Stephany Writes

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (6.8.20)

Happy Monday, friends. Well, it was another crazy reading week for me. I finished four books again! Whew. To be fair, two of these books were romance novels and one was a short graphic memoir, so don’t be too impressed. 😉 I’m 9 books ahead of my goal to read 135 books this year. My crazy reading pace has me wondering if I could somehow hit that elusive goal of reading 150 books this year. Hmm… I’m not going to jump through hoops to make it happen, but I’ll be paying close attention to my Goodreads goal as the year progresses.

Books Finished

The Darkest Hour by Maya Banks (★★★★☆)

One-sentence synopsis: On the one-year anniversary of his wife’s death, Ethan finds out his wife is very much alive and has been kidnapped by a drug cartel so he calls on his brothers—all former military—to rescue her.

I’ve been searching for a really good romantic suspense series to sink into, and Maya Banks delivered with this first novel in a long series. While the dialogue could be awkward and sometimes the plot felt a little unbelievable, I enjoyed the relationship between Ethan and Rachel a lot. Ethan comes from a big family (six boys!) so it was fun to learn about the different brothers and their dynamics. I also thought the author did such a good job with Rachel, who obviously has a lot of trauma to heal from after being in captivity for a year, and her journey seemed believable to me. I’m looking forward to continuing this series!

The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir (★★★★★)

Short synopsis: At 17, Essie is the youngest child on Six for Hicks, a reality TV show that follows a preacher and his family. When Essie finds out she’s pregnant, a decision has to be made for their TV show: Does Essie get a quiet abortion, does her mom raise the baby as her own, or does Essie get married off?

Man, I really loved this book! I had low expectations for it, as the book received mixed reviews from my friends on Goodreads, but it was the case of the right book at the right time for me. The story alternates between three people: Essie, Rourke (the man Essie is going to marry), and Libby, a conservative reporter who is interviewing Essie about her upcoming nuptials. The voices between the three characters could have been more differentiated, for sure, but it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the book. There were a lot of twists and turns in the novel—many of which I didn’t expect and couldn’t have predicted—and the overarching storyline is one I could wholly appreciate. Also, that ending! <3

March: Book 1 by John Lewis (★★★★★)

One-sentence synopsis: A graphic memoir about U.S. Representative John Lewis’s childhood, his life-changing meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the nonviolent lunch counter sit-in protests he participated in as a college student.

Way back at the beginning of the year when I was looking at the monthly challenges for The Unread Shelf Project. I selected March: Book 1 for June. June’s challenge is to “read the first book in a series,” and I think this graphic memoir is the only book on my shelf that qualified. And it ended up being the most timely read! It’s a graphic novel, and I don’t know if I’ve ever read that format before. I was so captivated by the story and the drawings. The drawings truly added an extra layer to this incredible story of John Lewis’s life, especially since it was juxtaposed against an iconic day: Obama’s inauguration. I’m definitely planning on picking up the next books in this series because I want to read more about Lewis’ life!

Intercepted by Alexa Martin (★★☆☆☆)

One-sentence synopsis: After Marlee finds out her boyfriend of 10 years has been cheating on her, she breaks up with him just in time for a blast from her past to come back into her life.

Ughhhh. I wanted to like this book so much! I love sports romances, but most of them tend to center white stories when we know sports teams, especially football, are majority Black. I loved the character of Marlee—she was such a fun woman who was easy to root for! And Gavin, the male lead, was so dreamy and perfect in all the right ways. However, I had many issues with this book, like the excessive use of hashtags. The pace of the novel was very weird, too, as all the action happened in the first half and the second half just meandered slowly until the dark moment. And the dark moment… oh geez. I am super critical of dark moments (which is the part of a romance novel where things fall apart/the couple breaks up/everything feels hopeless) and this one was especially bad, as Gavin did something that was so completely out of character for him that I felt like I was reading a different book. There was also a side plot involving the football wives that just felt overly dramatic and unrealistic. I don’t doubt that football wives can be catty and mean-spirited, but the whole situation was over-the-top and woman-on-woman hate is never going to be something I enjoy in a novel. All in all, a book that had a lot of potential but just didn’t live up to my standards.

