Book Talk – Show us Your Books November!

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.

Recent Reads (SUYB May!)

This past month of reading was good, but also weird. For awhile, I had about 5 books on the go and still wanted to pick up another one. Haha. It was a good mix of fluffier enjoyable chick lit books and some more serious DEFINITELY amazing books. There were a few duds and a DNF too. Linking up with the wonderful Steph and Jana to chat books for the show us your books link up today!!!

BOOKS I WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND depending on your tastes

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 6 of 5 stars

I actually raved about this book in my post yesterday – long story short – Beartown and this book are absolutely worth anyone’s time in my humble opinion.

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the advanced review copy of this book. It exceeded my expectations which were already remarkably high and I can’t wait for the third in this trilogy.

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The audiobook version of this was very well done -I enjoyed it immensely although it did take me a little while to get into it, which is often the case with these types of books. I will admit that this book wasn’t really what I was expecting it to be – but it was definitely thought provoking and I felt torn at times about what I wanted for the characters. The characters absolutely made this story though…as the reader, you get to know the characters so well through their letters while Roy is in prison, and their parents both play important roles in the story as well. This deeply moving book will stay with me throughout the year.

Down a Dark Road by Linda Castillo
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I’ve read book 1 and now book 9 in this series and I need to read all the ones in between. Kate Burkholder is a wonderful character and the Amish setting makes these books extremely interesting. This particular mystery was emotional and intense. Although I do recommend this book, it’s probably better to read the series in order if you can get your hands on them.

Thank you to Minotaur and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It took me awhile to get into this book because it had been almost a year since I’d read the second one, but then I started it on audio after awhile and I was ALL IN. Switched between audio & print and really enjoyed that. This world is so complicated but so fascinating and I love these characters. Great conclusion to a fantasy series. I’m not always this invested in fantasy books – they are hit or miss for me, but this trilogy was so well done.

(Also – some extremely sad moments in this book :()

Graceling by Kristin Cashore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another audiobook that was VERY well done. I enjoyed the full-cast performance immensely. The story itself was also very good and I liked it a lot. Katsa and Po were great characters, and the whole Graceling realm is very interesting. I felt like a few things were a bit easier than they should have been for them, but I know it’s supposed to be that way because of Katsa’s grace. I will for sure pick up the others in this series at some point.

This is a very approachable fantasy book too – maybe because I was listening to it? The world didn’t feel quite as complicated as some of the other fantasy I’ve read.

Roomies by Christina Lauren
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was super fun to read (in less than a day :D) and made me laugh out loud a bunch of times. Of course, parts of it were absolutely predictable and also pretty far-fetched but it was cute and fun. I love the whole NYC setting, particularly the Broadway part because that is one of my favourite parts of the city. I also have a bit of a thing for Ireland so the Irish character was so great.

Dear Aaron by Mariana Zapata
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh it was so good to be back with Mariana Zapata’s words on the page. I had purchased this ebook last fall after loving a few of her other books and then when I read From Lukov with Love, a friend pointed out that Ruby in that book already had her own book which is this one. I really liked Ruby in Lukov and she was wonderful in this book too. She was upfront, and a bit innocent but brave, so friendly, and so well-meaning. Aaron was great too. I felt a bit nostalgic reading this book because I used to love those days (high school/university age for me) of getting to know someone via e-mails and instant messaging (my own husband and I met online and it was so fun to read about a couple that got to know each other via 21st century letters :)). The ending came a bit too quickly for me, but fortunately Mariana Zapata excels at epilogues 🙂

PS – it was fun to read about Ruby’s family from her perspective after getting to know them so well in Lukov.

Dating-ish by Penny Reid
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Marie is such a strong character and I was excited to read her story. I was also happy to revisit Matt from down the hall after reading Fiona and Greg’s book. The entire premise of this book was just too much fun – the story Marie was working on and how Matt fit into that story, and the way they got to know each other…it was really fun to read. Of course, it was also fun to see this story converge with the one before it near the end and to read about all of that from a different character’s perspective – I love how Penny Reid does that.

