I randomly saw A.R.Torre’s Every Last Secret on the shelf at the library a few weeks ago and the synopsis immediately had me wanting more! I was so excited to read this book and review it!
Goodreads Synopsis of Every Last Secret {A.R. Torre}:
Welcome to the neighborhood. Watch your husband, watch your friends, and watch your back.
Cat Winthorpe has worked hard to get what she has: a gorgeous home; social standing; and William, her successful, handsome husband. Then a friendly new couple moves into the estate next door. While cautious, a good neighbor like Cat greets them with open arms and warm hospitality.
Neena Ryder isn’t a fellow lady of leisure. A life coach with off-the-rack dresses, personal issues, and a husband who hasn’t delivered, she’s anxious to move up in the world. This beautiful new town is a step in the right direction. It’s also making Neena aware of what she doesn’t have. Namely, William. When Neena’s infatuation escalates into obsession, it’s just a matter of eliminating a few obstacles to get the life she wants. The life next door.
As Neena’s secret fixation grows, so does her friendship with Cat. But beneath their cordial interactions is a wealth of temptations, secrets, and toxic jealousy. For both women, the desire for a perfect life can turn perfectly dangerous.
My Review of Every Last Secret {A.R. Torre}:
This book was GOOD…but lacked being GREAT. Predictable? Yes. Great? No.
The synopsis SOUNDS so great, right???
I just kept waiting and waiting for something to grab my attention and would suddenly turn all of my opinions around. Unfortunately that moment never came.
I can’t remember the last time I read a book where I didn’t like ANY of the characters! Each character in this book was so completely unlikable. I think that is what made this story feel like it was dragging at times. When there is nobody to root for… you don’t really care what happens to anyone, am I right?
I had to write this review immediately after I closed the back cover because I knew that if I waited even a few days…I would completely forget everything. That’s how detached from this story I was. When you finish a book, you want the characters in the story lines to stay with you for many years to come! These characters and storylines might stay with me for 2 days max. Speaking of covers, I could be wrong…but I’m pretty sure that the scene on the front cover never even happened in this story. Like, ever. I kept waiting! What???
Also, infidelity is disgusting and at times this book felt like a step by step how to guide on stealing someone’s husband. Gross.
Bottom Line
Eh.
Have you read this book? What did you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
Xo,
Jenny
Clearly I’m not a big fan of this book…but you just might be, lol. 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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When I first started writing my blog, I regularly posted a series called “Let’s Chat” where I would bring up a discussion topic and then share my thoughts and feelings on it. Those posts always brought upon such wonderful discussions! It has been a VERY long time since I have written one of these posts! So today, I’m bringing back the Book Coffee Happy old school “Let’s Chat” with this discussion topic: Do you read the book synopsis before you read the book?
***I regularly use the term “book synopsis” on my blog to describe the brief description of what the book is about (what you would read on the back or inside cover of the book). Other terms that describe this same description which I don’t use can include “book blurb”, “book description”, etc. All of these terms are a bit subjective and interchangeable!It’s important to note that the synopsis that I am referring to is NOT a complete book summary which would include all major points in the book including the ending. ***
Do You Read the Book Synopsis BEFORE You Read the Book?
A few weeks ago, one of my very favorite Bookstagrammers Jenna Stop Reading mentioned not reading the book synopsis before reading a book and it got me thinking…I could NEVER do that!
This is quite a debatable topic in the book blogger world. Apparently some people prefer to read the book going into it completely blind as to what the book is going to be about while others (ME) absolutely, 100 percent read the synopsis on the back or inside cover EACH AND EVERY TIME.
I have no idea how someone could read a book without knowing what the book is going to be about! Like…how do you very literally just choose the book by it’s cover??? Mind. BLOWN.
The very first things I look at while choosing a book off the shelf is the front cover, the title, and the author’s name. Absolutely all important…BUT…then I immediately read the synopsis! There have been PLENTY of times where I pick up a book, I think it looks great aaaaaaaaand then I read the synopsis and I put it right back down. How does one go into that so blindly? (I did once write an entire post called “Judging Books by Their Covers”! You can read that post HERE).
Not only do I read the synopsis before deciding what the book is going to be about but I actually read it quite a few times to familiarize myself with the characters and overall story lines.
I also tend to go and read it a few MORE times WHILE reading the book as a reference as to the characters and story lines.
Now there IS a very fine line between reading the book synopsis and learning a potential spoiler. I HATE SPOILERS. Hate, hate, hate (which is why I will NEVER have any book spoilers here on my blog). You can read more about my hatred for spoilers HERE.
Remember a few weeks ago when I was reading Simon Vs The Homosapien Agenda and I was planning on reading it’s sequal without knowing what it was about? I do think that’s a special circumstance as I was afraid if I read the synopsis to the sequel that it would give away spoilers from the original! HOWEVER, as soon as I finished reading Simon, the very first thing I did before reading it’s sequel was to read it’s synopsis! (You can read my review of those 2 books HERE).
