A Wonderful Book! Review: The Mothers {Genevieve Gannon}

Book Review: The Mothers {Genevieve Gannon}

Goodreads Synopsis of The Mothers {Genevieve Gannon}:

Grace and Dan Arden are in their forties and have been on the IVF treadmill since the day they got married. Six attempts have yielded no results, and with each failure a little piece of their hope dies.

Priya Laghari and her husband Nick Archer are being treated at the same fertility clinic, and while they don’t face the same time pressure as the Ardens, the younger couple have their own problems.

On the same day that Priya is booked for her next IVF cycle, Grace goes in for her final, last-chance embryo transfer. Two weeks later, both women get their results.

A year on, angry and heartbroken, one of the women learns her embryo was implanted in the other’s uterus and must make a devastating choice: live a childless life knowing her son is being raised by strangers or seek custody of a baby who has been nurtured and loved by another couple.

My Review of The Mothers {Genevieve Gannon}:

As a mother, this book absolutely shredded me. My poor heart BROKE while reading…what an impossibly horrific story.

It made me think…what truly makes a mother? Biology? Environment? Both? Neither?

I personally did not go through the IVF process but I know plenty of women who did…and I can’t even imagine reading this book having gone through that process.

As I was reading, I couldn’t help but wonder how this book was going to end. All I will say is that the ending was PERFECTION. Quite possibly one of the best written endings to a book I’ve ever read.

I absolutely loved this book for so many reasons. It was SO well written, extremely thought provoking, and incredibly beautiful.

And can we talk about the STUNNING cover? Absolutely gorgeous!

Bottom Line:

This book is absolutely brilliant.

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!*

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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

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What I’m Currently Reading (HEART POUNDING), What I Recently Read (Review ASAP), What I Think I’ll Read Next (Sounds Amazing)

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

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

I came across this gorgeous bookshelf while shopping today. How BEAUTIFUL are these books??

What Are You Currently Reading?

Omg this book. It’s so INTENSE! I’m almost done reading and I don’t think my poor heart will ever go back to beating calmly ever again. OMG.

Goodreads Synopsis of Bath Haus {P.J. Vernon}:

Oliver Park, a young recovering addict from Indiana, finally has everything he ever wanted: sobriety and a loving, wealthy partner in Nathan, a prominent DC trauma surgeon. Despite their difference in age and disparate backgrounds, they’ve made a perfect life together. With everything to lose, Oliver shouldn’t be visiting Haus, a gay bathhouse. But through the entrance he goes, and it’s a line crossed. Inside, he follows a man into a private room, and it’s the final line. Whatever happens next, Nathan can never know. But then, everything goes wrong, terribly wrong, and Oliver barely escapes with his life.

He races home in full-blown terror as the hand-shaped bruise grows dark on his neck. The truth will destroy Nathan and everything they have together, so Oliver does the thing he used to do so well: he lies.

What follows is a classic runaway-train narrative, full of the exquisite escalations, edge-of-your-seat thrills, and oh-my-god twists. P. J. Vernon’s Bath Haus is a scintillating thriller with an emotional punch, perfect for readers curious for their next must-read novel.

What Did You Recently Finish Reading?

I’ll post my review of this one ASAP!

Goodreads Synopsis of The Wife Upstairs:

A delicious twist on a Gothic classic, Rachel Hawkins’s The Wife Upstairs pairs Southern charm with atmospheric domestic suspense, perfect for fans of B.A. Paris and Megan Miranda.

Meet Jane. Newly arrived to Birmingham, Alabama, Jane is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates—a gated community full of McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives. The kind of place where no one will notice if Jane lifts the discarded tchotchkes and jewelry off the side tables of her well-heeled clients. Where no one will think to ask if Jane is her real name.

But her luck changes when she meets Eddie Rochester. Recently widowed, Eddie is Thornfield Estates’ most mysterious resident. His wife, Bea, drowned in a boating accident with her best friend, their bodies lost to the deep. Jane can’t help but see an opportunity in Eddie—not only is he rich, brooding, and handsome, he could also offer her the kind of protection she’s always yearned for.

Yet as Jane and Eddie fall for each other, Jane is increasingly haunted by the legend of Bea, an ambitious beauty with a rags-to-riches origin story, who launched a wildly successful southern lifestyle brand. How can she, plain Jane, ever measure up? And can she win Eddie’s heart before her past—or his—catches up to her?

