MAY recap – (What’s new with you? link up)

Linking up with the wonderful Kristen and Gretch for their monthly What’s New with You? link up. Truthfully…what’s new with me is NOT MUCH. haha. I can’t believe how fast May flew by. We did do a lot of fun things, and enjoyed a lot of sunny days, but it went by fast and a lot of it was pretty relaxing and close to home. Here are a few things that my little family and I did in May:

1) We took Molly to her first theater production at Neptune Theatre for Shrek: The Musical. She LOVED it but it was 2 1/2 hours long and she was pretty fidgety by the end of it. My cousin played as a musician in the performance, and the music was phenomenal as was the acting. What a fun production.

I promise she was actually happier than she appears to be here 🙂

2) We took the girls to see Raffi in concert. Raffi is like a 5th member of our family some days and we listen to his music around the house constantly. Brian and I both grew up listening to his music and the girls love to sing his easy kids songs. We saw him in concert 2 years ago (left baby Lucy with her grandparents), and this concert was VERY similar to that one but both girls seemed to really enjoy themselves and it was definitely fun to sing along with him for an hour.

3) We celebrated Mother’s Day with brunch and lobster. Molly also made me an adorable sweater with the help of Brian’s mom. SO cute. I need to take a picture of it, actually…

4) I read a lot of great books which I will talk about on Tuesday Jun 14 for Show Us Your Books. We watched a couple of movies and a bit more White Collar.

5) I did not complete the 30 day yoga challenge. I know this is a total excuse, but I find it very difficult to do yoga at home sometimes. We don’t really have a conducive “always clean” location for me to practice in. If I’m doing a Fitness Blender or strength workout at home, I don’t mind if there are kid toys in the room or papers on the desk. If I’m doing yoga, I find all of the clutter around me really needs to be gone or I will stop doing yoga and focus on cleaning. I know this is really weird and I’m definitely working on making our bedroom (aka command central for laundry etc) clutter-free so I can practice yoga in that space.

6) I went for a few runs, but I’d have to say I dropped off this wagon a bit too this month and I need to get back on it for my 10K on June 26.

7) I booked my trip to Calgary (my hometown) for October for my cousin’s wedding. This will be the longest I’ve ever been away from my kids (3 nights/4 days) and the longest time that Brian has been alone with them…so good luck to him! haha, just kidding, it will be all good. I am really, really excited to see all of my dad’s family.

8) Molly had primary (kindergarten) orientation this month. She is starting in French Immersion in September. We are really excited, and it also make me feel a bit nostalgic. She is loving chapter books these days too and we have read 4 Magic Tree House books in the past week.

9) We barbecued a lot this month and spent a lot of time in the backyard. SO enjoyable. You know what I love about barbecuing? NO (or very few) dishes.

10) We faced a few parenting difficulties this month. Nothing major, but just an overtired 4 year old who is trying to spread her wings and feels supremely jealous of her little sister. I am trying very hard to spend as much one-on-one time with her as I can when Lucy is napping or otherwise occupied, and it seems to have improved over the past week or two. The weekend that Brian was away was particularly challenging, and I yelled at her more times than I’d like to admit, but we have forgiven and moved on.

All in all, a pretty good but not SUPER SUPER SUPER exciting month. It was relaxing though, and I think we need that in our lives sometimes. I can already tell that weekend and weeknight activities will be picking up as the summer progresses, and that will be fun too. Our girls are at great ages to really enjoy the summer, so that’s what we plan to do!

Some other snippets from this month

Check out what everyone else has been up to on Kristen or Gretch’s blogs today!!

Recent Reads (Show us your Books link up!)

I had a weird reading month this month. I read a few books that I absolutely LOVED and would recommend. I also read a few so-so books. Mostly, I got super overwhelmed by a million library holds coming in at once and now I have 17 books to read in the next 2-3 weeks. I think I’ll have to pick my favourites and send the others back. That’s not counting some Netgalley books I have & a few other books that I own and want to read soon. Too many books, not enough time. 🙂 I did love what Steph said a few weeks ago about hoping she never sees the end of her TBR list. This is true for me too. Do I need to read everything on the list? No, of course not. I love having books to refer to when I’m in the mood for something in particular though. Linking up with Steph & Jana today and looking forward to reading about others’ recent reads!!

