On the bookshelf -- May

Who needs a good book?! I've been reading a lot lately & I've got some good ones for you!!

First up for this month's book review post is The Cactus by Sarah Haywood. This book was a super light + easy read (like for real, I read it in four days). It reads pretty similar to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. The book follows a middle-aged woman named Susan & the transitions that she's going through that she never thought she would. Susan is a bit of a loner & is the type of person who must have control over every detail of her life. When changes out of her control start happening, Susan comes to realize that maybe it's not so bad after all.

This book was fairly predictable, but has one huge plot twist at the end that I never even thought of! Overall, I really liked this book.

Avery read the classic story called The Notebook this past month -- she read it in four days! She'd already seen the movie, but as we all know, sometimes the book version doesn't always match up completely. That was the case here. She said the movie is definitely more emotional & since Ryan Gosling plays Noah, she was happy to picture him while reading the book lol. When I asked her which version she liked better, she had a hard time answering. She said she liked the beginning of the movie & the end of the book & would've been very happy if they were somehow combined. She said even though she's seen the movie many times, she still really enjoyed the book as a whole.

Also, did y'all know The Notebook is part of a series?! I had no idea!

I'm not typically a huge fan of self-help books, but my Mom got my sisters & I Own Your Everyday by Jordan Lee Dooley for Christmas, so reading it now is better than never, right? Since I've got nothing but time, I figured I may as well push through. But as I started reading, I realized I was actually enjoying it!

Jordan is a young blogger, speaker & all around pretty awesome gal. Because of my age & current phase of life, I found myself very much relating to a lot of her chapters, while Bethany couldn't relate quite as much. Overall, Jordan keeps things real & speaks from her heart. You can tell she's super genuine & writing authentically. Would totally recommend this for any young adult girl!

My Mom recently read The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes for her book club & recommended it to me because she loved it so much. She said it had a similar feel to Where the Crawdads Sing which, for both of us, is one of our favorite books that we've ever read. The front flap of The Giver of Stars says, "set in Depression-era America, a breathtaking story of five extraordinary women & their remarkable journey through the mountains of Kentucky & beyond". This book shares a great story about resilience, standing up for what you believe in & ultimately following your own life path / heart. I actually felt pretty inspired while I was reading it. There's a bit of suspense, a few different love stories, tragedy, heartbreak, & even a murder.

The first half or so of the book was a little bit tough for me to get through. I just didn't feel like it had a lot of depth so it was a little bit hard for me to be invested. However, the second half or so of the book was where things got really good. Multiple times while I was reading my apple watch had to remind me to breathe lol. My Mom & I both rated this book 4/5 stars!

I'm definitely the type of reader that likes suspense and unpredictability. If I'm reading a book, I want it to be so good that I'm thinking about it even if I'm not reading it. That is this book to a T. Two Days Gone by Randall Silvis is a chilling mystery about the murder of a family. The book switches back & forth between two main characters: the husband / dad of the murdered family & the detective investigating the case. There are so many twists & turns throughout the book & things will happen that you NEVER saw coming. I read this book in less than a week! I don't typically like scary books, like ones that'll keep me up at night. This one was perfect because it was more suspenseful & just downright creepy.

I will warn you, I would consider this book rated R so just keep that in mind if you're thinking about reading this book!

Also, I just found out that this book is the first in a three-book series. I just might have to read the second two now!

The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn is (dare I say it) probably the best psychological thriller I've ever read. The book's main character is a Child Psychologist who struggles through many issues of her own. The book's point of view is almost through the main character's mind so some sections of the book can get pretty choppy because it's just simple thoughts here & there. Being a school counselor (okay, okay, not until July technically but I'm really excited about it okay?!) I really enjoyed the perspective & followed along fairly well. The book has a few different plot twists that leaves you wondering what the truth is even after you've closed the book for the night. At the end, the biggest plot twist EVER happens & it was stinkin' awesome. My apple watch reminded me about a bajillion times to breathe lol.

This book is similar to the one above in the fact that it's not super scary, more just creepy & leaves you really puzzled. Just a warning, it gets pretty creepy at the end during the last plot twist. Overall, really enjoyed this one!

& last, but certainly not least, is my favorite book of 2020 so far!!!

My Grandma recommended Echoes Among the Stones by Jaime Jo Wright to me & boy am I glad she did! This book has murder, mystery, secrets & love. It's got it all. Every time I thought I had the book figured out, I'd text my Grandma with my theory. Then I'd read another couple chapters & my theory would completely change. While I caught on to some things, the last third of the book was absolutely crazy as far as unexpected plot twists & suspense. & I loved every second of it!

For me, this book was the absolute perfect read. It was easy to follow along to & I found myself thinking about the characters while I was doing laundry or going for a walk. I just couldn't wait to get back to them!

As I'm sitting here typing this, I honestly feel like I'm talking about real people that I know. That's how invested I was! Goodness gracious. It was just so good.

This week I told a friend she could borrow one of my books so I left it out on the front porch for her to pick up whenever she came to town. A little while later I went outside & there was a jar of homemade pickles waiting for us! Long story short, I'm officially starting a new club where we trade books for pickles lol.

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Have you ever heard of the "goodreads" app? It's a free app that lets you track your reading progress, rate books you've read, keep a list of your want-to-read books, set yearly reading goals & follow along with what your friends are reading as well! It even gives you suggestions based off of your ratings & the types of books you read. We both really like it. You should check it out!