What I’m Reading Now

  • The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays by Esme Weijun Wang – I bought this book at Brookline Booksmith in Boston during my trip last year. I’m reading two chapters a day and really enjoying Esme’s writing style and her honesty in talking about her schizophrenia diagnosis.
  • Hum If You Don’t Know the Words by Bianca Marais – I’m listening to my first audiobook since March! I used to listen to audiobooks on my commute, but now it’s a struggle just to keep up with my podcast feed. But now that I’m more caught up on my feed (only a week behind, rather than four weeks), I decided to download an audiobook to listen to. I’m only two hours into this 14-hour audiobook, but enjoying it so far!
  • Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay – I’ve had this epistolary novel on my Goodreads TBR shelf for six years. Oof. It was available for immediate download on Libby so I snatched it up for something light-hearted to read this week.

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (6.1.20)

Hi, friends! What a weekend, huh? I am currently typing this post on my tiny Google Chromebook (pretty sure the screen size is 13 inches), since my laptop broke over the weekend! I spilled (or rather, Ellie’s tail spilled) soda on the keyboard and, well, you can guess what happened after that. I went to a computer repair shop to get it fixed and they have to order me a new keyboard, sigh. I’m just glad I have this Chromebook to use in the meantime, even if it’s going to be a much different experience working on it all day long!

Of course, this is a tiny inconvenience. It’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, and it feels so trivial to talk about it when there are much bigger problems right now. My heart is heavy with the protests happening about George Floyd and the true pain and anguish Black people are experiencing right now. I’m doing my best to listen, to not turn away even if it feels easier to do so, and to share Black voices when I can. I’ve also donated to my local community fund which is raising money for bail-out costs and medical expenses from protesters injured by the police during their protests. (Find your local fund here.) White people, we must listen. We must donate. We must not be silent.

It feels weird to jump from that paragraph to talking about books, but alas. That’s what I’m going to do. I finished a whopping four books last week and here are my reviews:

Books Finished

Final Siege by Scarlett Cole (★★★★☆)

One-sentence synopsis: Delaney and Mac may not have seen each other in a decade, but he becomes her closest ally when she finds out men want to kill her to silence the story she’s pursuing.

I really enjoyed this romantic suspense novel! It had everything I love in this subgenre: intrigue, a compelling plot, and a hot romance. 🙂 At times, I felt a little bogged down in the details of Delaney’s investigation (something to do with selling illegal weapons…?) and it wasn’t all that interesting to me, but the scenes between Delaney and Mac were perfection. There was so much baggage between them, as they had been in love as young adults but after Delaney’s brother (and Mac’s best friend) died in an accident, she blamed him and walked away from their relationship. Delaney’s actions could frustrate me at times because I just wanted her to see Mac for the good guy he is! But those are the best kinds of novels, aren’t they? The ones that make you feel so strongly about the characters!

The F*ck It Diet: Eating Should Be Easy by Caroline Dooner (★★★☆☆)

One-sentence synopsis: Comedian Caroline Dooner offers a look at why diets don’t work and delivers a simple plan for healing your food struggles: just eat.

This book had such a great message, one I am totally on board with: We must stop living a life ruled by food restriction because we are so scared of being fat. I have been working hard on unlearning the unhealthy diet behaviors that dominated so much of my life: going to bed hungry means I’m dieting correctly, all fat is bad fat, eating dessert means I’m a failure, etc. And this book really affirmed the work I am doing and that I’m on the right path. I don’t want to be ruled by diets. I don’t want to buy into diet culture and fatphobia. It’s not worth it to me. I want to be able to eat what I want, as long as it makes me feel good. However, I did have some issues with this book, mainly that it wasn’t a book driven by data and studies, but of one person’s experience. For a book that’s telling me to “eat what I want,” well, I’d like some data to back up what you’re saying. (Because, no, I do not think being 60 lbs overweight is good for my health, no matter how many times you tell me it is.) I was also turned off by the copious grammar mistakes in this book (and the way she would CAPITALIZE words to make a POINT, or add three or four question marks to questions). The editor in me just wanted to get my hands on the rough draft so I could work through all of the badly worded sentences and grammar mistakes. This probably wouldn’t bother most readers, but it most definitely annoyed me. I don’t think this is a bad book and it’s actually one I would recommend, especially to those who struggle with body image and dieting. It’s a good reminder that we need to listen to our cravings, that being thin should never be an end-all, be-all goal, and that above all else, if you are hungry, just fucking eat!

