It’s time for another reading roundup! This was a great month of reading for me with a lot of five star reads and surprises. I feel like this start to the year of reading has been very up and down, but this month felt like it was finally redeemed!
It’s really rare to have a month without a book under 4 stars. Here’s what I read this month and have been raving about. As always, make sure to follow along with me on my bookstagram and my goodreads if you want to see more live updates throughout the month.
Winter Garden, Kristin Hannah: 5 Stars
Version: Physical Book
It’s no secret that I’m a huge Kristin Hannah fan, and my latest read of hers is no exception. I just don’t know how she paints such realistic and gripping pictures of horrific historical events. She packs in so many emotions into one story line, and I found myself hooked on every single work of Anya’s fairytale.
Nina must overcome her need to take the furthest away photography assignment at the first sign of trouble, and Meredith has to let go of her Type A, first born daughter persona. Their father’s dying wish is for them to get to know their mother and finally hear the fairytale she’s told them countless times, but there’s a lot of hurt to overcome before they can get along enough to speak and listen to each other.
Meredith and Nina Whitson have grown up on their family’s chilly apple orchard in Washington State alongside their equally as cold mother and extremely caring father. Their Russian mother has been distant and cold their entire lives, but when tragedy forces them together, the three women promise their dying husband and father to unpack decades of hurt and misunderstanding and finally get to know one another.
We are the Brennans, Tracey Lange: 4 Stars
Version: Book of the Month
Sunday Brennan fled Upstate New York and her extremely tight-knit, Irish Catholic family (and long term boyfriend) five years ago and never looked back. That is until she wakes up to her brother looking over her in the hospital after a drunk driving accident (that she caused) with a desperate plea for Sunday to finally come home. Her family is looking for answers about why she left and how to get back on track after a string of misfortunes, and Sunday is looking for a fresh start in a place that holds almost too many memories.
I had this book on my TBR pile for months, seriously I got it last July and am just now reading it thanks to a book club that I’m part of. I wish it hadn’t taken me so long, but this one was really good to read around St. Patrick’s Day! I have no idea why my expectations for this one were so low, but it ended up really surprising me. This is kind of a “slice of life” book with few heart pounding plot points, but I was absolutely enthralled with this family and their individual storylines. I think this was one of the most well down multi-perspective books I’ve read. The transitions were so seamless, and the author put you in the head of the right characters at the right time.
I rated it a 4 stars because I was lowkey aggravated that no one seemed to take Sunday’s drunk driving accident seriously? Everyone was just like “Wow, Sunday why did you do that?” but no one really made her sit down and discuss how dangerous that is. I have zero tolerance for that kind of thing, so I just wish the author had put more importance on that aspect of the storyline. A lot of the other characters just seem to float through other things with few repercussions (you will see a big on at the end), and while that was aggravating, I do think the final premise of the book was knowing that your family should be there for you even during the messiest, ugliest parts of your life. I agree with that, but I do wish some sense had been knocked into the characters more often haha.
One by One, Ruth Ware: 4 Stars
Version: Audiobook
A trendy, British tech startup books a weeklong retreat for executive employees to learn, bond and relax, but disaster literally strikes every single hour. After a deadly avalanche shuts them off from the outside world, more and more drama between the coworkers is revealed and the team dwindles one by one.
The title for this book is so good- One by One is the perfect way to describe how this book goes. It’s a steady decline of the team members and a steady incline of drama. I also couldn’t love this setting- snowy French Alps cabin? Sign me up!
The Tobacco Wives, Adele Meyers: 4 Stars
Version: Kindle via library
This was the March 2022 Literary League bookclub pick, and I’m so glad that I read it. The storyline was really unique. WWII is coming to an end, and the women of the North Carolina tobacco industry have mixed feelings about their time in the workforce coming to an end. Maddie, a 15-year-old budding seamstress, finds herself unexpectedly answering the call to design and sew important dresses for The Tobacco Wives, Bright Leaf, North Carolina’s elite group of women with more money and influence on the community than they know what to do with. Maddie grows suspicious when she realizes there might just be more consequences to the tobacco industry than the community originally believes.
I was a little let down by the writing style in this book, but I think it’s heavily influenced by it being from the perspective of a teenager. It does almost read as a young adult, and I think this would be a really good bridge book from an older young adult into the adult genre fiction! The ending also seemed to wrap up entirely too quickly, and some of the actions by the characters just didn’t make sense. I still rated it really highly because I loved the setting, a lot of the characters and the seamstress aspect.
