For the holidays

I’ve been swamped at work and really in a bit of a book slump for awhile. But, I just finished reading a book that I really enjoyed that I plan to post about soon.

I also started weeding through books I’ve bought from various places and tried to think of a good way to thin out my bookshelves. I’ve decided to start and Etsy shop selling “blind date with a book” packages. I’m super excited to pass along books that I no longer need to someone new to appreciate.

I love the idea of someone receiving a book in the mail with no preconceived idea of what it will be about or if they’ll like it based on the cover. Each package will contain a mixture of either stickers, a pen or highlighter if you’d like to make notes or annotate, some annotation tabs, or a bookmark. All books will be marked with the star count on Amazon and Goodreads.

Have you ever purchased a book sight unseen? If so, did you enjoy it?

I hope you’re all having a wonderful holiday season!!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/BookFriendsForever?ref=dashboard-header

Book Lovers — A Review

4.5 stars

I finally broke down and listened to the hype surrounding Emily Henry. I picked up her book Book Lovers bases on the blurb. I felt like it was the best one to start off with, as I don’t believe there’s any type of series or order necessary to read them.

I have to say, I loved it. Nora and Charlie were great characters. Both loved books so I was a fan of them from the beginning. I also really enjoyed that the author played up the normal rom-com trope of a small town where the city dweller comes to fall in love with the small towner and realize that they are happier away from the hustle and bustle of their city life. This is all happening in a small town that was the setting for a book written by Nora’s client that is about to be a movie. However, this town would not fit the setting for a Hallmark-type movie because it’s a little lackluster in real life.

This book was just such an enjoyable read. I was really looking for something that didn’t require me to think too hard about what was happening with the story, or to try and follow an involved plot line. This was all feel-good fun with a real enemies-to-lovers arc.

I definitely recommend Book Lovers and will be reading another book from Emily Henry soon.

Leave the Light On — A Review

3 stars — Leave the Light On by Laura Trentham

I am not a huge fan of the fauxmance trope. I feel like it’s been used way too often, and usually, not very well done. This wasn’t the case with Leave the Light On. I feel like it worked pretty well in this situation and didn’t make me regret choosing to read it. It’s still not my favorite though.

I loved Wyatt. He is the poster-child of romance men: sweet, loving, protective, and loyal. Sutton was the female lead that you want to smack and tell her that she doesn’t deserve him. I was really frustrated with her character throughout the book. She is not the type of female lead that I like to read about. I feel like she took advantage of Wyatt and his feelings at points and it didn’t sit well with me. She is the sole reason for the 3 star rating.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and would read another by the author (in fact, I plan to check out the previous books in the series), but I won’t reread this one.

*I was provided a free copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Final Girls – A Review

4.5 stars – Final Girls by Riley Sager

I really enjoyed Final Girls by Riley Sager. I saw the book posted on NetGalley but I wasn’t chosen to review it before it was available at my local library. I checked it out and went home ready to read.

Final Girls is about Quincy Carpenter, one of three women known as Final Girls…those who are the sole surviors of a massacre situation. She is a fairly successful baking blogger and living in New York with her boyfriend who is a public defender. She feels like she’s moved past all of the “final girl” nonsense and is just living her life. This all changes when the first “final girl,” Lisa is found dead in her bathtub from an apparent suicide.

Out of hiding comes the second “final girl,” Sam. Sam went off the grid not too long after her ordeal and no one has seen or heard from her since. She says she’s here to help Quincy face the past and really move on…but is she telling the truth??

I felt like the characters were well thought out. The story grabbed my interest and kept it throughout. The pace was good and I didn’t ever feel like things were dragging along. Overall, I really enjoyed the book.

 

Come Sundown – A Review

4 stars – Come Sundown by Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts is one of those authors whose books I will always read. Do I love them all? No, but I haven’t run across one that I hated either. I know that more often than not, I will really enjoy the book. Come Sundown is a book that I enjoyed.

Come Sundown is the story of Bodine Longbow and her family living and running the Bodine Ranch and Resort. Over 20 years ago Bodine’s aunt, Alice, had runaway to make it big in California as an actress and then just disappeared. Not contact, no sightings, nothing. The family moved on as best they could. Bodine is running the resort and the rest of her family takes care of ranch stuff or helps with the promotion of the resort.

Popping back into Bodine’s life is her older brother’s best friend, Callen Skinner. He may have also been her teenage crush. He also left for California to make his own way after his gambling addict father lost their ranch. He’s been gone 8 years and, while quite successful in training horses for movies, is back home. It doesn’t take him long to notice that Bodine has grown up either.

Putting a bit of a damper on their “when will they get together” vibe, is the fact that one of the resort employees is murdered on her way home from work. Bodine and Callen find her the next day. Another girl in the community turns up missing not long after. To top it all off, Aunt Alice turns up out of nowhere, stumbling in the cold and calling herself Esther. Throw in a grudge-holding cop who hates Callen’s guts and there’s all kinds of drama to be had.

