Book Review: Such A Fun Age {Kiley Reid}

This was the book I was most excited to read in 2020 and had been waiting for MONTHS for it to be released.  There’s such a buzz around Kiley Reid’s Such a Fun Age right now and people seem to either love it or hate it.  Have you read it?  I did…and my review is a bit all over the place.  There were parts of this book that I loved and parts of this book that I did not.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living showing other women how to do the same. A mother to two small girls, she started out as a blogger and has quickly built herself into a confidence-driven brand. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains’ toddler one night. Seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, a security guard at their local high-end supermarket accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make it right.

But Emira herself is aimless, broke, and wary of Alix’s desire to help. At twenty-five, she is about to lose her health insurance and has no idea what to do with her life. When the video of Emira unearths someone from Alix’s past, both women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know about themselves, and each other.

With empathy and piercing social commentary, Such a Fun Age explores the stickiness of transactional relationships, what it means to make someone “family,” the complicated reality of being a grown up, and the consequences of doing the right thing for the wrong reason.

My Thoughts:

3.5 Stars

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

Man, my thoughts on this one are a bit all over the place.

First and foremost, this book brings awareness to such an important topic of equality.  It’s very candid in the way it discusses race.  Books like this NEED to be written and NEED to be shared.  I’m so glad I read it and I’m so glad that the buzz is focusing around a book which is such an important read for so many reasons.

There were a few things about this book that I didn’t love.  For one, I had a hard time truly liking ANY of the characters (especially Alix who I found creepy, extremely immature, and overall just awful from the very beginning). I also found this book quite predictable in many ways in terms of story lines…and I’m the WORST when it comes to correctly predicting story lines, lol.

(Complete side note…The teacher in me (I was an elementary school teacher for 14 years) has to wonder if Briar falls somewhere on the autism spectrum?   Did anyone else think this while reading???)

I liked this book and it held my interest from page one but…I just kept waiting for the big climax which unfortunately didn’t even happen until almost the end of the book!  I would say that he majority of this book was interesting although not very exciting.

It was a SUPER easy read, I read it over a few days.  Although it wasn’t very exciting, it absolutely held my interest from page 1.  I would 100 percent read another Kiley Reid book again, I really loved her writing style!  For such a heavy topic, this book was actually a light and easy read.  I give her credit…this alone will make people want to read this important book.

Told you my feelings on this book are a bit scattered 😉

Bottom Line:

I would recommend this book but only for the awareness that it brings to such an important topic….not for the actual story lines or characters.

Xo,

Jenny

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

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

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WWW Wednesday {Book Coffee Happy}

I first saw WWW Wednesday on Wonderfilled Reads and I immediately knew I wanted Book Coffee Happy to participate!  Thanks so much to Sam from Taking on a World of Words  for hosting!  Such a fun idea 🙂

The Three W’s are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?

I’m currently 115 pages in…LOVING it!  I had been waiting for months to read this one and was excited to start reading.  (Amazon Affiliate link  HERE to read more about the book and to purchase).

I started reading over the weekend and posted this picture on Instagram.  How fun is Robyn Harding’s comment???

Full blog review when I finish!  Stay tuned:)

What did you recently finish reading?

I finished reading this one last week and I have lots of thoughts!  My full review will be up on Friday!  (Amazon Affiliate link HERE to read more about the book and to purchase).

What do you think you’ll read next?

My recent library haul.  Not going to lie…I’m not overly excited to read any of them!  Have you read any of these?  Which should I read next? Or…should I take all of these back to the library and read something else?  **No spoilers please**

The Tooth Fairy’s Tummy Ache Giveaway Winner:

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway for Lori Orlinsky’s newest book, The Tooth Fairy’s Tummy Ache!  Watch the video below to see who won!

Xo,

Jenny

Did you read any of the above books?  What did you think?  I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

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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6 New Books to be Released in 2020

There are some FANTASTIC books coming out in 2020!  Here are 6 books to be released this year!  Looking for a new book to read?  Now you can be on the lookout for a few of the ones which already have caught my eye.

Click the picture of the book covers below to preorder your copies today through my Amazon Affiliate links.  When you purchase through these links, I receive a small commission.  Xo!

Last Couple Standing {Matthew Norman}

Release Date: March 17, 2020

Synopsis:

The Core Four have been friends since college: four men, four women, four couples. They got married around the same time, had kids around the same time, and now, fifteen years later, they’ve started getting divorced around the same time, too. With three of the Core Four unions crumbling to dust around them, Jessica and Mitch Butler take a long, hard look at their own marriage. Can it be saved? Or is divorce, like some fortysomething zombie virus, simply inescapable?

