Stephany Writes

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (9.16.19)

Happy Monday! I had such a wonderful weekend – that seems to be the theme of September. I’ll take it! My gym finally opened, I celebrated one of my dearest friends at her baby shower, and celebrated my brother’s birthday. I also got a lot of reading done this week as I finished four books! Woop! That’s my highest reading week in a long time. Here are my reviews:

Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin (★★★★☆)

This book is marketed as an homage to Pride and Prejudice and while I’m familiar with that story (mostly based on watching the Keira Knightley movie), I couldn’t tell you if it paid proper homage or not. All I can tell you is that I loved this story and thought it was utterly delightful! It follows two Muslim characters: Ayesha who is a substitute teacher, loves writing poetry, and really isn’t sure she wants to be married, and Khalid who is a web developer and follows his faith very seriously. He’s also letting his mother choose his wife. These two characters start to continuously cross paths with each other, and their verbal sparring is one of my favorite things about this novel. I also loved getting a look into contemporary Muslim culture and arranged marriage, and how the author was able to walk that fine line of discussing how faith can look different to each person without diminishing its importance in many people’s lives. All in all, a wonderful read and one I would definitely recommend!

American Fairytale by Adriana Herrera (★★★☆☆)

Gosh, I have such a fraught relationship with Adriana Herrera’s books. The characters she writes are so vivid and real, and I think about them long after I’ve finished their story. The plots are always unique and engaging and perfectly timely. But the execution is lacking somewhat. She’s a new author, so hopefully, her writing gets better as time goes on but I spent a large majority of this novel reporting content errors to Amazon. I just wish Herrera had a better editor by her side, someone who could tighten up her writing and make it stronger. Because her message is a great one and her characters are so damn delightful. I want to see her have all the success in the world, so maybe hire me, Adriana? I’ll be glad to edit your next book!

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert (★★☆☆☆)

Unpopular opinion alert! I did not love this book. It has a 4.11 rating on Goodreads with 35,000 reviews so I know my opinion is in the minority, but man, it was a slog for me. It’s the story of Vivian Morris who is kicked out of Vassar College at the age of 19. It’s 1940 and what’s a girl to do? Her parents ship her off to her Aunt Peg who runs a theater company in New York City and it’s there that Vivian truly discovers herself, meeting interesting people, discovering her sexuality, and furthering her costume-making skills. This book could have easily been 100 pages shorter and it’s really not one I’m rushing out to recommend.

Ready to Run by Lauren Layne (★★★★☆)

I loved this contemporary romance a lot! It was a quick read that I started and finished over the weekend. It’s one of those “city girl goes to a small town” romance tropes, and it was perfectly executed! I really loved both main characters and thought that their romance developed in a natural way. I’m always very critical of the “black moment” in romances (i.e., the inevitable breakup scene) because a lot of times, they don’t feel real or the stakes aren’t high enough. This black moment, though, was so perfect and I kinda didn’t see it coming, which I always love. Another winner from Lauren Layne!

What I’m reading this week…

> Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery. Continuing my reread of the Anne of Green Gables series with the next book on the list. I started reading this book last night and it’s just so lovely to dive back into Anne’s world.

> This Dark Road to Mercy by Wiley Cash, on audio. I’ve had this book on my TBR for years and I’m finally getting around to reading it! I’ll start it during my commute this morning.

> Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi. Picking up this sweet YA romance to read this week. I heard about it on the All the Books podcast and bought it at Target a few months ago, so it’s time to finally sit down and read it!

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (9.9.19)

Happy Monday, friends! I had a really wonderful weekend – one of those weekends where I feel like I got to fully turn my brain off and just be. I needed that! And football started up again! I am so, so happy about that. Every Sunday, I go to my mom’s to watch the 1:00 and 4:00 game with her, my brother, and older nephew (and sometimes my stepdad, if he’s in town), and it’s one of my favorite traditions! It was nice to have lots of family time on Sunday. <3

Last week, I finished two books and both were excellent! My reviews are below:

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou (★★★★★)

What an insane novel! I knew the overall story about Elizabeth Holmes and her company Theranos, as I listened to the podcast The Dropout that details what happened and includes interviews with many of the top whistleblowers. But this book provided such greater detail and really outlines how Elizabeth was able to get away with her lies for as long as she did. This book read more like an insane novel (or the plot of a Shonda Rhimes show…) than real life, and I tore through it in a matter of days. Do yourself a favor and pick this book up. You won’t regret it!

The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves (★★★★☆)

I finished this book in two days, which is frankly unheard of for me. Even though I read a lot, I’m usually reading multiple books at one time so it takes me longer to finish them. But I couldn’t put this book down! It’s a romance, featuring a neurodiverse character, Annika, who is on the autism spectrum, and meets a boy named Jonathan while she’s in college. They end up dating, even though Annika’s personality presents a lot of challenges but Jonathan is more than willing to meet them. They break up when Jonathan moves to NYC after college and find each other again 10 years later. I loved Annika so much, and I could really relate to her in some ways, especially regarding social situations and feeling awkward and choosing to remain quiet for fear of saying something dumb. And, oh, the love between Annika and Jonathan! As someone who finds dating so difficult due to my own social anxiety and high sensitivity, I loved seeing how Jonathan cared for Annika and met her where she was, rather than forcing her to be someone she’s not. Anyway, I could talk about this story for hours and how much it meant to me, but I’ll stop here. Just read it!

