The First Book I Put Down Without Finishing in 2022

The First Book I Put Down Without Finishing in 2022

It was bound to happen sooner or later. I’ve been on such a GREAT reading streak…since…NOVEMBER! I’ve read some amaaaaazing books over the past few months!

A few weeks ago I asked which of these books should be my next read:

I even created an Instagram poll asking for your thoughts which yielded a completely inconclusive result….so…I was forced to make the decision on my own.

Aaaaaaaand I made the wrong choice.

The First Book I Put Down Without Finishing in 2022:

Goodreads Synopsis of Tweet Cute {Emma Lord}:

Meet Pepper, swim team captain, chronic overachiever, and all-around perfectionist. Her family may be falling apart, but their massive fast-food chain is booming ― mainly thanks to Pepper, who is barely managing to juggle real life while secretly running Big League Burger’s massive Twitter account.

Enter Jack, class clown and constant thorn in Pepper’s side. When he isn’t trying to duck out of his obscenely popular twin’s shadow, he’s busy working in his family’s deli. His relationship with the business that holds his future might be love/hate, but when Big League Burger steals his grandma’s iconic grilled cheese recipe, he’ll do whatever it takes to take them down, one tweet at a time.

All’s fair in love and cheese ― that is, until Pepper and Jack’s spat turns into a viral Twitter war. Little do they know, while they’re publicly duking it out with snarky memes and retweet battles, they’re also falling for each other in real life ― on an anonymous chat app Jack built.

As their relationship deepens and their online shenanigans escalate ― people on the internet are shipping them?? ― their battle gets more and more personal, until even these two rivals can’t ignore they were destined for the most unexpected, awkward, all-the-feels romance that neither of them expected.

This book is…fine. Eh. Felt like a YA novel. Yes, it IS a YA novel but the best YA novels don’t FEEL like Ya novels. Does that make sense? This book is written for teenagers. As all YA novels are! However, I think a good YA novel can and should appeal to adults as well. This one did not.

It wasn’t bad, it was just…boring. So boring. And unrealistic. So unrealistic.

130 pages in and…I’m over it. Moving on.

Good bye wonderful reading streak. I have loved you so! The CUTEST holiday book series, Nanny Needed, The Last Chance Library, My Darling Husband, and a few more wonderful books with blog reviews coming soon!

So what am I reading next?

Obvi.

Goodreads Synopsis of Instamom {Chantel Guertin}:

It’s the influencer’s golden rule: know your niche. Kit Kidding has found hers on Instagram, where she gets paid to promote brands and share expertly curated posts about her fun, fabulous, child-free life. Kit likes kids just fine, but she passionately believes that women who choose not to become mothers shouldn’t have to face guilt. Or judgement. Or really hot chefs who turn out to be single dads.

Will MacGregor is aggravating, sexy, persistent, averse to social media, and definitely a bad idea. As soon as Kit learns his parenting status, she vows to put their scorching one-night stand behind her and move on. But Will and Kit are thrown together on an Instagram campaign, and the more time she spends with him—and his whip-smart, eight-year-old daughter, Addie—the more difficult it is to stay away, much less sustain what Will so cleverly calls her “Resting Beach Face.” Kit’s picture-perfect career path is suddenly clashing with the possibility of a different future—messy, complicated, and real. Which life does she truly want? Will she have to re-invent herself? And will love still be waiting by the time she figures it out?

Fingers crossed I love it!

Happy Friday! I hope your weekend is filled with love and BOOKS!

Have you read either of these books? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below (absolutely no spoilers please)!

Xo,

Jenny

Click the images below to order the books through my Amazon affiliate links. When you order through these links, 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)*

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The 13 best books I read in 2021 can be found HERE

Book Coffee Happy’s 12 most viewed posts of 2021 can be found HERE

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My 2nd Audiobook…Which Book Did I Select?

My 2nd Audiobook…Which Book Did I Select?

FAVORITE SEASON! FAVORITE WEATHER!
Snow Happy ❄️

I have been on the library waitlist for this one for WEEKS and my name doesn’t appear to be moving up anytime soon. My new hobby is proving yet again that audiobooks can be SO much easier to get a hold of (although you really aren’t holding anything? I digress.). As soon as I finished listening to my last audiobook, I immediately started the search for my next audiobook. I typed in the title of this one and…IT. WAS. THERE. Just waiting for me to download. It took 5 seconds. Audible FOR THE WIN.

