Happy Tuesday!
Hope you had a great weekend!
I was texting a friend last week about reading books and she said that she’s either reading a ton of books every month or she’s not reading at all. And friends, that sums me right up as well. I’m either all in and can’t get enough or I’m not even interested.
Good for the readers out there, lately I’ve been…
ALL IN!
Before we get into the books I’ve read this Spring, in case you’ve missed any of my quarterly reviews, you can see them all here…
The Sorenson family began by David and Marilyn falling in love back in the 1970’s and this novel takes us back and forth between the current lives of their four daughters in 2016 who are all facing obstacles of their own as well as the very beginnings of their love story.
I’ve heard this one referred to as similar to the show, Parenthood, but I absolutely LOVED that show and this book was just “okay”. I had a hard time getting into all the characters since there were six immediate family members and then all of them had their own story lines. It probably would have been a really good book series, but it was hard to lay it all out in one book.
Evvie Drake’s husband passed away a year ago and since then she’s stayed inside her house away from everyone other than a few friends. When Dean Tenney, a former baseball player, moves into the apartment behind her house, she begins thinking it’s time for her to move on.
A very cute romantic, chick-lit read! You know these aren’t my favorite, but this one was cute!
In this book, Lysa shares how when we’re feeling rejected, left out, lonely, and frankly-uninvited we tend to lose our purpose for our bigger calling. She uses biblical examples to remind us of Christ’s love.
During these stay-at-home days, I’ve found my quiet time growing and growing, so after my bible study and prayer I read a chapter or two of this book. Great read!
In 1982, Viv takes a job at The Sun Down Motel in Fell, New York. Something goes wrong and Viv goes missing. In 2017, Carly, Viv’s niece decides to go to Fell, New York, to dig up everything she can about her aunt’s disappearance. She visits The Sun Down Motel, is offered a job, and discovers many of the mysteries her aunt was faced with all those years ago.
I love mystery, thriller books, BUT this one had ghosts. It just made the story too far-fetched to me.
Shay is living life in New York City but hating every minute of it. She wants to find love, wishes she had friends, yearns for a better job, and desires to feel included in anything. Enter the Moore sisters. They make Shay feel like a million bucks by adding her to their group, but in order to keep them happy she might be asked to do crazy things.
I love a thriller and this one delivered! This one keeps you guessing with what’s happening and who did what! Thriller girls…have you read it?
Calla was born in Alaska and at the age of two her mother decided she couldn’t live the Alaska-life any longer, so she took Calla to Toronto where they lived happily until Calla got a call regarding her dad’s health. She decides to go visit this place that holds so many memories between her parents, begins falling in love with the people, and…{I won’t give too much away}.
I was a fan! This is book one in a two book series and as soon as I finished this one I moved on to book two. I’d say it’s rated R, so just keep that in mind. If these are your types of reads, READ THIS!
Grace’s sister disappeared years ago and through a turn of events, she finds herself on a road trip with the guy she thinks had something to do with her disappearance as well as other girls throughout the state of Texas.
There were many things I liked about this one…loved reading about Texas and the places they were traveling, the ending was really good, and it was very suspenseful. The middle was just really slow for me.
In this book, Melanie shows off her gift of writing by chapter after chapter of sweet little stories leaving us thankful for friendships, love, and so much more. I couldn’t put this book down! I recommend you read it STAT!
Book two in the Alaska series and I really can’t sum up this one or it’ll give too much away from book one. If you like chick-lit reads, I’d suggest these!
Have you watched the new Netflix series, Sweet Magnolias, based on this book?
Maddie’s husband has an affair resulting in a pregnant girlfriend leaving Maddie battling new life as a single mom. Her three children are affected in different ways…Tyler, the star baseball player has a tough time finding the strike zone, Kyle, the jokester of the family, stops telling jokes, and the six-year-old daughter {I can’t remember her name}, is holding out hope her parents will rekindle their marriage. Maddie finds support from Ty’s baseball coach as well as her two closest friends, the others who make up the group titled, the Sweet Magnolias. These three tackle a new adventure as they open a spa in their town of Serenity.
I thought the book was so cute and read it quickly because I couldn’t put it down. I’m only about halfway through the show, but I liked the book SO MUCH BETTER!
Sylvie gets the call her grandmother is very sick so she packs up and travels to Holland to say her final goodbyes. While she’s there she mysteriously disappears. Meanwhile her much quieter, more reserved younger sister living in New York City throws caution to the wind and makes it her mission to unveil what happened to Sylvie. This toggles back and forth between the two sisters and I was stunned to read what happened!
SUCH a good read if you’re a thriller/mystery fan! It was easy to follow along but suspenseful enough, I was shocked at the end.
Now for Award Time {in no particular order}…
Best Light Hearted Read-The Simple Wild
Best Thriller/Suspenseful Read-Searching for Sylvie Lee
Best Overall Book-On The Bright Side
Reading now…
The Prenup now which was recommended by a girlfriend. So far, I’m loving it!
What are YOU reading right now?
These are a few of the books on my to-read list!
Happy Reading, Everyone!
XO
I highly suggest the book Long Bright River. So good.
I just finished the Happy Ever After Playlist last night (great!!), which is sort of a sequel to the Friend Zone, but you can read them independently and still understand what is going on). I've also been working my way through the Virgin River series since I liked season 1 on Netflix so much.
You MUST read The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware. Please! I’m
a thriller-sister and this is one of the only books that I didn’t predict and was totally stumped. Read it ASAP!
I'm firmly FOREVER AND ALWAYS in the non interested category. 🙂
Sylvie or Evie? If you had to pick, which one do I read first?
I love anything chick flick or a light read in the summer, great suggestions.
http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com
I was just looking at the Sweet Magnolias book and Netflix series last night. Now I can't wait to read the book!! I loved You Are Not Alone too.
Happy Reading!
http://www.sunshineandbooksblog.com
You will want to read the entire sweet Magnolia book series. She is one of my most favorite authors. They are excellent and even better than the series
On the Bright Side was a fantastic audiobook as well! Love that the author read it herself. I laughed and cried right along with her. I also devoured The Simple Wild. I just started the Sweet Magnolia show. Seems a bit slow so I’ll give the book a try!
I’d Recommend Oona Out of a Order. A bit R but not a lot. I had to finish it to find out what happens. Had a great twist too.
Some of these books are on my To Be Read
http://www.kellydenisereads.com
Will have to read the Sweet Magnolia series!!! Sheaffer tickles me so much.. I can't believe she doesn't read!!!
American Dirt is amazing I could not put the book down! I just read Beantown Girls by Jane Healey and it was so good I hightly recommend it!
I just finished Sweet Magnolias on Netflix and it leaves you with a giant cliffhanger! I can't wait another year to see what happens. I'll be starting the book series ASAP!!
I’m reading The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides for my book club. I must like it because I read a third of the book at one sitting.
I am with you Erika! I loved all the Sweet Magnolia books and I don't think the series lives up to the books- I think the series tried to have too many "token" characters. The books are awesome though..
I just finished American Dirt. It was SO good! Can’t wait to hear what you think!!
You've got me wanting to read On The Bright Side. I need an uplifting book!
I just finished The Body in Question by Jill Ciment a couple of books ago. It's not really long so probably a 2-dayer. It will HAUNT you…and when I say "haunt", I mean you will be thinking about it for dayssss after you finish it. I had a serious book hangover!