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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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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BLOGMAS: 3 Library Books I Recently Returned Without Reading

Blogmas: 3 Library Books I Recently Returned Without Reading

I recently saw this bookshelf while shopping at a craft mall. How beautiful is this display??

Is there anything worse than returning a library book without reading it??? Yes…returning THREE of them!

Once mid November hit, I made the switch to reading ONLY holiday books for the remainder of the year. More specifically, feel good, Christmas spirit type holiday books. No genre better this time of year!

Unfortunatly I had a stack of NON holiday library books waiting for me to read. And they were due back to the library. STAT. So…back they went.

It hurts my heart when I have to return library books without reading them first! These 3 books look GREAT and I absolutely plan on reading them…but only during the non holiday season 😉

***All photos taken from the front seat of my car as I was parked in the library parking lot about to slide each into the return slot on the side of the building, lol. All shadows, angles, backgrounds, reflections, etc. are courtesy of my extremely last minute thought to turn this library excursion into a blog post, lol **

Returned Library Book #1: Yes Daddy {Jonathan Parks-Ramage}

This book synopsis somehow gives me the same vibe as THIS BOOK which I loved!

Goodreads Synopsis of Yes Daddy {Jonathan Parks-Ramage}:

A propulsive, scorching modern gothic, Yes, Daddy follows an ambitious young man who is lured by an older, successful playwright into a dizzying world of wealth and an idyllic Hamptons home where things take a nightmarish turn.

Jonah Keller moved to New York City with dreams of becoming a successful playwright, but, for the time being, lives in a rundown sublet in Bushwick, working extra hours at a restaurant only to barely make rent. When he stumbles upon a photo of Richard Shriver—the glamorous Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright and quite possibly the stepping stone to the fame he craves—Jonah orchestrates their meeting. The two begin a hungry, passionate affair.

When summer arrives, Richard invites his young lover for a spell at his sprawling estate in the Hamptons. A tall iron fence surrounds the idyllic compound where Richard and a few of his close artist friends entertain, have lavish dinners, and—Jonah can’t help but notice—employ a waitstaff of young, attractive gay men, many of whom sport ugly bruises. Soon, Jonah is cast out of Richard’s good graces and a sinister underlay begins to emerge. As a series of transgressions lead inexorably to a violent climax, Jonah hurtles toward a decisive revenge that will shape the rest of his life.

Riveting, unpredictable, and compulsively readable, Yes, Daddy is an exploration of class, power dynamics, and the nuances of victimhood and complicity. It burns with weight and clarity—and offers hope that stories may hold the key to our healing.

Returned Library Book #2: The Sanatorium {Sarah Pearse}

I have had this book on my to read list for months. I just wish it didn’t have a Reese’s Book Club sticker on it! As you are well aware, I love Reese…but I do NOT always love her book selections. UGH.

This book already makes me think of THIS BOOK which I loved!

Goodreads Synopsis of The Sanatorium {Sarah Pearse}:

Ummm…that’s not a language that I speak. Huh. Hey Goodreads? Might want to fix that…

Let’s try this again.

Here is the Amazon.com Synopsis instead, lol:

Half-hidden by forest and overshadowed by threatening peaks, Le Sommet has always been a sinister place. Long plagued by troubling rumors, the former abandoned sanatorium has since been renovated into a five-star minimalist hotel.

An imposing, isolated getaway spot high up in the Swiss Alps is the last place Elin Warner wants to be. But Elin’s taken time off from her job as a detective, so when her estranged brother, Isaac, and his fiancée, Laure, invite her to celebrate their engagement at the hotel, Elin really has no reason not to accept.

Arriving in the midst of a threatening storm, Elin immediately feels on edge–there’s something about the hotel that makes her nervous. And when they wake the following morning to discover Laure is missing, Elin must trust her instincts if they hope to find her. With the storm closing off all access to the hotel, the longer Laure stays missing, the more the remaining guests start to panic.

Elin is under pressure to find Laure, but no one has realized yet that another woman has gone missing. And she’s the only one who could have warned them just how much danger they are all in. . .

Returned Library Book #3: Survive the Night {Riley Sager}

The only book I have ever read by Riley Sager was THIS ONE and it was great! Makes me excited to read Survive the Night!

Goodreads Synopsis of Survive the Night {Riley Sager}:

Charlie Jordan is being driven across the country by a serial killer. Maybe.