Also LOVED all the HP references in this book 🙂

Marriage of Inconvenience by Penny Reid
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Definitely one of my favourites of the series. Although I love the romance in these novels (all of them were different but awesome), I also really REALLY enjoy the female friendship aspect as well. This final book in the series felt like a LONG TIME COMING for Dan & Kat and the book definitely did their relationship justice!!
Things I loved:
1) Fun idea for a marriage of convenience
2) Dan the Security man (in general) + Dan’s family
3) The epilogue OF COURSE

Bottom line: if you like contemporary romance and you have not read this series, now would be a good time. Start at the beginning though!!!

Arrogant Devil by R.S. Grey
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I really, really liked Meredith and her hilarious self-talk and I loved the setting and the secondary characters in this book. Jack was great and their dynamic was also quite funny. I think I just had too high of expectations for it, maybe. I expected a bit more drama with Andrew and/or Helen. Overall though, this book made me smile and I really really liked it. Her books are always enjoyable reads in my opinion and this one passed the time nicely.

Thank you to R.S. Grey for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. It is available May 10 but it’s available for pre-order as of yesterday for 0.99!

BOOKS THAT WERE ENJOYABLE

The Gamble by Kristen Ashley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is super highly rated on Goodreads and Amazon and Kristen Ashley is hugely popular. I liked this, but I didn’t love it. I found it a little bit too over the top (I don’t really love insta-love) and it was insanely long (or it felt that way). That being said, the characters were still adorable, the setting was so well described and sounded beautiful, and the supporting characters were overall hilarious so I liked all of that. I might continue with the series down the road but I’m not in a huge rush.

Bad Bachelor by Stefanie London
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a cute book with fun characters but it lacked a little something – I’m not sure what. I liked the idea of the app in the book and the library fundraiser and all of that was great. I think I just needed a bit more. Will try out some of her other books for sure though. This one is on Hoopla if you are wanting to give it a try! 🙂

It’s All About the Duke by Amelia Grey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked this historical romance and particularly enjoyed Marlena’s character. Aspects of this certainly reminded me of Lady Whistledown in the Bridgerton series, so that was kind of fun and I chuckle a bit at the ways in which women entertained themselves back in that time period. The banter and fun between the two main characters was fun to read and of course the ending was what I had hoped for 🙂

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy of this read in exchange for an honest review.

DON’T BOTHER

Can’t Fight the Feeling by Sandy James

Nope – I guess I only like *some* new adult books.

Part 2: CHILDREN’S BOOKS WE HAVE LOVED LATELY
I’ve shared a few children’s books in the past in this link up but it’s been awhile. We are a huge reading household so my girls usually have a chapter book on the go that I’m reading to them, and dozens of picture books around. Here are a few favourites lately:

Red Is Best by Kathy Stinson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of my daughter’s favourite books because she is a preschooler and her favourite colour is red. The writing is very cute and makes us all smile.

Chester’s Back! by Mélanie Watt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

These Chester books are absolutely hilarious and I love Melanie Watt.

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Tales of Extraordinary Women by Elena Favilli
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My daughters are extremely fascinated by the stories in this book and we have read them a few at a time each evening and morning for over a week now. I’m learning a lot too! My favourite bio in this book is Jane Austen (of course). We also love the second book, which includes a short bio on J.K. Rowling that brought tears to my eyes. The fact that she was told Harry Potter would never succeed and then it went on to inspire MILLIONS of children to read is unbelievable and incredible.

We have also enjoyed the entire Heidi Hecklebeck series (Molly, 6 1/2, can read these on her own which is great).

ALSO – I wanted to mention that Audiobook Sync started back up again last week – free audiobooks for Overdrive all summer! They are mostly YA but there are some great choices there!! This week there is a Kwame Alexander book there. Once you download it, it’s yours forever on Overdrive! Just a bookish PSA.

