It’s that time again!!! Show Us Your Books with Steph and Jana is my favorite day of the month in blog land. Last month I added quite a few to my TBR, as one tends to do! I also promised myself I wasn’t going to add any more books to my Netgalley shelf so that I could focus on clearing it out. And ummm while I did read a few books from it, I also added more. I CANT HELP IT! So let’s take a look at my books lately.
Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
You guys know my love for Liane Moriarty, so I was really excited and anticipating the day that I could download this book on Audible! When I first started listening, I was a little bored and confused with all the jumping around. I just wanted to know what the hell happened at the BBQ?!?!?! You don’t really start to find out what happened until you are a good 8 hours in to the book. It is a loooong book! I did finally start getting in to it after the first few hours and enjoyed it. You really get to know all the characters. My favorite was probably Tiffany. I couldn’t stand Erika most of the book and Clementine got on my nerves as well. But even though I didn’t care for them, it was still a good read.
Bottom Line: If you are a Liane Moriarty fan, then you need to give this book a go! I will say, it is not my favorite by her though. I enjoyed What Alice Forgot and Big Little Lies much more.
Rating: 3.5/5
Audio Comment: I have listened to every Liane Moriarty book via audiobook and I have to say the accent for the neighbor (Vid) was just awful at times. I got used to it after the first few hours and it quit bothering me so much.
Where We Fall by Rochelle B. Weinstein
One of the main characters in this book suffers from depression. It is certainly a harder topic to read about because as in real life, those that suffer from depression make me feel so helpless. It is a battle within them and there isn’t really anything you can do to help them. This book alternates between four characters: Abby (the wife who is depressed), Ryan (the husband who is a football coach), Juliana (their daughter) and Lauren (Abby and Ryan’s college friend.)
To keep from spoilers, basically something happened in the past that keeps haunting Abby and when the truth bubbles to the service, it threatens to destroy them all. I feel like this book brings light to a topic that many people try to avoid, mental illness. It does so in a tasteful, realistic way. I didn’t mind the chapters skipping POV because it is important for the story.
Bottom Line:If you are looking for a heavier chic lit read, then this is for you. If you or someone you know suffers from depression….this book might either help you understand your loved one and perhaps make you feel not so alone.
Rating:3.5/5
I received an advanced copy of Where We Fall from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
This one was on my TBR for awhile and so many of my friends gave it five star reviews so I knew I had to read it. I have to be in a certain mood to handle historical fiction, as it’s not my favorite genre to read.
This book! I had so many emotions and thoughts. There are two things that really stuck out to me in this book. At one point one of the characters wondered how this war could happen just because people worship different gods. Isn’t it crazy how this is still an issue today? And another thing is how people just assumed The Nightingale was a man because no woman could possibly do what The Nightingale did. In fact, the women were treated so badly in this book between prodding them like animals, stealing their food, whipping them, raping them. It is just crazy. I like to think we have moved forward as a society, but I still feel that women are not perceived as smart as men or as capable as men sometimes.
Reading about WWII is a heavy subject, but this book was written so beautifully. I really enjoyed it and had a hard time putting it down. You really get sucked in to the characters and the war from their point of view.
Bottom Line: Read it!!! This book is very enjoyable and I believe no matter the genre you prefer, you can take something from it.
Rating: 5/5
Audio Comment: I really enjoyed the narrator for this book, her voice is pleasant and her accents are on point.
Results May Vary by Bethany Chase
I was drawn to this book because the premise reminds me of Grace and Frankie, a show that I really enjoy. The book starts out with a huge shock, Caroline’s husband Adam of 17 years has cheated on her with another man. We also find out he has other secrets too and now Caroline is questioning her whole life and everything she thought she knew.
I really loved the relationship between Caroline and her sister Ruby. And I was engaged throughout the book as Caroline tried to discover who she was as an individual. At times I felt the book was a little simple, like I wanted a little more about Adam and the why. There are certainly some deeper emotions dealt with, like Caroline having to work through her anger and grief surrounding the dissolve of her long marriage. Yet it was done simply. If that makes sense?
