Cannot believe we are already a quarter through 2024! Excuse me?!?!
Ok, great line up this month too. Hope you find something you like!!
I loved listening to “Life in Five Senses.” Ever since we started trying to help Jackson manage his anxiety, I have been using a lot of grounding mechanisms similar to what this whole book talks about. Really loved how she spent so much devoted time to slowing down and focusing on one sense at a time, really investigating the sense and how we are effected by it. Loved just how the whole book felt very grounding, bringing so much awareness to your day to day life.
I have been reading B.A. Paris for years…I tend to love some of her books, but then feel ehh about others. “The Prisoner” was probably in the middle for me. Amelie has lost her parents her parents at a very young age, learned to take care of herself in London, eventually getting married to a very well off Ned Hawthorne. Then, her and Ned are kidnapped, and she is kept in total darkness for weeks on end. It’s somewhat of an odd story, and I had a lot of mixed feelings on it, but also felt like it was entertaining to read at the same time.
I got into reading Catherine Walsh last year, and she has a lot of cute novels out there. “One Night Only” had a premise wasn’t exactly my take on life, (not a one night stand kind of girl haha…), but the story ended up in a good place and was cute. Sarah is headed to Ireland for her best friend’s wedding, when who does she run into? The man of her last one night stand. She keeps trying to avoid him, but at every turn he shows up. She’s determined to leave him in the past, but he has other plans. You can probably guess how it turns out in the end. 😉
“Only the Beautiful” was heart wrenching. Goodness, just heart wrenching. One of the best books I’ve read this year though for sure. Rosanne is a special girl, someone who sees colors connected to sounds in life. She vividly sees colors any time she sees a sound. Her mother was adamant about keeping this to herself, as others during the 1930-1940s wouldn’t understand, but when both of her parents are killed in a car accident, there is no one to protect her anymore. The vinedressers that her family worked for take her in, but treat her as a housemaid rather than a young girl abandoned by her parents. When she falls pregnant through a situation out of her control, she is kicked out of their house, and submitted to an asylum of sorts to have her baby, and to “cure” her of the colors she can see, and also sterilize her from having any more children. It is just heartbreaking to read about the things she was submitted to, and just amazing that things like this occurred in the U.S. simultaneously while WW2 was going on in Europe. Rosanne’s story is just heartbreaking, and thankfully with the help of a friend is able to find her way.
I listened to Bill O’Reilly’s “Killing the Witches,” this month, and it was fascinating. Everyone has heard about the witch trials of Massachusetts, but to read about the history of it, before and after, and what they really entailed was incredible. So much of it was driven by young girls lying about things they had “seen,” sentencing so many to an undeserving death. It was out of control chaos, I can’t imagine living through all of this!
I keep seeing Colleen Hoover books around, so I thought I would read one this month and see what the hype is about. “It Ends with Us” was a good read, but definitely had a lot of mature content in it. Lily grew up with an abusive father, and was determined to not end up in a relationship like that of her own as and adult. Enter in Ryle, an incredible neurosurgeon, where they fall in love and seemingly have an amazing relationship. Things aren’t always what they seem, and when an old friend revisits her life, things are turned upside down. It was a good story, but again, just a lot of adult content and language.
Speaking of adult content…“Iron Flame” was full of it. I was so on the fence about reading the sequel to “Fourth Wing,” but I really enjoyed the story line and was curious as to how it would progress. The story continues, the cadets honing in their skills with their dragons, and also going to war, learning who and who not to trust. There is a lot of brutality in this one, a lot of language, and open door scenes. The first half of the book was slower than the second half, it was a good read but just be prepared for a lot of content in this one, very much on the fence about recommending it.
Sarah Adams has become one of my favorite authors this year, I loved the first book in this little series and “To Catch a Suitor” was also cute. I listened to this one, and while it was a little slow and repetitive, I still enjoyed the story line of these two life long friends finally finding their way to each other. Clean too, which is also nice. 😉
I have stayed up late reading way too many nights to count haha…this meme was all to appropriate for me personally!
If you’re interested in seeing what I read the last year, you can click on my Books tab above! If you want to follow along with me on Goodreads, check out my profile! I keep track of the books I’m reading, what I’ve read and the reviews on books I’ve made there! Thanks for stopping by!