The Honey-Don’t List by Christina Lauren (★★★★☆)

Short synopsis: Carey and James, assistants to home remodeling and design gurus Rusty and Melissa Tripp, must work together to keep these two celebrities in line during their book tour about their successful marriage. Because the truth about Rusty and Melissa isn’t that they have a happy, loving marriage, but that they hate each other.

Calling all HGTV lovers! This romance is perfect for those who can’t get enough of Chip and Joanna Gaines and home remodeling TV shows. Although I desperately hope the Gaines do not have the kind of relationship that the Tripps’ have—eeks. The romance between Carey and James was such a sweet antidote to the toxic relationship between Melissa and Rusty, as well as Carey’s relationship with them. I loved the way Carey and James cared for one another and the natural way their relationship evolved from acquaintances to confidantes to lovers. A fun read that made me long to watch episodes of Fixer Upper. 😉

Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger (★★★☆☆)

One-sentence synopsis: When Ridley gets a mysterious letter that tells her her entire life has been a lie, she goes on a quest to find out the truth.

Lisa Unger is one of my favorite thriller writers, most especially because she’s a local Tampa-area author! This book was published in 2006, so it’s one of the first books she ever got published. It was fun to see all the details of life before smartphones (dial-up Internet, using an old Nokia brick phone, no GPS to guide her, etc.) The plot itself was a little lackluster, although I’m sure I would have appreciated it more if I read it back when it was published (and before the thriller genre exploded). It was still a really twisty-turny thriller with a satisfying ending. I liked it!

What I’m Reading This Week

I’m currently reading The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir, a book I selected from Book of the Month over two years ago! It’s been sitting on my bookshelf, waiting for the perfect moment for me to pick it up, and I think I found it. I am a little less than halfway through the novel and really, truly loving it. I’m so intrigued about where the plot is going!

I’m also halfway through a romantic suspense novel, The Darkest Hour by Maya Banks. It’s the first in a long series, and I am really enjoying it! I’ve been on the hunt for a really good romantic suspense novelist so I don’t wind up reading Suzanne Brockmann’s Seal Team 16 series for the fourth or fifth time, and I think I’ve hit the jackpot with Maya Banks!

Also, as it’s the beginning of the month, it’s time for my monthly update about Anna Karenina! I would like to say I’m nearly finished it with, as I’m at the 78% mark, but that probably means I still have 200 pages to go, ha. I think this might wind up being a four-star read for me, though, which is the best rating I’ve ever given a classic! Honestly, reading classics on the Serial Reader app is the way to go, guys. I may have to try a Jane Austen novel this way to see if I have a better experience.

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (5.25.20)

Happy Memorial Day, friends! I don’t have any plans for today, which I’m sure is true for many of us. I may try to take a walk at my local nature preserve, but I’m worried it might be really busy on a holiday. We’ll see!

Last week was a solid reading week for me with three books finished. Yay! Back to my normal speed. 😉 Here are my reviews.

Books Finished

Lucy’s Little Village Book Club by Emma Davies (★☆☆☆☆)

One-sentence synopsis: In this book, we follow the lives of five members of a library book club: Lucy the librarian; Oscar, a recent widower; Lia, a young woman looking after her mother who has Alzheimer’s; Callum, a young man who wants to escape his troubled home life; and Hattie, a single mom who is new to town. 

I rarely give books one star, which means I hated it, because I don’t often read books I hate. That’s just not fun! But like I mentioned last week, I was coming off a crazy book slump where I abandoned five books in a row and I finally had to force myself to read and finish a book, and this is the one I chose. (Bad job, me!) This book was just not for me—the writing was cheesy, the characters one-dimensional, and the plot boring. It’s a book that came highly recommended from a #bookstagrammer whose taste I actually trust and I was totally grabbed by the sweet cover, but oof, I did not enjoy this book at all.

Hooking Up by Helena Hunting (★★★★☆)

One-sentence synopsis: After Amalie is humiliated on her wedding day, she flees to Bora Bora (where she and her new husband were supposed to have their honeymoon), only to be seated next to her soon-to-be-ex-husband’s cousin on the flight.

Oh, how I loved this book! Helena Hunting is becoming one of my favorite romance authors. I just love the way she writes characters and female friendship and romance. Her books are definitely more on the steamy side (enough to make me blush at times!), so they’re probably not the best for readers who love a closed-door romance (i.e., fade-to-black when it comes to sex scenes). But this book was everything I love in a romance: great characters who were easy to root for, a love story that felt believable and honest, and a dark moment that didn’t feel trite or silly. All in all, another great read from Hunting!

