The Great Escapes, Vol. 1
I love to read — it’s my favorite form of escape. There’s nothing quite so fun for me as getting lost completely in other worlds. When I’m so caught up in the lives of characters who feel like true friends, so captivated by thrilling adventures/mysteries/sagas that I completely lose track of time — that’s the golden moment when all of today’s demands and tomorrow’s incessant whispers of wait, no, there’s more to worry about simply fade away into one single, all-encompassing thought: what’s going to happen next in this book!?
I raise a toast to 2023 and to all of the great escapes, plus one amazing non-fiction book, that I read this year. May 2024 be filled with even more literary odysseys and escapes from reality.
Until next year,
RMH
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
The perfect mystery to cozy up with this winter!
Goodreads summary: Jess needs a fresh start. Her half-brother Ben didn’t sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn’t say no, and surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up, he’s not there. The longer Ben stays missing, the more Jess starts to dig into her brother’s situation, and the more questions she has. Ben’s neighbors are an eclectic bunch, and not particularly friendly. Jess may have come to Paris to escape her past, but it’s starting to look like it’s Ben’s future that’s in question. Everyone’s a neighbor. Everyone’s a suspect. And everyone knows something they’re not telling.
This was the first book I read in 2023 and wow did it set a fantastic tone for the rest of my great escapes this year. The cast of characters that live in Ben’s apartment building are so well-crafted and intriguing, and Jess is super relatable as a main character. She really goes through the wringer in this story and her tenacity and craftiness in her search for her brother were actually super inspiring.
The chapters rotate from character to character — their stories are SO juicy — which keeps you engaged the entire time as you dive deeper into each character’s story, and how they ultimately all intersect. My jaw dropped at the end! Every theory I had about what was going to happen kept getting derailed by new secrets that came to light and plot twists I didn’t see coming. I’m typically not a fan of movie/show adaptations of books (they hardly ever do the book justice — Fight Club is the only exception), but I actually hope this gets made into a movie because the intrigue and character drama would be SO GOOD on the big screen.
10/10 highly recommend.
The Martian by Andy Weir
Goodreads summary: Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?
This book surprised me. I wasn’t sure I was going to like it since books that take place in space aren’t really my forte. I ended up really enjoying this one though! Written mostly from Mark’s POV through his diary entries, this book is extremely engaging and surprisingly funny. Mark has a great sense of humor despite the insane challenges he faces. At times, there were a lot of extremely detailed scientific explanations of what Mark does to try to stay alive on Mars. It lends the book a lot of credibility — this definitely isn’t a cheesy sci-fi romp through space — but since those sections also made absolutely no sense to me, I had to skip over some parts here and there.
Overall, this was a great escape, and while I wouldn’t read this one again, I did thoroughly enjoy it and had a hard time putting it down. The movie for this book was fantastic, by the way. I might have to include this one up there with Fight Club for one of the best book/movie adaptations I’ve seen.
8/10 solidly recommend.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
Goodreads summary: Lara Jean has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.
I had no intention of ever reading this book — it’s not my type, I told myself — but since I desperately needed an escape from wedding planning for a weekend and since my sister left it behind before she moved to France, I thought hey, why not just give it a try. The story is actually pretty adorable, and I ended up binge-reading this in two days. It transported me back to the young lovestruck dreams, petty dramas, and close friendships of high school — in a fun way! I loved Lara Jean’s relationships with her two sisters and the fun/ridiculous/cute drama that ensues when her love letters get leaked (honestly I would’ve died of embarrassment).
The plot moves along pretty quickly, the characters are likable enough, and it’s extremely easy reading. I wouldn’t read this again, and I chose not to read the rest of this series, but I do recommend this if only for a quick, fun, and easy read. The movie on Netflix was pretty well done, but they changed juuuust enough details to annoy me.
6/10 somewhat recommend.
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
Goodreads summary: When everything is lost, it’s our stories that survive. How do we weather the end of things? Cloud Cuckoo Land brings together an unforgettable cast of dreamers and outsiders from past, present and future to offer a vision of survival against all odds.
My favorite chapter title from Cloud Cuckoo Land.
The best books are the ones you think about long after reading them, and this is one of those books for me. I cropped the Goodreads summary for this because I don’t want to give too much of this story away (seriously, just trust me on this). All you need to know is that this book is absolutely breathtaking in scope and in how it beautifully weaves together diverse characters and their stories, hopes, and dreams across time — from Constantinople in 1453 to Idaho in 2020 and a spaceship sometime in the unknown future.
