Stephany Writes

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (4.13.20)

Happy Monday, friends. How’s everyone doing today? I am proud of myself for not logging on to work at all this weekend—I didn’t even check my email! I was tempted a few times, but I adhered to the boundary I set for myself and I am entering this new week feeling a bit more refreshed and as if I really did have a “weekend away.” I’ve never been one who struggles with work/life balance, but it’s been more difficult lately. Baby steps, though!

I finished three books this week (nearly four!) so my reading pace has not suffered one bit with this pandemic. I’m glad for it. Reading has become more of an escape than ever. My reviews are below.

Books Finished

> Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey (★★★☆☆) – I liked this book, even though it did feel a bit more “fluffy” than the other romances I read. Georgie Castle is ready to turn her clown business (no, really, she’s a clown for kids’ birthday parties!) into a full-service entertainment company. She’s also ready to date and come to terms with her years-long crush on her brother’s best friend, Travis. It’s a cute story that combines two different romance tropes (brother’s best friend/fake relationship), and I enjoyed it… until the ending. The ending was just so far-fetched and ridiculous! It’s maddening when an author ruins a story that was so well-written and fun with a silly ending. Ah, well.

> Long Bright River by Liz Moore (★★★★☆) – This book is billed as a thriller, and there are definitely some thriller-y parts to it, but it read more to me as an exploration of the opioid epidemic and the distinct ways siblings’ lives can diverge. Mickey is in her thirties and a cop and her younger sister, Kacey, is a sex worker who’s been hooked on heroin since they were teens. But then Kacey disappears right around the time there is a string of murders against sex workers. Mickey begins searching for her sister, hoping to find her before it’s too late. I really loved the twists and turns this novel took—there were a lot of plot twists that I didn’t see coming, and all of them added deeper layers to the story. Mickey could be a really frustrating character at times, as she took risks that seemed super reckless, but even so, I could understand her motivation. I would have done the same if it were my brother! It’s a story that brings into sharp focus the pervasiveness of addiction and what a scary reality it is for those who live it or who have loved ones who do.

> It Had to Be You by Jill Shalvis (★★★★☆) – I finished this sweet contemporary romance yesterday evening, and it was a delight from start to finish. Ali Winters is not having a good day: her boyfriend has broken up with her, she’s accused of a crime she most certainly did not commit, and she’s about to be kicked out of her home. Then her landlord shows up, the sexy, elusive Luke, who offers her a place to stay and help with clearing her name. It was a super fun read and I loved both main characters so very much. Their love story was sweet and progressed in a natural way that allowed them both to come to terms with their relationship/life baggage before committing to each other.

What I’m Reading Now

I’m currently finishing up Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave—I have just about 50 pages left, so I’ll definitely finish it today. Then I get to start Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore! My dear friend Kim generously gifted me the e-book of this novel that I’ve been dying to read, and I’m excited to dive into it this week. I’m also planning on starting Hot to the Touch by Jaci Burton. Her books can be very, very sexy (enough to make this seasoned romance reader blush!) so we’ll see if I can get through it, heh.

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (4.6.20)

It’s a brand-new week, friends. How did your reading go last week? I’m happy to report that I finished two books and am currently deeply invested in two great books. Reading is bringing me so much joy and satisfaction right now, and I’m so glad I have this hobby to keep me company during this crazy time.

Books Finished

> The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare – Oh, I had such high hopes for this novel, especially after really loving Tessa Dare’s other two novels. But this historical romance was a bit of a slog, with characters who didn’t seem fully fleshed out. Penelope, who has been living in the country for quite a few years now, is given an ultimatum by her aunt: She either needs to rejoin society or become a spinster in her brother’s house (which will also entail giving up all of the animals she’s collected over the years). She decides to rejoin society and to do so by imploring the duke who has moved in next door to help her. It had the potential to be such a cute, fun story but there were so many missing parts to the novel and a side plot that wasn’t handled with the care it needed. A bummer, but I hope this was just a minor blip for this author.

> Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane – This novel came to me with the highest expectations, as many friends rated this as one of their favorite books of 2019. And good news: It totally met those high expectations! While I am not sure if it will make my favorites list for 2020 (my attention started to wane during the last 50-75 pages), it was a great read with fascinating characters and an intriguing plot. I loved how part of the story was told from an insider-looking view. So unique! I couldn’t help loving all of the characters, even the ones who were the most flawed, because they all just tugged at my heartstrings. Definitely a book that lives up to the hype!

