Sick, Reading, Coffee, and Books

My daughter has been sick. There is nothing worse than when your child gets sick! She was home from school for a few days last week and spent her time sleeping, reading, and watching episodes of her current favorite tv show (Bunk’d). I bought her a present to cheer her up (shown with the humidifier which has been running every night for over a week in her room):

Her and I quietly reading together. And yes, the bulb in her closet is pink 🙂 Obviously.

Last week was hard and I was exhausted. I dropped my coffee all over the floor as I was desperately quickly trying to brew it because I was so tired from being up with my sick daughter the night before. As soon as my son came into the kitchen and saw this, he thought that the coffee grounds were ants and he promptly freaked out. Recap: I was dealing with a sick daughter, upset son, huge mess, and NO coffee all at the exact same time. #momlife

Thankfully now it’s a new week and she’s feeling much better but I do think this nasty cough might be around for a while. Ugh.

In book news, if you follow me on Instagram you know that I officially gave up on this book. I found it VERY unrealistic and VERY boring. Not to mention that I kept pronouncing the main character’s name the wrong way. It has gotten fantastic reviews from others who have stuck it out. My general rule is when I use words like “stuck it out” that means it’s not a book I need to read, lol.

Also, if you follow me on Instagram you know that I’ve been receiving some very exciting book mail lately! My dear friend Melissa over at Chick Lit Central mailed me these 2 books and I’m SO excited! I’m halfway through reading Things You Save In A Fire and I’m enjoying it so far 🙂 Full review coming soon!

Rochelle Weinstein sent me an advance reader’s copy of her latest book which will be released in January 2020. This beautiful book looks AMAZING and I can’t wait to read and review it! Thank you so much, Rochelle!

I entered a Bookstagram giveway on Instagram and won! Thank you so much to Flat Iron Books for sending me a copy of this book! It looks great 🙂

I went to the post office to buy stamps (holiday card season is almost HEEEEEERE!!!) and the man presented me with 7 different design options. Obviously I chose the one with a literary reference!

And lastly, this picture because it makes me smile. Favorite coffee, favorite holiday cup, favorite color:

Happy Monday! I hope your week is off to a great start. I’m looking forward to Wednesday…I’m going on a special blog related activity! Any guesses??? If you have been reading my blog since the beginning, you might be able to figure it out from this clue (that’s me on the top right):

Xo,

Jenny

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

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Bradley University, The 4 of Us, and Our Amazing College Experience

It has somehow been an entire year since our last college day trip down memory lane to Bradley University. One of my very favorite days of the entire year.

**If you haven’t read last year’s post, definitely read that one before reading this one. You can find it HERE.**

And yet here we are. 1 year later. And just like every year the 4 of us are given the gift of our 1 magical day where we can go straight back to where it all began. Back to the place where we found each other for the very first time…and haven’t let go of each other since.

Beautiful Bradley University.

Life gets busy but this one day is so important to us and to our friendship that we plan it months ahead of time. We even put 2 different dates on the calendar including a rain date in case of weather. We group text daily with memes and gifs which reflect how excited we are. Nothing will keep us from our yearly tradition.

And just like every year, I’m in charge of breakfast. This year’s selection includes Greek yogurt, bananas, blueberries, peanut butter, and homemade apple muffins.

The 4 of us have been known as “The Goats” since the very beginning so this sticker is the absolute perfect way to decorate the top of each breakfast.

The car ride up is filled with retelling stories that we have been retelling for over 20 years. And yet somehow it doesn’t matter how many times we have told them, they get even more hilarious with time. Laughing. SO. MUCH. LAUGHING.

About 2 1/2 hours later…and we see it. The exact spot where the bend in the highway suddenly opens up to the skyline which may as well be a banner saying “Welcome Home”.

We drive straight to the campus and suddenly…

We’re back.

The sights, the sounds, the smells, all the same. How can so much time have passed and yet it feels like just yesterday when we were wearing our sorority letters and Eddie Bauer backpacks while walking across campus? Wasn’t it just yesterday when I had a meeting with my astronomy teacher and told him that I didn’t understand cosmetology and he told me that word means makeup and the correct word was actually cosmology? Wasn’t it just yesterday when we were having class outside on a beautiful day and in the middle of a serious class discussion, I put my hand down on the grass and it landed straight into a pile of dog doodie? Wasn’t it just yesterday when the creative writing teacher said that the 4 of us should have our very own comedy sitcom because our friendship was so hilarious? How did all of this happen over 20 years ago?!?

The night before I turned 21, my best friends decorated literally every single sidewalk on campus with the words “Today is Jenny Zwass’s 21st birthday! When you see her wish her a happy birthday!” and “Happy 21st Birthday Jenny Zwass! Your best friends love you!” When the sun rose the next morning, it shined on a campus dedicated to ME. For the entire day I had literally EVERYONE on campus wishing me a happy birthday! Faculty, students, everyone. Everywhere I went for that entire day, everyone knew it was my happy day. It was so amazing. I felt so special. Love my girls.

All of these years later there are absolutely zero signs of my beautiful birthday dedications from my special girls. And yet when I look at these sidewalks today, it’s all I see.

