Tag: book reviews

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What I Read This Week – July 12th

I finished 3 books this week. It could have been 4, but I kept jumping between 2 different books, so they are both half-finished.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Incense and Sensibility by Sonali Dev – The Rajes #3

I really enjoyed this one. I felt it had more similarities to Austen than the previous book in the series did, and I loved getting into Yash’s story. I am looking forward to book 4.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Lost for Words Bookshop by Stephanie Butland – Lost for Words #1

I actually read the second book in the series before I was aware this one existed, but I don’t think I lost too much by reading them out of order. This book centers on Loveday, who is in the second book but not the main focus. She has had a lot of sadness in her life and the book shows how she struggles to overcome it, flipping back and forth between the past and the present. It has some heavy themes, especially of domestic violence.

⭐⭐⭐💫

Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand – Paradise #1

Hilderbrand’s books are usually a quick read for me, and this was no exception – I read it in one sitting the other afternoon. I enjoyed this story of a woman whose husband dies but turns out to have had many secrets. It was a fun story, and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.

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What I Read This Week – July 5th

I finished three books this week, two of which were 5 star reads.

⭐⭐⭐

The Life Impossible by Matt Haig

I can’t settle on any one word to describe this book. It was weirdly interesting, at times profound, but also a bit odd in places. I did enjoy it, but nowhere near as much as The Midnight Library.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

I am not sure how I missed reading this growing up, but I am so glad I have rectified that oversight now. This was a profoundly moving story that I connected to even as a middle-aged adult. I can see why it has been so well regarded for all of these years and recommend picking it up if you haven’t read it before.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Yoga Pant Nation by Laurie Gelman – Class Mom #3

It has been six years since I read book #2 in this series, but I had no problem jumping back in with Jen Dixon and her ongoing role as class mom for her son Max. This was a fun, well-crafted novel with great characters and engaging storylines. Highly recommend!

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What I Read This Week – June 28th

This was a slower week for reading – I spent more time with my jigsaw puzzles than with my books. I did end up finishing two books, one fiction and one nonfiction.

Fiction

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree – Legends & Lattes #0

I loved this book! Viv is such a great main character, and I love how the supporting characters become like a family to her. This was a fantastic prequel to Legends & Lattes!

Nonfiction

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice by Jemar Tisby

I found this follow up book to The Color of Compromise to be both educational and challenging. I appreciated how Tisby expanded on the A.R.C. of Racial Justice that he had shared in the earlier book. A.R.C. stands for awareness, relationships, and commitment, and he explains what each of them means and why they are all needed. Highly recommended!

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What I Read This Week – June 21st

I finished three books this week, two fiction and one nonfiction.

⭐⭐⭐/5
Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev – The Rajes #2

I was really looking forward to this after reading the first book in the series, which is based on Pride & Prejudice. This one is based on Persuasion, which is my favorite Austen book, but I had trouble connecting it to that novel. Yes, there is the second-chance romance between Ashna and Rico, but there is also an equally prominent storyline of the troubled relationship between Ashna and her mother. There are a lot of good topics explored in this book, but some of them are quite heavy and I also would have enjoyed it a lot more if I wasn’t looking for the Austen connection while I was reading.

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet by Lindz McLeod – Austentatious #1

As you can tell from my first book this week, I am a sucker for an Austen spinoff, and this was an enjoyable entry in that category. I liked the colorful characters and found the queer romantic storyline a lot of fun!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships by Matthew Vines

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has questions about the American evangelical church’s views on same-sex relationships. It takes a lot of courage to examine beliefs that you have been fed all of your life, and Vines shows how he and his dad wrestled with this topic and found freedom on the other side.

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What I Read This Week – June 14th

I have decided to start posting about the books I’ve read on a weekly basis for a while and see how I like it. I may still post more in-depth reviews if the mood strikes me.

I finished three books this week and enjoyed them all.

First up was In the Woods by Tana French. This is the first in the Dublin Murder Squad series, and it was recommended to me by Bookstagram user @electric_bookaloo. It has a lot of complexity in both the details of the case they are working and in the character development, and I enjoyed it a lot.

Next was a re-read of an adolescent classic, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. It was so fun to revisit this book. It has definitely held up to the test of time!

Finally was Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I have seen her all over Bookstagram and decided to start at the beginning with her first novel. I loved it! I enjoyed the juxtaposition of Elsie and Ben’s romance with the current day relationship with Ben’s mother, Susan. The supporting characters were also well-written. Overall great book!

What have you read this week that you enjoyed?

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Rise & Shine, Benedict Stone

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Do you ever read a book and keep having the vague sense of having read it before? That was my experience with Rise & Shine, Benedict Stone by Phaedra Patrick. Even though there were some parts I didn’t remember, there was enough that was familiar to convince me I must have read this book before. I wouldn’t hold that against the book, though; I am notoriously bad at remembering the plots of books I have read.

Benedict Stone is a jeweler in a small village whose business is almost non-existent and whose wife has recently left him. Then one day his teenage niece surprises him by showing up at his door for a visit. She is reckless and stubborn and turns his life upside down, and he must decide whether to accept the chance to change the way he looks at life.