Books for Review (January-February)

All of the books listed in this post were provided to me from the publisher or author as an advanced review copy. All opinions are my own.

I’ve read a few REALLY great books lately, and since a few of them are recent publications, I wanted to highlight them! I’ll also share short reviews in the Show us Your Books link up next week. The Great Alone came out yesterday, The Beau and The Belle came out on February 1, and the other three books came out in January or December.

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow, this book was so powerful and thought-provoking. The tension and plot-building in this story reminded me of Beartown. Both books take place in remote locations that are cold and have tight-knit (and opinionated) communities. The description of the setting in this novel was absolutely incredible and I am certain this will be on many people’s must-read list this year. A trigger warning for some domestic violence, so beware of that if this might not be the right time to read this book for you. I had previously only read Winter Garden and The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, both of which were amazing and I found it so interesting to see her writing in a more modern (still, 1970-80s) time period. She certainly never fails to bring tears to my eyes in her work (that’s 3/3 right now – haha – I will have to continue to test this). Leni and her family and friends will be in my mind and heart for the rest of the year and I can undoubtedly say that this will be in my top reads for 2018 already.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the review copy of this wonderfully exceptional book. 🙂 It will stay with me well into the future.

PS: Read an interview with Kristin Hannah about The Great Alone here.

The Beau & the Belle by R.S. Grey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have read and loved three R.S. Grey books in 2018 and this one is lovely. The characters are adorable and humorous, and I loved the setting. I loved the initial meeting as well as the reconnecting down the road. The side characters were also great – including both the mothers and the other friends etc. Also…how gorgeous is the cover? If you are looking for a lighthearted romance, I can’t recommend this author enough.

Thank you so much to this lovely author and her marketing team for sending me the advanced review copy of this novel.

Longbourn’s Songbird by Beau North
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

I really, REALLY liked the time period that this re-telling was set in, and I enjoyed the progression of the plot that was somewhat close to the original, although there were some very with obvious changes that didn’t seem TOO ridiculous to me (as in other adaptations). Better yet, if you haven’t read the original P&P, this is still a nice little story to read and it was quite well written. I like Beau North as an author quite a bit and I’m looking forward to reading her other work now that I’ve enjoyed two of her Austen retellings.

Thank you to Netgalley and Beau North for the review copy of this wonderful book.

As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The premise for this book is quite captivating and unlike anything I’ve read before, so I was initially quite taken with it. I read the first third of it quite quickly and was anxious to find out what happened. However, Eldon’s character soon got pretty old and he never seemed to do much. He was also so angsty and difficult to read about. I will say that the author strung me along quite nicely in that I wanted to keep reading to find out what his wish was – and what others had wished for – but overall, this book wasn’t quite as good as I expected it to be. The ending did redeem it in some ways, and this might be better received in its target YA audience.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the advanced copy of this novel for review.

Meet Cute: Some People Are Destined to Meet by Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I often find it quite difficult to rate short story anthologies, so what I did here was provide a star rating for each story and then averaged them 😉 *nerd alert*

The concept of this whole anthology was super fun – I LOVE reading about first meeting, first falling in love etc. Although I enjoy and really love the stage of marriage that I’m in, I think it is fun to reminisce about those early days and reading about them is just so fun. The butterflies, the wondering what to say… it’s all amplified in this anthology because it features young adults 🙂 This is a fun book to read around Valentine’s Day too if you want to experience some lovey-dovey ness.

SIEGE ETIQUETTE by KATIE COTUGNO
This was a story about a boy and a girl at a party who had known each other for years but never spoken. It was okay but nothing too exciting and reminded me why I sometimes find short stories hard to read. (2/5 stars)

PRINT SHOP by NINA LACOUR
A cute story about a teenage girl starting a job at an eccentric print shop and how she goes out of her way to offer customer service to another teenage girl over Twitter. Cute and modern. (3/5 stars)

HOURGLASS by IBI ZOBOI
A story about a high school senior who wants to get out of her small town and move on. (3/5 stars)

