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It’s been a really long time since I posted about reading. Pregnancy and postpartum life just didn’t allow for that kind of brain space and now that I’m chasing a moving target, I’m not sure it’s much better. I am getting better about using my time wisely, though, and that has meant reading a handful of chapters or listening to an audio book while I work or clean. I’m still not back to my pre-pregnancy volume, but I am starting to remember why I used to make time for this. It might be awhile before my monthly totals are anything to write home about, so in the mean time, I’m planning to write a quarterly post with my favorite reads and listens. To catch up, here is everything I’ve laid my hands on since the beginning of the year, excluding this book that I’ve already blogged about.
WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens
★★★★★ | Contemporary Fiction
For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life–until the unthinkable happens.
I heard so much about this one in the months before reading, that I couldn’t resist grabbing it for our spring camping trip. It really is as good as everyone says — I read it in a single day! I fell in love with The Marsh Girl. I loved every triumph, every wildlife description, ever poem — right up until the last word.
FIVE FEET APART by Rachael Lippincott
★★★★ | Young Adult Fiction
Stella Grant likes to be in control—even though her totally out of control lungs have sent her in and out of the hospital most of her life. At this point, what Stella needs to control most is keeping herself away from anyone or anything that might pass along an infection and jeopardize the possibility of a lung transplant. Six feet apart. No exceptions. The only thing Will Newman wants to be in control of is getting out of this hospital. He couldn’t care less about his treatments, or a fancy new clinical drug trial. Soon, he’ll turn eighteen and then he’ll be able to unplug all these machines and actually go see the world, not just its hospitals. Will’s exactly what Stella needs to stay away from. If he so much as breathes on Stella she could lose her spot on the transplant list. Either one of them could die. The only way to stay alive is to stay apart. But suddenly six feet doesn’t feel like safety. It feels like punishment. What if they could steal back just a little bit of the space their broken lungs have stolen from them? Would five feet apart really be so dangerous if it stops their hearts from breaking too?
I read this book in a weekend — a whole book, in my bed and in the pool, while the baby was playing happily at my feet and IT WAS HEAVENLY. This YA story was adorable and reminded me so much of both Fault in Our Stars and Everything, Everything. Ella loved this one just as much as I did (almost 13) — it has a smattering of language and innuendo, but is fairly clean for YA romance.
THE BRIDE TEST by Helen Hoang
★★★★★ | Contemporary Fiction
Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions—like grief. And love. He thinks he’s defective. His family knows better—that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride. As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can’t turn it down, thinking this could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn’t go as planned. Esme’s lessons in love seem to be working…but only on herself. She’s hopelessly smitten with a man who’s convinced he can never return her affection. With Esme’s time in the United States dwindling, Khai is forced to understand he’s been wrong all along. And there’s more than one way to love.
I adored The Kiss Quotient, by Hoang, last summer, so I couldn’t resist grabbing this one as my June Book of the Month pick. Just as predicted, I devoured it on the first day of our trip. Female author, diverse and differently-abled characters, darling dialogue, and characters you can root for? Yes, please. Warning: this is one is not vulgar, but is very steamy, with lots of adult language.
ASK AGAIN, YES by Mary Beth Keane
★★★★ | Contemporary Fiction
A deeply affecting exploration of the lifelong friendship and love that blossoms between Kate Gleeson and Peter Stanhope, born six months apart. One shocking night their loyalties are divided, and their bond will be tested again and again over the next 40 years. Luminous, heartbreaking, and redemptive, Ask Again, Yes reveals the way childhood memories change when viewed from the distance of adulthood—villains lose their menace and those who appeared innocent seem less so. Kate and Peter’s love story, while haunted by echoes from the past, is marked by tenderness, generosity, and grace.
This one took me almost a week to finish, but not because I didn’t love it. It wasn’t slow, just evenly paced, and I felt like I needed to slow down and sit with the characters for a bit. It’s a story of love, heartache, tragedy, and redemption — centered around two neighboring families and spanning four decades. It reminded me of The Great Alone, so if you’re a fan of sweeping, family stories, this one is for you.
NO EXIT by Taylor Adams
★★★ | Thriller
On her way to Utah to see her dying mother, college student Darby Thorne gets caught in a fierce blizzard in the mountains of Colorado. With the roads impassable, she’s forced to wait out the storm at a remote highway rest stop. Inside are some vending machines, a coffee maker, and four complete strangers. Desperate to find a signal to call home, Darby goes back out into the storm . . . and makes a horrifying discovery. In the back of the van parked next to her car, a little girl is locked in an animal crate. Who is the child? Why has she been taken? And how can Darby save her? There is no cell phone reception, no telephone, and no way out. One of her fellow travelers is a kidnapper. But which one? Trapped in an increasingly dangerous situation, with a child’s life and her own on the line, Darby must find a way to break the girl out of the van and escape.
