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Hello my lovely reader friends and welcome to this week’s book report. We are fully into summer now which is just the best. The weather is fabulous every day and it is hard to be tooooo sad when the sun is out and it’s so warm.

I am still in a bit of a life and reading slump but I like to think I am slowly getting out of it. Of my three steps to get out of my slump, waking up early has been the hardest but I am going to keep at it (sleep is such a beautiful thing). Getting sun every day is pretty easy, I just have to remember to do it. But I am enjoying the summer weather so much that it’s pretty easy to convince myself to go outside. I am also reading more often in the little breaks during the day but still struggle sometimes to want to pick up my books. Despite my extended slump, I do have 3 books to talk about this week.

So without further ado, let’s get into the week of reading!

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What I Finished

Cover Story

by Mhairi McFarlane

I don’t know if it’s just because I’ve been in a slump but I had trouble getting into this book. I actually downloaded a Kindle sample of the book a few weeks ago and read the first chapter and felt like I had no idea what the characters were saying. It was also right before bed so it might have been my sleepy brain not computing. To be fair though, the Scottish slang sometimes takes some time to get into. Either way, I am glad I gave it another shot as it did end up being a solid 4 star book. I got more invested in and enjoyed the second half more than the first.

The story centers around Bel who is a member of a very small team of journalists in Manchester. When the new intern arrives, he seems grumpy and detached and they immediately do not like each other. However, when Bel gets a tip on a big story, a set of unforeseen circumstances force her to work much more closely with the intern than she would have liked. And you can probably imagine what happens from there.

I enjoyed the undercover storyline as Bel needs to find a way to get sensitive information without tipping anyone off. I did get a little annoyed a couple of times at some of our love interests’ miscommunication though it definitely could have been worse. I thought there was a nice mix of romance and a literary fiction storyline that was separate from the romance which is always my favorite mix when it comes to this genre. Overall, it was a solid 4 star.

Content warning: Language throughout, no true spice but some innuendo and some lightly descriptive references to spice

First Lie Wins

by Ashley Elston

I really liked this one. It was a fast paced thriller with strong character development which reminded me a little of a Gillian McAllister thriller (which if you’ve been here for a while, you know is a huge compliment). It wasn’t too graphic or scary but the stakes were high enough that I was invested throughout the story. While I did guess one of the big reveals at the end a little before it was finally revealed, I was still in the dark for most of the story and it remained an exciting moment in the book.

I went into this book not knowing very much about it and I don’t want to spoil that experience for you if you’re like me and like to go in with very little information. So I’ll keep the description brief. We open on Evie Porter who is newly moving in with her boyfriend and meeting some of his long time friends. However, as they ask questions about her past, we quickly realize that Evie Porter is keeping secrets and the nature of her work is highly unusual. The question is, who really is Evie Porter and what is she doing here?

In a lot of ways this book checked every box for a great thriller in my book (no pun intended). I really enjoyed slowly putting the pieces together about Evie’s past and the nature of her work. There was even a little element of romance to the story but it was very well balanced with the suspense. I also appreciated that there was very little spice. I don’t 100% know how I felt about the end resolution and the “where are they now” part of the book but overall, the book is definitely up there as a great thriller.

Content warning: Light language, one or two innuendos but generally no spice

What’s Up Next

Things You Save in a Fire

by Katherine Center

I have most of Katherine Center’s backlog on my Want to Read list and this one was up next. It already feels slightly different from some of her other books that I’ve read. I have the impression that her previous books were slightly more serious in nature and her recent books have been more lighthearted (while still tackling occasional tough topics). I’m not sure if that impression is true or not but this book definitely has a slightly different feel than The Shippers which I just read and loved. Hopefully it will still be a great read!

And that’s all folks! As always thanks for reading and being here! Let me know in the comments what your favorite Katherine Center book is if you have read her books!

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Hello my lovely reader friends and welcome to this week’s book report. Things have been a little tough over in my corner of the internet. Work and jobs really affect all areas of life and they can be both a blessing and extremely trying. Activities that are normally fun and exciting feel heavy and tiring. That includes reading. I have been struggling to be motivated to read and it feels so hard to pick up books even if I genuinely enjoy them while I’m reading them. I know I love to read but mind-numbing activities feel easier in the moment.

So, what do I do when I have a blog dedicated to reading and my creative reading and writing juices are all but dried up? Well, my first step is still showing up and updating you all even though my updates may not be the most exciting. I hope some of you can relate to the ups and downs of reading, especially when life gets busy and heavy and makes even the most enjoyable hobbies feel hard. It’s important to extend grace to myself but also not give up on trying to pick up a book rather than mindlessly scrolling which leaves me feeling even more tired than when I started.

So for this week’s book report, I am going to discuss the ways I will attempt to get out of my reading slump and make time for the things I love (mainly reading but also other hobbies and things that have gone by the wayside).

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What I Finished

His & Hers

by Alice Feeney

It took me a really long time to get into this book. I started it and then read two full books while still in the middle of this one which never bodes well, especially for a thriller. Even as I started to get more into the story, it felt extra dark and disturbing with unnecessarily shocking plot points. You obviously expect some darker elements in a thriller but I found myself not really enjoying portions of the book and skimming through some more triggering portions. The twists weren’t that enjoyable to me and the final reveal was strange and somewhat unbelievable to me. So the payoff didn’t really save the book either.

His & Hers opens with Anna Andrews who is a BBC anchor assigned to a murder case in Blackdown where she is reunited with Jack Harper, the police officer on the case and an important person from her past. We follow both of their perspectives (hence the His & Hers title) as the mystery unfolds and we learn that neither of them is telling the full truth.

Alice Feeney seems to be a hit or miss author for me and this one definitely leaned more toward the “miss” side. I just didn’t enjoy the characters or the story very much and while it was gripping at parts, I just didn’t enjoy a lot of the aspects of the book. Of the four books I’ve read by her, my favorite by far is Rock, Paper, Scissors. His & Hers was my least favorite, sadly.

What’s Up Next

My Anti-Slump Plan

Instead of discussing the books that are up next, I am going to share my Anti-Slump Plan:

1. Wake up early and use morning time for relaxing/grounding hobbies.

   I work from home and it’s so easy for me to wake up late and spend my entire day feeling very reactive and behind rather than proactive and prepared. Starting the day with some time with the Lord and time for reading/hobbies makes a huge difference and I want/need to prioritize that this week.

2. Get sun every day.

   It is summertime and the sun is now out quite often. And yet, there are days that I hardly spend any time out in the beautiful weather. When I am feeling down it is so easy to stay inside all day which then makes me feel more down and begins a very negative spiral. I want to try to get outside in the sun every day even if it is just to sit on the deck and soak up some vitamin D. If I’m feeling extra spicy maybe I’ll even go for a walk.

3. Use the awkward pauses.

   You know the times during the day where you don’t think you have very much time but you have more than you think? I will think I don’t have enough time to read or complete a chore but I end up scrolling on Instagram for 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, I could have been reading or tackling a quick chore that would calm the space around me and brighten my mood. So, this week, I want to take notice of when I am justifying scrolling or doing something mindless because I “don’t have enough time” and use the time that I do have to do something that will brighten my mood and genuinely be relaxing rather than just mind-numbing.

I am going to try to prioritize these 3 things this week and see how I feel. When I am in a slump it can often feel impossibly difficult to pull myself out and if I try to do it all at once, it is next to impossible. But starting with small steps is normally the way to go. Wish me luck!

And that’s all folks! Please let me know if you have any tips for getting out of a reading slump (or life slump) and how you make time for hobbies when life feels heavy!

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Hello my lovely reader friends! Welcome to this week’s book report! I got to read a couple of books that have been on my radar for a while now. One was newly released this year and another one was released last year and has been well loved and hyped since its release.

Happy Belated Memorial Day to my American friends who celebrate! I got to spend a lovely quiet weekend with family, cooking out and enjoying the beautiful weather (finally!) We were a bit bummed it rained so much and made the yard a little too squishy to support us sitting around a fire. But we made it work!

My family puts out bird feeders and hummingbird feeders and we spent quite a while watching all the different birds come to snack as well as a hummingbird who kept circling back for little sips of nectar. It was so soothing to watch them and listen to all of their unique calls. It was a great setting to get some reading in as well. I’ve officially become a bird lady and I am fully here for it.

And without further ado, let’s get into the week of reading.

Quote of the Week

“Anyway, he extended the invitation while we were speaking on the phone, and you know, Felix, I despise the notion of Texas with every atom in my being, a hot, barren wasteland of tumbleweed and people carrying guns and wearing cowboy boots, but I am actually considering the possibility.”

- Virginia Evans, The Correspondent

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What I Finished

The Correspondent

by Virginia Evans

This book was so unique because it is comprised completely of messages in the form of emails and letters. The fact that a compilation of letters could render me so connected to our main character that I shed a few tears at the end of the book is an accomplishment in and of itself. It did take a little time for me to get into the story, probably due to the format, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading it.

I am not even 100% sure how to describe what the story is about but the correspondence surrounds Sybil van Antwerp, our main character, who is a former lawyer and is now retired and living alone. However, she regularly sits down to write letters to acquaintances, family members, dear friends, authors she appreciates, and more. As we read her letters and email correspondence, we get to know her feisty personality as well as the triumphs and regrets of her past. We also get a peek into a letter she has been writing for years that she has never sent.

Sybil makes sweet new friends, works through tough relationships, and even meets potential new suitors and we learn about it all through her correspondence. I really enjoyed this book in the end and was touched by a particularly sweet resolution of one of the side stories. I have been seeing this book everywhere and it is very beloved for good reason. I don’t think it was my absolute favorite but it was definitely a beautifully written heartfelt novel that I will think of long after closing the last page.

This Story Might Save Your Life

by Tiffany Crum

This is another book I have been seeing around quite a bit since it came out earlier this year and I have been really excited to pick it up. The book opens with Joy’s disappearance. Joy is one of a pair of podcasters who have a lighthearted podcast about stories of survival entitled, This Story Might Save Your Life. She and her husband have disappeared suddenly and we slowly discover that some recent events have transpired that make the disappearance even more suspicious.

I was hoping to absolutely love this story. I’ve heard so many great things about it, not to mention the fact that it was supposed to be a mix of a thriller and a love story. I normally like the combination of thriller and literary fiction or romance to lighten the heaviness of scarier thriller themes. And I’m not saying I didn’t love it. I think I did like it but it just wasn’t my absolute favorite. It took me a little bit to get into which is unusual for a thriller. I did like the characters overall but I didn’t connect to them and their love story as well as I was hoping.

I did guess a plot point that I think was supposed to be a big reveal but maybe most people guess it, I’m not sure. But that meant that there weren’t really many big twists. There was a part of the story that could have been really mysterious but ended up just getting explained away in a somewhat unsatisfactory way to me.

