What I Read in May and June 2019

May 2019

Now That You Mention It – Kristan Higgins

This was my first Kristin Higgins’ book and it won’t be my last. This was a fun and easy read. I enjoy books that follow the main character’s life from present to past and forward again and how they change and grow as a person throughout it. In reading the description I thought it would be more of a “romance” type book, but it wasn’t. The author brought in some heavier/more serious issues, but did it in such a way that it didn’t feel forced and still kept the light-heartedness and uplifting tone of the book going. Looking forward to reading more books from Kristan Higgins! 3/5 stars

Kindle – Overdrive

One Day in December – Josie Silver

This book has been on my TBR for awhile and the holds list at the library was crazy long (I guess it was because of it being a “Reese’s book club” pick?). So I’m probably in the minority, but I don’t think it lived up to all the hype I had been hearing about it. I enjoyed it as a cute romance type book, but it just droned on for me until about 75% through. Towards the end I started enjoying it more (that’s why I ended up giving it 3 stars instead of 2 stars), but the beginning just seemed a pity-party for the main character and I didn’t like how she had to “pretend” about her best friend’s boyfriend. I enjoyed the ending and am pleased with how it all wrapped up and it was a cute read, but it just wasn’t something that lived up to the hype in my opinion. 3/5 stars

Kindle – Overdrive

“13 Little Blue Envelopes” and “The Last Little Blue Envelope” – Maureen Johnson

This was a fun little YA read. 13 Little Blue Envelopes description intrigued me. From Goodreads – “Inside little blue envelope 1 are $1,000 and instructions to buy a plane ticket. In envelope 2 are directions to a specific London flat. The note in envelope 3 tells Ginny: Find a starving artist. Because of envelope 4, Ginny and a playwright/thief/ bloke about town called Keith go to Scotland together, with somewhat disastrous though utterly romantic results. But will she ever see him again? Everything about Ginny will change this summer, and it’s all because of the 13 little blue envelopes.”

When I was younger I definitely would have enjoyed this book and while I liked it now as an adult, it’s just not as believable as it would have been reading it when I was younger. I enjoyed the storyline and definitely wanted to keep reading it (matter of fact I even went on to read the sequel “The Last Little Blue Envelope” to see what happened. Side note – I enjoyed the first book more than the sequel, but isn’t that what usually happens?). At times, I thought the writing was a little sporadic and felt like things that were important to the story just all of a sudden got dropped and never finished up with/”tied up with a nice bow”. Overall these two books were good, fun, light fluff reading and I might try another book by the author in the future. 3/5 stars for both

Both were Kindle – Overdrive

Okay, so I saved my 5 star read for last! This was by far my favorite out of the whole month!!!

We Were the Lucky Ones – Georgia Hunter

I absolutely loved this book! I love historical fiction (especially ones that around the WWII time period). I think I enjoyed this book more because I had heard the author discuss (I think on a podcast) about how she wasn’t aware of her family history, but she started looking into it and what she found out about what her family endured during the war just overwhelmed her. Even though this book is fiction, it is based upon real events that her family members went through. It follows the different members of her grandfather’s family and how they ended up separated throughout the war and what they endured. It was so well done and even though parts were hard to read at times, the resilience of people who lived during this horrible time was inspiring. This book is one that I am looking forward to rereading and hope I can find more interviews on this book that the author has done that I can read or listen to. 5/5 stars

Kindle – Overdrive

I read other books in May as well…they were mainly for book launches and since there were a lot of them I went ahead and just devoted a whole post to them. Check it out here!

June 2019

City of Girls – Elizabeth Gilbert

I enjoyed this book a lot. However, even though I did enjoy it, I’m not saying I agreed with everything that occurred in the book. I did enjoy how an older accomplished woman was retelling the stories of her coming-to-age years in the 1940’s (reminded me of “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo”). It was a good summer read in that I didn’t feel like there was much depth to it (i.e. the main character didn’t seem to change or grow much). I thought it was a tad on the long side and some of it could’ve been cut out with affecting the story. Overall, it was a nice fun read and look forward to reading more fiction work from Elizabeth Gilbert in the future. 4/5 stars

Kindle – Overdrive

Raising Disciples: How to Make Faith Matter for Our Kids – Natalie Frisk

This year God has really laid on my heart the need for me to train up my girls in His way and teach them how to love, trust, and obey God. When I saw this book come available for review I knew it was one I wanted to read. This book went through the different ages of childhood from 0-18 years and gave some practical tips on how to incorporate Jesus-centered parenting into the home within the different stages of a child’s life. This book was an easy-read and it reminded me that God calls us to “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6 and reinforced what God has put on my heart and how important raising our children to love and trust God is. 3/5 stars

E-book – I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for the purpose of an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Who Will Play With Me – Randall Goodgame

This book was so cute! When I read it for the first time to my girls, it reminded me of a Dr. Seuss book. It was written in a rhyming type style and it was very catchy. My girls thoroughly enjoyed it and the message of the book is one that I want my girls to learn. The message of the book centered around the verse Philippians 2:3: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.” Doug the Slug learned that you have to be a friend if you want to have a friend. 4/5 stars

Hardback – I received a review copy of this book from B&H Bloggers for the purpose of an honest review. All opinions are my own.

What are you reading and what is on your TBR list that you want to start reading soon?

Until next time…keep it simple!

Lindsey