I received a copy of this book from Edelweiss and William Morrow in exchange for an honest review.
I was really looking forward to this book because The Alice Network is one of my favorite books of all time. I really enjoyed the book. Not quite as much as The Alice Network. I really enjoyed all of the main characters. You wanted Jordan to succeed and be believed. Nina as a whole was super interesting and compelling as was Anna. The three main characters were strong women surrounded by strong women. Kate Quinn knows how to write a strong character. Characters that draw you in. Quinn has very strong themes of Love, Loss, Revenge and War running through this book. I could see this book being turned into a movie. Around the middle the book dragged a bit for me. I had to make myself push through several chapters but towards the back half it really picked up. I didn't want to put the book down at that point. Quinn knows how to teach you about feminist history and WWII like no other. She makes you want to learn more about history just from reading her novels. I loved Jordan and the Night Witches the most. I felt like they could each have their own books.
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Started this book because I joined a buddy read on instagram. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I will admit that this book felt like a big game of Clue or an episode of Quantum Leap and I had to make sure I had a bunch of time to read this weekend.
This book is a twisty trip over 8 days. In 8 different host bodies for Aiden Bishop. Aiden must solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle before the end of the day in his host body or he will lose his memory and have to start over. To make things even harder Aiden is being stalked by a footman who will kill him if he finds Aiden in his host body. I don't want to give away too much but if you follow closely Stuart Turton gives you all the clues to figure out the mystery. Stuart Turton wrote an incredible book with a very layered plot. Do yourself a favor and pick up this book. Maybe hideaway for a couple of days and decor this story. If you are in the middle of it and would like to join our November Buddy Read my instagram handle is @sweethoneyandBrei. I received an advance copy of The Royal Runaway from Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review.
I loved Princess Thea of Drieden. Thea's fiancé jilts her at the alter and she is sent off for a few months to get her self straight. Once Thea comes back from exile she is expected to resume her Royal duties. Thea decides she needs a little adventure and begins to sneak out of the castle to different pubs. This is where she meets Nick. Nick turns out to be a spy looking for Thea's ex-fiance. Thea gets blackmailed by Nick into helping him find Christian. Thea is a strong character and I loved her. She didn't want to stand by and let other people help her she wanted to be involved herself. This was a fun, quick romp of a read. It had romance, suspense and comedy. Everything you could want in a romance. This book did not disappoint! I hope to see more of Princess Thea. Have you read this one? If so what did you think? I put off reading this book because so many people gave it excellent reviews. I was afraid it would not live up to the hype. I honestly did myself a disservice by not picking this book up right away.
The cover is beautiful and inviting. The green of her dress just pops off the cover. I started this book last night late and finished it this afternoon. I didn't want to go to sleep last night because I was so involved! I wanted Evelyn to be real. I wanted to be reading a real memoir. Evelyn was such a complex character. You know she did wrong but you still love her. You still want her to come out on top. You want to know every little detail of her life. I found myself devouring this book. I would get mad when my boyfriend tried to talk to me. I kept shooing him away. I spent hours out in the back yard with the breeze blowing while Evelyn told me her story. I give this book 5 stars and have added it to my all time favorite reads. Run don't walk to pick up this book. You will not be disappointed. I feel like Taylor Jenkins Reid can do no wrong lately. Starting the September wrap up I realized I read more books than I thought this month. I set a goal for myself in January to read 75 books this year and I am almost there. So far this month I have read 62 of 75 books so that means I just have to read 4 books a month for the next 4 months to reach my goal. That is totally doable and I am really excited that I will reach my goal this year. Do you guys count books like Whiskey in a Teacup and Bibliophile in your read list?
