My Top Reads from 2015

December 22, 2015

I can’t believe it’s already the time of year to do a round up of my favorite reads from 2015. It feels like I just posted last year’s list (no link, on the old blog). It’s been a busy year between work, photography and beginning my brand new blog, and my reading took a bit of my back seat.

I didn’t set a goal for myself in 2015. In past years, I had planned for 100 books, but I knew 2015 was going to be busy. I’m right around 52 books for the year, and will hopefully finish the one I’m currently reading before 2016 arrives. Still a pretty solid number considering how busy I’ve been!

On to my favorite books from 2015!

(Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. By purchasing items via these links, I will earn a small commission. This does not affect the price you pay for said items.)

The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy #3) – Deborah Harkness

Synopsis (from Goodreads): After traveling through time in Shadow of Night, the second book in Deborah Harkness’ enchanting series, historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home at Sept-Tours, they reunite with the cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches —with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency. In the trilogy’s final volume, Harkness deepens her themes of power and passion, family and caring, past deeds and their present consequences. In ancestral homes and university laboratories, using ancient knowledge and modern science, from the hills of the Auvergne to the palaces of Venice and beyond, the couple at last learn what the witches discovered so many centuries ago.

Verdict: This entire series was amazing. I tried really hard to spread them out throughout the year so they wouldn’t end. Thankfully, I was able to spread them out through 2014 & 2015. The books are long, but definitely worth the read. I’m pretty excited that she is coming out with another book in 2017!

Saddled – Susan Richards

Synopsis (from Goodreads): One day, at the age of thirty-one, Susan Richards realized that she was an alcoholic. She wrote it down in her journal, struck by the fact that it had taken nine years of waking up hung-over to name her illness. What had changed? This is a memoir about the power of animals to carry us through the toughest times of our lives—about the importance of constancy, the beauty of quiet, steadfast love, the way loving a good (and sometimes bad!) animal can keep you going. It’s a wonderful story for Susan’s (and Georgia’s) fans, and for anyone who has ever loved an animal enough to keep on living.

Verdict: As a life-long horseperson, I love reading a good horse story. This one was no exception. It was a beautiful story about the bond between this woman and her horse, and how she changed her life. If you are a horseperson, read it. You’ll appreciate the story. If you’re not a horseperson, read it. It will help you to understand the bond between a horse and their person much better.

Where’d You Go, Bernadette – Maria Semple

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she’s a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she’s a disgrace; to design mavens, she’s a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom. Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette’s intensifying allergy to Seattle—and people in general—has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic.

Verdict: After reading some pretty deep books, I needed a light read. This was exactly what I needed. While it tackle mental illness, it did so in a quirky way. I really adored Bernadette’s character and her daughter Bee. It was a sweet read, and an easy read at that. If you’re looking for a quick, enjoyable read, I highly recommend Where’d You Go, Bernadette

Leaving Time – Jodi Picoult

Synopsis (from Goodreads): For over a decade, Jenna Metcalf obsesses on her vanished mom Alice. Jenna searches online, rereads journals of the scientist who studied grief among elephants. Two unlikely allies are Serenity Jones, psychic for missing people who doubts her gift, and Virgil Stanhope, jaded PI who originally investigated cases of Alice and her colleague. Hard questions and answers.

Verdict: If I read a Jodi Picoult book during the year, it’s almost a guarantee that it will end up on this list. I’ve always loved her books. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book by her that I didn’t enjoy. I love how she tackles really tough and controversial subjects, and weaves them into a beautiful story. This was a beautifully written story, and a bit different from her typical books. I had read mixed reviews, but it didn’t stop me. And I’m glad I read it. I loved every minute of it. If you’re a Jodi Picoult fan, don’t miss Leaving Time.

Life in Motion – Misty Copeland

Synopsis (from Goodreads): With an insider’s unique point of view, Misty opens a window into the life of a professional ballerina who lives life center stage: from behind the scenes at her first auditions to her triumphant roles in some of the most iconic ballets. But in this beautifully written memoir, she also delves deeper to reveal the desire and drive that made her dreams reality. Life in Motion is a story of passion and grace for anyone who has dared to dream of a different life.

Verdict: I have a fascination with ballerinas. I don’t know why. I’ve never been one. I’ve never been to a ballet. And yet, I love learning about them and reading about it. Black Swan is one of my favorite movies, and Life in Motion is now one of my favorite books. Maybe it’s because they are so graceful and always look like they are floating across the stage. But this book isn’t just about ballerinas; it’s about Misty Copeland’s rise to the top. It’s an incredible read. She is the epitome of strength, determination, and a wonderful example for all young girls and women out there.