We head to the bookstore where we are surrounded by Bradley love.

These shelves used to be FILLED with textbooks! It’s still so crazy to me that everything is now online.

Avantis for lunch, One World for coffee. Avantis gondolas are what dreams are made of. And dream about them we have…for an entire year since we were here last.

Sigma Delta Tau. What if the 4 of us had joined 4 different sororities? The night we had to “pref” during the sorority rush process and write down our 1st choice sorority I actually wrote down a different sorority’s name! After I left and walked back to my dorm room, I was filled with the most unsettling feeling and walked all the way back across campus just to switch my first choice to Sigma Delta Tau. Somewhere deep in my heart I knew just where I belonged.

What if 23 years ago I DIDN’T walk back and change that form??? What if I had kept it the same and had joined a different sorority? What if I had never met my 3 soulmates?

But I DID. I changed it. I proudly resubmitted my first choice with the words “Sigma Delta Tau” and the next day was accepted into what would ultimately determine the course for the rest of my life.

Walking in the front door today is walking directly back into the late night mini pizzas, the 90210 viewing parties, the chapter meetings, the secret sorority rituals, the corner kitchen table with assigned seats where the 4 of us ate every single meal together, the laughing…the LAUGHING….

….and we’re home.

We leave SDT and walk through the alley to our off campus house where we lived senior year. We take our yearly picture on the front porch. Oh the memories we once made just behind that door!

Our rent in that massive old house was only $190.00 a month each. I had never written a check that big (!) and wrote my very first month’s rent check for $1.90. Once he received my check, our landlord came straight over to the house and gave me a lesson on decimal points 🙂

And to think that I almost burned down that house when I so long ago burned a pizza in the toaster oven causing flames…

We walk through the campus, relive our favorite memories, and laugh until it hurts. And when it’s time to drive back, somehow our friendship feels even deeper than when we had arrived that morning. How is that even possible after all of these years???

Our ride home is spent reflecting on the day, reflecting on the past 23 years, and laughing until it’s hard to breathe.

As I’m unloading all of my stuff from the car, the front door to my house flies open and my 2 footie pajama clad children run out onto our front porch literally jumping up and down yelling, “Mommy’s home! Mommy’s home!” and just like that…I’m back. As I fall asleep after this long day, I fall asleep with a smile on my face. My 20 something college self would be so very happy and proud with how her future life has turned out.

This year’s souvenirs:

A t shirt for my son, a glittery waterbottle for my daughter, 2 sweatshirts for me, 2 18 inch Avantis Gondolas, 1 container of Avantis ranch dressing, and 2 sorority notepads and 1 sorority shirt for my daughter (aka a TRIPLE sdt legacy…my mom and my great grandma were also in sdt)!

To My Goats: To think that when I first stepped foot on this campus over 20 years ago I did it without the 3 of you absolutely baffles me.

One of the greatest wishes that I have for my daughter is that she will one day experience a friendship like this. The kind of friendship where the word “friends” almost feels like an insult because they are not “friends”, they are family.

Love you, goats. Forever.

Thank you Bradley University for being our home base. Thank you for allowing us to come back each year and to relive the very best and very earliest memories of our lifelong friendship.

What we learned inside of the classroom was valuable but it’s what we learned outside of the classroom that was life changing.

And most importantly…thank you for bringing us to each other.

See you next fall.

Xo,

Jenny

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Snow, Halloween, and Books!

It’s SNOWING! On Halloween! I’m so happy, I’m so obsessed with snow. Feels like such a fun bonus to have our first snowfall of the season on Halloween! Other towns around us are canceling trick or treating today and are postponing until Saturday. Ridiculous! Halloween is Halloween and this will be a fun memory for my kids. We will definitely freeze…but this will always be a Halloween to remember

My favorite fall bush.

My kids and I spent so long attaching creepy spider webs to our bushes and now you can barely even see them.

Our neighbor’s house. This cracked me up! Poor ghost!

Last weekend when it was still actually fall:

And this. Our clown. He’s over 10 feet tall, lights up at night, and he’s AWESOME. He fell over last week and our neighbor texted me “CLOWN DOWN”, lol.

Today. Clown down.

As for reading, I’ve been in a bit of a book rut. First I started reading this one…

….and was so bored that I eventually called it quits.

Then I started reading this one…

….and was so bored that I eventually called it quits.

UGH.

And now I’m reading this one. It’s cute!

I posted this on Instagram:

So confusing, right?!? Apparently I’m not alone because the author of the book somehow got wind of my post and commented:

Super cool! Love that she commented! I’ll post a full book review when I’m done reading.

Last Sunday, this happened:

Love it. So did Lisa Barr! I did warn Grandma that it’s a bit of a…sexy…novel 😉

Remember when I told you that my daughter has to read for 20 minutes each night for her school homework assignment? This morning she apparently took it upon herself to silently read in her bed for 20 minutes because she knew that with Halloween she might not have the chance tonight! I was SO proud to initial her reading log for today and send it back to school 🙂 She did a GREAT job this month! Proud mama over here.

Her new favorite book series is Dog Man (affiliate). Have any of you or your kids read it? They seem so weird to me but she LOVES them??? Currently obsessed. I haven’t actually read them but from what she’s told me they just seem so strange??? I don’t get it.