When I hear of a book and want to look up the synopsis online the ONLY website that I will do this on is Goodreads. I have found that other websites (I’m looking at you, Amazon!) tend to reveal TOO much of the book description for my liking. Goodreads always shares juuuuuust enough about the book to let me know what it’s about without revealing too much. (FYI this is why I always only share the synopsis from Goodreads on Book Coffee Happy when I write my book reviews :))
So tell me…do you read the book synopsis before reading the book or do you like going in completely blind as to what the book will be about?
Happy Friday! I hope your weekend is filled with love and BOOKS!
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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I took a shower on Thursday, January 21, 2021. A normal, everyday shower. And when I came out of that shower, I glanced over at my phone not expecting to see any type of text/email notification as my shower was only about 15 minutes long.
My phone was legit BLOWING UP with blog notifications. Like…every second it was lighting up. Why??? I was so confused! What was happening??? I looked into my blog’s stats and my mouth instantly dropped open. Literally within a span of 1 shower my blog suddenly had THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of new views???
I still have no idea how it happened but apparently while I was in that shower…
….Google put a link to my Tennessee blog post ON. THEIR. HOMEPAGE.
Whaaaaat?!?
Hell yeah!
So here’s what I know:
As that initial night went on and continued throughout the next day, the numbers on my little blog literally kept climbing BY. THE. SECOND. My husband and I watched as the insanely high number of people visiting my blog climbed and climbed. It was CRAZY and so much fun to watch!
I’ve never seen anything like that and at this point I still had no idea how all of these new readers found my blog! Readers from allllll over the United States and in countries around the world were suddenly reading Book Coffee Happy! It was baffling (and super cool).
Finally, after receiving SO MANY private messages about that Tennessee blog post, I finally started asking people where they even found my blog. Their answers were all the same…it showed up on their Google homepages! A few kind people sent me screenshots:
I sent this screenshot to my best friend and she replied “THANK GOD you look cute in the picture that Google chose of you!” 😂🤷🏻♀️👍🏼 Turns out to be the most famous selfie I’ve ever taken, lol.
So here we are, 8 days later, and THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF NEW PEOPLE HAVE VISITED MY BLOG. I’ve received so many new blog followers/subscribers, new Facebook followers, and new Instagram followers! The amount of visitors to my blog continues to climb and climb each day, each hour, each minute, each SECOND! It has been FUN and definitely a huge highlight of my blogging journey thus far 🙂
So…it’s probably a good idea to introduce myself since many of you are new clearly around here 🙂
I’m Jenny! I’m a former teacher and am now a stay at home mom to my 2 young children. I absolutely LOVE being a stay at home mom and it was always my dream to be one. I truly treasure this time in my life! I will always and forever be thankful for my amazing husband for so many things including working so hard so I can stay home with our kids. I have always been an avid reader and I have always loved participating in book discussions! People used to ask me ALL. THE. TIME. for book suggestions and so 2.5 years ago, I decided to start writing this blog. It has morphed into such a creative outlet for me, and I have loved all of the opportunities it has provided! It’s mostly a book blog with bits of my personal life sprinkled in. I review books, lead book discussions, host book giveaways, etc.
Thank you to everyone for your support and love! If you are new here…welcome! The more blog followers I have, the larger our book community can grow! I’m so glad to have you here. And a special thank you to Google…I have NO CLUE how all of this happened but it’s been such fun! I so hope it will happen again!
If anyone has insight into how this could have happened, SEO (search engine optimization) knowledge, etc. please send me an email (bookcoffeehappy@gmail.com). I’d love to pick your brain!
Oh and HERE is a link to the (now apparently famous, lol) Tennessee blog post that has now been viewed thousands upon thousands upon thousands of times 🙂
Happy Friday! May your weekend be filled with love and books! I’ll be back here on Monday with a post for you containing 2 book reviews…see you then!
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!*
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According to Merriam Webster, the definition of mindfulness is as follows: 1: the quality or state of being mindful 2: the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis also: such a state of awareness. The act of mindfulness is something that I have personally been working on over the past year. A few months ago, I took a virtual mindfulness course and it was amazing. I learned so much about how to center my thoughts and actions! I even had my children take the family friendly version of the same virtual mindfulness course that I had taken and it was largely beneficial for our whole family. I think practicing mindfulness is SUCH an important skill and one that could truly benefit everyone in their daily life, regardless of age. Melissa Steginus’s Everyday Mindfulness says right on the cover that it contains “108 simple practices to empower yourself and transform your life”. If THAT doesn’t grab your attention, I’m not sure what would! Who couldn’t use THAT in their life?!? I’m so excited for this giveaway!
Goodreads Synopsis of Everyday Mindfulness {Melissa Steginus}:
“Everyday Mindfulness” guides you through the most powerful daily mindfulness practices that help you rewire your habits and rewrite your life.