Behind the wheel is Josh Baxter, a stranger Charlie met by the college ride share board, who also has a good reason for leaving university in the middle of term. On the road they share their stories, carefully avoiding the subject dominating the news – the Campus Killer, who’s tied up and stabbed three students in the span of a year, has just struck again.

Travelling the lengthy journey between university and their final destination, Charlie begins to notice discrepancies in Josh’s story.

As she begins to plan her escape from the man she is becoming certain is the killer, she starts to suspect that Josh knows exactly what she’s thinking.

Meaning that she could very well end up as his next victim.

Have you read any of these 3 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!

Xo,

Jenny

Click the images below to order the book through my Amazon affiliate link. 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

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

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

I’m Back and I’ve Been Reading!

Well. That was QUITE unintentional blogging break! I’m so sorry! Things in my life have been crazy and busy and unfortunately my favorite hobby has clearly suffered a bit as a result. However, as busy as I’ve been, I most definitely have still been reading!

Before I get into exactly WHAT I’ve been reading, I should probably do a bit of catching up. The last post that I published included a picture of a Halloween skeleton. As I’m typing this, my favorite holiday scented candle is next to me and Pandora is playing my favorite holiday station. Clearly time has passed!

Bath and Body Works Winter Candy Apple is one of my absolute favorite scents on Earth.

In my last post, I mentioned that I was reading The Reading List and was looking forward to reading In My Dreams I Hold a Knife. I never finished The Reading List although I honestly was LOVING it. I was just…not captivated enough. Do you remember all of the reasons I stopped reading The Guncle? Replace that book title with The Reading List and those are literally the EXACT same reasons that I stopped reading this one (you can see the post with those reasons HERE).

Aaaaaand while we are talking about books that I indeed did NOT finish because I wasn’t captivated enough…let’s just go ahead and add The Paper Palace to that list as well.

I wish WordPress would let me insert the face palm emoji here…

As for In My Dreams I Hold A Knife, I DID in fact read (and finish!!!) that book! I’m working on my review and will have it posted here later this week!

I’m currently celebrating my favorite time of year by reading this book with the most GORGEOUS cover:

I randomly found this little gem in a Little Free Library last spring and have been saving it to read during this holiday season (I could never read a book like this at any other time of year…anyone else feel this way?) When I went on Goodreads to check it out after I got it last spring, I noticed that it’s technically the 2nd in a series. I immediately messaged the author about this and here is what she said:

Perfect! I’ll post my review here as soon as I finish reading 🙂

Do any of you have suggestions of other holiday books? I already have a few lined up but I cannot get enough of them during this time of year! If you are looking for some GREAT holiday reads, HERE is a link to my absolute favorites! I’d love to hear about yours…please post 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)*

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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

What I’m Reading (It’s WONDERFUL), What I Recently Read (It Was Good), What I Think I’ll Read Next (Looks Amazing)

I love when Book Coffee Happy can participate in WWW! And this week I’m doing it actually ON a WEDNESDAY, lol! Amazing! 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!

Before I dive into the wonderful book that I’m currently reading, I would like to thank you all for you kind words and condolences on my last post. She sure was a beauty. I’m currently working through my grief and trying to figure out how to move on 😉

What Are You Currently Reading?

I’ll post my full review once I finish reading but so far it’s wonderful and BEAUTIFULLY written.

Goodreads Synopsis of The Reading List {Sara Nisha Adams}:

Widower Mukesh lives a quiet life in the London Borough of Ealing after losing his beloved wife. He shops every Wednesday, goes to Temple, and worries about his granddaughter, Priya, who hides in her room reading while he spends his evenings watching nature documentaries.

Aleisha is a bright but anxious teenager working at the local library for the summer when she discovers a crumpled-up piece of paper in the back of To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s a list of novels that she’s never heard of before. Intrigued, and a little bored with her slow job at the checkout desk, she impulsively decides to read every book on the list, one after the other. As each story gives up its magic, the books transport Aleisha from the painful realities she’s facing at home.

When Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to forge a connection with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha passes along the reading list…hoping that it will be a lifeline for him too. Slowly, the shared books create a connection between two lonely souls, as fiction helps them escape their grief and everyday troubles and find joy again.

What Did You Recently Finish Reading?