My 2nd Audiobook:

Goodreads Synopsis of Reminders of Him {Colleen Hoover}:

After serving five years in prison for a tragic mistake, Kenna Rowan returns to the town where it all went wrong, hoping to reunite with her four-year-old daughter. But the bridges Kenna burned are proving impossible to rebuild. Everyone in her daughter’s life is determined to shut Kenna out, no matter how hard she works to prove herself.

The only person who hasn’t closed the door on her completely is Ledger Ward, a local bar owner and one of the few remaining links to Kenna’s daughter. But if anyone were to discover how Ledger is slowly becoming an important part of Kenna’s life, both would risk losing the trust of everyone important to them.

The two form a connection despite the pressure surrounding them, but as their romance grows, so does the risk. Kenna must find a way to absolve the mistakes of her past in order to build a future out of hope and healing.

I will post my thoughts as soon as I finish listening! Have you read this one? I’d love to hear your thoughts but ABSOLUTELY NO SPOILERS PLEASE!

Mia and Nattie: One Great Team Giveaway Winners Video:

Thank you so much to everyone who entered! I hope you are having a wonderful day and are reading (or listening) to a wonderful book!

Xo,

Jenny

Click the images below to order the books through my Amazon affiliate links. When you order through these links, 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*

The 13 best books I read in 2021 can be found HERE

Book Coffee Happy’s 12 most viewed posts of 2021 can be found HERE

My First Audiobook!

My First Audiobook!

When the jar of peanut butter has about 1 tbsp left, eat your oatmeal directly out of the jar. It’s the BEST and I’ve been doing this for years. You’re welcome. (My favorite: vanilla nonfat greek yogurt, steel cut oats, chia seeds, blueberries, banana, and obviously peanut butter).

I finally did it…I LISTENED to my first ever book!

I have never understood the appeal of an audiobook. I love the feel of a book in my hands! I love turning pages! I love the smell of books (it’s a thing). I love everything about books…why in the world would someone ever want to LISTEN to a book?!?

YEARS ago I wrote a blog post about this very topic. You can read that post HERE.

My First Audiobook

But then a few weeks ago, I went to take a walk. And none of the podcasts that I usually listen to while walking sounded interesting. And I thought, “MAN I wish I could read a book while taking a walk” and then BAM. I realized that perhaps I COULD?!?

I immediately downloaded Audible to my phone and about 5 seconds later I had my pick of what felt like millions of books. That I could LISTEN to while on a walk. Holy crap.

So I picked a book that has been on my list to read for a while (I’ll reveal the title in my next post!) and literally 5 seconds later….it popped up on my phone ready for me to listen.

Daaaaamn that was EASY.

Still skeptical, I started my walk and focused on the story being told to me. And exactly 15 days later I finished listening to the “book”.

Pros

CONVENIENT. I listened to bits and pieces of this book whenever I had a few minutes to spare. Driving in my car, folding laundry, out on a walk, making a meatloaf, walking on the track at the gym, etc.

If you have a long commute or a road trip…this would pass the time in such a great way!

The Audible app is SO EASY to use and makes it so easy to listen to pieces here and there.

Cons

While reading a physical book, I often go back to passages earlier in the book to help me remember a character, a conversation, etc. Can’t do that with an audiobook!

The narrators disgusing their voices to sound like other characters is cheesy and often times annoying. The man talking like a child, the lady talking like the man, etc. Just when I would start to get used to it, the voice would change! The lady imitating the man’s voice suddenly switched to a male narrator whose voice was completely diffrerent.

When there was a converstaion written like a script, the narrator would say the person’s name first and it was ANNOYING. Here’s an example:

Jenny: I like that shirt.

Amy: Thank you! It was a present!

Jenny: Who gave it to you?

Amy: Beth and Barbara!

Now read that converstaion aloud but actually SAY the names of each person talking first. HOW ANNOYING IS THAT?!? Imagine listening to this conversation for 20 minutes at a time throughout the book. Couldn’t the narrator just have switched voices or something? I hated that.

