It's time for my June reads! I really love thinking back each month about the books I picked for that month.
In June I was a reading fool! I read 7 books. 2 sets of 2 that were similar stories, our book club book, a book by one of my favorite authors. So let's dive in!
All the Difference by Leah Ferguson - I've had my eye on this book for almost a year when I read another blogger's review of the book. I finally caved and bought after the electronic library didn't have it every time I checked. It's about a girl whose boyfriend proposes and each chapter jumps months as if she said 'yes' or 'no'. So January is if she said 'yes', February 'no' etc. Doesn't that sound SO interesting? Well, it WASN'T. I was SO disappointed. The main character was annoying, one minute the fiance/ex seems like a good guy, the next a creepy stalker, the next a jerk, the storyline was just weak. UGH.
Maybe in a Different Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid - HOWEVER, if that premise interests you, pick up this book! When I was looking at some lists on the e-library, this one popped up and I wanted to give this 'genre' another try. It was really good! A girl who has been floating through life moves back home and 1 fateful night chooses between her best friend and her possible love. Each chapter flips between what happens for each choice, and I loved it! I want to try more by the same author.
Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly - After reading The Nightingale, I have been pretty obsessed with reading more WW2 books that aren't about the men fighting but about the women and civilians. This book followed 3 girls {1 a NY socialiate, 1 a Polish girl sent to a concentration camp, and 1 a Nazi doctor} whose stories intertwine during and after WW2. The story is LOOSELY based on real historical events of the Ravensbruck rabbits. I loved this book! I considered choosing this as our book club book for June, and I think it would have made for great discussion.
War Brides by Helen Bryan - Amazon sent me War Brides for free, so that was an awesome score. This is another WW2 story about the women on the home front. This story followed 5 women in England during WW2 and continues with a mystery involving one of the girls that haunts the remaining 4 for 50 years. Let me just say that these 2 books definitely have me wanting to find more of these!
A Mother's Reckoning by Sue Klebold - This book is what I chose for our June book club. It is written by the mother of one of the Columbine shooters. It was so impactful. She talks about the signs she and her husband probably missed in their son's depression that led to the events of Columbine. She talks about living with what her son did and reconciling the monster the world saw with the son she loves. As a mother, it was SO hard to read. But I think every mother should read it. You think if you love your children and raise them 'right' everything will turn out okay. Well, that's what Sue Klebold thought she was doing. It's a good reminder to pay attention even to the small things and remain vigilant. Knowing that Trent has anxiety caused by his MTHFR mutation, it just makes me want to protect him from the thoughts and feelings Dylan Klebold had and make sure that I'm doing everything I can to keep him healthy AND happy.
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton - This makes 4 Kate Morton books I've read {The Lake House, The Secret Keeper, and The Forgotten Garden being the others} , and it was another winner! There's only 1 of her books I haven't read, and I'll be sad when I've finished them all. Her books all have a similar underlying theme - an old mystery that is being re-examined in current day. Always set in England, usually in the pre-WW1 time frame or between the wars. I loved this one because the main character worked in service, and now that I'm a Downton Abbey expert, I really like reading books during that time of life since it is obviously so foreign to me! I totally didn't guess the end of the mystery and definitely enjoyed the journey to get there.
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion - Allison recommended I read this one, and I'm so glad she did! Don Tillman is a genetics professor who creates 'The Wife Project' to try and find the perfect partner for him. In the process his best friend introduces him to a woman, named Rosie, who fails every requirement of 'The Wife Project' but Don can't help his feelings for her. Overall I liked the book and want to read the sequel. I thought maybe it got a smidge long but I happy with it.
I've already started July off with a bang. What are you reading??
3 comments:
Those look like some good reads! The Rosie Project looks like something I might like. July's BC we are reading The Shack :) Just getting started but I've listened to some of it on cd and it's pretty interesting.
I read War Brides randomly too! It was a 99 cent one on my Kindle. I really loved it and always tell people to read it. :) Rhonda
I really loved The Rosie Project but agree that it was a smidge long, but overall one of my favorite most recent books. I added "Maybe in Another Life" to my library list after reading your review; sounds awesome. I'm intrigued by Lilac Girls, but found Nightingale so heart-wrenching that I'm not sure I'm emotionally prepared for another tough WWII book. I'm also so intrigued by "A Mother's Reckoning" but yikes, that premise just looks so terrifying. One of those "I should read" but also a "do I WANT to read this?" Decisions decisions.
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