With delicious suspense, incisive wit, and a fresh, feminist sensibility, The Wife Upstairs flips the script on a timeless tale of forbidden romance, ill-advised attraction, and a wife who just won’t stay buried. In this vivid reimagining of one of literature’s most twisted love triangles, which Mrs. Rochester will get her happy ending?

What Do You Think You’ll Read Next?

Goodreads Synopsis of Other People’s Children:

Gail and Jon Durbin moved to the Chicago suburbs to set up house as soon as Gail got pregnant. But then she miscarried—once, twice, three times. Determined to expand their family, the Durbins turn to adoption. When several adoptions fall through, Gail’s desire for a child overwhelms her.

Carli is a pregnant teenager from a blue-collar town nearby, with dreams of going to college and getting out of her mother’s home. When she makes the gut-wrenching decision to give her baby up for adoption, she chooses the Durbins. But Carli’s mother, Marla, has other plans for her grandbaby.

In Other People’s Children, three mothers make excruciating choices to protect their families and their dreams—choices that put them at decided odds against one another. You will root for each one of them and wonder just how far you’d go in the same situation. This riveting debut is a thoughtful exploration of love and family, and a heart-pounding page-turner you’ll find impossible to put down.

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

Xo,

Jenny

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

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

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

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

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

2 Books I Recently Started Reading…and Didn’t Finish.

I HATE starting books and not finish reading them. Absolutely HATE. It feels like such a waste of time…getting to know characters, immersing myself in story lines, etc. just to put the book down without finishing? Ugh.

Bookshelf at an antique store I visited a few weeks ago. Beautiful ❤️

I once wrote an entire post on abandoning books and I must admit…my thoughts on this have most definitely changed over time. Now I just stop reading as soon as I realize that I’m not EXCITED to pick up the book. Reading is my favorite hobby and as soon as it doesn’t feel fun, I’m OUT. Books should never feel like a chore and as an adult there is no required pleasure reading (professional reading, yes…but never pleasure reading).

Here are 2 books that I recently started reading and gave up before ever finding out what happened in the end.

Book #1 That I Started Reading and Didn’t Finish:

Goodreads Synopsis of Destination Wedding {Diksha Basu}:

Tina Das wants to belong, but she just isn’t sure where. India or America? Brooklyn or Bombay? Manhattan or Delhi? Or start from scratch in London–she still has fond memories of her one-night stand with Rocco Gallagher, the handsome Australian, as they traipsed through Covent Garden and Seven Dials, but he never called back so maybe it’s time to let that dream go, and focus on finding the next big story for her streaming network instead.

She’s hoping she’ll find it at her cousin’s lavish, weeklong Delhi wedding, and has taken her best friend Marianne Laing along for the ride to Delhi’s poshest country club, Colebrookes. Marianne has always had international tastes, in life and in love, yet can’t help but think of sweet, steady, khaki-clad Tom back home in New York.

Also in attendance are Tina’s divorced parents: her mother, Radha, who’s bringing her American “boyfriend,” David, to the wedding, and her father, Neel, who’s using the visit to India to explore the idea of dating again, only to discover it and he have both changed completely in the decades he’s been away.

Infused with warmth, charm, and wicked humor, Destination Wedding grapples with the challenges of work, love, and finding the people who make a place feel like home.

My Review of Destination Wedding {Diksha Basu}:

It PAINS me to write this review. I was SO EXCITED to read this book! I first mentioned it waaaaaaaay back in 2019 as one of the books that I couldn’t wait to read in 2020. I then mentioned it again when I was discussing my trip to the most amazing bookstore I’ve ever visited! That awesome store didn’t have Destination Wedding in stock (I asked!) but they did have THIS BOOK by the same author which I bought and ended up loving! A few months ago, my library FINALLY was able to locate a copy of Destination Wedding for me and I was READY. I was so prepared to love it!

I didn’t love it.

I was so BORED. It wasn’t a horrible book it was just…boring. I so badly wanted to feel SOMETHING while reading but the further I got into the book, the more bored I became. I stuck it out waaaaaay longer than I should have but I just so desperately wanted to love it. It became more and more clear that this was not the book for me when I continued to be completely disconnected from the characters and didn’t care what ended up happening in any of the storylines.

It literally PAINED me to put this book down after waiting YEARS to read it. Ugh.

