books

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It’s time once again to link up with Steph and Jana’s monthly Show Us Your Books linkup.  Summer is flying by and I’ve been trying to read up a storm.  I read a good mix of books this month including three non-fiction books and variety of fiction.  And I’m happy to report that the majority of them were enjoyable reads!  Here are my July reads:

3 stars

Bachelor Nation by Amy Kaufman – I have recently become a big fan of The Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise.  If you are a fan of the show, do not read this book!  This book will ruin the show for you.  While it’s nice to know the truth behind the show, I’ve become jaded by the info I learned.  I will continue to watch the show, but unfortunately, not with the same enthusiasm that I had.

Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris – I really enjoyed Behind Closed Doors and The Breakdown.  However, I found this book to be a bit disappointing.  I found several of the plot lines unbelievable and didn’t really like any of the characters.  Fans of B.A. Paris may want to give this book a try.  Otherwise, I don’t recommend it.

The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking – I’m late to the hygge (hue-guh) game and only finally got to this book now.  I feel like I picked the wrong season to read this book.  Hygge is all about coziness (think warm sweaters, candles, stews, etc.).  I thought this book was okay, describing all things hygge and how to live a life of hygge.  This was one of three non-fiction books I read this month.

4 stars

Everything Here is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee – Two sisters struggle as one sister, Lucia has a mental illness.  Older sister Miranda feels responsible for taking care of and watching Lucia. But as an adult, Lucia is able to live her own life.  This book was a good look at how mental illness affects a family.

How To Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake – This was a decent YA book.  There are a couple of story lines going on in this book – one with Grace dealing with a mother who acts more like a child and the other with Grace falling in love with a girl.  This book has gotten a lot of positive reviews in the LGBT community, as I know this was the first YA book that I’ve read with a bisexual character.  I really disliked Grace’s mom and it’s hard to believe that there are really parents like her out there.

In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park – Park was born in North Korea and fled the country at age 13. She eventually made it to South Korea and this book is the story of her escape.  I found this book to be so insightful.  I’ve heard about how bad North Korea is, but didn’t realize how bad it was, until reading this.  Park’s story is so inspirational after all of the horrific events she survived.

Killman Creek by Rachel Caine – This is the second book in the Stillhouse Lake series.  You do need to read the first book in the series, Stillhouse Lake, before reading this one.  I found it just as suspenseful as the first.  The third book won’t be released until March of 2019, but I will be reading it to see where the series goes!

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell –  Ellie Mack disappears at 15.  Her mother Laurel meets a man at a local cafe and the two start a romance.  But when Laurel meets his 9-year-old daughter Poppy, who shares a strange resemblance to her missing daughter, she starts wondering what really happened to her daughter.  I had taken a break from suspense books for a bit, since I was finding them to be so formulaic and predictable.  This book was actually a decent read and a nice reentry to the genre.

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Working full-time now, I’m happy that I’ve still been able to get in some quality reading time.  March was a good month in terms of quantity, but was mostly a book of just okay reads.  Read on to see my March 2018 reads.  As always, I’m linking up with Jana and Steph’s Show Us Your Books linkup and will be adding tons of books to my to-read list!

3 stars:

Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan –  James, an important political figure, is accused of a crime.  No one, especially his wife Sophie believes that he is guilty.  Kate is the barrister prosecuting the case and is sure that James has committed the crime and will do everything to prove it. This was just an okay suspense book.  I almost gave up on the book but was curious to find out what they big mystery was.

The Silent Wife by Kerry Fisher – Lara and Maggie are married to brothers, Massimo and Nico.  Although Lara’s life looks perfect: a son, a nice house, being able to be a stay-at-home mom, it’s not.  She hides a dark secret from everyone.  Maggie is the new stepmom to teenage Francesca, who still hasn’t gotten over her mother’s death two years ago.  Maggie attempts to create a new life for herself, despite the rumors of being a “gold-digger.”  While cleaning out the attic she discovers a secret about Nico’s first wife Caitlin and has to decide whether to tell him or not.  While they don’t appear to have anything in common, Lara and Maggie begin to help each other navigate the family dynamics.  This book explores family relationships and the struggles of being the second wife.  I haven’t read any of Fisher’s previous books and wasn’t the biggest fan of this book to want to read more.

Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella – Already married for ten years, Sylvie and Dance discover that they may have 68 more years of married life together.  They agree that they need to bring surprises into their marriage.  This leads to secrets being revealed and both questioning if they really know each other.  I haven’t read a Kinsella book in awhile and this book didn’t really impress me.

T is for Transformation by Shaun T – Shaun T is the creator of the Insanity and Focus T25 workouts, neither of which I’ve done.  In this book Shaun writes about 7 transformational principles that guide his life and have helped lead him to success.  This was my only non-fiction book of the month.  His story is inspiring and I enjoyed all of his “truth bombs.”

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn – Anna Fox lives alone in NYC.  She hasn’t left her house in months and spends her days watching all of her neighbors.  When the Russells move in across the street, Anna sees something that she shouldn’t.  However, with all of the pills that she takes along with all of the alcohol, did it really happen or did she just imagine it?  This book moved a bit slow up until the middle and I was so tired of reading about all the pill taking and drinking.  The second half of the book turned into a page-turner and I didn’t see the ending.  There was so much hype about this book that I was excited to read it, but overall, I was a bit disappointed.

A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle – I read this book with my son when we heard it was being made into a movie.  I had not previously read this book and didn’t really know what the book was about.  It involves time and space travel which isn’t really my thing.  I didn’t realize that this is the first book in a six book series and I don’t really have a desire to continue the series.  We did go see the movie opening weekend and although it had a great cast, it differed a lot from the book and overall I wasn’t impressed.

4 stars:

Before We Were Strangers by Renee Carlino – Matt and Grace met their senior year of college.  What starts as a friendship ends up becoming more serious.  But then they graduate and lose touch.  15 years later, and Matt spots Grace on the subway, just as it’s pulling away from the platform.  Will they be able to reconnect?  This is a contemporary romance that was a great read.  I was a fan of Carlino’s Swear on This Life and want to read more of her other books.

Still Me by Jojo Moyes – This is the third book in the Me Before You series.  Louisa is living in New York City, hired to be an assistant to the very wealthy Agnes Gopnik.  Louisa is trying to adjust to life in the city, a long distance relationship and her new job.  This was a humorous and heart-warming read and I enjoyed reading more of Louisa’s story.

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The second Tuesday of the month means that it’s time to join Steph and Jana’s monthly Show Us Your Books linkup.  Each month many other book lovers share the books that they read the previous month and their review.  This is a great way to get new book recommendations…..and my to-read list grows significantly!  You will be seeing more non-fiction books this year in my monthly reviews, as one of my goals this year is to read at least one non-fiction book a month.  I had a pretty good reading month in January in terms of quantity. However, quality-wise, a lot of my reads were just okay.  Here are my January 2018 reads in order of least to most liked.

3 Stars

I Am Watching You by Teresa Driscoll – While on a train, Ella Longfield overhears two young men just out of prison, chatting with two teenage girls.  She later discovers that one of the girls, Anna Ballard, is missing.  A year later Anna is still missing and Ella is receiving threatening letters.  During an anniversary appeal, new evidence comes in and it appears everyone has been keeping secrets.  This book is told through the perspectives of Ella (the Witness), Henry (Anna’s father), Sarah (Anna’s friend) and Matthew (the private investigator).  Overall, it was just an okay suspense read for me.

Close to Me by Amanda Reynolds – Jo Harding falls down the stairs in her home, hitting her head.  She now suffers from partial amnesia and cannot remember anything that happened from the last year of her life.  As she starts to piece together the details of her life before the accident, she realizes that everyone has been keeping secrets, including her two children.  The story is told in alternating before the fall/after the fall chapters.  I found this book to be too drawn out and the characters, especially the daughter, to be annoying.

Little Broken Things by Nicole Baart – Sisters Quinn and Nora haven’t seen each other in almost a year.  When Quinn receives a text from Nora that says I have something for you she is not expecting a little girl. Soon, their mother also gets involved in this little girl’s life and all the mystery that surrounds her appearance.  This book is allegedly a “suspense/thriller.” As a huge fan of this genre, I was so disappointed with this book.  This was more of a family drama that moved way too slowly for my liking.

Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequest –  The premise of this book drew me in, “leaving behind frantic for a simpler, more soulful way of living.” I had also seen and read a lot of positive reviews of this book.  Unfortunately, I found this book to me more a memoir of Niequest’s quest for a more simple and soulful way of living, rather than giving the reader ideas.  It was also a little more religious than I would have liked.

