It was a good, not remarkable, reading month. A total of 12 books, but half of those were kids.
4.5 Stars
The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren I will be adding more Christina Lauren books to my TBR list. Fun and sexy with a bonafide hot multi millionaire as a fake husband. Sign me up (just don’t tell Jason). Did I totally buy the Cinderella-like transformation? No, but it was still fun.
The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center Charlie is a very successful screenwriter who has just written his first romcom. Emma is a Texas girl caring for her father round the clock while teaching writing classes at a local community college. They have something in common, their agent.
Emma goes to LA to help Charlie rewrite and ends up staying in his house. This brought a memory of By the Book that I read this summer that had an editor living with a writer to help write a book. I liked both books so this is a scenario that works for me. I didn’t always get Emma, but I really liked Charlie and the story hit all of the happily-ever-after requirements.
5th book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. (technically book #4)
What a fun ride this series is. Adventure, love, magic, lots of magic, death, battles, friendship, family, wings, winnowing, and a large cast of characters. This last one was from only two perspectives, Nesta and Cassian. I know after 751 pages I’m supposed to like Nesta, but I’m still not her biggest fan. I don’t dislike her but she’s got a lot of sharp edges that are willfully sharpened to slice. She did have a nice story progression in this one, but every few chapters she kept finding new miraculous powers and it seemed a bit much.
Happy Place by Emily Henry The six friends meet once a year in Maine for a week at the cottage, but this year will be the last since the cottage has been sold. Harriet and Wyn are there, pretending to still be engaged, even though they broke up six months ago.
There’s more than just a broken romance. Friends who are family can break your heart just as easily and a week spent nursing lies and resentment can cause fireworks.
I’ve now read all five Emily Henry books. The few that I haven’t loved as much (still loved though) have had something in the end that felt unfinished. This felt a little rushed with some issues that needed more attention in the end, but I will still read everything she writes because she’s just that good.
Giant Island by Jane Yolen and Doug Keith This is a sweet picture book. Isn’t the cover great?! Two siblings go with their grandpa and his dog to an island for fishing and exploring. They found out why it was called Giant Island. The pictures of the giant/island were so fun. And I loved the detail of the end pages. The ones in front showing the islands and the ones in back showing those same islands with their giants showing. Kids will love comparing the two.
Fantasy Series 5*A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – It’s not very often that I love the second book in a series more than the first, but here it is. Thanks to @thepageburner I am unlikely to get anything done until I’ve burned through this series. I’m listening to the audios mostly because it’s the only way that I can get my fix and still keep our house running.
It’s pure escapism which is why I need it right now. And you might too! It’s fantasy. It’s fairies. It’s humans becoming fairies. It’s full of characters that you love. There’s romance. There are battles. There are powers and wings.
That’s all I can really say without spoiling anything. Anything I say about the second book can spoil the first. Don’t start unless you’ve got some time on your hands.
4.5*A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas – Book 3 in the A Court of Thorns & Roses series brings the whole gang together for the battle royale. Alliances, betrayals, magic, sacrifice, love, wings, witches, magic cauldrons, and rebirth all make this 699 pager a nice culmination.
This is not my usual fare and I’ve been thinking about what makes this such a good series for me, aside from the high adventure and intrigue. I think it’s because it’s a story of family. The one we’re born with and the one forged through love and trials. I love a good friends as family story.
4.25*A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J Maas – After the mad rush of A Court of Mist & Fury, book 3.5 was a nice breather. I’m not sure it was completely necessary, but I’ll reserve judgement until I read the last one.
The whole gang is back in Velaris recovering from the effects of a brutal war. We hear from 5 different voices, Feyre, Rhysand, Cassian, Nesta, and Morrrigan. Nesta is in a bad place. Feyre wants to make the world a better place. Elain isn’t interested in Lucien. And Amren is doing…jigsaw puzzles. I look forward to the last book to see how everything pans out.
Fiction 5*Funny Story by Emily Henry – Daphne is a children’s librarian who is about to be married to the man who brought her to Michigan last year. But what happened at the bachelor party didn’t stay at the bachelor party and now she’s got a roommate with heartbreak as big as her own. When she lies to make her ex-fiancee jealous it sets off a chain of events that have her wondering if leaving Michigan is really what her heart wants after all.
Steamy, funny, and real. Don’t miss it.
4.5* Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera– Listen for the Lie is the story of Lucy. Lucy left her small Texas town for LA five years ago after everyone there became convinced that she had killed her best friend Savvy. When a popular true crime podcaster starts sniffing around that can only mean trouble.
