On the bookshelf in July
The first book I read was The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose. Wow! Where to even start with this book?!! Well, I suppose let me start by saying that it is definitely rated R. Like literally the first page of the prologue is rated R & it just continued throughout. This book is about published author, Adam Morgan, being accused of murdering his mistress, Kelly Summers. The kicker? Adam’s wife, Sarah, is one of the best criminal defense attorneys around, & she takes on his case after finding out in the same day that her husband was having an affair AND supposedly murdered the mistress. What a doozy!!! I was 42% done with the book & had a very strong prediction on who I thought actually murdered Kelly Summers. There were quite a few shady characters, including police, & suspicious coincidences. I couldn’t read this book fast enough! When I finally finished (after staying up until 3am lol), my jaw was on the floor. I was pretty conflicted on what to rate this book because I really don’t like a lot of sexually graphic content, but the plot twists & surprises overruled it for me. I gave this book five out of five stars.
The second book I read was The Last Orphan by Jeffrey Lowder. Wowza this book was fascinating & based on a true story! A group of wagon train tavelers are attacked & brutally murdered — men, women, & children. There are only a few young survivors, who are placed with Mormon families in the area, to be raised as their own. Not surprisingly, this causes some issues — blood relatives missing their surviving family members, couples disagreeing on treatment of the children, & even some speculation as to who actually murdered the group of wagoneers — indians or the Mormons themselves. Thomas Dunning, one of the survivors, is about seven years old when his world comes crashing down & some army men attempt to take him away from who he believes are his mother & father. His best friend, Clara & her mom, Millie, help him hide while Tommy’s mom, Eva, talks with the army men. Their plan works & he’s safe with his family… for now. I really enjoyed all of the different plot lines in this book, as well as learning more about what the Mormon culture was like in Utah in the 1850s. My grandma has also read this & really liked it, too! Another great book this month! I gave this book five out of five stars.
The third book I read was The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan. This was the book selected for my monthly book club. This is the second book I’ve read by Timothy Egan & they’re incredibly informative. The other book I read of his was about the history of the KKK (you can read my review on that book here). The main differences I noticed between these two books was that the Dust Bowl one didn’t have quite the same story line as the KKK one did. Maybe that’s because everyone had to flee the area or wound up dead, so they didn’t have much of a story line to go off of? I don’t know. I will totally own that I am pretty ignorant when it comes to history. I like to live in my own little bubble & pretend that bad things didn’t happen — especially when those bad things are driven by humans. I appreciate Egan’s books because they make me face the facts & educate myself. I gave this book three out of five stars.
The fourth book I read was Broken Bayou by Jennifer Moorhead. Let me just start by saying that the swampy vibes of this story inspired by Louisiana true crime gave me the major spooks! A well known child psychologist & published author, Dr. Willa Watters returns to the town she used to spend every summer in with her mom & sister, at her twin great aunts home. She hasn’t been to this town in YEARS. The reason for her return? Her twin aunts died, her mom is in rehab, her sister doesn’t talk to her anymore, & the house needs cleaning out. Little did she know that cleaning out the old home would inevitably dig up old wounds. & coincidentally (or maybe not so), while Willa is in town, multiple barrels containing human remains are found in the bayou. Willa has deep connections to this place, in more way than one. This book had me on the edge of my seat & I just couldn’t read fast enough! I gave this book five out of five stars.
The fifth book I read was Hurricane Season by Lauren K. Denton. This book is about single mom of two sweet girls, Jenna, who works in a coffee shop & has kind of lost her sense of who she is. She used to be in love with photography, but gave it up when she had her daughters. Her sister, Betsy, lives on a dairy farm with her husband, Ty. They have been unable to have children & it’s a pretty sore spot in their marriage. When Jenna gets the opportunity of a lifetime to go on a photography retreat, she takes it, & Betsy watches Jenna’s girls while she’s away. As you can imagine, this situation stirs up a lot of supressed feelings for both Jenna & Betsy. & while all of this is going on, there’s a hurricane headed straight for the dairy farm. I felt like this book was pretty repetitive & unrealistic, so I gave it two out of five stars.
The sixth book I read was The Perfect Parents by J.A. Baker. This was an interesting read, but definitely wasn’t my fav thriller this month. Two parents, Lydia & Jackson, complete a suicide pact together by jumping from a bridge. Their children, Flo, Jess & Ezra, have to take care of everything afterwards — arranging the funeral, cleaning out their massive home, paying all of the staff that help run the home, etc. Jackson’s body was found, but Lydia’s hasn’t been yet, & things just aren’t quite adding up. It’s up to Flo, Jess & Ezra to get to the bottom of it all. I felt like there were way too many plot twists & things happening that were completely unrealistic & honestly took away from the main story line. I gave this book two out of five stars.
The seventh book I read was The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward. Oof y’all. I did not enjoy this book AT ALL. I really don’t even have much to say about it. It was that bland that I’m left with zero thoughts except thank goodness it’s over! Charlotte Perkins wins an essay contest & gets to take her three adult children on a cruise. Of course this would only happen in a book! & maybe part of the reason I didn’t enjoy reading this one is because I’m sad & jealous & reminiscing on the cruise I went on with my family at the beginning of the summer lol! There’s lot of weird family drama (& trauma if we’re being honest) that annoyed me. As a counselor I’m definitely a rip-off-the-bandaid kind of gal when it comes to confrontation, or addressing things, especially when you feel you’re not being treated how you should be. Just do it! I think that was also a big part of why I didn’t like the book. The characters didn’t really seem to want to help themselves which is by far the most challenging type of person to work with on growth. Anyway, I know this is harsh & I literally NEVER do this, but… I gave this book one out of five stars.
I get questions all the time about this book lover tote! So stinking cute!!
books I purchased this month:
books recommended by all of you this month:
My heart was so full heading into the 2023 Christmas season! I finished up reading the entire Bible. Bible Recap: A One-Year Guide to Reading & Understanding the Entire Bible was such a great resource that helped me better understand what I was reading & how it applies to my life! It was amazing to me how much was familiar & how much I didn’t know I was missing. Having a better understanding of the Bible & being in the word every day has brought so much peace into my life! If you’ve been feeling the pull to read your Bible more, I highly recommend Bible recap to help you on your journey. I’m excited to start over & eager to see what new things I will pick up on & learn.
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