To maximize their chance at immunity, Jessica and Mitch try something radical. Their friends’ divorces mostly had to do with sex—having it, not having it, wanting to have it with other people—so they decide to relax a few things. Terms are discussed, conditions are made, and together the Butlers embark on the great experiment of taking their otherwise happy, functional marriage and breaking some very serious rules.

Jessica and Mitch are convinced they’ve hit upon the next evolution of marriage. But as lines are crossed and hot bartenders pursued, they each start to wonder if they’ve made a huge mistake. What follows is sexy, fun, painful, messy, and completely surprising to them both. Because sometimes doing something bad is the only way to get to the heart of what’s really good.

My Thoughts:

This sounds so scandalous and juicy…I can’t wait to read it 🙂

This is Not How it Ends {Rochelle B. Weinstein}

Release Date: 1/1/20

Synopsis:

When Charlotte and Philip meet, the pair form a deep and instant connection. Soon they’re settled in the Florida Keys with plans to marry. But just as they should be getting closer, Charlotte feels Philip slipping away.

Second-guessing their love is something Charlotte never imagined, but with Philip’s excessive absences, she finds herself yearning for more. When she meets Ben, she ignores the pull, but the supportive single dad is there for her in ways she never knew she desired. Soon Charlotte finds herself torn between the love she thought she wanted and the one she knows she needs.

As a hurricane passes through Islamorada, stunning revelations challenge Charlotte’s loyalties and upend her life. Forced to reexamine the choices she’s made, and has yet to make, Charlotte embarks on an emotional journey of friendship, love, and sacrifice—knowing that forgiveness is a gift, and the best-laid plans can change in a heartbeat.

My Thoughts:

I was fortunate to receive an Advance Readers Copy of this book.  Spoiler Alert: I. LOVED. IT.  Full blog review (and giveaway!) coming soon! This was officially released on 1/1 so you can read it NOW! And you should.  This book was included on my list of the best books I read in 2019.

Such a Fun Age {Kiley Reid}

Release Date: 12/31/19

Synopsis:

Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living showing other women how to do the same. A mother to two small girls, she started out as a blogger and has quickly built herself into a confidence-driven brand. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains’ toddler one night. Seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, a security guard at their local high-end supermarket accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make it right.

But Emira herself is aimless, broke, and wary of Alix’s desire to help. At twenty-five, she is about to lose her health insurance and has no idea what to do with her life. When the video of Emira unearths someone from Alix’s past, both women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know about themselves, and each other.

My Thoughts:

So TECHNICALLY this one released in 2019…but…12/31 is close enough to 2020 to be included here 🙂  This book looks so amazing!  I’ve had my name on the library hold list for months already.  I can’t wait to read this one.

All Adults Here {Emma Straub}

Release Date: May 5, 2020

Synopsis:

When Astrid Strick witnesses a school bus accident in the center of town, it jostles loose a repressed memory from her young parenting days decades earlier. Suddenly, Astrid realizes she was not quite the parent she thought she’d been to her three, now-grown children. But to what consequence?

Astrid’s youngest son is drifting and unfocused, making parenting mistakes of his own. Her daughter is intentionally pregnant yet struggling to give up her own adolescence. And her eldest seems to measure his adult life according to standards no one else shares. But who gets to decide, so many years later, which long-ago lapses were the ones that mattered? Who decides which apologies really count? It might be that only Astrid’s thirteen-year-old granddaughter and her new friend really understand the courage it takes to tell the truth to the people you love the most.

My Thoughts:

I’m conflicted.  I didn’t love Emma Straub’s The Vacationers but this new one of hers sounds so good…???

The Other Mrs. {Mary Kubica}

Release Date: 2/18/2020

Synopsis:

Sadie and Will Foust have only just moved their family from bustling Chicago to small-town Maine when their neighbor, Morgan Baines, is found dead in her home. The murder rocks their tiny coastal island, but no one is more shaken than Sadie, who is terrified by the thought of a killer in her very own backyard.

But it’s not just Morgan’s death that has Sadie on edge. It’s their eerie old home, with its decrepit decor and creepy attic, which they inherited from Will’s sister after she died unexpectedly. It’s Will’s disturbed teenage niece Imogen, with her dark and threatening presence. And it’s the troubling past that continues to wear at the seams of their family.

As the eyes of suspicion turn toward the new family in town, Sadie is drawn deeper into the mystery of Morgan’s death. But Sadie must be careful, for the more she discovers about Mrs. Baines, the more she begins to realize just how much she has to lose if the truth ever comes to light.

My Thoughts:

I was fortunate to receive an Advance Readers Copy of this book.  Very unique and special full blog review coming on MONDAY!

Destination Wedding {Diksha Basu}

Release Date: June 30, 2020

Synopsis:

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 Thoughts:

I’ve mentioned before how I have always been drawn to learning about Indian culture throughout my entire life.  This book sounds wonderful!

Which books are you most excited to be released in 2020?

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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