So here’s the million dollar question and the one that ALL book bloggers disagree on. Does listening to an audiobook count as reading? My answer (although not a popular one…don’t come at me) has always been and continues to be NO. Did I LISTEN to a book? Absolutely. Did I READ a book? I did not. If someone listens to a book and claims they have read it…I mean…that’s not the same thing.

So my final conclusion?

Give me a physical book over an audiobook ANY DAY.

HOWEVER, I kind of loved it.

I suddenly have so much more time in my day for “reading” while doing other things! It’s extremely convenient and I have already started listening to my 2nd audiobook. (Please note that I called it exactly what it is…an AUDIObook. Not a book. Books are entirely different).

This makes me wonder…now that I have ventured into the world of nontraditional book formats, should I mayyyyyyyyyyyybe try reading an ebook???

If you listen to audiobooks, any tips for me? Is Audible the best app for this or is there a better way?

Do you think listening to an audiobook counts as “reading”?

Should I now try finally reading my first ebook?

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!*

*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 13 best books I read in 2021 can be found HERE

Book Coffee Happy’s 12 most viewed posts of 2021 can be found HERE

Book Coffee Happy’s 12 Most Viewed Posts of 2021

Book Coffee Happy’s 12 Most Viewed Posts of 2021

Oh man, Blogmas. I tried!!! The official Blogmas goal is to post every single day in December from December 1st until Christmas. I made it to the 21st before life and a magical staycation in downtown Chicago got in the way of completing the goal. I’m super proud that I was able to post as much as I did and I’m already planning next year’s Blogmas schedule! Such a fun thing for bloggers to do. I actually really loved doing it which is quite surprising considering my reservations about it (you can watch the video of me sharing my thoughts on that HERE). So until next year, Blogmas…it’s been fun!

So today is 12/29 and although I was thinking I would take this time off from blogging, I thought I would share a little recap of Book Coffee Happy’s most viewed posts from the past year! Seems weird to post something like this in January, lol.

I love writing my little hobby so much and it warms my heart that so many of you love reading it! Thank you for all of your kind words and support throughout the years. Book Coffee Happy is just getting started…I’ve got some big plans for this little blog in 2022!

I always find my analytics so interesting and I love to see which posts are the most viewed by you. Most of the highly viewed posts on my blog make perfect sense to me but some….do NOT, lol.

Here in order from the 12th most viewed post of 2021 to the #1 most viewed post of 2021

#12

Sex. Hot, Steamy Sex. And so Much More…This Book is AWESOME.

I’m so glad that so many of you have read this post because I LOVE THAT BOOK SO MUCH! Aaaaaaand now I’m wondering if starting blog posts that start with the word “Sex” might just be a wonderful attention grabber, lol…???

#11

I was Wrong. So Very Wrong. This Book is AMAZING.

I wrote this post in 2020 and I’m so glad that so many of you are still reading it in 2021. This book is beautiful! I spent waaaaaaay too long resisting it and I’m so glad I finally read it. Highly, highly recommend this gorgeous book.

#10

My Top Book Recommendations

The fact that this is one of my most visited posts of 2021 comes as zero surprise. It’s a book blog…obviously people want to know my top book recommendations! I actually wrote that post back in 2019! I’m thinking an updated post should be on the 2022 agenda…

#9

One of the Best Books I’ve Ever Read

Oh I love this book so much. I’m so glad so many of you have read this post and have read this book as a result.

#8

The Best Book I Have Ever Read.

I mean….with a title like that, I’m not surprised that this post is so popular. I’m so glad it is…READ THAT BOOK.

#7

Book Review: The Housekeeper {Natalie Barelli}

I honestly have NO IDEA why this post is so highly visited. I can barely even remember the book let alone the post? For some reason, this post continuously gets so much traffic and it blows my mind.

#6

Book Review (Unpopular Opinion): Then She Was Gone {Lisa Jewell}

I’m honestly not sure why people love this book OR this blog post, lol???

#5

**DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK** Book Review: Tampa {Alissa Nutting}

Oh god I hate that I’m even including this VILE book on here because the very last thing I want to do is to draw attention to it. This book is DISGUSTING. I’ve never, ever said this about a book before but please don’t buy it.

#4

The 12 Best Books I Read in 2020

YES. I still stand by every single one!

#3

Why I Stopped Reading The House in the Cerulean Sea {TJ Klune}…But You Shouldn’t!

Eh this book. I just couldn’t do it.