Goodreads Synopsis of Firsts {Laurie Elizabeth Flynn}:

Seventeen-year-old Mercedes Ayres has an open-door policy when it comes to her bedroom, but only if the guy fulfills a specific criteria: he has to be a virgin. Mercedes lets the boys get their awkward, fumbling first times over with, and all she asks in return is that they give their girlfriends the perfect first time- the kind Mercedes never had herself.

Keeping what goes on in her bedroom a secret has been easy- so far. Her absentee mother isn’t home nearly enough to know about Mercedes’ extracurricular activities, and her uber-religious best friend, Angela, won’t even say the word “sex” until she gets married. But Mercedes doesn’t bank on Angela’s boyfriend finding out about her services and wanting a turn- or on Zach, who likes her for who she is instead of what she can do in bed.

When Mercedes’ perfect system falls apart, she has to find a way to salvage her reputation and figure out where her heart really belongs in the process.

Read my review of this one HERE.

What Do You Think You’ll Read Next?

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}:

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.

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

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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.*

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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 Book That Got Me OUT Of My Book Rut!

SEE YA BOOK RUT!

My son bought me this coffee mug and I love it so, so much. It’s perfectly creepy.

So to those of you who have been following my STUPID book rut…it’s officially OVER.

I have finished reading a book. Let me repeat…I HAVE FINISHED READING A BOOK. It has been WEEKS since I’ve done that and it feels positively fantastic. Starting books and not finishing them is hell but sometimes it needs to be done. And MAN have I done that a lot recently.

The Book That Got Me Out of My Book Rut:

Goodreads Synopsis of Firsts {Laurie Elizabeth Flynn}:

When Mercedes’ perfect system falls apart, she has to find a way to salvage her reputation and figure out where her heart really belongs in the process.

My Review of Firsts {Laurie Elizabeth Flynn}:

Ok so I didn’t love it. Each character was more unlikable than the next (especially the main character which made it completely impossible to root for her). The storylines were so far fetched and unbelievable.

HOWEVER….

It held my interest enough for me to finish reading the entire book which is something that hasn’t happened in WAY TOO LONG (weeks!!!). If you haven’t been following my book rut, HERE is a link which explains the utter hell I have been going though. And HERE is a link to the book that I THOUGHT was going to get me out of the stupid rut buuuuuuut….did not. Ugh.

Did I love Firsts? No. Did it grab me in the way that I thought I needed a book to in order for my book rut to end? No. Was it well written with easy to read, short chapters (my favorite)? Sure was! I’ll take it! WINNER!

Bottom Line:

If you are looking for a quick read, this book is good. Not great…but good enough for me to say SEE YA, BOOK RUT!

**If any of you are currently going through a book rut, my thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time.**

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*

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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

This Book Did NOT Get Me Out of My Book Rut. Ugh.

This Book Did NOT Get Me Out of My Book Rut. Ugh.

While I’m clearly not loving any books at the moment, I’m LOVING Halloween decorations!

Book Rut

Ugh. I was so thinking this book was IT. The one to get me out of my STUPID book rut. But alas…nope. Still in my book rut. Still not happy about it.

Goodreads Synopsis of The Guncle {Steven Rowley}:

Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. But in terms of caretaking and relating to two children, no matter how adorable, Patrick is honestly a bit out of his league.

So when tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick’s brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian. Despite having a set of “Guncle Rules” ready to go, Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a somewhat-stalled career, and a lifestyle not-so-suited to a six- and a nine-year-old. Quickly realizing that parenting—even if temporary—isn’t solved with treats and jokes, Patrick’s eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility, and the realization that, sometimes, even being larger than life means you’re unfailingly human.

My Thoughts on The Guncle {Steven Rowley}:

Ok I need to say…I actually was LOVING this book. It was adorable and charming and FUNNY. The characters were lovable and complex. The writing was GREAT. I smiled, I laughed, I was ALL IN.

Except…

I wasn’t.

Why did I stop reading this book? Simple. It didn’t “grab” me. Now I understand that every single book I read isn’t going to “grab” me. However, being smack in the middle of a book rut means that in order for me to actually finish reading a book, I need it to grab me! And I don’t mean a light grab…I mean, I need it to HANG ON to me and not allow for me to put it down. I need to be thinking about it even when I’m not reading it. I need to look forward to picking it up and I need to feel sad when I need to put it down.