The characters all find refuge in an ancient, mythological story — Cloud Cuckoo Land — that connects them across the centuries, but it’s a mystery as to how that story survives across time and space. When the puzzle pieces finally fell into place, I was floored. Each character and their world is so detailed, so engrossing, that it was difficult at times to move on from one chapter to the next, from one character to another. Honestly though, that’s a great problem to have. Anthony Doerr is an incredible author, and I definitely want to read more of his work. I read one of his other books, All The Light We Cannot See, in 2022 and it’s similarly breathtaking and impactful.
10/10 highly recommend.
Happy Place by Emily Henry
Goodreads summary: A couple who broke up months ago make a pact to pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends.
Happy Place is a super easy beach read, and if you’re into that, then this book is definitely for you. The plot has promise and so does the cast of characters, but it’s all so frustratingly underdeveloped. The characters, despite the bland details we are given about their lives and friendships, ring so hollow that by the end of the book, I felt that I didn’t even know who any of them really were. The story of a couple who broke up but are pretending to be together is oh so predictable and came off quite stale. It was difficult for me to finish this one (but I did so valiantly for book club).
3/10 do not recommend.
A Court of Thorns and Roses Series by Sarah J. Maas
Goodreads summary: Feyre is a huntress. The skin of a wolf would bring enough gold to feed her sisters for a month. But the life of a magical creature comes at a steep price, and Feyre has just killed the wrong wolf ... Follow Feyre's journey into the dangerous, alluring world of the Fae, where she will lose her heart, face her demons and learn what she is truly capable of.
Obsessed with this stunning ACOTAR artwork I bought from Etsy!
I was so skeptical of reading this series. “I don’t read fantasy,” I repeatedly told my sister who nagged me for months on end to read these books and continually insisted I would love them. Sigh. Fine. I relented. My sister and I have similar tastes in books, so this can’t be that bad, right? Well, five months and five books later, my sister’s recommendation was spot on — I don’t just love these books, I’m obsessed with them. The lush world-building, the epic adventure and romance and intrigue, the diverse cast of characters, the challenges they face and how they choose to overcome their fears to conquer them… this is the perfect literary escape and I am all in.
Now, is this the best writing you’ll ever read? Nah. Are there stupid plot points and characters that make absolutely no sense whatsoever and drive me crazy? Yup. But there’s just something about this world, these characters, that’s such an absolute comfort to me.
There’s a moment in the second and hands-down best book in the series, A Court of Mist and Fury, when the main character Feyre is spending her time reading and reflects, “But it had filled my time — given me quiet, steadfast company with those characters, who did not exist and never would, but somehow made me feel less… alone.” That’s been exactly my experience with this ACOTAR series. When I first started reading ACOTAR in July, I had recently moved to San Jose where I had no friends and was struggling with social anxiety more so than ever before in my life. These books became my favorite escape, a welcome distraction, and I’ve actually ended up making friends by reading them (one of the best parts about books is talking about them with others). I don’t re-read books often (there’s so many other books I haven’t read yet!), but I will definitely be re-reading this series to spend more time in this captivating and magical world.
Pro-tip: the first book in the series is widely considered to be one of (if not the) weakest book in the series, so if you’re not a fan of the first book, definitely give the second book a try before you give up on ACOTAR completely. It still surprises me how much I love this book series, and I gotta say… I’m ready for more of the 12+ book Maasverse in 2024. To the stars who listen INDEED.
10/10 HIGHLY recommend
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Goodreads summary: In this exhilarating novel, two friends--often in love, but never lovers--come together as creative partners in the world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality. Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a dazzling and intricately imagined novel that examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love. Yes, it is a love story, but it is not one you have read before.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read. I didn’t know what to expect when I first started reading this book, but I was definitely not prepared for how emotional and touching this story about two childhood friends who reunite to make video games was going to be. Throughout this story, I was a reader in awe at this author’s astounding talent. The main characters Sam, Sadie, and Marx are so incredibly detailed that it truly feels like I know them personally. Even the side characters like Sam’s mom and grandparents and Sam and Sadie’s video game collaborators throughout the book are written with so much care and detail that I feel like I know them too, even though they aren’t in the book as much.
And the scope of this story is just absolutely breathtaking — it follows these three main characters across decades, several different cities, through love and the different types of love we feel for others, grief, jealousy, unimaginable success, heart-aching loss, and the often messy, euphoric, and harsh realities of pursuing a passion. While this book wasn’t so much of an edge of my seat, stay up until 3am reading because I can’t put this down kind of book for me, it was such a joy to return to over and over again. Like Cloud Cuckoo Land, this is a story I’ve thought about long after I’ve read it.