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (5 stars) This was my last book in my Book Challenge by Erin 4.0 list and knowing that it would make me feel emotional kind of made me put it off for a bit. It was a hard book to read in the sense that many WWII novels are – and it was sad, but it was beautiful too. I enjoyed not knowing who the narrator was for the entire book although I did have a guess ;). I really felt drawn to this book as a woman and as a mother. It made me so grateful to have grown up & to currently live in our free country. I’d highly recommend this book if you think your heart can take it. I need to read a few more of Kristin Hannah’s books sometimes – I am leaning towards Firefly Lane as my next one sometime.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (4 stars) Listened to this one on audio via the library. I am pledging to read more Newberry Honor books this year, and this was one of them. It was pretty quick, and it was a cute story. It wasn’t as profound as the adult WWII books I’d read lately, but I appreciated that very much. A very solid middle-grade/YA book and a perspective I hadn’t read much about (occupied Denmark).

Living in the Moment & Gratitude by Dani DiPirro (3-4 stars) I got both of these books from Netgalley. I love books like this. “Gift books” that make you feel good when you’re browsing through the pages and that have quotable quotes and look great on a coffee table or bookshelf or nightstand. These books both had some cute ideas for ways to better express gratitude in your life or ways to stay present. I would not hesitate to buy one for a friend someday.

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton (4 stars) This seems to be many peoples’ least favourite of Morton’s books, but since it was my first by her, I wasn’t able to make that comparison. I really enjoyed it. It took me a long time to read, and I think I read a book or two while reading it, but the story was really good in my mind. I loved the Mud man component, and I really enjoyed how much Edie enjoyed books. I had sorted out the ending a bit, but not entirely, so there was an element of surprise in it for me. If it’s not her best, then I am looking forward to reading her other books (currently reading The Secret Keeper). Her books seem to be long but they’re worth it. They kind of remind me a bit of Kristin Hannah’s.

My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout (3 stars) I received this book from Netgalley. I had been approved for this a long time ago, and read about half of it in one sitting and then forgot about it completely until it was published and a lot of people were suddenly chatting about it. For me, this book passed the time but it wasn’t anything too special. I just couldn’t relate enough to the main character. It wasn’t a super bad book, but I just felt like not enough really happened to keep my attention. If it had been longer, I might not have even finished it.

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld (4.5 stars) I recieved a copy of this book from Netgalley. I started reading this the second I was approved for it on Netgalley, and I barely did anything else until it was done. As in, I read 500+ pages in about 24 hours. Haha. I actually think I need to go back and re-read it again before my copy expires. It was JUST the book I needed at the time. I’d been in a WWII/tough plotline-kind-of-book slump in the sense that the books I’d been reading (see above) were REALLY good, but really tough. This one was adorable and it made me so happy. If you are a puritan Jane Austen fan, this book might not be your favourite. The modern updates might be a bit too much for you. And honestly, some of them were a little too much for me (ahem *Ham*), but there were so many parts of it that were really just cute. I enjoyed this book A LOT.

One Plus One by JoJo Moyes (4 stars) After falling in love with Moyes’ writing in Me Before You, and then also enjoying After You, I wasn’t sure that her other books would be as good, but this one was very solid. I adored the characters and I am a big “root for the underdog” kind of person, so I just wanted something good to happen to these people. It was well written, funny, heartwarming, and unique. I was going to follow this one up with The Girl You Left Behind, but I had a feeling it was a bit more emotional and I needed a break from war stories so I’m going to get it again at the library in a bit.

A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall (3.5 stars) I remember seeing Kristen post about this book *ages* ago and thinking, wow, what a pretty cover! I saved it for when I needed a fun and easy YA read 😉 It was a really cute story and I didn’t mind the different perspectives. I definitely felt like it was a bit predictable, and a bit too YA for me (it’s me, not it, haha) and I wouldn’t recommend it as earth-shattering literature, but it was a quick and cute read. I read the interview with the author at the end and I couldn’t believe she wrote the whole book in 6 days!!! whoa.