Happy Halloween! Any fun plans today? I’m spending the afternoon at my daughter’s school Halloween party. Can’t wait to trick or treat! My daughter and I are going as unicorns and my husband and son are going as dinosaurs 🙂

Speaking of being excited…I can’t wait for Saturday! One of my absolute favorite days of the entire year! It’s heeeeeeeeeeeere! Be sure to follow along on our adventures on Instagram…I’ll be posting Instastories throughout the day 🙂

Happy Halloween!

Xo,

Jenny

Click the image below to order the book through my Amazon affiliate link. When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*

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Looking for an ADORABLE Book? I’ve Got One for you!

This contemporary romance book has been allll over the book blogging community since it was published 5 months ago. Everyone loves it and I couldn’t wait to see if I would agree. The verdict? I SO AGREE!!! It’s absolutely wonderful 🙂

The Bride Test By: Helen Hoang

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions—like grief. And love. He thinks he’s defective. His family knows better—that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.

As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can’t turn it down, thinking this could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn’t go as planned. Esme’s lessons in love seem to be working…but only on herself. She’s hopelessly smitten with a man who’s convinced he can never return her affection.

With Esme’s time in the United States dwindling, Khai is forced to understand he’s been wrong all along. And there’s more than one way to love.

My Thoughts:

(Disclaimer: I will never post spoilers in my reviews HOWEVER the comment section is completely fair game to discuss any and all specifics including spoilers)

5 Stars

I. LOVED. IT.

Oh this book was ADORABLE! I went into reading this with very high expectations because so many book bloggers have loved it…and it was so much more than I was expecting. What a beautiful story.

Reading at the eye doctor!

From the very first page, I was completely sucked into this story. I always find books about other cultures SO fascinating and this one was wonderful. I have always loved learning about cultures that are so different from my own.

Each character was more interesting than the next! I laughed, I cried, I smiled SO many times while reading. This book would make for a great and easy beach read.

Throughout reading this book, I was blown away by how well Helen Hoang was able to convey to the reader the way a person with Autism thinks, acts, and responds to daily life. Once I read through her author bio, it all made perfect sense:

Helen Hoang is that shy person who never talks. Until she does. And the worst things fly out of her mouth. She read her first romance novel in eighth grade and has been addicted ever since. In 2016, she was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in line with what was previously known as Asperger’s Syndrome. Her journey inspired THE KISS QUOTIENT. She currently lives in San Diego, California with her husband, two kids, and pet fish.

After I finished reading, I was researching this book online and I am just now seeing that it is book #2 in a series! Who knew?!? I knew that Helen Hoang wrote The Kiss Quotientwhich has been on my list to read for quite some time. I’m just now seeing that The Kiss Quotient is the first in the series, The Bride Test is #2, and book #3 (The Heart Principle) will be released in May of 2020. From reading each synopsis, I gather that each book is a stand alone novel with some minor character crossover…am I right? Have any of you read these books? I need to get my hands on a copy of The Kiss Quotient ASAP! I’ve heard it’s fantastic…some people apparently even like it MORE that The Bride Test?!?

I do have one extremely nit picky issue with this book. The font choice and how the capital letter Q has an insanely long tail! One of the main characters has a name which begins with the letter Q and it drove me nuts how each time he was mentioned, that damn tail jumped out! And…there were many pages in which that name was mentioned more than once. A page of tails! Have any of you noticed this??? Now you totally will lol…you’re welcome 😉

Bottom Line:

Ignore the weird Q. This book is FANTASTIC.

Xo,

Jenny

Did you read this book? What did you think? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Click the image below to order the book through my Amazon affiliate link. When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*

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My Life in Books

Books are obviously a huge part of my life. Here is a tiny glance into my past few weeks 🙂

Reading at the dentist.

Running errands, stopped for a glorious lunch break in the front seat of my car (Portillos Chopped Salad is one of my all time favorite salads):

Obviously my children read and/or are read to everyday in this house, mostly aloud. My daughter’s teacher sent all of the students home with a calendar from school to start record her reading. Her assignment is to read for 20 minutes each day. Ummm…SIGN ME UP. I promised her that I will also gladly do her homework each night as she does it. So now each night, my girl and I escape to my bed for 20 minutes and we read completely silently, side by side. Sometimes we hold hands, sometimes we cuddle. It has very quickly turned into my favorite time of the day.

I was early to pick up my son from a class. While waiting in my car, I remembered there is a Little Free Library not far from the building. I literally jumped out of my car and went for a walk. It was a beauty!

I walked away with this book. Have any of you read it? I was just thinking THAT MORNING that I need a good seasonal holiday read to read in December (I sooooo miss the Quinns). Totally fate that I found this one! Looks great!

***Do any of you have any holiday book recommendations? This Jewish girl LOVES Christmas feel good stories and I need to start gathering some suggestions…***

And just when I couldn’t think I could love my local library more, they do stuff like this. I’m a huge germaphobe and this makes me so happy. (Another thought: if you OR YOUR CHILDREN are sick, for the love of God please just stay home).

I love our library so, so much.

