I hope everyone is staying healthy and safe during this global health pandemic. These are some crazy scary times that we are currently facing. My reading has definitely increased with all of this time at home. I’ve been reading books off of my own shelf and even reading on my kindle, which I rarely do. When you’re desperate for books, you go to drastic measures! As usual, I’m sharing this post with Steph and Jana’s Show Us Your Books link up. Here are my March reads:
3 stars
Brave Girl, Quiet Girl by Catherine Ryan Hyde (ARC c/o Netgalley) – Brooke is driving her car when it gets hijacked with her two year-old daughter, Etta still in it. Etta is found by Molly, a teenager who has been living for months on the streets of L.A. Molly protects Etta and helps to reunite her with Brooke, which helps create a unique relationship between the three of them. This was my first Hyde book and I didn’t realize that she was such a prolific writer. This was just an okay read for me but I’m open to giving some of her other books a try.
Her Daughter’s Mother by Daniela Petrova – Lana wants to have a baby and after many failed attempts and miscarriages, resorts to an egg donor with her partner, Tyler. He tries to help fulfill Lana’s request to have a donor of Bulgarian descent. Katya is a college student who Lana meets by chance, and the two end up becoming friends. When Katya unexpectedly disappears, Lana ends up digging into Katya’s past and discovers the secrets she’s been keeping. This was my book club read for the month (even though we didn’t end up having book club). I’ve been trying to avoid reading too many suspense/thriller books because they’ve all been pretty disappointing recently. I was not a fan of this book. All of the characters were so unlikable and I didn’t find the story line very interesting.
Lying Next to Me by Gregg Olsen – Adam and Sophie Warner are vacationing with their three year-old daughter when Adam sees his wife being abducted. Kristen and Connor are staying in a cabin next door to the Adam and Sophie. As Detective Lee Husemann investigates the case, she finds that the couples have a history and that secrets are being kept from her. This was just another okay suspense read for me.
Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson – Amy Whey is married with an infant son and a stepdaughter. She helps run the neighborhood book club with her best friend Charlotte. But one, night, a new neighbor shows up. “Roux” gets the women liquored up and starts a game of Never Have I Ever, getting them to reveal their secrets. While Amy doesn’t reveal anything, it appears that Roux knows secrets from her past and blackmails her. Amy can’t afford to lose the life she loves, so she has to beat Roux at her own game. While this book did have lots of plot twists and surprises, it was just unbelievable on so many levels. Of course this didn’t keep me from finishing it, because I had to see how it would end.
4 stars
Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner – This book follows Jo and Bethie Kaufman, from children in the 1950’s to present day adults. It shows how their past experiences have shaped them into who they are, tackling complex themes in a very readable way. I’ve only read a couple of Weiner’s books and they were read years ago, so I wasn’t sure that I wanted to read this one. But after seeing a lot of positive reviews, I gave it a try and I’m glad that I did. I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would.
Super Attractor by Gabrielle Bernstein – This book is a guide to manifesting and becoming a super attractor (living in alignment with the universe). It will definitely be a little “woo-woo” for some people, but I found it pretty interesting.
Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center – Cassie Hanwell is one of the only female fire fighters in the Texas firehouse that she has been working at all of her career. Cassie’s estranged mom invites her to Boston for one year, to assist her after a medical procedure. She ends up finding a job at a traditional all male firehouse. Not only does Cassie have to adjust to her new job, but she also needs to work on her relationship with a mother that she doesn’t really know. I’ve only read a couple of Center’s books, but I’ve enjoyed them all, including this one.
Tweet Cute by Emma Lord – Pepper is a high school student, captain of the swim team and runs the twitter account for Big League Burger, the fast-food chain that her family owns. Jack is her classmate and the class clown, who works at his family’s deli. The two become involved in a Twitter war when Big League Burger steals a recipe from his family’s deli. This is a YA book that reads like a YA book. It’s a contemporary, light, fun read.
What You Wish For by Katherine Center (ARC c/o Netgalley) – Samantha Casey is a librarian at an elementary school in Texas. The principal of the school unexpectedly passes away and his replacement is Duncan Carpenter. Samantha used to teach with the goofy, fun teacher before moving to Texas, and might have had an unrequited crush on him. But now, he’s a very serious person and making changes to the school that Samantha and her colleagues are not on board with. She becomes the one to stand up to him in hopes of saving the school that everyone loves. This book is expected to be published in July. Two Katherine Center books read in one month! Like Things You Save in a Fire, I enjoyed this book a lot!