The Good Girl – Mary Kubica

Synopsis (from Goodreads): One night, Mia Dennett enters a bar to meet her on-again, off-again boyfriend. But when he doesn’t show, she unwisely leaves with an enigmatic stranger. At first Colin Thatcher seems like a safe one-night stand. But following Colin home will turn out to be the worst mistake of Mia’s life. An addictively suspenseful and tautly written thriller, The Good Girl is a propulsive debut that reveals how even in the perfect family, nothing is as it seems.

Verdict: I did everything in my power to not read this book until I went on vacation. I knew I wanted to have a really good book to read on the plane, and from everything I had heard about The Good Girl, it was the one. I was not disappointed. There was a point I was so close to finishing it, I was praying that the flight attendants were going to come around and tell me to put my Nook away. Thank god they didn’t. I finished it on the flight out to Vegas, and I was so thankful I had 4 hours of uninterrupted time to spend with it. It was a great thriller, and the twist at the end will shock you.

Garden Spells – Sarah Addison Allen

Synopsis (from Goodreads): The women of the Waverley family — whether they like it or not — are heirs to an unusual legacy, one that grows in a fenced plot behind their Queen Anne home on Pendland Street in Bascom, North Carolina. There, an apple tree bearing fruit of magical properties looms over a garden filled with herbs and edible flowers that possess the power to affect in curious ways anyone who eats them. As the sisters reconnect and learn to support one another, each finds romance where she least expects it, while Sydney’s child, Bay, discovers both the safe home she has longed for and her own surprising gifts. With the help of their elderly cousin Evanelle, endowed with her own uncanny skills, the Waverley women redeem the past, embrace the present, and take a joyful leap into the future.

Verdict: Sarah Addison Allen is another author I adore. Every book I’ve read, I’ve loved. Garden Spells had been on my wishlist for a long time, and I was thrilled when it came up as a Daily Deal. The story was beautifully written, and did not disappoint. I can’t wait to read First Frost (it will be a 2016 read for sure!)

The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls – Anton DiSclafani

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Weaving provocatively between home and school, the narrative powerfully unfurls the true story behind Thea’s expulsion from her family, but it isn’t long before the mystery of her past is rivaled by the question of how it will shape her future. Part scandalous love story, part heartbreaking family drama, The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls is an immersive, transporting page-turner—a vivid, propulsive novel about sex, love, family, money, class, home, and horses, all set against the ominous threat of the Depression—and the major debut of an important new writer.

Verdict: While this sounds like it’s going to be a “horse” book, it was so much more. It was a heart-wrenching story of a girl sent away, and how this riding camp helped her to heal and turn her life around. It’s beautifully written and a book I had a hard time putting down. Let’s just say I’m anxiously awaiting DiSclafani’s next book “The After Party.”

The Girl Who Came Home – Hazel Gaynor

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Fourteen members of a small village set sail on RMS Titanic, hoping to find a better life in America. For seventeen-year-old Maggie Murphy, the journey is bittersweet. Though her future lies in an unknown new place, her heart remains in Ireland with Séamus, the sweetheart she left behind. When disaster strikes, Maggie is one of the few passengers in steerage to survive. Waking up alone in a New York hospital, she vows never to speak of the terror and panic of that fateful night again. Inspired by true events, The Girl Who Came Home poignantly blends fact and fiction to explore the Titanic tragedy’s impact and its lasting repercussions on survivors and their descendants.

Verdict: I love all things Titanic. It’s a moment in history I love learning and reading about. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book, but it quickly rose to the top of my favorite books of 2015. In fact, it might be the only book on Goodreads that I gave 5 stars to this year. Even if you don’t particularly like things involving the Titanic, the story is still incredible.

Waiting to Be Heard – Amanda Knox

Synopsis (from Goodreads): In the fall of 2007, twenty-year old college coed Amanda Knox left Seattle to study abroad in Perugia, Italy for one year. But that November 1, her life was shattered when her roommate, British student Meredith Kercher, was murdered in their apartment. Five days later, Amanda was taken into custody and charged by the Italian police; her arrest and the subsequent investigation ignited an international media firestorm. Overnight, this ordinary young American student became the subject of intense scrutiny, forced to endure a barrage of innuendo and speculation. Two years later, after an extremely controversial trial, Amanda was convicted and imprisoned. But in 2011 an appeals court overturned her conviction and vacated the charges. Free at last, she immediately returned home to the U.S., where she has remained silent, until now.

Verdict: I just recently posted about this one (you can read it here). If you’re interested in learning more about Amanda Knox and her case, it’s worth reading.