10/10 highly recommend.
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
Goodreads summary: Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once. I'm not trying to be dramatic, but it is the truth. Some of us are good, others are bad, and some just unfortunate. I'm Ernest Cunningham. Call me Ern or Ernie. I wish I'd killed whoever decided our family reunion should be at a ski resort, but it's a little more complicated than that. Have I killed someone? Yes. I have. Who was it? Let's get started.
I mean… just that title alone is enough to draw you in, right!? This book has all the elements of a classic mystery thriller and yet this one was a disappointment for me. The entire narration is from Ernest Cunningham’s POV, and while his brash personality and writing style made for a refreshing narration at first, I got tired of it real quick. Ernest writes “how to” guides for mystery writers as a living, so he is a complete know-it-all about mystery books/stories and loves to remind you of that constantly throughout the book. Since Ernest is recounting this story to you, dear reader, after all the events take place, he’s also super upfront about what happens. In the prologue, he lists out all the chapters where killings occur, so “if you’re just here for the gory details,” as he puts it, you can skip ahead. I don’t like to know what’s going to happen in books ahead of time, no matter how vague the details might be, so the narration style just wasn’t for me.
The Cunninghams are a wildly dysfunctional family, but the actual mystery of what’s brought them all together for a family reunion at an Australian ski resort is … pretty confusing. Pro-tip: if you read this book, read it quickly! So many characters and details from the beginning come back into play, so make sure it’s all fresh in your head. I put this book down about halfway through (probably to finish reading an ACOTAR book, who I am kidding), and when I came back around to this story afterward, I had forgotten way too many details of the story and had to backtrack to remind myself what was going on.
Overall, this read was entertaining enough, but the mystery is too confusing and the narrative style is just a liiiitle too annoying.
6/10 somewhat recommend.
Recursion by Blake Crouch
The trippy cover of Recursion ft. the lights and plant of my cozy corner reading nook. Adorable Reading in Peace sticker is from Etsy!
Goodreads summary: Memory makes reality. That's what NYC cop Barry Sutton is learning, as he investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome—a mysterious affliction that drives its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived. That's what neuroscientist Helena Smith believes. It's why she's dedicated her life to creating a technology that will let us preserve our most precious memories. As Barry searches for the truth, he comes face to face with an opponent more terrifying than any disease—a force that attacks not just our minds, but the very fabric of the past. And as its effects begin to unmake the world as we know it, only he and Helena, working together, will stand a chance at defeating it. But how can they make a stand when reality itself is shifting and crumbling all around them?
Man, this book is a doozy. This book is so smartly written, I just couldn’t keep up with it! The entire book focuses on the premise of time-traveling through our memories — originally discovered due to Helena’s quest to preserve her ailing mother’s memories — and the craziness that ensues when bad actors take advantage of Helena’s innovative memory machine. It’s a truly fascinating premise, and this book raises a lot of questions I find super fun to think about. What if we could transport ourselves back to some particular moment in our past and relive our lives from that moment onward? Would you want to? I keep hearing Gatsby in my head — “‘Can’t repeat the past’? Why of course you can!” What are the implications of doing such a thing? On the more sinister side of things… what would happen if someone revisited their memories for the sole purpose of inflicting chaos upon the world?
Recursion covers all of those questions and more. While the premise of the story is captivating, it was quite difficult for me to follow along at times. The characters time travel a lot in their attempts to avoid world catastrophe due to their memory machine falling into the wrong hands. At any given point during this book, I was completely confused about which timeline the characters were in. Still a fun read, especially for all the riveting questions it raises.
7/10 somewhat recommend.
Midnight Is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead
Goodreads summary: Beware of the dark. You might like what you find... Ruth Collier has always felt like an outsider, even as her father rains fire and brimstone from the church pulpit. But there are things the townspeople fear more than God, like the Low Man, a vampiric figure said to kill sinners in their beds on moonless nights. When a skull is found deep in the swamp, a hunt for the Low Man begins. Suspicion turns to Everett – Ruth's oldest friend, with a dark past. As Ruth and Everett grow closer, Ruth begins to unearth the town's secrets, determined to discover the truth. But as the line between good and evil grows ever thin, how far will Ruth go to save the person she loves most?
