November was a busy month. I wrote 2/3 of a novel for National Novel Writing Month. I changed my part-time employment (which required interviews and some new scheduling adjustments). And yet I still managed to read three books. Ideally, I would have finished four, but sometimes life isn't ideal.
This is the latest in my newest favorite series (True North). I just love the characters and community Ms. Bowen has created. These books will always be auto-buys for me. I'm starting to think I should look into her other series and books as well.
A blogger's life is turned upside down when her husband unexpectedly leaves her. She works through her divorce via her blog and finds a second chance at love in a place she didn't expect. This was a nice, light read and I really enjoyed the characters. The family is completely dysfunctional, which I always think makes books more real. I'm definitely going to be looking at other books in the series so I can keep up with the family.
I stumbled upon this via
Jana's Instagram feed. It was an incredible story. But also very dark. There's very little to celebrate in the story. I was terrified for the main character for most of her journey. She seemed so determined to get revenge for her sister's death, yet her age made me scared for her. I wasn't sure she could handle the people she was up against. I was also very sad for her as it seemed like there was no one in her support system. Then again, after reading about her childhood, there probably weren't many people she could trust.
I'm currently reading "An American Marriage" by Tayari Jones. A lot of bloggers have been reading it and enjoyed it, so I picked it up. I do not regret it. It's kind of a heavy read. And it's making me feel a lot of different emotions. I'm almost done with the book, and I'm sure I'll be thinking about the Celestial and Roy and Andre long after I close out the story.
After that, I'm not sure what I'll read. I think I'm going to try to swing a bit lighter after these last two.
ugh fireworks was so good!!! i forgot to mention it in today's post, gosh darn it. i have read man hands by her and another author (funny, but nothing like the true north series) but i have her other books on my list. i've heard good things about the gravity series, the brooklyn bruiser series (the guy from... bountiful? maybe? the one with zara? anyway, thats the team he played with) and the WAGs series. so they are all on my list.
ReplyDeleteAn American Marriage is an emotional roller coaster for sure.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you had a really productive month-- congrats on so much writing for NaNoWriMo! I've had Sadie from the library, but didn't get to read it in time so it's currently back on my holds list. An American Marriage was definitely a book that I thought about long after I finished reading it.
ReplyDeleteI really want to read Sadie and An American Marriage, but they are definitely two intense reads. I think you deserve something a bit light and fun!
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
Sadie is actually now one of my favorite books of the year. I'm glad you liked it!
ReplyDeleteGood work with NaNo!
The Sidelined Wife sounds like a really cute read, and I love that it's about a blogger too! I'm adding it to my list! And I added Sadie after I read Jana's post, it sounds like such a great read!
ReplyDeleteI saw Jana's review for Sadie and added it to my TBR already. It's always great to see another strong review for it, although it sounds like it's a bit heavy. Right now I can't do heavy but when I can ... game on!
ReplyDeleteI added Sadie to my to read list after reading Jana's review. The Sidelined Wife and Fireworks sound like light, fun reads.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to read Sadie as soon as Jana posted it. TFS
ReplyDeleteI'm not normally a thriller/mystery person, but I did really like Sadie! Looking into True North series! I've gotten more into romance this year. :) XO - Alexandra
ReplyDeleteSimply Alexandra: My Favorite Things