With step-by-step instruction and evidence-based exercises you can do in as little as 5 minutes a day, it’s never been easier to make positive changes stick in your life.
This is a powerful personal development program cleverly disguised as a book.
Connect with Yourself and Discover Your Capacity
Most of us are so busy that we forgot to focus on how we really feel, what we truly desire, and what we need to do to move our lives in the right direction.
This book is your master manual for reconnecting with yourself and your inner resources so you can take immediate action to transform your life.
The power to change your life is in the small things you do every day. This book guides you through over 100 simple practices, in small doses, so you can discover what works best for you and build on it.
This book is designed to help you master the six areas of your life:
• Physical: Listen to your body and reconnect with yourself • Emotional: Understand your feelings and learn to trust them • Rational: Observe your thought patterns to gain mental clarity • Spiritual: Explore your relationship with yourself and your truth • Occupation: Manage your time and energy to pursue your priorities • Network: Nourish relationships that deepen your sense of belonging
Each of the six sections has 18 exercises, complete with reflection questions, to help you reclaim, redefine, and realize your untapped potential within that area of your life.
With “Everyday Mindfulness” you will awaken to yourself, connect with your inner wisdom, and tap into your capacity for self-empowerment, fulfillment, and transformation.
It all begins with paying attention.
This book includes 108 daily mindfulness practices, explanations of the purpose behind each practice, and over 300 reflection questions that encourage profound self-exploration and transformative action.
My Thoughts on Everyday Mindfulness {Melissa Steginus}:
Back in November when I was asked if I would like to review Everyday Mindfulness on my blog I was so excited to say YES! I wanted to really take time to read this book and have the opportunity to practice it’s teachings in my own life before writing my review. I’m so glad that I did!
This book is beautiful. It outlines 108 mindful practices and breaks them down in a specific order, 1 practice to focus on each day. I actually kept this book in my closet so that each morning as I was getting dressed, I took literally 2 minutes to read about the practice that I would be focusing on for that day. Keeping it in my closet and so visible was a perfect visual reminder that this was now part of my morning routine and made it so easy to remember to read that day’s practice. At the end of each day, I again took 2 minutes as I was getting ready for bed to reflect upon the day’s practice and write a few details of how it went and what I learned.
When I first received this book, I took some random photos of a few of the pages to share with you. I made sure to do this BEFORE I filled them with my writing. Mindfulness is a deeply personal journey and as much as I love to share my thoughts and feelings with all of you, somehow this feels different and too personal to share. Here are some of the “before” photos to give you an idea of some of the simple practices (which are now all filled in with my own thoughts):
I would sum up my time working through this book as one of learning and connecting with so many aspects of my life. This book is a GIFT…it very literally gives you the tools to reset your thinking and help you to self connect.
I very highly recommend this book…for everyone. Every single person can and will benefit from the simple practices in this book. Whether you already practice mindfulness on a regular basis or this is a completely new area of exploration for you, the tools that this book will give you will be so beneficial in so many areas of your life. I’m so happy to introduce you to this lovely book!
There has never been a more perfect time to practice mindfulness than right now. With so much uncertainty in the world, learning how to better connect with your own self is so important.
I love this book.
To learn more about Everyday Mindfulness, here are some helpful links:
Would you like to win a copy of Everyday Mindfulness? I have 1 copy to give away (open to US only for this giveaway)!
To be entered, just leave a comment below (on this blog post)! Your comment can be about anything!
**You must comment below to be eligible for the giveaway and you must comment here on this blog post (not on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)**
Giveaway will close tomorrow (1/26/21) at 6:00 pm CDT and the winner will be randomly chosen and announced here on my blog on Wednesday (1/27/21).
Make sure you check the blog on Wednesday to see if you’ve won (you will have 48 hours from the time I post the winners to email me your mailing address. If I don’t hear from you within 48 hours, I will pick a new winner).
Good luck! Can’t wait to read your comments!
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!*
*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)*
*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.*
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 ofEvery Last Secret {A.R. Torre}:
Welcome to the neighborhood. Watch your husband, watch your friends, and watch your back.
Cat Winthorpe has worked hard to get what she has: a gorgeous home; social standing; and William, her successful, handsome husband. Then a friendly new couple moves into the estate next door. While cautious, a good neighbor like Cat greets them with open arms and warm hospitality.
Neena Ryder isn’t a fellow lady of leisure. A life coach with off-the-rack dresses, personal issues, and a husband who hasn’t delivered, she’s anxious to move up in the world. This beautiful new town is a step in the right direction. It’s also making Neena aware of what she doesn’t have. Namely, William. When Neena’s infatuation escalates into obsession, it’s just a matter of eliminating a few obstacles to get the life she wants. The life next door.
As Neena’s secret fixation grows, so does her friendship with Cat. But beneath their cordial interactions is a wealth of temptations, secrets, and toxic jealousy. For both women, the desire for a perfect life can turn perfectly dangerous.