Bottom Line: I enjoyed reading this book and found myself thinking several times about how a person is supposed to handle such a shock like this. If you like chic lit, I would say give it a try.
Rating:4/5
I received an advanced copy of Results May Vary from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.
That Summer by Sarah Dessen
I felt like this book was a little repetitive and not a whole lot of action going on. The characters were alright, I didn’t hate them but I wasn’t super invested in any of them either. I don’t even really have anything else to say about this book. Your typical, shallow YA read.
Bottom Line: This book was alright, but I think her other books I have read were better.
Rating: 2.5/5
Audio comment: The narrator for this book is pleasant to listen to. The only thing I didn’t care for was her attempt at a New York accent. That was pretty terrible.
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
While I love Harry Potter and many other books and movies, I don’t really get the fangirling over things to the extent of writing my own stories and being so obsessed with everything that surrounds it. So that part of the book I didn’t relate to. What I did relate to, was Cath’s attitude about meeting new people and college at first. I remember wanting to stay in my comfort bubble that time of my life as well. I could have done without the readings from Simon Snow books before each chapter. While it sometimes related to the chapter material, I felt it was sort of a waste of time. I wish they would have focused even more on Cath’s relationship with Levi or her sister and less on the readings from her fanfic or the Simon Snow books. I was also somehow a little disappointed with the ending. Like I wanted more.
Bottom Line: I really loved Attachments, this one was just meh for me. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the book but it wasn’t my favorite. It just sort of passed the time.
Rating: 3/5
Audio Comments: The narrator was decent to listen to.
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
I really liked the premise of this book. You basically bounce between present time and memories, which I liked the flow of. Mia is in a horrible car accident and she is sort of trapped between living and dying and has the decision if she should stay or not. I don’t really feel like the characters were very developed in this book. I enjoyed my time while I was listening to it, but it wasn’t amazing and I will probably forget about it soon. I did tear up during two different parts though, so I guess it did manage to tug at my heart strings.
Bottom Line:If you are looking for a decent read to pass the time, this has a different premise which I enjoyed.
Rating: 3/5
Audio Comments: Audio was decent.
I Feel Bad About My Neck and Other Thoughts On Being a Woman by Nora Ephron
This is a nonfiction book that is supposed to be taken as humor on being a woman and getting older. I related to some of her rants about maintenance of taking care of your hair and shaving and exercising, etc. And she was right on about all the ridiculous products we get sucked in to buying just to look younger.
Bottom Line: I related to many of the topics that were covered and at times it was entertaining. Nothing mind blowing. This is a quick read, about three hours. I think anyone from their 30’s and up could relate and laugh along to a few points in this book.
Rating: 3/5
Audio Comments: Read by the author.
Currently Reading:
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
Currently Listening to on Audiobook:
Tricky Twenty Two from the Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich
Read anything good lately?
31 Comments
Love your book reviews! You also reminded me to add “Great Small Things” to my to-read list!
Anything my Jodi P, I must get my hands on. I read the Nightingale when it first came out and LOVED it, totally agree with your review. Being a Social Studies teacher in my former life, I was swept away with the elegant and rich character development from Hannah, she is a great writer who is often overlooked. Fabulous reviews as always!!!
I picked up I Feel Bad About My Neck yesterday… If heard of it, but didn’t know what people really thought about it! I’ve never read any of her other books, honestly. You are really on a roll with reading! I bought 4 books yesterday and am almost finished with one!
I just added I Feel bad About My Neck to my list to read, saw it in Lindsay’s IG post! I can’t wait to check it out. I also have the first one on my list. I have so much to read! You’re reading so much, that’s awesome. Thanks for the recs!
