First Lines Friday…On A Monday :)

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

So this is a big feature that many book bloggers do each Friday. I’ve never participated but when I started reading a new book this week, the first lines JUMPED out at me and I thought this would be such a fun way to share what I’m currently reading…and the ridiculously NOT 2020 vibe those first lines gave off to me, lol.

First Line Friday Rules:

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

Ok so as I mentioned above, I started reading this book over the weekend. Honestly, I never really notice first lines but these particular first lines literally JUMPED out at me. The beginning of this book takes place in 2008 and so clearly NOT in 2020, lol.

“It’s a wonder everyone who uses public ransport in winter doesn’t kneel over and die of germ overload. In the last ten minutes I’ve been coughed on and sneezed at, and if the woman in front of me shakes her dandruff my way again, I might just douse her with the dregs of the lukewarm coffee that I’m no longer able to drink because it’s full of her scalp.”

Is that the most UN 2020 paragraph you have ever read?!?

Using public transport during a pandemic…ugh.

Dying of germ overload? Yup.

Being coughed on and sneezed at? HELL NO.

Woman standing so close to you that her dandruff falls on you? Back up 6 feet!

Holding coffee in public? Not when you are wearing mask!

So now you can see why these particular first lines caught my attention, lol. Last year at this time, I wouldn’t even have thought twice about these first lines but this year I actually had to stop and reread them because they JUMPED out at me, lol.

So what book am I curently reading?

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Two people. Ten chances. One unforgettable love story.

Laurie is pretty sure love at first sight doesn’t exist anywhere but the movies. But then, through a misted-up bus window one snowy December day, she sees a man who she knows instantly is the one. Their eyes meet, there’s a moment of pure magic… and then her bus drives away.

Certain they’re fated to find each other again, Laurie spends a year scanning every bus stop and cafe in London for him. But she doesn’t find him, not when it matters anyway. Instead they “reunite” at a Christmas party, when her best friend Sarah giddily introduces her new boyfriend to Laurie. It’s Jack, the man from the bus. It would be.

What follows for Laurie, Sarah and Jack is ten years of friendship, heartbreak, missed opportunities, roads not taken, and destinies reconsidered. One Day in December is a joyous, heartwarming and immensely moving love story to escape into and a reminder that fate takes inexplicable turns along the route to happiness.

I’ll post a full review once I finish reading!

Have you read One Day in December? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

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Random Bookish Thoughts, Birthday Snapshots, and the Amazon Gift Card Giveaway Winner {Video}

Happy Friday! Today’s blog post will be some random bookish thoughts, snapshots from my birthday, and a video announcing my birthday Amazon gift card giveaway winner!

Random Bookish Thoughts:

My daughter did this homework over Thanksgiving and I love it so much. She said, “My teacher says it’s optional” and I replied, “Aaaaaaand your mom says it’s mandatory!” **Also, when your mom is a former teacher, she makes you complete 10 squares, not 5! **

Almost done reading this book, I’ll have my review posted ASAP!

Do you remember when I posted this review and included a picture of the fake fireplace in the Michigan cottage? I was so obsessed with reading in front of that fireplace and haven’t stopped thinking (or talking about) it since we’ve been back home. We do have a real fireplace in our family room but I REALLY wanted one of these for our living room so when I’m reading on my favorite couch, I can have the absolute perfect reading experience! My husband bought me this one for my birthday and my daughter bought me a tiny box that makes fire crackling sounds! It’s PERFECT, so warm and toast, and I’m completely 100 percent obsessed. You KNOW I read a book in front of it on the very first night and I think I smiled the entire time while reading.

Birthday Snapshots

My birthday was absolutely wonderful and included all of my favorite things: My little family, breakfast made by my daughter, a socially distanced outside visit with my amazing parents, Thai food for dinner, Culvers, decorations from my kids, a family Uno tournament, outside socially distanced visits from my best friends, and more. It was a lovely, lovely birthday and the best part was how truly loved I felt.

Swingset decorated by my son:

One of the gifts from my best friends included a gift card to enjoy my favorite drink on my special day!

If you know me in real life, you know that Culvers is my absolute most favorite dessert!

Notice the UNO cards in the above photo? Our family has had a tournament going since July with a leaderboard and everything. Guess who is currently in FIRST PLACE??? #mama

Amazon Gift Card Giveaway Winner Video:

**Video has been deleted**

Happy Friday, friends! I hope you have a wonderful weekend filled with love and BOOKS!