I’ll post a full review once I finish reading!
Coffee I’m Currently Drinking:
Earlier in the week, I went through a Dunkin’ drive thru (NOT one of my usual Dunkins) and ordered a coffee. The nice man working told me that they needed to brew a new pot of coffee and it would be a few minutes. He asked me to pull around to the front of the store and he would bring it out to me. A brand new pot of fresh coffee just for me? Delightful! So fresh! I paid the man and then happily pulled into a parking spot to wait for my fresh coffee.
A few minutes later, I was watching through the window as a customer was paying for his purchases and on his way out, he walked over to my car to hand me my coffee! Let me recap that for you…a random CUSTOMER was leaving with his purchases and the man working must have said something along the lines of, “Hey on your way to your car, would you please bring this coffee to the lady in the black SUV?” So the random customer walked over to me, handed me my coffee, apologized for the wait (lol), and then got into his car and drove off. It was so weird! My daughter was all, “Did that random man just give you coffee?” Um yes, yes he did. Aaaaand to make the story even better, we were behind that random good samaritan for quite a long time on the highway once we pulled out of the parking lot. My daughter and I kept laughing and talking about it the whole ride home, it was so funny and random.
Thank you, random customer!
Currently Making Me Happy:
WAERING MAKEUP!
In normal, non pandemic times I wear makeup every single day. During these weird times, wearing makeup in public feels like such a treat! The only issue is that I keep forgetting that I’ll be wearing a mask and still keep putting on lipstick, lol. Anyone else keep doing that??? Almost a full year in and I STILL haven’t figured this out yet. All of my masks have bright red lipstick marks on the insides!
Happy Friday! I hope your weekend is filled with love and BOOKS! Be sure to check the blog on Monday because I’ll be hosting an AMAZING giveaway 🙂
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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I love Robyn Harding so much. Her books are AWESOME. I’m not sure why it took me so long to read The Party but I’m so glad that I did! This book has been on my to read list for waaaaaay too long and I’m excited to share my review on the blog with you today!
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.
My Review of The Party {Robyn Harding}:
Ahhhh I just love Robyn Harding!
The storylines in this book were COMPLICATED. Each character had such a rich and colorful background and I loved the different perspectives from which this story was told. The character development here was AWESOME. I’m not sure how there was enough space to properly and thoroughly describe each character AND still tell the present story but Robyn Harding absolutely succeeded.
The actual present day story made me angry and simultaneously broke my heart. The pain these characters endured (although much of the drama was self created) was heart wrenching. Reading this book as a mother made me feel angry and helpless. My kids are young…I can’t even imagine reading this book as a mother of an actual teenager, omg.
I was completely invested in this book from the very beginning and I loved the ending.
If you haven’t yet read a Robyn Harding book, here are links to my 2 favorites. Read my review of The SwapHERE (along with guest blogger Melissa Amster’s review) and The ArrangementHERE. I absolutely loved and highly recommend them both!
Bottom Line
Such a thought provoking, heartbreaking, and intriguing 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:
*Please share this page with your book and blog loving friends!*
*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)*
*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.*
If you follow Book Coffee Happy on Facebook you know that I often ask my followers to share what they are reading. I love reading the comments on those posts and seeing how everyone interacts with each other to discover new books to read. The book community is so amazing! When I asked for everyone to share a few weeks ago, my dear friend Julie commented that she was reading Kelly Rimmer’s Before I Let You Go. As soon as I Googled the synopsis, I immediately knew that this was a book I wanted to read and review on the blog…it sounded SO GOOD. When the library called the day before we were leaving for our trip to Tennessee, I took that as a sign that this should be my vacation read. Who knew that I would eventually be stuck on that mountain with little food, no power, and our car in a ditch??? Yup if you missed that crazy story, you can read all about our trip HERE! 1 thing that I DID have up on that crazy mountain with me was a good book 🙂
Goodreads Synopsis of Before I Let You Go {Kelly Rimmer}:
The 2:00 a.m. call is the first time Lexie Vidler has heard her sister’s voice in years. Annie is a drug addict, a thief, a liar—and in trouble, again. Lexie has always bailed Annie out, given her money, a place to sleep, sent her to every kind of rehab. But this time, she’s not just strung out—she’s pregnant and in premature labor. If she goes to the hospital, she’ll lose custody of her baby—maybe even go to prison. But the alternative is unthinkable.
As weeks unfold, Lexie finds herself caring for her fragile newborn niece while her carefully ordered life is collapsing around her. She’s in danger of losing her job, and her fiancé only has so much patience for Annie’s drama. In court-ordered rehab, Annie attempts to halt her downward spiral by confronting long-buried secrets from the sisters’ childhood, ghosts that Lexie doesn’t want to face. But will the journey heal Annie, or lead her down a darker path?
Both candid and compassionate, Before I Let You Go explores a hotly divisive topic and asks how far the ties of family love can be stretched before they finally break.