Ivy in Bloom (various authors) (4 stars) via Netgalley – I enjoyed this poetry anthology, especially at this time of the year. I am not big into poetry, but this one passed the time nicely and I am sure I will reference it again sometime. It’s meant for children, but that’s ok 🙂

Other reads this month:

Miss Match by Catherine Avril Morris (via Bookbub) – fluffy but I wanted to find out how it ended – 2/5
Online Dating, the Good, the Bad, the Hopeless by Francis James – via Netgalley – I thought I would enjoy some of these anecdotes since Brian and I met online, but it was pretty much not what I expected.
Calling Me by Louise Bay – via Netgalley (DNF) – not what I expected it to be.
Three Year Olds are A Holes – via Netgalley (3 stars) pretty funny.

And favourite kid reads:

Who Broke the Teapot? by Bill Slavin Via Netgalley – This is a hilarious book about blame, and Molly really liked it. I can easily see this situation happening in any house with kids, or childish adults 😉

Let’s Play by Hervé Tullet – what can I say, he is one of our favourites and his newest book is a fun one!

The Littles by John Peterson – started this chapter book with Molly which used to be my sister’s favourite series. It is so cute and I love that we can read chapter books a bit now!!

April Recap (What’s New With You link up!)

I love this link up with Kristen and Gretch. It gives me a chance to blog about life. I realize I have a chance to do this anytime I want and I rarely take the opportunity (BUSY busy) but I like reading other people’s posts today too, so it’s fun to do it at the start of the month and look back on the last little bit 🙂

April flew by in a flash, as I knew it would. Honestly though, I feel like I gave myself a lot of downtime in April too so there is not necessarily a lot of SUPER EXCITING NEWS to report or anything. Here are some highlights from the month:

Finished Erin’s Book Challenge 4.0 – (here’s her final post about the challenge too) I’ll be chatting about the last book (The Nightingale) and my other recent reads next Tuesday for Show Us Your Books! Honestly, if you are ever interested in a book challenge, I *loved* Erin’s…the categories were broad enough that I found some incredible books, and the facebook group is really interactive. Plus, I love the 4 month time frame because I was able to read lots of other non-challenge books without feeling pressured. It was really fun. The next one is in July 🙂

Ran my second 5K of the year in a much faster time than I expected (30:30). It was a really interesting race through Citadel Hill, which is an old fortress in downtown Halifax. We ran through trenches (in the moat), up and down the hill, and along the rapports. It was super fun and I was really pleased with it all!! Next race is a 10K on June 25 🙂

Joined the intermediate/advanced yoga class with my teacher instead of the beginner and am already starting to notice a LOT of progress. The class is a lot more yoga than the beginner class, which was a lot of the basics etc. I am really, REALLY enjoying it and only wish I could fit in another of her classes in the week (the Monday one is the only really close class).

Spent tons of time outside with the kids, including helping Molly ride her bike 🙂

Celebrated my beautiful niece’s baptism and became a godmother!! (no picture because she isn’t my kid ;))

Kept enjoying White Collar with Brian (we’ll probably finish the whole series by the end of May). By the way, it’s kind of sad that a show is a highlight of the month but we did get through 2-3 seasons in the last month and I am pretty hooked…haha. After this, we’re going to catch up on Brooklyn 99 AKA one of my favourite shows (SO FUNNY).

Tried a few new recipes including this recipe for English muffins which wasn’t too bad but was pretty labour intensive, so I think I’ll just buy them from now on…also made Janssen’s butter chicken and it was DELICIOUS and so easy. Also, these burgers on the BBQ…MMMM.

Had a brutal cough go through the house as well as the flu (just 2 of them luckily) and Lucy has 2/4 of her 2 year molars..so to say that I slept a bit less would be accurate too. OR alternatively just went to bed early a lot. haha.