What I’m Reading Now

I’m currently 150 pages into Long Bright River by Liz Moore. It is a hefty book at nearly 500 pages (!), but the chapters are short so I feel like I’ve been flying through it. I’m reading this to fulfill April’s challenge for the Unread Shelf Project, which is to read your most recently acquired book. So far, so good!

For a bit of a lighter read, I’m making my way through Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey. It doesn’t have the best rating on Goodreads (3.63 on 19,000+ ratings, which is very low for a romance!), but I’m really enjoying it so far. It’s well-written and the style reminds me a lot of Kristan Higgins.

And, as always, since it’s the beginning of the month, it’s time to talk about my progress on Anna Karenina. As a refresher, I’m reading this classic novel on my phone through the Serial Reader app. Every day, I get an alert that my next “issue” is ready and each day’s reading takes between 6-14 minutes, depending on the length of the snippet. I’m always a few days behind, it seems, so I’m forever trying to catch up, but it’s been a great way to consume a long novel such as this! I’m actually really loving the novel, too, and find it pretty easy to follow along with.

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (3.30.20)

One of the things I’m most grateful for right now (well, other than having a healthy immune system and a job I can easily do from home) is reading. Reading is something that can easily fall by the wayside when I’m stressed or anxious, and I am both of those things right now, but reading continues to bring me comfort. I’m much more inclined to reach for my book than turn on Netflix. (I am woefully behind on what everyone else is talking about when it comes to Netflix and TV.) I’m grateful for e-books and the Libby app and a bookshelf filled with books I have yet to read. There is plenty of reading material at my fingertips and it’s exactly what I need to get through this scary, unpredictable time.

Books Finished

> Castle of Water by Dane Hucklebridge (★★☆☆☆) – This is perhaps a case of reading a book at the wrong time, but this novel was such a slog for me. It’s about two strangers who are stranded on a desert island after their plane crashes near French Polynesia. While the writing was stunning, the story just seemed to drag for me. I think my issue with the novel was that the author basically spoiled the book’s major plot points—in between the chapters of the characters on the island were chapters happening in present day, following one of the characters. It was easy to figure out what the ending was going to be based on these chapters. All that said, many friends have read this book and raved about it, so I wonder if my experience with the novel would be different if I had read it at a different time. YMMV.

> Wrong to Need You by Alisha Rai (★★★☆☆) – Sadia and Jackson were childhood best friends, but when Sadia started dating his brother, things changed between them. Jackson hasn’t been back home—or seen Sadia—in over a decade now, and when he finally does, he realizes his feelings for Sadia have never changed. Sadia is struggling in her own right. She’s working two jobs, juggling single parenthood, and grieving the loss of her husband (Jackson’s brother) who died a year ago. When Jackson shows back up, she realizes how much she misses her best friend and that her feelings for him may run deeper than she ever imagined. I liked this book; it wasn’t a standout in any way, but it kept my attention. One of the things I most loved about this romance was that the author made the male hero shy, and as a shy person myself, I could intimately relate to and understand him. Shy heroes are not the norm for this genre, so it was a great deviation!

> Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson (★★★★★) – Oh, how I loved this book! It’s under 200 pages and has beautiful, lyrical prose that leads to a quick reading cadence. It follows the story of Melody who is 16, born to teenage parents. Each chapter is a vignette of a different person in Melody’s life: her mom, her dad, her grandma, her grandpa. We learn about her parents’ childhoods, the pregnancy, Melody’s early childhood years, and who Melody is today. It’s a beautiful ode to family and the writing is just so, so gorgeous. Highly recommend!

What I’m Reading Now

I’m currently 100 pages into Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane and loooooving it. The writing is great and so are the characters. This is a book that comes highly recommended from so many people so I already have high expectations, but I think this is one of the rare books that may meet those high expectations.

I’m also dipping in and out of The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare. I’m not loving this historical romance as much as her other novels, but it’s still keeping my attention and I do love the protagonist and the ragtag group of animals she has (which includes a dog with lame hind legs, a river otter, a steer, and a litter of kittens).