Bottom Line:

Hands down my most disappointing book of 2021 thus far.

Aaaaaaaaand Book #2 That I Started Reading and Didn’t Finish:

Goodreads Synopsis of Are We There Yet {Kathleen West}:

Alice Sullivan feels like she’s finally found her groove in middle age, but it only takes one moment for her perfectly curated life to unravel. On the same day she learns her daughter is struggling in second grade, a call from her son’s school accusing him of bullying throws Alice into a tailspin.

When it comes to light that the incident is part of a new behavior pattern for her son, one complete with fake social media profiles with a lot of questionable content, Alice’s social standing is quickly eroded to one of “those moms” who can’t control her kids. Soon she’s facing the very judgement she was all too happy to dole out when she thought no one was looking (or when she thought her house wasn’t made of glass).

Then her mother unloads a family secret she’s kept for more than thirty years, and Alice’s entire perception of herself is shattered.

As her son’s new reputation polarizes her friendships and her family buzzes with the ramification of her mother’s choices, Alice realizes that she’s been too focused on measuring her success and happiness by everyone else’s standards. Now, with all her shortcomings laid bare, she’ll have to figure out to whom to turn for help and decide who she really wants to be.

My Review of Are We There Yet {Kathleen West}:

The writing was good! The depressing family drama…was not. Reading books about other people’s drama can be done in a way that the reader can find interesting. The way this book played out wasn’t interesting, it was…depressing. As a mother, reading about another mother’s struggles wasn’t interesting…it just made me feel sad.

I DO think there is probably a really wonderful and important life lesson within these pages but unfortunately I just didn’t care enough to stick around and find out.

Bottom Line:

I closed the cover and found myself YEARNING for a really wonderful book to read next. And BOY DID I FIND ONE! Review for that book will be posted here on Friday…one of the best books I’ve read all year! Stay tuned…

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

Xo,

Jenny

Clearly these books weren’t for me…but you might love them! 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)*

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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

The 1 Phrase That I WISH Authors Would Stop Using!

I have never written a book. I can’t even imagine how hard it ust be for authors to find words to convey to the reader the innermost thoughts and emotions in characters. That being said, there is 1 phrase that I WISH authors would stop using. I cringe every single time I read it and authors use it OFTEN.

Authors: STOP DARKENING THE EYES OF YOUR CHARACTERS.

Examples:

“His eyes darkened”

“Darkness spread over his eyes”

“His eyes suddenly went dark”

Like…What does that even MEAN? He intently stared? His eyebrows furrowed? He frowned?

The Oxford Dictionary’s definition of the work “darken” as a verb :

VERB

2 Make or become gloomy, angry, or unhappy.no object ‘his mood darkened’
1. 2.1 no object (of someone’s eyes or expression) show anger or another strong negative emotion.‘his face darkened and he lunged away’
2. 2.2 with object (of anger or another strong negative emotion) show in (someone’s eyes or expression)‘misery darkened her gaze’

Thanks Oxford. Still a stupid verb.

“His eyes got wide”…Ok so THIS I can understand because it actually is something physical that can happen. But…how does someone’s eyes go DARK?

Eyes suddenly darkening is my #1 most hated phrase in books and for some reason authors use it ALL THE TIME. I notice it each and every time and I hate it so, so much. It takes away from whatever scene I’m reading because all I can think is, “UGH! Not again! Whyyyyy???”

Other examples of things that I wish authors would stop doing can be found HERE and HERE!

Do you agree with me? What is an expression that authors use that you hate? 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:

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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

Psychological Thriller Book Review: The Wrong Family {Tarryn Fisher}

I hated the story of Tarryn Fisher’s The Wives but I didn’t actually hate the writing so I thought that maybe I would like The Wrong Family??? When I saw it on the shelf at my library, I decided it was time to read and review another one of Tarryn Fisher’s books. Maybe I would like this one better?

Goodreads Synopsis of The Wrong Family {Tarryn Fisher}:

Juno was wrong about Winnie Crouch.

Before moving in with the Crouch family, Juno thought Winnie and her husband, Nigel, had the perfect marriage, the perfect son—the perfect life. Only now that she’s living in their beautiful house, she sees the cracks in the crumbling facade are too deep to ignore.

