Friday Five - Five Short Reviews For Books I've Read Recently

I'm taking a bit of a break from my usual Friday Linkups to try something a little different.  I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd start making random five lists.  Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much. This week I'm sharing 5 quick reviews for books I've read recently.

 1.  Heiresses: The Lives of the Million Dollar Babies by Laura Thompson - This was book had a far greater scope than I expected.  From the subtitle I expected it be focused on the American Heiresses who married into the British aristocracy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Instead the book starts in the 1600s with a poor young girl named Mary who just happens to have inherited property worth a very large fortune and work up to Barbara Hutton, Doris Duke, and Patty Hearst.  While there were some stories about many of the heiresses mentioned the author focuses on the issues and pitfalls that befall the heiresses in general and the lack of freedom and choice many of the women suffer.  I enjoyed it but it was a bit dryer than I was expecting.  I listened to the audio and while the narrator did an excellent job I think I would have enjoyed this a bit more if I had picked this up in print form as there are many women mentioned (and most of the earlier women are named Mary).  My Rating: Liked It (3 Stars)

2.  The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley - This was my first book by Lucy Foley and while it won't be my last I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it.  All the characters are pretty awful people.  Even Jess who is the most sympathetic isn't someone I would want to be friends with.  While the book is set in Paris the apartment building could pretty much exist anywhere in the world with only a few minor changes (mostly to Sophie's wardrobe).  But as the book went on I became more and more pulled in and by the end I was almost holding my breath to see how it all played out.  The audio was fantastic and the cast of narrators did a fantastic job.  I think I enjoyed it more because I listened to it - I think I would have found it a bit slow if I was reading it.  My Rating: Really Liked It (3.5Stars)

3.  Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney - When I saw the reference to And Then There Were None of course I couldn't resist this book about a dysfunctional family gathered at an island estate in honor of Nana's 80th birthday.  When the family members start dying one by one as predicted by an eerie poem Daisy and the rest of her family must try to survive until the end of the night.  This is one I don't want to say to much about because the less you know going in the better.  I really enjoyed this one from beginning to end and definitely want to read more by this author.  My Rating: Really Liked It! (4 Stars)

4.  The Office BFFs: Tales of the Office From Two Best Friends Who Were There by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey - I'm a big fan of the American version of The Office and I've really enjoyed the podcast that Jenna and Angela did called "The Office Ladies" so of course I couldn't resist getting this book.  It was such fun!  There is some things covered in the book that have already been covered in the podcast but there was so much more.  They talked about learning how to juggle pregnancy and then motherhood as well as how to maintain a friendship when one friend is in a different phase of life from the other.  They talk about the highs and lows of award shows and how each cast member affected the atmosphere of the show overall as well as how the podcast was created.  This is essentially a love letter to the TV show and a friendship combined and was a total delight!  If you are a fan of the show it is not to be missed. My Rating: Really Liked It! (4.5 Stars)

5.  The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell -  I love Lisa Jewell's books and this one was no exception.  As usual it starts off a touch confusing.  There are several different threads that at first seem unrelated but gradually come together more and more.  Libby was an easy character to like from the beginning.  She's responsible and hard working and on her 25th birthday receives a bombshell of a letter that changes everything.  Everyone else is a bit more gray though still compelling and was an interesting mix of reliable and unreliable narrators.  I'm so excited that there is a sequel to this story and while I generally prefer to put some time between reading connected books I was so hooked by this one that I'll be picking that one up as soon as I can.  My Rating: Really Liked It! (4.5 Stars)

What have you read recently?