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager (★★★★☆)

One-sentence synopsis: Jules feels like the luckiest person alive to score a gig to be an apartment sitter at the notorious Bartholomew building where only the rich and famous stay… until she learns about this building’s sordid past and other apartment sitters start disappearing.

Sager is quickly becoming one of my favorite thriller writers, and he doesn’t disappoint with this novel! I loved the way the building was written like its own character—it seemed so beautiful yet creepy. The twist in this novel (and then the twist after the twist) was perfect. It was just ridiculous enough without being overly so to have me glued to my couch on Friday night, desperate to finish the novel. I loved the characters, the propulsive plot, and the satisfying ending so very much.

What I’m Reading This Week

Over the weekend, I started The F*ck It Diet: Eating Should Be Easy by Caroline Dooner, which came highly recommended by someone I follow online (and whose taste I trust). I’ve read 100 pages so far and it’s been very life-affirming for me, as someone who has spent the last year unlearning restrictive diet behaviors and becoming more attuned to diet culture and body positivity, and I’m excited to give a more thorough review when I finish it.

Alongside The F*ck It Diet, I’m also reading Final Siege by Scarlett Cole, a romantic suspense novel that has me thoroughly enthralled! I’m at the 50% mark with this book and I am on the edge of my seat!

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (5.18.20)

Happy Monday! Oh boy, did I have a rather difficult reading week. Book hangovers are no joke, friends! (More on that below.) I also found myself struggling mightily with my new mood reading plan. After finishing The Dearly Beloved early on in the week, trying to make a decision on what to read next felt impossible—nothing sounded good to me. Not on my bookshelves, not on my Kindle, not on my Goodreads TBR shelf. I found myself missing the structure of a TBR list. And I think I finally realized why I love being so structured with my TBR—no decision-making! As an Enneagram 9, decision-making is my constant struggle and when I don’t have a structured list to guide my reading, I feel out of sorts. So I put together a five-book TBR list this weekend, and I felt my shoulders relaxing and my mood lifting once I did. I made sure to choose books that wouldn’t be too heavy or require too much from me—pandemic reading, ya know?—but I’m feeling good about getting back to my structured reading lists!

Last week, I finished two books and both were great reads!

Books Finished

The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall (★★★★★)

One-sentence synopsis: An exploration of the lives of two young ministers and their wives.

You guysssssss. This book put me in an epic book hangover! It might be in the running for the best book I’ve read in 2020 right now. It was just that good! I loved the way faith and non-belief coexisted in this novel, in a way that did not pit them against each other or make one seem like the “better” choice. The characters were exceptionally drawn, flawed and complicated but in a way that humanized them and made them easy to root for. I loved the exploration of family and friendship and faith and motherhood, and the way all of that shifts and changes through the years. I highlighted so many passages, and I’ll end this review with one of them:

Our love of God is not as important as our faith in God. Love wanes. Faith cannot. One can have faith and anger, faith and hate. One can believe deeply and still rail against God, still blame God. In fact, if one can hate God it is a sign of deep faith, because you cannot hate and at the same time doubt God’s existence.”

Hurts to Love You by Alisha Rai (★★★★☆)

One-sentence synopsis: Eve has had a crush on Gabe for years, so what happens when they’re stuck in a big mansion together for days?

Ooh, I loved a good forced-proximity romance! This is the third and final book in Rai’s Forbidden Hearts series, and it was my favorite one of the trilogy! I could really relate to Eve, who has a hard time with emotions and trust because she was emotionally abused by her father. Her struggles were immensely relatable to me, and I loved seeing her stand up to her father and understand her own value through it all. I also really loved the sweetness of her and Gabe’s relationship, and how they both helped each other as they faced their own harsh realities. All in all, a great wrap-up to the series!

What I’m Reading Now

Oh man, The Dearly Beloved put me in such an epic book slump. I started and stopped no less than five books. I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to read next, and all of the books I tried reading just felt lame and boring. I finally settled on Lucy’s Little Village Book Club by Emma Davies, and I really had to force myself to keep reading this book after 50 pages. It’s not a particularly outstanding book and the writing is actually kinda terrible, but I just need to get a completed book under my belt. I’m almost finished with it—less than 100 pages to go—and next up for me is Lock Every Door by Riley Sager. I need something fast-paced and well-written, and Riley Sager always delivers on both fronts for me.

