On the bookshelf in March
I read three books in the month of March:
Baggage Claim (Aspen Peaks #1)
by Juliana Smith
3/5 stars
“Olive Moore has been avoiding her hometown for three years now. But a phone call with her mom has her agreeing to spend the holidays back home with her family, she lets it slip she will be bringing a boyfriend with her. The only problem with that is she has no boyfriend. That is until she meets a handsome-albeit annoying-stranger on the plane who makes her an offer she can't refuse.
Finn Beckett has always had good luck, as demonstrated by the gorgeous blonde he's seated next to on a flight to Aspen. One drink too many leads to Olive spilling her problems in his lap, and he feels compelled to help. So he makes her an offer: he'll pretend to be her boyfriend to keep her family off her back and make this the best Christmas ever.
Olive and Finn spend the next two weeks going on spirit-filled Christmas dates with her family. Their ruse is working perfectly, but Finn can't help but notice Olive is holding something back. Something that could ruin everything.
Their relationship may have taken off smoothly, but with all this turbulence, will they ever make it to baggage claim?”
Snowed Under (Aspen Peaks #2)
by Juliana Smith
2/5 stars
“SNOWED UNDER is an opposites-attract romantic comedy where a reserved single aunt and a confident children’s ski instructor partner together in an attempt to save a local ski lodge.
Madeline Sage has entirely lost who she is. After her brother and best friends passing, she’s left feeling as though they took her down with them. She’s an aunt taking care of their two kids, a nursing student, and a part-time cleaner at a ski lodge. Spending a majority of her time helping someone else out, she’s astray from who she was before the accident. Her nagging mother, incapable of helping with the kids, insists the one thing missing from Madeline’s already hectic life is a man. So Madeline seeks help from the most chaotic one she knows: her nephew’s coach. In hopes of easing her mother’s nerves about providing for the kids on her own, Madeline needs a boyfriend. Even if it’s a fake one.
Unfortunately, Cooper Graves knows all too well what he is. In an attempt to rectify his disorderly past and save his family ski lodge, he agrees to be interviewed by a well-known family magazine. The article will bring the lodge plenty of new exposure on its upcoming winter events. All he’s missing is a wife and kids.
Madeline needs a fake boyfriend. Cooper needs a fake family. In their chemistry-filled, strictly “professional” not-dates, they find there is much more to both of their stories. Their newfound friendship quickly blurs into something entirely real. Only he’s not fit for ‘uncle-hood’, and she can’t find a place in her heart or her schedule to add one more person to her circle of loved ones.
Snowed under their complications, Madeline and Cooper are destined to find out if love is enough to overcome tragedies of the past.”
by June Eding & Debbie Ellis
5/5 stars
“How to Love the Difficult People in Your Life
Most of us know someone who, for whatever reason, always seems to cause problems, irritate others, or incite conflict. Often, these people are a part of our daily lives. The truth is that these trouble makers haven’t necessarily asked to be this way.
Sometimes we need to learn new approaches to deal with people who are harder to get along with or love.
How to Hug a Porcupine: Easy Ways to Love Difficult People in Your Life, explains that making peace with others isn’t as tough or terrible as we think it is–especially when you can use an adorable animal analogy and apply it to real-life problems.
How to Hug a Porcupine provides tips for calming the quills of parents, children, siblings, strangers, and other prickly people you may encounter. Among other tips, How to Hug a Porcupine includes:
*Three easy ways to end an argument
*How to spot the porcupine in others
*How to spot the porcupine in ourselves
With a foreword by noted psychotherapist Dr. Debbie Ellis, widow of Dr. Albert Ellis, How to Hug a Porcupine is a truly special book.”
I get questions all the time about this book lover tote! So stinking cute!!
books I purchased 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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