Still, she isn’t one to judge. After her grim diagnosis, the retired therapist simply wants a place to live out the rest of her days in peace. But that peace is shattered the day Juno overhears a chilling conversation between Winnie and Nigel…

She shouldn’t get involved.

She really shouldn’t.

But this could be her chance to make a few things right.

Because if you thought Juno didn’t have a secret of her own, then you were wrong about her, too.

My Review of The Wrong Family {Tarryn Fisher}:

This book was a bit of a mess.

So many storylines, SO many insignificant characters, not nearly enough character or storyline development. The “twists” weren’t nearly as twisty as they could have been and my prediction for the ending would have been a million times better than the ending which I got.

I will say that there was one FASCINATING storyline in this book but…the rest of the storylines just fell so flat. I can’t elaborate on this as it would give away a huge spoiler and you know how I feel about spoilers 😉

It’s like 5 separate books with a million characters and storylines…and although they were supposed to all fit together at the end, they did not.

Bottom Line:

1 FASCINATING storyline. The rest of the book? Not nearly as fascinating.

Psychological Thrillers:

If you love psychological thrillers like I do, HERE are a few of my recommendations!

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

Xo,

Jenny

I wasn’t a fan of this book…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*

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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

My 2nd Sunshine Blogger Award

WHAT IS THE SUNSHINE BLOGGER AWARD?

The Sunshine Blogger Award is given to those who are creative, positive and inspiring while spreading sunshine to the blogging community.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you in a blog post and link back to their blog.
Answer the 11 questions sent by the person who nominated you.
Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog.

A huge thank you to Mani from Mani’s Book Corner for this nomination! If you have yet to check out her lovely blog, you must! She’s such a nice person and her book blog is wonderful.

My Answers to Mani’s Questions:

1. What’s the biggest book you have read?

Probably THIS BOOK…which is absolutely one of the very best books I’ve ever read!

2. What was your favourite book when you were a kid?

The Baby-Sitters Club! I read every single one and LOVED them all. Team Claudia and Stacey forever 🙂 My daughter is reading the graphic novels now and she’s obsessed with them!

3. What’s the last film/TV show you watched?

iCarly! My daughter and I are working our way through the series before the reboot comes out next week! She’s already watched the whole series but is rewatching them with me. We snuggle up in my bed whenever we can fit in an episode. Love it!

4. Would you accept a job as a librarian in an haunted library?

Hard pass.

5. What would be the title of the book based on your life?

Happiness 🙂

6. If they make a movie based on your life, who would you cast as actor/actress for your role?

Not just the actress but the character: Beverly Goldberg from The Goldbergs. Hands down. I feel her in my soul.

7. Who is your absolute favourite writer?

Oh man I don’t have just one! A few that I love: Gabrielle Zevin (she wrote the VERY best book I’ve ever read!), Claire Lombardo (read THIS BOOK), and Liane Moriarty (but only sometimes…read my thoughts on my love/hate relationship with her HERE).

8. Are you keeping up with your 2021 New Year’s Resolutions? (it doesn’t have to be reading goals)

I’m proud to say that I am! Both blog related and personal 😉

9. Is there a book you keep saying “One day I will read it” but you never do?

Love in the Time of Cholora! I’ve owned it and have been wanting to read it for years! Read my thoughts on why HERE.

10. Can you name an underrated book you read and loved?

THIS BOOK. I loved it so much and am shocked it’s not more popular?

11. What’s one movie you want to be novelized?

Eh. None? I would never watch a move and then read the book….but I ALWAYS read the book and then watch the movie! And truth be told, I’m actually not a big movie fan. I’d much rather read a book or watch a tv show.

I nominate:

Anyone who would like to participate! Please tag me so I can read your answers 🙂 Mani’s questions were great so I will keep them for you to answer. Aaaaaaand I didn’t have a Sunshine Blogger logo to use so I just tossed a selfie on the top of this post instead. Basically I followed exactly none of the rules but I enjoyed answering the questions, lol…???

**You can read my answers to a whole different set of bookish questions when I was last nominated for The Sunshine Blogger Award HERE.**

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)*

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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

1 Book I’m Currently Reading, 1 Coffee I’m Currently Drinking, 1 Thing Currently Making Me Happy!

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:

I’m starting this book tonight and I’m so excited! I think it sounds awesome. I’ll let you know!

