The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo 5/5 StarsI have been on a serious roll this year with great Reese’s Book Club picks. I listened to the audiobook of The Light We Lost and it was both moving and devastating. I feel like this story could be yours, your sibling’s, or a friend-of-a-friend’s. The situation is so relatable and, most importantly, I feel that Lucy’s choices are too. In many books we like to read stories of the lives of…
A Murderous Relation is the fifth book in the Veronica Speedwell series. From the first book this has been one of my favorite series of all time but this installment proves that it is not immune to the mid-single-digit slump. For me, most series around book 5 or 6 take on a repetitive feel. I get not wanting to change what drew readers to the books in the first place, but no one wants to read the same book seven…
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens 5/5This book was certainly a strong start to the year. It made the running list of my favorite books and I’m toying with the idea of rereading it already, less than two weeks after finishing it.I wouldn’t say that this is a completely believable book but it is moving and engrossing. Kya Clark is as poor as you can imagine. She lives in a shack in a marsh on the North Carolina coast…
The Cactus by Sarah Haywood 4/5 StarsI was attracted to The Cactus because of the cover blurb claiming that “fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine will love” this book. I did really like this book and it does have very similar parallels to Eleanor Oliphant but Susan Green is not quite on the Eleanor Oliphant level. Susan is 45, single, and finds herself unexpectedly pregnant. Everything about her life is very practical and efficient, which I completely appreciate and…
Bonjour and happy Wednesday. It’s been really quiet around here lately because in November I had a cold for about a week and a half, went out of town, then picked up a second cold while traveling. The first one was so bad that all I could handle was sitting on the couch watching Outlander and Call the Midwife (have you seen the latter? SO GOOD!). I haven’t done much reading in the past month and a half but am…
A Few Pecans Short of a Pie by Molly Harper 5/5 StarsI loved this short story just as I love all of the other Southern Eclectic books. Unfortunately I read it out of order so was a bit out of touch with Margot’s story but it was easy to jump back in. It follows Margot as she tries to plan her wedding, wrap her mind around being pregnant, and hone her skills as a soon-to-be new step-mom to two girls….
This took me a long time to read because it gets pretty dense in the middle. The beginning is super interesting because we learn about Sequana, the pagan river goddess the Seine is named after and an archeological site at Bercy in Paris where hundreds of artifacts were found. Sciolino starts at the source of the Seine and follows it to the sea, stopping along the way in notable towns and cities. It really is a great story of the…
Expeditions Unpacked by Ed Stafford Master of the Phantom Isle by Brandon Mull 5/5 StarsI love all of Brandon Mull’s books but this story just seemed… extra funny and even more adventurous than usual. Seth has no memory of his identity and is with Ronodin in the Phantom Isle. Kendra and her friends travel from Wyrmroost to the Crescent Lagoon, both for protection and to help the fallen sanctuary of Crescent Lagoon. We’re introduced to new characters, like a giant,…
Bonjour and happy Wednesday. We went on a trip to New England this month (New Hampshire, mostly Manchester, southern Maine, and Boston) and I went to as many French things as I could, just like I said. Manchester has a surprising French influence and as a result a had crepes for breakfast twice, happily. I also stumbled upon this perfect French/Halloween (perhaps an oxymoron?) set up at a cafe in Kennebunkport, Maine. I’d love to redo the house to be…
Expeditions Unpacked is a book I didn’t know I needed in my life and now that it’s there I want 100 more just like it. This book covers 25 explorers who were the first to accomplish a goal in their field, such as the first person to climb Everest, walking the Amazon River, or the first human-powered circumnavigation of the globe, to name a few. Each entry has a list accompanied by illustrations of 20-30 items the explorer had with…