Fall Book review from a school counselor

I wasn’t able to read very much in the early months of fall with enrollment + school starting back up, so I decided to combine all of my fall monthly reviews into one post. Let’s get into it!

The first book I read was People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd. I need to start by saying that I really did not enjoy this book, so my review is going to be pretty harsh. This book is about an influencer who gets stalked & targeted. This is like basically my biggest fear when it comes to my little corner of the internet! However, the main character, Emmy, is very disingenuous & often lies to her followers. This is an area I have worked really hard in since I started this blog — I want to always share my most authentic self, even when it doesn’t look great. If I’m being honest, I just really didn’t like or connect with the main characters or the story line. I felt like it was super unrealistic & I was annoyed that I kept having to read it lol. Mysteries are one of my top fav genres so I was super disappointed. I gave this book one out of five stars.

The second book I read was The Women by Kristin Hannah. Kristin Hannah is one of my all time favorite authors, so I had high hopes of liking this read. This was the book chosen for my monthly book club & wowza it was a doozy. Like a fantastic doozy. I truly couldn’t put it down! I stayed up until 1am on a Sunday night & was dang tired the next day at school, but it was worth it. Here’s a little snippet of this book’s bio listed on goodreads:

“The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.”

I fell in love with main character, Frances McGrath. I was rooting for her so deeply & felt empathy to my core when some of life’s hardest challenges came her way. This book has some really heavy content that didn’t bother me that much, but had my mom crying multiple times. (I hear a lot of hard things in my job as a school counselor, so I think that is a big part of why it takes a lot to rile me). I was honestly so sad when I finished this book because I loved Frankie so much & want to keep her in my life! I related to some of Frankie’s characteristics & desires for her life — wanting to make a difference, being stubbornly independent, having an anxious mindset, sometimes keeping things bottled in even though it’s better to lean on your support system. While I don’t personally feel called to join the Army, I have the upmost respect for those that do. (Two of my uncles were in the Air Force & this has shown me what true patriotism is). I also don’t consider myself a feminist, but Frankie had me singing some of Beyoncé’s lyrics, specifically: “who run the world? girls!" in my head lol. I gave this book five out of five stars.

The third book I read was A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight. It took me a hot minute to get through this book. Anyone else ever feel so dang tired during the fall months? When I would get home from school, the last thing my brain felt like doing was reading. Slowly but surely, I’m getting back into it because I do really enjoy it. I was able to finish the last 70% off this book in two days. There were so many twists & turns & I truly couldn’t figure out until the very end “who done it”. This book definitely needs to come with a trigger warning for child sexual abuse, just a heads up. I gave this book four out of five stars.

The fourth book I read was Twenty Guys You Date in Your Twenties by Gabi Conti. If you know me then you know I’m not huge into the dating scene, but I do enjoy reading about others’ stories & experiences. The style of this book felt a lot like the old magazines I used to read in middle school & high school which was kind of a fun throwback. The chapters were short & sweet which was great. I typically prefer books that have a bit more meat to them, but this one was fun to throw in there for a good mix. I gave this book three out of five stars.

The fifth book I read was The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri. Wow, where to even start with this book. I gotta be honest, I never read the backs of books before I start to read them. Sometimes I know the genre ahead of time, but not very often. I’m not really sure why I do it, I guess I just kinda like being surprised! I should also say that I’m not very good at geography so the title of this book didn’t clue me in to anything. Boy was I in for a shocker when I started reading. Time to put on my big-girl-pants because this book is about the journey of Syrian refugees as they flee to find a new, SAFE. This book isn’t necessarily a true story, but is based on experiences the author has had while working with refugees. Reading this book truly left me heartbroken because I know that for some, this is real life. It makes the little problems in my day & throughout my life seem not so bad after all. The only downfall of this book is that chapters flow into one another & go back & forth from past to present, so sometimes I found it hard to keep up & know where I was at in the story. I gave this book three out of five stars.

I get questions all the time about this book lover tote! So stinking cute!!

books I purchased in August:

books I purchased in September:

books I purchased in October:

books recommended by all of you in August:

books recommended by all of you in September:

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.

Add me on the Goodreads app to follow along with my book choices in real time by clicking here. Don’t forget to go to the home page & sign up for emails so you never miss a post!! Also, you can click here to go to my book review page in case you’re interested in checking out some other great reads. If you’ve had a favorite read that you’d recommend, leave it below in the comments & I’ll be sure to check it out!