Recent Reads

My reading has slllllllllllowed down. I want to say that is probably because it is summer time and I am doing a bunch of other fun things. But--I'm pretty sure it is because I am lazy. Very lazy. Anyway! I have four books to share: First up, my Katrina Kittle obsession continues. Homegirl cannot write a bad novel.  Two Truths and a Lie, Katrina Kittle From Goodreads: Dair Canard has made up tales since she was a child. Now, as an adult, she finds herself lying at the slightest provocation. She has established herself as an actress and bonded with her husband, Peyton, on the premise of her greatest lie ever -- a fictitious twin sister who died at the age of 10. But Dair now finds herself at a point in her life where her lies threaten to avalanche. The mysterious death of a dear friend, the divorce of her parents, her own drinking problem, and the strain of deceiving Peyton all finally collide. As she struggles to get her life back on track, Dair learns the truth about her friend's death...and all her lies come tumbling down to unveil a few basic truths, one of which is that each of us has something to hide.
I really loved this one! It wasn't my favorite (Traveling Light is my fav of her work, check it out!), but it is a great story. She keeps me up until the wee hours of the morning reading, and I love that. Another Katrina Kittle The Blessings of the Animals, Katrina Kittle From Goodreads:

Veterinarian Cami Anderson has hit a rough patch. Stymied by her recent divorce, she wonders if there are secret ingredients to a happy, long-lasting marriage or if the entire institution is outdated and obsolete. Couples all around her are approaching important milestones. Her parents are preparing to celebrate their fiftieth anniversary. Her brother and his partner find their marriage dreams legally blocked. Her former sister-in-law—still her best friend—is newly engaged. The youthfully exuberant romance of her teenage daughter is developing complications. And three separate men—including her ex-husband—are becoming entangled in Cami's messy post-marital love life.

But as she struggles to come to terms with her own doubts amid this chaotic circus of relationships, Cami finds strange comfort in an unexpected confidant: an angry, unpredictable horse in her care. With the help of her equine soul mate, she begins to make sense of marriage's great mysteries—and its disconnects.

I was awake until 4am finishing this. 4AM! I couldn't stop, I HAD to know what happened! I love the different perspectives, it really helped progress the story.

Another writer I've been loving is Linwood Barclay

Too Close to Home, Linwood Barclay

From Goodreads:
In a quiet suburban neighborhood, in a house only one door away, a family is brutally murdered for no apparent reason. And you think to yourself: It could have been us. And you start to wonder: What if we’re next?

I've yet to find a Barclay novel I do not tear through in a day. This did NOT disappoint. Great story, keeps you on the edge of your seat for sure.

Lastly, I picked up this because it was on a list of good summer reads

Maine,  J. Courtney Sullivan

From Goodreads:

As three generations of Kelleher women descend on the property one summer, each brings her own hopes and fears. Maggie is thirty-two and pregnant, waiting for the perfect moment to tell her imperfect boyfriend the news; Ann Marie, a Kelleher by marriage, is channeling her domestic frustration into a dollhouse obsession and an ill-advised crush; Kathleen, the black sheep, never wanted to set foot in the cottage again; and Alice, the matriarch at the center of it all, would trade every floorboard for a chance to undo the events of one night, long ago.

I kind of felt ehhhh about this one.

I love that it bounces between perspectives, which I like. It made it nice to get to know each of the characters. It was a way to form your own opinion of them. I, however, kept waiting for something to happen. There wasn't enough, you know? It was a quick read, that I was completely into, I just wish there was more.

Any good book recommendations!?

Recent Reads

I set a Goodreads goal of reading 60 books this year! Last year I did 50 and just barely finished in time, this year I am determined to finished ahead of schedule. So far, I am at 35 books completed.
The Daughter She Used To Be, Rosalind Noonan The daughter of a career cop, Bernadette Sullivan grew up with blue uniforms hanging in the laundry room and cops laughing around the dinner table. Her brothers joined New York's finest, her sister married a cop, and Bernie is an assistant District Attorney. Collaring criminals, putting them away - it's what they do. And though lately Bernie feels a growing desire for a family of her own, she's never questioned her choices. Then a shooter targets a local coffee shop, and tragedy strikes the Sullivan family. Anger follows grief - and Bernie realizes that her father's idea of retribution is very different from her own. All her life, she's inhabited a clear-cut world of right and wrong, of morality and corruption. As Bernie struggles to protect the people she loves, she must also decide what it means to see justice served. And in her darkest hour, she will find out just what it means to be her father's daughter.

LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. I just adore this book. I have downloaded a few of her other books, hoping to knock a few more out soon.
All She Ever Wanted, Rosalind Noonan
For years, Chelsea Maynard has longed to be a mother. She's imagined caring for a new baby in the lovely house she shares with her husband, Leo, fondly planning every detail. But after a difficult birth, those dreams of blissful bonding evaporate. Chelsea battles sleep deprivation and feelings of isolation. Little Annabelle cries constantly, and Chelsea has dark visions fuelled by exhaustion and self-doubt. Her sister, Emma, insists she gets help for postpartum depression, but Chelsea's doctor dismisses her worries as self-indulgent. Doubting her ability to parent - even doubting her own sanity - Chelsea is close to collapse. Then an unthinkable crisis hits.