And that’s about it – not a SUPER exciting month in some ways, but it was a good one overall! May is already shaping up to be awesome. We have a few busy weekends, but it is all fun stuff so I’m looking forward to it!! I am also doing a 30 Day Yoga Challenge this month…so wish me luck!!! I’m excited to see where it takes me.

Linking up with Kristen ❤ and Gretch today!! Go check out the link up!

March recap (What’s New With you? Link up)

I read something great lately (I can’t for the life of me remember where) about perceptions of being busy. These days, when someone asks “what’s new” or what I’ve been up to lately, my default response is to say that we’ve been busy. And yes, in some ways that’s true. I’ve been busy filling up sippy cups and cleaning up spills and doing laundry and cuddling with a sick toddler and trying to maintain a life for myself and spend time with my husband and see friends and family. But that’s just life right now. It’s not necessarily busy. 90% of weekday evenings I have nothing planned besides cleaning up, reading, working out or watching TV with Brian, and an early bedtime. I am blessed to have tons of quality time with a lot of the people I love and value the most. I’m really trying to shift my thinking to realize that yes, there are moments when life feels VERY busy (i.e. getting home from work and trying to get supper on the table 10 minutes ago and chopping vegetables while two little people pull on my legs), but I don’t want BUSY to be my default answer. I am finding that by saying no to some things, I am able to say yes to things that I love to do.

Anyway, that might not have made sense, but there it is. I’m linking up today with Kristen and Gretchen for What’s New With You? and I’m sharing a brief recap of the month of March in the life of Heather 🙂

March was a great month, and I feel great heading into April…in some ways.

Here are some highlights (in random order):

Lucy turned 2 on March 31 and we celebrated last week on April 1 with family. She is doing great at chattering more now that she has the tubes in her ears (I think) and she is getting along reasonably OK with her big sister. She really enjoyed her birthday and although she hasn’t had a chance to try it yet, she seems to like the balance bike we bought her.

I had 2 half-days and one FULL DAY home during the week on my own because I had extra vacation time to use up before the end of March and we have to pay our childcare provider whether the kids are there or not. I got some house stuff done, got a massage, napped, read, etc. It was amazing. Definitely some much needed “me time”.

Brian and I finished Love on Netflix and House of Cards season 4 (MUCH better than Season 3). We just started White Collar and I am loving that so far. What’s not to love?!

The kids had a ton of trips to the playground and lots of play dates and time with grandparents. We read lots of kid books, made a lot of crafts, and had a lot of fun as a family. We got to spend a lot of time with my adorable baby niece and sister.

Daddy even came with us one time!!

Fun with our umbrellas

Easter was a fantastic weekend full of friends, family, and chocolate. The girls were a great age for egg hunts this year.

Literally the best picture of the two of them out of about 10 choices

I had an awesome reading month which I’ll be talking about next week for the Show Us Your Books link up. I really prioritized audiobooks this month and got through a few of them. I also only have one book left (The Nightingale) in my Book Challenge by Erin list. I am really proud of myself for reading some books lately that I might not have otherwise sought out or that have been on my TBR list for a long time. That’s what I love about book challenges 😉

I didn’t run as much as I would have liked to, but I did make it out a few times at 7 pm because it is light out now at that time! I love it. I am easing back into morning workouts a few times a week, and I’m still really, really loving yoga class once a week but it’s obviously not enough.

Here’s to another great month in April 🙂

Wanna know what’s new with some other bloggers? Head over to Kristen or Gretchen’s blog to check out the link up today!!

February Recap

Kristen and Gretch have a fun link up today called What’s New With You? so I thought I’d take a minute to recap the last month of my life (mostly for myself to look back on ;)).

My blog was down last week and it was a very simple fix but I just couldn’t seem to find the free time to read about it and figure it out. I’m still not exactly sure what caused the “error” but it seems to be working OK now with the exception of some formatting along the sidebar…but at least you can read posts OK now!!

February was an INSANELY busy month for me for some reason, but it was fun too. What have I been so busy doing? Mostly, mothering and decluttering. haha. I SERIOUSLY underestimated how much I would get done on my extra two days a week at home with the kids. They require constant, constant attention. Although I LOVE this extra time with my girls and I wouldn’t trade it for the world, by the time Tuesday morning comes, I am more than happy to pop into work for 3 days. It has been a total whirlwind.