I am probably the last person who hasn’t read The Nightingale. I’ll get to it eventually x). I was so meh on Fangirl. I was thinking I was missing something about Rainbow Rowell’s books for a while, but I did enjoy Attachments.
I really liked Truly Madly Guilty, but I agree that it wasn’t quite up to the shock value or intensity of her other books (Big Little Lies and What Alice Forgot are my favourites by her too). I was desperate to seek out a spoiler about mid-way through the book and I’m glad I didn’t because I found out what happened to that character pretty quickly…but holy that was an intense little bit of reading. I actually almost e-mailed you because I knew you were further ahead in the book or done it by the time I was at that part. haha. I liked Fangirl but it isn’t going to be a re-read for me. I used to love the Stephanie Plum series – haven’t read it in awhile though! Enjoyable character though 🙂 So glad you loved The Nightingale!!
Love the late Nora Ephron–she was hilarious. Have seen her movies and read some essays of hers, but never her books. Thanks for the books lately roundup!
the nightingale ruined a lot of books for me …every book i tried to read after that just didn’t compare (ie. it sucked) so i had to return all of my books to the library and give myself a 2wk break!
i’m back in that same position after reading The One Man but i have to force myself to forget about the amazingness of that book so i can get through my current book.
I’m not 30 yet but I totally buy wrinkle cream so do I count? Lol! I’m probably where you are with the fangirl thing. I like learning trivia about things (like movie fun facts) and I LOVE book to movie comparisons and I will happily talk Harry Potter with anyone and I know which house I belong to (Hufflepuff) BUT I’m not going to love every single thing that comes out that’s HP related just because I liked the primary source. And I like to make references sometimes, or quote things, but fanfiction is usually bad and I don’t want other people’s take on the story. Just the author, please. 😛 Which might be part of the reason I didn’t enjoy HP and the Cursed Child as much. Because JK Rowling was involved, but there were at least 2 other people adding their voices and it just felt different.
I can’t believe I STILL haven’t read anything by Liane Moriarty! She’s on my list, but I’m getting through books so slowly these days it feels like it’s taking forever to get to anything.
I have The Nightingale on my Kindle app waiting for me, and I hear such great things—glad to see another 5-star review for it!
I’ve loved everything else I read by Rainbow Rowell, but haven’t gotten to Fangirl yet. I’ve read the synopsis a bunch and I feel like I’m already meh about it, like you are, so I’m not in a big hurry.
I have the release date for Small Great Things marked on my calendar. I love everything Jodi Picoult has done and have a bit of a tradition of celebrating her pub day by buying the book in hardback. Can’t wait to read it; I hope you’re enjoying it!
I love Nora Ephron so I really enjoyed that book of hers! I also liked The Nightingale. I have read nearly every Moriarty book (also as audio – they are so nice to listen to!) but I have been waiting on this one. You aren’t the first to say it isn’t her best!
I’m with you on not really being into historical fiction, which is why I haven’t jumped on The Nightingale. Love Liane Moriarty and Rainbow Rowell, and the ones you read are both on my list, but I figure I might read Rowell’s other work before this one because it just sounds so “meh” to me as well. Results May Vary sounds really interesting, and happy to read another positive review of it- adding it to my TBR!
You already know how I feel about the Vid voice… punch me please.
We have such similar taste in books.
Have you seen If I stay – the movie? Its really good & true to the book. I really loved the follow up of it as well!
First of all, loved the eCard – right on the head. Ha!
Secondly, I probably had the same feelings towards If I Stay as you. I did not like the movie at all even with Chloe Grace who I think is adorable. :\
I LOVE Liane Moriarty but hated Truly Madly Guilty. What happened at the damn BBQ?! I think that if we would have fount that out sooner it would have made the first half of the book actually worth getting through. MEH. I love anything by Nora E! You should read her sister’s new book Siracusa!
