Happy Monday! I’m pleased to report that I was able to cross one of my August goals off my list this weekend: completing a no-spend weekend! I bought groceries on Friday afternoon but the rest of the weekend was spend-free, even though I contemplated a trip to Target to shop for some things “just because.” I’m glad I talked myself out of it because that probably saved me at least $75, if not more. I’m actually considering doing these no-spend weekends once a month because it is good practice for saying no to shopping and eating out. We’ll see!
I finished two books last week, so another solid reading week for me. My reviews:
A Prince on Paper by Alyssa Cole (★★★★☆)
Oh, how I loved this romance. There is a cast of diverse characters, including a bisexual character and a nonbinary character, and I loved the way the nonbinary character’s pronouns were seamlessly woven into the story once their preference was stated. This is the story of Nya, who made an appearance in the first book in Cole’s Reluctant Royals series but it’s been so long since I read that romance that it took some time to jog my memory of who she was. Nya has been through a lot in her life – her mother died when she was young and her father was recently convicted of poisoning her country’s princess – and she’s trying to heal from the trauma. And then there’s Johan, the “playboy prince” who is trying to prepare his half-brother to become king of their small country soon. Johan and Nya concoct a plan in which they will pretend to be engaged, which suits both of their needs. It will allow Nya to get away from a country that has caused her so much trauma and allow Johan to hopefully help his country vote positively on a referendum if they think he’s settling down. I loved the character arcs of both Nya and Johan and the way they came together at the end. Such a beautiful love story.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (★★★★★)
This novel might be the buzziest book of 2019, and I was worried it wouldn’t live up to the hype. I also worried that all the descriptions about nature would make the book feel like a slog. However, park your preconceived notions at the door, friends. This book is worth all the hype. The story begins in 1969 when Chase Andrews, the town’s golden boy, is found dead in the marsh and all signs point to Kya (also known as the Marsh Girl) as the killer. From there, the story dips back and forth in time. We’re taken back to the early 1950s to learn about Kya, how she was abandoned by her family and learned to fend for herself. And we’re brought to the “present day” storyline of 1969 where the death of Chase Andrews is being investigated. Eventually, past and present storylines converge, and I found myself unable to put the book down until I knew how it all ended. Where the Crawdads Sing is a beautifully written story and I actually really enjoyed the descriptive writing. It helped to bring me into the marsh and feel like I was right there with Kya – in her shack, boating through the marsh, with her birds, etc. A book that was totally worth all the hype, in my opinion.
What I’m reading this week…
> Rules of Civility by Amor Towles, on audio. I have just under six hours left in this audiobook and I am loving it. The narrator is fantastic, which helps my enjoyment of the novel as it’s literary fiction, which isn’t always my jam. But this one is working for me!
> You Had Me at Hello by Mhiri McFarland. I just started this cute romance that takes place in Manchester, England, and involves the “reunited lovers” trope.
> A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. I’m finally reading this novel! I’m only about 50 pages in, but already deeply love grumpy Ove.
What are you reading?
I also loved “Where the Crawdads Sing.” It was so beautifully written and hard to put down. I just loved Kya.
I finished a Christina Lauren novel – Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating – over the weekend. Thanks for recommending I pick up a novel by those authors. It was delightful and a nice break from the heavier non-fiction I’d been reading. Now I am reading “Resistance Women” which was on MMD’s SRG. I’m really enjoying it. I like how the book focused on the lead-up to WWII and how Hitler rose to power. I had a conversation with Phil yesterday morning about the striking the similarities between pre-WWII Germany and the US today. I almost posted about this on IG but I didn’t want people to think voting for Trump is like voting for Hitler. There is not equivalency between them. But they are both leaders with very questionable ideologies that rose to power without being challenged. It’s hard to talk about this, though, because I don’t want people to think I’m saying that voting for Trump is like voting for Hitler, because that will result in shame and people defending their decision. And we need dialogue about why he rose to power and how we can change the direction our country is heading… But dang, our country is a HOT MESS right now and if it was easier to flee this Godforsaken country, I’d be tempted to…
I was wondering about the descriptive writing in Where the Crawdads Sing. That is a big turn off for me! That you feel it added to it is encouraging!
I am reading City of Girls 🙂