March Reads Part 2

Last 3 books finished in March! I’ve now read 15 books this year and would say that puts me on track to finish my goal of 50 – fingers crossed!

Behind the Red Door by Megan Collins was another ok thriller. I really just wanted to yell at all the characters the entire book. When a woman goes missing for the second time in her life, Fern gets the feeling that she knows something or is somehow connected to the missing woman. But you can’t discount the fact that she still deals with trauma from her childhood thanks to her parents’ interesting parenting choices. Overall the book is pretty predictable, though there are some surprises. It was a quick read and the end is a little redeeming for some of the characters.

Before I Let You Go by Kelly Rimmer was very different from her historical fiction novel that I loved. Lexie gets a call at 2am from her sister Annie, an addict who she has not heard from in 2 years. Answering that calls completely changes her life and puts her on a legal and emotional path that I can’t imagine anyone would deal with well. Especially after the challenging childhood the sisters had. Again, I had trouble connecting with any of characters but then ending tied up everything neatly.

And last was Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane. Maybe I’m just picking the wrong book genres right now but I thought this one was a little boring. It picked up some about 3/4 of the way through, but in general was pretty dry. It’s the story of two neighboring families who, throughout many years, are dealing with issues within each of their own families but also between the two families. It addresses issues that many families deal with – mental health, addiction, health crises – and felt like it was not too fantastical about how a family might deal with those issues.

Ultimately I didn’t really LOVE any of my March books, so I’m going to work on picking some better genres in April and also work through the stack of physical books I have in my to-read pile now that I have a book light to use at night. A lot of my reading is done now, in pregnancy, when I’m not able to sleep, so my Kindle has been key to reading in the middle of the night!

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March Reads Part 1

I had a good mix of books this month but never got around to writing about any of them – where in the world did March go?! So here are the first 3 I read this month. Check them out and let me know what you think!

The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward was ok. It’s the story of a family who stays in touch but does not communicate very well and the mother decides they all need to go on a international cruise together. They don’t talk about the past or really anything personal even though things are always looming over their heads. Needless to say, the trip does not go well. I really just felt sorry for everyone in the story and also felt very thankful for my family. It was a quick read and easy to get through (nothing to really focus on or think about) so if you just need something to get you by this summer, check it out!

Majesty by Katharine McGee is the second book in her American Royals series and it was just as entertaining as the first, American Royals. America has it’s first queen but Beatrice has the biggest adjustment of all as she tries to navigate a man’s world of being in charge while also trying to please everyone. Imagine that! There is of course family drama, friend and relationship drama, and no missing the hints of how paparazzi functions in real life when it comes to a royal family. These are just entertaining books, especially if you like or are intrigued by royals. This is obviously fiction but there’s enough out there now about royal families that it’s not too far from the truth. But definitely the first book before reading this one!

Next I did a complete 180 and went to The Whisper Man by Alex North. This one was better than his other I read, The Shadows, but still left a little to be desired. When Tom’s wife dies, he has a lot of trouble connecting with his son. They move to a new house but soon learn of strange things happening both at the house and in their new town. Specifically, children are being targeted again, just like what happened decades earlier. It was a little predictable but I appreciated that it was not drawn out and was over and done pretty quickly. If you like a creepy book that you can maybe figure out and isn’t too long, this might be the one for you!

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February Reads

I’ve been horrible at writing lately, so I decided to just group my recent books together on one post! I’m finishing out February with four books of various genres and am excited to share them all! Also, where did February go?!

First, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. I know I am well over a decade late in reading this memoir but I’m glad I finally circled back to it. If you’re not used to reading memoirs, it’s definitely a different read that other nonfiction and especially fiction. It’s a little meandering at times and sometimes feels a little disjointed, but at the end it all fits together. I felt the same way when I read Educated. And both books have a similar feel – both women who grew up with very nontraditional living situations and it is fascinating to me that a) children can be raised this way and b) that they are resilient enough to come out stronger and better as an adult. I also watched The Glass Castle movie after I finished the book but don’t bother – they had to leave a LOT out and tweak actual events from the book.

Next was Girl in Disguise by Greer Macallister – a riveting historical fiction about a women who becomes a female detective in the mid-1800s when, obviously, women did not have such jobs or really any jobs at all. She works hard to prove herself as an independent and very successful part of the private company she works for. Even more exciting is the time she and her colleagues spend working for the government during the Civil War. This is very loosely based on a real woman and true events, though the details of Kate Warne’s life are very vague and sparse. I highly recommend this one!

Happy And You Know It by Laura Hankin was, as I sent to some friends, a great nonsense read or sometimes I refer to as a beach read (though that term seems to not fit so well in February). You don’t have to think, you can sit back a be entertained and you fly through the pages. After a rough patch, Claire is trying to get back on her feet in New York City when she falls into a job as the weekly musician for a play group. She quickly becomes entangled in the mommy drama and has to figure out if she is willing to sacrifice her new friendships or stick to the truth.

Last, was The Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth. You may recognize the author’s name from her well-known Divergent series. I felt like this is the book that would result if Divergent met Harry Potter and Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter. A group of teenagers is chosen to save the world from a supernatural evil (the Dark One), but 10 years after his supposed death, they are summoned into a parallel universe that has it’s own Dark One. While this book was definitely entertaining, it was a very predictable (though a few surprises still popped up) and the main character, Sloane, is kind of annoying. That said, I will continue reading the series whenever it is available and it seems very movie appropriate.

These four book options really have something for everyone, so check one or all of them out and let me know what you think!

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