Title: The Accidental Beauty Queen (Not pictured) Author: Teri Wilson Publisher: Gallery Books Published Date: December 4, 2018 Stars:*** This book reminded me of Miss Congeniality in book form. I needed this book at the beginning of the month after reading some heavy books in August. It gave me a laugh at just the right times. It wasn't super deep and you don't have to think too much with this book. Great book to pick up if you need a good laugh and a little romance. I received an ebook from Gallery Books and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Title: The Banker's Wife Author: Cristina Alger Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Published Date: July 3, 2018 Stars: **** I really enjoyed The Banker's Wife. I didn't give it 5 stars because the main characters names were mixed up several times in the book. They started off talking about one of them and the next paragraph they call her someone else. It would be ok if it only happened once but it honestly happened a handful of times. I really liked that this book had three strong female characters. Books these days seem to have an unreliable female lead and this book didn't take that path. I applaud Alger for that! This book has enough twist and turns for you to be kept guessing the entire time. Title: Fruit of the Drunken Tree Author: Ingrid Rojas Contreras Publisher: Doubleday Published Date: July 31, 2018 Stars: *** I am going to have a very unpopular opinion on this one. I just could not get into this book. I can usually finish a book in a couple of days but this book took me all month. I had to make myself finish it. It is hard for me not to give this book an excellent rating because the author went through some of these awful things. I can respect that but I just didn't find Chula or Petrona were very relatable. I also found myself getting confused for much of the beginning of the book. On a happier note this book cover is beautiful! Title: Playing With Matches Author: Hannah Orenstein Publisher: Touchstone Paperback Published Date: June 26, 2018 Stars: *** This one was just OK for me. I felt there was a lot going on with no real character development for anyone. That being said this book was meant to be a quick easy read and it delivers just that. I enjoyed Sasha but wanted to know more about her job and friends. I had memories of Patti Stanger and her matchmaking show with this book. Another lite, easy read to get you out of your reading slump. I received this book from Touchstone Paperback and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Title: Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany Author: Jane Mount Publisher: Chronicle Books Published Date: September 11, 2018 Stars: **** This book is filled with gorgeous illustrations. I wanted to tear out every page and frame them till there was no wall left to see. If you like books about books this is another great book for you to pick up. This book will look gorgeous on your coffee table or mixed in with your other books on the bookshelf. Title: Whiskey in a Teacup Author: Reese Witherspoon Publisher: Touchstone Published Date: September 18, 2018 Stars: *** I so badly wanted to love this book. I love everything Reese does but I just didn't connect with this book. Made me feel very Northern and well I am from the South! I don't monogram anything. I did love the chapter about book clubs and some of her recipes looked easy and really good. I think this will look great on the coffee table but as a book it fell flat for me. Title: Evidence of the Affair Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid Publisher: Amazon Original Stories Published Date: September 20, 2018 Stars: ***** Super quick and easy read. A nice palate cleanser of a short story compared to the heavy books I've been reading. This story is told mostly through letters to the other character. Great short story with a slight twist. Title: The Lies We Told Author: Camilla Way Publisher: Berkley Published Date: October 9, 2018 Stars: **** This is a great book told in two different time periods. I will admit I enjoyed the earlier time period more because Hannah is a super creepy kid. I was also invested more in the characters in the earlier timeline than the current timeline. This is a fantastic twisty read. I received this book from Berkley and Read It First in exchange for an honest review. Title: Where the Crawdads Sing Author: Delia Owens Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons Published Date: August 14, 2018 Stars: ***** This book was my favorite in September and quite possibly my favorite of 2018. Delia Owens wrote a lyrical book that tugs at your heart strings. This book checks off so many boxes. It is a romance, a mystery, and a coming of age novel. You root for Kya the entire book. This book deserves all the awards. I hope it gets picked up for a movie. If you are interested in any of these books you can click the title and it will bring you straight to the book on Amazon. What was your favorite book in September? What should I add to my October TBR? "Inspired by the author's own life, and told through the alternating perspectives of the willful Chula and the achingly hopeful Petrona, Fruit of the Drunken Tree contrasts two very different, but inextricable coming-of-age stories. In lush prose, Rojas Contreras sheds light on the impossible choices women are often forced to make in the face of violence and the unexpected connections that can blossom out of desperation."