This book just wasn’t any of that for me. A charming and heartwarming story? Absolutely. One I HAD to read because there was no way I could not? Nope.

So as much as I HATED putting this one down, I knew it was time. I just wasn’t 100 percent into it. Do I recommend it? Absolutely, it’s wonderful. Do I recommend it if you are in the middle of a book rut and need something to GRAB you? I do not.

So I begrudgingly closed the cover of this one 124 pages in and started reading yet another book to try to pull me out of this stupid book rut. So far so good…I’ll reveal it’s title once I can figure out my feelings on it!

I. HATE. BOOK. RUTS.

Xo,

Jenny

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*

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

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This Book is INCREDIBLE!

Are you looking for an INCREDIBLE book to read? I got you. This book is AMAZING. Heart pounding, couldn’t put it down, absolutely awesome in every single way. I absolutely loved it.

How cute is this door stopper that I saw at a bookshop I recently visited?! Love!!

Happy Monday! How was your weekend? Thank you for your words of encouragement on my last post. Ugh! I started reading a book on Friday night and I THINK this book MIGHT just be the book to break my rut! Fingers crossed! As always, I’ll keep you posted and will reveal it’s title once I’m sure how I feel about it. So far so good…

Today I’m excited to rewind a few weeks (otherwise known as “pre rut”) and discuss an absolutely wonderful book. I highly, highly recommend this one (as I know many of you do as well)!

Goodreads Synopsis of Falling {T.J. Newman}:

You just boarded a flight to New York.

There are one hundred and forty-three other passengers onboard.

What you don’t know is that thirty minutes before the flight your pilot’s family was kidnapped.

For his family to live, everyone on your plane must die.

The only way the family will survive is if the pilot follows his orders and crashes the plane.

Enjoy the flight.

My Review of Falling {T.J. Newman}:

You might recall how I came to choose this book as a book to read.

Best. Decision. Ever.

Omg.

This book is AMAZING. Haunting, chilling, heartbreaking, beautiful, and amazing.

I couldn’t put it down. I truly couldn’t put it down. I loved every single thing about it. The fantastic writing, the wonderfully short chapters, the INTENSE story lines, all of it. What a splendid book.

I read the majority of it on a family trip to Michigan and I had posted this video on Instagram:

Truth.

I’m thankful that due to the pandemic, I’m still not feeling comfortable enough to fly anywhere because after reading this book…no way in HELL would I get on a plane right now.

I learned so much from this book. Most of which would be spoilers so I will not get into specifics…but so much.

And flight attendants? Wow…I had absolutely no idea what they actually do. I will never, ever look at flight attendants in the same way again.

I started this book over Labor Day weekend in Michigan and finished it on September 11th back at home. An eerily fitting date to finish a book such as this.

As I’m typing this, I’ve just now realized that for the past 2 years I have read books connected to 9/11 ON 9/11 (THIS was the book I read last year…also over Labor Day in Michigan and also finished once I was back home).

Aaaaaand the movie rights for Falling have already been sold! Omg this will make SUCH an incredible movie…

…as long as it’s never the in flight movie. Yikes.

Bottom Line:

Read this. But on land only.

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

Xo,

Jenny

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

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

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

*Subscribe with your email address to my blog (scroll all the way to the bottom of this page on mobile devices OR check the top right of this screen to enter your email address)*

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

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

82 Pages In and…I GIVE UP ON THIS BOOK.

I tried to read this entire book. I really did. And then as much as I REALLY wanted to, I just couldn’t continue. I was DONE. After only 82 pages. Ugh.

I read (and posted on Instagram) through 2 school pick up lines (side note: whyyyyyyyy are school pick up lines the worst??):

Goodreads Synopsis of The Good Sister {Sally Hepworth}:

There’s only been one time that Rose couldn’t stop me from doing the wrong thing and that was a mistake that will haunt me for the rest of my life.

Fern Castle works in her local library. She has dinner with her twin sister Rose three nights a week. And she avoids crowds, bright lights and loud noises as much as possible. Fern has a carefully structured life and disrupting her routine can be…dangerous.

When Rose discovers that she cannot get pregnant, Fern sees her chance to pay her sister back for everything Rose has done for her. Fern can have a baby for Rose. She just needs to find a father. Simple.

Fern’s mission will shake the foundations of the life she has carefully built for herself and stir up dark secrets from the past, in this quirky, rich and shocking story of what families keep hidden.

