what i’m reading

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (6.25.18)

Hello friends and happy Monday. I had a really great weekend and I am gearing up for a very busy week. I have deadlines on deadlines at work, as well as some fun social plans, like going to see Ocean’s 8 with my girlfriends and watching the season premiere of Big Brother with my mom. Don’t you worry, though. I’ll be sneaking in as much reading time as possible. 🙂

Last week, I finished three books, but I’m only going to be talking about two here. The third one, A Storied Life, will get its own review on Wednesday, so stay tuned for that!

Books Finished

Title: Running Blind
Author: Cindy Gerard
Format: Library e-book
Published: 2015
Rating: ★★★★☆

Plot Summary: When Jamie and Rhonda are tasked to take on a high-stakes security mission together, the sexual tension that has been brewing between them becomes too much to resist.

My Thoughts: This wasn’t my favorite book by Gerard because it got off to a slow start and I wasn’t quite sure if I even liked either hero at first. There was this distance between me and them, so it was hard to really grasp their internal motivations. And the first 50% of the book was pretty slow, which is unusual for a Gerard book. Her books are usually pretty fast-paced from beginning to end, but for the first half of the book, I really didn’t know where it was going. When the book finally picked up, however, it didn’t slow down at all and I couldn’t put the book down for anything. I wish the book had had a bit more character development, but all in all, a pretty good romantic suspense novel.

Title: Final Girls
Author: Riley Sager
Format: Library audiobook
Published: 2017
Rating: ★★★★★

Plot Summary: Quincy is the sole survivor of a brutal massacre that happened while on vacation with friends when she was in college, and as such, she becomes a final girl. She becomes a media sensation, just like the two final girls before her – Lisa, who survived a massacre at a sorority house, and Sam, who survived a massacre during her shift at the Nightlight Inn. Quincy has built a life for herself in the ten years since, but then Lisa turns up dead and Sam shows up at her home. Sam is a force to be reckoned with, demanding Quincy relive that frightful night and spilling out so many truths and lies that Quincy doesn’t know what to believe anymore. Or if her memory of the night a decade ago is even real.

My Thoughts: Oh boy, oh boy. I loved this thriller so damn much! I don’t think I’ve been so shocked by the twists and turns a book has taken in a long, long time and I can tell you that Riley Sager knows how to deftly craft an incredibly complex novel. I listened to this book on audio and it was perfect. I never wanted to stop listening because I never knew what was going to happen next, which is the true sign of a great book because I can usually stop and start audiobooks easily. I loved Quincy and Sam’s push/pull dynamic because I honestly never knew who was telling the truth or what to believe. Highly recommend!

What I’m Reading This Week

1984 by George Orwell – I have about 150 pages left of this classic sci-fi novel and I think the reason I am loving it so much is that it feels so terrifyingly real. I have highlighted so many passages that resonate with me, solely based on what has been happening in politics ever since the worst human became president.
Fool Me Once by Katee Robert – When I need a break from 1984, I’m reaching for this sweet contemporary romance. It’s a short book (under 200 pages) and not particularly well-written, but it’s a nice palate cleanser.
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang – Once I finished 1984, I’m going to start the book I picked out from June’s Book of the Month (<– affiliate link) selections. I am so excited to dive into this one!

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (6.18.18)

Happy Monday, friends. Last week was a doozy for me. Taking care of a three-month-old puppy is no joke, and it lent very little time for blogging or reading. Even so, I managed to finish two books because even in a busy season, I always, always make time for reading, even if it’s only for a few minutes right before bed. Here’s what I finished last week:

Books Finished

Title: Beauty and the Mustache
Author: Penny Reid
Format: Library e-book
Published: 2014
Rating: ★★★★☆

Plot Summary: Ashley hasn’t been home to Tennessee in eight years, but a family tragedy forces her back home and back to her six brothers. While home, Ashley is introduced to Drew and neither of them can tamp down the instant attraction between them. But her life is in Chicago while his is in the mountains of Tennessee – is this just a recipe for disaster?

