Book Report – January/February 2018

This is my first time participating in the Book by Book linkup and I am very excited! I wanted to linkup last month, but time got away from me and so I’m glad I am getting to participate this month!

January 2018 Reads

I had some great reads for the month of January and might have found my favorite read for the entire year!

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore – Matthew Sullivan

I had heard really good things about this book from different places…#bookstagram, blog posts, etc…and I have been on the waitlist at the library for quite awhile and so when it came available I was excited to start reading it. I have to say it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, but all in all I enjoyed it. I wasn’t expecting a murder mystery and parts of it didn’t seem believable to me, but I did get invested in the characters and I was curious to see how it all tied together and ended. I have to have a disclaimer and say that I had pieced a lot of it together before it was revealed, but it was still and entertaining and good read. Also, the pretty neat and colorful cover didn’t hurt either!

3 out of 5 stars
Kindle book – Overdrive app – Library 

Beartown – Fredrik Backman

This was my favorite read in January. I am going to go ahead and say it might be my favorite read for all of 2018. It was a book that I wanted to pick up any chance I got to see what was happening. My parents are from two small towns in Tennessee and I still have a lot of family that live in these towns and so I could so see this situation occurring and how it might affect an entire town and its future. This book gave me so much to think about and I have found myself thinking about it many times since I finished it. This is one book I can not wait to read again and am going to be recommending it to many people in the future!

5 out of 5 stars
Hardback – Library

Staying Stylish: Cultivating a Confident Look, Style, and Attitude – Candace Cameron Bure

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I love Candace’s style and would love to be able to mimic it someday. This book gave me the tools to do so and she also shared some of her tips and tricks to help you feel stylish and confident without breaking the bank. Looking forward to implementing some of the tips and tools in here when I update my wardrobe and my style. (Right after I finished this, I saw there was a Kindle deal for this on Modern Mrs. Darcy daily Kindle deals page and so I went ahead and purchased it for future reference for when I go shopping.)

4 out of 5 stars
Kindle book – Overdrive app – Library

Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs, #1) – Jacqueline Winspear

I forget where I had first heard about this series from, but it intrigued me and I decided to try it out. I enjoyed it, but in all honesty it did take me awhile to get through. I don’t know if I was just extra tired or if maybe it was just really slow-moving and didn’t keep my interest that well, but I kept falling asleep after about 5 pages in every…single….night. I am glad I persevered and finally finished it because it was an enjoyable read and the end did pick up some. I am not going to abandon the series just yet…I think I’m going to read a couple more before I decide yay or nay to continue the series. I did give 3 stars (even though my review here sounds like it should be 2 stars) on Goodreads because I really did enjoy it and I am glad I read it!

3 out of 5 stars
Kindle book – Overdrive app – Library

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter #1) – J. K. Rowling

This is my first time to re-read the Harry Potter books. The first time I read them I was in my early 20’s…I was not allowed to read them as a child, but I loved them! This go around I am actually listening to it by audiobook (from the library) and am loving it! The narrator is so good at what he does and I love the different voices he uses and I look forward to listening to it every day!!!

5 out of 5 stars
Audiobook – Overdrive app – Library

If You Only Knew – Jamie Ivey

I was able to be on the launch team for this book. See my review on my blog post a couple posts back. Look for a post coming soon about getting to meet her in person!

5 out of 5 stars
ebook – Book Launch team (subsequently purchased)

February 2018 Reads

I thoroughly enjoyed the books I read in February and noticed that they leaned toward being sweet and cozy reads which seems appropriate for the time of year.

Girl, Wash Your Face – Rachel Hollis

I was able to be on the launch team for this book. See my review on my blog post a couple posts back.

5 out of 5 stars
Paperback – Book Launch team

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter #2) – J. K. Rowling

See review of book #1 above. So good!

5 out of 5 stars
Audiobook – Overdrive app – Library

How to Find Love in a Bookshop – Veronica Henry

This was the perfect book to read around Valentine’s Day. This was such a lovely, cozy, feel-good read. I admit it was pretty predictable, but even that didn’t deter me from wanting to read it to see what happens to the different characters and how all the different storylines intersected and ended up turning out. I am looking forward to reading more books by this author in the future.

4 out of 5 stars
Kindle book – Overdrive app – Library

Last Christmas in Paris – A Novel of World War I – Hazel Gaynor

This book was another enjoyable read for me. I struggled between a 3 star vs. 4 star rating and settled on the 3 star for just a couple of reasons. One being it was written totally in letter format…I get that this is probably a very challenging method of writing and telling a story, but I just don’t enjoy books that are strictly written in all letters. It took me awhile to get into it and I almost gave up on it a couple of times, but I am very glad I didn’t and that I finished it because I got hooked towards the end and ended up really liking the storyline a lot!

3 out of 5 stars
Kindle book – Overdrive app – Library

The Keeper of Lost Things – Ruth Hogan

This book was “The Girl Next Door Podcast” book pick for this quarter. After seeing a picture of the gorgeous cover and reading the description I was really intrigued and immediately got on the waitlist at the library for it. Finally it came available and I read it pretty quickly (just in time to listen to the podcast episode discussion). I’m not going to say it was my most favorite book ever, but it was a nice, quaint, cozy read and I enjoyed seeing where all the storylines intersected and ended up. It was such an interesting concept and it has made me start noticing more “lost things” I see laying around and makes me wonder what the back story might be on them. If you are just need a sweet, heartwarming read this might be a great selection for you.

3 out of 5 stars
Hardback – Library

Sorry for the long post, I will do my best to get back on a better monthly routine with my “book reports” (so it won’t be so long and bore you to sleep).

Until next time…keep it simple!

Lindsey