Happy Monday, my friends! How is it already mid-July? Time is a-flyin’! This weekend was so good for my soul. I got a massage, spent some time at a bookstore (and if you don’t think I came home with more books to add to my overflowing shelves, you don’t know me), and went bowling with the fam. My older nephew is in a bowling league and he impressed me so much with his skill. He certainly put me to shame, but he was so encouraging and supportive, it melted my heart.
Anyway. Let’s talk books! I finished three books last week and here are my reviews:
Christmas Ever After by Sarah Morgan (★★★☆☆)
This was a sweet romance that followed the enemies-to-lovers trope and took place over the Christmas holiday. It was essentially one of those beloved cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies (the kind where a man brings a woman home for his family’s Christmas gathering and shock! They have to sleep in the same room because all the other rooms are occupied!) It was great fun, although I felt that the author did a little too much “telling” and not enough “showing” for certain plot points.
Normal People by Sally Rooney (★★★☆☆)
This book follows two characters – Marianne and Connell – over the course of a number of years, beginning in high school and continuing through college. They have an on-again/off-again relationship, going months and months without seeing each other and then suddenly finding each other again. It’s a quirky book with the kind of writing style I don’t normally love, but it somehow worked for me in this instance. (Maybe because I bought my copy of the book while in Ireland, so it gave me lots of happy feels remembering my trip!) I didn’t love that the author didn’t use quotation marks when people were talking, but it didn’t end up bothering me too much. I wavered between 3 or 4 stars for this book, ultimately settling on 3.5, because there was a certain melancholy element to this novel that I didn’t love. It’s the type of book I won’t be recommending to everyone, but I think there are certain people who would really enjoy the writing style and melancholy.
Miracle Creek by Angie Kim (★★★★★)
Oh, I loved this novel. It was so well-written and it’s shocking that it’s the author’s debut. It’s a courtroom drama filled with mystery and intrigue, as a woman is on trial for allegedly setting fire to the hyperbaric chamber where her son was enclosed. The fire killed her son and another woman and seriously injured three other people, but was it her? Or someone else? The courtroom scenes in this novel were so good and they played like a movie in front of my eyes (which is troubling, since I listened to the audiobook during my commute, but I promise I paid attention to the road!) I also loved the scenes with the mothers who were taking their special-needs children to this hyperbaric chamber. These scenes were so brutally honest about the reality of taking care of a special-needs kid, and I ached for these mothers. I would love for this to get picked up for a miniseries, but until then, please do yourself a favor and pick up this book. It’s incredible!
What I’m reading this week…
> Elliott Redeemed by Scarlett Cole. I’m a little more than halfway through this romance and it’s fine. Some of the plot reads a little cheesy and too perfect, but it’s entertaining me still.
> White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo. I’ve seen this book everywhere lately, and it’s inspired me to pluck it off my shelf and finally dive in. It’s a short book (under 160 pages) but not one to rush through. My plan is to read two chapters a day and take lots of notes.
> A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas, on audio. I read the first book in the Lady Sherlock series in October and wasn’t sure when I was going to get around to reading the next book when I discovered it was available on audiobook through my library. Perfect! I’m starting this today.
What are you reading?
Um, Miracle Creek sounds AMAZING. Adding it to my TBR right now!
Currently reading The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren. Slowly haha. I am enjoying it but hubby goes to bed earlier than I do, so the lights are often out before I crawl into bed.
Miracle Creek sounds amazing! I am on the wait list for that book at the library. I’m also on the wait list for Normal People. It sounds like a book that would be a good fit for me, although the lack of quotation marks is going to drive me crazy! I just finished “My Own Devices” by Dessa. She is a rap/hip-hop artist from Minneapolis. I saw her speak at a Terrible, Thanks for Asking live show. She is super interesting and very intelligent/thoughtful. The book was a collection of essays about her life and a difficult relationship that she has struggled to move on from. It’s my August book club book. I wouldn’t have picked it up if it hadn’t been chosen for book club but I’m so glad I did. Now I’m reading “Ayesha at Last” which is a modern re-telling of Pride & Prejudice in a Muslim commmunity. It’s from the MMD summer reading guide. I’m already 100 pages in and I started last night!