My Thoughts: I think the reason I loved this book so much was because it heavily featured the brothers from Penny Reid’s Winston Brothers series, and I adore them. They are so well-written and well-characterized, and it was nice to get Ashley’s story because, while she’s been featured in the books in that series, I never knew exactly her origin story nor how she and Drew got together. I didn’t find the romance in this book as compelling as I wanted it to be, but it really took a backseat to the bigger plot that was Ashley and her brothers losing their beloved mother to cancer. This was so heartbreaking, but the author did a great job of conveying all of the emotions that come with this type of tragedy – because, truthfully, it’s not always about crying and feeling sad; it’s also about laughter and memories. It was beautifully written, and I loved that the romance didn’t overshadow that aspect until later in the book.

Title: Educated
Author: Tara Westover
Format: Library hardcover
Published: 2018
Rating: ★★★★☆

Plot Summary: Tara Westover grew up in Idaho, living with her survivalist family and never receiving any sort of formal education. She’s sixteen when she decides to pursue academia and, in doing so, fights against everything her family has ever taught her.

My Thoughts: Oy, this book made me so angry and I feel like this review may be all over the place. Bear with me. I was angry with Tara’s parents and the way they had no real regard for their kids’ safety. I was angry with the way Tara was gaslighted again and again and again by her own family. I was angry with the way Tara continually put herself in unsafe situations. I was angry with the way the Bible was used as a tool to torment and keep women down. So much anger. At times, I held the book in my hands and shook it because I could not believe some of the stuff I was reading. It was horrific and shocking and the fact that Tara didn’t have any sort of advocate in her family was sobering. She had to become her own advocate, and she became one due to academia. Academia is what saved her; it showed her that there’s a great big world out there, one that believes a woman can be more than a wife and mother, and that Mormonism isn’t the only truth. This book was hard to read at times because it was just so heartbreaking to read everything Tara had to endure. It was also heartbreaking to read how she continually tried to find her place in her family in the years after she left home to pursue academia, even when it was obvious that being with them wasn’t the best place for her to be. She rose above what was expected of her, and the result is a woman who found her own inner strength to live her own truth, a truth that is so different from what she was told growing up. This book was both stunning and agonizing, and I encourage anyone to give it a read.

What I’m Reading This Week

A Storied Life by Leigh Kramer – I’m about halfway through this delightful story, and yep, it’s as good as I had imagined it would be. I’ll be writing a full review of this novel next week, so stay tuned for that!
Final Girls by Riley Sager – This is my fiction audiobook pick for the month of June, and I can’t remember the last time I was so invested in an audiobook! Usually, I’m not always excited to listen to my audiobook because it takes me away from my podcasts (and podcasts usually don’t require as much active listening as audiobooks), but with this compelling thriller, I kinda just want to forget about my podcast feed and binge through the entire book. It’s so good so far!
1984 by George Orwell – Once I finish A Storied Life, it’s time for my second “classic” of the year. I picked 1984 because it’s one of those books everyone talks about, but I was never assigned to read it in school. Fingers crossed I enjoy it!
Running Blind by Cindy Gerard – I’m also going to pick up this romantic suspense novel from one of my faves. It’s been sitting in Overdrive for me for a couple of weeks now, so I need to read it before it expires! I’ll read this in between pages of 1984.

What are you currently reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (6.4.18)

Happy Monday, friends! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I’m in a season of change right now, and my anxiety does not fare well during these types of seasons. It’s made me overly emotional and insomnia has been a not-welcome companion to my nights. So, I tried to make sure this weekend was all about me (one of the great benefits of being single): I got lots of sleep, did a ton of reading, and took a long walk in a nature preserve. I also saw Chip! He was outside with my mom when I stopped by and once he saw me, he came running and got super excited! It made my heart so happy that he knows me and loves me deeply already. I feel the same way, buddy. 🙂 Anyway, this weekend truly rejuvenated me and I’m feeling ready to take on this week and handle the changes happening personally and professionally with new vigor.

Last week, I finished three books, and here are my reviews:

Books Finished

Title: I Wish You Were Mine
Author: Lauren Layne
Format: Library e-book
Published: 2016
Rating: ★★★★☆

Plot Summary: It’s been a year since Jackson’s life fell apart: a car accident ended his football career and since he was found in the car with another woman, also his marriage. Now he’s living in NYC and working as a health and fitness writer for a men’s magazine. When he reconnects with his ex-wife’s sister, Mollie, sparks fly but both are wary. For Jackson, it’s hard for him to trust another woman after the way his marriage imploded. For Mollie, who has had a crush on Jackson for years, it’s hard to reconcile the idea of moving in on her sister’s ex-husband.