#2

Why I Stopped Reading The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo {Taylor Jenkins Reid}…But You Shouldn’t!

So this blog post has an insane amount of traffic to it EVERY SINGLE DAY from alllll around the globe. I honestly don’t know why but it literally has had so many thousands of page views and that kind of blows my mind.

#1

I Was Stuck On A Mountain in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Well this comes at NO SURPRISE considering this post went viral last winter when Google put it on their homepage! It was super exciting and thanks to Google, thousands and thousands and THOUSANDS of new readers have since found my little blog. You can read the insane and awesome story of when it was on Google’s homepage HERE! This week is the 1 year anniversary of being stuck on that mountain….what a craaaaaazy vacation that was!

Blogmas 2021 Posts:

12/1: Welcome to Blogmas 2021 {Video}!

12:2: BLOGMAS: Birthday Giveaway {Amazon Gift Card}!

12/3: BLOGMAS Book Review: One Day in December {Josie Silver}

12/4: BLOGMAS: My Birthday Visit to Barnes and Noble!

12/5: BLOGMAS: 3 Library Books I Recently Returned Without Reading

12/6: BLOGMAS Book Review: The Christmas Wedding {James Patterson}

12/7: BLOGMAS: (Non Holiday) Book Review: Other People’s Children {R.J. Hoffmann}

12/8: BLOGMAS: I Bought 5 New Books!

12/9: BLOGMAS: 8 Holiday Books I Want To Read

12/10: BLOGMAS: Must Have Book Accessory #4

12/11: BLOGMAS: The Holiday Drinks Book Tag

12/12: BLOGMAS: Book Review (Non Holiday): The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend {Katrina Bivald}

12/13: BLOGMAS: Book I’m Currently Reading, Coffee I’m Currently Drinking, I Thing Currently Making me HAPPY!

12/14: BLOGMAS: (Non Holiday) Book Review: The Photographer {Mary Dixie Carter}

12/15: BLOGMAS: 6 Books I Want To Read in 2022

12/16: BLOGMAS: GIVEAWAY {Amazon Gift Card}! Book Coffee Happy Readers Are The KINDEST!

12/17: BLOGMAS: A Change In My December Reading Plans!

12/18: BLOGMAS: The 13 Best Books I Read in 2021

12/19: BLOGMAS: Books To Give As Gifts

12/20: BLOGMAS Book Series Review: The Winter Novels 1-3 {Joanne Demaio}

12/21: BLOGMAS: {Video} Favorite Reading Accessories #5 and #6

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

The 13 best books I read in 2021 can be found HERE

BLOGMAS: {Video} Favorite Reading Accessories #5 and #6

BLOGMAS: Favorite Reading Accessories #5 and #6

Hiiiii!

How are you? I hope you are having a wonderful week filled with love and joy. My kids are home for winter break and I couldn’t be happier…I absolutely LOVE having them home! Today we made beaded jewelry and played with magnetic dinosaurs. I hope that whatever you are doing this week brings you happiness whether you celebrate Christmas or not 🙂

I have 2 more WONDERFUL reading accessories for you today! You can read about my past reading accessory recommendations here:

My #1 Must Have Book Accessory

My #2 Must Have Book Accessory

Another Book Accessory Recommendation!

A Sad Day.

BLOGMAS: Must Have Book Accessory #4

Favorite Reading Accessory #5: Electric Fireplace

So we have a real fireplace and I hate it. Give me an electric fireplace any day over the real deal! No smelly ash, nothing to clean, no logs to worry about. A simple switch to “ON” and that’s all? YES PLEASE!

My first experience with an electric fireplace was when we stayed at an Airbnb in Michigan last fall (different trip but you can read about where we stay HERE…we have rented the same Airbnb 4 times now)! From the second I turned that electric fireplace on…I. WAS. HOOKED. Omg it was positively DREAMY! Beautiful “flames” and warmth? PERFECTION.

As soon as we got home, I texted the owner of the Airbnb to tell her how obsessed I was with her electric fireplace and how I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

And then on my birthday last year, I opened the BEST GIFT from my husband:

It’s beautiful. I love that it’s bronze, I love that it’s small, I love everything about it.

For those first few days, I LOVED every single thing about this new addition to our home. It was small, it was beautiful, and it was WARM.