CLICK by KATHERINE MCGEE
A cute story about a program for online dating that takes your entire internet history and matches you up with someone based on your compatibility. Packed a punch and I really, really liked this one. (4.5/5 stars)

THE INTERN by SARA SHEPARD
A story about a girl who spends a part of her day entertaining a rock star and learns a bit about herself in the process. (2/5 stars)

SOMEWHERE THAT’S GREEN by MEREDITH RUSSO
A story about a transgendered girl and some of the issues she is experiencing in high school due to one girl’s public stance on her. (3/5 stars – very interesting)

THE WAY WE LOVE HERE by DHONIELLE CLAYTON
A story about an island in which all of the inhabitants know when they will meet their true love. A look at future destiny. Cute and unique. (3/5 stars)

OOMPH by EMERY LORD
A cute story about a girl meeting another girl while waiting for her flight at the airport. (4/5 stars)

THE DICTIONARY OF YOU AND ME by JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT
One of my favourites in the anthology – this one is about a girl who works at the public library and spends quite a bit of time trying phoning a guy to return the dictionary he took out months ago. I can’t resist a good library setting 🙂 (4.5/5 stars)

THE UNLIKELY LIKELIHOOD OF FALLING IN LOVE by JOCELYN DAVIES
As someone who has studied a lot of statistics and works with them daily, I loved this. Such a cute story about a girl who does a high school stats project on the likelihood of seeing a stranger on another subway train in NYC. So cute. (4/5 stars)

259 MILLION MILES by KASS MORGAN
Super interesting premise but the ending didn’t live up to it for me. (2/5 stars)

SOMETHING REAL by JULIE MURPHY
Not my favourite, unfortunately. Was not super impressed with the whole reality show concept. (2/5 stars)

SAY EVERYTHING by HUNTLEY FITZPATRICK
Cute. (3/5 stars)

THE DEPARTMENT OF DEAD LOVE by NICOLA YOON
such a cool concept (4 stars)

Thank you to Netgalley and HMH books for young readers for the copy of this book.

Read any good books lately? Are you dying to read any of these??

Recent Netgalley Reads

I like to talk about books for monthly link ups, but in the past few months I’ve made my way quite steadily through some Netgalley books and I want to devote adequate time to reviewing those books, too!!! Here are a few books that I’ve read recently from Netgalley. (Sorry for any repetition!!) I also noticed this week that Louise Penny’s newest book is on Netgalley if that appeals to any of my fellow fans of hers!! Just requested it today and hoping it works out!

Beartown by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I mentioned on my last link up post that I loved this book. I’ve since had a couple of weeks to digest it and talk about it with a few fellow readers who also loved it. I still haven’t gotten to A Man Called Ove, but I intend to get there soon because I love Backman’s writing SO much. This book was emotional, intense, and full of character development which is a driving force for me when it comes to reading. There were a few characters that I was destined to love and relate to more than others, and it’s meant to be that way. This book is very much about how your past, your upbringing, and your relationships affect who you are and who you are going to become.

I feel like I was also drawn to this book a bit because of the hockey, which is something that is SO Canadian of me to say, but I’m saying it anyway. However, hockey is more like a means to an end in this book and while you could read it all and say, yes, that was all about a hockey team in a remote town, that’s not really something I got out of it at all. Hockey is definitely a theme, but I think it could have easily been replaced by another sport or pastime and had the same message.

If you’re on the fence about trying this book, I cannot emphasize my love for it enough. It was emotional, it was intense, it was gripping, and it was so beautifully written. I am not at all surprised at all the buzz surrounding this book right now. This was by far the best Netgalley book I’ve ever had the privilege of reading.

FOX by Kelly Oliver
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book reminded me a bit of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series even though the characters come from a slightly different background. I definitely saw a lot of it coming, but it was still fast-paced enough to hold my interest. I didn’t realize before reading it that it is the third in a series, and I am guessing that there will be more in the series moving forward. Overall, this book passed the time nicely and added a bit of a different element to the genre. Parts of it were downright scary, too. I will likely pick up the next in the series just to find out what happens to all of the characters because I felt like this one ended a bit abruptly.