My Thoughts: When I first read the synopsis for this romance, I was a little taken aback. It seemed a little irreverent, the idea of a man and his ex-wife’s sister falling in love. But, you know what, it worked. And it worked because Mollie was such a delightful character and so was Jackson. They were these two vulnerable souls who needed each other, both because they’d been unlucky in love and because they’d both been broken down by their one common denominator: Mollie’s sister, Madison. And, oh man, was Madison an extremely unlikable character. There were exactly zero redeeming things about her – to the point that it was hard to understand why Mollie loved her so much. I understand that it’s more complicated when it’s family, but take it from me, you don’t have to love your family. And just because they’re family doesn’t mean they get a pass on treating you like shit. I think if there was a weak point of this novel, it was Mollie and Madison’s relationship because it felt a little forced and unnatural. I think the author could have tried a little harder to make Madison redeemable instead of such a villain. But, all in all, the novel still gave me all of the happy, mushy feelings and I’m so glad that Mollie and Jackson got their happy ending.

Title: The Engagements
Author: J. Courtney Sullivan
Format: Hardcover
Published: 2014
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Plot Summary: This novel follows the life of Frances Gerety, a pioneering woman in the advertising world who came up with the slogan, A Diamond Is Forever, as well as four unique marriages as they test whether that saying is actually true.

My Thoughts: Oy, this book was a slog for me. It’s one of those books where I can understand why it’s so well-loved by others, but it just did not land for me and my reading tastes. I’m typically not drawn to character-driven novels and this is exactly what this novel was. Plus, I had a hard time liking many of the characters in this novel, and a lot of the storylines just downright depressed me. These marriages are very true-to-life, very real, very raw, but it also made them hard to read about. They just made me sad! Perhaps I just wasn’t in the right head space for this novel because it seems like I’m definitely in the minority with my opinion. I think it’s the perfect novel for people who love character-driven stories with real, flawed characters, but that just isn’t my jam right now.

Title: I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
Author: Erika L. Sanchez
Format: Library hardcover
Published: 2017
Rating: ★★★★☆

Plot Summary: When Julia’s perfect older sister, Olga, dies in a tragic accident, she is left to pick up the pieces. She has to contend with the dreams she’s always had – moving to New York for college, becoming a famous writer – with the knowledge that she’s essentially abandoning her family to do so, something her perfect sister Olga would never even think about doing. But then Julia discovers that Olga might not have been as perfect after all and goes on a quest to find out exactly what secrets her big sister was hiding.

My Thoughts: I flew through this book over the weekend, finishing it on Sunday night. It’s a quick read, even though it does have some heavy subject matters, as it deals with the aftermath of a young person dying as well as the immigrant experience. I found the voice in this novel to be so refreshing and unique, and I really felt like I could understand Julia as a sixteen-year-old. She was brash and opinionated and frustrating and vulnerable and overwhelmed. She was difficult to read at times because she was just so sixteen (you know what I’m talking about). I wanted to shake her as much as I wanted to give her a big ole hug. It’s a YA novel, so it’s not going to appeal to everyone, but this is definitely a book that lived up to my expectations and I’d encourage anyone to give a read, especially if you want to understand the immigrant experience in a deeper, more meaningful way.

What I’m Reading This Week

Dance With Me by Alexis Daria – I loved Alexis Daria’s debut novel, Take the Lead, and when Dance With Me showed up in one of my BookBub emails a few weeks ago, I snatched it up!
Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud: The Rise and Reign of the Unruly Woman by Anne Helen Petersen – This book sounds like it’s right up my alley and it’s been recommended by a lot of people, so it went on my “immediate TBR” list (I keep a long list of books that I want to read ASAP, books I don’t want to get lost in my long Goodreads TBR list, and I try to read two books off this list every month). I’ve been looking forward to reading this one for a long time,!
Boy Erased by Garrard Conley – I’m listening to this memoir on audio, and it is fantastic so far. It follows Garrard’s story of being in a conversion therapy program when he was just nineteen after he was outed to his conservative Christian family.