And a bonus book…

American Wife – Curtis Sittenfeld

Synopsis (from Goodreads): On what might become one of the most significant days in her husband’s presidency, Alice Blackwell considers the strange and unlikely path that has led her to the White House–and the repercussions of a life lived, as she puts it, “almost in opposition to itself.” In Alice Blackwell, New York Times bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld has created her most dynamic and complex heroine yet. American Wife is a gorgeously written novel that weaves class, wealth, race, and the exigencies of fate into a brilliant tapestry–a novel in which the unexpected becomes inevitable, and the pleasures and pain of intimacy and love are laid bare.

Verdict: This is a bonus! I literally just finished this one and haven’t even posted about it yet on the blog. I love Curtis Sittenfeld. If you haven’t read Prep yet, you should. I wasn’t sure what to expect this book. And if you’re curious, it’s supposedly a fictionalized version of Laura Bush’s life. Curtis Sittenfeld was interviewed by NPR about the book, and there was a nice piece in The Atlantic too!

Well, there you have it! My top reads from 2015. Stay tuned for my last 2015 book round-up in early January.

Related posts you may enjoy: January – August Reads {2015} // September Reads {2015} // October & November Reads {2015}

October & November Reads {2015}

December 4, 2015

My monthly reads update is finally here; a bit late, but here. You know what they say, better late than never! Let’s just say, the months of October & November were a bit lackluster in terms of reading. I had big plans to read all.the.books. this month, but unfortunately time got away from me and other tasks demanded my attention. Like the photography business. This was the first year the saying “October is to photographers as April is to accountants” really resonated with me. I had over 20 sessions in the month of October and close to 10 in November. I had to cull through and edit THOUSANDS of images. It took hours upon hours. And I wouldn’t have changed any of it for the world.

So, reading took a back seat. It’s not that I’m not reading. I’m just not reading as fast I usually do. But, now that we’re in December, I’m hopeful I’ll get more reading done. Now that I’m in my “quiet” season.

So, without further ado, here are the books I read in October & November. I broke it up by month, to make it a bit easier.

(Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. By purchasing items via these links, I will earn a small commission. This does not affect the price you pay for said items.)

October

Waiting to Be Heard– Amanda Knox

Synopsis (from GoodReads): In the fall of 2007, twenty-year old college coed Amanda Knox left Seattle to study abroad in Perugia, Italy for one year. But that November 1, her life was shattered when her roommate, British student Meredith Kercher, was murdered in their apartment. Five days later, Amanda was taken into custody and charged by the Italian police; her arrest and the subsequent investigation ignited an international media firestorm. Overnight, this ordinary young American student became the subject of intense scrutiny, forced to endure a barrage of innuendo and speculation. Two years later, after an extremely controversial trial, Amanda was convicted and imprisoned. But in 2011 an appeals court overturned her conviction and vacated the charges. Free at last, she immediately returned home to the U.S., where she has remained silent, until now

Verdict: I’m the same age as Amanda, and was in my junior year of college when all of this happened. Despite being a journalism major, I paid attention to this story only a little bit. I knew bits and pieces of what was going on, but never really focused on the whole case. Last year, in 2014, when the final ruling was coming down, I finally paid attention to the story. I couldn’t believe I didn’t pay closer attention to this when it first happened, but couldn’t get enough as all of this was happening.

If you, for any reason, believe she is guilty, then don’t read this book. If you’re like me, and want to learn more about the case, and her story, then read it. But go into it knowing that this book is all her side of the story. I found it interesting and I learned quite a bit about what happened.

Hush – Kate White

Synopsis (From GoodReads): When Lake Warren learns that her husband, Jack, is suing for full custody of their two kids four months after their separation, she’s pretty certain that things can’t get any worse. The upside is that she’s working with the Advanced Fertility Center as a marketing consultant, alongside the attractive, flirtatious Dr. Keaton. But the morning after their one-night stand, Lake finds Keaton with his throat slashed and discovers that things can indeed become worse—they can become deadly.

So as not to jeopardize her case for custody, Lake is forced to lie to the police. Having just been intimate with a man who has been murdered, and wanting to protect herself from being charged with the crime, she begins her own search for the truth. Meanwhile, the police start looking at her closely, people at the clinic start treating her with hostility, and strange clues begin dropping—quite literally—on her doorstep, and Lake realizes that she is dangerously close to dark secrets, both about Keaton and the clinic. But can Lake stop what she’s started before it’s too late?

Verdict: I bought this book for two reasons. The first, I love a good mystery, and two, it was written by the Cosmopolitan Editor-in-Chief. When 18-year-old me, saw that I can’t help but say I was immediately envious. On a sidenote, when I was a freshman (and sophomore) in college, I DESPERATELY wanted to move to NYC and become a journalist with Cosmo when I graduated. So seeing Cosmo and that she had written a book, my author dream, I was hooked before I even read the first page.

Onto the actual verdict of the book.

