Time for one of the best days of the month – when I can look forward to virtually chatting about books ALL DAY LONG 🙂 Seriously though…I was at the library the other night and a group of women twice my age were gathered in a program room talking about Louise Penny and I was DYING to join them but it was kind of private. Rambling sentence short, I want to talk about books and here’s my spot to do it. PLEASE talk books with me!!! lol.

That being said, I have been reading A LOT for pure enjoyment/distraction/relaxation so far in 2018. I don’t regret it, and this happens to me a lot in the winter months when there is less socializing going on and the Canadian winter encourages me to curl up with a cup of tea and a book every night. That being said – most of the books I’m sharing here are not necessarily books I would blanket recommend to everyone because we all have our preferred genres etc. However – I still feel like I’ve read a lot of good books for my preferences lately so I want to talk about them!! 🙂

Linking up as always with Steph and Jana with some short reviews of books I’ve read since mid-March. Also linking up with Rachel this month.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND:

Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wavering between 4 and 5 stars on this one. What an incredible memoir. It took me a little while to get into this, which is sometimes the case with memoirs for me in general, but the latter 75% of this book read like fiction (at least to me). I couldn’t believe it. Someone in a group I’m in mentioned that this felt similar (in some ways) to The Great Alone, and I can see that comparison – it’s just scarier because this one wasn’t fiction and this is a real person who experienced these things. Wow. SO well written. I have nothing but empathy for this author. Here’s an interview with her. Even MORE interestingly, here are some Amazon reviews about this book from her family’s perspective and other people who know the Westovers. TORN about my thoughts on this book after reading those.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for the advanced review copy of this highly readable memoir. It’s a “read now” book on Netgalley until April 23 so if you are interested in it, I would suggest heading over there to get it! It was very profound and so well written even if this genre is not one you normally seek out (like me). 

And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a short novella. In my opinion, Fredrik Backman can really do no wrong. Like The Deal of a Lifetime, this one was a bit too short for me :(, but it packs a very powerful punch. Can easily be read in one sitting. A bit confusing at the beginning, but SO so good.

Beauty and the Clockwork Beast by Nancy Campbell Allen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kristen recommended this book to me almost 2 years ago and I was dying to read it, but I couldn’t get my hands on it anywhere! I wasn’t sure if I would like the steampunk genre so I wasn’t willing to buy it on kindle. I recently found it on Hoopla via my library and was so excited to read it. I listened to most of it and the audiobook was very well done (I read the last 30% because I could NOT put it down). This genre is incredibly fascinating and I loved the characters, the setting, the ‘tons, the paranormal aspects…this book introduced me to things I didn’t know I liked. Lucy was such an interesting and strong character and the mystery aspect of this book made it quite fast-paced. I was unable to put it down until I found out who was causing all the trouble. Steampunk certainly won’t be everyone’s genre of choice though. I can’t wait to read the next one via Edelweiss!

This month I read MOST of the Knitting in the City Series by Penny Reid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love love love love love this series but I can also acknowledge that these books aren’t for everyone. An amazing friend lent me these on Kindle and I FLEW threw them. They are 100% contemporary romance but they are really funny and the characters are unique, fun, and different than one another. I have 2 books left in the series and I am going to wait just a little bit so that I can savour it. The addiction is real here though – each story is about another woman in a group of friends so it is just too much fun constantly revisiting the group again and watching the next relationship blossom. I am surprised by how she has managed to make each story so different from the others. I appreciate reading about these female friendships in such a humorous way and reading their completely (in my opinion) unrealistic love stories. This is super fun fiction for me so if you like contemporary romance, I highly recommend these 🙂

OTHER ENJOYABLE BOOKS:

Ashes on the Moor by Sarah M. Eden
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

 I have enjoyed many of the books in the proper romance umbrella published by Shadow Mountain (i.e. Edenbrooke), and this one was no exception. It was sweet and enjoyable. It was quite a quick read, and parts of it were heartbreakingly sad. It reminded me a little bit of the concept behind North and South. The people in the town really grew on me and Evangeline did too. If historical romance is your thing, particularly if you prefer it clean, this was a cute book. I read it in one sitting.

Thank you to Netgalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for providing me with an advanced review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book had been on my radar for awhile and when I finally got to it I gobbled it up in less than 24 hours. It wasn’t 100% amazing but I was REALLY into it while I read it and it was quite enjoyable, VERY funny, sooo snarky, and highly readable. I will definitely get to the next two in the series later this year.

On the Way to the Wedding by Julia Quinn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not my favourite of the series but I still do love those Bridgertons. Sad to say goodbye to this series but I will pick up some other books by Julia Quinn when I’m in the mood for sure.

The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was pretty much exactly what I was expecting it to be, and I really liked it. It was fun to read and the characters were great. I love the pretend relationship trope so I knew I would enjoy this and I will be happy to pick up another book by Guillory in the future. It passed the time nicely and was fun to read – what more can you ask for in a Friday night read?!

You Think It, I’ll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Having only read Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld (and loving that one), I was excited to dive into this despite only sometimes loving short story collections. This was one of the better collections I’ve read and I think it will be quite well received this summer. These stories were quite readable, quite eye-opening, and there was a bit of a wow factor in most of the stories. The characters were very diverse and that was fun to read too. A lot of these really made me think about how you can make quick judgements about a person without being correct…the whole collection really embodies that saying of “assume = ass out of u and me”. Like many short story collections, I liked a few stories way more than others, but that’s the way it is! I recommend giving this one a chance 🙂

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the advanced review copy of this book.

Intermediate Thermodynamics by Susannah Nix
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was adorable. I enjoyed her first book last month and picked up this one on audio on Hoopla. I don’t usually listen to romance on audio but I kind of like it – the manly voice is interesting. Haha – and you can’t skim audiobooks. 😉 I love Susannah Nix’s characters so far and the L.A. setting is also kind of fun to read about – I haven’t read many books set there for some reason. I appreciate what she is doing with her women in STEAM fields of work too.

Don’t Bother:


Maybe Someone Like You by Stacy Wise
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

I skimmed parts of this and read it in one night over a holiday weekend, but I will admit that it was pretty forgettable – literally the next morning I could not remember the title or the main character’s name. Thank you to Entangled Publishing and Netgalley for the advanced review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

In summary: I definitely recommend almost all of these books depending on your reading preferences, but in particular EDUCATED, You Think it, I’ll Say it, Beauty & the Clockwork Beast, and Penny Reid’s books!!

CURRENTLY READING:

Graceling on audio, Down a Dark Road, and A Conjuring of Light <3<3<3

So, what have you been reading lately?!