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (5.28.18)

Well, it was another pretty solid week of reading for me and both books I finished earned a four-star rating from me. How do you rate books? I’ve been thinking about my rating system lately, and I think I’ve come up with a good system:

5 stars: I loved this book and will recommend it to everyone. It changed me.
4 stars: I loved this book and would recommend it.
3 stars: I liked this book, but there were some problems with it.
2 stars: I didn’t like this book, but I can see why others might.
1 star: I hated this book and only read it to finish it.

So, with this rating system in mind, the two books I finished last week are ones that I would recommend – they’re not for everyone and not life-changing enough for me to recommend to everyone I meet, but great reads nonetheless.

Books Finished

Title: How to Walk Away
Author: Katherine Center
Format: Hardcover
Published: 2018
Rating: ★★★★☆

Plot Summary: On what should be the happiest day of Margaret’s life, the day she not only scored her dream job but also got engaged to her longtime boyfriend, tragedy strikes. In the hospital and trying to cope with the idea that her life will never be the same again, she has to find a way to find beauty in the mess.

My Thoughts: I actually finished this book right around midnight on Sunday evening, but it was too late to add it to my post last week. I flew through this book in just two days and thoroughly enjoyed it! It was well-written and didn’t feel too heavy, even though the subject matter was. I also just really enjoyed Margaret’s character and how she wasn’t a pushover, even though she was in the hospital and so reliant on other people. I found some of the characters in the novel to be a little over-the-top unlikable, like her mom and her fiance’s mom. They said some things that felt a little unrealistic, stuff you just wouldn’t say to someone in the hospital. Then again, I’m coming to this novel knowing if I was in Margaret’s place, my mom would be there every step of the way and always offer encouragement and support, so maybe I just can’t understand a mom being more focused on appearances than her own daughter’s healing. I also really didn’t love the ending scene nor the epilogue and I wish the author had chosen a different way to wrap it up (and, really, let’s stop with unnecessary epilogues! Ah.) But, all in all, it was a really enjoyable reading experience and it’s a book I’d definitely recommend.

Title: Moonlight Over Manhattan
Author: Sarah Morgan
Format: Library e-book
Published: 2017
Rating: ★★★★☆

Plot Summary: Professional dog walker, Harriet, takes on an unusual assignment: providing around-the-clock dog-sitting services for a busy ER doctor, who is watching his sister’s dog for a short period of time. It’s a romance, so you can imagine what happens here: sparks fly and both of them have to find a way to be brave enough to take a chance on love.

My Thoughts: Oh, how I loved this novel! Harriet was so relatable as a character, a shy woman who struggles with stammering when she is stressed out or upset and is trying to put herself out there more in the form of daily challenges. When the novel begins, she’s challenging herself by online dating, but it’s not going well. As the novel progresses, however, and she takes on more challenges, she discovers an adventurous side of herself that she never knew existed. I also really, really loved the male hero in this novel, Ethan. He’s an ER doc and there’s just something so damn sexy about that, isn’t there? He’s funny and charming and everything I want in a male hero. I loved watching how the two of them together learned to come out of their shells as they explored the chemistry between them. A really fun and lighthearted romance novel!

What I’m Reading This Week

The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan – I’m a little less than 200 pages into this novel and it’s… okay so far. There are five different storylines, each taking place during a different decade, and some storylines are much more interesting to me than others. It’s also more of a character-driven novel than a plot-driven one, and I usually struggle with these types of books. It’s hard to really get invested in a novel when I’m not sure why I need to be invested, you know? I don’t think I’ll abandon it, though. It’s engaging (ha) enough for me to keep reading.
I Wish You Were Mine by Lauren Layne – I just downloaded this fun contemporary romance and I am going to start it soon, in between breaks from The Engagements. Lauren Layne’s novels have become my favorite lately. She never lets me down!
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sanchez – Once I finish The Engagements, I’m starting my book club’s June read. I have been wanting to read this book for a long time and it’s gotten rave reviews from friends, so I’m looking forward to diving in.