I did enjoy this book. I liked the premise of it, and I liked that it had its thiller-esque moments. A good majority of it was engaging enough that I had a hard time putting it down. But here were certainly times where I just wanted it to be over. I felt like it was a book full of hills. It just went up and down and up and down throughout. The ending was good. Kind of predictable, but not entirely. Looking back, I feel like it was kind of obvious.

Anyways, it’s good. That’s all.

November

Don’t Go– Lisa Scottoline

Synopsis (from Goodreads): When Dr. Mike Scanlon is called to serve as an army doctor in Afghanistan, he’s acutely aware of the dangers he’ll face and the hardships it will cause his wife Chloe and newborn baby. And deep inside, he doesn’t think of himself as a warrior, but a healer. However, in an ironic turn of events, as Mike operates on a wounded soldier in a war-torn country, Chloe dies at home in the suburbs, in an apparent household accident. Devastated, he returns home to bury her, only to discover that the life he left behind has fallen apart. His medical practice is in jeopardy, and he is a complete stranger to the only family he has left – his precious baby girl. Worse, he learns a shocking secret that sends him into a downward spiral. Ultimately, Mike realizes that the most important battle of his life faces him on the home front and he’ll have to put it all on the line to save what’s dearest to him – his family.

Verdict: I’ve always heard really mixed things about Scottoline’s books. I’m not sure why. I always enjoy them when I pick them up. She reminds me a bit of Jodi Picoult, at least in terms of the subjects she tackles. This particular title was a deal on Barnes & Noble way back when I decided it would be a good idea to hoard books (a blog post for another time.) If you know me, then you know when I get something at a steal, even if it’s an author I know, I don’t always have the highest hopes for it. Thankfully, this book was good. Would I have picked it up at full price? Probably not. But it was good read. It kept my attention. It was heart-wrenching. It had twists. But there were plenty of points in between all of that that I just wanted it to be done already.

Hollow City – Ransom Riggs

Synopsis (from Goodreads): This sequel to the first novel, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, begins in 1940, immediately after the first book ended. Having escaped Miss Peregrine’s island by the skin of their teeth, Jacob and his new friends must journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. Along the way, they encounter new allies, a menagerie of peculiar animals, and other unexpected surprises.

Verdict: Okay. I’m the first to admit that I LOVED Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. I don’t care if it’s a YA book. I enjoyed every minute of it. I loved the old photographs and I loved the story that was built around the old photographs.

I did not love the sequel.

I liked it. I enjoyed it. I read it. But I didn’t fall in love with it. Perhaps it was just because it was and old concept to me. Perhaps it was because the storyline seemed more YA-esque than the first. I’m not sure why. But, it didn’t wow me like the first one did. If you’re read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, then yes, you should read this one. It’s a good follow up. Hopefully the third will be better.

Year of No Sugar – Eve Schaub

Synopsis (from Goodreads): It’s Dinnertime. Do You Know Where Your Sugar is Coming From?

Most likely everywhere. Sure, it’s in ice cream and cookies, but what scared Eve O. Schaub was the secret world of sugar–hidden in bacon, crackers, salad dressing, pasta sauce, chicken broth, and baby food. With her eyes open by the work of obesity expert Dr. Robert Lustig and others, Eve challenged her husband and two school-age daughters to join her on a quest to eat no added sugar for an entire year. Along the way, Eve uncovered the real costs of our sugar-heavy American diet–including diabetes, obesity, and increased incidences of health problems such as heart disease and cancer. The stories, tips, and recipes she shares throw fresh light on questionable nutritional advice we’ve been following for years and show that it is possible to eat at restaurants and go grocery shopping–with less and even no added sugar.

Year of No Sugar is what the conversation about “kicking the sugar addiction” looks like for a real American family–a roller coaster of unexpected discoveries and challenges.

Verdict: I eat too much sugar. I know I do. I don’t mean too, and I try to be aware of it, but I know I do. I picked up this book, more as a way to learn more. I liked that it wasn’t a “This is what you should do book,” and more of a “This is how we did it and it worked for us,” kind of book. I learned a lot, and it was engaging to read about all the places sugar hides. She even provides some pretty great recipes in the back that I intend to take advantage of. The one downfall? I could never go to the extremes they do in this book. Not with both of us working full-time. We do as much meal prep as we can on weekends now, and that can be quite the chore. A great read if you’re interested in a less scientific version of the No-Sugar craze.