My Review of Before I Let You Go {Kelly Rimmer}:
Oh this is such a beautifully written book.
I read this entire book while on my vacation in Tennessee. Couldn’t put it down!
This isn’t the usual type of book I read but I’m so glad I did. This is such a complicated topic and one that I’ll admit I’ve never given much thought to. This book really opened my eyes and gave me so much to think about.
Before I Let You Go tugged at my heart and I found myself crying at many points throughout. It was heartbreaking, beautiful, and SO wonderfully written. It was HEAVY, not a light read by any means…but it was so wonderfully written.
This is the first Kelly Rimmer book that I’ve read and I’ve already added 3 of her other books to my list to read. I absolutely love her beautiful and descriptive writing style! I’m already a huge fan and I’ve only read 1 of her books!
I finished reading this beautiful book over a week and a half ago and there hasn’t been a single day since where I haven’t thought of these characters and reflected upon their stories. Their characters and their stories will stay with me for a long, long time.
I highly recommend this one!
Bottom Line:
A beautifully written, extremely thought provoking, absolutely heartbreaking story
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!*
*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)*
*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.*
I hope you had a wonderful holiday. My family of 4 spent 9 days in Gatlingburg, Tennessee. We rented a log cabin on the top of a mountain. It first it was beautiful and magical…and then we got stuck on it during a blizzard!
Traveling during a pandemic can be done as long as you have clear expectations of what you are willing and are not willing to do in terms of your safety comfort level. Our family drove 12 hours (no airplane), stayed at a private log cabin (no hotel room), wiped down the entire cabin with Clorox wipes upon arrival, brought our own pillows, only ate outdoors at restaurants, didn’t do any tourist attractions, stayed away from all crowded areas, wore masks EVERYWHERE, etc.
Our 9 day trip can be broken down into 3 distinct categories: 1. Serene Mountains 2. Snowy Mountains 3. Stranded on a Mountain.
The beginning of our trip was peaceful, beautiful, and wonderful.
Our log cabin was BEAUTIFUL. It was completely private and quite literally on top of a mountain. It had an indoor pool (!!!), 2 hot tubs, a pool table, a fireplace, 2 balconies, and a Christmas tree! It was gorgeous and it smelled absolutely divine.
In the master suite. My husband refused to get in this one (!) but the kids and I loved it, lol! Hanging on the refrigerator in our cabin!
Jon and I snuck outside to enjoy a peaceful few minutes in the rain. It was as glorious as it looks.At one point, I looked down from our master bedroom loft and found my daughter just peacefully reading a book. PROUD MAMA.
We went on a family hike each day and saw some absolutely gorgeous sights! Hiking to the top of Laurel Falls was definitely one of the highlights of the entire trip. The long hike up was BEAUTIFUL but there aren’t even words to describe seeing the waterfall at the top. Truly one of the most magnificent things I have ever seen. I cried! If you are ever in the area, this is absolutely a must do. Stunning.
When you hike to the top of a mountain, you reward yourself with a snack. Best apple of my life!
We also loved driving (and walking) through Cades Cove. Two separate times deer came right up in front of our car! Such a fun way to spend an entire morning. So much history there, we loved going into the log cabins and old churches.
Wild turkeys just strolling along the road next to us. No big deal.When you see a random waterfall on the road as you are driving, you pull over! Gorgeous!Oh hi, deer.Saw deer, immediately pulled over! So, so cool.
I found $90 cash in the bathroom at Cades Cove! I waited and waited to see if anybody was going to come back to look for it but nobody did. I was hesitant to turn it into the visitors center considering it was cash and anyone working could have taken it. My wonderful husband had the lovely idea to put it in one of the Cades Cove donation boxes and that’s exactly what we did (after already having donated our own money hours earlier). It felt great to know that the $90 went to such a wonderful cause although I so wish the owner would have come back for it. Either way it wasn’t my money to spend and it feels good to know it went to a wonderful cause 🙂
The first 6 days of our trip were spent in lovely weather. We ate outside! We hiked up mountains! We drove to Asheville and visited the Botanical Gardens!
Gatlinburg Nature TrailGatlinburg Nature TrailReading with my girl. Happy.Paula Deen Store!Wherever I go, I find the Dunkin’…
And then on Day 7…
SNOW.
Our loooooong and steep drivewayGrill at our cabinBear proof garbage cans at our cabin
Like….blizzard out of NOWHERE. I’ve never seen anything like that before. The snow just kept coming and coming! We played outside and it was honestly my favorite part of the entire trip. It was POURING on us! At one point I wrote “MOM” in the snow and 2 minutes later it was all filled in. Craaaazy. I LOVE SNOW and this snow was STUNNING. Felt like a such a bonus to have this happen while we were there…almost like 2 completely different trips in 1!
Had the weather forecast predicted this blizzard, we would have left a day or 2 earlier than planned just to ensure that we would be able to do the 12 hour drive but it legit just came out of NOWHERE.