4 Stars

The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman – I had heard the five different love languages (words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service and physical touch) referred to many times, but never read the book until now.  I find the concept of having different love languages interesting and valid.  There’s a quiz in this book if you are unsure of what your love language is.

Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills –  Paige and Iris break up and Claudia ends up overhearing the entire thing. Iris isn’t the friendliest of girls and unfortunately for Claudia, the two end up being partnered together to write a paper.  They are then are forced to audition for the school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream where Claudia is exposed to a whole new world of teenage life.  This was a cute and fun YA read that shows the ups and downs of adolescence and adapting to change.  I could have done without all the references to Battle Quest, a multi-player

Fragments of the Lost by Megan Miranda – Jessa’s recent ex-boyfriend Caleb is dead and she feels like everyone blames her.  So when his mom asks her to help box up his things, she says yes.  As she does, she discovers things and learns more about him that make her question their relationship and whether she really knew him.  I’ve read one other of Miranda’s books, The Perfect Stranger, but enjoyed this book a lot more. Although this YA mystery book was slow at times, it picked up mid-way and turned into a page-turner.

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan – My son and I had been reading this book together for almost 2 1/2 months and finally finished last month.  This is the first book in The Heroes of Olympus series, a spin-off of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.  In this book, Jason, Leo and Piper are brought together on a quest to save Hera from Gaea’s potential awakening.  The book is told from the various points of view of the three main characters.  This was my first Riordan book and I can see why so many tweens love his books.  He sucks the reader in and his books are filled with humor and adventure.

5 Stars

The Mother’s Promise by Sally Hepworth – Mother and daughter, Alice and Zoe, have always been a pair. But then Alice is diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer. She has no family to help her after her surgery and during her chemo treatments. Her teenage daughter Zoe suffers from severe social anxiety.  Kate, one of Alice’s nurses and Sonya, her social worker are both dealing with their own personal issues, but they both help Alice and Zoe. I am not very familiar with anxiety and reading about Zoe’s anxiety issues made me feel anxious.  I cannot imagine how difficult life must be for people living with the severe anxiety that she had.  Beware, this book is an emotional tear-jerker of a read, but so good!  I read one of her previous books, The Things We Keep and really enjoyed it. I plan on reading The Secret of Midwives soon and her soon-to-be released book, The Family Next Door.

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It’s the second Tuesday of the month and time to share my December 2017 reads in Steph and Jana’s monthly Show Us Your Books linkup.  December was a good reading month for me.  I only read seven books but all except one were four or five stars.  January has gotten off to a good reading start, so I hope to continue the trend!

3 Stars

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood – I had always thought that this was a historical fiction book that I wouldn’t be interested in.  Then, a friend told me about how good the show was on Hulu.  I’m all about reading the book before I see the movie or show, so I had to read it. In a dystopian future, where births are declining,  Offred and the other Handmaids have one job – to become pregnant.  The book delves into Offred’s past in random flashbacks.  I have to say overall the book has an interesting premise.  However, I felt like there was too much unanswered that left me unsatisfied as a reader.  I am curious to see the show now though!

4 Stars

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate –  This book has two consecutive story lines taking place as you read.  There’s present day South Carolina where Avery Stafford, raised in wealth and privilege discovers information about her grandmother that sends her digging into the family’s past.  Then there’s 1939 Memphis, Tennessee, where 12-year-old Rill Foss’ family is torn apart when she and her siblings are taken to the Tennessee Children’s Home Society Orphanage.  I had no idea what this book was about before I started reading, just that it was the winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for Historical Fiction.  And I like a good historical fiction book.  It was more horrifying to learn that this book is based on actual events that I had no idea about.

The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter – Two sisters, Charlotte and Samantha, are brutally attacked and one is left for dead.  This is after they witness the intruders shoot and kill their mother.  Twenty-eight years later, the sisters barely speak, living separate lives.  Charlotte is witness to a school violence incident that rattles her enough for her husband to call Samantha to come.  I am fairly new to Karin Slaughter.  While I don’t want to start either of her series, I did read Pretty Girls and enjoyed it.  Although this one had a slow start for me, about half-way through I couldn’t put it down.

Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak – The Birch family is spending Christmas in quarantine Emma and Andrew’s oldest daughter Olivia is returning after helping to treat a Haag (ebola-like) epidemic in Liberia.  Younger sister Phoebe has just become engaged. The family of four, have not been together in years and are not used to the close proximity.  Each of them is harboring a secret that of course ends up coming out during the seven days of quarantine.  The book is told from alternating points of view, in short chapters.  Overall, I found this to be an engaging, family drama read.