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (3.23.20)

Hi, friends. How is everyone doing today? The weeks feel weird and meandering right now. But at least we have books, right? I’ve had to adjust my upcoming TBR list (I keep a running list of the next 10 books I want to read in my reading spreadsheet) since my library has closed so books I would normally place on hold to pick up, I either have to try to borrow through Libby or get through Amazon. And if there are too many e-book holds or the Kindle price is too much (I try not to spend more than $6 on Kindle books) for the book I want to read next, I have to go to the next book on my list. I’m trying to be proactive by placing lots more e-books on hold through Libby. I’m also not sure what’s going to happen with my account with Hillsborough County Public Library, as my card is due to expire at the end of the month! (This is the account that I pay for since I don’t live in Hillsborough County.) I am assuming libraries aren’t enforcing renewals right now, so we’ll see what happens. Fingers crossed I can still check out books—the selection through Hillsborough’s system is 1000x better than my home county’s system.

Books Finished

Shacking Up by Helena Hunting (★★★★☆) – I really enjoyed this contemporary romance, although it definitely needed a stronger edit. A 450+ page romance novel is too damn long! In the novel, we follow Ruby, an aspiring theater actress who has fallen on tough times and is about to be evicted from her apartment. Ruby’s best friend introduces her to Bancroft who is leaving the country for five weeks and needs someone to stay in his penthouse apartment to take care of his pet ferret and tarantula (shudder). This gives Ruby some time to find a job and an apartment without being homeless. I loved everything about this novel: the setup, the dialogue between Ruby and Bane, and the way they fell in love. Also, I really want a pet ferret but I don’t think the girls would go for it, alas.

Every Wild Heart by Meg Donohue (★★★☆☆) – Ever read a book and thought, “That was fine, but I’m not going to remember reading this book in a few weeks?” That was this book for me. It was… fine. Just fine. It follows Gail, a single mother, and her daughter, Nic, who is fourteen. Nic falls off her horse one afternoon and hits her head. When she wakes up from a coma a few hours later, she’s a new person. Her ever-present stutter is gone and she’s replaced her shy, scared personality with one that is confident and brave. The chapters alternate between Gail’s and Nic’s perspectives as Nic becomes someone Gail barely recognizes, but it’s hard to deny that her daughter’s new personality is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s one of those easy reads that could be a good palate cleanser if you’ve read a ton of dark, heavy reads in a row—just don’t expect it to be life-changing in any way.

The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton (★★★★★) – What a powerful, powerful book. Anthony Ray Hinton was found guilty of murder in 1987 and spent almost 30 years on death row before being fully exonerated. There was zero evidence linking him to the murders—his only crime was being poor and black. Throughout this book, Hinton talks about life on death row, humanizes his fellow inmates, and shows the resilience of the human spirit. It’s a hard, harrowing book but I’m grateful to Hinton for sharing his experience.

Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes (★★★★☆) – On the day that Evvie was planning on leaving her husband, he is killed in a car accident. And so begins a year of trying to be a proper grieving widow while at the same time feeling very little sadness for his death. As the story begins, Evvie is trying to figure out life after widowhood and her best friend Andy asks if one of his friends could rent out the apartment at Evvie’s place. This friend turns out to be the star pitcher of the New York Yankees, Dean, who is taking time off from sports after losing his ability to pitch. As it turns out, these two housemates need each other more than they realize. Dean helps Evvie come to terms with her marriage while she helps him come to terms with his self-professed failures. It’s a lovely novel with such witty dialogue that I couldn’t help laughing out loud in places. It’s the perfect quarantine read!

What I’m Reading Now

I’m currently reading Castle of Water by Dane Hucklebridge, which is one of those stranded-on-an-island-after-a-plane-crash novels. The writing is stunning! The story itself is just okay—I’m waiting for it to really pick up—but man, the prose is so beautiful that I don’t even care, haha.

I’m also reading Wrong to Need You by Alisha Rai, a contemporary romance novel. I’m dipping in and out of this one as I read Castle of Water. I’ve only read 15% and I already want to drop all of my responsibilities to curl up in bed and read it.