The Sandcastle Girls – Chris Bohjalian

Synopsis (from Goodreads): This spellbinding tale travels between Aleppo, Syria, in 1915 and Bronxville, New York, in 2012—a sweeping historical love story steeped in the author’s Armenian heritage, making it his most personal novel to date.
When Elizabeth Endicott arrives in Syria, she has a diploma from Mount Holyoke College, a crash course in nursing, and only the most basic grasp of the Armenian language. The First World War is spreading across Europe, and she has volunteered on behalf of the Boston-based Friends of Armenia to deliver food and medical aid to refugees of the Armenian genocide. There, Elizabeth becomes friendly with Armen, a young Armenian engineer who has already lost his wife and infant daughter. When Armen leaves Aleppo to join the British Army in Egypt, he begins to write Elizabeth letters, and comes to realize that he has fallen in love with the wealthy, young American woman who is so different from the wife he lost.Flash forward to the present, where we meet Laura Petrosian, a novelist living in suburban New York. Although her grandparents’ ornate Pelham home was affectionately nicknamed the “Ottoman Annex,” Laura has never really given her Armenian heritage much thought. But when an old friend calls, claiming to have seen a newspaper photo of Laura’s grandmother promoting an exhibit at a Boston museum, Laura embarks on a journey back through her family’s history that reveals love, loss—and a wrenching secret that has been buried for generations.

Verdict: First, let me just say, if you haven’t read Midwives by Bohjalian, go buy it immediately. It was the first book I read by him, and I couldn’t put it down. This was the second, and while still a great story, I wasn’t as enthralled with it. The writing was well-done and Bohjalian is wonderful story-teller. I enjoyed learning about more about the Armenian heritage, but the story had it’s slooowwwww points. Doesn’t mean I won’t give another book of his shot, because I intend to read as many of his books as possible.

Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s – John Elder Robison

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Look Me in the Eye is the moving, darkly funny story of growing up with Asperger’s at a time when the diagnosis simply didn’t exist. A born storyteller, Robison takes you inside the head of a boy whom teachers and other adults regarded as “defective,” who could not avail himself of KISS’s endless supply of groupies, and who still has a peculiar aversion to using people’s given names (he calls his wife “Unit Two”). He also provides a fascinating reverse angle on the younger brother he left at the mercy of their nutty parents—the boy who would later change his name to Augusten Burroughs and write the bestselling memoir Running with Scissors.

Ultimately, this is the story of Robison’s journey from his world into ours, and his new life as a husband, father, and successful small business owner—repairing his beloved high-end automobiles. It’s a strange, sly, indelible account—sometimes alien, yet always deeply human.

Verdict: I’ve read quite a few of Augusten Burroughs titles, and I’ve enjoyed each and every one. When I learned his older brother has written a book about Asperger’s, I knew I would enjoy it. If you’ve read Running with Scissors, you’ll enjoy this book even more as they tell similar stories of their childhood. If you haven’t, and read this, check it out after. Either way, it’s a fantastic look into the mind of someone with Asperger’s Syndrome.

What have you read lately that you loved?

September Reads {2015}

October 6, 2015

As much as I love fall, I’m kind of struggling with it. Whenever someone asks me what my favorite season is, I usually answer fall. But then I immediately start explaining why, and then it becomes this whole long explanation of how I also love spring and summer. I should probably just start saying, I love all of the seasons except winter.

Why am I struggling with it? Because it means winter is lurking around the corner, ready to pounce. I shouldn’t be so pessimistic, especially since we’re still enjoying 60 degree weather, but I know in just a couple of short months we will be facing snow and cold. The one thing I do love about winter? Snuggling up on my couch and reading. Granted, I do that all year long, but in the winter, I love curling up with a glass of wine or hot chocolate, my heated blanket and my nook.

Thankfully, we’re not there yet, and I’m still trying to soak up the warm sun and the outdoors as much as humanly possible. I didn’t read as much as I had hoped, or wanted too, in September. Why? Eryn E Photography has been very busy with photo shoots and editing. We’ve been working on house projects, so we can begin to get settled in our new home. And simply trying to enjoy life.

Enough rambling. You’re really here just to hear about what I read. Not why I didn’t read as much as I would have liked. On to the books I read in September.

(Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. By purchasing items via these links, I will earn a small commission. This does not affect the price you pay for said items.)

The Winter Sea– Susannah Kearsley

Synopsis (from Goodreads):In the spring of 1708, an invading Jacobite fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown. Now, Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next bestselling novel. Settling herself in the shadow of Slains Castle, she creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors and starts to write. But when she discovers her novel is more fact than fiction, Carrie wonders if she might be dealing with ancestral memory, making her the only living person who knows the truth-the ultimate betrayal-that happened all those years ago, and that knowledge comes very close to destroying her.

Verdict: This was the first book I read by Susanna Kearsley, and it will not be my last. I was never a huge fan of historical fiction until a couple of years ago, and now it’s one of my favorite genres to read. Depending on the subject matter of course. This particular title has a beautiful love story, both in the historical part and the modern day, and Kearsley’s use of words and storytelling made this book come to life. Even if you’re not a fan of historical fiction, I recommend you take some time and at least read of her books. I know I’ve added nearly all of her other titles to my wish list.