Xo,

Jenny

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Book I’m Currently Reading, Coffee I’m Currently Drinking, 1 Thing Currently Making Me Happy (#2)

Book Coffee Happy’s newest series where I share the book I’m currently reading, the coffee I’m currently drinking, and 1 thing that is currently making me happy!

Book I’m Currently Reading:

Goodreads Synopsis of The Party {Robyn Harding}:

In this stunning and provocative domestic drama about a sweet sixteen birthday party that goes horribly awry, a wealthy family in San Francisco finds their picture-perfect life unraveling, their darkest secrets revealed, and their friends turned to enemies.

One invitation. A lifetime of regrets.

Sweet sixteen. It’s an exciting coming of age, a milestone, and a rite of passage. Jeff and Kim Sanders plan on throwing a party for their daughter, Hannah—a sweet girl with good grades and nice friends. Rather than an extravagant, indulgent affair, they invite four girls over for pizza, cake, movies, and a sleepover. What could possibly go wrong?

But things do go wrong, horrifically so. After a tragic accident occurs, Jeff and Kim’s flawless life in a wealthy San Francisco suburb suddenly begins to come apart. In the ugly aftermath, friends become enemies, dark secrets are revealed in the Sanders’ marriage, and the truth about their perfect daughter, Hannah, is exposed.

Harkening to Herman Koch’s The Dinner, Christos Tsiolkas’s The Slap, and Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies, The Party takes us behind the façade of the picture-perfect family, exposing the lies, betrayals, and moral lapses that neighbors don’t see—and the secrets that children and parents keep from themselves and each other.

I just started reading The Party last night although it has been on my to read list FOREVER (how have I not read this book by now?). I’ll post my full review once I finish reading! I LOVE Robyn Harding (my absolute favorite book of hers is hands down THIS BOOK, it’s a must read!!!)

Coffee I’m Currently Drinking:

Dunkin + holiday cup = PURE JOY

Currently Making Me Happy:

My 8.5 year old daughter made this cake all by herself for our family of 4 to enjoy last night! Vanilla cake, 2 layers, marshmallow vanilla frosting. She even did a crumb coat! I’m super proud and she loved watching us eat it last night. It was delicious! Thankful for my little family and although Thanksgiving looked differently this year (we miss the rest of our family so much) we still made wonderful Thanksgiving memories here. We laughed, we cooked, we ATE, we decorated, we played Uno. A wonderful Thanksgiving indeed 🙂

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate!

What are you currently reading?

What coffee are you currently enjoying?

What is 1 thing currently making you HAPPY?

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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Book Review: My Dark Vanessa {Kate Elizabeth Russell}

Another book I read during the STUPID WORDPRESS SWITCHOVER and therefore couldn’t post my review in a timely manner. I read Kate Elizabeth Russell’s My Dark Vanessa while sitting outside on a beach chair in gorgeous weather months ago. Now I’m typing this review over the Thanksgiving holiday with Christmas music playing on Pandora on my phone next to me. Ugh! Regardless of how long it took me to actually write this review, I have so many thoughts on this book to share with you!

Goodreads Synopsis of My Dark Vanessa {Kate Elizabeth Russell}:

2000. Bright, ambitious, and yearning for adulthood, fifteen-year-old Vanessa Wye becomes entangled in an affair with Jacob Strane, her magnetic and guileful forty-two-year-old English teacher.

2017. Amid the rising wave of allegations against powerful men, a reckoning is coming due. Strane has been accused of sexual abuse by a former student, who reaches out to Vanessa, and now Vanessa suddenly finds herself facing an impossible choice: remain silent, firm in the belief that her teenage self willingly engaged in this relationship, or redefine herself and the events of her past. But how can Vanessa reject her first love, the man who fundamentally transformed her and has been a persistent presence in her life? Is it possible that the man she loved as a teenager—and who professed to worship only her—may be far different from what she has always believed?

Alternating between Vanessa’s present and her past, My Dark Vanessa juxtaposes memory and trauma with the breathless excitement of a teenage girl discovering the power her own body can wield. Thought-provoking and impossible to put down, this is a masterful portrayal of troubled adolescence and its repercussions that raises vital questions about agency, consent, complicity, and victimhood. Written with the haunting intimacy of The Girls and the creeping intensity of Room, My Dark Vanessa is an era-defining novel that brilliantly captures and reflects the shifting cultural mores transforming our relationships and society itself.