I have a million pictures of my children with this statue in front of the library. It’s actually a pretty famous local spot for taking pictures of your children, every mom around here has done it 🙂 I recently realized that after all of these years and photos…I don’t have any pictures of ME with him! Mommy’s turn!

An adorable new store recently opened not far from my house. How cute are these? Made from real books!

And lastly…this. Not a book, but words 🙂 My family attended a gorgeous wedding a few weeks ago and my daughter had some requests for the DJ (Her 2 favorite popular songs…This Girl is on Fire and Shut Up and Dance with Me). Love her!!!

The Unbreakables Giveaway Winner

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway for The Unbreakables! I LOVED reading through all of the things you are doing to make your souls happy.

Congratulations Adelina Garza (I go to the movies every Thursday night)! Email me (bookcoffeehappy@gmail.com) your mailing address and your book will be on it’s way 🙂 Enjoy! I’d love to hear what you think!

Have a great fall weekend!

Xo,

Jenny

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*

*Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)*

*If you already have a blog, please “follow” mine*

*”Like” my Facebook page (and please comment on, “like”, and share my posts)*

*Follow me on Instagram*

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*Clicking and buying products through my Amazon Affiliate links. The cost to you is exactly the same and I receive a tiny commission off of your purchases.*

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INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY: The Unbreakables {Lisa Barr}

Lisa and I began communicating roughly a year ago to discuss a possible blog book review and as soon as she sent me the book synopsis, I knew this was a book I wanted to read. Unfortunately it wasn’t going to be released until June and I had to wait a looooooong time to get my hands on a copy. It was an exciting day when this lovely book arrived in my mailbox!

Full disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book to read and review for my blog. All opinions are my own.

Giveaway details will be given at the bottom of this post!

Synopsis from Goodreads:

It’s Sophie Bloom’s forty-second birthday, and she’s ready for a night of celebration with Gabe, her longtime, devoted husband, and her two besties and their spouses. Dinner is served with a side of delicious gossip, including which North Grove residents were caught with their pants down on Ashley Madison after the secret on-line dating site for married and committed couples was hacked. Thirty-two million cheaters worldwide have been exposed…including Sophie’s “perfect” husband. To add insult to injury, she learns Gabe is the top cheater in their town.

Humiliated and directionless, Sophie jumps into the unknown and flees to France to meet up with her teenage daughter who is studying abroad and nursing her own heartbreak. After a brief visit to Paris, Sophie heads out to the artist enclave of Saint-Paul-de-Vence. There, for the first time in a long time, Sophie acknowledges her own desires—not her husband’s, not her daughter’s—and rediscovers her essence with painful honesty and humor, reawakening both her sensuality and ambitions as a sculptor.

As she sheds her past and travels the obstacle-filled off beaten path, Sophie Bloom is determined to blossom. Allowing her true self to emerge in the postcard beauty of Provence, Sophie must decide what is broken forever…and what it means to be truly unbreakable.

My Thoughts:

One of the best books I’ve read so far in 2019.

I truly LOVED it. Everything about this book was great…the characters, the storylines, the settings, all of it. I devoured this book!

It was REAL. Lisa Barr wrote from her heart without holding anything back. It was scandalous, it was sexy, it was heartwarming, it was AWESOME. The storylines were detailed and complex, the characters were well developed, and the overall messages delivered through the book were clear, deep, and thought provoking. It was so beautifully written.

Can we talk about it’s gorgeous cover? Stunning.

I truly loved everything about this book and I’ve already recommended it to so many people. It’s WONDERFUL.

Over the course of the past year, Lisa and I have gone from author/blogger to real life friends. We have yet to meet in person but I can promise that I am saving one massive hug for this beauty when we finally do!

And check out what she said to me…here is a direct quote from one of her emails:

“You’re the absolute best and you need to quit your day job, ignore your kids, and do a podcast … all that personality cannot be a suburban best-kept secret.”

Ha LOVE it! Anyone out there want to help me start a podcast?!? I’m so down.

Here’s a bit about Lisa:

Lisa Barr is the author of THE UNBREAKABLES (HarperCollins) and the award-winning historical thriller, FUGITIVE COLORS, a suspenseful tale of stolen art, love, lust, deception and revenge on the eve of WWII. The novel won the Independent Publisher Book Awards gold medal for “Best Literary Fiction 2014” and first prize at The Hollywood Film Festival (Opus Magnum Discovery Award). In addition, Lisa served as an editor for The Jerusalem Post, managing editor of Today’s Chicago Woman, managing editor of Moment magazine, and as an editor/reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times. Among the highlights of her career, Lisa covered the famous “handshake” between the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the late PLO leader Yasser Arafat, and President Bill Clinton at the White House. Lisa is also the editor and creator of the popular parenting blog GIRLilla Warfare (www.girlillawarfare.com), and has been featured on Good Morning America and Today for her work as an author, journalist and blogger. She lives in the Chicago area with her husband and their three daughters.

How beautiful is she???

A Conversation with Lisa Barr, in her own words:

How did you create the idea for your book?