Greenwich Park, Katherine Faulkner: 4.5 Stars
Version: Physical Book via Kepler’s Bookstore
This was the One More Page March 2022 book club pick. It was one of my favorite thrillers I’ve read in a while, for some reason I’ve been a little let down with a lot of the thrillers I’ve read recently! I flew through it.
Things are always a little more difficult for Helen. Making friends, connecting with her husband and even carrying a child to full term seem out of reach for her. She’s finally pregnant and it seems like it’s going to last, when she meets an eccentric expectant mother, Rachel, at her birthing classes she has to attend without her husband. As Rachel grows closer and closer to the center of Helen’s life, something about her just seems off to Helen and everyone around her. Just when Helen thinks it’s time to part ways with Rachel, it’s obvious there’s more to her (and a tie to her family’s past) than meets the eye.
My only real complaint here is the pacing at the end. The chapters were so short and switched perspective and ended at the worst times. I guess that builds suspense, but it was almost a little too much for me! I think it could have been a little bit shorter and would have been a 5 star read if so. This was one of those books with dislikable characters, but it was in a good way! Sometimes those can be good or bad.
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Holly Jackson: 5 Stars
Version: Audiobook via library
This was SUCH a good audiobook performance. It was executed perfectly, and it almost sounded like a podcast in all the right parts. If you like audiobooks at all, try to read via that route! It’s young adult, but I thought it was really intriguing still. It kind of reminded me of a mix between the first One of us is Lying book (before that series started getting kinda bad) and Pretty Little Liars.
Five years ago, Fairview’s ‘it’ girl went missing, and the entire town knows who did it- her boyfriend who committed suicide just after sending an uncharacteristic confession text. Pippa isn’t convinced, and she dedicates her senior project to uncovering more to the story. The book follows Pippa on her investigation and parts of the information is revealed in the format of her report- it’s really fun!!
I highly recommend this one to absolutely anyone. I’m not sure when I will read the next two, but I think I will!
Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy #2), Deborah Harkness: 4 Stars
Version: Kindle via Library
I read the first book in this series a few weeks ago, and it’s one that I knew really quickly I would want to finish out! It doesn’t hurt that I also like the TV show adaptation that just released the third and final season!
Matthew and Diana go back in time to find a (hopefully) safer place for her to train in the art of magic and find the mysterious and elusive manuscript that has the whole creature community up in arms. When they arrive in 1590, their plan doesn’t go smoothly whatsoever, and we meet lots of historical people and places along the way.
I think this book is so sweet because we actually get to see them fall in love more, learn to really trust each other and discover more about themselves as individuals and as a couple. If you’ve been looking for a new fantasy series that doesn’t have much spice at all, this is a great pick!
Nora Goes Off Script, Annabel Monaghan: 4 Stars
Version: Kindle via NetGalley
Publication Date: June 7, 2022
Thanks to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader’s Copy of Nora Goes off Script! I didn’t go into this book with high or low expectations, but I can easily say I was pleasantly surprised. This had all the butterfly inducing moments of a Hallmark movie, with much more self-aware cheese.
You know how Hallmark movies are incredibly predictable? Well, Nora Hamilton literally provides for her husband and two kids by writing with that well known formula and selling the scripts to the romance channel. When her privileged and berating husband leaves her family without a backward glance, Nora channels her aggravation toward him into the best script she has ever written- one that doesn’t follow the cheesey formula. Hollywood’s biggest names are cast as the leading stars, including Leo Vance, a former “America’s Sexiest Man Alive” title holder.
Filming wraps, yet Leo begs to stay in Nora’s idyllic small town home for just a week longer to work through some things. Nora’s aggravation with her house guest may just turn into adoration, and we get to enjoy everything that follows!
This book was much, much deeper than I thought it would be, and it had the perfect amount of spice- not too detailed but still there. My only frustration is hard to say without spoiling the ending, but the trope here is my least favorite by far. This was one of the better workings of it, but it still left me with a slightly bad taste in my mouth. The only other issue I have here is the initial romance and rekindling make up a smaller part of the book, and Nora’s internal monologue about what went wrong occupies a larger chunk than I think was necessary. It’s so good though, I still had to rate it really high! I felt so many genuine emotions throughout and was really rooting for them!