The Intuitive Eating Workbook: Ten Principles for Nourishing a Healthy Relationship with Food by Evelyn Tribole
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was such an applicable workbook to go with their book Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works, which I had picked up used a few months ago. Overall, I enjoy the way they portray dieting, eating well, and weight loss in this book and I agree with the principles. I am hoping that I can break some emotional eating and yo-yoing by continuing to refer to this workbook, and I think I will pick it up in print to make that a little bit easier to follow along with.

Strong Is the New Pretty: A Celebration of Girls Being Themselves by Kate T. Parker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a powerful book that I cannot wait to share with all of the women in my life, and with my two daughters when they are a bit older. The message portrayed in this book is something that is SO important for me to share with my children. I want them to know that they can do anything they put their minds to, and I think that books like this really drive that message home in a beautiful and visual way.

The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have to say that this book doesn’t even come close to The Rosie Project in my opinion, and it was not exactly what I expected, but I still had to keep reading so there is something to be said for that. I enjoyed the musical references and the setting. The characters didn’t really do it for me, and as I mentioned above, that can really make or break a story for me.

What have you been reading lately?! I still have a few more good reviews coming from Netgalley in the next couple of months, and right now I’ve got two audiobooks (Scrappy Little Nobody and Born a Crime) and A Gathering of Shadows on the go!

Recent Netgalley Reads + Slice of Brie Book Club!

I love Netgalley because I’ve discovered some books that I hadn’t ever heard of – or thought I would enjoy. I’ve also had the opportunity to read some popular books before they were published…and that’s pretty fun!! However, I’ve also had a few duds and a few books that I didn’t finish.

Here are some books I’ve read in the past few months via Netgalley:

The Gender Game by Bella Forrest – I finished this book in about 24 hours. It was a fun read and very fast-paced in my mind. It also has a cliffhanger ending leading into book 2 which comes out on November 21, 2016. As it says in the tagline, this book definitely reminds me of the Divergent series, which I enjoyed, and a bit of The Hunger Games. There isn’t as much camaraderie as Divergent has though…and not as much family as The Hunger Games. It’s definitely dystopian YA/new adult so if that isn’t your cup of tea, you probably won’t love this, but the world that Forrest built in this first book was pretty interesting to me. All in all, I definitely liked this book much more than I expected to, and I really enjoyed the characters and setting. I look forward to reading the second one later this fall. It looks like you can get the books on Kindle Unlimited too. This was probably in my top 5 Netgalley books along with Eligible (which I obviously loved!) The cover is cool too:

Leave Me by Gayle Foreman – I haven’t read any of Foreman’s YA novels although I know she has a lot of fans. I have to say that I really did not enjoy this book. The plot seemed a little bit too scattered for me and the subject matter made me feel a bit upset and stressed as a mother of 2 young children (although I can appreciate that the character was going through a tumultuous time and not everyone is the same parent etc. etc). It just didn’t work for me. However, I’m sure others would enjoy it and if you are a fan of her other works (which I might still try someday), you might enjoy this one.

The Wedding Belles series: To Have and To Hold, For Better or Worse, To Love and To Cherish by Lauren Layne

I really enjoyed all three of these books. I think the second one was probably my favourite (main character = HEATHER, ;)) but they were all fun to read. They are not amazing pieces of literature, buy they were fun summer reads. I especially think it would be fun to read these kinds of books (about NYC and wedding planners) while planning a wedding!

To Have and To Hold: 3 Autumn Love Stories by Betsy St. Amant, Katie Ganshert & Becky Wade– I accidentally requested this one thinking it was in the Wedding Belles series above (same title!), but it was a totally different book with three novellas. These were just OK for me. They were a bit short and not well developed enough but passed the time ok. I’m not really a novella person but they were fun to read while commuting and had happy endings. I just didn’t fully feel invested in any of the characters and they felt rushed – but that’s because they are short!