My Review of My Dark Vanessa {Kate Elizabeth Russell}:

This book was so disturbing…and yet…so GOOD? I had heard such mixed reviews prior to reading and I totally understand how everyone feels differently about this book. The subject is…a lot.

The topic is HEAVY and icky and weird and yet this book is GREAT. How???

The writing is fantastic, the characters are interesting, and the “unputdownable” factor is most definitely there. I FLEW through this book. It grabbed my attention from page 1 allllll the way until I closed the back cover. I didn’t want it to end.

Truly so thought provoking on so many levels. I read this book from the perspective of a mother, a daughter, a former teacher, and as a college student (how has it been so many years since that was my life when I can still relate to it so easily??).

My Dark Vanessa has deservingly made it to the final round in the fiction category of the Goodreads 2020 Choice Awards. Have you voted yet? As much as I did enjoy reading about Vanessa, THIS OTHER BOOK actually received my vote 🙂 If you haven’t read THAT book yet, I clearly highly recommend it!

I was pleasantly surprised at how different My Dark Vanessa is to THIS VILE BOOK. The 2 are nothing alike. One book makes you think, the other makes you want to throw up. I HATED THAT DISGUSTING OTHER BOOK SO, SO MUCH.

My Dark Vanessa is a wonderful beautifully disturbing book.

Bottom Line:

It feels weird to say that I loved this book because the subject is just so weird and dark…but…I loved this book.

Have you read this book? What did you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

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:

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Book Review: Don’t Look For Me {Wendy Walker}

I read Wendy Walker’s Don’t Look for Me while on our 3rd trip to Spring Lake, MI (you can read all about our 1st and 2nd trips HERE and HERE). I still haven’t written a recap of our 3rd trip…maybe I still will even though it happened a month ago, lol? Spoiler: fall in Michigan is STUNNING.

Goodreads Synopsis of Don’t Look For Me {Wendy Walker}:

One night, Molly Clarke walked away from her life. The car abandoned miles from home. The note found at a nearby hotel. The shattered family that couldn’t be put back together. It happens all the time. Women disappear, desperate to leave their lives behind and start over. She doesn’t want to be found. Or at least, that’s the story. But is that what really happened to Molly Clarke?

The night Molly disappeared began with a storm, running out of gas, and a man in a truck offering her a ride to town. With him is a little girl who reminds her of the daughter she lost years ago. It feels like a sign. And Molly is overcome with the desire to be home, with her family—no matter how broken it is. She accepts the ride. But when the doors are locked shut, Molly begins to suspect she has made a terrible mistake.

When a new lead comes in after the search has ended, Molly’s daughter, Nicole, begins to wonder. Nothing about her mother’s disappearance makes sense.

Nicole returns to the small, desolate town where her mother was last seen to find the truth. The locals are kind and eager to help. The innkeeper. The bartender. Even the police. Until secrets begin to reveal themselves and she comes closer to the truth about that night—and the danger surrounding her.

My Review of Don’t Look For Me {Wendy Walker}:

Such an interesting and complicated story. I loved how the characters all fit together, the story lines were all so twisted and detailed, and how intense the whole book was. My heart was POUNDING while reading this one!

My predictions while reading were all over the place which I love. Also, I did NOT see that ending coming…

I couldn’t put this book down and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I closed the back cover.

This was the first book by Wendy Walker that I’ve read…I must add more to my to read list ASAP! Love her writing style!

Bottom Line:

Loved it!

Have you read this book? What did you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

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!*

*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: 28 Summers {Elin Hilderbrand} AKA The Book I Couldn’t Put Down

I put Elin Hilderbrand’s 28 Summers on hold at my library in JULY and last week….my copy FINALLY was ready for me! I couldn’t get to the library fast enough and put all other books on the back burner for the chance to finally read this one. I have been DYING to get my hands on a copy to read and review. I pretty much knew that I would love it because evvvvveryone loves it but little did I know that this would be one of the best books I’ve EVER read. Truly couldn’t put this book down!

Goodreads Synopsis of 28 Summers {Elin Hilderbrand}:

When Mallory Blessing’s son, Link, receives deathbed instructions from his mother to call a number on a slip of paper in her desk drawer, he’s not sure what to expect. But he certainly does not expect Jake McCloud to answer. It’s the late spring of 2020 and Jake’s wife, Ursula DeGournsey, is the frontrunner in the upcoming Presidential election.

