Coming right off a long weekend to link up with Steph and Jana for Show us your books!!! I’ve still been working pretty steadily towards my 2018 Goodreads goal, and I knocked quite a few Netgalley books off this month too although I then got accepted to read three of them in one day so I’m almost back where I started there, haha. The highlight of October for me was reading Harry Potter to Molly for the first time – she is so much more into it than I could have even hoped for. 🙂 We are on the second illustrated book now.

Here are some of the books I’ve read lately:

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was SO good. I loved the audiobook even though it took me about a half hour to really catch on to who everyone was because of it – and I ended up reading a bit of it in print at a bookstore one day to see some of the spelling of the unique names (my downfall with audiobooks!). Bahni Turpin is an incredible narrator and I have enjoyed some of her other work as well. This is an amazing debut from Adeyemi about a very complex world with some very real (and relatable to our world even though this is fantasy) problems to do with ethnicity/background. This reminded me a tiny bit of something like Graceling, and that was fun. If you like YA fantasy (there is also a splash of intense romance), this series is so worth your time. I cannot wait to read the next one in 2019.

The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had no idea what this book was about when I received an invitation to read it from St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley – but I had, of course, heard of this popular author. Now I can’t wait to read more from her! This book was so fascinating and it really made me think. It requires some ability to suspend belief because there is time travel, but it’s not at all fantasy and very straightforward fiction (a la Time Traveller’s Wife/About Time). It was so well done. It took me longer than I expected to read it because I really had to dig in to figure out what could happen but I then polished the latter 70% of it off in a day. There are strong, passionate characters, historical events brought to life in a different way, and some very difficult decisions for the characters to make. Highly recommend this one. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this lovely book. 

Stretched Too Thin: How Working Moms Can Lose the Guilt, Work Smarter, and Thrive by Jessica N. Turner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’ve followed Jessica Turner for a few years so when I first heard about this book, I was quite interested in it but wasn’t sure if I would get much out of it. I thought actually that I wasn’t feeling “stretched too thin” very often. I was definitely wrong – this book was quite full of insight into balancing things a bit better and letting go of some of the “mommy guilt” that is commonly felt if you are a mother who works away from your children in any capacity. I’d say that aspects of this would be applicable to those who aren’t mothers as well, but it is primarily focused on parenting and relationships. It was a quick listen and there are worksheets to go with it, which are so helpful. There are religious undertones to all of her works but there is very little strong focus on that, at least in my opinion. Loved this book and needing to finish The Fringe Hours (which I never did finish). Also – this cover is so gorgeous 🙂 (audio from Hoopla app)

A Duel for Christmas by Rosanne E. Lortz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, this is a genre that I absolutely love and had not previously read – historical romantic suspense! It was a lot of fun! These characters are so easy to root for and this was not highly suspenseful or difficult to read but it was fun to see how it all worked out. I can’t wait to read more in this series because I’m curious to see where things go with a few of the characters. As always, I love reading books in this time period and this was no exception though I always find it difficult to read about women’s rights (or lack thereof) at that time. Lady Wotherington was fortunate to have two very special men in her corner while she went through some of the events in this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced review copy of this book. I’m so glad there are other books to read in this series.

Wildfire by Ilona Andrews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5/5 Stars for the pure enjoyment of the world that these authors have created here. I love Nevada and Rogan, Nevada’s family, and all of the interesting magic in these books. I was sad to come to the end of this trilogy but happy to hear that there will be a spin-off of these books coming next year. This book was fast-paced, interesting, and we learn a lot about some secondary characters here. I listened to the audiobook for most of this but read parts of it too, especially the ending when I could no longer savour it and had to finish. Dying to read books similar to this one if I can find them out there! 🙂 I also read the second book in this series, White Hot, this past month and loooved it too.

Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really love the world that these authors have created. I missed Nevada as the main character in this novella, but I really liked Catalina. I cannot WAIT for more books with this family in them. Thank you Kristen for putting this series on my radar and sending me this book too! 🙂 ❤

Merrily Ever After by Jenny Holiday
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a sweet read about one of the couples in this series that we know less about – and it was a fun way to pass an hour or two. I can’t wait to read Gia’s story after Christmas – Jenny Holiday’s writing really works for me and her characters are so lovable. Thank you to Netgalley and Estelle from Hachette Book Group and Forever Yours for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book – it comes out Dec 4!

The Matrimonial Advertisement by Mimi Matthews
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’ve read a lot of historical romances this year because publishers just keep on sending them to me (no complaints, I love this genre). This one was a bit different than the others and I really liked it. Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. 

One Day in December by Josie Silver
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was highly anticipating this book and while I did really REALLY enjoy reading the majority of it, parts of it fell a little bit flat. I think I sometimes find it hard to get behind couples who just can’t seem to get together even though they want to. That being said, the ending of this was adorable and I wouldn’t call this overly Christmassy even though many parts of it do take place during the season over the course of 10 years. I have no doubt that many readers will enjoy curling up with this during the next few months – as did I. Thank you to Netgalley and Crown Publishing for the ARC of this book.

The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5/5 stars I started this book, put it down for weeks, picked up a page here and there, and then finally finished it (this is so unlike me in my reading life). It was good overall and I liked Carlos and Nik quite a bit. The beginning felt a bit stronger than the middle, and the ending had its up and downs too but overall this was another book that passes the time nicely. Thank you to Netgalley and Berkeley for the ARC of this book.

NOPE

 Dear Santa by Nancy Naigle
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was quite hard-pressed to finish this book but I did so for the sake of reviewing it. The pacing felt off to me, the characters were confusing and whiny, and it didn’t work for me at all. This just simply wasn’t the book for me. (ARC provided by Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press). 

What have you been reading lately?!

Currently Reading: The Mysterious Benedict Society, Virgil Wander, and need to start something else this week too! I’m also reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets to Molly and she is sooo obsessed.