I did end up enjoying the story overall and was happy to have read it but I don’t think it wowed me as much as I was hoping. If you’ve been thinking about reading it, definitely give it a try. You may end up loving it more than me. On paper I feel that I should have enjoyed it more than I did but it just didn’t quite do the trick.

The Shippers

by Katherine Center

Yay for the second new release of the month of May that I have been anxiously awaiting. I am so happy to report that this was a banger of a book. JoJo is convinced she is cursed since she can’t seem to stay interested in any guys that are genuinely interested in her. If a guy ignores her, she’s hooked, but if he pays attention to her and is committed, she’s uninterested. She and her sister come up with a theory to solve her problem and lift the “curse” which involves wooing her grade school crush while at a destination wedding on a cruise ship. And she’s going to need the help of her childhood best friend to do it.

This book was so much fun. First of all, the cruise ship setting was perfect for summer and was a blast to read. I have only been on one cruise in my lifetime but this made me want to book another one. I loved our main characters too. JoJo, while a little prone to fixating on random goals, was so funny. And the love interest was just great. I was immediately rooting for the two of them to get together.

While there was one story line that felt a little contrived to me and a few other things that weren’t my preference, I still found myself absolutely loving it. You know it’s a good book when at the end, despite a few parts that weren’t my preference, I still felt like it was essentially a five star book. I was nit-picky and gave it a 4.75 on Fable but it’s essentially five stars.

I also, as always, love that there is essentially no spice. There are some kisses for sure but you can skim any parts that you want and there are no true spice scenes. Also, the dedication was “To Anyone Who Needs a Hug” and that was just a wonderful start. I knew it was going to be a good book from that point on. Well done Katherine Center!

And that’s all folks! As always, thank you for being here and reading. If you would like, leave me a comment and let me know what new releases you read and loved this month!

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Hello my lovely reader friends! Welcome to this week’s book report. May is a great month for new releases. My favorite thriller author released a new book! Gillian McAllister’s latest book, Caller Unknown, came out on May 5th and I’ve been so excited to read it ever since I fell in love with Wrong Place, Wrong Time earlier this year.

So, on publication day I made a trip to a local mystery bookstore to buy the book. I think that is the first time I have ever specifically gone to a bookstore on publication day to buy a book and it was so special and fun!

AND later in the month, Katherine Center’s new book The Shippers comes out! What an exciting month for books.

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What I Finished

The Paris Apartment

by Lucy Foley

In this thriller, Jess travels to Paris to stay with her brother when she finds herself in a tough situation at work. Her brother sends a message saying he will let her in to the apartment building but when she arrives, the doors are locked and he is nowhere to be found. She stays in his apartment for the time being and slowly starts to realize that something is wrong and starts to suspect that the residents are not telling her all they know. And the longer her brother is missing, the more she worries.

This book ended up not being my favorite. It was darker than I was hoping and not even necessarily in a typical thriller-way (i.e. murder or psycopath scariness). The dark storyline reminded me a bit of The House of Silk, though that one was definitely darker than this one. What was ultimately going on was just not enjoyable to read about for me personally. I don’t know if that is the reason why the mystery itself didn’t really work for me either but other than one twist toward the beginning that did get me, the reveal at the end didn’t feel really surprising or twisty. To be fair, I wasn’t really enjoying myself toward the end which might have affected my ability to appreciate the twists.

Also the way that the characters talked felt really crass. It wasn’t just one character but most of them talked this way. I also didn’t really love any of the characters or connect to them very well. All around, this just wasn’t my favorite book.

Caller Unknown

by Gillian McAllister

Yay for a new Gillian McAllister book! This book opens with Simone traveling to the US to spend some time with her daughter. When her daughter suddenly disappears, Simone receives a ransom note and has to choose whether to obey the kidnapper and not involve the police or call for reinforcements. On top of that, the ransom is not money but an unexpected task that could lead Simone down a path she may not be able to recover from. How far will she go to protect her daughter?

I really enjoyed this book. It was not my favorite by Gillian McAllister but that’s not saying too much since I have loved almost every book by her so far and this one was no exception. This book once again has strong themes of family and motherhood and asks the question of what you would do to protect your children. I appreciated the arc of our main character and how she viewed motherhood and related to her husband. I also loved the Texas setting but described from a British perspective.

Part of why this one wasn’t a hands down five star read was because the final reveal felt like a little bit of a stretch and there weren’t as many twists throughout the book. I don’t always need a bunch of twists in my thrillers and I really appreciate that McAllister mixes character driven fiction with thrillers and the focus is not on cramming in as many twists as possible. However, a couple of her other books have had some great jaw dropping moments which definitely added to my enjoyment and I missed that a little bit in this one.

But, overall this was such a great read and I would definitely recommend it!

What I Started Reading/What’s Up Next

His & Hers

by Alice Feeney

Surprise, surprise. Another Alice Feeney book is on my list. Except I am having a little more trouble getting into this one. I don’t know if it’s just because I’ve read too many in a row and maybe need a break or if I am actually not liking this one. I may end up having to try something else and come back to this one at some point.

And that’s all folks! Thank you for reading and being here! Let me know in the comments whether you have read a Gillian McAllister book or not (this is really just me suggesting you give one a try!)

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Hello my lovely reader friends and welcome to this week’s book report! You may have noticed the (hopefully) cutely staged photo above shows Sherlock Holmes as the current book that I am reading on my Kindle. I have two things to say about this:

1. I just discovered how to make my Kindle show whatever book I am reading as its screensaver. I thought my Kindle was too ancient to do that but ha! It is not and I am very excited.

2. I recently discovered the wonderful world of Kindle samples and decided to sample a couple of books. One of them happened to be Sherlock Holmes.

It was a slower reading week partially because it took me 50 pages and a couple of days to realize that I was simply uninterested in continuing to pick up my book even though it seemed like it should be interesting on paper. Should be interesting and actually being interesting are unfortunately two very different things.

But without further ado, let’s get into the week of reading.

Quote of the Week

“Now is the time for resting. Some things are ill to hear when the world’s in shadow.”

- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

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What I Finished

My Husband’s Wife

by Alice Feeney

This one was definitely fun and twisty. We open on Eden Fox who has gone for a run in the town that she and her husband recently moved to. She is nervously anticipating her first art show later that evening. However, when she returns home she finds that her key doesn’t fit the lock and someone who looks eerily similar to herself is claiming to be her husband’s wife.

I think I have learned that if you want every loose end to be carefully tied up, Alice Feeney may not be the thriller author for you. That is something that I always appreciated about Agatha Christie. She put careful thought into how the story was told so that you as the reader made assumptions but when the reveal happened, it never contradicted anything that you had read previously.

Despite the occasional loose ends, I felt that this one was definitely tighter than Beautiful Ugly, for instance, and was fun (if the topic can truly be fun). There were so many twists that I couldn’t have even begun to guess them all. I will admit some of the characters made some frustrating decisions at times but I guess they normally do in thrillers.

This one also didn’t feel too scary to me and just felt more twisty and ominous/mysterious which is where I like to be in my thrillers. Overall, it was a solid interesting story that held my attention and definitely surprised me a few times.

This has some language and some light innuendo and suggestive portions if sensitive.

The Last Thing He Told Me

by Laura Dave

Apologies I don’t have a photo for this one since I returned it to the library after realizing it wasn’t for me. The story seemed interesting on paper but when I would try to pick it up, it just dragged and I found myself uninterested. The book opens with Hannah Hail discovering that her husband has disappeared and left her to care for her difficult step daughter in his absence. We soon learn that there was a raid on his tech company and suspicions arise as to how much he did or did not know about the company’s dealings. I am sure this could be a great book and maybe even if I picked it up in a different season of life, I would like it. However, today Rachel just couldn’t get into it.

What I Started Reading/What’s Up Next

The Paris Apartment

by Lucy Foley

I saw this on a Haley Pham vlog a long time ago and ever since then I have had my eye on it. I got this tiny Mass Market Paperback copy which was kind of cute but the contents are not as cute so far. Jess Hadley travels to Paris to visit her half brother but when she arrives he is nowhere to be found. She stays in his apartment in the meantime and begins to worry as he is gone for longer and longer. Not to mention, the residents of the building don’t seem to be the most welcoming bunch.

And that’s all folks! As always, thank you for reading! Let me know in the comments if you utilize the Kindle sample feature and if it has helped you avoid buying books you thought you would like.

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Hello my lovely reader friends and welcome to this week’s book report! I had a week full of thrills. I completed one Alice Feeney book and started another one. I also picked up my first Mhairi (Vah-Ree) McFarlane book and really enjoyed it. It’s always so much fun when I discover new authors and can slowly make my way through their backlist.

Quote of the Week

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that harm done with explicit conscious intention of doing another person harm accounts for about two percent of all harm inflicted.”

- Mhairi McFarlane, Just Last Night

“…a man who I can only describe as a human burp.”

- Mhairi McFarlane, Just Last Night

These are two very separate but wonderful quotes.

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What I Finished

Rock Paper Scissor

by Alice Feeney

At the start of Rock Paper Scissors, Amelia has won a surprise trip to Scotland and drags her husband, Adam, to the middle of nowhere for a weekend away in the hopes of fixing their marital problems. Amelia desperately wants Adam to pay more attention to her than he does his movie scripts and hopes that the seclusion will bring them closer. However, it is quickly apparent that all is not as it seems and the weekend takes an unexpected turn.

I inhaled this book and definitely liked it better than Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney. There were twists upon twists upon twists. It was bordering on too scary but mostly stayed safely on the not too scary side for me. I don’t think all of the loose ends were perfectly tied up but this one didn’t have as many glaring plot holes to me as Beautiful Ugly and the ending was satisfying enough and definitely twisty. I also really enjoyed the setting and the house in the middle of nowhere. It perfectly added to the ambience. Overall, it was a really solid thriller.

This one has some innuendo and some language but felt cleaner overall to me than Beautiful Ugly.

Just Last Night

by Mhairi McFarlane

This book opens with a group of four friends who met as teens and are still friends into their 30s. Eve is still secretly in love with Ed and can’t seem to move on despite him having a long term girlfriend. However, all of their lives are about to be upended and things that seemed important before will pale in comparison to the grief that Eve and her friends are about to experience. On top of that, when secrets begin to come out, Eve sees unexpected sides of her friends and must work to process and rebuild her life. Not to mention, her love life.