I loved this fast paced thriller. Once I started it was hard to put down. Lucy is such an unreliable narrator, not just because sure she still claimed amnesia from the night, but because of the voices in her head. My favorite character of the book was her day drink grandmother who is turning 80 and convinces Lucy to come home.
A fantastic thriller, especially if you love podcasts or true crime.
3*The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine – Not gonna lie, this one left me feeling yucky. I really didn’t like spending time with these people. I did make it to the end and liked the twist, but can’t really say I liked the book. And why would there be a sequel? No thank you.
I read 12 books this month. An amazing feat considering I was on vacation for 7 days and a girls weekend for 2 and a half and I NEVER OPENED A BOOK! I’m at 87 books for the year.
Clementine is publicist for a New York publishing company. James is a famous young chef. They’ve just met, haven’t they?
What happens when you meet in different times, 7 years apart. I loved this story of heartbreak and waiting, acknowledging that a person is never the same moment to moment. In love and life timing is everything. Romantic and sweet.
This book has been everywhere for so long and I was finally double dared to read it this summer. This is book one of a 4 book fantasy series about Feyre, a 19 year old young woman who supports her family by hunting. One day she kills what she thought was a wolf but was actually a fairie and Tamlin, a high lord, comes looking for her to seek reparations. She is taken to the fairie lands and faces danger and love with equal bravery. Loved it and am reading the second book now.
I finally read the House in the Cerulean Sea. I’m not sure what took me so long? From the descriptions I was reading it just didn’t seem like something I’d like. I was so wrong. But apparently I read it at the perfect time so it fresh in mind for the sequel coming in a few short months.
Linus Baker and his transition from company man who asked no questions to man defending magical children was a delight. I loved all of these characters so much and the story is hopeful and joyful at such a time when we could all use a bit more of that in our daily lives.
In a tale as old as time, a book editor inspires a behind deadline famous person to write the book of his life. All she has to do is move into his magical mansion in Santa Barbara and be taken care of by cooks and cleaners, and lazy days by the pool. It’s a hard life.
This is supposed to be a modern story based on Beauty and the Beast and while there were nods to it, it wasn’t enough to really feel like Belle and the Beast and crew. BUT, I did like it!
If you take away the B&B expectation, I found it to be a sweet romance. Sure Beau has some issues, but what we came to know about him made those issues seem like they could be overcome. Because this series is sponsored? by Disney the spicy stuff was behind closed doors.
❤️ The main character had a learning disability- dyslexia- and it was a big part of her story. ❤️ Learning more about how dyslexia affects not only reading but executive function. ❤️ Hot librarian. ❤️ Bad mothers exist and many cannot be magically made into caring matriarchs. ❤️ Love returning home story where you reconnect with family and friends.
😐 Hot librarian guy was a little too perfect. 😐 This led to a lack of tension.
It was a solid beach read, but missing a spark 🔥 I was looking for, even though there were spicy scenes.
My Life as a Potato by Arianne Costner. Middle Grade Fiction, 261 pages, 2020
Ben hates everything to do with potatoes, considering himself cursed. When his family moves from California to Idaho and a potato is the school mascot things look sketchy. But he’s made friends and the most popular girl in school likes him, so things aren’t all bad. Until…
I’ll say no more. Middle schoolers who like to laugh or have a thing for mascots will love it. There are even a few small illustrations thrown in once in awhile for fun. Gage’s favorite book of the summer so far.
How familiar are you with Ayurveda? Practical Ayurveda follows the vision of renowned Indian yoga master and medical doctor who wrote over 200 books.
Covering a wide range of topics in its 224 pages this is a beautifully laid out and edited book that made it easy for a beginner like me. I loved the inspiring quotes included. There was a quiz and a set of questions to answer to help you fine tune what you’re looking for in life.
This covered the health of the body and the mind and there are many things I’ve already started (or restarted) while reading this book and so many things to consider for the future. The yoga poses and what each does for the mind and body is something I will be working on. I’ve also started my morning tai chi again. I’m not sure how I ever let that go. Life gets in the way and I forget, and that’s why I need to be consistently reading books that remind me of what I know works for me.
This is a great book, especially when read after the Ayurveda book which touches on fasting. Fasting has been around forever. Fung focuses on the history, the studies, the ailments it can help control (diabetes being the big one), and how to get started. I have fasted at different times in my life and am going to focus on it for the next few months and see if I can feel the benefits. He suggests a 24 or 36 hour fast 2-3 times a week. I just finished my first one today.