Alongside Lucy’s Little Village Book Club, I’m reading Hooking Up by Helena Hunting. This is a new-to-me romance author and I recently read and loved another book from her (Shacking Up), and this one is meeting my needs perfectly.

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (5.11.20)

Happy Monday! My heart is so happy today. Spending Mother’s Day with my mom (and my brother!) was something my soul needed. I needed to see them and talk to them and laugh with them. I’m so glad we were able to hang out—and also shower my mom with lots of love! She definitely deserves it.

Last week was another solid week of reading for me! I’m on a three-books-a-week binge lately. I’m about seven books ahead of my goal of reading 135 books, so I’m pretty sure this will be another banner year of reading for me. I’ve said it so many times before, but I’m so, so glad that reading continues to be a comfort for me.

Books Finished

Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn (★★★★☆)

One-sentence synopsis: A year after Meg hand-lettered a secret message into Reid’s wedding program, he returns to find out how she knew his marriage was doomed to fail.

I mentioned last week that I was having a little trouble getting into this book, but now that I’ve finished it, I can fully sign off on it! It was such a fun read, and I loved learning more about the world of hand-lettering and the planner/paper goods industry. Reid and Meg were both such great characters—Meg with her bubbly personality and Reid with his more stoic one—and I found it hard to tear myself away from the book as it progressed. I also loved how NYC was essentially another character of the novel; I found that to be such a special touch. There was a secondary plot between Meg and her best friend, who had started drawing away from Meg and their friendship as a whole, and I was interested to see how the author would address this issue. I was coming off a book that seemed to glorify a toxic friendship, and I was really hoping this author would do better. Thankfully, she did. She addressed the situation in an honest, relatable way that I think most people with long-term friendships could identify with.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (★★★★★)

One-sentence synopsis: At 79 years old, movie star Evelyn Hugo tells her life story and the truth behind her seven marriages.

This is a book that I have been highly anticipating! I love everything TJR writes and I was positive that I would love this novel as well, especially since it came so highly rated by many trusted readers. And it most definitely lived up to the hype! Evelyn Hugo is a sensational character and the Hollywood setting of the 1950s-1980s was perfection. This book has made me look at movie stars in a completely different light, though. How did some of them get their breaks? What are they truly like outside of their media persona? What’s the real truth behind some of their mishaps and foibles? We really don’t know! It’s crazy to think about. There was a little “twist” in this novel, as Evelyn Hugo is telling her life story to a woman, Monique, a writer who isn’t sure why Evelyn specifically requested her for the story. It all comes to light in a way I really wasn’t expecting but didn’t feel too out-of-place in the novel. Anyway, this book was delightful from beginning to end and now I’m just dying for TJR’s next release!

For Better or Worse by Lauren Layne (★★★★★)

One-sentence synopsis: When Heather confronts her playboy neighbor about the live music he plays every night, sparks fly for these two very different people.

Ahhh… this book was so charming. I loved the verbal sparring between Heather and Josh, and the very natural way their enemies-to-lovers relationship evolved. I thought it was a little silly the way the author tried to keep us in the dark about Josh’s cancer (he’s in remission) because it’s right in the synopsis about it! I suppose the author was trying to mirror the way Heather was in the dark about it, too, because Josh finally talks about his cancer once it’s revealed to her. But I still found it all a little unbelievable at times. However, this book earns five stars because I had a stupid goofy grin on my face the entire time I read it. (Good thing nobody could see me! Ha.)

What I’m Reading This Week

I have about 100 pages to go in The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall and I am loving this book! It’s a character-driven novel and the characters are so dynamic and fascinating that I’m finding the book hard to put down. It’s about two men who become ministers at the same church at the same time in 1963 and the way their faith evolves through this experience. And it’s also about their wives who are two very different women and choosing two very different paths as ministers’ wives. It’s not a Christian book in any way, but I think my faith background is helping me forge a special connection to this book.

I’m also dipping in and out of Hurts to Love You by Alisha Rai, which is the third book in her Forbidden Hearts series. I’m not very far into it—maybe 50 pages—so I don’t have much to say about it just yet!

What are you reading?