This book surprised me in a great way. I have heard Haley Pham rave about Mhairi McFarlane books and I finally gave one a try. This one does have some heavy grief themes and started with a bit of a spice scene at the beginning. However, I really liked the mix of literary fiction with romance. I enjoyed the romance quite a bit especially since it was more of a slow burn. I also loved that the character development from the main character rather than the romance was more of the focus. Her growth also played a huge role in helping her grow into the full realization of the romance in the end. I also felt that the way that the book dealt with grief was poignant and moving. While I haven’t personally experienced grief to this level so I can’t fully speak to the accuracy, I thought it was sad and yet hopeful and definitely written very well.

The only thing that I wasn’t a huge fan of was the last bits of dialogue between our love interests. You know how a book builds up to that final moment when the romance is fully realized and both characters are fully on board and you hope for some beautiful heart warming dialogue? That dialogue just didn’t hit the way I was hoping it would and felt a little underwhelming at the end.

When Strivings Cease: Replacing the Gospel of Self-Improvement with the Gospel of Life-Transforming Grace

by Ruth Chou Simons

This was a fabulous book. If you are a Christian who struggles with “striving” rather than resting in God’s grace, this book is for you. Ruth shares such compelling personal experiences and struggles to help the reader feel heard and not alone in the struggle of striving. Her writing is a balm for the tired and weary soul simply looking for rest amidst a culture which values hustle and productivity above all.

I love Ruth Chou Simons artwork and writing and while this book was more focused on the writing and less focused on the artwork I still loved it so much and was reminded that not only is her art beautiful but her writing is too. I am excited to slowly make my way through all of her beautifully illustrated and theologically rich books.

What I Started Reading/What’s Up Next

My Husband’s Wife

by Alice Feeney

I may be on a bit of an Alice Feeney kick if you can’t tell. This will be my third book of hers in short succession. This is her newest installment, published in January of this year, and it seems to have been getting good reviews so far. It is definitely an intriguing premise. A woman goes for a run and comes back from her run to find that her key doesn’t work and there is a woman who looks eerily similar to herself at the door, claiming to be her husband’s wife. I definitely want to know how this one is going to play out!

And that’s all folks! As always, thanks for reading! Let me know in the comments if you have read any of Alice Feeney’s books and if you have a favorite!

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Hello my lovely reader friends and welcome to this week’s book report! The library experiment is going swimmingly so far (if you weren’t here last week, the “experiment” is simply me checking out library books instead of buying them). I know that everyone who has already been using the library is aware of this, but it is such a convenient way to try out books that I’m not fully ready to commit to. I will probably always still buy some books of my own but for now I am enjoying toting around my little library books and feeling like I’m in grade school again. Anyone remember Book It?

I don’t have many profound and interesting things to say about this week other than it’s been warm and I’m happy that it’s warm. My husband and I have spent a couple of evenings out on the porch already and it is so calming. We also happen to have a lot of bats near us and while having a bat in close proximity or an enclosed space would not be fun for me, when they are free flying and I hear their little sounds, they make me so happy.

This has nothing to do with reading but I recently completed a puzzle for the first time in a long time and I found ALL of the edge pieces on the first sorting. I don’t think that has EVER happened to me. It’s the little things in life.

Anywho, let’s get into the week of reading.

Quote of the Week

“I blew a mental kiss to my beach towel for being the last thing standing between me and utter despair.”

- Katherine Center, The Love Haters

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What I Finished

Beautiful Ugly

by Alice Feeney

Firstly, I am so happy I found a thriller that wasn’t too scary and I mostly enjoyed. I did enjoy the atmosphere. The somewhat spooky and remote island was a great setting that added to the ambience of mystery and intrigue. I also loved Columbo, the main character’s sweet dog. While the writing was good overall and the book held my attention easily, a lot of things fell flat for me. I am still confused and trying to understand how the twists could actually fit into the story that I read. I am still not sure that I understand how or why the resolution happened the way that it did which is never a good feeling when reading a thriller.

This book opens with the disappearance of Grady Green’s wife without a trace. One year later, he is not handling things well and hasn’t been able to begin writing his next book at all. On a whim, he decides to accept an offer from his literary agent to stay on a remote Scottish island in a cottage to attempt to get his mojo back and finally write another bestseller. However, while traveling to the island, he believes he sees someone who looks exactly like his wife. Once he arrives at the island, he understands just how remote it is with only a few local residents and almost no access to the outside world. Not to mention the people that he meets seem quite strange.

Also, as a content warning, when I searched online, this book was categorized as having very low to no spice but I still felt like there were a few portions that might be better skimmed if you are someone who prefers to skip spice. Nothing too long or in depth, but still.

Overall, it felt like the setup was great but the ending really didn’t do it for me and the story fell flat. I still am excited to pick up my next Alice Feeney though despite some of the plot holes in this one!

The Love Haters

by Katherine Center

This book was so fun! I loved our main character and the love interest. I loved the Key West setting and the flowery character of Rue. I loved the evolution of our main character learning to overcome her body image issues. I loved almost all of it.

My problem with this book is the conflict that came up in the second half of the book. It felt super contrived and there is one character who was (in my opinion) a completely insane person. I was so upset with this person and also was having trouble believing and getting behind the insane deception that had to take place in order to avert a difficult situation caused by this person. All because this character was completely insane.

Now, I know you may be thinking, Rachel, why are you reading rom com books and expecting the characters to make rational decisions when you know that there is normally a third act conflict and also, it’s a rom com. And that would be a great question that I don’t really have an answer for.

The Love Haters centers around Katie Vaughn who is desperately trying to save her job. Her supervisor informs her she must take a video producer job profiling Hutch, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West. She accepts the offer in an attempt to save her job. She conveniently leaves out the part that she can’t swim even though it is supposed to be a requirement for this gig assuming that she will figure it out once she gets to Key West.

Katherine Center knows how to write a fun book and this one was no exception. Even if there are occasionally difficult topics discussed, I always feel sunshine-y happy while reading her stories. They definitely do feel like a favorite rom com movie from the 90s or early 2000s.

What I Started Reading/What’s Up Next

Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame

by Olivia Ford

I started this sweet little book all about a lady who gets to compete in a baking show (based loosely on the Great British Baking Show format, I believe). I’ve had my eye on this book for quite a while and thought it would be so fun. However, as per the title of this blog, this is the second book after The Love Haters which had extensive deception included in the story.

From the beginning of the story our main character keeps a secret and I, as the reader, don’t understand why she is doing it. It seems kind of senseless and strange. However, the baking parts of the book are sweet and I am hopeful that the baking show portions will make up for the weirdness at the beginning. However, so far the book has felt like it’s less about a baking show and more character driven even though I don’t understand the main character’s motives. I am a little frustrated so far but I’m trying to hold out for the baking show parts in hopes that they are better!

And that’s all folks! Thank you for reading as always! Let me know in the comments if you have any particular character behaviors that really irk you!

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Hello my lovely reader friends and welcome to this week’s book report! I hope that you are enjoying lovely spring weather and little flower buds wherever you are in the world (unless you are in the southern hemisphere, in which case I hope you are enjoying some lovely fall weather!)

As an explanation for the title of this week’s blog post, I have had a library card for some time now but haven’t used it in quite a while. There were a few reasons for this. For one, my husband encouraged me that books are one of the best investments you can make and even got me a bookshelf to fill with all my books. The problem is, I began reading more books than I ever thought I would and you may have noticed in the background of my photos that my shelves have slowly gotten fuller and fuller.

So, I need to find ways to make the habit a little more sustainable without constantly having to make sure I am getting rid of books. It also would not hurt to save some money because books can be expensive! So, the library seemed like an obvious choice to at least try. At some point, I may also try Kindle Unlimited again and/or utilize some combination of all of the above.

For now, I am really loving getting to try books out, especially when I end up not absolutely loving them and don’t mind if I don’t get to keep them on my shelf.

As a small update on Alchemy of Secrets, I still haven’t wanted to pick it up which is really unfortunate. I really want to like it and think that it could be good if I gave it more of a chance. But every time I think about picking it up, something else always sounds much more interesting. Alas.

But without further ado, let’s discuss the week of reading (and my new library book!)

Quote of the Week

“‘A man who loves all women loves no woman. A man who loves only one woman loves all women.’”

- Allen Levi, Theo of Golden

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What I Finished

Theo of Golden

by Allen Levi

This. Book. Was. So. Beautiful. All of the stars for Theo of Golden. Theo’s faith and kindness and love was so inspiring and moving. So many of the side characters that we meet have their own beautiful and moving stories, as well as unique lessons to share through their experiences. Theo’s love for others, for God, for nature and its beauty, for music, for just about anything and everything was so inspiring.

Even though there’s not really anything truly gripping about the story, it never really dragged for me. I wanted to keep reading to see what every day experience Theo would make more magical or what new person he would meet with a unique reaction to receiving their portrait. Also the reveal at the end regarding Theo’s true identity and purpose in coming to Golden did not disappoint. I laughed, I cried, I experienced every emotion in between. Theo of Golden is a beautifully executed book about ordinary but lovable people.

The story centers around Theo (only Theo, no last name) who moves to Golden and upon visiting the local coffee shop, falls in love with the more than 90 hand drawn portraits of its patrons. He decides to purchase and hand deliver the portraits to their “rightful owners.” These personal deliveries facilitate his meeting the cast of beautiful characters featured in this book.

What I Started Reading/What’s Up Next

Beautiful Ugly

by Alice Feeney

I am dipping my toe back into the world of thrillers with my first library book. If you haven’t been following my thriller arc, I used to LOVE thrillers, the scarier the better. I’ve never been into true horror or too much gore, but still, I used to not mind and read the occasional Stephen King. I have gotten much more sensitive in recent years but still have it in my head that I might enjoy the occasional thriller. And bingo, this one so far is a perfect mix of a little creepy and uncertain without being too terrifying or disturbing.

So far we know that Grady Green’s wife disappeared one year ago and his life has essentially unraveled since then. On a whim, he decides to accept an offer from his literary agent to stay on a remote Scottish island in a cottage to attempt to get his mojo back and finally write another bestseller. However, while traveling to the island, he believes he sees someone who looks exactly like his wife. On top of that, the islanders seem a bit strange and he begins to feel uneasy.

The premise is really great and if it wasn’t supposed to be kind of a creepy setting, the island sounds so beautiful and atmospheric. I would definitely want to vacation on a less creepy version of it. I will be excited to see how I feel as the story continues.

And that’s all folks! Thank you so much for being here! Let me know in the comments if you are down for seriously scary books or if you are a sensitive soul like me.

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Two tiny Turkish coffees <3

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Hello my lovely reader friends and welcome to this week’s book report! First, we must discuss the Project Hail Mary movie (spoiler free of course). I got the privilege of going to see it a day after it was released and oh my, was it just a wonderful movie in all the ways. It was visually stunning, emotionally moving, and managed to stay really true to the book, in my opinion. Other than a few subtle changes here and there, I think it really was one of the best book to film adaptations. Not to mention this was one of my top books of last year so it could have been really disappointing to watch. But it was far from disappointing. It was a masterpiece. I would 100% recommend it if you haven’t seen it.

