What You Wish For by Katherine Center
I find Katherine Center’s books to be very readable and this one is no exception. There was heart and emotion from the beginning. She did a good job of illustrating all of the different character motivations in a way that made sense and helped the reader to sympathize with them. I’ll say that I wanted more from Tina Buckley’s character…but she came through in the end I guess. 4/5
Paper Girls Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan
I’m just not huge into sci fi in general but specifically time travel so this one isn’t really grabbing me…but I’ve got the second one out from the library so I’ll probably at least read that one too? And maybe I’ll power through the rest since I like Vaughan and it’s a short series. 3/5
The Lost Husband by Katherine Center
This is probably about as close as I’ll ever get to wanting to move to a farm out in the country. A lot of things about it sound completely idyllic, but I know deep in my heart that I’m a true city girl. I really liked Libby’s relationship with her kids in this book. Obviously Abby had more of a central role, but I liked Tank as well. I thought Jean seemed a little too good to be true, but I’m not really going to quibble about it. 4/5
Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center
It took me way too long to realize that these characters were also in “What You Wish For” and with that in mind, I’m even more blown away by Duncan’s character development. I liked the setting for this book. It ALMOST makes me think I could sign up for something like it and be okay. I didn’t love the conflict involving Windy, but I thought it was handled well by Helen throughout the book. Overall, I liked this book quite a bit and was glad to know readers are able to catch up with the characters in a later book. 4/5
Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson
For me, this book was just fine. I felt so much secondhand stress over Nora’s finances and also basically every single decision she made. I also found it difficult to keep track of most secondary characters. And what was the deal with her roommate? Why even include her as a character? Overall, it also kind of makes me hate all publishing houses. So there’s that. 3/5
The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center
I can definitely tell this is one of her earlier books because I don’t feel like the relationship between Jenny and Gardner was as developed as I would have liked. I also thought the book took a while to get going. We all knew Dean was going to leave so it was a bit torturous to wait for it to happen. With that being said, the depiction of early motherhood was fresh and felt really authentic. Overall, I still liked this one, just not one of my favorites. 3/5
How to Fake it in Hollywood by Ava Wilder
I felt like this one started with a lot of promise, but it got darker than I expected after a while. I’m not opposed to reading about tough things or relationships, but something about this specific relationship just wasn’t very fun to read. It felt like a toxic relationship and that didn’t resolve itself for me by the end. 3/5
Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center
I liked Cassie quite a bit as a protagonist and I feel like I learned a lot about firefighters. I would have liked a little more time spent developing her new crew, but that probably would have made the book feel a lot more crowded. I also felt like the ending was wrapped up a little too tidily. What a complaint, right? The ending was too happy! Overall, I still really liked this book and it actually gave me stuff to think about regarding forgiveness, etc. 4/5
How to Walk Away by Katherine Center
This book was a little harder to read than some of her other ones. I still really liked it, but it was so hard to read about Maggie’s suffering. I could not even imagine experiencing something like that and her mom drove me absolutely crazy! I did really enjoy the dynamic between Maggie and Kit as they worked to repair their relationship. I appreciate that that was given as much if not more screen time as the romantic relationship. Overall, I really enjoyed it and I feel like it helps me to appreciate my own life more. 4/5
Get Lucky by Katherine Center
I didn’t like this one quite as much as the rest of her books. The main character wasn’t as likable to me—she’s doing this incredibly selfless thing for completely selfish reasons! I also didn’t feel like Sarah and Everett really spent enough time with each other. I know they have a history, but they barely talk throughout the book. Overall, I’m not mad I read it, but I wouldn’t read it again. 3/5
Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center
This book made me feel so stressed! And that ended up being my primary emotion throughout the book. It didn’t make me eager to pick the book back up after putting it down. In the end, I liked it alright. I enjoyed the flashback scenes to Lanie and Peter getting together in college, but I almost wish we had gotten fewer flashbacks of the process and more of their dating and early marriage. 3/5
Set On You by Amy Lea
This one was just okay for me. I think the overall message is supposed to be that we’re more than just our bodies, etc. But at the same time, it doesn’t feel like there was anything more than Scott’s physical attraction to Crystal at least in the beginning. I always like to know WHY our characters like each other and I don’t feel like I got enough of that in this book especially before the “L word” started getting tossed around. 3/5
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Ummm…did the person who designed the cover art even read this book? It’s a completely different tone from the story it contains. But anyway. This book was so good and it made my blood boil in so many different parts. I loved Elizabeth as our protagonist and I also enjoyed getting to know Mad and to an extent Calvin. I can tell you right now, I would not have survived as a woman in the 60s or whenever this book was set. Perhaps I’m simply a product of my time, but man. It would have been torture.