I finished this one in three hours… in the dark. It was perfectly twisty and fast-paced and not as predictable as most thrillers. I loved the heroine and her resourcefulness. The villain, however, was grating and a little overdone — especially towards the end. It had that “Scream” factor where he/she just WOULDN’T GO AWAY. It was a solid three star thriller, plot driven, and un-put-down-able.
ONE DAY IN DECEMBER by Josie Silver
★★★★ | Contemporary Fiction
Laurie is pretty sure love at first sight doesn’t exist anywhere but the movies. But then, through a misted-up bus window one snowy December day, she sees a man who she knows instantly is the one. Their eyes meet, there’s a moment of pure magic…and then her bus drives away. Certain they’re fated to find each other again, Laurie spends a year scanning every bus stop and cafe in London for him. But she doesn’t find him, not when it matters anyway. Instead they “reunite” at a Christmas party, when her best friend Sarah giddily introduces her new boyfriend to Laurie. It’s Jack, the man from the bus. It would be. What follows for Laurie, Sarah and Jack is ten years of friendship, heartbreak, missed opportunities, roads not taken, and destinies reconsidered. One Day in December is a joyous, heartwarming and immensely moving love story to escape into and a reminder that fate takes inexplicable turns along the route to happiness.
This felt like a good, old fashioned romcom and even though I’m not a huge chick flick kind of girl, I loved this story so much! It was a complicated love story, spanning nine years, and I fell in love with every character over and over again. Jack, Sarah, and Laurie are perfect and you won’t be able to put this one down.
A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR by Jude Deveraux (★★★ | Romance): Objectively, this is a two or three star read, but the nostalgia factor cranks it right up for me. This was the first romance novel I ever read (in middle school) and was super fun to revisit. It’s a medieval love story, spanning time and place, with a little time travel and a lot of heart. It’s also a straight up Harlequin-style romance read, just so you know!
A STORM OF SWORDS by George R.R. Martin (★★★★★ | Epic Fantasy Series): This was my favorite book in this series, so far. It is FULL of some of the most powerful story lines and I flew through it. Trigger warning: all of Martin’s work contains extreme violence, violence against women, and adult content. If you can get past that, it’s the most beautiful fantasy series you’ll ever read.
THE PROPOSAL by Jasmine Guillory (★★ | Contemporary Fiction): I know this will be an unpopular opinion, but I just didn’t love this one. I wanted to, but on the heels of a 1,000 page fantasy novel, it just felt silly and I couldn’t wait for it to be over. It’s solid chick lit and if you read it on the beach with an umbrella in your drink, it’s probably adorable.
VERITY by Colleen Hoover (★★★★ | Romantic Thriller): Hoover has long been one of my favorites for indulgent, YA* romance, so I was quick to purchase this one. It’s more thriller than romance (I’m cool with that), but was super hard to listen to. If you’ve read it, you’ll know why having a baby made this one especially hard — reading a print version would have been much easier. I did love the ending — it was just twisty and unpredictable enough. It’s a solid four stars, if I ignore the cringe-worthy scenes from early in the book.
* Hoover has definitely strayed from the YA lane in the last several years, but the first books I read by her were definitely a college/young adult vibe.
HOME FIRE by Kamila Shamsie (Abandoned | Literary Fiction): I saw this one recommended by so many friends and bloggers, but I found it difficult to listen to. It sounds like something I would love, so I’m hoping it’s a wrong place/wrong time situation. I’ll likely revisit it again, but might attempt the print version, if it’s available at my library.
NOTES FROM A PUBLIC TYPEWRITER by Michael Gustafson (★★★★★ | Nonfiction): This is perfect. Literal words typed on a public typewriter in an indie bookstore. A quick read/listen (under an hour), that will put an instant smile on your face.
THE WEDDING DATE by Jasmine Guillory (★★★ | Contemporary Fiction): I liked this one so much more than The Proposal (same author). If you want perfectly cliche’ contemporary romance, I’d start here. Bonus points for a female author, diverse characters, and an upcoming sequel. 3.5 stars, to be clear.
TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE by Jenny Han (★★★★ | Contemporary Fiction): I admit to watching the movie before I read (listened to) the book, because it came out while I was on maternity leave with nothing much else to do, but lie in bed and watch Netflix. I loved the movie and had high hopes for the book. It is pretty similar and even the narrator’s voice sounds the same — this is not me saying all young people sound the same, but she does a great job with tone and inflection and it gave me such similar feels, while reading and watching! I’ve already downloaded the remaining two books in this series.