Due to some big life changes recently, my reading has been a little sporadic. And I’ve had trouble really getting invested in books. Despite the struggle to stay engaged with books, I have a couple that I finished to discuss, as well as a couple that I have started and have some thoughts on.

Without further ado, let’s get into the week of reading!

Quote of the Week

“It might not make a lot of sense, but for anything to be good, truly good, there must be love in it. I’m not even sure I know fully what that means, but the older I get, the more I believe it. There must be love for the gift itself, love for the subject being depicted or the story being told, and love for the audience. Whether the art is sculpture, farming, teaching, lawmaking, medicine, music, or raising a child, if love is not in it — at the very heart of it — it might be skillful, marketable, or popular but I doubt it is truly good. Nothing is what it’s supposed to be if love is not at the core.”

- Allen Levi, Theo of Golden

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What I Finished

Pictures of You

by Emma Grey

I liked this book a lot more than I thought I would when I first started reading it. I didn’t realize a good chunk of it was set in high school until after I started, and I was worried it would feel too young adult-y or high school drama filled with salacious details. Not to mention, it’s been compared to The Favorites which I did read and did not enjoy nearly as much as I was hoping to.

However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this book was not any of that. I actually felt that the story was very well done with lots of emotional depth. The subject matter could be tough to read about as it discusses themes of emotional manipulation and abuse. However, I felt that it was handled very well. It was actually fascinating to read the sequence of events that could lead a person to become swept up in another person’s charms and later be trapped in a bad situation without realizing it.

To give some context of what the story is about, our main character, Evie Hudson, wakes up in the hospital thinking that she is still in high school but slowly comes to understand that she is 29. Not only is she 29 but she is married and now widowed due to the bad car accident that landed her in the hospital with amnesia. The rest of the book follows Evie’s journey of discovering how she ended up here and why her life looks so different from what her teenage self was hoping for.

Even though it discussed tough topics of emotional abuse, it wasn’t so dark that it was difficult to read or not enjoyable. I did feel great empathy toward Evie as I simultaneously understood her choices and wanted to point out all the red flags and warning signs. There were moments while reading where I could look back at my life and see people that I have known that had they had worse intentions, it could have been me. The story made me grateful for the times that God has protected me, as well as the wonderful, loving people in my life.

My only complaint might be that the ending didn’t feel fully satisfying to me. I can’t point to one specific thing that made me feel this way but it just felt like something was missing.

Overall, this was a thought-provoking and interesting story. Also, I didn’t spend much time talking about this but there was a sweet romance story with no spice. <3

That Night

by Gillian McAllister

That Night opens in a dramatic way. Cathy receives a call that her sister, Frannie, has had an accident and hit someone with her car. Cathy and their brother, Joe, rush to the scene to try to assess the situation. Frannie asks them to help cover up what happened and they have to make a choice. A choice that will have many repercussions.

I am still a little bit confused about how I feel about this one. I know for certain that it was gripping even though, looking back, I can’t point to a specific twist that was extra shocking. This might in part be because I’m starting to pick up on some of McAllister’s patterns so I guessed some of the reveals before they came. I still enjoyed her writing, and since her stories are often more character driven thrillers than pure thrillers, I was still on the edge of my seat once I got into the meat of the story.

The problem with the character driven aspect is that I am not sure how I felt about these characters. Her characters often face moral dilemmas and are imperfect but she normally does a great job of helping you see their perspectives. However, I didn’t fully feel like I could get on any of the characters’ sides and I am not sure how I felt about the resolution. There were some pretty questionable decisions made out the gate and they continued to ramp up as the book continued.

And I don’t know if this was just me since I wasn’t liking the book as much as I hoped or if it was genuinely different but this book felt like it had more language than some of her others. They all definitely do have language but this one felt like it was a little more frequent.

It definitely wasn’t my favorite of hers but I did still enjoy it. It was engaging and fast-paced and in the end there was one character that I was mostly rooting for.

What I Started Reading/What’s Up Next

Alchemy of Secrets (Alchemy of Secrets, #1)

by Stephanie Garber

First of all, I love this cover and have loved it ever since I first saw it. Maybe that is what made me so tempted to pick up an adult fantasy book when I normally very rarely pick up fantasy books. And I have bad news, guys. A combination of some darker topics than I was expecting, the genre, and subject matter, made me apathetic about continuing to read it. I am still hoping to finish it at some point but I decided to try to pivot and see if another book (Theo of Golden) could grab my attention in the meantime. I do hope that inspiration will eventually strike so I can finish Alchemy of Secrets.

Part of the problem might be that I am forty pages in and I still don’t fully understand what this book is about. So far I’ve met our main character, Holland, whose parents passed away but we don’t understand what happened to them. She attended a mysterious class in college all about folklore and legends and is partnering with the professor of that class to write her thesis until a new professor comes on the scene and takes over. Holland loves trying search for and experience some of the legends that she learned about in her class and I think that is going to be part of the main plot. We will see how it goes!

Theo of Golden

by Allen Levi

Theo of Golden centers around Theo (only Theo, no last name) who moves to Golden and upon visiting the local coffee shop, falls in love with the more than 90 hand drawn portraits of its patrons. He decides to purchase and hand deliver the portraits to their “rightful owners.” These personal deliveries take him on a journey of meeting and connecting with a cast of colorful and beautiful characters.

You may be able to guess by the long quote I included at the beginning of this blog post that I am very much enjoying Theo of Golden. First of all, there are little scriptural and God references sprinkled very gently throughout which was an unexpected but happy surprise. Theo is the sweetest old man from Portugal but his background is a little mysterious other than that. He is so thoughtful loves to take long walks and sit on benches studying the trees and birds and taking in all of life’s beauty. The little town of Golden is so atmospheric and all of the cast of additional characters are so unique and heartwarming as well. I smell a potential 5 star beauty.

And that’s all folks! As always, thank you for being here! Let me know in the comments below whether you saw Project Hail Mary too and whether you felt it did the book justice.

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Hello my lovely reader friends and welcome to this week’s reading blog. I have two Katherine Center books on the docket this week and one Agatha Christie that was the inspiration for a recent Netflix 3 episode series. Lots of good stuff. My husband and I also had our second mini book club meeting this week and even though he normally doesn’t read much fiction, he said he is genuinely enjoying The Fellowship of the Ring. Though let’s be real, it’s hard not to love J.R.R Tolkien’s writing.

As the title suggests, my sister and I watched the Seven Dials Mystery series on Netflix when it came out. Without sharing any spoilers, I will say I was underwhelmed. I share my thoughts below on how I thought the book measured up compared to the movie (in a shocking turn of events I watched the movie before reading the book).

Without further ado, let’s get into the week of reading!

Quote of the Week

“I don’t know which are the worst, powerful personalities or earnest politicians. I do so prefer the cheerful inefficient.”

- Agatha Christie, Seven Dials Mystery

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What I Finished

Happiness for Beginners

by Katherine Center

As a reminder from last week, this book mainly takes place during an intense hiking trip. Our main character is taking notice of her younger brother’s friend for the first time despite her knowing him for many years. However, he is far from noticing her for the first time since he’s had a crush on her since he was a teenager. Now they are unexpectedly participating in an intense hiking trip together and as you can guess, won’t be able to avoid each other for long.

I did end up liking this one. There were a couple little things that kept it from being a full five stars for me. The explanation given for some plot points that were introduced to create conflict felt a little lackluster to me. There is also a surprising reveal that happens later in the book that is supposed to explain some things but felt a little random to me. It did make one of the characters more sympathetic but I wonder if that could have been accomplished in a less sudden way than that. I also thought the ending would address things a little more but I don’t really know what happened to the characters after the final resolution. Realistically that would normally be fine for me but in this book I wanted a little more explanation of how this big issue ended up playing out.

But realistically I am nitpicking here. I thought the book was so fun overall! It felt like a comfort read which is such a great feeling to have while reading a book. The hiking portions were definitely gripping partially because I would never ever do anything like that. I liked our main characters and came to love some of the side characters who were on the hike with them.

I have my fingers crossed that I will also love the movie!

As a content warning, there is occasional language and the romance comes in hot at the beginning, no true spice but younger audiences could be sensitive.

Everybody’s Favorite Guy

by Katherine Center

I picked up this short story from Katherine Center and actually read it in one sitting during a particularly bad headache to distract myself. I thought it was really funny that many of the reviews that I saw on Goodreads complained that this story was too short. While I do understand that short stories make it hard to get invested in the characters and stories, I feel like it’s not a fair criticism of a short story. The reader has to keep in mind that they have picked up a “short” story.

All that being said, despite the brevity, I actually really enjoyed this for what it was. Of course, it wasn’t the most fleshed out that it could be, you can only do so much in a short time. But I enjoyed the time I had with these characters and thought the story was sweet overall.

Anyway, I should probably tell you what the story is about. Our two main characters, Lily and Walker, are traveling to a vacation cabin in the Rockies to meet their moms. Lily and Walker have been estranged for quite some time and Lily is not looking forward to the reunion. When a freak March snowstorm blows in and the cabin has no power, survival becomes more important for the time being than a bumpy past, and Lily and Walker have to work together to ensure they have a safe night.

If you are looking for a quick easy read, I would definitely give it a try!

The Seven Dials Mystery (Superintendent Battle, #2)

by Agatha Christie

First of all, I love that this cover is one of the original covers from almost 100 years ago (crazy, right?) I mentioned above that I watched the Netflix series with my sister and some things felt off and confusing to me. Knowing Agatha Christie’s writing, I would have been very surprised if she had written the book in a way that would have left me confused and dissatisfied so I had to give the book a try.

The story begins with a prank involving alarm clocks goes unexpectedly wrong when Gerry Wade is found dead. Lady Eileen “Bundle” begins to investigate when things don’t seem to be adding up. She discovers a letter mentioning the Seven Dials and quickly begins to see that finding out what the Seven Dials is may lead her to the murderer’s identity.

The book was definitely better to me (shocking, I know) than the movie. But here’s what I would like to clarify. It wasn’t better in the typical way where there was more rich detail in the book or they skipped too much in the movie and left it jarring and confusing. In this case, I felt that they tried to get too cute. They tried to add to Agatha Christie and thought that they could match her levels of twists and turns. But I was left feeling like they tried to do way too much.

Despite the extra time that they gained through making this into a three episode series, the characters fell somewhat flat. The main character felt very confusing and some of her decision making felt jarring to me. The plot also felt too complex. Maybe if it had been stretched into even more episodes with more explanation it would have been more clear and enjoyable. At least the setting and costumes in the movie were fun!

