Kiss, Marry or Kill: 31 (books edition)

I've read a LOT lately, so here are my four-stars, my "best books of the year," and a few popular bestsellers that I really, really hated. (Which one is Daisy Jones?!?)

This is my weekly series for subscribers only, where I’ll share things that caught my eye this week in a fun and flirty way (kiss), a sustainable way (marry), or a not-so-good way (kill). And yes, this trendy game is technically “f***, marry, or kill” but we run a family-friendly-ish show around here.

Kiss (books I liked)

Holly, Stephen King (audio)

CW: Violence against children (implied, not graphic)

First, I listened to all three of the Bill Hodges trilogy before this one, featuring the delightful character Holly Gibney. Actor Will Patton narrated all three, and he was like a warm blanket, a tight hug, a cozy mug of tea. The books were incredible and I felt a strong affinity for the quirky, razor-sharp, probably neurodivergent Gibney.

Holly isn’t in the “marry” category for two reasons. First, while I know King is not shy about sharing his values and political views (which I admire, and I happen to agree with him), I found the COVID narrative throughout the book exhausting. Yes, we all lived through the “vaccinated vs. unvaccinated” battles of 2020 - 2021. No, I don’t need those narratives playing a main character in this story today. I get that it was a big deal as he was writing this book, but it’s the author’s prerogative to rewrite history in a fictional narrative, and I truly wish he had. (Still, it was certainly possible to gloss over that to enjoy the meat of the story.)

Two, he changed narrators for this book. While the new narrator did a fine job, I had three books with Will Patton as Holly in my head, and I just didn’t want the change. (Many reviews liked this new narrator better for a female protagonist, so I may be in the minority.)

That having been said, this story was WILD in the way Stephen King is best known for. (And by that, I mean when I finally figured out what was going on, I muttered a very quiet “what the actual f**” out loud in the car.) The back-and-forth between time periods was very effective, leaving me guessing and hoping until the very end. And Holly herself once again did not disappoint, proving she can more than carry the story on her own. I’d 100% read the next book in the series, if he writes another.