So we played in it and sat in our hot tub on our balcony while it fell. At this point in the trip, the snow was still exciting.
Jon and I 🙂Christmas Eve. Snowy perfection!
We went to bed that night wondering what this was going to mean for our ride home the next day ….and then in the middle of the night our power went out. IT. WAS. FREEZING. Our cabin must have been 50 degrees by early morning. It was so incredibly cold. Thank goodness for warm robes and a gas fireplace! I brushed my teeth and packed our stuff all by the light of a flashlight. The power was out for a total of 7.5 hours. The MINUTE is came on I very literally RAN to the coffee maker and made the absolute fastest pot of coffee of my entire life. I was so afraid that the power would go out again and I needed this pocket of time to make a pot of coffee! Being stuck on a mountain with no power, no car, and no food…scary. But no coffee??? TERRIFYING.
5:00 AM. FREEZING.
Our driveway was absolutely massive, steep, and covered in ice. Jon tried to back our AWD SUV down it and…this happened.
Shit.
So that’s when things started to get a bit…interesting. Our car was stuck, we were stuck, and our food supply was quickly dwindling. Instacart wasn’t delievering, restaurants weren’t delivering, local grocery stores weren’t delivering. Grubhub, Ubereats, Door Dash…NOTHING. We desperatly tried and tried to place orders but soon after they were placed, they would get canceled. Yet we kept trying because we very literally had no choice. Roadside Assistance and all local towing companies were completely backed up. Cars were literally stuck EVERYWHERE! Blocking streets, blocking mountain paths, blocking everything. We very literally couldn’t leave and had absolutely nobody who could help us. So thankful that the cabin management company allowed for us to stay an an extra night. We truly had no way to leave!
Stuck on a mountain.
We basically spent all of Saturday on our phones trying to find someone to help us with our car and trying to find ANYWHERE to deliver us food (all with a HORRIBLE Internet connection)! We placed Instacart order after Instacart order and restaurant order after restaurant order and they all would inevidbly just get canceled. At this point we were tired, hungry, and feeling pretty helpless.
Our kids…omg our kids…they were WONDERFUL through all of this! They kept themselves busy while we tried to figure all of this out. We played Go Fish, Uno, and Family Trivial Pursuit to pass the time all while still trying to find someone on our phones to help us. I taught them the quote “You can’t always control what happens but you can always control how you react”. It was a perfect time for a life lesson!
And then…HOPE! After 2 days of searching, we finally found a pizza restaurant that agreed to deliver to us! We watched and watched the GPS as the car got closer and closer to us and when it was 1 minute away…it encountered a truck blocking the street and couldn’t get through. The delivery driver turned around and we were once again left hungry, frustrated, and exhausted.
About an hour later, we received a notification that another restaurant was coming (at this point we had placed multiple orders with multiple restaurants and would have gladly accepted ALL of them if need be) and….
THEY CAME!!!!
Our excitment was short lived though. Our order was for Jon S. and we received an order for John L. At this point, all we could do was laugh and dig in to John L’s food. Let’s just say that John L. had apparently placed a VERY different order than Jon S….but by this point, nobody cared. WE HAD FOOD. I don’t eat anything spicy and I hate rye bread. Corned beef with spicy mustard on rye bread??? YES PLEASE! I literally ate every last crumb. John L. wherever you are, I hope you enjoyed my turkey on whole wheat…
Once we ate, everything seemed better. Yes we were still stuck on a mountain but we were stuck on a mountain with a bit of food and power. However, we had no toothbrushes because I had thrown them away when packing by flashlight that morning. Does anyone else do that? Every time we go on vacation, I always throw our toothbrushes (and shower loofahs) away before we return home! Usually when I do that, it’s ok because we go home the same day. This time however, I maaaaaay have done that a bit prematurily. Oops.
Garbage that we couldn’t take outside because the bear proof garbage cans were locked…and the lock froze!
The next morning the very first thing we did was to search for a restaurant to deliver us both breakfast and lunch at the same time. The roads were a bit clearer by this point, it was no longer Christmas, and we continued to put a massive tip on our order. WE FOUND A RESTAURANT TO DELIVER TO US.
1 hour later and we had ice cold scrambled eggs, soggy pancakes, brown banana slices, and strange looking meats. It was one of the most delicious meals of my entire life and I was thankful for every single bite!!! I will never, ever take food for granted ever again.
We spent the entire morning once again on our phones trying to find a towing service to come and help us to get our car out of the ditch. A few claimed that they would get to us…as soon as they could. It did not look promising. Jon spent time scraping 1/4 of the massive driveway with a tiny windshield ICE SCRAPER because there wasn’t a shovel anywhere to be found. It was nuts!
If you know me in real life you know that I always try to find the humor in every situation. The snow shaped like a penis outside of our cabin made me smile!