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (3.16.20)

Happy Monday? I don’t even know how to begin this post! Times are crazy right now and all anyone can talk about is Coronavirus. I hope everyone is staying safe and doing lots of hand washing and sanitizing. I know I am! I’m also working from home this week and going back and forth on whether or not it’s responsible to go on my kayaking trip this weekend. I think it is, as I’ll be around fewer people than I am during a trip to Target, but I’m not sure what the right call to make is. Argh! Such a weird time.

Anywho, let’s switch gears and talk about a much better topic: books! I finished four books this week and I’m currently three books ahead of schedule on my yearly book goal. (!) Setting that goal felt like a reach, but who knows: maybe I’ll surprise myself.

Let’s get to the reviews. 🙂

Books Finished

> Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway (★★★☆☆) – Emmy and Oliver were childhood best friends… until Oliver’s father kidnapped him when he was seven. Ten years later, Oliver is found alive and well, living with his father in New York. He returns home, but home looks much different: His mom has remarried and has two young daughters and his best friend Emmy is all grown up. Even though the central conflict of the story is a hard one, the story is ultimately sweet and redemptive and I really liked it. It wasn’t a standout for me in any way, but listening to the audiobook was an enjoyable way to spend my commutes to work nonetheless.

> To Have and to Hold by Lauren Layne (★★★☆☆) – Brooke has moved to NYC from California after her fiance turned out to be a con man. Her first client as the newest wedding planner at The Wedding Belles is Maya Tyler, a hotel heir who has a very sexy but very annoying brother, Seth, who is determined to stop the wedding. He’s suspicious of Maya’s fiance’s motives. Not only because her fiance will come into a considerable fortune by marrying her, but also because their courtship has been a whirlwind. When Maya announces she’s getting married, Seth has yet to meet the guy because they’d only been dating for three months. The story started off with such great potential for me—I loved the back-and-forth between Brooke and Seth—but it sort of fell apart about two-quarters of the way through. As another reviewer mentioned, it just didn’t seem logical that Brooke wouldn’t be sensitive to Seth’s worries when she was tricked by a con man herself. All that aside, I still liked this romance and can’t wait to see what’s next in this series!

> Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid (★★★★☆) – Emira, who is black, is at a high-end grocery store with her babysitting charge, Briar, who is white, one night when she is confronted by the security guard on duty who thinks Emira has kidnapped the two-year-old. Briar’s father is able to come to the grocery store to sort out the whole mess and Emira leaves annoyed but also relieved that nothing worse happened. Afterward, Alix, Briar’s mother, is horrified by what her babysitter went through and wants to make it right, first and foremost by getting to know Emira better. This novel was a quick read and so well-written that I found it hard to put it down! The relationship between Emira and Briar was my favorite part, I think, because it was so sweet. I also loved the honesty in Emira’s struggles of becoming a “grownup.” How do you become a grownup when you have no idea what your passions are and what you want to do with your life? Oof, I feel that! (At least, I felt it when I was in my early twenties. Less so now.) There’s a theme of performative white “wokeness” that permeates the novel, and it is jarring and uncomfortable and so very necessary. If Alix’s actions or Emira’s responses made you feel uncomfortable, good. Explore that. Figure out why. I know I had to. While I felt like the novel went a little off the rails at the end, it’s still a powerful story and one I can’t stop thinking about.

> Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers by Anne Lamott (★★★☆☆) – In this slim novella, Anne Lamott talks about the three essential prayers (at least in her estimation): asking for help, giving thanks, and simply marveling. I love the honest way that Anne talks about faith, it’s really refreshing and frankly feels revolutionary, even though this book was written almost a decade ago. I’m really glad I have some of Anne’s other books about faith on my bookshelf because I’m so interested in whatever else she has to say on this topic!

What I’m Reading Now

I’m listening to The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton, which is our March book club pick. It’s an intense story and books about prison are very triggering for me so it’s been a tough read for me. But it’s a book that is necessary to read. The justice system is not very… well… just for poor people of color and Hinton’s story is proof of that.

My non-listening reads are much, much lighter, thankfully. I’m reading Every Wild Heart by Meg Donohue for the Unread Shelf Challenge and dipping in and out of Shacking Up by Helena Hunting, which I am loving. It’s so fun and well-written! Once I finish those books, I’m going to start Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes. Gimme all the light, happy reads right now, please!

What are you reading?