The story, for me, wasn’t super hard to figure out but it did hold my interest. Nora Roberts writes strong women who can carry a story. I didn’t think the romance aspect was too in your face but a nice part of the story. I enjoyed the book and would read it again.

*In case anyone wondered, I’m not an affiliate with Amazon or anything, I just like to post a link in case you’d like to read the blurb yourself.

The Lying Game — A Review

3 stars —  The Lying Game by Ruth Ware

 I have read both of Ruth Ware’s other books (In a Dark, Dark Wood and The Woman in Cabin 10) and in comparison, I just didn’t care for The Lying Game. It’s not a bad book by any stretch of the imagination. It’s just not a book that I particularly enjoyed.

The story itself just didn’t hold my interest. A group of friends, who as teens played The Lying Game, are reunited when a text comes through saying, “I need you.” The three ladies not living in Salten basically drop everything and rush back for Kate.

I won’t go into the “mystery” other than to say that I didn’t find it that riveting. The story just couldn’t hold my attention. In part I think this may be due to the fact that I really didn’t like Isa, the main character and narrator of the story.

In the end, I would suggest reading the book if you are a fan of Ruth Ware’s work. This may end up being something you enjoy. It just didn’t happen that way for me.

*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

 

Stay Close – A Review

4 stars – Stay Close by Alexa Riley

Stay Close is a novella that is a spin-off of Alexa Riley’s For Her series. The main characters are Penelope Justice and Ivan, her new guard who is a former member of the Russian mob. This will be part of the For You series.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s meant to be a light-hearted read and it is just that. I like that I already have some background with the characters from the For Her series so the shorter length isn’t a huge issue. I read this book in about an hour so it was a great way to divert my attention for a short period and not have a longer book that I would potentially have to sit down and pick up later. I like to keep novellas on hand for just this reason.

Penelope is 18 and a high school senior. She has a habit of ditching her guards so her parents bring in Ivan to do the job. Immediately they are drawn to each other (pretty standard insta-love in these books). There is some opposition from Penelope’s twin sister Pandora. She feels like Ivan is a broken man (he’s about 7 or 8 years older) and not right for soft-hearted Penelope.

For me, this was a very good read. It was quick, kept my interest, and best of all, is part of a series. I do love to read series. The only bummer is that I have to wait for Pandora’s book to come out!

*I was given a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

Theft by Finding – A Review

3 stars – Theft by Finding by David Sedaris

I’ll preface this by saying I’m a big David Sedaris fan. I’ve read all of his books and have really enjoyed them all. Theft by Finding is a different approach to writing. Instead of the usual essay format, these are diary entries David has made throughout his life.

Personally, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as his other books. When reading his entries during his druggie years, I found I didn’t actually want to read his antics in detail. To me, it’s just not something I found interesting. Also, some entries are quite short. I found that I enjoy the longer essay version of his writing.

Since I’m a fan of his other works, I think I may have stuck with this longer than someone who is a new reader. I wouldn’t recommend making this the first book of his that you read. The book just didn’t hold my interest and I found that I was having to make myself pick it up and read it instead of being unable to put it down.

*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

 

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine – A Review

5 stars — Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

I was introduced to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine when I read about it on the Library Reads website (http://libraryreads.org/). It sounded different than the books I’ve been reading lately so I picked it up from my local library and bumped it to the top of my to-be-read list. I was not disappointed!

Eleanor Oliphant is a 30 year-old woman who works in Accounts Receivable at a small graphic design firm in Scotland. She is very much her own woman and doesn’t abide by most social norms. Eleanor is the butt of jokes with her coworkers precisely because she doesn’t fit in. She is very blunt and doesn’t know how to interact with others in a more “normal” manner. You find out later that she had a rough childhood and didn’t perhaps have a chance to learn how to fit in.

Eleanor, however, doesn’t see a problem with her life. Until she meets “the one,” a musician named Johnnie Lomond. Well, she doesn’t actually meet him, just sees him at a concert and decides he’s the one for her. Because he’s so attractive and a glamorous musician, Eleanor decides to undergo a bit of a makeover to become more appealing and catch his eye. During this time period, she also meets Raymond, an IT guy at her office. He is not an attractive, glamorous musician. She believes he looks rather unkempt and has poor manners. But, they are thrown together when they help an elderly gentleman who collapses on the street.

Through Eleanor’s budding friendship with Raymond, she meets several new people who seem to like her how she is. She’s hesitant to believe she’s worth being friends with due to the previously mentioned rough childhood and poor relationship with her mother. I won’t say more so that I don’t give anything away.

I really enjoyed this book, it is one of my favorites so far this year. Eleanor is a delightful change from some of the female characters you usually read about. She is far from perfect but she does realize that she wants to be better. I was fully engrossed in the story and invested in the character. I will definitely be reading Gail Honeyman’s next book.