And that’s all folks! Thank you for being here as always. <3 Let me know in the comments if you’ve read or watched The Seven Dials Mystery and what you thought.

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Hello my lovely reader friends! Welcome to this week’s book report! As the title suggests, this past week I happened to read two books that start with the word “just.” I didn’t choose them on purpose for that reason but I thought it was a funny coincidence.

Anyway, spring is ceasing to be a figment of my overactive and very eager imagination and is actually springing. I have officially seen my first couple of daffodils (right before a bona fide snowstorm of course) which is always a welcome sight of spring. The best part is, I am enjoying a little over 2 weeks off from work and this time, I get to stay home instead of traveling somewhere. Don’t get me wrong, I love trips as much (if not more) than the next person, but I was in need of a break and am relishing the opportunity to stay at home and vegetate. I am so thankful for a time to reset and relax and unshockingly, part of that reset has included a good deal of reading.

So without further ado, let’s get into the week of reading!

Quote of the Week

It was a pointed reminder that the experiences people didn’t witness would never resonate as deeply with them as they did with you. If you wanted them to be appreciated, it was your responsibility to share them-it wasn’t on others to understand something they had never seen.

-Haley Pham, Just Friends

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What I Finished

Just Friends

by Haley Pham

This was such a fun read and Haley should be proud of this debut novel! Childhood friends Blair and Declan find themselves unexpectedly living in the same town again after many years. Their relationship is tense and we don’t fully know why they haven’t been on speaking terms since high school. Blair is dealing with the grief of an ailing loved one while trying to navigate an unexpected change to her plans to start work in New York City. On top of all that, she unknowingly applies for part time work at the coffee shop that Declan works at and will not be able to avoid him for long.

I was pleasantly surprised with the way that this book tackled grief. It wasn’t overly sad (which is always good for me!) but we get to watch Blair process and go through ups and downs in her grieving process. It was really moving and felt akin to a literary fiction at times which I loved. I also appreciated the emphasis on friendship and the importance of sharing your burdens with your friends. Not to mention, Declan was such a sweet and loyal love interest.

There were a couple little plot lines I didn’t quite understand or love. The initial interactions between Declan and Blair seemed strange to me and the conflict at the end felt a little frustrating and random. However, this was overall a really fun read and a sweet romance story!

Just Another Missing Person

by Gillian McAllister

I LOVED this book! I am turning into a rave Gillian McAllister fan. There may have been one or two Agatha Christies that I read that had storylines that I could describe as heartwarming but McAllister manages to make me feel deeply for her characters every time (a rarity in the land of mysteries and thrillers). This book had themes of family loyalty and sacrifice and STILL delivered on the suspense. I even guessed a major plot point at the end and it didn’t matter because there had already been multiple satisfying twists. The ending was still SO good because I was just invested in the personal lives of our main characters and how their stories would ultimately resolve themselves.

The story’s ending may not be a satisfying ending for everyone. In a perfect world I might have changed some things. But, the more I sat with it, the more I appreciated the imperfect people in the story trying their best (not the bad guys of course) and the love that the characters have for their family. These characters and their stories will definitely stick with me. Easy 5 stars.

This book centers around a police officer, Julia, who thinks she is embarking on the search for “just another missing person” when this case takes a turn. In order to protect her family she must not locate the missing person. I won’t say any more so I don’t spoil anything but I WILL say that this book just worked for me and I already have another McAllister book on the way.

Please keep in mind there is some language included, if sensitive.

What I Started Reading/What’s Up Next

Happiness for Beginners

by Katherine Center

Speaking of beloved authors, I started Happiness for Beginners this past week. This book mainly takes place during an intense hiking trip which is very different from anything else I have read (apparently they can’t shower for more than 2 whole weeks which doesn’t seem like it should be possible). Our main character is taking notice of her younger brother’s friend for what seems like the very first time despite him being around for many years. However, he is far from noticing her for the first time since he’s had a crush on her since he was a teenager.

The book had an interesting start since it felt like we front-loaded some of the romance aspects and then went into intense hiking with much less romance. We will see how the rest goes but as always, Katherine Center’s writing is so much fun and makes me chuckle out loud. I can always count on a good time and easy read.

And that’s all folks! Thank you as always for reading and supporting my little corner of the internet. Let me know in the comments if you’ve spotted the first signs of spring where you are at!

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New fav coffee shop location unlocked!

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Hello my lovely reader friends! Welcome to this week’s book report! We had some GORGEOUS weather this past week and weekend and it was beauteous. I am a completely different person when the sun is shining. My husband and I also spent an impromptu morning in the city grabbing breakfast and a fresh juice to soak up as much sunshine as possible.

We also discovered a new local coffee shop with historical European drinks with information about how and where they were originally created. We will definitely be returning to sample some more of the options. And lastly, (lots of food this week), I got to try a breakfast quesadilla with sujuk sausage and all I have to say is 10/10, would recommend to a friend.

But enough about all the food that I ate, let’s get into this week’s reading updates!

Quote of the Week

“and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

-J.R.R Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

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What I Finished

Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist (Mrs. Pollifax, #13)

by Dorothy Gilman

This was a fun one. I know it’s going to be a good one when Farrell, one of my favorite side characters, is involved. On top of that, Mrs. Pollifax finds herself in Jordan in this installment which has been a beloved travel destination of mine.

In this 13th book in the series, Farrell is hoping to smuggle a manuscript out of Jordan and requests the presence of Mrs. Pollifax, a seeming “innocent tourist”. She accompanies him posing as his cousin for a clandestine hopeful meeting at Karak Castle. However, in typical Mrs. Pollifax fashion, she unintentionally gets entangled in a sensitive political situation and manages to not only escape but ensure that a malicious plot is foiled.

It’s always a pleasure to spend time in the world of Mrs. Pollifax!

What I Started Reading/What’s Up Next

Just Friends

by Haley Pham

I have been watching Haley Pham’s book videos for a while now and was so happy for her that she successfully wrote and published a book. And then I saw people having extremely strong negative feelings about this book. I couldn’t figure out if it was just people not liking that she wrote a book and being extra critical since she already has a YouTube following or if the book was genuinely not well written.

I was so excited to start this book and support her and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was in fact enjoying the book and it definitely did not seem to merit the one star scathing reviews that I had been seeing (unless something horrifying happens at some point later in the book). I am not sure that it will be a five star but that’s totally fine. It is her first ever book and it’s still a huge accomplishment. P.S. I LOVE the cover and sprayed edges (from the Target version). It is so fun!

When Strivings Cease: Replacing the Gospel of Self-Improvement with the Gospel of Life-Transforming Grace

by Ruth Chou Simons

I read Beholding and Becoming by Ruth Chou Simons and fell in love with her beautiful illustrations and writing. This book was gifted to me after sitting on my TBR list for a good while now and I am excited to finally dive in. It is aesthetically pleasing but more importantly I am confident it will be full of poignant truths. I do struggle heavily with striving after grace when it is a free gift that has been given so I am sure the book will be very helpful for me!

And that’s all folks! As always, thank you for being here. Leave me a comment if you’ve read any of the books mentioned above!

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Hello my lovely reader friends and welcome to this week’s book report! I am beyond ready for spring and guess what! We have almost a week’s worth of warm weather ahead of us and I couldn’t be more happy. Granted, warm weather seems to always come with rain this time of year but there’s something about rain that makes me not mind the gray skies so much. I actually enjoy rain so long as it is not too cold. We are also changing the clocks soon (never mind that we will lose an hour of sleep) and this means that the sun will be setting after 7PM until OCTOBER. Just think of it, friends.

I have admittedly been dragging in all the ways during the past few weeks. That includes things that I normally enjoy doing like blogging and reading. You will imagine my surprise when I realized that I actually finished 3 books this past week when I thought I was moving like molasses. I credit the great authors whom I have come to love, Agatha Christie and Gillian McAllister, for a great week of reading.

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Quote of the Week

“Poirot,” I said. “I have been thinking.”

“An admirable exercise, my friend. Continue it.”

- Agatha Christie, Peril at End House

Poirot just casually throws shade but in the most distinguished way possible. I am here for it.

Without further ado, let’s get into the week of reading.

What I Finished

Famous Last Words

by Gillian McAllister

As a review from last week, this story opens on a woman returning to work on her first day back from maternity leave. Her husband is surprisingly MIA on this emotional and big day and she starts to become concerned. Meanwhile, a hostage situation is unfolding nearby and she has no idea that her husband is involved. We also get to know the hostage negotiator who is assigned to the case as he tries to deescalate the situation in a nonviolent way.

This one was a slow burn for sure and I understand why some people would think it was boring, but I really liked it. And it still had some twists and turns toward the end that I definitely did not see coming. I did guess one or two small things but overall it was still a very satisfying ending. I would say that this feels more like a literary fiction with a thriller bend (or a literary thriller since I just learned that is a genre!)

I am definitely going to make my way through McAllister’s backlist and I am looking forward to her new release later this year.

New favorite author unlocked!

Peril at End House (Hercule Poirot, #8)

by Agatha Christie

First off, this cover is gorgeous. I think they (meaning some unknown publishing people out there) are releasing new covers for the Agatha Christie books and I really love them. I saw an older cover for this book on Goodreads which was dark and foreboding while this one looks so sunshine-y and vacation-y. Speaking of, this would be a great summer vacation read since Poirot and Hastings are vacationing in this story. Granted, the dark and foreboding cover may have been more indicative of the events that unfold but I still prefer the sunshine yellow cover by far.

We open on Poirot and Hastings who are on holiday in the Cornish Riviera. They meet Nick Buckley who has had some mysterious near-death accidents recently. Poirot takes it upon himself to ensure her safety and try to solve the mystery as quickly as possible before any harm can befall her.

I won’t say anything else so that I don’t give away any spoilers but let’s just say I enjoyed this quite a bit. The setting was idyllic and the characters were definitely compelling and memorable. I must say though there was one loose end that I think was explained but I was confused about how it could have happened the way it did. It was very small and somewhat insignificant in the grand scheme of things so it didn’t really detract from the story but I was surprised. I normally feel so satisfied by Christie’s endings. Though let’s be real, it might have just been my brain struggling to compute.

Even so, I think this would definitely be a favorite of Christie’s.

Murder in Mesopotamia (Hercule Poirot, #14)

by Agatha Christie

I mentioned last week that I was going to take some time to stick with authors and genres that I know and love so I immediately started another Agatha Christie after Peril at End House. When I was reading the Agatha Christie biography a few months ago, this book was mentioned as one that she wrote while she was on an archaeological dig of her own which piqued my interest.

