I brought a book but unexpectedly they had a bunch on a table in the lobby too. I don't know if they were acquired from secondhand stores or left behind (probably the latter, that's why there were so many romances).  

Midsummer Magic - Catherine Coulter

• Too much marital rape at the beginning of their relationship, not fun to read
• Heroine turned on by horse sex - definitely a WTF moment
• Sequences where heroine dresses down to avoid an arranged marriage (backfiring) were fun
• Sufficient descriptions of regency-era trappings
• 3/5

Honor Bound - Sandra Brown

• Heroine seems fixated on hero's race (Native), hero has similar chip in shoulder
• Effective use of fugitivism to bring protagonists closer together in somewhat-contrived situations
• 2/5

Two Alone - Sandra Brown

• Hero comes off as crotchety old man and not a hunk
• Two guys in the woods killed off just so the protagonists could take warm baths together and cuddle in front of the fire
• Heroine packs lip gloss after plane crash for no good reason (turns out for the best but still)
• 1/5

Crazy Rich Asians - Kevin Kwan

• Would not have enjoyed this if I was not asian.
• Could serve to show more, tell less. One character says, "[she is] a sultry tempestuous beauty. This one is totally different. She has a simpler, more placid beauty." Who talks like that?
• Thought the footnotes were the funniest part because they were so dry.
• 3/5

Tangerine - Christine Mangan

• Author leans heavily on sweaty Tangier environs to create a tense, suffocating atmosphere. It's effective but it would have been better with more details of the Moroccan independence movement woven in rather than just serve as the backdrop to an "end of an era."
• Predictable plot twist where one heroine is actually in love with the other.
• Other heroine is a wet blanket with a terrible internal monologue.
• This will make a great movie adaption with ScarJo because the wet blanket's wet blanket thoughts can be trimmed
• Last few chapters are really, really good - wish the plan had been set in motion a bit earlier.
• A few scenes (including one with bracelet) are chilling
• 3/5

The Secrets You Keep - Kate White

• Poor copyediting - saw "heroine" in place of "heroin"
• Insufferable and incessant internal monologue, even when the heroine is trying to escape a fire in the opening scenes. Should have felt visceral and action packed but was just sluggish instead.
• Just did not care about this unlikable middle-class couple and their paranoia
• The ending - where she realizes that the car crash that killed her coworker was nobody's fault - was supposed to be profound, and show her letting go of her past doubts, but just seemed lazy
• 1/5

The Stranger - Harlan Coben

• Tragic ending, but wish it had not come about because the protagonist spent too long on a wild goose chase, which is the tragedy of it, I suppose
• The members of the "conspiracy" were a letdown
• Mostly gets a high score because of accurate description of teenagers
• 4/5

The Lion of Senet - Jennifer Fallon

• Thought the title of the series (Second Sons Trilogy) was clever
• Enjoy the author's treatment of faith in a fantasy series, with a significant presence of plot-critical atheists - similar theme to the Wolfblade Chronicles which also features an atheistic faction
• Fun political plotting
• Actually brought it with me on vacation which is why I like it so much
• Was pretty much guaranteed to enjoy this one because I'm sure Jennifer Fallon is my favourite author
• 5/5