By this point, we were slowly starting to accept the fact that we would be spending another night when suddenly…our angel showed up. A random man who was driving around the mountain with his Jeep and a towing rope just looking for people who needed help. WE NEEDED HELP! Him and Jon worked together and somehow were able to get our car OUT. There was a tiny few seconds where we thought Jon’s car might roll over down the driveway with him inside of it but I’m skipping over that part because it was terrifying. Bottom line…the car was OUT and now safely at the BOTTOM of the driveway.
The ditch where our car was. I think our tires might have mud permanently on them from now on!
It was 3:00 pm. Jon wanted to be home for work in the morning which left us with only one option: leave as soon as possible. NOT ideal to leave at 3:00 pm when you have a 12 hour drive ahead of you but we had no choice! The kids and I scrambled to repack everything while Jon walked each piece of luggage down the sheet of ice that was our ridiculously long and steep driveway. It was insane.
Once Jon loaded the car, he had to help the kids and I make our way down the ridiculously icy driveway. It was scary.
Our car ride home was LONG. Longest car ride of my entire life. When we walked in the door of our house at 2:30 in the morning (exactly 12 hours after we left because there was a time change), I was so thankful to be safely at home.
Looking back on our time in Tennessee, I am choosing to remember the amaaaaazing 3/4 of our time there! I’m also feeling very blessed in knowing that our situation in that cabin could have been much, much worse. We had each other and that was all we needed (although heat, lights, COFFEE, and food were all very much appreciated).
Thank you for allowing me to share a bit of my personal life with you today! Obviously you can tell that I spent time reading while in Tennessee. I read an AMAZING book on this trip! It was almost 400 pages, I devoured it while in that cabin, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. I’ll post my full review of it here on Wednesday!
As for now, I’m currently reading this book. It’s about people who rent a luxurious cabin on top of a mountain, get snowed in without power, and then start DYING. Thank GOD I started reading this once I safely got back home, reading this while stuck on that mountain would most definitely NOT have been a good choice, lol. Crazy to think that I actually DID have it with me in my suitcase! Thankfully it remained unopened until I was safely back in my own house with lots of power and lots of food 🙂
Happy New Year!
Xo,
Jenny
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Thank you for all of your support on my last post “The 12 Best Books I’ve Read in 2020” (you can read that post HERE)! So many of you read it that it is now the most viewed post that I’ve ever written on this blog 🙂 I absolutely love sharing my book suggestions with you and I’m SO excited to share another AWESOME book with you today! Samantha M. Bailey’s Woman on the Edge had been on my to read radar for months ever since my friend Melissa read it and told me how much she had loved it (check out Melissa’s wonderful book review blog HERE). I was SUPER excited when my copy came in at the library and I immediately raced to pick it up! Once I started reading and I told Melissa how much I was enjoying it, she so kindly introduced Samantha M. Bailey and I. I’ve truly loved communicating with Samantha over the past few months…she’s not only an AMAZING writer but a super sweet person. Thank you so much, Samantha and thank you to Melissa for introducing us 🙂 I’m so excited to share Samantha’s AWESOME book debut with all of you today and to host a GIVEAWAY for it as well!
Goodreads Synopsis of Woman on the Edge {Samantha M. Bailey}:
A total stranger on the subway platform whispers, “Take my baby.”
She places her child in your arms. She says your name.
Then she jumps…
In a split second, Morgan Kincaid’s life changes forever. She’s on her way home from work when a mother begs her to take her baby, then places the infant in her arms. Before Morgan can stop her, the distraught mother jumps in front of an oncoming train.
Morgan has never seen this woman before, and she can’t understand what would cause a person to give away her child and take her own life. She also can’t understand how this woman knew her name.
The police take Morgan in for questioning. She soon learns that the woman who jumped was Nicole Markham, prominent CEO of the athletic brand Breathe. She also learns that no witness can corroborate her version of events, which means she’s just become a murder suspect.
To prove her innocence, Morgan frantically retraces the last days of Nicole’s life. Was Nicole a new mother struggling with paranoia or was she in danger? When strange things start happening to Morgan, she suddenly realizes she might be in danger, too.
Woman on the Edge is a pulse-pounding, propulsive thriller about the lengths to which a woman will go to protect her baby—even if that means sacrificing her own life.
My Review of Woman on the Edge {Samantha M. Bailey}:
This book was GREAT.
As you know, short chapters are my favorite and this book was PERFECT. Chapters that are only a few pages long make it SO easy to FLY through a book that was exactly what happened here. I also appreciated that this story was only told from only 2 alternating points of view. More than that and it would have been confusing. 2 was perfection.
As someone who lived in downtown Chicago for 8 years, I absolutely LOVED all of the street references. My exact neighborhood was a major reference in this story!
This book had so many twists. Just when I would think I had the ending all figured out, something would happen to make me completely change my mind. LOVE. I was completely invested in this story and these characters. I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out how everything was going to end! Kept me guessing right up until the very end. I truly couldn’t put this book down.