There is a lot to like about this book. I enjoyed the colorful characters and the great setting. It was very satisfying to see how Benedict took steps toward a better, richer life for himself. Definitely would recommend!

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Reading While Black

Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope
By Esau McCaulley

📜Summary
Reading While Black is a personal and scholarly testament to the power and hope of Black biblical interpretation. At a time in which some within the African American community are questioning the place of the Christian faith in the struggle for justice, New Testament scholar McCaulley argues that reading Scripture from the perspective of Black church tradition is invaluable for connecting with a rich faith history and addressing the urgent issues of our times.

He advocates for a model of interpretation that involves an ongoing conversation between the collective Black experience and the Bible, in which the particular questions coming out of Black communities are given pride of place and the Bible is given space to respond by affirming, challenging, and, at times, reshaping Black concerns. McCaulley demonstrates this model with studies on how Scripture speaks to topics often overlooked by white interpreters, such as ethnicity, political protest, policing, and slavery.

Ultimately McCaulley calls the church to a dynamic theological engagement with Scripture, in which Christians of diverse backgrounds dialogue with their own social location as well as the cultures of others. Reading While Black moves the conversation forward.

💬My Thoughts
I really appreciated learning from McCaulley’s perspective on a variety of topics, and I was interested in his interpretation of the Biblical passages he used to support his arguments. I did find the book to be quite scholarly, and I don’t feel that I have the background knowledge I would need to evaluate his conclusions without reading more in this area.

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More or Less Maddy

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

More or Less Maddy is the newest release from Lisa Genova, and it centers on Maddy Banks, a young woman with bipolar disorder. Genova does an amazing job in this novel of taking us through Maddy’s experiences with depression and mania that lead to her diagnosis of bipolar, as well as the ups and downs she goes through as she struggles to accept what that diagnosis means for her.

I love that Genova brings a background in neuroscience to her writing. As I read this story, I felt like I was right there with Maddy, feeling the highs and the lows she was dealing with both before she got diagnosed and after, when she was trying to reconcile her need for medication and stability with her desire to pursue her dream of comedy.

I could also empathize with her family and friends, who just wanted her to be okay. Yes, that made them less supportive of her dreams than they could be, but I could understand the desire to see Maddy safe and as healthy as possible.

This was an emotional read and I would highly recommend it.

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The Door-to-Door Bookstore

⭐⭐⭐💫/5

The Door-to-Door Bookstore is a novel written by German author Carsten Henn and translated by Melody Shaw. It is the story of Carl Christian Kollhoff and how his friendship with a young girl who goes by the name of Schascha changed his life.

I was initially drawn to this book because it is about a bookseller, but I quickly felt connected to Carl and wanted to get to know him better. He has a daily routine that includes delivering books each evening to the customers that have ordered from the bookstore he works at. One evening he is joined by a nine-year old girl named Schascha who has decided she wants to be his friend.

We follow along as Carl and Scascha become friends, get to know his customers better, and deal with Carl losing his beloved job at the bookstore. I found the overall tone of this book to be very melancholy, but I am glad that I read it.

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Mini Book Reviews

Not Quite by the Book by Julie Hatcher

Emma Rini is running her parents’ bookstore and slowly building up resentment against her parents, who seem to take her for granted, and her sister, who is focused on her first pregnancy. When her parents announce they are retiring, she impulsively decides to take a six-week vacation to a crumbling manor house where she can get in touch with her inner Emily Dickinson.

Emma obtains mixed results from her experiment, but learns a lot along the way about herself. Besides the expected love interest, there are new friends to be made and breakthroughs to be had with her family. I enjoyed this book quite a bit and appreciated the bookish themes.

How to Stuff Up Christmas by Rosie Blake

Eve has just discovered her fiance is cheating on her and, after booting him out, is looking for a way to avoid the traditional family Christmas celebrations. She decides to take a pottery course in another town and finds a houseboat rental for her and Marmite, her dog. While there, she encounters the handsome local vet Greg, and they strike up a friendship. 

This book has both humor and heart. There are a lot of catastrophes and chaos, along with some misunderstandings, but eventually everything gets sorted out one way or another. It is a fun, lighthearted read.

Secrets of a Shoe Addict by Beth Harbison

This is the sequel to Shoe Addicts Anonymous and follows a group of friends–Tiffany, Loreen, and Abbey–who get themselves into various kinds of trouble during a school trip to Las Vegas. Tiffany is the sister of Sandra, who is one of the main characters in the first book. When all three ladies need to raise money fast, Sandra helps them out with a side hustle that will do the trick.

I enjoyed seeing these women grow closer throughout the story, as well as how they handled the challenges of their new job and their romantic relationships. It was also nice to see Sandra again and watch her attempts at dating. A quick, fun read.

A Shoe Addict’s Christmas by Beth Harbison

This is an adorable take on a Christmas classic. When Noelle gets locked in the department store she works at on a snowy Christmas Eve, she meets her guardian angel. As they clean up the shoes her angel knocked over as she was coming in, she has the chance to revisit several moments of her life and see how they could have gone if she hadn’t let her fears hold her back. Short and sweet, cute holiday story.