What I’m reading this week…

> Ayesha At Last by Uzma Jalaluddin, on audio. I’m about halfway through this novel, and I love it so much! It’s light-hearted and fun, while also dealing with serious topics.

> City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert. Finally came off the holds list at my library for this novel! I like it so far, especially the setting of New York City in the 1940s. It’s a long book (466 pages!) but I think I’ll stick it out.

> American Fairytale by Adriana Herrera. My romance pick for the week is the next book in Herrera’s Dreamers series. Currently, I think I’ve reported 10 content errors to Amazon so maybe I should ask the publisher if they’re looking for a copyeditor? 🤣

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (9.2.19)

Happy Labor Day, friends! I have had a great, low-key weekend, which extends to today! My plans for this Labor Day are to stay at home, get some stuff done around the apartment, and maybe watch too many episodes of Schitt’s Creek. 🙂 It doesn’t look like Hurricane Dorian is going to affect us here in the Tampa area (thank goodness!) and it might even miss Florida’s coastline completely. Fingers crossed! Dorian has already wreaked immense havoc in the Bahamas as it landed as a Cat 5 hurricane yesterday afternoon, which just breaks my heart.

It’s hard to transition from something as tragic as a natural disaster to book reviews, and yet I am going to. Let’s dive into my reading recap for this past week. I finished two books and abandoned one (Peace Like a River – I’m hoping this was a case of reading a book at the wrong time and maybe I’ll try to read it again at another time. It just wasn’t holding my attention so I gave up after 75 pages.) Here are the reviews for the book I did finish:

I Miss You When I Blink: Essays by Mary Laura Philpott (★★★☆☆)

This essay collection fell a bit flat for me. I don’t know if it was because so many of her essays centered around parenting and perfectionism, two topics that I can’t relate to, but I found myself half-listening to the audiobook while I drove. I think this collection would appeal mostly to mothers but for me, it was kinda forgettable.

At Last by Jill Shalvis (★★★☆☆)

I enjoyed this romance, but the writing felt overly cheesy at times. It followed the story of Amy, a waitress at a diner who had a fairly traumatic childhood and ended up in Lucky Harbor after reading a journal of her grandma’s, who spent a summer in the town. And it followed the story of Matt, a forest ranger who came to Lucky Harbor after his marriage fell apart. The internal motivations of both characters felt a little contrived, and I am tired of romance authors who think the way for a person to heal their trauma is to fall in love. Amy needs therapy, not a boyfriend. I expect better from this author, so this one was a bit disappointing.

What I’m reading this week…

> Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou. I’m halfway through this incredible nonfiction account of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, written by the journalist who uncovered the scam, and it’s so hard to put down!

> The Hooker and the Hermit by Penny Reid & L.H. Cosgrove. I’m a few chapters into this novel, and the male MC is creeping me out, honestly. I really love the female MC, though, so I’m sticking it out for her.

> Ayesha At Last by Uzma Jalaluddin, on audio. I am stoked to listen to this novel, which is a Pride and Prejudice retelling with Muslim characters. I hope it lives up to my expectations!

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (8.26.19)

Happy Monday, friends! Oh boy, I had the absolute best weekend. Busy weekends filled with lots of things to do and social time can give me lots of anticipatory anxiety, so I was a little overwhelmed leading up to this weekend. But, as always, everything went wonderfully and I had the most fantastic time. My weekend started with book club where we celebrated nine years (I’ll be celebrating seven years in October!) of books and friendship with a potluck-style dinner and lots of great desserts. Then, on Saturday, it was off to Orlando to see the Backstreet Boys concert! I don’t have words to describe how fun the concert was! Those boys have aged very, very well and my teenage love for Brian Littrell still runs strong. I returned home from Orlando on Sunday afternoon and proceeded to take a five-hour nap (oops). Busy weekends wear me out!

Okay, onto today’s post! I finished three books this week – a romance, an audiobook, and a novel I’ve been holding off reading. My reviews are below:

American Dreamer by Adriana Herrera (★★★☆☆)

This m/m romance centers on Nesto and Jude. Nesto has just moved to Ithaca from NYC to try to make his Afro-Caribbean food truck a success. He meets Jude on the first day of his truck being open and they hit it off immediately. However, both of them are a little wary of beginning a relationship when they both need to focus on their work: Nesto on his food truck and Jude on the mobile library he wants to bring into the community. It’s a sweet story and I’d give five stars on the plot alone. However, the writing left a lot to be desired, as did the chemistry between Nesto and Jude. But this is Herrera’s debut and I’m excited to see what she does from here.

Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo (★★★☆☆)

Yejide and Akin are committed to a monogamous marriage in Nigeria, which was not the norm for this culture in the 1980s. However, it’s been a few years since they got married and Yejide is struggling to get pregnant. So, Akin’s mom brings in a second wife in the hopes that she can bear the children Yejide cannot. Obviously, chaos and hurt and turmoil ensue. It’s a heartbreaking, harrowing story of love and family, but it’s not one I necessarily enjoyed. I found all of the characters unlikable and hard to root for, and the ending fell very flat for me. I listened to it on audiobook and had to really push myself to listen to it on my drives because it was just so heavy and depressing. I really appreciate this novel, though, and getting a glimpse into a culture I know very little about. (Content warnings abound, FYI.)

After You by Jojo Moyes (★★★★☆)

I waited a good long time to read the follow-up to Jojo Moyes’s best-selling book (and a personal favorite of mine), Me Before You. I loved that book so very much; it holds such a special place in my heart. I couldn’t imagine this book could even scratch the surface of how much Me Before You meant to me. And, obviously, it doesn’t come close to having the same impact, but I still really enjoyed this novel! Louisa is trying to move forward with her life after Will died, but she’s not doing a great job of it. She’s depressed, working at a bar in an airport, and basically just walking in circles. And then she falls off the roof of her apartment, propelling her into action as she recuperates at her parents’ home. It’s a beautiful story about love, loss, and the non-linear path that grief takes, and I truly enjoyed being back in Louisa’s world.

What I’m reading this week…

> At Last by Jill Shalvis. I’m a little less than halfway through this contemporary romance and it’s been a sweet ride so far. I love Jill Shalvis’s romances so much!

> Peace Like a River by Leif Enger. I’m starting this book today. The hosts of the No Thanks, We’re Booked podcast rave about this novel and when I saw a pristine copy at a used bookstore, I snatched it up. I hope I love it as much as they do!

> I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott, on audio. My hold for this audiobook came in a few weeks ago and I couldn’t get around to it until this week. Thankfully, it’s a short audiobook (around six hours) so I’ll be able to fly through it during my commute this week.

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (8.19.19)

Happy Monday, friends! I am coming to you after a fairly low-key weekend. It rained all day Friday and Saturday, so I took it easy and didn’t do too much. Saturday night, I did a fantasy football draft and Sunday was a writing date with my friend M. I’m trying to keep this week plan-free because next weekend is going to be packed: book club, the Backstreet Boys concert, and an overnight in Orlando.

I finished three books last week. Loved two of them, tolerated the other one. 🙂 My reviews are below.

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (★★★★☆)

This novel was so lovely! It’s literary fiction, which isn’t a genre I gravitate to, so listening to it on audio was the way to go for me. The narrator was fantastic! It’s about a girl named Katie who meets a man named Tinker on New Year’s Eve of 1937. She’s celebrating the last day of the year with her friend Eve, and meeting Tinker takes the two of them on a whirlwind year of parties and new people and new jobs and new experiences. It’s a slow and meandering novel at times, not very plot-heavy, but the writing style and characters just completely worked for me.

You Had Me at Hello by Mhairi McFarlane (★★☆☆☆)

This novel was okay. It could have used a tighter edit (400+ pages for a romance novel is about 100 pages too long, IMO.) And it was literally 430 pages of “will they or won’t they” and then 5 pages for the conclusion.. It’s a “reunited lovers” romance about Ben and Rachel, who were best friends in college when a falling out caused them to lose contact. It’s been 10 years since then when they bump into each other again. Now, Rachel is newly single and Ben is married. No infidelity happened in the story, but it teetered a bit on the edge of it at times. It was a fine story, but not one I’m rushing out to recommend.

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (★★★★★)

Oh, I loved this novel so, so much. It was such a sweet story about a grumpy old man, Ove, who is trying to figure out what to do with himself after his beloved wife, Sonja, dies. A family of four moves into the house next door and basically upends his life. The chapters take us back and forth between Ove’s past and how he met Sonja to present day and what he’s doing now to move through his grief. Content warnings abound for this novel, especially for suicide, so take care if you decide to read this novel. I don’t generally have to be wary about content warnings, so I really, really loved this novel and all it entailed, but I can see how it would be very triggering for other people. For me, it’s easily making my list of favorite books of 2019 and I’m just a true fan of everything Backman writes.

What I’m reading this week…

> Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo, on audio. This was my pick for my local book club and thankfully, three of the girls who have read it have rated it 4 or 5 stars. (WHEW!) I started the audiobook yesterday and will need to speed through it before book club on Friday. Thankfully, it’s a short(ish) audiobook at 8 hours.

> After You by Jojo Moyes. Me Before You is one of my all-time favorite novels and I was hesitant to pick up the second novel in what became a trilogy. I wasn’t sure I needed a continuation of Louisa’s story. However, enough time has passed since I read Me Before You (and saw the movie), and I think I’m ready to dive back into Lou’s world.

> American Dreamer by Adriana Herrera. A bunch of trusted romance readers have read this novel and loved it, so I decided to pick it as my romance for the week. It’s a M/M romance and so far, it’s excellent.

What are you reading?