This story is written by a nurse who is employed to care for the wife of the leader of an archaeological dig. She is supposedly hallucinating strange occurrences and seems to be living in fear of some unknown danger. There is also a strange energy resting on the group that didn’t seem to be there previously. Poirot is eventually called in to deal with the subsequent events and is a delight as always.

I enjoyed the archaeological dig setting and characters in this one. However, I did guess a tiny fragment of the ending, though I definitely did not guess the entire resolution. I think I enjoyed Peril at End House slightly more though both were great. It didn’t help that one of the murders in Murder in Mesopotamia felt particularly eerie and I decided I was ready for a break from murder mysteries for a minute.

What I Started Reading/What’s Up Next

The Fellowship of the Ring (Middle-earth, #2)

by J.R.R. Tolkien

After recently watching the second two movies of the trilogy in the theaters to celebrate their 25th anniversary, I was inspired to give the books a try. My husband and I have tossed around having a little married couple book club together and decided to begin with this book. He almost exclusively reads nonfiction but did enjoy Dune.

I wanted to help him step out of his comfort zone a little bit into the world of fiction and figured this would feel like a meatier classic and be reminiscent of the complexity and world building of Dune. Not to say that Dune and Lord of the Rings are similar at all (they are not even the same genre) but in my head it works. He also really enjoys the Lord of the Rings movies so there’s at least an interest there already. Wish us luck!

And that’s all folks! As always, thanks for following along with me. I am so grateful for every like and comment. <3

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Hello my lovely reader friends! Welcome to this week’s book report. This was a weird two weeks. I was on a reading roll, tearing through books left and right, and then I started and stopped reading about 3 books in a row. I am a big believer in not finishing books if I am not feeling it but I think that having three in a row that I at least read a few pages of and then changed my mind threw me off a little bit. I started to worry whether I would get into a slump and not be able to find a book to get into. So I decided to focus on authors that I know and love for a little while during the next couple of weeks to ensure that I can get some reps under my belt and remind myself of why I love to read so much.

There are definitely ebbs and flows to reading and the beauty is that there’s something for everyone. So even when I feel like a book is not a fit for me, it may be a perfect fit for someone else. It also depends on the timing. Sometimes a book hits at the right time but if I am not in the mood or right head space it just won’t work. So I just keep trying until I find one that I can get into.

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What I Finished

Wrong Place Wrong Time

by Gillian McAllister

I rated this 4.5 stars initially but I think it’s more like a 5 star book. Our main character witnesses her son committing a crime at the beginning of the book. She goes to sleep completely distraught and is even more distraught to wake up on the previous day before the crime has been committed. She now must figure out how she has gone back in time and why. It is definitely a slow burn thriller but it’s so so good!

This was such a great thriller. I recently discovered the term literary thriller and I think it is my new happy place. This didn’t feel like a typical thriller in that it wasn’t super scary or always extremely action-packed. Yet, I found myself so drawn to the story and the characters. It had heart. Somehow it felt character driven while still having an exciting plot that kept me coming back for more. There was a also sci-fi element to boot. It could have felt very cheesy or filled with plot holes but it felt so well fleshed out to me. The attention to detail on the time travel aspect was impressive.

I am not a mom but the main character’s worries about whether she had raised her child well and whether she could have prevented certain things from happening was so compelling. I felt deeply connected to her struggles and loved the themes of maternal and familial love. Not to mention, my jaw has not physically dropped due to a thriller twist in quite a while. I had to set this book down and gather myself to continue after the first twist. And there were MORE to come!

If you can’t tell, I loved this book. I love Gillian McAllister. What a great book. I am already excited to read another one of her books (which I already started to do).

*This did include strong language and one or two instances of some crude joking, in case of sensitivity.

Turtles All the Way Down

by John Green

I read The Fault in our Stars by John Green in high school, maybe? It may have even been middle school. I haven’t picked up a book by him since but I remember liking that book and the subsequent movie release. I don’t read a lot of young adult partially because it is sometimes hard for me to relate to the younger characters and the decisions that they make. However, this didn’t feel too young to me overall. I occasionally felt a little disconnected with some of the characters’ problems but not so much that I couldn’t relate and get invested in the story.

This book covers the story of Aza who is pushed by her best friend into attempting to solve the mystery of the missing billionaire father of one of her childhood friends. In the meantime, Aza is navigating her struggles with OCD and panic attacks while trying to do normal things like go to school, spend time with her best friend, and even navigate her first romantic relationship.

I thought this was a really unique attempt at tackling panic attacks and mental health issues in a fictional setting. I felt stressed sometimes while reading the main character’s spirals (which probably indicates a job well done!) and I had quite a bit of empathy for her by the end.

My only real complaint might be how the mystery was wrapped up. To be fair it was a very minor part of the plot, so I probably shouldn’t have expected too much but it felt a bit abrupt and shocking to me as the reader while the characters kind of took it in their stride. It just felt a bit strange.

Other than that, I had a good time with this book and really appreciate the creation of a character with mental health struggles.

Chasing God

by Angie Smith

I finished this beautiful book by Angie Smith about striving after God and missing him for all of the attempts to imitate what it looks like to be a Christian rather than actually investing in a personal relationship with our Savior. Admittedly, the writing style in the first few chapters took some getting used to but the middle and end were especially impactful. This is a great book for Christians who are feeling exhausted in their faith walk rather than rested and recharged.

What I Started Reading/What’s Up Next

When the Moon Hits Your Eye

by John Scalzi

This book has been on my radar for quite a while due to the intriguing premise and I was so excited to finally be picking it up. This book asks the question of what would happen if the moon were made of cheese and explores how the world might react to this strange phenomenon.

I am definitely intrigued by the premise itself but I saw a few reviews saying that it is hard to get into the book since the POVs change to new characters every single chapter. And I would have to agree with that assessment. I am having trouble getting into it and I admit I am currently considering not finishing it which is really sad because the premise is so much fun. I’m just struggling to get invested since I can’t connect well to the characters since I only get to spend a chapter with them.

Famous Last Words

by Gillian McAllister

I loved Wrong Place, Wrong Time and Gillian McAllister herself so much that I picked up another one of her books. I love McAllister’s take on thrillers! She seems to do a great job of weaving a heartfelt story and characters that you grow to love into an intriguing mystery.

This story opens on a woman returning to work on her first day back from maternity leave. Her husband is surprisingly MIA on this emotional and big day and she starts to become concerned. Meanwhile, a hostage situation is unfolding nearby and she has no idea that her husband is involved. The story also covers the hostage negotiator who is assigned to the case as he tries to deescalate the situation in a nonviolent way.

I love Gillian McAllister if you can’t tell and I’m super excited to continue exploring her backlist.

And that’s all folks! Thanks for reading! Let me know in the comments below whether you are someone who will not finish a book if you’re not feeling it too!

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Hello my lovely reader friends! Welcome to this week’s book report. I am anxiously awaiting a warm streak that has been forecasted for this coming week. I am over this snow and ice already and it is only the beginning of February which doesn’t bode too well for the rest of the winter. I am dreaming of summer picnics and park dates.

In other news, while at a cute local bookstore this past week, I found this amazing little bookmark which is actually made of very thin wood. It’s perfect because it’s not too thick despite being wooden. And of course it is eye catching. As a person, who has been known to use receipts or slips of paper that are lying around as bookmarks, I feel so fancy having a real, pretty bookmark. It’s the little things in life.

Quote of the Week

I resonate with this quote deeply even when I’m surviving more than thriving, this can get forgotten.

“I like things to be beautiful.”

- Amanda Peters, The Berry Pickers

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What I Finished

The Berry Pickers

by Amanda Peters

This was a beautiful novel with a beautiful resolution. I think for some reason I didn’t connect to the characters as deeply as I thought I would (or should) but it was still a moving and powerful story of family ties. If you like historical fiction, I would definitely recommend giving this book a try. I was pretty equally interested in both POVs throughout the book which is sometimes difficult to pull off. And the ending felt satisfactory and wrapped things up in a heartwarming way. I did get a little teary eyed at the very end.

This story follows two main characters. One is the older brother of a little Mi’kmaq girl that mysteriously disappeared while their family was picking berries for work. The other character we follow is a woman who is an only child and has lived with an overprotective mother with secrets that are slowly uncovered. Overall this is a beautifully written historical fiction story with a mysterious twist that was both moving and heartwarming.

*If sensitive to language, this does have some instances of strong language.

The Bodyguard

by Katherine Center

This was SO much fun. Hello Stranger was my first Katherine Center novel and I absolutely loved it. I thought for sure Katherine Center would become a favorite author if she could make me love a romance book as much as Hello Stranger. Then I read The Rom-Commers and sadly didn’t love it as much. I worried that Hello Stranger was just a one off favorite by her and maybe I wouldn’t love the rest of her books as much as I thought. However, The Bodyguard confirmed that I do in fact love Katherine Center’s writing and the characters and stories that she creates.

Fresh on the heels of heartbreak and grief, Hannah has been hired as a bodyguard for a famous movie star, Jack Stapleton. She must keep her role a secret so as not to worry Jack’s family which means she must pose as Jack’s girlfriend. You can probably imagine some of the shenanigans that happen while they fake date but I won’t spoil anything. All I will say is it’s great fun and the thoughtfulness of the characters, especially Jack, is so touching. I love the dimension that Katherine Center gives to her characters. They don’t just exist to fall in love with each other, but they have issues that they are working through and quirks and interesting things that happened in their past. I am excited to read more of her backlist and also anticipating The Shippers when it comes out later this year.

*If sensitive to language, this does have a few instances of strong language.

What I Started Reading/What’s Up Next

Wrong Place Wrong Time

by Gillian McAllister

Per the title, this read was fully inspired by Instagram. I stumbled upon Gillian McAllister’s Instagram and was charmed by her candid look into her imperfect every day life. She shares her real life messy house while she writes and mothers her child. She shares a glimpse into the difficulty of writing while wanting to care well for her son and prioritize him. Because I love her Instagram personality so much I was a little worried about whether I would like her novels as much as I like her Instagram presence which would be so disappointing if not. But because I wanted to support her, I grabbed her most popular book and gave it a try.

The book started a lot slower than I was expecting for a thriller but I am actually enjoying the slower pace because it feels less like a thriller and more like a slow burn story with a mystery included. It also has a little bit of a sci-fi twist which adds to the intrigue. The book opens on a mother waiting for her son to come home from a late night out. She witnesses him commit a murder and is shocked and falls asleep completely distraught. Then she is further shocked to find that she has woken up yesterday instead of the following day.

At the very beginning, I had a little trouble getting into the writing style and have found myself struggling sometimes to get into the flow state of reading and yet I keep coming back to it and I am definitely interested and excited to see what happens.