Keep Me Posted by Lisa Beazley – I’m sure you have seen this one talked about before. This book wasn’t too bad, but I found parts of it to be very unbelievable. It did make me want to keep in touch with my sister a bit better (even though I see her at least twice a month and talk to her once a week)…it also made me want to write some letters (but NOT scan them, haha). I could definitely relate to parts of this and all in all, it was fun to read.

The Guinea Stamp and The Georgian Rake by Alice Chetwynd Ley – I’ve read a lot of books in this genre and these ones just weren’t my favourites. There are much better Regency books out there to spend your time on. They still had cute endings, but the writing just wasn’t quite what I am accustomed to and it was hard to get through these.

Open When: Letters to Lift your Spirits– by Karen Salmansohm: this is an adorable book & a quick read (it’s not a novel). I love books like this that are well suited as a gift. I definitely wouldn’t hesitate to send this to someone who needs a little bit of extra cheer in their lives. The imagery and the words were really touching.

So there you have it…have you read anything fun lately via Netgalley?? If you’re a blogger and you haven’t tried Netgalley yet, you definitely should!

Up next for me is The Confectioner’s Tale, A Study in Scarlet Women, The Roanoke Girls, and The Gift of a Lifetime (closer to Christmas time :))

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I also have some thoughts I wanted to share on One True Loves to link up with Brie’s book club. I specifically re-joined Audible to listen to this book, so I’m determined to share some thoughts on it!! This was my first book by Taylor Jenkins Reid and I absolutely 100% loved it. In fact, I loved it so much that I read another of her books, After I Do, almost immediately after One True Loves and LOVED IT TOO. Something about her writing is just absolutely addicting. She writes about really unique situations and makes you wonder “what if??” the entire time you are reading.

In One True Loves, I was completely happy with the ending of the story even though I initially thought I could never be happy because I had no idea how someone could resolve a situation like that one. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be in that situation. I wonder what it would be like if you had children? I guess it might be a bit different. There were a lot of intense emotions at play in this story.

I don’t want to say too much about the ending or what happens in the story, but of course there were some moments of uncertainty. I loved that this story focused on Emma as a person rather than Emma as a couple, in some ways. Of course, I also loved teh backdrop of the book store as a setting 😉

If you haven’t read this book yet, I highly, highly recommend it!! I listened to it and couldn’t listen fast enough (literally – 1.8 speed!) 😉 I also highly recommend After I Do, which I almost think I liked more (but I can’t actually decide).

I’m getting my hair cut tonight and I am SO excited. I have a post later this week about #17before2017, so watch out for that! 🙂

Read My Books Challenge: How’d it go??

The very idea of Erin and Dani’s Read My Books challenge for the month of June really appealed to me. I have about 5 books that I keep “meaning” to get to that I just haven’t prioritized because I own them and they aren’t due back anytime soon. I made it a goal to get through as many of my own books (including ones from Netgalley) as I could in the month of June.

Here’s how it went for me:

I started and finished The Happiness Project, which I mentioned on Tuesday that I LOVED. This took awhile to get through, but it was so worth it and probably one of the best non-fiction books I’ve ever read. This one was a paperback that I’d bought a few months ago and it counted towards one of my summer reading challenges.

I read three Netgalley books: The Secrets of Castle du Reve, The Girls in the Garden, and Sleepless in Manhattan. The latter of these two were for the reading challenge as well.

I finished listening to Emma and Sense and Sensibility, both of which I had downloaded almost a year ago and hadn’t gotten to yet.

I started three books that I haven’t yet finished: Endgame, Every Move, and The Grand Sophy.

I also finished an audiobook from the library, A Share in Death (I had to! I started it at the end of May and it was a murder mystery!!) and read one Bridgertons book from the library. I read a bunch of kids books from the library but those don’t count for this challenge. 😉

I also read a couple of Harry Potter books, which I own but they were re-reads :).