Some events from February:

1) Fell in love with Persuasion (book + movie). I will be talking about this more next week for the Show us Your Books link up! I honestly did not get through very many books this month at all, partially due to being exhausted by 8pm many nights, and partially because one book I read was long!! I also invested a bit of time into Netflix which cuts out time for reading and I am commuting to work less so there’s less reading time then too!! Right now I have about 8 books on the go at once, so hopefully I’ll finish one soon…LOL.

2) Spent some time with wonderful friends, spent Valentine’s Day with my entire extended family at my parents’ house

3) Celebrated birthdays in my immediate family (brother, sister, dad)

4) Threw out a TON of stuff and donated 4 huge cardboard boxes of toys/clothes/books etc to Goodwill. I am still working on some more but this was MAJOR progress for us.

5) Caught up on Suits on Netflix (which is still a season behind regular TV)…Brian and I both love this show 🙂

6) Lucy had another ear infection AKA didn’t sleep well for about 2 weeks 😉

7) Lucy had her surgery to put tubes in her ears so that the fluid will drain and she will a) have less ear infections and b) be able to hear better AKA talk more. It was very minor surgery and it all went well. We are already noticing an improvement in her speech!

8) Molly is loving preschool and is learning how to read! She can read us about 5 books now #proudmom

9) Registered Molly for real school & we will register her for French Immersion on April 1.

10) Missed 2 yoga classes due to weather & a holiday but feeling much more flexible after doing it at home occasionally too!!

11) Started bullet journaling and fell down a rabbit hole on Pinterest. I am still not sure if my life is busy enough for it, but I like combining a journal and a planner in one book, and I like that it can be whatever you need it to be!

12) We replaced the floor in our kitchen. Brian has done most of it himself and he is ALMOST done but our entire main floor has been complete dusty chaos this week.

***ALSO, today marks the anniversary of the day that Brian and I first met 6 YEARS AGO!!! I wrote more about that experience 2 years ago here. Happy meetiversary, babe!! xo

Head on over to Kristen or Gretchen’s blog to check out the link up today and see “what’s new” with everyone else!!

Show us your books! (September-mid October reads)

I’m still working towards my goal of 100 books in 2015 on Goodreads…I think I’m at 75ish now, so I’m a few “behind schedule”, but still hopeful!!

It’s been awhile since I linked up with Steph and Jana for Show Us Your Books, and today is the one year anniversary of the link up! I love following along with this link up because I always find a few great recommendations to add to Goodreads and maybe even find a new blogger or two to follow.

Looking back on the last month or so, I read a lot of YA novels that are “easier” to read. I have some more adult things coming up soon though to balance that out 😉 Here’s what I read in September up until today in October – so this is over about 6 weeks instead of a month…(thank goodness Goodreads keeps track for me):

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen (3.5/5) This was a cute YA read and I enjoyed it for what it was. I will probably try some more Sarah Dessen sometime later in the fall or next year.

Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty (4/5) Great ending to this series. I was thrown off at first by the timeline compared to the other books, but I think it suited the final novel well.

The Royal We by Heather Cocks (5/5) I mentioned how much I loved this book before and I’m not ashamed of it. No, it is not literature in the same caliber as Great Expectations, but I loved the take one what it could be to be like Will and Kate (or anyone else in that spotlight).

The Princess Diaries/Princess in the Spotlight/Princess in Love by Meg Cabot (3.5ish/5)…these were quick reads, and I enjoyed them, but eventually I was just kind of finished with the series and I might pick it up again another time. Humorous writing but I needed to read something more adult-ish.

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith – (3/5) – I read this one pretty quickly, but was a bit frustrated with the ending and it seems like a book that I’ll forget

The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay – (5/5) I’ve mentioned before that I loved this book. It was a captivating read and I know a lot of others loved it too. Would definitely recommend it if you’re into YA at all.

Me & Mr. Darcy by Alexandra Potter – (3/5) this book was OK, but I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would. I found it difficult to finish, actually.