There must be a mistake, Link thinks. How do Mallory and Jake know each other?

Flash back to the sweet summer of 1993: Mallory has just inherited a beachfront cottage on Nantucket from her aunt, and she agrees to host her brother’s bachelor party. Cooper’s friend from college, Jake McCloud, attends, and Jake and Mallory form a bond that will persevere — through marriage, children, and Ursula’s stratospheric political rise — until Mallory learns she’s dying.

Based on the classic film Same Time Next Year (which Mallory and Jake watch every summer), 28 Summers explores the agony and romance of a one-weekend-per-year affair and the dramatic ways this relationship complicates and enriches their lives, and the lives of the people they love.

My Review of 28 Summers {Elin Hilderbrand}:

EVERYONE I know loves this book and I was so curious to see what the hype was all about. Would it be worth the 4 month wait???

WORTH. THE. 4. MONTH. WAIT.

Oh this book…I absolutely DEVOURED it. Started with page 1 on Friday and finished page 414 page on Monday. I wanted to read it and yet wanted to savor it all at the same time. The writing in this book is absolutely brilliant. I couldn’t put it down.

This book takes place over the course of 28 years (and actually a bit more) and it’s such a complicated journey filled with so many characters. Having so many characters is usually a huge pet peeve of mine but it was necessary and so well written in this book! It truly added to the richness of this complicated story.

Each new chapter begins with a small recap of the most popular and newsworthy items and people of that particular year. I. LOVED. THIS. It was an instant flashback to my own life and where my own life was during that time in history. Made me feel so connected to the time frame of this story.

I absolutely loved this book. I have not stopped thinking of these characters since I finished reading.

However…

As much as I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book, I must say 2 things. 1. Infidelity is wrong and I really wish that Jake was’t married although I do understand the dimension it brought to the overall story. 2. I wish this book didn’t have a prologue.

OK, there. I said them (and neither is a spoiler). Other than those 2 details, this book is literary perfection. Moving on…

The movie “Same Time Next Year” is referenced A LOT in this book. For those interested, here is the trailer. I think the movie actually looks…weird, lol. Have any of you seen it?

I love Elin Hilderbrand SO MUCH! Have you read the “Winter Street” series? They are wonderful and this is the PERFECT time of year to read them as they take place during the holiday season! I loved them so much and I LOVED that she casually mentioned these beautiful characters in 28 Summers! Did anyone else catch it??? You can read my review of the “Winter Street” series HERE. Another wonderful book by Elin Hilderbrand is THIS BOOK . I read that one years ago but for some reason never reviewed it? I loved it! I have now read 6 of Elin Hilderbrand’s books and have loved them all. I must read more of them ASAP! And…I must visit Nantucket. STAT. The way she describes it throughout each of her books makes it sound absolutely magical! Although at this point in the pandemic, visiting the grocery store feels absolutely magical sooooo….???

Bottom Line:

28 Summers is truly one of the best books I’ve ever read. These characters will stay in my heart for a VERY long time…

Have you read this book? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

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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The ultimate list of my top book suggestions can be found HERE

Random Thoughts From a Book Blogger

Hiiiiiii! This post is filled with a whole bunch of super random thoughts from a book blogger…

I won an Instagram giveaway from Jennastopreading and I’m so excited! Look at these amazing books that she sent me! Have you read any of these? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! I’m so excited to read 3 of them (I’ve actually already read Small Great Things so I am paying it forward and giving it to one of my besties to read…you can read my VERY unpopular thoughts on that book HERE).

A few weeks ago I was laying in bed reading a library copy of The Guest List by Lucy Foley (review coming soon!) and suddenly right at a VERY intense part…this object fell out from the pages and straight onto my chest. Scared the HELL out of me. A business card. From a FUNERAL HOME. Stuck smack in the pages of a very ominous murder mystery thriller. Rigggggght as I was reading a super intense part of the story so I was already on edge. OMG.

Yesterday I posted that I was currently reading this book:

Aaaaaaand I just couldn’t get into it and decided to call it quits last night. It has the potential to be great…but honestly I was just too bored to stick around and find out. Like I always say, too many amazing books out there to read one you aren’t loving! Moving on…

I’m currently reading:

I started reading it last night and will post a full review once I finish! I’ve heard it’s amazing.