I need some more time before The Nightingale! I’m thinking February. LOL
WHY IS NETGALLEY SO ADDICTIVE THOUGH!
i keep putting truly madly guilty to the side, because i have so many library books to get through. i’m sure i’ll get to it eventually, but i’ll keep my expectations low.
so glad you loved the nightingale!
is tricky 22 new? i am like up to #10 so i really need to catch up haha. i can’t remember what ones i read when i first read the series like 10 years ago (or 5 years ago who knows).
small great things is on my list!
i felt the same about fangirl – i liked the story, but not the fanfic part. i did like if i stay, but read the second one immediately after and it totally tainted the 1st one for me, and i have forgotten both books lol, and i read them like 2 years ago maybe?
Love your recommendations- one day I’ll make time to read again 😉 I love Nora Ephron and got to hear her speak at a luncheon a few years ago before she passed away- so I’ve read ALL of her stuff and love her. Jodi Picoult is one of my fave authors of all time and I am looking forward to reading Small Great Things!
So many books!
I need to read The Nightingale because I’m a lover of historical fiction and I haven’t gotten my hands on it yet. The rest don’t sound like my kind of books, but I do want to check out a Moriarty book soon!
Your eCard is spot-on! LOL! The Nightingale was fabulous. I actually had to force myself to start it because I wasn’t really in the mood for something heavy but devoured it, once I started reading. I’m adding Where We Fall to my TBR. I do suffer from depression and it is a topic that is often ignored or not done well.
I have said this 100 times but I’m confident I am the only blogger who does not care to read The Nightingale. And I didn’t love Fangirl. The ending to If I Stay made me so angry had I not been reading it as an eBook, the book would have flown across the room in a fit of rage.
I am waiting on the Moriarty book and put Jodi’s aside until next week when I fly to San Diego.
I’m the same way with NetGalley. SO hard not to keep requesting! Haha. I have Results May Vary on my list, so I’m glad to hear you liked it. 🙂
I LOVED Fangirl…the parts that weren’t the Simon Snow stuff. Everything with Cath was great, and seriously a 5 for me. But yeah…basically everything that ended up being in Carry On I could have done without, which sucks because it interrupted the flow of a great story.
I tried listening to Fangirl this month, but I just couldn’t get into it because I was not expecting it to be like that at all! It was so different than Rainbow’s other story and I just couldn’t get into it.
You were a reading machine this month!
I feel like with Liane Moriarty books, all are enjoyable, some more than others, and some people are drawn to each a little differently. Does that make sense? I think that shows her talent as a writer.
In Fangirl, Reagan was my fave. I want a book about Reagan.
The Nightingale, really, how good is it?
Where We Fall sounds interesting to me. I’ll add that one.
I have Fan Girl, The Nightingale on my TBR already. I definitely need to check out more of Dessen’s books. 🙂 XO – Alexandra
Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things
I really liked If I Stay and I still need to read truly, madly, guilty!
I didn’t know about Jodi Picoult’s new book – can’t wait for that! Also excited to read Truly, Madly, Guilty and The Nightingale (it’s been on my list for a while now).
Jana and I must be in a boat of our own, in not being blown away by The Nightingale. I wanted to love it, but I was so annoyed through 75% of the book that the glorious ending was tainted.
I enjoyed If I Stay, I also liked Where She Went (the sequel). Foreman has also written other books that are sets that I enjoyed.
I agree with you about Moriarty, What Alice Forgot is still my fave.
I have to be in the right mood for Dessen, and willing to overlook the teenage angst that normally accompany her YA themes. I have several of her books on my Kindle, collecting digital dust bunnies because there are other books that are higher on my list.
Vid’s accent really annoyed me at first too. But I got used to it.
I LOVED Fangirl, but I ignored a lot of the Simon talk. I’m not an HP fan, so I was surprised I liked Fangirl as much as I did.
I love love loved The Nightingale! I have Truly Madly Guilty on the waitlist at the library and I’ve heard so-so things about it, but I love Liane Moriarty so I’ll read it lol!