I loved What You Wish For and have had Things You Save in a Fire on my tbr for a while, so I’m definitely going to push it up to read sooner rather than later now. Tweet Cute sounds really cute (lol), I’ve been on the hunt for more YA.
Yes, definitely give Katherine Center a try. Her books are great!
Nice reading month! Tweet Cute seems like a good one for reading by the pool this summer. 🙂
-lauren
Yes, Tweet Cute is a light, teen read!
Haha, I was the opposite with reading last month- more time, but less desire. Glad to hear it swung the other way for you! I’ve only read one Katherine Center book (How To Walk Away), but these are both on my TBR! I haven’t read a Jennifer Weiner book in forever… may be time to find my way back to her!
I hadn’t read a Jennifer Weiner book in forever either, but Mrs. Everything was really good! I highly recommend checking out Katherine Center!
Good reading month – can’t go wrong with multiple Katherine Center reads! I can’t wait to get to What You Wish For. Mrs. Everything has been sitting on my bookshelf for more than a year now, need to get to it!
Karly
https://www.whatkarlysaid.com
Yes, it was a great reading month! Hope you enjoy What You Wish For and Mrs. Everything!
Never Have I Ever was super unbelievable but was an absolute page-turner. I remember reading it in an airport and could. not. put. it. down.
Yes, had to find out how it would end, but very unbelievable.
I’ve been reading a lot of Kindle books too because that’s about my only option at this point! LOL. I’m glad I am though because I’ve found some really great ones that have just been sitting on there waiting for me.
I’ve been borrowing some kindle books off Overdrive with my library card and trying to read books off my own shelf!
I have those two Katherine Center books and Tweet Cute on my TBR list. 🙂
Hope you enjoy them!
I cannot wait for What You Wish For to arrive one day! Glad you liked it.
Hope you enjoy it!
Mrs. Everything was one of my top reads of last year.
I have the Katherine Center to read, I am not sure if I want to read it now or save it until closer to pub.
Mrs. Everything was a great read. Hope you enjoy the Center book.
i think i felt the exact same about the joshilyn jackson book. mrs everything is on my list! i loved the jennifer weiner of old back in the day but haven’t read anything of hers in years. i’ve heard that one is quite different, which is fine because my tastes have changed too lol.
yay katherine center! love her.
I enjoyed Mrs. Everything a lot more than some of Weiner’s older books.
I’m definitely a Katherine Center fan, and I’m also a big fan of Catherine Ryan Hyde so I now have her new book as well.
Mrs. Everything was excellent
I have to check out more of Ryan Hyde since this was my first book of hers.
Thrillers/mysteries are my go-to genre but I have found more and more of them to be so-so lately. And I don’t know if it’s me (like I’m in a rut because I’ve read too many so they’ve inadvertently become too predictable) or they’re really just so-so. 😀 I did read one book more than last month but I easily could have read a lot more. I just wasn’t able to focus. Hopefully this month I will because it did help settle me once I started reading.
Yes, I have not been into the thriller/mysteries recently. I agree they are predictable and a lot are just so unrealistic/unbelievable.
Hellloooo!!! I like the simple, yet strong header for your blog. (I’m noticing these things since I’ve been away for a while.)
The only Catherine Ryan Hyde book I’ve read is Take Me with You, and it was excellent. I’ve intended to read more.
I’ve yet to jump on the Katherine Center train, but this link-up is convincing me that I need to do it.
Added Mrs. Everything to my tbr.
Oh yes, join the Katherine Center train! I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!
I just got on the library waiting list for my first Katherine Center book. I think it’s the Things You Save in a Fire on. Great list and good input – thanks!
Hope you enjoy Things You Save in a Fire!
I’m a fan of the woo-woo and Super Attractor is on my TBR, so I’m glad to hear you liked it! I just downloaded a Katherine Center novel that was a Kindle deal, I can’t remember now which one–I think it was Things You Save in a Fire–but I’m looking forward to reading it!
I haven’t been disappointed with a Katherine Center book yet!
I have a few Katherine Center books to catch up on this month. Seems like she’s the right fit for these times!
I love Katherine Center. Never Have I Ever has been on my list for awhile.
Adding What You Wish For to my TBR! It sounds like something I will love!
My March reads are linked in my name, if interested!