I absolutely love the writing in this book and I am eagerly looking forward to future works by Samantha M. Bailey! This is her debut novel…and what a wonderful debut it is.
As someone who lived in downtown Chicago for many years, I absolutely loved reading about the streets, neighborhoods, etc. I was shocked to learn that you live in Canada! Have you ever lived in Chicago? If not, how did you conduct your research to learn each neighborhood’s personality so perfectly?
Thank you! I’m so happy to know I got it right! I’ve never lived in Chicago, but I’ve visited, though it was when I was much younger. For my debut, I wanted an American city to reach a wider audience and because it felt too close to home to set it in Toronto, where I live. When I was thinking about which city I wanted, Chicago felt so right because it seems to have a similar landscape, architecture, diversity, and sensibility to Toronto, which helped me envision it. Because my budget didn’t extend to traveling, I relied on Google, Google Earth, and the little person who walks along the streets in Google Maps. I was also lucky that my copy editor, Erica Ferguson, lived in Chicago so she could tell me when my characters were driving into the lake.
How did you choose the names for the characters in Woman on the Edge?
It was such a process! It always is for me. I look at baby name websites for the years my characters were born and wait for the right name to hit me. But as I revised, I changed the names of many of the characters, like Morgan, because with edits I would re-imagine who the characters are. In my next book, I’ve already changed characters’ names a few times, and I’ll probably change them again.
This book explores many themes including mental health, motherhood, marriage, friendship, and love. Of these themes, which was the hardest for you to write? Which was the easiest? Why?
I don’t think any of the themes were easy for me, except maybe the love a mother has for her child. Even that, though, is deeply emotional for me. While I didn’t experience postpartum depression myself and depended on the struggles of my friends, ones I watched firsthand and those they generously shared with me, I definitely felt anxiety about being the best mother I could to my own two children. It’s such a sudden, shocking, beautiful, frightening life change when your baby is put in your arms for the first time. Writing about Nicole’s struggles was complex and cathartic, as was writing about suicide, loss, relationships, and family. I’m grateful to have an incredibly loving and supportive family and the best friends in the world, which helps, I think, to separate my own life from my characters’ so I can really dig deep.
Woman on the Edge was such an amazing debut, I’d love to hear more about your future literary plans. Are you working on another book? Can you tell us anything about it? If you aren’t currently working on another book, what type of book (if any) can you see yourself working on in the future?
This means so much to me. Releasing a debut is both joyous and scary, and doing so in 2020 has been a roller coaster. Besides my family and friends, what’s kept me grounded during the pandemic has been writing my next thriller. Writing is where I put my fears and worries, and it helps me handle them when I can unleash them on my characters. I’m so thankful to you, Jenny, and the entire book community for giving me the career I’ve longed for. I just finished my draft of my untitled-for-now next book, set in Canada, that is about middle-aged motherhood, obsession, addiction, neighbors, and…a dead body. It’s tentatively slated to release in late 2021, but until then, the mass market paperback of Woman on the Edge is up for pre-order and out on February 23, 2021.
***GIVEAWAY DETAILS***
Would you like to win an electronic copy of Woman on The Edge? I have 1 ebook to give away (open to US and Canada only for this giveaway)!
To be entered, just leave a comment below (on this blog post)! Your comment can be about anything!
**You must comment below to be eligible for the giveaway and you must comment here on this blog post (not on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)**
Giveaway will close tomorrow (10/17/20) at 6:00 pm CDT and the winner will be randomly chosen and announced here on my blog on Friday (10/18/20).
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 winners to email me which email address where you would like your ebook sent. If I don’t hear from you within 48 hours, I will pick a new winner).
Good luck! Can’t wait to read your comments!
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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Today I give you my list of the 12 Best Books I Read in 2020. I read many AMAZING (and unfortunately many not so amazing) books this year but this list contains my absolute FAVORITES.
2020 has been quite the year. This year has taken away SO MUCH but luckily books has NOT been one of them. Reading has always been my favorite hobby and I’ve never been more thankful for it than I have in 2020. There is a lovely quote by Mason Cooley which states, “Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.” How TRUE is that…especially this year?!?
We drove through an AMAZING holiday light show last week! This 2020 sign was absolutely stunning in person!
Some of these books were released this year, some were released earlier. This list was not an easy one for me to narrow down and create! If you haven’t read any of these books, I very obviously highly recommend ALL OF THEM!
If you are a regular blog reader, you know that I always include my “bottom line” on the bottom of my reviews which is a quick way for me to recap my feelings. I thought it would be fun to list these books only by the bottom line that I gave to them in my reviews. Click these bottom lines to take you directly to my review of each book (including the synopsis for each book).
In no particular order, I present to you my absolute favorite books that I’ve read in 2020 (and I have read A LOT of books this year):
What are the best books you have read this year? Have you read any of the books on my Top 12 list? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
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!*
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Book Coffee Happy 