It was 2015, and the Ashley Madison cheating scandal just broke after hackers exposed ALL 32 million names on the infidelity website. I was out with a small group of friends having dinner and reading off the list of Ashley Madison cheaters in our community together (I know, awful, right? Not proud, people, not proud). Needless to say, I was shocked, but there it was—neighbors, high school and college friends, acquaintances, etc—on this exposed list of cheaters. It was the train wreck that you knew you should just look away, but simply couldn’t. The story began to form in my mind … The Unbreakables is sexy, but it also tackles betrayal, second chances, mother-daughter bonding, reinvention, finding love again. My protagonist, Sophie Bloom, is a hot mess turned badass … and I kinda fell in love with her. Did I mention that my “research” was in the South of France? Torture, I know … This book was truly a labor of love.

What audience would be most interested in your book?

It’s sexy women’s fiction geared toward … wait for it … WOMEN. While the novel is steamy, it is also feminist, artsy, passionate, and empowering. Women – especially Moms – will really connect to it. That said – the Millennials and MEN are reading this book. I have received lots of emails and texts from Moms and daughters reading it together, and I love that. And the men … crazy … I attribute this to it’s like reading their sister’s Cosmo in the bathroom. I’ve had at least a dozen men or more write me that they stayed up all night reading my novel and loving it, which means the world to me. The book is very relationship-y – it’s great that men are connecting to it too.

Where can your book be purchased?

It can be purchased in bookstores nationwide, Costco, airports, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, Books-a-million, and directly on HarperCollins book site.

Use 3 adjectives to describe your book:

Sensual, Empowering, and Emotionally-gripping

Any additional information that you would like to provide about you or your book:

Life for all of us has many twists and turns. When everything falls apart, there still is a Second Act, new leases, new beginnings. Everything my protagonist has been through, I, too, have been through on a different level. Years ago, I lost everything and had to seek a new life when my old one fell apart. My fave sentence in the book, which sums up what I really want my reader to gain, comes from one of my minor characters – a French millennial artist named Lea (love her). She and Sophie Bloom become friends (and yes, more) … Sophie has opened up to her about the devastating pain of her broken marriage. Lea looks at her and says: “My mother used to tell me when I doubted myself that no one wants to be with a shell. Be the pearl, Sophie, and you will find you again.” Here’s the takeaway: No matter what happens … it’s the spirit that is truly unbreakable.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

Would you like to win a copy of The Unbreakables?

I have 1 copy of The Unbreakables to give away!

If you are located in the US, a hard copy will be mailed to you and if you are located internationally an e-copy will be emailed to you!

To be entered, please complete these 2 simple steps:

1. Make sure that you are following and/or subscribed to my blog

2. The main character in this book spends a great deal of time learning the things she needs to do for herself. Self care is so important! Tell me in the comments below about 1 thing that you do for yourself that makes you happy.

You must complete BOTH of these steps to be eligible for the giveaway and you must complete them here on my blog (not on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)

Giveaway will close tomorrow (Thursday) at 6:00 pm CDT and the winner will be randomly chosen and announced in Friday’s blog post (10/18/19).

Make sure you check the blog on Friday to see if you’ve won (you will have 48 hours from the time I post the winner to email me your mailing address. If I don’t hear from you within 48 hours, I will pick a new winner).

If you already follow and/or subscribe to my blog, you are still eligible…just leave a comment below to be entered 🙂

Good luck! Can’t wait to read your comments!

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*

*Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)*

*If you already have a blog, please “follow” mine*

*”Like” my Facebook page (and please comment on, “like”, and share my posts)*

*Follow me on Instagram*

*Follow me on Twitter*

*Subscribe to my YouTube channel*

*Clicking and buying products through my Amazon Affiliate links. The cost to you is exactly the same and I receive a tiny commission off of your purchases.*

*Leaving a positive review on my Facebook page*

Are You Ready for Sweater Weather? The Autumn Tag

I love a good tag and I love this beautiful season so I’m super excited to participate in this one! Thanks so much Jenn @ Jenniely for creating this tag. As soon as I saw it on Paper Eyed Girl I knew that I wanted to participate!

Hot Chocolate – what is your comfort book?

I don’t have a “comfort book” rather I find comfort when I’m really into a book and find myself thinking about it throughout the day when I’m not reading.

Pumpkin Carving – what is your favorite creative outlet?

Hands down, writing this blog. In fact, the entire reason I started writing it in the first place was that I was looking for a creative outlet. Creative outlet for me? CHECK.

Falling Leaves – changes that appear bad but you secretly love?

I know this is a tag about fall but my answer is most definitely SNOW! Oh how I love snow, I always have. Whenever there is snow in the forecast and everyone is freaking out I am over here all, “SNOW is coming?!?!?” and I’m running around lighting seasonal candles, making hot chocolate for my family, and dressing in the fuzziest and warmest clothes I can find. I. LOVE. SNOW. Absolutely nothing better than being snowed in with my family. My husband makes fun of me because I use the term “hunker down” every time it snows and I prepare the house in case we just so happen to get snowed in, lol.

(That picture was taken last year. I can’t WAIT for the return of snow!!! PS I wasn’t a huge fan of that book. My review can be found here.)