Overall, I had hoped to get to a few more of my own books this month, but I was happy with my progress and happy to have gotten ahead in some of my Netgalley books and books on my shelf. I think I would have been more likely to attempt another book off my own shelf if I hadn’t signed up for the reading challenge in the same month, because I felt torn between reading for the challenge and reading my own books. STILL a great activity though and I think I will try to do this once a year or so.

Did you try to prioritize reading your own books last month? How’d it go?! I must admit, I am relieved to have a huge pile of library books to get through again but it was a fun month of reading some cherished books and it’s also nice to see that feedback percentage go up on Netgalley!

Show us Your Books – June 2016

Today I’m linking up with Steph and Jana for Show us Your Books!! I’m looking forward to reading what others have been reading lately over here at the link up.

My reading life is all over the place this year. This past month included a few more “lighter reads” than the past 4 months in that I read a lot less books about WWII or historical fiction and some more contemporary adult fiction. I think I’ve also decided that 2016 is my year to read all of Louise Penny’s books and all of Kate Morton’s books, so you will probably see some redundancy in my Show Us Your Books posts for the rest of the year (#sorrynotsorry #beyou) as well as some more variety when this summer reading challenge recaps come up in July and August. I read a lot of really enjoyable books this month. Some of them I listed as 3/5 and for me that rating means that I still really enjoyed the time I spent on them and would recommend them but I might not re-read them or purchase them myself.

Dead Cold by Louise Penny
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am officially incredibly hooked on Louise Penny’s writing and her wonderful characters. Her writing is beautiful, captivating, and I love the Canadian-ness of it all. I had some hunches about the way this book would pan out, but there were still some twists I didn’t see coming. The hints at what is to come in the series have intrigued me a lot and I will be picking up the third book as soon as I can. I highly, highly recommend this series. It’s not very often that I read books in this genre that are so incredibly well written. Her words are lyrical, and I really enjoy the snippets of poetry and art that are scattered throughout the books (especially this one).

The Cruellest Month by Louise Penny
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another fantastic Louise Penny book (Book 3 in the series). In this book, the main murder mystery didn’t seem quite as shocking to me but the story line about the Arnot case and Gamache’s career was captivating, and I look forward to more of that in the future (undoubtedly). I really think that this book shed some light on a few important characters from previous books too, and I enjoyed learning more about Gamache’s family.

Because of Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I soaked this book right up and finished it basically in one night. I’d highly recommend it if you like regency era novels such as Edenbrooke, although it is a bit different from that one too (and slightly different time frame). The characters were witty and fun. One thing I always find funny about books from this (general) time period is how they keep themselves entertained – not that they don’t do anything, but in this book, a typical “indoor” activity is making a house from playing cards. There is some dancing etc. too 🙂 The love story was cute albeit predictable – but that’s what I usually expect out of a book like this, so I was happy with it. I will definitely be seeking out other titles from this author because I didn’t realize this one was a prequel to her much more famous Bridgertons series.

The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I COULD NOT put this book down. The character development was fantastic. I didn’t necessarily relate to any of the characters 100% but I did really enjoy reading about their lives. I found myself thinking of some other books about the power of family, and this one (to me) resolved really well at the end. It’s not a completely happy ending (arguably), but it was satisfying. I’m not exactly sure what it was about this book that was so captivating to me, but I would highly recommend it and I think it makes for a perfect summer read (but it’s not too fluffy in my mind either). I don’t know if I’d consider it to be a re-read, but it was very entertaining and really enjoyable and dare I say unique?! I can see absolutely see why this book has received so much hype this summer.

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was my second Kate Morton book, and I have no doubt that I will read them all before the end of the year. Although I’ve heard that her books follow a bit of a formula, and I can definitely agree after reading 2 of her books, I still find the plots to be abundantly interesting. I am recently really enjoying books that go back and forth between time periods (if it’s done well). This book kept me guessing until the end, and I did not see the twist coming AT ALL. I loved this book. If you haven’t read it yet, you absolutely should.