The New Neighbor, Karen Cleveland: 5 Stars
Version: Kindle via NetGalley
Publication Date: July 26, 2022
Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC of The New Neighbor!
For the past 20 years, Beth has been the perfect wife to her dedicated husband, mom to her three kids, neighbor to her cul-de-sac of friends and analyst for the CIA- all until she’s not. Her husband is leaving her, all three of her kids are out of the house now, they sold their beloved forever home in the perfect neighborhood and now the CIA has just moved her off her longest running and highest stakes case yet.
To no one’s surprise, Beth is having a hard time adjusting to all this change around her. Just when she has a sinking suspicion that she’s closer than ever to finding the target that’s alluded her for 15 years, everyone around her starts to question her sanity and reliability. With no one on her side, she sets out to find the target herself and hopefully stop a catastrophic national security breach. Everyone is a suspect, and no one can be trusted- maybe not even Beth herself.
This book had the perfect amount of twists and turns, and I never really knew who was the real villain. I can sometimes love or hate books where literally everyone could be guilty, but this was one of those times when it was really well done. Beth’s actions seemed more realistic, and I found myself wanting to scream at the characters for acting like she was so crazy.
I also can’t tell if this was open ended leading to a sequel or just open ended to be fun- I think I would read another book in this world!
Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman: 5 Stars
Version: Audiobook via Library
I went into this book without knowing much- I have seen sporadic bits and pieces of the movie, but I never really had a clear picture of it except knowing Sandra Bullock was in it and there was magic involved! Come to find out, this book couldn’t be more different from the movie, but that’s okay!
Once I finished this, I read the reviews on goodreads to see not many people actually enjoyed reading this one. I was genuinely shocked, because I loved it! I think the main problems people have with the book are solved with the audiobook version though, so maybe give this one a shot on audio.
The Owens women have been blamed for everything that goes wrong in their tiny New York town for more than 200 years. Jillian blows out of town at her first available chance, and after Sally finally takes all she can, she escapes to her own tiny town with her two young daughters. No one the women fall in love with seems to be safe, and peculiar things happen all around the family constantly. When Jillian gets herself into too tricky of a situation to get out of, she shows up on Sally’s door begging for help. Their story is full of heartbreak, humor, joy and so many types of love.
If you’re looking for fast paced plot, lots of action, etc., this isn’t the book for you. However, if you love a good “slice of life” with some magical elements, this was such a delightful listen for me. A lot of people dislike how the book doesn’t have chapters, but I thought that resulted in a more comfortably audiobook experience- less frequent breaks and smoother pacing were really nice!
Alice Hoffman also wrote The Museum of Extraordinary Things, and that is SUCH a good book! Definitely give that one a shot too.
Luckiest Girl Alive, Jessica Knoll: Stars
Version: Audiobook via Library
This was way, way different than I was expecting it to be. It was recommended to me by a friend who learned it’s coming out as a movie on Netflix starring Mila Kunis! It’s always so nice to read a book before the movie comes out, and the entire time I was reading I could perfectly picture it as a movie. I was not expecting “the big event” that happens in the school, but it certainly wasn’t what it ended up being. I don’t want to give anything away.
Ani is on the precipice of obtaining what she’s been working for ever since she experienced a life altering tragedy at her cutthroat high school more than ten years ago. She has the perfect job, the perfect body and the perfect soon-to-be husband, but as soon as she agrees to participate in a documentary about the event, secrets and memories from the past come rushing back threatening to impact her current, perfect life.
I honestly never knew if I should trust Ani or if she was telling the complete truth throughout the entire book. I always love an experience like that, but this book honestly stressed me out at the same time haha. I think listening to it on audiobook was a more stressful experience than reading it would be, but honestly this does give me the same vibes as Girl on the Train, Gone Girl, etc. as all the reviews say. I recommend reading this one before the movie comes out! It’s a little graphic but honestly not too intense.
Did Not Finish
It might sound weird to be “proud” of not finishing books, but it’s actually really hard for me to give up on something once I’ve started it. I always need to know how the story ends, but on the other hand if I’m literally hating it and having a hard time getting through/not looking forward to it, what’s the point?
This month, I DNF’d (did not finish) three books, and here they are!
Dava Shastri’s Last Day
Persuasion, Jane Austen (audiobook)
The Turnout, Megan Abbott (audiobook)
Make sure you’re following me on @lorensbooknook so you can see a more real time look at my monthly reading journey.
If you read anything you loved this month, comment below so we can all share the book love!