Synopsis of The Mothers {Genevieve Gannon}:

Coffee I’m Currently Drinking:

I’ve never been a big Starbucks fan (#dunkinforlife) but I recently discovered a DELICIOUS way to order my iced coffee from Starbucks! I go back and forth on liking iced coffee ever since I discovered it during our trip to Disney World back in 2019.

If you like iced coffee, this is delicious (I’m always a fan of anything that contains oats in any form) :

Let me know if you try it!

Currently Making Me Happy:

This lovely comment that someone made on Facebook! Writing this blog is such a fun hobby for me and I always love when people say nice things. I don’t personally know this person but she definitely made me smile 🙂

What are you currently reading?

What coffee are you currently enjoying?

What is 1 thing currently making you HAPPY?

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)*

*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

This Has NEVER Happened to Me While Reading A Book! Review: The End of Her {Shari Lapena}

Goodreads Synopsis of The End of Her {Shari Lapena}:

It starts with a shocking accusation…

Stephanie and Patrick are recently married, with new-born twins. While Stephanie struggles with the disorienting effects of sleep deprivation, there’s one thing she knows for certain – she has everything she ever wanted.

Then a woman from his past arrives and makes a shocking accusation about his first wife. He always claimed her death was an accident – but she says it was murder.

He insists he’s innocent, that this is nothing but a blackmail attempt. But is Patrick telling the truth? Or has Stephanie made a terrible mistake?

How will it end?

My Review of The End of Her {Shari Lapena}:

I was not a fan of this book.

It was…fine. The writing was…fine.

Overall, it was just so BORING. 334 pages of nothing happening! And when things DID happen (even big things) they were still just so boring.

I’m not a true crime/courtroom/detective fan and a large portion of this book was focused on just that.

Parts of this book were so predictable and the characters all kept blending into each other.

Something Happened to Me While Reading That Has NEVER Happened to Me Before:

Now here’s the CRAZIEST part of my review. Something happened to me while reading that has never happened to me before. A big twist was on the horizon and I had NO CLUE it was coming…until…THE AUTHOR spoiled it for me. Ummm WHAT?! I would never have put it together until she very clearly laid it all out just pages before it was supposed to shock me. Again…HUH?! Like, how does THAT happen??? I would have been absolutely floored by this twist and it would’ve made the whole book so much better for me but the fact that she told me it was coming just made me dislike this book even more. How did an editor not catch that and maybe advise against it? Mind blown…but clearly not by the “shocking” twist.

My thoughts on Shari Lapena’s books are a bit all over the place. I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED The Couple Next Door (how I have not reviewed that amazing book on my blog? Read it, it’s awesome.) I didn’t love A Stranger in the House (read my review HERE). I really enjoyed An Unwanted Guest (read my review HERE). I’m interested in reading Someone We Know but am a bit nervous due to my less than stellar track record with Shari Lapena’s books. Have any of you read it? I’d be curious to hear your thoughts? While it’s on my list to read, it’s clearly not very high on there, lol.

Bottom Line:

Eh.

Have you read The End of Her? 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

1 Book I’m Currently Reading (Eh), 1 Coffee I’m Currently Drinking (IT’S SO CREEPY), 1 Thing Currently Making Me Happy (Delicious)

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

Book I’m Currently Reading:

Goodreads Synopsis of Followers {Raziel Reid}:

A naïve teenager is thrown into the high-stakes, back-stabbing world of reality television.

After a disastrous date results in her arrest, sixteen-year-old Lily Rhode is horrified to discover her mugshot is leaked on a gossip website. Lily is the niece of Whitney Paley, a Hollywood housewife and star of reality show Platinum Triangle, a soap-opera-style docu-series in the vein of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and The Hills, revolving around several glamorous families living in the Beverly Hills, Bel Air and Holmby Hills neighborhoods of Los Angeles.

When Lily’s mom kicks her out of their trailer home in the Valley, Whitney (Lily’s mom’s estranged sister) invites her to live with her, her movie-star husband, Patrick, and their daughter, Hailey. Lily is set up in the pool house and thrust into the company of reality-star offspring — kids who are born with silver spoon emojis on their feed. Lily’s cousin Hailey and the other teens have lived their entire lives on camera and are masters of deception, with Hailey leading the pack.

As Lily learns from the Paleys how to navigate her newfound fame, she finds herself ensnared in the unfolding storylines. What Lily doesn’t know is that she’s just a pawn being used on the show to make the Paleys look sympathetic to viewers while distracting from on-set sexual misconduct rumors surrounding super hero dad Patrick Paley . . .