And then…it wasn’t warm. Still small, still beautiful, but…not warm. Hmmm.

Did I care? I really didn’t! By this point I was so in love with it that a little thing like heat didn’t really matter to me. That wasn’t the point anyway! I just wanted something pretty to look at while I was reading and this most definitely fit the bill.

Favorite Reading Accessory #6: Fire Crackler!!!

Immediately after I opened my birthday fireplace, my son handed me his wrapped gift. I opened it and was instantly IN LOVE!

A FIRE CRACKLER! It makes all of the sounds of a real fireplace with the push of a button. Omg it’s AWESOME.

I made this video so that you can hear it for yourself:

Fun Fact: I NEVER call it a “crackler”…I ALWAYS call it my “cackler”. I’ve even got my kids only calling it “Mommy’s Cackler”, lol. So there you have it…my perfect reading scenario. Beautiful “flames”, beautiful sounds, NO SMELLY FIREPLACE ASH.

Do you have an electric fireplace? Do you prefer real or electric? GIVE ME ELECTRIC ANYDAY! Add in a “cackler” and it’s reading perfection for me!

Blogmas 2021 Posts:

12/1: Welcome to Blogmas 2021 {Video}!

12:2: BLOGMAS: Birthday Giveaway {Amazon Gift Card}!

12/3: BLOGMAS Book Review: One Day in December {Josie Silver}

12/4: BLOGMAS: My Birthday Visit to Barnes and Noble!

12/5: BLOGMAS: 3 Library Books I Recently Returned Without Reading

12/6: BLOGMAS Book Review: The Christmas Wedding {James Patterson}

12/7: BLOGMAS: (Non Holiday) Book Review: Other People’s Children {R.J. Hoffmann}

12/8: BLOGMAS: I Bought 5 New Books!

12/9: BLOGMAS: 8 Holiday Books I Want To Read

12/10: BLOGMAS: Must Have Book Accessory #4

12/11: BLOGMAS: The Holiday Drinks Book Tag

12/12: BLOGMAS: Book Review (Non Holiday): The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend {Katrina Bivald}

12/13: BLOGMAS: Book I’m Currently Reading, Coffee I’m Currently Drinking, I Thing Currently Making me HAPPY!

12/14: BLOGMAS: (Non Holiday) Book Review: The Photographer {Mary Dixie Carter}

12/15: BLOGMAS: 6 Books I Want To Read in 2022

12/16: BLOGMAS: GIVEAWAY {Amazon Gift Card}! Book Coffee Happy Readers Are The KINDEST!

12/17: BLOGMAS: A Change In My December Reading Plans!

12/18: BLOGMAS: The 13 Best Books I Read in 2021

12/19: BLOGMAS: Books To Give As Gifts

12/20: BLOGMAS Book Series Review: The Winter Novels 1-3 {Joanne Demaio}

Xo,

Jenny

Click the image below to order the fire crackler through my Amazon affiliate link (I’m not including a fireplace link or even sharing where it’s from since the heater broke within days, lol…but the fire crackler works GREAT). 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*

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

The 13 best books I read in 2021 can be found HERE

BLOGMAS Book Series Review: The Winter Novels 1-3 {Joanne Demaio}

BLOGMAS Book Series Review: The Winter Novels 1-3 {Joanne Demaio}

As I mentioned in THIS POST, I took Snow Deer and Cocoa Cheer (Book #2) from a Free Little Library last spring. It’s been sitting on my shelf for exactly 8 months just waiting for this holiday season so I could finally read it!

When I reached out to Joanne Demaio, she told me that each of these books are stand alone novels and they don’t need to be read in order. While I agree that you don’t NEED to read them in order, you really SHOULD read them all in order! I absolutely loved how characters would appear from book to book and I loved learning more about their stories as the books progressed. Start with book #1 and read these books in the order in which they were written! You’ll be so happy that you did. I started with Book #2 and although it was ok to then read book #1, I would HIGHLY recommend reading them in order. Just adds to the overall character and story development.

How STUNNING are these book covers??? Each one is more beautiful than the next!

Winter Novels Book Order:

Book #1 Snowflakes and Coffee Cakes

Book #2 Snow Deer and Cocoa Cheer

Book #3 Cardinal Cabin

Book #4 First Flurries

Book #5 Eighteen Winters

Book #6 Winter House

So I started with Snow Deer and Cocoa Cheer (Book #2) and absolutely loved it. It didn’t take long for me to order the rest of the series on Amazon! HERE is the post where I discuss how I came to purchase the rest of the series.