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (5.21.18)

After a short hiatus, I’m back with my weekly reading recap. I’m definitely not going to talk about all the books I finished over the past few weeks (ain’t nobody got time for that!), so I’m starting fresh and just talking about the books I finished over the past week. I thoroughly enjoyed one novel and thoroughly hated the other. Fun! Let’s dive in:

Books Finished

Title: Sleeping Giants
Author: Sylvain Neuvel
Format: Library hardcover
Published: 2016
Rating: ★★★★☆

Plot Summary: A girl named Rose is riding her bike near her home in South Dakota and falls down a hole. When she’s found by rescuers, they peer down to see her laying in a giant metal hand. Seventeen years later, Rose is an enigmatic physicist who is determined to find out the origins of this giant metal hand and what it means for humanity as we know it.

My thoughts: My work book club chose this book as our May pick, and I wasn’t quite sure about it at first. I like science fiction books, but I’m a little wary of books that have a kooky and bizarre synopsis. But that’s what book clubs are all about, right? Getting you to read books you’d never pick up on your own. And I am so glad I gave this one a chance because it was a pretty amazing thrill ride. I think what I appreciated most about this book was how it tried to explore the idea of there being life on other planets and what that could mean for life on Earth. The book is told in transcripts and journal entries, and in some cases, I think this method worked really well and helped the novel move along at a great pace. In other cases, usually the action scenes, it fell apart. I wavered between 3 and 4 stars, but since I read the last 100 pages in one sitting and stayed up late to finish it, I couldn’t give it less than 4. It’s probably not a book I’d recommend to everyone, but good if you’re looking to read something a little bizarre and not too heavy.

Title: The Final Score
Author: Jaci Burton
Format: Library e-book
Published: 2017
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Plot Summary: Longtime friends Nathan and Mia, both newly graduated from college and embarking on new careers, make a friends-with-benefits pact because they just cannot deny the chemistry that sizzles between them.

My Thoughts: Well, it’s not very often that I give a 1-star rating, but this one kinda deserves it. I had a lot of issues with this book, so let’s get right into it, shall we?

Issue #1: It’s not realistic to write a novel about a girl who is fresh out of college and starts her own sports management company out of the blue where she has no setbacks whatsoever. First of all, you need to earn the role of CEO by working your way through the ranks, starting at the bottom. She did nothing of the sort and yet, she has a large office in San Francisco with dozens of employees, none of whom resent her for being CEO when she’s 10+ years younger than them? Not relatable, not realistic. It’s also not realistic to have zero setbacks when it comes to starting a business, other than her own insecurity.
Issue #2: After being a backup QB during his rookie season, Nathan is now the starting quarterback for an NFL team and yet again, the author has this kid encounter zero setbacks during his first handful of games on the field. His only setback is his own insecurity about taking over for the team his stepfather played for (which in and of itself is a really weird plot twist). I watch football religiously and one thing I know for certain is that anyone’s first time at starting QB doesn’t always go smoothly. There are kinks to figure out and that’s fairly expected. For him to come on the field and immediately be a Tom Brady-level quarterback is so unrealistic that I skimmed my way past the football parts because I just didn’t care.
Issue #3: There was no conflict whatsoever in this novel! Romances need to have conflict. They need to have a push/pull dynamic. And there needs to be something happening beyond the romance. There could have been such an interesting side plot involving Mia and her business, but the author just chose to keep the whole novel at surface level.
Issue #4: Please. Stop. With. The. Sassy. Black. Best. Friends. That is not okay.

So I mean, yeah. If you hung around for that rant, thanks! I just had to get it off my chest. I’ve read probably 15 or so romances by Jaci Burton, but I think this is the last one I’ll be reading. I just cannot get over how utterly unrealistic and boring this novel was, not to mention the gloriously awful writing. (Usually, I can look past her writing when the romance is sizzlin’, but it just wasn’t there in this one.)

What I’m Reading This Week

How to Walk Away by Katherine Center – This was my pick from Book of the Month’s May selections (<– affiliate link; sign up with my code to get a free book!) It tackles a very difficult topic, but in a way that doesn’t make it feel too heavy. I started reading it on Saturday morning and I’m nearly finished, so that can give you an indication of just how much I’m loving it.
Moonlight Over Manhattan by Sarah Morgan – Once I finish How to Walk Away, I’ll start this fun contemporary romance from one of my faves.
The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan – I was originally going to read this book back in April, but the timing didn’t work out. (I didn’t think I’d be able to finish it before my cruise and didn’t want to bring such a hefty book with me.) So I’m going to start it this week and I hope it’s as great as I expect!

What are you reading this week?