Based on a Persian tale by Rumi a merchant has a parrot who was captured and very unhappy. She promised to talk to his friends when she travels and the message they send back sets him free. Interesting illustrations and a fun story.
The Rise of Magicks by Nora Roberts. 3.25 stars, Dystopian Fantasy, 464 pages, 2019
I finally finished the Chronicles of One trilogy. The first two were fast, addicting reads, but this third one was a bit of a slog with so. many. people. It was too much and it took me forever to finish it. It was a fine ending, when it finally came, but getting there felt somewhat tedious.
The Doom virus wipes out most of the world’s population (this is before Covid) and the people who are left are divided by people with magical powers and those without. But it’s the fight between light and dark that is the heat of the series. Fallon is The One to lead them all to victory, but she must be born and trained first.
This is an upper elementary, lower middle school read. Aref is 7 in the book the language feels somewhat young. It was a great in many ways. It was a love letter to Michigan, Oman, and immigrants. Aref is forced to move from Oman and his grandfather to Ann Arbor so his parents could attend UofM and his welcoming is warm.
It’s a gentle story, one that was slow, but also one that is uplifting for kids. They see the best of people in this book and that’s a nice find. If only we could all live up to the love and acceptance shown to Aref and his family.
Captive by Brenda Joyce. 3 stars, Time Travel Romance, 448 pages, 1996
I love Brenda Joyce’s romances. They are romantic and steamy. This one, however, suffered from an insufferable heroine. She was a ‘modern’ 23 year old woman who went to Turkey to find a ghost of a man she considered herself in love with. Somehow she gets thrown back in time and enslaved as a second wife at the palace. She was ridiculous. What saved it was the palace political intrigue, her personal slave and best friend, and the hero who does eventually show up and unfortunately falls for this woman.
May was a great reading month! I read these 9 plus a picture book. That brings my 2024 total to 57.
❤️
The Women by Kristin Hannah. Historical fiction about the women nurses that served in the Vietnam War. 480 pages, 2024
Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey. Romance between a king crab fisherman and movie director’s assistant with a nod to the comfort of music. 353 pages, 2023
Nat Turner by Kyle Baker. Nonfiction graphic novel about Turner and the slave rebellion of 1831. 213 pages, 2006
⭐️
The Secret Place (541 pages, 2014) and Broken Harbor (450 pages, 2012) by Tana French. Books 4 & 5 in the Dublin Murder Squad mystery series.
Toxic Prey by John Sandford. Latest thriller in the Lucas Davenport series that also features his daughter Letty who has her own series. 400 pages, 2024
👍🏻
Kissing Kosher by Jean Meltzer. A romance set in a Jewish bakery in Brooklyn. Learned a lot about Jewish traditions and living with a chronic illness. 432 pages, 2023
🤷🏻♀️
How To Walk Away by Katherine Center. Fiction set in the aftermath of a plane crash that leaves one half of a couple without a scratch and the other partially paralyzed. This has been my least favorite of hers so far. 302 pages, 2018
And a fun picture book too…
I Want to Be a Vase by Julio Torres. This is so colorful it demands to be reads. A delightful book about accepting people for whoever or whatever they want to be.
April was the slowest reading month for me in at least 4 years! I read 8 books with two clear favorites, a few I really liked, and a couple that were just okay.
Things Past Telling by Sheila Williams. Our book club pick this month. A fresh take on the harrowing and horrific journey of the people stolen from their homes and brought to America as slaves. 4 stars!
I hate missing too many Sunday updates. When I get too behind I keep putting it off, making the update a bigger project, vastly increasing the probability that it won’t get done at all. This happen to anyone else? So, it’s not Sunday, but I’ve got 30 minutes so we’re doing a quick book /movie update. Too busy to try and give a life update too so we’ll save that for next time.
Maddy is turning 18 and her life is confined to her home because of an immunodeficiency disease. She’s never had any kind of normal existence and it’s not until a new family moves in next door that this is a problem. Soon, her books are not enough and Olly becomes her hope.
A book about risk and bravery and finding your person.
I loved this book, just as I loved Nicola Yoon’s The Sun is Also a Star. Everything Everything was her debut and I’m only sad it’s taken me so long to read it. I’ll read anything she writes.