The Girl Who Came Home– Hazel Gaynor

Synopsis (from Goodreads): A voyage across the ocean becomes the odyssey of a lifetime for a young Irish woman. . . .

Ireland, 1912 . . .Fourteen members of a small village set sail on RMS Titanic, hoping to find a better life in America. For seventeen-year-old Maggie Murphy, the journey is bittersweet. Though her future lies in an unknown new place, her heart remains in Ireland with Séamus, the sweetheart she left behind. When disaster strikes, Maggie is one of the few passengers in steerage to survive. Waking up alone in a New York hospital, she vows never to speak of the terror and panic of that fateful night again.

Chicago, 1982 . . .Adrift after the death of her father, Grace Butler struggles to decide what comes next. When her great-grandmother Maggie shares the painful secret about Titanic that she’s harbored for almost a lifetime, the revelation gives Grace new direction—and leads both her and Maggie to unexpected reunions with those they thought lost long ago. Inspired by true events, The Girl Who Came Home poignantly blends fact and fiction to explore the Titanic tragedy’s impact and its lasting repercussions on survivors and their descendants.

Verdict: I’ve had a fascination with the Titantic since I was in 6th grade and the movie came out in theaters (Thank you Jack Dawson.) I wouldn’t consider myself a Titantic buff by any means, but I do love reading about and hearing stories surrounding it. When this popped up as a deal on Barnes & Noble, I took advantage of it. I figured, worst case scenario, I would find it boring but didn’t spend much on it. Let’s just say, I ended up with the best case scenario. I couldn’t put it down. I didn’t want to put it down. If I could have read straight through, I would have finished this in a day. Easy. I loved it that much. And looking back over all of my September reads, this was most definitely my read of the month!

The Nurses– Alexandra Robbins

Synopsis (from Goodreads): The Nurses is told through the real-life stories of four women in different hospitals: Molly, funny, well-loved, and confident enough to quit a longtime job after her hospital ramps up its anti-nurse policies. Lara, a superstar nurse who tries to battle her way back from a near-ruinous prescription-drug addiction. The outspoken but compassionate Juliette, a fierce advocate for her patients. And Sam, a first-year nurse, struggling to find her way in a gossipy mean-girl climate she likens to “high school, except for the dying people.” The result is a riveting page-turner, insightful and thought-provoking, that will leave readers feeling smarter about their healthcare and undeniably appreciative of the incredible nurses who provide it.

Verdict: I read Pledged during a summer trip in between my junior and senior year of college, and really enjoyed it. Maybe it was because I was in college, so I understood what was happening despite not ever setting foot in a sorority. I wish I could have said the same for this one. While it was good, and I enjoyed learning more about the world of nursing, I wasn’t enthralled with it. In fact, there were times I was downright bored. But that’s probably because I’m not in a medical field, nor is someone close to me in a medical field. If you are, or know someone who is, then you’ll probably love this book.

Us– David Nicholls

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Douglas Petersen may be mild-mannered, but behind his reserve lies a sense of humor that, against all odds, seduces beautiful Connie into a second date and eventually into marriage. Now, almost three decades after their relationship first blossomed in London, they live more or less happily in the suburbs with their moody seventeen-year-old son, Albie; then Connie tells him she thinks she wants a divorce.

The timing couldn’t be worse. Hoping to encourage her son’s artistic interests, Connie has planned a month-long tour of European capitals, a chance to experience the world’s greatest works of art as a family, and she can’t bring herself to cancel. And maybe going ahead with the original plan is for the best anyway. Douglas is privately convinced that this landmark trip will rekindle the romance in the marriage and might even help him bond with Albie.

Narrated from Douglas’s endearingly honest, slyly witty, and at times achingly optimistic point of view, Us is the story of a man trying to rescue his relationship with the woman he loves and learning how to get closer to a son who’s always felt like a stranger.

Verdict: I really wanted to love this book, especially with the reviews it had. And considering how much I enjoyed One Day, but I just didn’t. I was bored. I had a really hard time paying attention to it. Maybe I wasn’t in the right mindset to read it? Perhaps, I should have waited until I had a bit more free time to sit back and enjoy it. I’m not sure. I just know that I felt like I was really struggling through it. There were a few parts that I found good, but then it would quickly go back to boring. Sorry David Nicholls, I gave it a shot.

SEPTEMBER PICK OF THE MONTH: The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor

What was your favorite read in September? I’m always looking for book recommendations!

What I’ve Read Lately: January – August

September 4, 2015

Over on the old blog, I tried to keep up with monthly book updates. Let’s just say after about March, they no longer happened. The goal, eventually, is to have monthly book updates. But for now, below are my favorite reads from this year so far. If you’re ever curious about what I’m reading, check out the Books Read – 2015 list. I track everything I read there.

