Have you ever put library books on hold, but your name is so far down the list you forget about it? Then you get that magical email and you’re like, yes! I got that email last week, and being off work it was like winning the lottery (until I realized both books were flops). They didn’t really make my 50 page test- I believe a book should grab you by page 50. After all, how many words is that? The following books surpassed the 50 page mark, but it was a struggle.

The Beautiful Mystery: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel by Louise Penny. I enjoy these novels. This one is of a boy with an active imagination (read: the Boy Who Cried Wolf) who makes a real, startling discovery in the woods outside the village of Three Pines. Doesn’t that sound intriguing? However, I couldn’t make it past page 117. Yes, the beauty of the Three Pines community is there, and the coziness of the B & B, and so is the “crowd” (Gabri, Olivier, Myrna, Reine-Marie, Jean-Guy, Isabelle sitting by the fire in the café); but that was just not enough to keep me reading. Sadly, the main protagonist, Armand Gamache, is retired. I’m not sure if I should insert a moment of silence here or ask Louise Penny what the hell she was thinking? Without Gamache at the center, the plot takes some unexpected turns and loses its voice.

The Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll. This novel is about a twenty something with a glamourous life, who struggles with a private and painful secret. This (I presumed) happened at her prestigious school, and she endured a shocking, public humiliation that left her desperate to reinvent herself. I’m not sure how this ended up on my list, but I made it to page 64. I am sure I only made it that far as I was stuck on a train with no other reading material. Granted, I loved the protagonist coffee bar test, I admit I am known to do that as we all should be treated with dignity. After reading the informational interview scene though, the book just started to go off the rails for me as if the author was trying check off the boxes of a best seller thriller- which turned the book into a flat complete farce.

I am hoping my next library picks will be better. Do you have book rules? Have you put down a book and moved on? Have you read these books and agree and or disagree with me? I admit I want to know the killer in Penny’s novel, but just not enough to read more about big guns and mythical creatures. If you know, email me. Don’t leave it in the comments- we don’t want spoilers.