The Librarian of Auschwitz gives the reader a sense of the dark reality of life- no, survival, as their existence there can’t rightly be called life- in the infamous Nazi camp. The author builds his story around actual events and people, and although it is a dark story, it is also inspirational. 

The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell (✬✬✬)

 The characters looked intriguing and the storytelling device - alternating between two completely different storylines and gradually tying them together - is one that I enjoy. Unfortunately, I found the whole thing rather lackluster. The characters were fine, but I didn’t find myself emotionally invested in them.

My Best Friend's Girl by Dorothy Koomson (✬✬✬✬)

The book is lovely and has so many believable moments. The characters are well fleshed out and there are several moments when I found myself tearing up. The premise is unique, and it ends up becoming a very modern family indeed. 

The Nix by Nathan Hill (✬✬✬)

The Nix was okay. It has some good twists and a fairly good plot. Too many unnecessary characters were expounded on too heavily and there were a lot of irrelevant things brought into the plot that made the novel drag in some parts. The writing is good, but sometimes it became too verbose, so much so that I skipped entire pages to get to something relevant. 

This Must Be the Place by Maggie O'Farrell (✬✬✬✬)

I enjoyed this book a lot. It has excellent writing, interesting characters, and fun locales. It’s a little choppy because of the alternating narrators per chapter, but I think O’Farrell does a masterful job of weaving it all together, and I think her artistic talent/skills worked to make it cohesive.