Without further ado, my top books from January – August 2015

The Book of Life

Synopsis (From Goodreads): After traveling through time in Shadow of Night, the second book in Deborah Harkness’s enchanting series, historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home at Sept-Tours, they reunite with the cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches–with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency. In the trilogy’s final volume, Harkness deepens her themes of power and passion, family and caring, past deeds and their present consequences. In ancestral homes and university laboratories, using ancient knowledge and modern science, from the hills of the Auvergne to the palaces of Venice and beyond, the couple at last learn what the witches discovered so many centuries ago.

Verdict: I was hooked on this trilogy from the moment I read the first chapter of the first book. And this book did not disappoint. It wrapped up the trilogy in a lovely way, and I was sad to see it end. I wish (and hope) she would write more books. Not for this particular trilogy, but more stories. She’s an amazing storyteller. I want this trilogy made into a movie. Seriously, I loved it. And I’m not one to enjoy supernatural-type books. It’s incredible. If you don’t mind putting the time into it (each book is a minimum of 500 pages), then read them. You won’t be disappointed.

Saddled

Synopsis (from Goodreads): One day, at the age of thirty-one, Susan Richards realized that she was an alcoholic. She wrote it down in her journal, struck by the fact that it had taken nine years of waking up hung-over to name her illness. What had changed? Susan had a new horse, a spirited Morgan named Georgia, and, as she says: “It had something to do with Georgia. It had something to do with making a commitment as enormous as caring for a horse that might live as my companion for the next forty years. It had something to do with love.” Every day begins with a morning ride.This is a memoir about the power of animals to carry us through the toughest times of our lives—about the importance of constancy, the beauty of quiet, steadfast love, the way loving a good (and sometimes bad!) animal can keep you going. It’s a wonderful story for Susan’s (and Georgia’s) fans, and for anyone who has ever loved an animal enough to keep on living.

Verdict: Despite loving horses, I don’t read many horse-related books. However, when I saw this one, I knew I needed to read it. I know the healing power of a bond with a horse. I could relate to Susan. Not in terms of abuse and alcoholism, but with that unbreakable bond. I really enjoyed this book, and whether you’ve been around horses or not, you will too. It’s more about their relationship than about horses. And if you’re an animal lover, you’ll relate.

Where’d You Go Bernadette

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she’s a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she’s a disgrace; to design mavens, she’s a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette’s intensifying allergy to Seattle—and people in general—has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic. To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence—creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter’s role in an absurd world.

Verdict: If you’re looking for a fun, quirky, and quick read, check this book out. It’s a different look at mental illness and how it can effect a person and a family. I really enjoyed the characters and getting to know each of them.

Leaving Time

Synopsis (from Goodreads): For over a decade, Jenna Metcalf obsesses on her vanished mom Alice. Jenna searches online, rereads journals of the scientist who studied grief among elephants. Two unlikely allies are Serenity Jones, psychic for missing people who doubts her gift, and Virgil Stanhope, jaded PI who originally investigated cases of Alice and her colleague. Hard questions and answers.

Verdict: I’m a big Jodi Picoult fan. I have since high school when I first read one of her novels (in case you’re wondering, it was Second Glance). This one did not disappoint. Perhaps I enjoyed it more because I work in a field where I’m surrounded by spirituality, mediums, and so on, but this book really struck a chord with me and I couldn’t put it down. It was a bit different for a Picoult story, but a good one none the less

Life in Motion

Synopsis from Goodreads: As the only African American soloist dancing with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre, Misty Copeland has made history. But when she first placed her hands on the barre at an after-school community center, no one expected the undersized, anxious thirteen-year-old to become a ground-breaking ballerina.

Verdict: I enjoyed every moment of this book. How she became a ballerina, where she came from, her struggles, her triumphs, and everything in between. I don’t want to say too much without giving away much of the book, since it’s a biography, but it’s a great read. And talk about a role model. Not just for African-American women and girls, but for women and girls of all races. She had a dream, and a talent, and she pursued it. Even if you’re not a dancer, check out this book. It will leave you inspired, and perhaps even googling videos of Misty Copeland’s ballets. I know I did.

The Good Girl

Synopsis (from Goodreads): One night, Mia Dennett enters a bar to meet her on-again, off-again boyfriend. But when he doesn’t show, she unwisely leaves with an enigmatic stranger. At first Colin Thatcher seems like a safe one-night stand. But following Colin home will turn out to be the worst mistake of Mia’s life. When Colin decides to hide Mia in a secluded cabin in rural Minnesota instead of delivering her to his employers, Mia’s mother, Eve, and detective Gabe Hoffman will stop at nothing to find them. But no one could have predicted the emotional entanglements that eventually cause this family’s world to shatter.