Is Lily safe under Patrick’s roof? Or will Lily be Patrick’s downfall? If she isn’t destroyed by Hailey first. When Lily catches the eye of Hailey’s designated leading man Joel Strom — it’s war!

I’ll post my review once I finish reading! So far it’s…just ok.

Coffee I’m Currently Drinking:

I bought this beautiful coffee mug on our recent getaway to Galena, IL. I explained the backstory behind the mug and why it’s special to me in THIS POST.

So I’m obviously in love with the saying on this mug. It’s a beautiful saying! The size of the mug is a wonderful size, not too big and not too small. Overall it’s a lovely mug.

However, do you want to know what I’m NOT in love with? Wait for it, wait for it….

SEEING MYSELF STARING BACK AT ME AS I DRINK.

The black shiny mug is SO freaking shiny that as I near finishing my delicious coffee….who’s staring back at me? Ummmm ME. And it’s so creepy.

Oh hey lover.

Apparently I now take my coffee with Splenda, Half and Half, and….my face.

Coffee, coffee, coffee, aaaaaaand….FACE.

So creepy.

Currently Making Me Happy:

On April 17th, my husband and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary! Next year we will get a babysitter but this year we had a 9 year old and a 5 year old at our romantic dinner, lol. Our kids loved it! We ate such a delicious dinner (for those of you who are local…I highly recommend Bobby’s in Deerfield). We ate in a private igloo outside and it was beautiful. I’m still dreaming of this charcuterie board! It as DELICIOUS and my family of 4 absolutely CRUSHED it, lol.

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

What are you currently reading?

What coffee are you currently enjoying?

What is 1 thing currently making you HAPPY?

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

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

A Beautiful Book I Truly Loved (You Will Too!) In Five Years {Rebecca Serle} (Book Review)

Rebecca Serle’s In Five Years was one of the books that I recently purchased while on our recent getaway to Galena, IL. You can see pictures from our beautiful trip HERE and you can see the other 3 books that I purchased while on that trip HERE. I absolutely LOVED this beautiful book, it was such a wonderful choice for me to purchase. Trust me…you will also LOVE THIS BOOK.

How stunning is this cover???

Goodreads Synopsis of In Five Years {Rebecca Serle}:

Where do you see yourself in five years?

When Type-A Manhattan lawyer Dannie Kohan is asked this question at the most important interview of her career, she has a meticulously crafted answer at the ready. Later, after nailing her interview and accepting her boyfriend’s marriage proposal, Dannie goes to sleep knowing she is right on track to achieve her five-year plan.

But when she wakes up, she’s suddenly in a different apartment, with a different ring on her finger, and beside a very different man. The television news is on in the background, and she can just make out the scrolling date. It’s the same night—December 15—but 2025, five years in the future.

After a very intense, shocking hour, Dannie wakes again, at the brink of midnight, back in 2020. She can’t shake what has happened. It certainly felt much more than merely a dream, but she isn’t the kind of person who believes in visions. That nonsense is only charming coming from free-spirited types, like her lifelong best friend, Bella. Determined to ignore the odd experience, she files it away in the back of her mind.

That is, until four-and-a-half years later, when by chance Dannie meets the very same man from her long-ago vision.

Brimming with joy and heartbreak, In Five Years is an unforgettable love story that reminds us of the power of loyalty, friendship, and the unpredictable nature of destiny.

My Review of In Five Years {Rebecca Serle}:

There is quite literally nothing I can say in this review that wouldn’t spoil this book for someone who hasn’t read it. Knowing how much I LOATHE spoilers, I would never do that!

So this review will be very broad, very generic, and yet…very positive 🙂

I absolutely loved this beautiful book. Everyone does. Because it’s WONDERFUL.

I posted this on Facebook right after I finished reading the last page:

The writing was beautiful, the chapters were short, and the story was amazing. The characters and settings were so perfectly descriptively written. Rebecca Serle is an absolutely phonominal writer…I can’t wait to read more she has written!

I am fully aware that this is the most broad review I’ve ever written but I want to be clear in NOT spoiling any of this book for future readers. It’s such a lovely, lovely story….one that will be in my heart for a very long time.

Bottom Line

READ. THIS. BOOK.

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

Xo,

Jenny

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

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

*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