Pumpkin Spiced Latte – something you love that others tend to judge

Tofu. I absolutely love tofu. How do people not love tofu??? These beauties are sitting in my refrigerator as we speak. Nobody else in my house will touch tofu…just means more for me 😉

Bonfire Night – what makes you explode with joy?

Time spent with my family. Movie nights in our pajamas, going out for dinner (Chinese food is our favorite and both of my kids use chopsticks like pros), or anything else that we do…as long as we are together!

Fright Night – favorite scary book or film

The best one that I have read recently is this one. Loved it!

Halloween candy – favorite thing to eat

BANANAS. I’m obsessed with bananas and eat 1-2 every single day. Plain, chopped in my oatmeal, drizzled with peanut butter, etc. Literally obsessed. I may or may not have been known to travel with them packed in shoe boxes so they wouldn’t get smashed during flights. Also…grapes. I eat an insane amount of grapes daily. Purple has always been my favorite but lately I’ve been loving crunchy green ones! Fun fact: Halloween candy doesn’t tempt me at all…but put a giant bowl of grapes in front of me and I literally can’t stay away.

Scarves – your autumn ‘must have’ accessory

SCARVES!!!!! I own a ridiculous amount of scarves and basically live in them all fall and winter. The bigger and cozier the better! I recently bought 2 wrap/shawl/scarves and I think they are brilliant.

Fire – a book or film that burns your soul

The book I am currently reading isn’t a romance or a “smutty” book by any means but there has randomly been a startling amount of times that the author has mentioned erections. Nothing else! No kissing, no sex. Just…erections. I wouldn’t say this is “burning my soul” but I’m finding it quite interesting. Like…why so many erections? This poor man (lucky man?) literally has them ALL. THE. TIME. I’m about 100 pages in and I would say that erections have been mentioned at least 10 times so far. That’s a lot of erections! Any guesses as to what book I’m currently reading??? I will be beyond impressed if anyone figures it out solely based upon this description (not romance, not smutty, lots of boners).

Toffee apples – a book or film that seems one thing but really has a different inside

This book (insert tongue sticking out emoji here).

I Tag:

Bookathon

Mummy is Reading

Fictionophile

Be sure to check the blog on WEDNESDAY! I have a giveaway for one of the best books I’ve read so far in 2019! Can’t wait to share it with you 🙂

Xo,

Jenny

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*

*Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)*

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Book Review of a Currently Popular Psychological Thriller

Everyone in the book blogger community seems to be reading and loving this book right now. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy! Psychological Thrillers are obviously some of my favorite books to read and this one sounded GREAT. I couldn’t wait to read it and share my thoughts in a blog review.

How gorgeous is our new fall mum?!? My daughter picked it out at our local farmer’s market last week. It’s absolutely perfect and it makes me so happy. I LOVE FALL!!! Perfect backdrop for a book picture…especially when the word “lovely” is in the book title:

My Lovely Wife By: Samantha Downing

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love. We had kids. We moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams, and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored.

We look like a normal couple. We’re your neighbors, the parents of your kid’s friend, the acquaintances you keep meaning to get dinner with.

We all have secrets to keeping a marriage alive.

Ours just happens to be getting away with murder.

My Thoughts:

(Disclaimer: I will never post spoilers in my reviews HOWEVER the comment section is completely fair game to discuss any and all specifics including spoilers)

3 Stars

This book is DARK. Obviously all psychological thrillers are dark but this one was even more disturbing than most. Without revealing spoilers, I will just say that there were numerous parts of this book which left me feeling uncomfortable.

This book just had too many of everything. Too many characters, too many storylines, too many insignificant details.

I kept hearing how shocking all of the twists were and I was extremely disappointed when none of them shocked me. And I am NEVER able to predict twists! I predicted just about all of them long before they happened without even trying. So annoying.

And one of my biggest pet peeves…when authors casually mention something completely insignificant in 1 or 2 sentences and then 200 pages later you as the reader are expected to remember it as it becomes a major plot twist. HATE. THAT. Who remembers every single sentence of a book as they continue to read? If something will be important later, at least give it enough attention that the reader will remember what you are talking about. This happened MANY times throughout this book! I was reading this while sitting next to my daughter (who was silently reading a book about unicorns) and at one point she asked me why I kept flipping back to previous pages while reading, lol. Even my 7 year old appreciates that books should be read from front to back…not from front to back back to front back to back back to front back to back, lol.

However…

I DO have some positive things to say about this book. I loved the short chapters! I wish all books had short chapters. Also, I really enjoyed her writing style although the topic was just so weird.

This book completely held my attention from the very first page although I just didn’t love it. It WAS interesting and I wanted to see how it all would end…even though the ending (as well as the rest of the book) was overall pretty predictable. Ugh.

Bottom Line:

I didn’t love this author’s debut novel BUT I did enjoy her writing style enough to want to read others she will write in the future! Fingers crossed the topics and details won’t be as disturbing…

Xo,

Jenny

Did you read this book? What did you think? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Click the image below to order the book through my Amazon affiliate link. When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*

*Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)*

*If you already have a blog, please “follow” mine*

*”Like” my Facebook page (and please comment on, “like”, and share my posts)*

*Follow me on Instagram*

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*Leaving a positive review on my Facebook page*

One of the Worst Books I’ve Ever Read

Today feels like FALL here and it’s making me so happy. It’s cold, rainy, dreary, and…perfect. I love fall so much.