This Is Not a Love Letter by Kim Purcell – (c/o netgalley)  Jessie wants a one week break from her boyfriend Chris.  The he ends up vanishing.  Since they started dating, Chris has written her a love letter every week.  This book is a note that she writes to him as she tries to find him.  We get a history of their relationship and discover why she wanted the break.  There’s some racial issues (she’s Caucasian, Chris is African-American) and mental illness issues addressed (hoarding, depression). This was a decent YA read, but a bit heavy.  I just wish that more time was spent addressing some of the serious issues touched upon (don’t want to go into more detail and reveal spoilers!).

Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand –  Every year in December I try to read a couple of holiday-themed reads.  I’ve heard such good things about the Winter series.  This is the first book, and is about a bed and breakfast that shares the name of the title of the book.  Right before Christmas, Kelley Quinn, owner of Winter Street, discovers that his wife Mitzi is having an affair.  His four grown children are all dealing with their own issues.  They all end up together on Christmas, which is of course filled with drama.  Despite the drama, this is a heart-warming holiday read that leaves off unfinished.  Luckily, I know that this book is part of a series and the story continues. But if I had read this when it first came out I’d be unsatisfied with the ending.

5 Stars

Dear Martin by Nic Stone – Justyce McAllister is arrested by a white cop when helping his drunk girlfriend.  After experiencing this racial injustice, he turns to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for some answers.  He tries to live like Dr. King would and writes him letters.  But when Justyce and his best friend Manny end up involved in a shooting, he doesn’t know if he can live like Martin.  Fans of The Hate U Give will most likely enjoy this book.  It touches upon the same powerful issues of police brutality, racial profiling and racism that is too prevalent in today’s society.

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If you are looking for some new books to read, today’s post is for you.  I’m sharing my best books of 2017 with Steph and Jana’s Show Us Your Books linkup.  I’m always looking for book recommendations and I can’t wait to add tons of books to my goodreads “want to read” list after checking out everyone’s posts! According to Goodreads, I read 89 books this year, but I may get in one more read before the 31st.  These are my five star reads of the year. I’ve listed them in alphabetical order.  If you’re a regular reader of my monthly book reviews, you know that my favorite genre is suspense/thrillers.  However, I’m not sure I’ve ever read a 5 star book in this genre.  I don’t give many 5 star ratings.  The books that I give 5 stars to have to make me think, make me feel, and/or make me cry.  I have less than 10 books here, that I consider my best books of 2017.

Beartown by Fredrik Backman – I think readers either love or hate this book.  I am definitely a lover.  This was the first Backman book I read.  I had heard others rave about it but was hesitant since it’s about hockey.  I’m not a huge hockey fan and didn’t think I’d love a book about it.  But it’s so much more than hockey.  Backman is a great storyteller. The only other book I’ve read of his so far is A Man Called Ove, which I enjoyed.  I plan to read more of his books next year.

Dear Martin by Nic Stone – This was one of the last books that I read this month.  While it has a similar story line to The Hate U Give (see below), it was still a well-written, emotional and powerful read.  Authors tend to write about relevant topics, and it is sad to see that the shootings of unarmed black teenagers has become a norm.

Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner – This is a YA book that was an emotional, all the feels, read.  It touches upon the importance of not texting and driving but is so much more.

Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult – Picoult has been and continues to be one of my favorite authors. Her books tackle controversial issues and are told through the different points of view of multiple characters.  This is the first of two of her books that made my best of 2017 list.  This book is about a young girl with Osteogenisis Imperfecta (OI) a defect that causes her to have brittle bones and the lengths that her family will go to to protect her.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas – Although this is a YA book, it is a powerful and relevant read on race.  Like Dear Martin, this is another book where an unarmed black youth is shot by a police officer.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling – We listened to this book on audio over the summer when we were traveling.  Not much to say about this one since almost everyone has probably read it.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling – We did it!  We finally finished the Harry Potter series this summer.  I don’t know what took me so long to finish the series, but I’m glad that I was able to read this last book with my son.  Rowling is a master storyteller and this was such a great series!

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid – I think I have read all of TJR’s books now and this one has been my favorite.

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult –   Another book that focuses on race and racism in America.  This is a powerful and thought-provoking read.

What was your favorite book of the year?