Tips for Tuesday - Books: Ex Marks the Spot & The Business Trip; Movie: Audrey

We may have been given complimentary copies and/or access for review purposes to any books, products, and/or any other visual or audio media mentioned below. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.

Books: Ex Marks the Spot & The Business Trip 

Today we are recommending Ex Marks the Spot by Gloria Chao. Gemma learns that the grandfather she never knew has died and receives the first clue to a treasure hunt that allegedly will lead to her inheritance. She is forced to join forces with her current rival and former boyfriend, Xander, whose family she learns has a mysterious connection to her own, and travel to Tawain to solve a series of puzzles and complete the hunt.

While it is common to compare books that are barely similar as an attempt to hook the readers of that other book, this book does bear some similarities to Jennifer Lynn Barne's The Inheritance Games to which it has been compared. They both involve solving puzzles as an important part of their plots. In this case, a small series of puzzles build upon one another ultimately leading to the resolution of an important part of the story. Although these are not puzzles the reader can solve especially without knowledge of the Tawainese language and culture, they keep the story intriguing and interesting. You do not need any specific knowledge of these things to enjoy the book and you can learn quite a lot about them and the country of Tawain itself through reading it. Thus, the book is like a Tawainese travelogue which is one of the nicest things about it. If you are looking for that, you will really enjoy this book.

If you are more interested in the romance, you may be disappointed. Gemma and Xander are a cute couple but remain antagonists throughout most of the book only becoming a romantic couple fairly late in the story. There are some nice nonromantic relationships in the book, however.  Gemma develops some heartwarming friendships with the other members of their travel group. Plus, it is touching how her relationship with her mother grows and changes throughout the story, particularly in the end.

Today we are recommending The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia. Two women travel on the same plane but they couldn't be more different. Stephanie is a successful businesswoman heading to a conference. Jasmine is fleeing an abusive boyfriend. Within days, their friends begin receiving strange messages from them regarding the same man. 

This is an exciting and original story that moves along quickly. Constant changes in narrative voice rather than being confusing enhance the story by allowing the readers to see things from different points of view. It also ramps up the tension and makes the book even more exciting. 

The intensity is ratcheted up even more in the later part of the book when you learn who did what and why. At this point of the story, the author switches solely to narration by the antagonist providing a unique and interesting perspective. Plus, there are still more exciting twists and revelations yet to come. 

Disappointingly. one major part of the conclusion to the mystery is somewhat hokey and unrealistic and feels like something out of a soap opera. Plus, the very last part of the book seems unnecessary. Despite these things, this is still a fun and engaging read.

Movie: Audrey

Today we are talking about Audrey. This is the story of a spoiled girl whose family's lives get better when she falls into a coma. This is an extremely dark comedy, and it is very difficult to enjoy because all of the characters are selfish jerks so it's impossible to like or root for any of them. There is also plenty of vulgarity, sexual situations, nudity, and other things that many people are likely to find disturbing or offensive. However, if you don't mind these things and you enjoy a film where the characters mostly just take advantage of each other, you may enjoy it.

Audrey will be screening at the Palm Springs Festival this week and will be generally released sometime in March.

And that's our view. Tune in tomorrow for Where-To-Go Wednesday.

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