(I’m totally one of those people who have a porch goose and I change her outfit every few weeks based upon holidays, seasons, etc. This is her current “fall look”).

My husband has a (ridiculously) strong aversion to anything cinnamon. Hates the taste, hates the smell, hates everything about it. Who on Earth hates cinnamon?!? Insane. I could eat it by the spoonful, lol. He can’t even be around the smell which makes this time of year a bit tricky for me as I’m obsessed with anything cinnamon! If you have been following me for any length of time, you know that I light candles pretty much daily and I looooove a good seasonal candle. I’m DYING to light a pumpkin spiced candle over here! I’ve been hunting for the perfect fall candle for months in anticipation for a day just like today. I have a few apple scented ones (eh), some campfire scented ones (eh), but nothing truly FALL because fall means cinnamon. I came across this one at Homegoods last week all mixed in with their other fall candles and although it’s a bit “citrusy” for this time of year, I’m pretending that it’s fall enough because apparently Homegoods does.

Anyone have any fall (non cinnamon) candle recommendations for me?

From Instagram:

Happy Fall, Happy Rosh Hashanah to those who celebrate, and Happy Belated National Coffee Day! A true season of happiness 🙂

After I published my last post discussing one of the best books I’ve ever read, I thought it would be fun to write a post about one of the WORST books I’ve ever read. I have read A LOT of books…like, a lot. Some I loved, some I hated, some fell somewhere in between.

Today I give you an example of a book that I absolutely hated.

Landline By: Rainbow Rowell

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble; it has been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems beside the point now.

Maybe that was always beside the point.

Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn’t expect him to pack up the kids and go home without her.

When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.

That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts…

Is that what she’s supposed to do?

Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?

My Thoughts:

(Disclaimer: I will never post spoilers in my reviews HOWEVER the comment section is completely fair game to discuss any and all specifics including spoilers)

This book won the 2014 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Fiction. As soon as the results were posted, I immediately went to the library to check this one out.

Ummm….HOW did this win???

I literally hated every single second of this book. The synopsis promises that there’s no time travel…and yet the entire book is about time travel? If I’m being very honest, the details of this book escape me (not the sign of a remarkable piece of literature) but the feeling of complete confusion over the time travel is exactly what I remember about this book. I couldn’t wait for it to end, I hated every second. The one and only reason that I didn’t abandon it midway through reading was the fact that it won such a prestigious award.

The good news is that although I HATED this book, it’s actually not my MOST hated book of all time! You can read this post to see which book I hated most of all.

Bottom Line:

I now take the Goodreads Choice Awards with a grain of salt. As should you.

Xo,

Jenny

Did you read this book? What did you think? What is one of your most hated books of all time? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

I hated this book…but you might not! Click the image below to order the book through my Amazon affiliate link. When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*

*Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)*

*If you already have a blog, please “follow” mine*

*”Like” my Facebook page (and please comment on, “like”, and share my posts)*

*Follow me on Instagram*

*Follow me on Twitter*

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*Clicking and buying products through my Amazon Affiliate links. The cost to you is exactly the same and I receive a tiny commission off of your purchases.*

*Leaving a positive review on my Facebook page*

One of the Best Books I’ve Ever Read

I knew just from reading the synopsis that I would love this book but I had no idea that it would gain a coveted spot as one of the best books I’ve ever read (quite possibly THE best book I’ve ever read).

If you haven’t yet read this book, you MUST. Today. It’s such a beautiful book in every way and I absolutely loved reading it.

I laughed, I sobbed, and I felt everything in between while reading this beautiful story. This book took me on such an emotional roller coaster…I absolutely loved it.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A dazzling, multigenerational novel in which the four adult daughters of a Chicago couple–still madly in love after forty years–recklessly ignite old rivalries until a long-buried secret threatens to shatter the lives they’ve built.

When Marilyn Connolly and David Sorenson fall in love in the 1970s, they are blithely ignorant of all that’s to come. By 2016, their four radically different daughters are each in a state of unrest: Wendy, widowed young, soothes herself with booze and younger men; Violet, a litigator-turned-stay-at-home-mom, battles anxiety and self-doubt when the darkest part of her past resurfaces; Liza, a neurotic and newly tenured professor, finds herself pregnant with a baby she’s not sure she wants by a man she’s not sure she loves; and Grace, the dawdling youngest daughter, begins living a lie that no one in her family even suspects. Above it all, the daughters share the lingering fear that they will never find a love quite like their parents’.

As the novel moves through the tumultuous year following the arrival of Jonah Bendt–given up by one of the daughters in a closed adoption fifteen years before–we are shown the rich and varied tapestry of the Sorensons’ past: years marred by adolescence, infidelity, and resentment, but also the transcendent moments of joy that make everything else worthwhile.