Verdict: I had been in a bit of reading slump right before reading this book. The books I had been reading hadn’t been giving me that “excited, don’t want to put it down” kind of feeling that I crave when I’m reading. Thankfully, this book gave me exactly what I was looking for. I never saw the twists and turns coming. I devoured nearly 3/4 of it while on a flight to Las Vegas, and couldn’t wait to pick it back up again on the flight home (not a lot of time to read on that trip). It’s fantastic, thrilling and will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Garden Spells

Synopsis (from Goodreads): The women of the Waverley family — whether they like it or not — are heirs to an unusual legacy, one that grows in a fenced plot behind their Queen Anne home on Pendland Street in Bascom, North Carolina. There, an apple tree bearing fruit of magical properties looms over a garden filled with herbs and edible flowers that possess the power to affect in curious ways anyone who eats them.

Verdict:Sarah Addison Allen is one of my favorite authors. I have loved every single book I have read by her. Each one is so incredibly different. I loved the premise of this one; using herbs and flowers that can heal, tell the future, and so forth. But the family story was really what grabbed me. If you haven’t read anything by her, I highly recommend this particular, although anything by her is guaranteed to wonderful. I can’t wait to read the sequel to this, First Frost. It’s already waiting for me on my Nook.

The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls

Synopsis (from Goodreads): It is 1930, the midst of the Great Depression. After her mysterious role in a family tragedy, passionate, strong-willed Thea Atwell, age fifteen, has been cast out of her Florida home, exiled to an equestrienne boarding school for Southern debutantes. High in the Blue Ridge Mountains, with its complex social strata ordered by money, beauty, and girls’ friendships, the Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls is a far remove from the free-roaming, dreamlike childhood Thea shared with her twin brother on their family’s citrus farm—a world now partially shattered. As Thea grapples with her responsibility for the events of the past year that led her here, she finds herself enmeshed in a new order, one that will change her sense of what is possible for herself, her family, her country.

Verdict: When I discovered this book, the description sounded interesting, and since it was inexpensive, I figured I’d give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised. I love historical fiction and I could picture every aspect of this book. I loved seeing Thea grow into the person she became and how she overcame the family tragedy that brought her to the Blue Ridge Mountains. It’s an amazing story, and one that won’t disappoint.

After Her

Synopsis (from Goodreads): It’s the summer of 1979, and a dry, hot, northern California school vacation stretches ahead for Rachel and her younger sister Patty-the daughters a larger-than-life, irresistibly handsome and chronically unfaithful detective father who loves to make women happy, and the mother whose heart he broke. Left to their own devices, the inseparable sisters spend their days studying record jackets, concocting elaborate fantasies about the life of the mysterious neighbor who moves in down the street, and playing dangerous games on the mountain that rises up behind their house. When young women start showing up dead on the mountain, the girls’ father is charged with finding the man responsible, known as The Sunset Strangler. Seeing her father’s life slowly unravel when he fails to stop the murders, Rachel embarks on her most dangerous game yet: setting herself up as bait to catch the killer, with consequences that will destroy her father’s career and alter the lives of everyone she loves.

Verdict: Have you read or watched Labor Day? If not, you should. It was the first book I read by Joyce Maynard. And I fell in love with her writing. When I heard her latest book was due out, I couldn’t wait. And I was just as pleased as when I read Labor Day. The book is advertised as more of a mystery, when it’s not. It does have thriller elements, but overall it’s just a good story about a family, their police officer family and how their lives unravel as their father is put in charge of finding a notorious serial killer in their town.

The Bone Season

Synopsis (From Goodreads): The year is 2059. Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials, employed by a man named Jaxon Hall. Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people’s minds. For Paige is a dreamwalker, a clairvoyant and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing. It is raining the day her life changes for ever. Attacked, drugged and kidnapped, Paige is transported to Oxford – a city kept secret for two hundred years, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. Paige is assigned to Warden, a Rephaite with mysterious motives. He is her master. Her trainer. Her natural enemy. But if Paige wants to regain her freedom she must allow herself to be nurtured in this prison where she is meant to die.

Verdict: I had heard about this book via NetGalley, when the second in the series was getting ready for release, and it sounded interesting. I ended up purchasing it down the road when it was set up as a Nook Deal. I didn’t know what to expect, but I am happy to say, it was incredible. It reminded me a bit of The Hunger Games, but a supernatual version. Paige is a strong female character and I’m looking forward to see what’s next for her in the sequel, The Mime Order.

Find a book that interests you? Beginning in October, I will be recapping what I read the month before.

Happy long weekend!

(Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. By purchasing items via these links, I will earn a small commission. This does not affect the price you pay for said items.)