And here’s a super weird thing. My copy of book #2 (the one that I got at the Free Little Library) smells AWESOME. I don’t know who owned this book before me or what she did to make it smell so beautiful but it’s wonderful and totally added to my enjoyment while reading. Perfume? Body spray? Air freshener? Whatever it is, it smells heavenly…8 months after I brought it home! Thank you random stranger who donated to a Little Free Library! Xo!

This book series is EXACTLY what I needed for them to be. Light, fun, and so perfectly “Christmasy” (is that a word)? It’s like Hallmark movies in book form. Adorable town, adorable residents, adorable EVERYTHING.

During the calendar year I love to read all kinds of books…some light, some heavy, some dramatic, thrillers, mysteries, YA, psychological thrillers, etc. During the holiday season, I ONLY want to read light, adorable, holiday books! This series is PERFECTION.

I am 100 percent, completely in love with the fictional town of Addison, Connecticut. Omg what a DARLING town! I want to live there!

As much as I HATE that I stopped reading after Book #3, I made the decision to do so and to save the other 3 books to read during NEXT year’s holiday season! HERE is the post where I explain why.

Stay tuned: Book Coffee Happy Blogmas 2022 already has 3 books waiting to be reviewed…and I can tell you that I love them already without even cracking open the covers.

Will keep these 3 beautiful books safely in my “To Read Stack” until the 2022 holiday season!

Can’t read to return to Addison next Christmas!

Bottom Line:

Absolutely loving this series. Perfect books to read during the holiday season!

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

Blogmas 2021 Posts:

12/1: Welcome to Blogmas 2021 {Video}!

12:2: BLOGMAS: Birthday Giveaway {Amazon Gift Card}!

12/3: BLOGMAS Book Review: One Day in December {Josie Silver}

12/4: BLOGMAS: My Birthday Visit to Barnes and Noble!

12/5: BLOGMAS: 3 Library Books I Recently Returned Without Reading

12/6: BLOGMAS Book Review: The Christmas Wedding {James Patterson}

12/7: BLOGMAS: (Non Holiday) Book Review: Other People’s Children {R.J. Hoffmann}

12/8: BLOGMAS: I Bought 5 New Books!

12/9: BLOGMAS: 8 Holiday Books I Want To Read

12/10: BLOGMAS: Must Have Book Accessory #4

12/11: BLOGMAS: The Holiday Drinks Book Tag

12/12: BLOGMAS: Book Review (Non Holiday): The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend {Katrina Bivald}

12/13: BLOGMAS: Book I’m Currently Reading, Coffee I’m Currently Drinking, I Thing Currently Making me HAPPY!

12/14: BLOGMAS: (Non Holiday) Book Review: The Photographer {Mary Dixie Carter}

12/15: BLOGMAS: 6 Books I Want To Read in 2022

12/16: BLOGMAS: GIVEAWAY {Amazon Gift Card}! Book Coffee Happy Readers Are The KINDEST!

12/17: BLOGMAS: A Change In My December Reading Plans!

12/18: BLOGMAS: The 13 Best Books I Read in 2021

12/19: BLOGMAS: Books To Give As Gifts

Xo,

Jenny

Click the images below to order these books through my Amazon affiliate links. When you order through these links, I receive a tiny commission. Thank you for your support, Xo

Book #1:

Book #2:

Book #3:

Book #4:

Book #5:

Book #6:

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BLOGMAS Book Review: The Christmas Wedding {James Patterson}

BLOGMAS Book Review: Christmas Wedding {James Patterson}

I read this book last December while our family was on vacation in Tennessee. You might remember how I was stuck on a mountain during a blizzard with no power and low food supply? If not, you can read that crazy story HERE 🙂 While on that mountain, I read a very long, dramatic, and HEAVY book (review of that wonderful book HERE) and when I finished, I knew that my next read needed to be something much lighter. The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson (and Richard DiLallo!) was a perfect selection to read starting on the last day of our trip and review once I came back home!

The only issue was that I literally finished reading this book on December 31, 2020 and by December 31st…who wants to read a Christmas book?! I figured that I would wait and review this one during the appropriate holiday season, even if my review had to wait a year before I published it!