And that’s all folks! Thank you for reading! Let me know in the comments whether you’ve ever bought a book because you liked the author without knowing if you liked their writing.

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Hello my lovely reader friends and welcome to this week’s book report! It is number 50 which feels like such a milestone.

In other news, I am ready for spring. This snow and cold is for the birds. Every time the sun peeks out for a moment my entire countenance brightens and I remember what it was like to be happy. (Ok, that’s a bit of hyperbole but still, I think you get it.)

But hey, things could be so much worse. We have power, heat, and recently discovered amazing local kielbasa which we have now eaten twice in one week. I am also close to solving my very first full sized NYT crossword puzzle ever and I am brimming with excitement.

In all seriousness, if you are in one of the southern states and still struggling with power issues and ice storms, I pray you have warmer weather very soon!

Quote of the Week

Not really a book quote but I was doing my NYT mini crossword this week and this quote made me chuckle and is also very accurate.

“Rice is great when you’re hungry and want 2,000 of something”

-Mitch Hedberg, NYT Mini Crossword Puzzle Answer

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What I Finished

The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax (Mrs. Pollifax, #2)

by Dorothy Gilman

There’s not too much to say here other than this was another solid installation in the Mrs. Pollifax series. She charmed her way through Turkey this time and admittedly I was pretty unsure of how this one would resolve itself. She was in quite a pickle. However, Mrs. Pollifax somehow managed to survive when agents were dropping around her left and right. She defies the odds as always. Mrs. Pollifax will always have a special place in my heart. <3

Whale Fall

by Elizabeth O’Connor

I inhaled this book in 24 hours partially because the book was fairly short at 200 pages or so and the writing was quite broken up. Some pages would only have 4-5 lines with the next page being a new day or topic. There weren’t really chapters either which was unusual, just broken up pieces of text. There would be a grouping of text that would last a few pages and serve as more of a cohesive chapter.

I had mixed feelings about this writing style. On one hand, it added to the slow atmospheric feel of the setting on a tiny Welsh island where not much happens. It immersed me in the setting because the chunks of text would sometimes describe very mundane day-to-day happenings. However, I felt disconnected from the main character (and all the characters for that matter) for a good chunk of the beginning because it was so disjointed and slow that I felt like I was an outsider observing choices made by the characters rather than being immersed in their story. However, the slow pacing didn’t get boring for me, on the contrary, I seemed to read the book faster than I normally would read a book.

As the story progressed, I did become more connected and was actually surprised by the end by how much I did end up liking the book. I still would give it about a 3.5 star rating but it was memorable in its own way. I LOVED the cover though. It is a huge part of why I picked this up but I was a little worried I wouldn’t love the inside as much. I am happy that the beautiful cover held an ultimately satisfying story, even if it was a little hard to get immersed in and a top favorite.

What I Started Reading/What’s Up Next

The Berry Pickers

by Amanda Peters

I am continuing my historical fiction streak by picking up this very popular 2023 release. This book covers a Mi’kmaq family whose 4 year old sibling disappeared from Maine during their seasonal berry picking work. We also get to know a woman who, while loved by her mother, has felt smothered by her constant care, not to mention the secrets that seem to be lurking in their past. The book is set in a similar time period as The Help but covers a different group of people, still sadly looked down on in this time by parts of society. So far, the writing is wonderful and I am definitely intrigued and drawn in by the story.

And that’s all folks! Let me know in the comments if you are over the winter weather too. (Or if you are somewhere warm, send us warm thoughts please, and thanks!)

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Swapped my usual reading coffee drink for some tea

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Hello my lovely reader friends! If you are in the US and have been hit by this crazy storm, I hope you are staying safe and warm. Thankfully, we are warm so far but have just barely dug ourselves out of this storm enough to drive. We opted to stay home for a few days since we are blessed with remote work and don’t need to go anywhere. Today I ran out of milk for my coffee though, which made digging the car out of the snow suddenly extremely essential.

I do think I started going a little stir crazy being at home so much. Today I was very excited to go out to my chiropractor appointment like a normal person with normal activities. I thought that I would be a lot more productive being at home so much the last few days but I have learned that it’s not just having time at home to complete tasks that is the problem. It’s me that is the problem. Unfortunately, I can avoid my tasks at home just as well as I can when I’m out and about. Which is unfortunate.

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But hey, rest is important too. And I got a couple of things done. Maybe the problem is my expectation that being at home means doing more things rather than resting more.

Well, that’s a problem to work out for another day. In the meantime, let’s get into the week of reading!

What I Finished

The Help

by Kathryn Stockett

I loved this book so much! The Help is set in the 60s and tells the story of three women in Jackson, Mississippi. Two women work as help and one woman dreams of being a journalist while her mother dreams of her becoming a housewife. I loved all of the characters in the book, and each POV kept my interest just as much as the others. I loved the story of their quiet but strong rebellion. I also really loved the way Aibileen and Minny’s community banded together and supported each other. And beyond that, reading about these two groups of people breaking stereotypes and risking their reputation (or worse) to stand up for each other was so heartwarming and inspiring.

Even though it wasn’t the emphasis, I also loved Aibileen’s trust in God and continued prayer throughout some really difficult and confusing times. Her quiet and steadfast faith was inspiring. She was a beautiful character. She was so steady and loving but also extremely bold and brave when the rubber met the road.

As an FYI, there was a scene that seemed a little crazy and out of place from the rest of the book, and it might be a little more out there compared to the content in the rest of the book. But other than that, this was such a lovely and moving story. I would recommend it highly!

The Reappearance of Rachel Price

by Holly Jackson

I gave this book a hard time last week because of the blood spatters (or splatters, I couldn’t decide which) on the cover. I ended up really liking it overall though. The premise is really fascinating. Rachel Price disappeared 16 years ago without a trace. Now a documentary crew is covering the details of the case when completely unexpectedly, Rachel Price reappears. What’s more, the details of her disappearance and reappearance seem suspicious and Rachel’s daughter, Bel, is determined to find out what really happened.

I wasn’t sure whether this would be more scary than I signed up for but it ended up being a solid slower burn mystery. Obviously some of the topics discussed were scary and thriller-esque but I didn’t think anything was overly disturbing. Additionally, if you are sensitive to language, this book has a lot of language. I saw a review which said she didn’t normally mind some language but the number of f-words in this book felt a bit excessive and I tend to agree.

For some reason, a lot of mystery books I’ve been reading recently haven’t had a satisfying ending to me. There were a couple aspects of the ending that surprised me but ultimately I wasn’t shocked. I had considered parts of the ultimate resolution so the ending wasn’t too crazy. Also some of it felt a little far fetched and unsatisfying to me.

Overall though, the suspense throughout the book was really good. I was on the edge of my seat for most of the book. And despite a bit of a lackluster ending, I thought the mystery and premise was really gripping and I enjoyed my time in this world.

What I Started Reading/What’s Up Next

Chasing God

by Angie Smith

I am finally reading this book. I had the best intentions of reading it for quite a while but I finally am actually starting it. From what I understand so far, the writer realized that she was trying to “chase God” and do certain actions to achieve certain level of Christianity and found herself feeling exhausted and missing the point. I am excited to dig in because the feeling of being exhausted rather than recharged in the Christian walk is one that I have definitely struggled with.

The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax (Mrs. Pollifax, #2)

by Dorothy Gilman

Yay! Mrs. Pollifax is back and I am her biggest fan. It is kind of funny because this book was originally published in 1970 so I am learning a little about the political climate at the time. This adventure begins with Mrs. Pollifax traveling to Turkey to locate a communist spy who is trying to escape. Things escalate quite quickly from there and as always Mrs. Pollifax makes endearing friends along the way.

I have read these books completely out of order partially because I used to get them from the library and was at the mercy of what was available when I went in so this is only the second book in the series (but I’ve read 10 of the books total). It’s all good though, I am having a great time even out of order.

And that’s all folks! Thanks for reading! Let me know in the comments if you got to binge read during the snow storm and what you read!

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Hello my lovely reader friends and welcome to this week’s book report! We just celebrated the one year anniversary of the weekly book reports this past Sunday! Feels pretty wild that a little over one year ago, I posted my very first book report. I have come a long way from then and am so excited for what the year ahead will hold. Here’s to another year of reading and reviewing books!

This week, we have a full report. We are covering two weeks of reading and they were quite eventful after a bit of a reading slump. I didn’t fully realize how deeply I was slumping until I got out of it and realized how quickly I was devouring books again. Life was a little heavy there for a couple of weeks and reading felt harder than usual. But reading ebbs and flows and I am always able to come out of it after I give myself the needed time.

Quote of the Week

I wanted to try a new segment in the weekly book report so without further ado, please enjoy these quotes that made me chuckle while reading The Crooked Banister this week.

“Nancy was fond of the tall, handsome football player from Emerson College and dated him almost exclusively.”

Carolyn Keene, The Crooked Banister (Emphasis added by me, lol)

I love that the “almost” had to be added here. Is Nancy not fully committed to Ned? *Gasp*

“Burt Eddleton was a short blond husky youth. He liked George because of her interest in sports. Dave Evans was also blond but rangy. He had smiling green eyes and liked to tease Bess.”

Carolyn Keene, The Crooked Banister

Ah, the foundation of all good relationships: a mutual love of sports. Also, what does rangy mean in reference to a person (and not a cow)?

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What I Finished

The Lost Ticket

by Freya Sampson

This ended up being such a cute little book. The story follows Frank, an older man who met a beautiful and spunky redhead on a London bus in the 60s. She gave Frank a bus ticket with her number on it after their initial meeting but he lost it. Fast forward almost 60 years later and he now has a grown daughter, he followed his dreams as an actor, but he has never forgotten her. Frank still rides the bus that he met her on hoping to someday catch a glimpse of her.

We also meet Libby who is having some relationship troubles and falls in love with Frank’s sweet story in the midst of her tumultuous life. Together they set out to find his lost love with the help of a few other sweet characters along the way.

Admittedly parts of this book were bordering on a little too cheesy for me but didn’t go so far that I couldn’t enjoy the book. The characters were endearing, especially Frank, and I felt for Libby. Admittedly, the love interest’s appearance was a little hard for me to get past sometimes because he wouldn’t be my type personally. However, his personality was so sweet that I could get past it without too much trouble.

Overall this was a heartwarming story and I teared up a few times during some of the sweet moments.

The Crooked Banister (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, #48)

by Carolyn Keene

This was a fun blast from the past. The book was so much fun to read but I did forget that some of the writing can be a bit clunky and quirky sometimes as evidenced by the quotes shown above. Still, Nancy Drew will always hold a special place in my heart, even if she’s not exclusively dating Ned (still can’t let this go lol).

