Coming at ya today from the slowest reading month of my year so far. I know 6 books are a lot of books for some, but having read 6 books this past month, it became the month I read the least for this year. Which is ok with me frankly. I’ve been knee deep in renovating our home, writing and work has been quite busy lately as well (not complaining I like busy). Either way, reading took a bit of a back seat.
Although I didn’t read as much as the months before, I did enter Erin’s book challenge once again because why not? I couldn’t resist. Ive already read 2 of my 10 picks and I’m halfway through a 3rd. Nothing like a challenge to get me back into the reading spirit.
Anyway, since my last post, these are the Books I’ve been reading lately:
Loved it:
The Hating Game ~ Sally Thorne
Ok so I really loved this book. It was the cutest thing. The beginning was a bit slow but the end was absolutely adorable. The enemies to lovers trope is one of my faves so yeah… loved it
I see many comparisons to Christina Lauren’s “Dating you Hating you” and they are well founded. I may have liked CL’s a bit more but both books were good. I also much preferred this to 99 percent mine.
4/5 stars
Goodreads link here
The Tattooist of Auschwitz ~ Heather Morris
I am a complete sucker for any kind of history but WW2 stories, especially those based on true stories, always get me. I knew I would love this one. Its the true story of Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew who was taken to a concentration camp during the war. The story follows his time working as a tattooist at the prison (and how he managed to stay alive) as well as his unlikely love story. I read it and tried to imagine it, and I still cant believe that in the lifetime of my grandparents people went through such horror. It also hit me that Lale was from a country neighbouring Romania where my husband is from…
Anyway, the writing wasn’t always the best, but I think Lale’s story was told and for that I gave it 4 stars.
4/5 stars
Goodreads link here
The art of racing in the rain ~ Garth Stein
(read for Erin’s book challenge 11)
The car goes where the eyes go.
Books with animal characters always get me. I loved this story and it was well worth the hype. You of course have to suspend your disbelief quite a bit since it’s told from the perspective of a dog but once you do that it’s so brilliant.
There was one aspect of it that I thought maybe didn’t need to happen but it did. the story was still touching but it took it from a 5 to a 4.5 stars for me.
4.5/5
Goodreads link here
Liked it:
The Unlikely life of Maisie Meadows ~ Jenni Keer
(received from Netgally for an honest review)
I gave this 3.5 stars and rounded up because of the ending which I absolutely loved. I did figure out some twists, but one in particular caught me off guard in the best way (its an adult drama with twists). That said, it took me longer than usual to read it because it was slow at points and because the characters – especially the sister, while well done, acted and felt much younger than they were supposed to be. Sometimes things just didn’t connect. Still, the beginning and ending of the book were brilliant (confusing review I know).
Its the story of Maisie who is on a mission to reunite her family, and an old tea set. Thats the core story, but the lives of the people around her – her family, coworkers, and each link to the tea set – made both missions so interesting
3.5/5 stars
Goodreads link here
The care and feeding of ravenously hungry girls ~ Anissa Gray
I enjoyed it but maybe not as much as it was hyped up to be. The story follows three sisters, one of whom is incarcerated for fraud. The reader is taken on a journey through each of the sisters experiences from childhood to adulthood and how the incarceration of the eldest sister affects them (and the wider family).
It was a good story but truthfully it didn’t hold my attention like I expected it to. Also, so many issues just did not get resolved leaving me scratching my head. Good not great.
3.5/5 stars
Goodreads link here
The Bride Test ~ Helen Hoang
(read for Erin’s book challenge 11)
Cute book but I didn’t enjoy it as much as the Kiss Quotient. I liked the characters a lot – Esme was cute, Khai as a character on the autism spectrum was well done, I loved Quan and I thought the Khai’s mother was a breath of fresh air.
That said… the relationship between Khai and Esme felt off to me. Sometimes too fast, sometimes not ‘real’, sometimes just forced. Also it took entirely too long for Esme to reveal her secret to Khai … which to me was fundamental to moving forward in the relationship. Nevertheless it was a cute book.
3/5 stars
Goodreads link here
Not my vibe:
N/A
Currently Reading :
I’m currently between reading Miracle Creek by Angie Kim and Of Marriageable age by Sarah J Maas. I’m loving miracle creek so far but man its taking me a minute to read it, which is why I keep pausing it. Of marriageable age I’m reading for Erin’s challenge and I’m also really enjoying it