Goodreads Synopsis of The Christmas Wedding {James Patterson}:

The tree is decorated, the cookies are baked, and the packages are wrapped, but the biggest celebration this Christmas is Gaby Summerhill’s wedding. Since her husband died three years ago, Gaby’s four children have drifted apart, each consumed by the turbulence of their own lives. They haven’t celebrated Christmas together since their father’s death, but when Gaby announces that she’s getting married–and that the groom will remain a secret until the wedding day–she may finally be able to bring them home for the holidays.

But the wedding isn’t Gaby’s only surprise–she has one more gift for her children, and it could change all their lives forever. With deeply affecting characters and the emotional twists of a James Patterson thriller, The Christmas Wedding is a fresh look at family and the magic of the season.

My Review of The Christmas Wedding {James Patterson}:

This book is EXACTLY what I was hoping it would be. Light, quick, easy to read, nothing too deep. After just finishing my previous book, I NEEDED something LIGHT. This book was perfect.

My only complaint…how is this not a book series??? This book follows the lives of a big family and each has chapters dedicated to their stories. It reminded me SO MUCH of Elin Hilderbrand’s Winter series (if you haven’t read those books, READ. THOSE. BOOKS. You can check out my review of them HERE). The Christmas Wedding feels so little like a standalone novel…this family really should be a series.

I read this book over a few days but honestly could have easily read it in one sitting. It’s only 266 pages long (short like Winter Street) and composed of 64 teeny tiny chapters…my favorite!

And it has a cheat sheet with all of the characters! WHY DON’T ALL BOOKS DO THIS?!?!? First 3 pages of the book. I probably looked back at this “cheat sheet” 20 times while reading the rest of the book. There were a lot of characters in this book but this basic summary made it so easy to keep everyone straight. LOVE. I so wish every single book had something like this. You can read more about why I hate when books have too many characters HERE.

Bottom Line:

If you are looking for an easy holiday read, this book is great! I actually enjoyed it way more than I was expecting to.

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

Blogmas 2021 Posts:

12/1: Welcome to Blogmas 2021 {Video}!

12:2: BLOGMAS: Birthday Giveaway {Amazon Gift Card}!

12/3: BLOGMAS Book Review: One Day in December {Josie Silver}

12/4: BLOGMAS: My Birthday Visit to Barnes and Noble!

12/5: BLOGMAS: 3 Library Books I Recently Returned Without Reading

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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*”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

The 12 best books I read in 2020 can be found HERE

BLOGMAS Book Review: One Day in December {Josie Silver}

BLOGMAS Book Review: One Day in December {Josie Silver}

Ok first of all, OMG you guys left the kindest and most lovely comments on my LAST POST! I was overwhelmed by all of your sweet words, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love writing this little blog and I love that so many of you shared how much you love reading it! I promise to respond to all of your comments ASAP but in the meantime, please know how much they mean to me and how each one made me smile.

There is still time to enter the Amazon gift card giveaway! All entries must be made by 6:00 CDT tonight in order to qualify. All of the giveaway details can be found on yesterday’s post! Good luck!

Today I have a review for you of a book that I read LAST December:

Goodreads Synopsis of One Day in December {Josie Silver}:

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.

My Review of One Day in December {Josie Silver}:

I love Reese Witherspoon but MAN do I disagree with SO MANY of her book club picks!

Unfortunately this book was just not for me. I REALLY wanted to love it but sadly…I really didn’t.

This book felt looooooong. I won’t sugar coat it…I was so bored. The entire time. Even the “big” events somehow lacked the ability to feel big and the whole book just dragged for me.

A big part of the reason that I didn’t like this book was the fact that I didn’t like ANY of the characters. Each was so unlikable and so completely unrelatable in their own way!

The relationships between the characters in this book were so BEYOND flawed and many of the situations were so unrealistic. Ugh.

I LOVE romance. I LOVE fate and destiny and I LOVE Serendipity! This book was absolutely none of those.

The most annoying part? I waited for SUCH A LONG TIME to read this book because people say it’s a “holiday book” so obviously I had to read it in December. It’s NOT! Yes, the holidays are mentioned but overall I would NOT say this is a holiday book by any means. If you still want to read this book despite my scathing review, feel free to read it at any time throughout the year 🙂 If you are looking for an amazing holiday read, I highly recommend THESE BOOKS.