I couldn’t put this book down. Like Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, this book was so magnificently written that I truly felt like I was right there with Ruth and Everett in the little backwoods town of Bottom Springs, Louisiana. The narrative, which is from Ruth’s POV, switches back and forth between the past and present-day so seamlessly it’s truly a marvel. Ruth is a meticulously detailed character, and you get to learn lots of juicy details about her upbringing as the only daughter of a religious extremist preacher, her relationship with the dark and mysterious town outcast Everett, and her struggles to forge her own pathway out of Bottom Springs. Add to that the skull and strange markings found in the swamp, the vampiric Low Man, and small-town religious fanaticism, and you’re in for a phenomenal story.
At first, I was afraid this book might be too dark for my taste, what with the swamp murder and pagan mythology and backwoods religious extremism throughout (I get scared really easily, okay!?) But honestly? -whispers- I wish it was darker. This book has all the elements to be a lot scarier, and I’m a bit disappointed that it wasn’t (new genre unlocked??). Despite that, this was a fantastic escape that I couldn’t get enough of. I will most definitely be reading more books by Ashley Winstead going forward!
10/10 highly recommend.
The Empyrean Series (Fourth Wing and Iron Flame) by Rebecca Yarros
I cannot get over how beautiful this book cover is.
Goodreads summary: Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail is ordered to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders. But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them. Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.
A war college for dragon riders — need I say more!? These two books got so much hype online — my Instagram was filled with Fourth Wing and Iron Flame reels and reviews before I even bought the books! — but rightly so. They are really that fun and engaging. And I’m talking can’t put this down stay up until 3am reading kind of fun and engaging.
It’s already badass enough that cadets like the main character Violet enlist in the cutthroat Riders Quadrant at Basgiath War College so they can learn how to ride dragons and fight in their kingdom Navarre’s war against their neighbor Poromiel. But the fact that these cadets are utterly ruthless and can kill each other (!!!!!!!!) at the college to increase their chances of bonding with a dragon!!!! -chef’s kiss- Count. Me. IN.
Similar to the A Court of Thorns and Roses series, the world-building and the characters are so well crafted in Fourth Wing and Iron Flame that I really feel like I’m right there with them at Basgiath — so much so that it’s a struggle for me to put the book down and return to the real world (the tell-tale sign of a truly perfect literary escape). And Violet is just as inspiring to me as Feyre is, since she continually overcomes her fears and challenges in her quest to succeed in the brutal Riders Quadrant.
Love, betrayal, dragons, utter ruthlessness — what more could you ask for in a book? Also… the book covers are just so. beautiful.
10/10 HIGHLY recommend.
Your Finest Hour is Now: Lessons in Leadership by Steve Mattioli
I saved the best for last. Not every book I read is an escape from reality — I do occasionally read non-fiction! and this book is truly one of the best I’ve read (I know, I know, I’m biased). Earlier this year, my dad Steve Mattioli became a published author with his debut book, Your Finest Hour is Now: Lessons in Leadership, in which he shares tons of helpful guidance and practical steps to help you become the impactful leader you were born to be — all based on the lessons he learned throughout his impressive 30+ year leadership career in the U.S. federal government and in the U.S. Marine Corps.
The perfect addition to offices everywhere. Get yours on Amazon!
This book is the essential guide for anyone who wants to become a leader, whether you’ve been a leader for many years now, just stepped into a supervisory role, or are dreaming of doing so someday. Leadership is one of those words that’s always thrown around a lot, yet it often feels like something that’s reserved for the loudest and most extroverted among us. What I love about this book is that my dad makes leadership — and all of its complexities and challenges — so accessible to learn through real-life examples and practical steps to take in various situations you’ll certainly encounter when you lead others. Simply put, this book is for everyone, and I can’t recommend it enough! I learned so much from this book, and I will definitely be re-reading it in 2024 to continue improving myself and becoming the leader that I want to be.
I first read this book back in 2021-22 when my dad asked me to read through and edit the draft he’d spent years writing. It was the honor of my life to work with my dad on his book. We spent countless afternoons and evenings sitting together at our dining room table reviewing my edits, going back and forth on sentence semantics, brainstorming titles. Seeing my dad’s dedication to his dream, his tireless work on this book for over five years, his constant desire to learn new things and share his wisdom with others — it’s all been so incredibly inspiring. I am so proud of my dad, and I am so blessed to have parents who inspire me to dream big and make those dreams a reality.
Get your copy on Amazon today, and check out my dad’s website www.MattioliSolutions.com for more leadership resources and video courses to help you become a better, more confident leader!
10/10 HIGHLY recommend