Here it is, the first book review of 2019. I did pretty well this month…finishing 8 books! I had plenty of time on our cruise to read to my hearts content. I’ve set my 2019 reading goal at 80 so ending the first month with 8 already under my belt is a good start!
Verity by Colleen Hoover— I’m a huge fan of Colleen Hoover. In fact one of the best books I’ve ever read, It Ends With Us, was written by her. This book centered on a ghost writer who was hired to complete a series of books written by a famous author who had become incapacitated. She moves in with the authors husband so she can get a better sense of the author and her style. Naturally there is a spark between the husband and the ghost writer…but what about the wife, how does she factor in? This book had my flying through pages and biting my nails. BUT, BUT…the ending?? WTF. That’s all I’ll say but this would have been a 5 star but for the ending. Instead I’d only give it 3 1/2 stars.
The Ghost Writer by Alessandra Torre— While reading reviews on Good Reads about Verity, I noticed that lots of people kept mentioning this book. So I downloaded it onto my Kindle and started reading. A recluse author, dying of cancer hires a ghost writer to help her tell her last big secret. I was able to figure out how things went down at roughly the 1/2 way point, but it was still an interesting enough read for me to power through. This book could have used more editing. There’s a part where the author and the ghost writer go out of state and there’s some hunting involved and birthing of a calf…this stuff has literally NOTHING to do with the plot AT ALL. It should have been left out completely. The was a decent read, a bit slow and for that I’ll give it 3 stars.
The Blue Bisto by Elin Hilderbrand— Well, that’s it…I’ve officially read every Elin Hilderbrand book out there. Its unfortunate that this had to be the last one I read. Girl leaves Colorado and moves to Nantucket…takes job she has zero qualifications to do at a local hot spot restaurant. Somehow, she and the owner end up in bed together and this is made to seem like they had some deep passion building up for a long time, but really it just seems like they were thrown together out of the blue. Things are complicated by the owners weird obsession with his BFF and co-owner of the restaurant…who’s dying…of course. I hated all of the main characters. Selfish, rude, inconsiderate and sometimes just plain weird. I would NOT recommend this book to anyone, even a die-hard Hilderbrand fan. 1 star at best.
How to Walk Away by Katherine Center– Now this was a good book! Somehow Margaret’s perfect (on paper) boyfriend manages to convince her to go up with him in his airplane, even though she has deep seated fears of flying. Naturally they crash. Boyfriend (now fiance as he managed to propose before crashing the plane) walks away unscathed….Margaret not so much. What you’re left with is Margaret’s journey through healing, inside and out. I will warn you…you.will.hate.the.fiance. There can be no sympathy for him…he’s just flat out an a-hole. I loved this book (even though the ending was a bit far fetched) and give it 4 1/2 stars.
Heads You Win by Jeffrey Archer— What the hell did I just read?!?!?! This book tells the story of Alexander and his mother escaping communist Russia. At the point of departure, there are two shipping crates to choose from to get into…one heading to New York and the other to England. What follows is back and forth chapters chronicling what life is like for mother and son if they’d gone into one crate and the next chapter telling us what life would be like having chose the other. There’s weird, unexplained, name changes, sometimes it seems as though there are paths being crossed between the two possibilities and the ending?? Oh my god the ending. I have no idea what the hell happened. I’m telling you this book just about caused me to throw my kindle into the ocean. ZERO stars!!
Modern Girls by Jennifer Brown– Girl gets knocked up at the same time her mother finds out she too, is expecting. What follows is an interesting look at what life was like for women with few choices. It takes place in New York City in 1935. I really can’t say too much about this one without giving things away. It’s a solid read with an ending that left me hanging. Just 3 stars for this one. I loved the descriptions of the fashion of the time and it was interesting to learn more about Jewish cultures and traditions.
Happiness, a Memoir by Heather Harpham– Heather finds herself pregnant but alone as her boyfriend wants nothing to do with being a father. She moves from New York back to California and has the baby. Almost instantly there is trouble with the baby and from there the reader is given all the information and feelings that goes along with taking care of a baby with an unknown illness. Boyfriend is forced to make some tough decisions that affect whether they can be a family or not. I really had no idea how this book was going to end. I was heavily invested in the lives of these three and really appreciated how thoughtful they were with each other. I’ll leave it at that. I give it 4 solid stars.
The Ridge by John Rector– Finally, the last book of January. The Ridge is a planned community based around a science lab. All the residents of the Ridge work there or are spouses of those that work there. Right off the bat it seems a bit “stepford” if you know what I mean. Our main character, right off the bat, knows that things are weird and when there is a showdown between her and a neighbor, things get bad fast. From there it’s a bit of a rollercoaster. Eventually all is made clear. Honestly I’m not sure if I like this book. It had the potential to be great, but somehow fell flat for me. 3 stars
That’s it! Eight books! If you are looking for more book reviews…start here