Fairest by Marissa Meyer – (3/5) I listened to most of this on audiobook. While I appreciated the unique perspective of this book, I still found it annoying and was a bit outraged at the evil Levana, even though I was interested to learn more information about her sister…this book did serve to increase my excitement about Winter in November though!!

Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson (5/5) – One of my best books of the year. I loved it and I think I will buy a copy so I can re-read it. It was a great story and I loved the writing style too. I’d absolutely recommend it if you are a fan of Regency novels or Jane Austen. I read that the author was inspired by Georgette Heyer (and Jane Austen) and I haven’t read any of her books yet but put some on hold at the library!!

My True Love Gave to Me (various authors – edited by Stephanie Perkins) (3/5)- I was planning to read this one closer to Christmas, but the ebook became available at the library for me so I read it this month. I loved some of the stories, and didn’t enjoy others, but that’s how it often works with anthologies. Still some good reads! Here’s my review.

The Heist by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg (4/5) – I used to love the Stephanie Plum books but I quit them when they got to about 10 or so… this was written in a similar way, but I liked the characters and story line a lot more. I think I will definitely read a few more in this series.

Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple (4/5) I listened to this on audiobook too, and while I enjoyed it overall, I did find some parts of it annoying. Once I got closer to the end, I was much more inrigued by how it would end and I felt like it wrapped up well. It’s definitely not a book for everyone though, and I don’t think I’d read it again. Some of the characters were just a bit too much for me.

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell (4/5) – this book isn’t for everyone either, but I liked how it paralleled Harry Potter and expanded on the fanfiction the story from Fangirl. I have enjoyed most of Rowell’s books, and this one kept me up all night reading it on the weekend.The story, while similar to Harry Potter, is its own as well, and I appreciated it for what it was.

Brown Eyed Girl by Lisa Kleypas (3/5) – Picked this up at the library in the “rapid reads” section and enjoyed all of its fluffiness over the holiday weekend. Apparently it’s the 4th in the series. It reminded me a bit of Nora Roberts’ Bride series and I liked that about it. Not overly memorable, but a cute read nonetheless.

The TL;DR Edition of this post: I highly recommend The Royal We if you’re a fan of the younger monarchy, Edenbrooke if you like Regency novels, and Carry On if you like Harry Potter or Fangirl. If you don’t like any of those types of books, give The Heist a try if you’re into light-hearted mysteryish novels. 🙂

Right now I’m reading A Thousand Nights and intrigued so far! It’s such a pretty book, too!!

Head over to Steph and Jana’s blogs to see the link up and find out what other bloggers have been reading this month!! They also have a giveaway going on today since it’s the anniversary of the link up!

Check out yesterday’s post about 10 Great Websites for Book Lovers too!!

Update: Literary Ladies Summer Reading Challenge

I think I read more books this month than I have in years! I loved the break from watching TV in the evenings. I love having an audiobook and a regular book on the go, because sometimes it is just easier to listen to a book (i.e. walking to work, on the bus sometimes, going for a run, washing dishes.) I know I posted last week about books lately, but I wanted to create a post just for the challenge so I can link up today.

I’ve read 8/10 of the books from my list so far, and I’m hoping to be finished by the end of the week!

Books I’ve read so far:

YA Book – Sloppy Firsts 4/5 Stars

A book with a one word title – Cinder 4.5/5 stars

A book about summer, or a book with summer in the title – Twenty Boy Summer 2.5/5 Stars

A book recommended by a blogger – The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry 4.5/5 stars

A book by a non US author – Big Little Lies (amended from The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up which was less than 200 pages) 5/5 Stars (and I will read the Life Changing Magic soon!)

A book on my TBR list for more than a year – The Perks of Being a Wallflower 4/5 Stars

A book with a female heroine – Jane Eyre 5/5 Stars

A suspenseful book – Gone Girl 3/5 stars

Books in progress:
Book written by a celebrity or comedian: One More Thing
Book that will be a movie or tv show – The Martian – I AM SO, SO, SO HOOKED ON THIS AUDIOBOOK!!!