Eeeep! I love this one even more than the other Noonan book I read. It was heart wrenching and wonderful.
Requiem, Lauren Oliver

This exciting finale to Lauren Oliver's New York Times bestselling Delirium trilogy is a riveting blend of nonstop action and forbidden romance in a dystopian United States.
Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has transformed. The nascent rebellion that was underway in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.
After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven. Pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels.
As Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain of the Wilds, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor. Requiem is told from both Lena and Hana's points of view. They live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

I wanted to love this. I love the first two. I hated this. Hated it so much. I felt like it just...ended. 

The Best Of Me, Nicholas Sparks
In the spring of 1984, high school students Amanda Collier and Dawson Cole fell deeply, irrevocably in love. Though they were from opposite sides of the tracks, their love for one another seemed to defy the realities of life in the small town of Oriental, North Carolina. But as the summer of their senior year came to a close, unforeseen events would tear the young couple apart, setting them on radically divergent paths.

Now, twenty-five years later, Amanda and Dawson are summoned back to Oriental for the funeral of Tuck Hostetler, the mentor who once gave shelter to their high school romance. Neither has lived the life they imagined . . . and neither can forget the passionate first love that forever changed their lives. As Amanda and Dawson carry out the instructions Tuck left behind for them, they realize that everything they thought they knew -- about Tuck, about themselves, and about the dreams they held dear -- was not as it seemed. Forced to confront painful memories, the two former lovers will discover undeniable truths about the choices they have made. And in the course of a single, searing weekend, they will ask of the living, and the dead: Can love truly rewrite the past?
I keep giving Nicholas Sparks another chance. I always regret that decision. Hated this.
The Kindness of Strangers, Katrina Kittle

A young widow raising two boys, Sarah Laden is struggling to keep her family together. But when a shocking revelation rips apart the family of her closest friend, Sarah finds herself welcoming yet another troubled young boy into her already tumultuous life.

Jordan, a quiet, reclusive elementary school classmate of Sarah's son Danny, has survived a terrible ordeal. By agreeing to become Jordan's foster mother, Sarah will be forced to question the things she has long believed. And as the delicate threads that bind their family begin to unravel, all the Ladens will have to face difficult truths about themselves and one another—and discover the power of love necessary to forgive and to heal.

The best of my recent reads! The subject matter is a bit rough to read at some points, but such a beautiful novel.

This day.

This morning, I woke around 9am and picked up my Kindle to finish this book Source
AMAZING. Couldn't put it down. I usually read at night before bed and that is all. For the last 2 days I have stayed up to 2am reading. Here is the blurb:

"Travel light and you can sing in the robber's face" was the best advice Summer Zwolenick ever received from her father, though she didn't recognize it at the time. Three years after the accident that ended her career as a ballerina, she is back in the familiar suburbs of Dayton, Ohio, teaching at a local high school. But it wasn't nostalgia that called Summer home. It was her need to spend quality time with her brother, Todd, and his devoted partner, Jacob. Todd, the golden athlete whose strength and spirit encouraged Summer to nurture her own unique talents and follow her dream, is in the final stages of a terminal illness. In a few short months, he will be dead—leaving Summer only a handful of precious days to learn all the lessons her brother still has to teach her . . . from how to love and how to live to how to let go.

Traveling Light is the deeply moving debut novel from Katrina Kittle, the acclaimed author of The Kindness of Strangers—an unforgettable story of love, bonds, and promises that endure longer than life itself.

Initially, I picked it up because this is a local writer. I kind of want to stalk her now, don't judge me.

It made me laugh out loud and sob like a baby--my two favorite things to happen while reading!

As I am drying my tears, I get a call that just ruined my day.

Apparently, somebody very close to me is talking terribly about me. 

Devastated.

So rude. 

And so hurtful.

Family shouldn't behave this way.

I resisted the urge to call the person out on this. As my Mom pointed out, it would start a ripple. 

I need to be bigger than this.

I struggle with poise and grace, so this has been a rough day.

What I Read This Week

I read a lot. I go in cycles by what I am in the mood for. Typically, I love anything crime/thriller/mystery. For the past year or so, I've been *really* into anything with an end of the world/dystopian society story line.
About a month ago, I downloaded The Maze Runner from the library for the 3rd time. I kept forgetting to read it. Or rather, I was recalling a different book (I still haven't recalled the title) that I read 2 pages of and hated it. On Wednesday, I started reading it.
I *love* it!!! It has a solid story line that has kept me very interested.
So interested that I've knocked out the second book:
And, I am now on the 3rd:
I've downloaded the prequel to finish off after this one. It is definitely a series I'd recommend!