This book was a lot deeper than I thought it was going to be. The cover makes it look like it’s a generic rom com. It’s not. I wouldn’t even classify it as a romance of any kind. This is historical fiction and I think the cover actually goes against everything this book is for. Overall, ignore the cover and read this book because it’s well-written and it features incredibly strong females all around. There are an infinite number of ways for women to be strong, and this book showcases a fair number of them. 5/5
The Change by Kirsten Miller (ARC)
This was the second book in a row that I’ve read with men being horrible and entitled (though this one definitely is worse than Lessons in Chemistry). I think I need something much lighter for my next read haha. This book had a lot of twists, but I enjoyed them. I liked that this story is all about strong women especially at an age when they’re often forgotten and ignored. Things come together slowly, but there are enough pieces for the reader to put things together on their own. The fact that stuff like this actually happens in the real world makes me sick. Overall, I wouldn’t say this read was necessarily ENJOYABLE, but it was well-plotted and I cared about the characters. 4/5
Note: I received a copy free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
Talk about a guidebook on how NOT to be a mom… Jokes aside, it really did make me reflect on what kind of a parent I am. My kids are still young, but there are so many ways that we try to impose our will, beliefs, hopes, and dreams onto our children without really thinking about how they are their own people too. Obviously most of us aren’t as bad as Deb was, but we all have the tendency I think. Jennette is open and raw throughout this whole memoir and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to watch iCarly the same way knowing how miserable she was the entire time. Overall, this book will not be for everyone—I think there are a lot of triggers and there’s a lot of hard material to get through. But it does shine an interesting light on how fame effects child actors. Perhaps without meaning to, Jennette provides an the reader an interesting foil in Miranda. If you can handle the hard stuff, this book is worth a read. 4/5
Billy & Me by Giovanna Fletcher
Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore
Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman
If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
The Gentleman Spy (Serendipity & Secrets #2)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Erica Vetsch is a New York Times best-selling and ACFW Carol Award–winning author. She is a transplanted Kansan now living in Minnesota with her husband, who she claims is both her total opposite and soul mate. 
Forever, Interrupted
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
This is the first TJR book that I got my hands on and I was very pleasantly surprised. I could see bits of myself and my husband in both Lauren and Ryan. Obviously my relationship isn’t exactly like the one portrayed here, but I feel like there are some underlying truths in this book about relationships and marriage that could be a beneficial reminder for most couples. I thought this book had a really great resolution. I think it could have been done in a way that felt…insincere? But instead, I felt like the character development was realistic–both Lauren and Ryan changed and made some discoveries. I also liked that Lauren admitted that they didn’t necessarily have to be separated to come to the conclusions that they did. It’s all about WANTING your marriage and relationship to work. Obviously there are some situations where that’s not the case, but I think any relationship is going to have it’s tough elements and you need to make sure you WANT to get through it, or else it’s never going to work. Overall, I really liked this book and there was so much in here that resonated with me. 4/5
First off, I’m just going to say that this is the literal ONLY case where a love triangle is acceptable in my mind. It’s not one girl falling in love with two guys at the same time, instead she’s fallen in love with both of them at different times and there are huge extenuating circumstances. I thought this book was good, but I didn’t like it quite as much as After I Do. The choice that Emma had to make kind of hung over the whole book and made me a little uncomfortable for the whole book pretty much. It felt obvious to me, too, who she was going to end up choosing (and who the author wanted the audience to want her to choose). I wished that things felt a little more even between Jesse and Sam–I didn’t want to be told who the “front runner” was. Besides that, I really liked the sister relationship between Emma and Marie. I enjoyed seeing how their relationship developed from when they were growing up to what it became as adults. I also thought Olive was a truly delightful character. 4/5
I thought the premise of this book was really interesting, but it didn’t necessarily translate to an enjoyable reading experience. I still liked the story and the characters, but it was difficult for me to switch between narratives from chapter to chapter. It just didn’t feel very smooth to read. I also didn’t love the repetition that existed between the narratives (which is why I HATE Groundhog Day-type stories). I understand why the repetition was necessary, but I found it boring to read. Plot-wise, I definitely had a favorite timeline though it was hard to choose between them. There were some minor plot points that I felt needed to be addressed sooner than they were. The things I had questions about did get addressed eventually, but chapters after I feel like they should have been. Overall, I thought this book was really interesting. It makes you think about how one small decision has the potential to make this huge impact on the rest of your life. But at the same time, there are some things that may be inevitable. 3.5/5
In the beginning I found it tougher to get into this book than TJR’s other ones. I’d come to expect one kind of story from her and this was so different. I found the interview format to be interesting, but harder for me to read. There were just so many characters and I had a tough time keeping them all straight sometimes. This seems like a book that would be AMAZING as a full cast audio, though. With that being said, I did get into the book eventually and found myself enjoying the story. I obviously can’t comment on what it’s like to be in a 70’s rock band, but it felt really authentic. TJR did a great job showing all the great times while also not shying away from the negatives (drugs, fighting, etc.). I found myself a few times looking up characters that were mentioned and I actually can’t believe that NONE of these characters actually exist! I don’t want to spoil anything, but I thought the twist regarding the author’s identity was really well done and surprising. In the end, I felt like Camila was a real MVP. I hadn’t given much thought to her in the beginning of the book, but she’s such a powerful, compassionate woman and a great example of what it means to fight for and to choose your marriage. 4/5
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jennifer Delamere’s debut Victorian romance, “An Heiress at Heart,” was a 2013 RITA award finalist in the inspirational category. Her follow-up novel, “A Lady Most Lovely,” received a starred review from “Publishers Weekly” and the Maggie Award for Excellence from Georgia Romance Writers. Jennifer earned a BA in English from McGill University in Montreal, where she became fluent in French and developed an abiding passion for winter sports. She’s been an editor of nonfiction and educational materials for nearly two decades, and lives in North Carolina with her husband.
What's She Reading? 