Richard, a renown concert pianist, and Karina, a pianist who put her career on hold, are divorced. It wasn’t amicable, but they do share a daughter now in her 20s. Richard is diagnosed with ALS and in that instant his whole life changes. These changes are not limited to Richard and Karina finds herself making a surprising life change because of it.
I loved Still Alice by Lisa Genova. That book tackled early onset Alzheimer’s just as this one shows ALS bringing down someone in their prime. This book is detailed and heavy and shows that forgiveness shouldn’t wait. I was moved to tears by it. I’ll read anything she writes.
I picked this up because of that gorgeous cover and this slight book didn’t disappoint. There are no words, just 25 beautiful illustrations showing a young boy sneaking away from a funeral. It will touch your heart. I highly recommend for children going through the grief process.
Our book group liked (not loved) this one and it had some great discussion points. It’s about the closeness of the four Padavano sisters. What can drive a wedge between the sisters? At what point is forgiveness and moving on the only real option? How many great loves does each person get? Do we ever really get past our relationships with our parents?
It was a little slow, but still worth reading, especially if you like family sagas spanning decades.
What a hoot! Lucy is an early 19th century debutante who is approached by Lady Violet Travesty about joining a vampire cult. Just as she’s about to go over to the dark side, Lord Byron, in very dramatic fashion, saves her and whisks away to his magic castle on his psychic eagle Napoleon. They are soon joined by Sham to make a team of very inept vampire hunters.
It’s very funny, especially the first half. It gets a tad bogged down by the end with a meandering plot, but overall a fun graphic novel. I enjoyed my hour or so with this silly trio.
I LOVE Susanna Kearsley! Her books are such comfort reads. I’ll be doing a post on her soon, so I won’t belabor my thoughts on this one. If she hadn’t written it I would have given up on it before the halfway point. There was a nice twist at the end that was a reward for making it that far, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
Gage and I read this together after having read and loved Frindle by the same author. Jack was a hard character to root for, at least at first. He’s in middle school and he’s embarrassed that his dad is the school janitor. He plans a nasty trick for his dad, but pays the price and it better for it.
As a side note, when I was in elementary school my grandpa was the school janitor and I got to say hi to him every day as I left to get on the bus to go home and as he got ready to clean the school after everyone went home. It’s a bond that I’ll always treasure. I was too young to be embarrassed and as I grew older it never once occurred to me to want to hide that fact from anyone. He worked as a janitor for the schools his whole life.
Movies watched
Saltburn was buzzy for awhile and when Jason and I sat down to watch it, we can see why. It seems normal, normal, eh, oh, definitely not normal, the end. If you like strange movies, this is for you! I do like strange and appreciated it.
Set It Up kept getting recommended to me by Netflix so I finally broke down and watched it. It was a cuter than expected rom-com with a fun cast. If Netflix is also recommending it to you I’d say give it a go!
The Hunt is pure political drivel meets ridiculous violence. I have no excuse for watching it, except that Jason and I were watching it in bed and making fun. Jason fell asleep and I, regrettably, made it til the bitter end.
Have you read or watched any of these? Which ones?
Gage earned his purple belt in tae kwon do this week, a proud moment for me. He complains about having to go twice a week, but on Tuesday right before class he said he thought there was a belt test this week and he wanted to make sure he did it. While the notice was late, his taking the initiative was new. Jason and I don’t go in to his classes, so unless he tells us we have no idea what goes on there and with ADHD it’s a struggle for him to remember sometimes. So progress being made all around.
An English Bride in Scotland by Lynsay Sands. 3.5 stars, historical romance, 346 pages, 2013. This has a common enough plot, a Scottish laird must marry an English woman. There is a sweet heroine and kind hero and a bit of a mystery that provided a worthy bad guy to spice things up. Although there was also spice in the bedroom…and barn…and by the river… This was the first in a series I’m looking forward to reading more.
The Art of Sinning by Sabrina Jeffries. 3 stars, historical fiction, 400 pages, 2015. This English historical has an American artist in London wanting to use Lady Yvette as his muse. She’s more than willing. It’s spicy and there’s plenty of character setup for the next 4 books in the series. It was good, but I’m not sure I care enough to seek the rest out.
I don’t know why I’m on a romance bender, but I refuse to feel bad about it.
10 books read so far this year.
Currently Reading
Movies
Anyone But You, 2023. I had a morning to myself this week with no commitments and decided to go to the theater and watch something I couldn’t imagine my friends or husband wanting to see. I love romcoms and this one was solid. There was LOTS of skin. Have you ever gone to the movies by yourself? It’s been years since I’ve done this.I was the only one in the theater and that was pretty cool.