I was nervous to post the best books that I read in 2020 a few weeks before the year’s end in fear that I would read another book that should have been included in my list! Thankfully after reading this book, my list still stands firm, lol. I read this book at the very end of 2020! I have waited an entire year to post my review because…who wants to read a book called One Day in December during any other month? Not I!

Bottom Line:

392 pages….of nothing happening.

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

Blogmas 2021 Posts:

12/1: Welcome to Blogmas 2021 {Video}!

12/2: BLOGMAS: Birthday Giveaway {Amazon Gift Card}!

Xo,

Jenny

Clearly this book was not for me…but you might love it! 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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*”Like” my Facebook page (and please comment on, “like”, and share my posts)*

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The 12 Best Books I Read in 2020 can be found HERE

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

Welcome to Blogmas 2021 {Video}!

Blogmas 2021 is HERE and Book Coffee Happy is officially participating! Watch this short video which explains what Blogmas is, how Blogmas works, and why I’m so excited to finally be able for Book Coffee Happy to partake in the Blogmas fun:

Here’s to a fun month! Let’s do this!

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.*

*Leaving a positive review on my Facebook page*

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

The 12 best books I read in 2020 can be found HERE

Book Review (Unpopular Opinion): In My Dreams I Hold A Knife {Ashley Winstead}

Book Review (Unpopular Opinion): In My Dreams I Hold A Knife {Ashley Winstead}

I had said this in a blog post that I wrote a few weeks ago about In My Dreams I Hold A Knife {Ashley Winstead} and I still stand by these words today:

“It seems EVERYONE is reading this book right now and I’ve heard it’s AWESOME. I can’t wait to get started! If you are someone looking to read the latest book that EVERYONE will be reading and talking about…here you go :)”

Goodreads Synopsis of In My Dreams I Hold A Knife {Ashley Winstead}:

A college reunion turns dark and deadly in this chilling and propulsive suspense novel about six friends, one unsolved murder, and the dark secrets they’ve been hiding from each other—and themselves—for a decade.

Ten years after graduation, Jessica Miller has planned her triumphant return to southern, elite Duquette University, down to the envious whispers that are sure to follow in her wake. Everyone is going to see the girl she wants them to see—confident, beautiful, indifferent—not the girl she was when she left campus, back when Heather’s murder fractured everything, including the tight bond linking the six friends she’d been closest to since freshman year. Ten years ago, everything fell apart, including the dreams she worked for her whole life—and her relationship with the one person she wasn’t supposed to love.

But not everyone is ready to move on. Not everyone left Duquette ten years ago, and not everyone can let Heather’s murder go unsolved. Someone is determined to trap the real killer, to make the guilty pay. When the six friends are reunited, they will be forced to confront what happened that night—and the years’ worth of secrets each of them would do anything to keep hidden.

Told in racing dual timelines, with a dark campus setting and a darker look at friendship, love, obsession, and ambition, In My Dreams I Hold A Knife is an addictive, propulsive read you won’t be able to put down.

My Review of In My Dreams I Hold A Knife {Ashley Winstead}:

I didn’t love it and it CERTAINLY isn’t worthy of the hype it has created.

Before I get into all of the reasons why this book wasn’t for me, I must say that it is SUPER popular right now and many other people LOVE it!

Now that I’ve cleared up that so many people love this book, I will indulge you with all of the reasons that I, in fact, did not.

I found each character more unlikeable, more immature, and more unrelatable than the next. These 20 somethings acted like children half the time! Some twists I found predictable, some I didn’t but overall I just didn’t love it. I found the entire book incredibly cliched and so, so cheesy.

The timelines in this book are allllllll over the place. Present, past, more recent past, back to present, more recent past, FAR away past, present, etc. I HATE WHEN BOOKS DO THIS. WHY DO BOOKS DO THIS????

Now all of that being said, it DID hold my interest long enough for me to actually finish reading it which is more than I can say for many of the other books I’ve been reading lately! So there’s that.

Bottom Line:

SO many people are loving this book! I am clearly not one of those people 😉

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

Xo,

Jenny

Clearly this book wasn’t for me…but you might love it! 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*

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

The 12 best books I read in 2020 can be found HERE