In this adventure, Nancy and her friends track down a swindler and are challenged to find “the crooked banister” in a strange house full of mysterious decor. The book also features a crazy robot as evidenced by the cover. If you read these books when you were young, I would definitely recommend giving one a try as an adult for the nostalgia!

A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World

by Paul E. Miller

Guys, be proud of me, I finally finished it! I feel I have been saying I am going to finish this book for at least a month if not multiple months. But do not be fooled by the slow rate with which I read this book. It is SO GOOD. If you are a Christian and you only read one book this year, let it be this book. It is so packed with encouragement regarding any kind of doubt you may have about prayer. It’s hard not to read even one chapter without being inspired to stop and pray both big and small prayers and everything in between.

What I Started Reading/What’s Up Next

The Reappearance of Rachel Price

by Holly Jackson

Alright, I’m going to be honest here. I don’t love the blood spatters (splatters?) on this cover. Maybe I’m getting queasy in my old age and I probably can’t really complain if I’m going to read mysteries. It is a bit of a gruesome blood splattered (spattered?) cover though, let’s be honest.

Cover aside, this was recommended by one of my favorite booktubers. So far all I really know is that Rachel Price disappeared mysteriously years ago but suddenly reappears with a seemingly suspicious story. It is definitely intriguing so I’m hoping I don’t get too scared and end up really enjoying it!

I Will Teach You to Be Rich: No Guilt. No Excuses. No BS. Just a 6-Week Program That Works

by Ramit Sethi

If you’ve been here for a while, you may be wondering why I am reading a finance book as that is not normally a genre that I read. I actually don’t think I have ever read a finance book in my life. My husband recommended I read this book so we could discuss it and so I am giving it the old college try. I don’t have any thoughts yet because I have only read the introduction so far but I’m sure it will be great.

The Help

by Kathryn Stockett

I have seen this movie before, multiple times, and really liked it so I wasn’t 100% how the book would feel since I know most of the story. Somehow I still can’t put this book down and still feel excitement as to what’s going to happen. I think that is the sign of an amazingly written book. I am fully invested and am devouring this book so quickly. I love it so far!

If you haven’t watched the movie or read the book, the story follows two maids living in Jackson, Mississippi in the 60s dealing with the racial issues that were prevalent at the time. We also follow a young woman fresh out of college who has no male prospects and wants to be a writer. Unlikely friendships are formed and the racial boundaries are pushed in this really powerful and heartwarming book.

And that’s all folks! Thank you for reading! I so appreciate each view, like, and comment. Let me know in the comments what you think rangy means in reference to a person (thanks in advance).

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Oldest

Emma, 1815

This past year I tackled two Jane Austen books, Emma being the oldest and probably my favorite. Jane Austen is a legend for a reason. I also learned that “blockhead” was a vocabulary word used in the regency period which was quite entertaining.

Newest

Murder at Gulls Nest, April 8, 2025

This was the most recently published book I read this year. It was a solid mystery and I will definitely check out the next book in the series when it comes out. It was hard to resist a cozy seaside mystery.

Shortest

Freedom of Self Forgetfulness, 46 pages

Admittedly this was more of a pamphlet than a book but I finished this around the time I was tackling Dune which felt like it should count for at least 3 books so I decided to count this tiny pamphlet/book as a true book. It was small but mighty!

Longest

Dune, 794 pages

This is my husband’s favorite fiction book so I wanted to give it a try so we could discuss it (and I was hoping I would understand the movies better because I was pretty confused). Admittedly the book was also confusing but I found myself enjoying it a lot more than I expected.

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Craziest Twist

Endless Night

No spoilers here because I want you to be as blind-sighted as me if you pick this one up. This was one of Agatha Christie’s personal favorites and I now understand why.

Funniest

Finlay Donovan is Killing It

I don’t often laugh out loud when I’m reading books (I occassionally chuckle or do that more huff of breath out of your nose when you’re kind of laughing internally but it doesn’t fully make it out of your body). This book included a really dry sense of humor that was the perfect addition to the crazy hijinks of the story. I did do the laugh breath a number of times while reading.

Best Main Character

Mrs. Pollifax <3

I read 4 Mrs. Pollifax adventures this year and she is simply my favorite comfort read character every single time. I recommend the entire series to everyone.

Best Side Character

Rebecca

Best may be a strong word for this side character. Maybe most striking or gripping would be more appropriate? If you’ve read it, you know what I mean. If you haven’t, you’re in for quite a journey. (P.S. Don’t be fooled, this is not a romance.)

Most Out There Premise

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

I read very few fantasies so the setup and then ultimately the wrap up of this story was crazy but so satisfying. I also didn’t fully understand all of the logistics and mechanics, if I’m honest. That may be part of the reason that the premise seemed so out there to me. But I loved this book, out there premise and all!

Best Setting

The God of the Woods

This book has stuck with me continually since I read it and I had to bump it from an initial 4.5 stars to 5 stars. The woods surrounding the camp in this story almost felt like an active character in the drama that unfolded.

Worst Character

Hello Stranger

The only thing that I did not like about this book was how cruel one of the side characters was. This person was infuriating and I was shocked at the level of pettiness displayed. But the rest of the book is great (5 stars). So don’t get deterred by this terrible character, please, and read this book!

Over Hyped Book

The Favorites

This wasn’t for me but I probably should have known that going into it and maybe just skipped it altogether. I was intrigued by the ice dancing portion of the story but the type of drama that ensued just wasn’t for me.

Under Hyped Book

Hello Stranger

I thought this book was absolutely fabulous. I don’t know why more people aren’t talking about it. I loved the main character, I loved the love interest, I loved the story that unfolds separately from the romance. All of it was beautiful (except for the character that I did not like at all).

Most Lyrical

Once Upon a River

I loved the writing style of this book. It felt like an adult fairytale with prose that meandered like the river which was central to the story. It was some of the most beautiful writing of the year hands down.

Top 3 Fiction

Without further ado, my top reads of the year!

1. Project Hail Mary - I LOVED THIS BOOK. So much. My only request is that if you know nothing about this book or the movie, don’t read anything ahead of time and experience the shock and excitement of the reveals in the story like I did because it was an amazing time.

2. Emma - Jane Austen is still read so widely for a reason. I had so much fun reading this story and getting to know all of the quirky side characters and watching Emma’s journey in maturing!

3. The God of the Woods - This book was originally not a 5 star read in my head but I STILL think about it to this day so it seems like it truly is a 5 star. It was a slow and thoughtful mystery with strong characters. It did not drag for me and was the perfect pacing.

Top Nonfiction

1. Messy Minimalism - I loved Rachelle’s writing and unique take on minimalism. I loved that she adapted minimalism for her family’s lifestyle and encourages readers to make it work for them.

2. How to Manage Your House Without Losing Your Mind - This was not only practically helpful but also really encouraging and dare I say, funny? I had a good time reading this book and felt like I left with practical tips and a newfound inspiration to keep on top of things.

Top Christian

1. Turning of Days - This was a beautiful book that I actually started in 2024 and read slowly through all the seasons. Hannah Anderson’s writing is beautiful as always as she celebrates the seasons and how they demonstrate God’s faithfulness.

2. All That’s Good - Another Hannah Anderson masterpiece all about discernment.

3. Deeper - Another one of my favorite Christian authors, Dane Ortlund really delves deep (no pun intended) into how Christians can go deeper with Christ.

Honorable Mention

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women

This book didn’t specifically make it into one of my categories but I loved it and so it needed its own special moment. My friend recommended it to me and it was so beautifully written with so much rich history included. It was an extremely moving and compelling story.

And that’s all folks! Thank you so much for being here every week and for all of the love! <3

Check In

Hello my lovely reader friends! Welcome to the first book report of 2026! I hope your 2026 has been amazing so far. I am so thankful for all of your support in 2025 and into 2026 as I continue to share my somewhat scattered thoughts and feelings about the smattering of books that I read.

Also, my Christmas decorations are still up. But I learned that the 12 days of Christmas actually happen AFTER Christmas so I’m allowed to celebrate for a whole extra 12 days. Also January can be depressing so if I can spread some of that Christmas spirit and joy to the first part of January, I am going to do it. If you are with me and still have your decorations up, feel encouraged. We are just celebrating the 12 (+) days of Christmas together.

Also I looked it up and it seems like Richard Osman is writing more Thursday Murder Club books which is good because if he’s not, I will be very upset.

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What I Finished

The Impossible Fortune (Thursday Murder Club, #5)

by Richard Osman

I love these characters so much. I liked this book better than the most recent one (which was a little rough for me). Number 5 was cute, sweet, and had all the feels without being too sad. The only thing that lacked a bit was the slightly lackluster ending. But the mystery itself was suspenseful, the banter was perfect, and the hijinks were a hoot and a half!

This book starts with a wedding (no spoilers on whose!) An attendee of the wedding asks for Elizabeth’s help with a little problem he is facing and the gang is immediately entangled with an “impossible fortune” of wild proportions. There are secret codes and secure facilities, strained relationships, missing persons, the whole nine yards.

I love the way the book approaches the feelings of growing older in a serious and thought-provoking way. I can feel the pain of the characters as they mourn spouses and their youth. It’s hard to stay sad for long though as some quirky comment from Joyce will make me laugh. That, or a sharp command from Elizabeth, Ron simply being Ron, or a tangent from Ibrahim will have me chuckling to myself once again.

The mystery setup was perfect and I was so invested from the get go. In contrast though, the reveal fell a little flat. It didn’t feel quite as off putting as the wrap up of the previous book in the series but I still wasn’t fully satisfied with it. Even so, this book felt like a homecoming to Coopers Chase with my favorite people. Joyce even initiates an official invite to come visit and I would totally take her up on it if I could.

What I Started Reading/What’s Up Next

The Lost Ticket

by Freya Sampson

I have wanted to read this book for a while and I am finally picking it up. All I know is it’s a story about an elderly man who wants to locate a girl that he met long ago on a bus. Someone takes it upon themselves to help him locate this woman and I’m assuming (hoping) he eventually finds her. I have been reading a lot of mysteries lately so I thought maybe a happy sweet story without any crime might be a good change of pace.

The Crooked Banister (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, #48)

by Carolyn Keene

I read through at least 60 Nancy Drew mysteries when I was young. I remember my mom slowly buying each book in the series when we lived abroad. The shipping was slow and so I definitely learned some patience and delayed gratification as I waited for the books to come. Once they arrived, I normally inhaled one in less than 24 hours and if there were more in the shipment, the others weren’t far behind. A while ago my mom gave me the books and I think I will eventually donate them to another young girl who can enjoy them but before I do so I thought it might be fun to reread a few.

Also, what is this robot?

And that’s all folks! Thanks for reading! Let me know in the comments what you are planning to read this week!

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