The Existence of Amy by Lana Grace Riva Genre: Fiction
FULL DISCLOSURE: I was contacted by the author asking me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
On the outside, Amy appears to have her life together. She has a good job, friends and her own place. What no one knows, however, is that Amy suffers from severe OCD and anxiety which eventually lead to a depression so deep she is not able to function.
This book was such a great opportunity to learn more about mental health and how someone can work their way back from a dark place in their life. I really enjoyed this story.
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Aiden Bishop has been given eight days to solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle. No one knows who Aiden is because each day he wakes up, he is in the body of someone else and the day of Evelyn’s murder begins all over again. If he doesn’t solve her murder in time, he won’t be allowed to escape back to his own life. Will he be able to trust everyone he encounters and will he be able to solve this murder?
It took me some time to get used to all of the characters in this story. The days also jumped around which was confusing until I got used to it. I will say, however, that once I was able to wrap my head around these things I felt like I was on a roller coaster ride filled with great twists and turns and an ending I wasn’t expecting!
Five Feet Apart by Rachel Lippincott with Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis Genre: Young Adult
Stella Grant has Cystic Fibrosis and has been in and out of hospitals most of her life. She has to stay away from anyone or anything that she could catch an infection from because she’s on a list for a lung transplant.
The only problem is that she meets Will Newman who also has Cystic Fibrosis. Will is just counting down the days until he turns 18 so that he can stop his treatments and go travel the world.
The connection between Will and Stella is undeniable but if they get too close physically it could jeopardize Stella’s chances of receiving her lung transplant.
This was such a good read! I didn’t know a lot about Cystic Fibrosis before reading this book but I now have a new found appreciation and compassion for those that suffer with this horrible disease. Be warned that tissues will be needed while reading this beautiful story.
Where did September go?? I cannot believe that we are into October and it’s now officially Fall! This is my absolute favorite time of year. The trees are gorgeous where we live and we should be at full peak with the colors within the next week or so.
I had a great reading month! I had two five star reads and one four star. I also think I’ve read my favorite thriller for the year! In total I read 1,203 pages and my average rating was 4.67.
Full reviews of each of these books can be found in prior posts here on my blog. Listed below are quick summaries of each book:
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman Genre: Chick-Lit Rating: 5/5 StarsThe Chestnut Man by Soren Sveistrup Genre: Thriller Rating: 5/5 StarThe Whisper Man by Alex North Genre: Thriller Rating: 4/5 Stars
I already have my tbr pile picked out for October thanks to my husband! There is a challenge currently going around on Instagram where your significant other picks your reading pile. I’m so glad to be doing this because unbeknownst to him, he picked books that have been on my shelves for far too long!
If you have a special someone in your life willing to do this, join in and, as always, Happy Reading everyone!
If you leave a door half open, soon you’ll hear the whispers spoken . . . If you’re lonely, sad, and blue, the Whisper Man will come for you.
Tom Kennedy is a recent widower and decides to move to a new town with his young son, Jake, for a new beginning. The town he’s chosen to move to is Featherbank and unbeknownst to Tom, Featherbank has quite a dark past. Twenty years ago a serial killer kidnapped and murdered five young boys. Frank Carter was eventually caught and was given the nickname The Whisper Man because he would whisper outside the windows of his victims at night in order to lore them from their homes.
At the time Tom and Jake move into their new home, a boy vanishes and his disappearance bears unnerving similarities to Frank Carter’s crimes. Pete Willis was a Detective on the Frank Carter case and he’s now brought in to assist Detective Amanda Beck in the search for the missing boy.
Jake has told his father that he has heard whispering outside of his window and begins to demonstrate some disturbing behavior. Is the Whisper Man really back and is Jake possibly one of his next victims?
This book definitely gave me creepy feels! For me, the suspensefulness wasn’t consistent throughout the book. With that being said, however, I really did enjoy the book and ended up rating it 4/5 stars.
The Chestnut Man by Soren Sveistrup Genre: Thriller
** spoiler alert ** This story follows the investigation into a serial killer who leaves a chestnut doll at the scene of each of his gruesome murders. The victims have all been accused of abusing their children but beyond that law enforcement can’t seem to figure out who the killer could be. The other problem is that the fingerprints found on the first chestnut doll found belongs to the daughter of a government official, who went missing a year ago and someone already confessed to murdering her.
I loved this debut novel from Soren Sveistrup! It kept me on the edge of my seat up to the very end. This has definitely become my top read in the thriller genre for this year!! Don’t be afraid of the 500+ pages. It really is a fast read and the majority of the chapters are short. I’m not a fast reader. I started this book on a Tuesday and I finished it in just over 5 days which is really fast for me.
I HIGHLY recommend this book and ended up giving it a 5/5 star rating.
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman Genre: Chick Lit
Nina Hill lives by herself with her cat and works in a local bookshop. She loves order and routine and is not spontaneous at all and she likes that. One day, she is notified that her father, who she never knew existed, has passed away and she’s been named in his will. She also finds out that she has brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews. Not everyone is happy to have her as the newest member of their family, however. On top of discovering her new found family she’s finding that she’s falling for someone she didn’t plan on. Did I mention that she also suffers from anxiety when things get to be too much for her?
This was such a great read and there are definitely aspects to Nina’s life that I could relate to. Highly recommend this book! I rated this book 5/5 Stars.
Well here it is almost the end of September and I am just getting around to telling you how my August reading went. I will say that it was a good month! I was on vacation for 2 weeks in August and while I brought a ton of books with me to read I only got through 1. That’s ok because it was a 5-star read and that made it worth it, plus I had a great vacation with my family!
I was able to read a total of 1,090 pages and finished 3 books during the month. My average rating was 4.33 stars.
Full reviews of all three books are in prior posts here on my blog but you can find recaps of them below:
29 Seconds by T.M. Logan Genre: Thriller Rating: 4/5 StarsI’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson Genre: Young Adult Rating: 5/5 StarsClass Mom by Laurie Gelman Genre: Chick Lit Rating: 4/5 Stars
I am loving the change of season that’s taking place. Fall is my favorite season and I’m looking forward to reading curled up with a cozy blanket and a cup of tea in the evenings! Happy reading everyone!!
Jen Dixon is not your typical mom with a child in Kindergarten. She’s in her 40’s and has 2 daughters who are both in college. Both of her daughters’ fathers were musicians and she wasn’t married to either of them. She ends up marrying Ron and they have a son, Max.
Jen is asked to be the class parent for Max’s kindergarten class and that’s where the fun begins.
This book is hysterically funny. It starts that way from the very beginning of the book and stays that way until the end.
I’m not a fast reader. It will typically take me a week to finish a book, but I read this book in 3 days!! A perfect read to take with you on vacation or if you are just looking for a comical quick read. I will definitely be reading the sequel to this book.
I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson Genre: Young Adult
We follow fraternal twins, Noah and Jude in I’ll Give You The Sun. They each have their own side of a story to tell throughout, and we get to see how their mistakes and choices shape each of them.
When I continue to think about a book days after finishing it, that book will most always get a 5 star rating from me. I’ll Give You The Sun did just that! This book is beautifully written and has definitely made it one of the top books I’ve read this year. It’s absolutely the best YA I believe I’ve ever read!
Highly recommend reading this book if you haven’t yet!!
Becky's Reading Journey 