fake dating” in order to disrupt the annoying pleasantries between Bailey’s mom and her mom’s new boyfriend. Soon, what Charlie was hoping to avoid becomes a reality as Bailey starts to see him as not only a friend she can rely on in the midst of family drama—but someone who makes her hands shake and heart race. But Charlie has a secret—a secret that involves Bailey and another bet Charlie may have made. Can the two make a real go of things…or has Charlie’s secret doomed them before they could start?

This is by far one of my favorite books I have ever read! I’ve never been into romance, so I took a risk by reading Betting on You, but I immediately fell in love with the book and Lynn Painter’s writing style. I was only five pages in and already in love with this book, borderline kicking my feet and giggling.

The story follows Bailey as she navigates life after her parent’s divorce, and she feels like no one understands what she is going through until she meets Charlie. Even after three years of randomly running into each other, the two teens always somehow find themselves reuniting as if fate was pushing them together. They had a not-so-cute meet that was actually incredibly cute because it really showed their personalities and how they grew to love each other.

I think many girls can find themselves relating to Bailey. She wants nothing more than to feel seen. She doesn’t have high expectations for a guy but secretly hopes he will go on reading dates with her and act out the scenes, and she’s a Swifty. Bailey had a lot of little character quirks that were cute but incredibly realistic. She was also written as an overthinker, which can often be hard to write well, but Lynn Painter nailed it! I also liked that Bailey did not cause a lot of drama. In romance books, authors often make the protagonists the root of everyone’s problems, but that wasn’t the case for Bailey; at times, she was uptight, but overall, she was pretty laid back as a character.

Charlie is almost the complete opposite of Bailey in almost every way! Aside from his impeccable taste in music, he was also a walking green flag. His relationship with Bailey was adorable. His cocky and sarcastic personality was one of my favorite parts about him. Charlie’s quick wit and humor entertained me throughout the book, especially when he was antagonizing Bailey. I like that Lynn Painter gave Charlie multiple levels and eventually revealed his insecurities that he was working through instead of keeping them bottled up. Honestly, I would say that Charlie is on my list of top 10 book boyfriends.

Don’t even get me started on Charlie and Bailey’s relationship! They had so many cute scenes together that I think I had a permanent smile etched on my face while reading. I can’t even name a favorite scene between the two because there are so many. I loved how protective Charlie was over Bailey. He was willing to drop anything simply because Bailey needed him, no questions asked. He doesn’t often express his feelings toward Bailey, but his actions throughout the book speak louder than words, and it is clear by the end of the book that Bailey and Charlie are in love with each other.

There wasn’t much I disliked about Betting on You except for the ending and the amount of language. Considering the book was 400+, I think Lynn Painter could have slowed down the ending instead of magically fixing all of the problems in the last 20 pages. Also, I felt like there was an excessive amount of language. I usually don’t mind language because I don’t pay attention to it, but at times it felt like there was cursing in every sentence, and I didn’t see the need. Despite these things, I still really enjoyed Betting on You, and I gave it five stars. I can’t wait to check out more of Lynn Painter’s books!

The Fury by Alex Michaelides

This is a tale of murder.

Or maybe that’s not quite true. At its heart, it’s a love story, isn’t it?

Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex–movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather and spend Easter on her idyllic private Greek island.

I tell you this because you may think you know this story. You probably read about it at the time ― it caused a real stir in the tabloids, if you remember. It had all the necessary ingredients for a press a celebrity; a private island cut off by the wind…and a murder.

We found ourselves trapped there overnight. Our old friendships concealed hatred and a desire for revenge. What followed was a game of cat and mouse ― a battle of wits, full of twists and turns, building to an unforgettable climax. The night ended in violence and death, as one of us was found murdered.

But who am I?

My name is Elliot Chase, and I’m going to tell you a story unlike any you’ve ever heard.

I found this book quite fascinating. I had never read an Alex Michaelides book in the past, but I think it was a great book to start off with because it wasn't too intense. It had a slow start, but it grabbed my attention immediately. From the beginning of the book, it was revealed that a murder takes place on a Greek island, which left me constantly guessing who the murderer was as Elliot Chase, the narrator, introduced new characters.

The entire plot is told from the narrator's point of view, and I've never read such a beautifully written narration. It was almost poetic, and I couldn't get enough of Elliot Chase's narration. While Elliot seems to be a reliable narrator, it is revealed that he slightly embellished the story and that everyone is an unreliable narrator of their lives, which was really the push I needed to fall in love with this book.

I also loved the way all of the characters were portrayed. No two characters were similar. Each character was described uniquely, making you automatically hate some characters and fall in love with others. Elliot's narration revealed traits subtly woven into the story without information dumping for each character. The characters had a seemingly strong bond, but Alex Michaelides's writing slowly peeled away the friendship's layers as the story revealed hidden secrets, unsettled resentments, and frustrations that can only end in murder. The story began as a melodramatic thriller that evolved into a Greek tragedy laced with psychological games, hidden romances, and heart-stopping plot twists.

Whenever I thought I had everything figured out, Alex Michaelides threw another plot twist in my face, leaving me reeling to figure out the truth. And while I enjoyed all of the plot twists, The Fury was drawn out. If you are a reader who likes a book that gets straight to the point, The Fury is not your book. Regardless, I think the filler was important and entertaining and distracted me from figuring out who the murderer was. My last issue is that numerous people have told me that the epilogue of The Fury contains a major spoiler to Alex Michaelides' previous book, the Silent Patient. If you are interested in The Silent Patient, I would recommend reading The Silent Patient first and then reading The Fury. However, The Fury's epilogue is irrelevant to the story, so it will not cause confusion if you skip it to avoid spoilers for The Silent Patient.

Overall, The Fury was an excellent book that kept me entertained, and I will definitely be exploring Alex Michaelides' other books.

Written by Carlie Renee