The Crown by Kiera Cass
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I had been awaiting this book since I realized near the end of The Heir that it wasn’t the end of the series (how I missed that before, I’m not too sure). This was a satisfying conclusion to the series and I really enjoyed Eadlyn’s character. It was a very quick read for me, and I don’t think I felt quite as deeply for these characters as I did for the characters in the original 3 books, but I still embraced the ending and the resolution of the series. These books still remind me so much of what The Bachelor (Bachelorette) would be like in a royal setting, but they are pretty entertaining nonetheless and a lot more innocent. These books aren’t for everyone, and they aren’t fantastic literature, but they pass the time quite nicely.

Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Although I did enjoy this book, and I am a fan of other Nora Roberts books, I probably won’t seek out the rest of the (very long!) series immediately. However, I will seek out the series when I am in the mood for this type of book. The mystery was interesting, and I liked the futuristic but very believable and not too “out there” setting. I really liked Eve Dallas & Roarke. It was a pretty good (and pretty quick) read that I’d recommend.

Sleepless in Manhattan by Sarah Morgan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a pleasant read which had some really enjoyable characters and a cute love story. Sometimes it’s nice to just escape in a book like this. It reminded me a bit of Nora Robert’s bride quartet, which I enjoyed a few years ago. Although the story as a bit predictable, it still passed the time nicely and sometimes it’s nice to just read a book with a happy ending. I can definitely see where this series is going too, and it will be fun to follow along with it. This one really falls in the contemporary romance category so if that isn’t something you enjoy, then this book is not for you…but if you like a cute story, I liked this one. I read this one for the #SCSBC16.

Thanks to Netgalley and HQN for providing me with an advanced review copy of this book.

The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

More like 3.5. I enjoyed this book but the pace didn’t pick up enough for me right away. It reminded me a bit of Big Little Lies in the sense that you get the primary event right at the beginning and then go back to piece together what happened. As a mother of two (much younger) girls, this book made me feel a bit queasy with its possibilities although I feel like the communal garden part is a bit unrealistic in today’s society. The clique and mean girls is definitely a part of life now though, unfortunately. The characters in this book were well developed and I must admit that I really had no idea how it was going to end until it got there.
Thanks to Atria and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced review copy of this book.

A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this audiobook, and the narrator was quite good. I will likely make my way through the rest of this series bit by bit, because Kincaid is an interesting character and I like the British setting. I have to admit that I “figured out” the mystery before the end but I was definitely guessing for quite awhile. I am interested to read about Kincaid in his more usual jurisdiction.
This cast of characters was quite diverse and entertaining and I can see these books being a nice diversion. This was my first time listening to this genre of book on audio (normally I’d plow through it in a paperback in a day or two), and it was great.

The Secrets of Castle Du Rêve by Hannah Emery
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book had some suspenseful and interesting parts, and it was a pretty quick read. I was intrigued to find out how all of the characters were linked. I definitely felt like something MUCH worse was going to happen to one of the characters because I kept thinking of Tom from The Girl on the Train for some reason, but I was pleasantly surprised that that storyline wasn’t what I expected. This wasn’t my favourite book of the year, but it was an okay read. The changing perspectives felt a bit confusing at times.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Impulse for providing me with an advanced review copy of this book.

And a DNF from this month, which is rare for me…

Exposure to a Billionaire by Ann Menke
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book had an interesting premise and I was so fortunate to the author for sending out an advanced copy but it really fell short with me. I think people who have similar lifestyles might find it more interesting. For me, try as I may, I just couldn’t get into the book or the writing style but I’m sure there are others who would enjoy the story more. I have more thoughts about this book but this is the gist of it for this review. Thank you to Ann Menke for sending me this ebook to try out.

I am currently reading (and REALLY enjoying) The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I am also re-reading Harry Potter in anticipation of the upcoming release in July. I am listening on audiobook (Stephen Fry version) for this first time and LOVING it. It feels kind of like watching the movies in more detail.

I’m still trying to read my own books in June but I’m also working on some categories from the SCSBC 🙂