I am probably going to have a very unpopular opinion on this novel. I had a hard time getting into this book. I can usually finish a novel in 2 to 3 days tops and this one took me all month. I kept having to put it down and read something else. I really didn't connect with the characters. And there were times I just got lost. I didn't understand what was going on. It is really hard to say I don't like this book because some of these things actually happened to the author. Because she went through some of the terrors or knows multiple people that did I thought there would be more emotion. Like I mentioned earlier I have a very unpopular opinion so you may like this book. I originally picked this book up to participate in the Doubleday Book Club and Read Across Instagram. I will say this book is beautiful to photograph. Book: The Banker's Wife Author: Cristina Alger Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons Stars: **** A very refreshing break from the unreliable women narrator's that have been floating around the book world these days. Cristina Alger wrote a solid thriller that I didn't want to put down. I became invested in the main characters and wanted to know what was going to happen next . This story alternates mainly between two main characters Marina and Annabel. Annabel is the widow of Matthew Werner, a banker at Swiss United. Marina is a journalist working on story about a Ponzi Scheme creator that disappeared. The women don't know each other but they are tied to each other by the story. All the women in the book are sober and coherent. I didn't see the twist coming in the end. This book is a great, quick read! This book got 4 stars because there were several mixups in the chapters on which woman was the narrator but I still enjoyed the book. Did you read this book? Did you enjoy it? What is your favorite thriller!? Book: I'd Rather Be Reading
Author: Anne Bogel Publisher: Baker Books Rating: ***** I loved every word in this book from the Dedication on. I felt like Anne was speaking directly to me and every reader out there. I am that reader that used to hide a flashlight and use it to read with when I was supposed to be sleeping. Anne really made me feel like I was talking to a friend the whole time I was reading her book. I added several of the books she mentioned to my TBR and I can't wait to read them to see if I feel the same way she does about them I received this book and finished it in one sitting. Just a delightful book every reader should pick up and read. I will be giving it as a gift to all of my favorite readers! I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Book: Dear Fahrenheit 451 Author: Annie Spence Publisher: Flatiron Books Rating: **** I picked this book up because I just read a book in the similar style and loved it. This book did not disappoint. I found myself laughing out loud at some of her letters. I also found myself googling some of the books she wrote about and adding them to my TBR. By the end of the book I felt like I had laughed with a friend over books. I found myself giggling over several breakup letters. Like why didn't the child bring Twilight to college? Who decided it was a good idea to stock a book on pleasure for one at the library? Pick up this book if you love books. Pick up this book if you want to think your local librarian is as witty as Annie. Pick up this book if you want to laugh and feel like you just finished a great day with a girlfriend. Do you like books about books? Do you have any books about books that you would recommend? Book: Hey Ladies!
Author: Michelle Markowitz and Caroline Moss Publisher: Abrams Image Stars: ** .25 I wish we could give 1/2 or quarter stars. I just wasn't a fan of this book. someone else further down the line compared this to the Girls of fiction and I whole heartedly agree. You have to know that I am not a fan of Girls (I tried to like it I promise!). So this is going to be another unpopular review from me. I know this book is supposed to be a satire but I just couldn't get into it. I finished the book because I waited so long to get it from the library. I skimmed a lot of the book because I just couldn't find anything I liked about most of the girls. I did find a few parts funny and I could relate to a little bit of Morgan's situation because I have definitely been there. But man the rest of them were just a little too extra for me. Yes, I know that is what the authors were going for. This book gets 2.25 stars because it was funny in parts and a fast read. Have you read Hey Ladies!? If so what is your opinion? Also if you haven't read the book have you ever been on a Hey Ladies text chain that will never end!? Book: The Kennedy Debutante
Author: Kerri Maher Publisher: Berkley Publishing Stars: ***** I was thrilled to receive this book because I love all things Kennedy. I was that teenager buying a subscription to George even though I didn't know anything about Politics because I loved the Kennedy's so much. I like most people have heard about the Kennedy men; along with Rosemary and Eunice but I hadn't heard about Kick. Kerri Maher lets us into the world of the 4th Kennedy child Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy as she is being introduced into society in 1938. The book is a vivid history lesson and romance all rolled into one. It is also a testament to faith and family. The Kennedy's are definitely a loyal and faithful bunch. Kerri Maher did her research and brought this family and their friends to life for me. I felt like I was reading a biography on Kick and not a piece of fiction. You will find yourself rooting for Kick the entire novel. You know in your heart her life and the events of her life have already happened but you will catch yourself pulling for all the good things to fall into place for her, her family and her friends. Do yourself a favor and wait till after you read the book to google Kick. I think this book will be a hit. If you have any interest in the Kennedy's or you just like reading about strong women in history you should pick up this book. Do you love the Kennedy's as much as I do? Are their any books that I should pick up about them? I received this book as an advance copy from NetGalley and Berkley Publishing/Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review. |
AuthorHello! My name is Brei and I created this little piece of cyberspace so I could share with you the books I am reading and my adventures around New Orleans. ArchivesCategories
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