We ran out of half and half yesterday and I’m currently drinking my coffee with milk. Ugh. Gross.

The final round of the Goodreads Best Books of 2020 is posted and voting is open until 11/30! American Dirt without a doubt got my vote in the fiction category (I LOVED THAT BOOK! Read my review HERE). Which book did you vote for???

This is the most random blog post ever! Tell me something random going on with you!

Xo,

Jenny

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What I’m Currently Reading, What I Recently Read, What I Think I’ll Read Next (WWW #18) {Book Coffee Happy}

I love when Book Coffee Happy can participate in WWW! The Three Ws: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next?

Thanks so much to Sam from Taking on a World of Words for hosting this fun weekly post!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is img_1894.png

What Are You Currently Reading?

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but her beloved neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks. Condos are sprouting like weeds, FOR SALE signs are popping up overnight, and the neighbors she’s known all her life are disappearing. To hold onto her community’s past and present, Sydney channels her frustration into a walking tour and finds an unlikely and unwanted assistant in one of the new arrivals to the block—her neighbor Theo.

But Sydney and Theo’s deep dive into history quickly becomes a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear. Their neighbors may not have moved to the suburbs after all, and the push to revitalize the community may be more deadly than advertised.

When does coincidence become conspiracy? Where do people go when gentrification pushes them out? Can Sydney and Theo trust each other—or themselves—long enough to find out before they too disappear?

I started reading this one yesterday! I’ll post my review once I finish!

What Did You Recently Finish Reading?

Synopsis from Goodreads:

When Mallory Blessing’s son, Link, receives deathbed instructions from his mother to call a number on a slip of paper in her desk drawer, he’s not sure what to expect. But he certainly does not expect Jake McCloud to answer. It’s the late spring of 2020 and Jake’s wife, Ursula DeGournsey, is the frontrunner in the upcoming Presidential election.

There must be a mistake, Link thinks. How do Mallory and Jake know each other?

Flash back to the sweet summer of 1993: Mallory has just inherited a beachfront cottage on Nantucket from her aunt, and she agrees to host her brother’s bachelor party. Cooper’s friend from college, Jake McCloud, attends, and Jake and Mallory form a bond that will persevere — through marriage, children, and Ursula’s stratospheric political rise — until Mallory learns she’s dying.

Based on the classic film Same Time Next Year (which Mallory and Jake watch every summer), 28 Summers explores the agony and romance of a one-weekend-per-year affair and the dramatic ways this relationship complicates and enriches their lives, and the lives of the people they love.

I still need a few days to recover from a massive book hangover from this book before I start working on my review. Omg. I’ll post it once I stop sobbing. Spoiler: I. LOVED. IT.

What Do You Think You’ll Read Next?

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Felix Love has never been in love—and, yes, he’s painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it’s like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What’s worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he’s one marginalization too many—Black, queer, and transgender—to ever get his own happily-ever-after.

When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages—after publicly posting Felix’s deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned—Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn’t count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi–love triangle….

But as he navigates his complicated feelings, Felix begins a journey of questioning and self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself.

Felix Ever After is an honest and layered story about identity, falling in love, and recognizing the love you deserve.

So I’m not 100 percent sure I’ll read this book next but maybe? I have a huge stack of library books here and this one has been on my radar for awhile, I’ve heard it’s fantastic!

Have you read any of these 3 books? What did you think (no spoilers)? What are you currently reading? I’d love to hear in the comments below!

Xo,

Jenny

Click on the images below to order through my Amazon 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)*

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

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The ultimate list of my top book suggestions can be found HERE

Book Review: Playing Nice {JP Delaney}

So this is a perfect example of why sometimes you just need to browse the library shelves in person. I had never heard of JP Delaney’s Playing Nice, knew absolutely nothing about it, randomly saw it on a shelf at the library, read the back cover….and immediately knew I had to read and review this book. The synopsis GRABBED me!

Goodreads Synopsis of Playing Nice {JP Delaney}:

Pete Riley answers the door one morning and lets in a parent’s worst nightmare. On his doorstep is Miles Lambert, a stranger who breaks the devastating news that Pete’s son, Theo, isn’t actually his son–he is the Lamberts’, switched at birth by an understaffed hospital while their real son was sent home with Miles and his wife, Lucy. For Pete, his partner Maddie, and the little boy they’ve been raising for the past two years, life will never be the same again.