My Review of The Good Sister {Sally Hepworth}:

I thought that this book was going to be a thriller. Maybe it’s the creepy girl on the cover, maybe it’s the “everyone has a dark side” quote on the cover. For whatever the reason, I expected this to be a psychological thriller. AND I LOVE PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLERS.

So my general reactions of boredom and confusion can be understood when 82 pages in, I finally accepted that this book wasn’t at all what I went into it thinking that it would be.

I absolutely, positively, unequivocally love Sally Hepworth! She is truly one of the funniest people on Instagram…I LOVE watching her stories.

So…this book…isn’t funny like Sally and isn’t a thriller like the cover led me to believe.

Granted, I only read 82 pages so maybe things would have turned around had I read more? The reviews that I’ve seen of this one have been wonderful and some even suggest that it IS, in fact, a thriller? Maybe it’s just a slow start? Unfortunately, I just didn’t feel the need to stick around to find out. I was honestly just so BORED. And sad. Parts of this book were heartbreaking. And dark. But mostly I was just really bored.

Once I had decided that I was officially done reading this book, I googled the summary. I’m glad I stopped reading when I did. That’s all I say.

I still love Sally Hepworth and I still love her writing style! HERE is a great book that she’s written (one of the very first books I ever reviewed on my blog! It’s so funny to see how different my posts are now than they were when I first started blogging) and HERE is another example of one of her books that I loved! I will definitely keep reading her books…just not this one. Nope, this one was just not for me.

Bottom Line:

Moving on…

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

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

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)*

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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: In a Book Club Far Away {Tif Marcelo}

Book Review: In a Book Club Far Away {Tif Marcelo}

Goodreads Synopsis of In A Book Club Far Away {Tif Marcelo}:

Regina Castro, Adelaide Wilson-Chang, and Sophie Walden usedto be best friends. As Army wives at Fort East, they bonded during their book club and soon became inseparable. But when an unimaginable betrayal happened amongst the group, the friendship abruptly ended, and they haven’t spoken since.

That’s why, eight years later, Regina and Sophie are shocked when they get a call for help from Adelaide. Adelaide’s husband is stationed abroad, and without any friends or family near her new home of Alexandria, Virginia, she has no one to help take care of her young daughter when she has to undergo emergency surgery. For the sake of an innocent child, Regina and Sophie reluctantly put their differences aside to help an old friend.

As the three women reunite, they must overcome past hurts and see if there’s any future for their friendship. Featuring Tif Marcelo’s signature “enchanting prose” (Amy E. Reichert, author of The Coincidence of Coconut Cake) and the books that brought them together in the first place, In a Book Club Far Away honors the immense power of female friendship and how love can defy time, distance, and all old wounds.

My Review of In A Book Club Far Away {Tif Marcelo}:

Eh.

So this book is totally light and easy to read. A definite plus if that is the type of book you are looking for!

That being said, it was all a bit TOO light for me. Zero depth into characters, storylines, relationships, etc. So much so that I confused the 3 main characters throughout the entire story. Also, the story flips between the past and the present and that coupled with the lack of depth overall made the whole story just feel a bit jumbled.

The writing was just so cheesy…and I do LOVE cheesy…but this was too much. Cringeworthy at times. Grown adults telling each other to “mind their own beeswax“ and saying they felt like “doo doo”. Ummm….huh? If you follow me on Instagram, you might remember a story I posted talking about a book I was reading where a grown woman was doing the running man (yes you read that correctly) alone in her kitchen after a man that she “liked” called her. Yup…this book. Cringeworthy.

The absolute very best parts of this book were when they would give glimpses into life as an army wife. Did any of you watch the tv show Army Wives??? I LOOOOOOVED THAT SHOW and this book most definitely reminded me of it during parts.

This book wasn’t bad, it was just…eh. And about 200 pages too long.

While we are on the topic of book clubs, here are some links to posts I’ve written about them:

Let’s Chat: Book Clubs…Yay or Nay?

5 Books to Read for Your Book Club

5 Books To Read for Your Next Book Club {Volume 2}

Bottom Line:

If you are looking for something suuuuuper light, this book is…fine.

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

I’ll be back on Friday with a post about a book that I recently started reading…and disliked so much that I only made it to page 82 before calling it quits! UGH.

Xo,

Jenny

Clearly this book wasn’t a huge hit 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