Spanning nearly half a century, and set against the quintessential American backdrop of Chicago and its prospering suburbs, Lombardo’s debut explores the triumphs and burdens of love, the fraught tethers of parenthood and sisterhood, and the baffling mixture of affection, abhorrence, resistance, and submission we feel for those closest to us. In painting this luminous portrait of a family’s becoming, Lombardo joins the ranks of writers such as Celeste Ng, Elizabeth Strout, and Jonathan Franzen as visionary chroniclers of our modern lives.

My Thoughts:

(Disclaimer: I will never post spoilers in my reviews HOWEVER the comment section is completely fair game to discuss any and all specifics including spoilers)

5 Stars

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I spent all summer not so patiently waiting for my turn to read this book. It had been on my radar since last spring and I couldn’t wait for it to be released! However, I ultimately made the classic booknerd mistake and the release date (6.25.19) somehow slipped right through my fingers! Ugh! I was innocently shopping at Costco when I made the unfortunate discovery that this had been released. I took out my phone on the spot and immediately went straight to my library’s website to gain my place on the waitlist. #43. Awful. As you know, I’m a proud minimalist and reaaaaally didn’t want to buy a copy…so #43 on the list for me it was.

Ugh.

I checked that website allllllll summer for updates and slowly, slowly, slowly my name moved up on the list.

**If I would have known how much I was going to love it, I would have just bought the book :)**

It was a happy day indeed when the library called to tell me that my copy was waiting! I wasted no time and started reading that very night.

This review is tough for me to write. How can I put into words how much I absolutely LOVED this book? Hands down one of the best books I’ve ever read. In my entire life. And I’ve read A LOT of books 😉

Warning: This book is LONG. Almost 540 pages. Don’t let that intimidate you! I would have happily read 600 more pages once I finished. How can some 200 page books draaaaag on and yet this 540 page book was completely effortless to read?

The writing in this book was simply beautiful. She was able to tell stories from so many different points of view throughout so many timeframes and continuously connected all of the stories, characters, and timelines together. That takes some major literary talent. Everything about this book absolutely blew me away.

Fans of the television shows “This is Us” and “Parenthood” will LOVE this book. I often think that certain books would make excellent movies but this one would be an AMAZING television series! Or…a book series. There are so many rich storylines and so many colorful characters. I firmly feel as though I’m not ready to say good-bye to the Sorenson Family quite yet.

There were numerous nights when I stayed up way too late reading this book and numerous mornings when I woke up early just to read. I finished reading last night and have not stopped thinking about these characters (the sign of an amazing book).

Side note: I absolutely loved all of the Chicago references! Street names, places, etc. All of them just added to the wonderful experience of reading this beautiful story. I currently live in a suburb of Chicago but did live in the city for 8 years. Best city in the world.

This was Claire Lombardo’s debut book…I can’t WAIT to see what she will write in the future. What she was able to accomplish in 1 book is something many authors never achieve in their entire careers.

Brilliant.

Bottom Line:

Truly one of the best books I’ve ever read.

Xo,

Jenny

Did you read this book? What did you think? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Click the image below to order the book through my Amazon affiliate link. When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*

*Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)*

*If you already have a blog, please “follow” mine*

*”Like” my Facebook page (and please comment on, “like”, and share my posts)*

*Follow me on Instagram*

*Follow me on Twitter*

*Subscribe to my YouTube channel*

*Clicking and buying products through my Amazon Affiliate links. The cost to you is exactly the same and I receive a tiny commission off of your purchases.*

*Leaving a positive review on my Facebook page*

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

Click the image below to order the book through my Amazon affiliate link. When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

Synopsis from Goodreads:

My Thoughts:

Bottom Line:

Click the image below to order the book through my Amazon affiliate link. When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

The Unbreakables Giveaway Winner

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

Synopsis from Goodreads:

My Thoughts:

A Conversation with Lisa Barr, in her own words:

***GIVEAWAY DETAILS***

1. Make sure that you are following and/or subscribed to my blog

2. The main character in this book spends a great deal of time learning the things she needs to do for herself. Self care is so important! Tell me in the comments below about 1 thing that you do for yourself that makes you happy.

**You must complete BOTH of these steps to be eligible for the giveaway and you must complete them here on my blog (not on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)**

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

Hot Chocolate – what is your comfort book?

Pumpkin Carving – what is your favorite creative outlet?

Falling Leaves – changes that appear bad but you secretly love?

Pumpkin Spiced Latte – something you love that others tend to judge

Bonfire Night – what makes you explode with joy?

Fright Night – favorite scary book or film

Halloween candy – favorite thing to eat

Scarves – your autumn ‘must have’ accessory

Fire – a book or film that burns your soul

Toffee apples – a book or film that seems one thing but really has a different inside

I Tag:

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

Synopsis from Goodreads:

My Thoughts:

Bottom Line:

Click the image below to order the book through my Amazon affiliate link. When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

Synopsis from Goodreads:

My Thoughts:

Bottom Line:

I hated this book…but you might not! Click the image below to order the book through my Amazon affiliate link. When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

Synopsis from Goodreads:

My Thoughts:

Bottom Line:

Click the image below to order the book through my Amazon affiliate link. When you order through this link, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo

This blog is my favorite hobby and I would so love your support! Here are ways you can help my blog to GROW:

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

You must complete BOTH of these steps to be eligible for the giveaway and you must complete them here on my blog (not on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)