The two families, reeling from the shock, take comfort in shared good intentions, eagerly entwining their very different lives in the hope of becoming one unconventional modern family. But a plan to sue the hospital triggers an official investigation that unearths some disturbing questions about the night their children were switched. How much can they trust the other parents–or even each other? What secrets are hidden behind the Lamberts’ glossy front door? Stretched to the breaking point, Pete and Maddie discover they will each stop at nothing to keep their family safe.

They are done playing nice.

My Review of Playing Nice {JP Delaney}:

This book is GREAT. Omg it’s AWESOME.

Short chapters are my favorite and this book is wonderfully filled with 112 of them. Some a few pages in length, many less than 1 page. THE BEST! I wish every book could be written like this. I truly couldn’t put it down!

This story is INTENSE…it’s completely unfathomable to me how something like this could actually happen. It’s such a thought provoking scenario and truly a parent’s absolute worst nightmare. Omg.

Pro Tip: Make sure you have a nice quiet spot where you can devour the last 50ish pages because there is no way you will be able to stop reading at at point. SO. GOOD.

And yet again… I had about a million predictions and absolutely zero of them turned out to be correct. LOVE WHEN THAT HAPPENS!

Bottom Line:

Read this book. It’s fantastic.

HERE is another example of a random book that I found on the library bookshelf that tuned out to be GREAT!

Have you read this book? What unknown books have you stumbled upon which turned out to be awesome? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

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

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1 Single Life Changing Reading Habit

I am an only child. Growing up, my life was always so quiet as I was the only kid running around! I absolutely LOVED it! Reading in silence? Check! Going to sleep in silence? Check! The first time I ever had the experience of living with other peoples’ noise was when I got to college. It was a huge wake up call for me (quite literally….for the first time ever I experienced being woken up by my peers). It was a life changing experience for me for sure. Why were people and their habits so LOUD???

The older I get, the more I appreciate the gift of being able to surround myself in silence. I have obviously always been one of those people who loves to be alone (again…only child). Being alone and being HAPPY to be alone is something that I do not take for granted. Many people HATE being alone….not I 🙂 This is something that I’m trying my best to teach my children. Surrounding yourself with people is truly a gift….but….so is loving yourself enough to enjoy your own company.

I’ve always loved quiet. Do you remember on one of my visits back to my college where I showed a picture of my favorite study spot??? Waaaaay down in the library basement alllll the way in the very corner. Where it was silent with quite literally zero distractions!

Now does it make a bit more sense as to why reading is my favorite hobby???

Since childhood, I’ve needed utter and complete silence to enjoy reading a book. If there was even the SLIGHTEST bit of noise, I couldn’t do it.

And then…the Coronavirus quarantine of 2020 happened. And each afternoon I found myself sitting outside while my kids happily frolicked together with a hose, sprinkler, sidewalk chalk, bikes, scooters, frisbees, etc. And as I watched them play, I was struck over and over by the same thought: wouldn’t this be a lovely time to enjoy a book?

I am a huge believer in self care and for me, reading IS my self care. Being quarantined with 2 young children means alone time is extremely hard to come by these days. If I was going to continue to read each day, I was going to need to come up with a solution. And fast.

One Single Life Changing Reading Habit

The first time I tried it I was completely convinced that it wouldn’t work. There was NO way that I could properly immerse myself in a book while at the same time listen to my kids happily playing with each other just a few feet from me. I gave it a shot…and….

IT. WAS. OK. Howwwwwwwwwwwwww?????

APPARENTLY I HAVE LEARNED HOW TO READ WITH BACKGROUND NOISE.

This is something I have attempted and failed at doing for YEARS! It literally took a global pandemic for me to finally embrace this new skill.

Here are some random shots of me reading throughout the quarantine WITH BACKGROUND NOISE. Mind. Blown.

(You can read a synopsis and my review of I Wish You All The Best HERE)

(You can read a synopsis and my review of Last Couple Standing HERE)

(You can read a synopsis and my review of American Dirt HERE)

(You can read the synopsis and my review of The Perfect Girlfriend HERE)

(You can read the synopsis and my review of The Sun Down Motel HERE)

(You can read my review of The Other’s Gold HERE)

Are you able to read with background noise or do you need total silence? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Happy Friday! I hope your weekend is filled with love and BOOKS (even if it’s noisy)!

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*

*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*

The ultimate list of my top book suggestions can be found HERE