Books that I will be reading when I finish the challenge:

Scarlet
The Husband’s Secret
Second Helpings

Books Lately

I have read a LOT of books in the past month or so because I am participating in the Literary Ladies Summer Reading Challenge! I am so happy with my 10 choices for the challenge so far and I was enthralled by many of the books I’ve read lately. I have quite a few more on my to-read list this summer, but I still have lots of time! 😉

Image via Stocksnap.io and edited by me

Here are some of my recent reads:

Sloppy Firsts – the first in the Jessica Darling series. I ate this book up in about a day. It was very well written and I loved the characters. Can’t wait to read more in the series, especially after the ending of this one!! 4/5 stars

Cinder – I have had this series on my TBR list for ages now, and I’m so glad I finally got through the first one! It was an easy read and I loved the take on the Cinderella story. I am a huge sucker for Cinderella stories, for some reason…I also got pretty hooked on Once Upon a Time last year on TV but I haven’t finished the series yet. Anyway, loved this one too, another fairly easy read and I will be picking up the next book in this series ASAP! 4.5/5 stars

Jane Eyre – I’ve been at this one for a few weeks via audiobook on Librivox (*love* Elizabeth Klett as a narrator!!) I finished the last 10 chapters or so via paperback that I picked up 10 years ago at a used bookstore. This was one of the best classics I’ve ever read, and I absolutely loved it. They call it a classic for a reason!! I would highly recommend it because there were some interesting twists and I adored the characters. The audiobook version is wonderful 🙂 Now I can go watch the movie on Netflix!! 5/5 stars

Big Little Lies – I could NOT put this book down. I started it in the car on our trip to New Brunswick and I read it off and on in the car the entire weekend – which is usually not something I can pull off! It was SOOOO captivating in the sense that I just had to know the ending!!! I almost googled it, but I’m glad that I held out because it was pretty surprising. I enjoyed reading about the relationships in this book – especially as a mother of young children. I will definitely check out more books by Liane Moriarty because her writing really hooked me! 5/5 stars

Gone Girl – I am one of the last people on earth to read this book, I’m sure, but I saw the movie floating around Netflix and I kenw the basic premise of the book so I knew Brian would enjoy the movie. I can’t say that I am a huge fan of the book, to be honest. It kept my attention and I needed to finish it, but I didn’t really LIKE it. The movie wasn’t much better, but I can still see how it was so popular…because everyone needed to know how it ended! I just didn’t feel like it resolved enough for my own liking. 3/5 stars

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry – this was recommended by A LOT of bloggers and people on Goodreads, so I was anxious to give it a try. It was short and sweet (very sweet characters) and I really enjoyed all of the “book talk.” I’d highly recommend this one! 4.5/5 stars

Twenty Boy Summer – another book for the Literary Ladies Book Challenge (actually all of the above were from my original post on that), and this one was a very quick read. It stirred some emotions, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it. It was good, but I felt like I wasn’t as invested in the characters as I wanted to be. 2.5/5 stars

The books that I have left for the challenge are The Martian (started it last night via audiobook), One More Thing (halfway done) and The Perks of Being a Wallflower (just got it from the library last night!)

Other books I’ve read lately (June 2015):

The Cuckoo’s Calling – I was dying to read this series by Robert Galbraith AKA J.K. Rowling, and although this one was no Harry Potter (obviously, it’s an adult book ;)), and it took me awhile to get into, I still really enjoyed it and I would highly recommend it if you like private investigator type stories, although this one is not as funny as the Veronica Mars or Stephanie Plum books. (3.5/5 stars)

Me Before You – I haven’t felt this emotional about a book in ages and I loved it. It was SUCH a good read. Although I couldn’t necessarily relate to it in very many ways and I am also undecided about whether I am in agreement with it, I still absolutely loved it and it was a great fictional journey. I can’t wait for the sequel which is supposedly coming out this fall. (5/5 stars)

In short, I’d definitely recommend Me Before You, Big Little Lies, Jane Eyre, and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. 🙂

Linking up with Show Us Your Books here.