Love at First Sight, 2023. Every time I logged into Netflix it recommended this movie to me so when I woke up too early on Saturday and didn’t want to get out of bed I watched it. It’s a cute one about fate and finding someone to hold your hand through the tough times. I loved the growth of both characters and the quirkiness of the storytelling.
Streaming
I’ve read all of Harlan Coben’s books and have seen all of the adaptations. This was one of the better ones. As with all of Coben’s thrillers, twists abound and all is not as it seems. Eight episodes.
Plans for the Weekend
Well, it’s after 10 so the weekend is almost over, but I do have to take a breakfast casserole and 2 dozen muffins to Gage’s school for a special teachers breakfast in the morning and although the muffins are baked I still need to prep the casserole for morning. I best get to it!
After two snow days this week and bitter cold temps we went to the movie theater yesterday and saw Wonka! The magic was just what we all needed. We followed it up with Aladdin’s Lebanese food and our day was made.
Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger. 3.5 stars, thriller, 260 pages, 2023. I like Lisa Unger’s thrillers and this one was quick and satisfying. Madeline was a survivor of an attack, the same attack where she watched her best friend get murdered. Harley is a true crime podcaster and is looking into the 10 year old story. Not surprisingly, secrets are uncovered and danger abounds.
Simply Sinful by Carly Phillips. 2.5 stars. romance, 272 pages, 2000. I was looking for a quick satisfying romance, but this wasn’t it. Detecctive Kane McDermitt goes undercover to prove Kayla’s business is really a front for prostitution. He requests a date (through her business), sleeps with her on said date, and is then convinced she is innocent. Of course he was.
I’ve read 7 books so far this year.
Currently Reading
Nothing has changed from last week, except I’ll probably finish one of these today.
Movies
Wonka, 2022. Magic and chocolate fun for the whole family! I’m so glad that we saw it on the big screen.
Streaming
We finished up season 2 of Reacher on Amazon. We liked it even better than the first season.
Plans for the Weekend
I’ll share this because I’ll be puzzling some today and maybe it’s an idea that appeals to you. I belong to our local Buy Nothing group on Facebook. Neighbors offer each other things they no longer want or need. For the last few years I’ve offered up a puzzle exchange for the month of January, sort of a Little Free PUZZLE Library. When the weather was good I put them on our front porch shelves and as we’re snowed in I’ve moved them to a bin at the end of our driveway. I started with 7 puzzles that I’d done this year and was willing to part with and told people to come take, trade, or give. It’s been fun seeing the puzzles that have come in. The turnover is high, even a few weeks in.
Another amazing book club night with the Desperate Bookworms. What would happen if one day everyone woke up with a box on their doorstep with a string predicting the length of their life? And it was alarmingly accurate? Would you open the box? Would you throw it away without looking? Such is the story in The Measure by Nikki Erlich.
Jen (holding the book) did a very fun thing by having a box on each seat that we had to decide whether to open or not. I got a shorter string, but not the shortest 😬
Although I had some issues with the book and didn’t love it, it did lead to some fantastic discussion and I’d highly recommend for book groups.
Would you open the box? Would you want to know what month you died? Would the answer be different at various points in your life? I would not open the box for myself, but as long as I have a kid dependent on me I would choose to know.
Flying Colors follows the mystical adventures of John Freeman, who’s young, ambitious, and on the verge of achieving everything he wants when he finds himself the student of a mysterious flight instructor whose initial lessons have little to do with flying planes. Over a remarkable summer, as John struggles to unravel the secrets behind the instructor and a mystical airfield stuck in time, he becomes torn between his professional ambitions and the lure of a simpler life. But to earn his wings and soar, John must face the ultimate test of discovering his true self and what matters most.
John meets a mysterious man in an airport who opens his eyes to a different way to live, to new possibilities never dreamt of before. When John arrives back home to a job that is ready to serve up the life he’s always wanted on a silver platter, the memory of the man in the airport has him questioning what it is he really wants.
Mysterious and mystical and a great first novel.
“No one can teach another person. If something’s worth learning we teach ourselves. We become our own teachers by doing, by experimenting. We teach ourselves by making mistakes and experimenting until we get it right. Everyone wants answers, but the answers can’t come from other people because the answers you get are to the wrong questions, answers meant for someone else’s life, not yours.”
Many thanks to the author for sending this uplifting book my way!
Stacy's Books 