It’s been a minute since I’ve been on here, writing about any updates or fun books I’ve read. The world has been heavy….How are you? Have you been able to read?
For a few months into the pandemic, I could not read anything. Then slowly I got used to the new normal, uncomfortable feeling and started reading again. Elin Hilderbrand helped me escape to a sunny beach. My latest reading has been purposefully light, when I couldn’t focus on anything harder. The nonfiction will have to wait.
Beach Read – Emily Henry
This is romance with lots of depth. A romance writer and literary writer both are struggling with writer’s block and decide to write each other’s books. I loved this so much; it was meta and trope-y. The writing is witty and the dialogue is hilarious. There are mentions of bodice-rippers and Fabio and happily ever after…but yet, it’s all so smart.
The Matchmaker – Elin Hilderbrand
I dove into a few Elin Hilderbrand novels because she truly is the queen of the beach read, and since I wasn’t going to be seeing a beach anytime this year, this was my escape. This one called for a bit of suspending your belief as there is an air of magical realism. Basically I want to be as adorable and well-loved by a beach side tourist town as the main character.
Winter in Paradise #1 – Elin Hilderbrand
What Happens in Paradise #2 – Elin Hilderbrand
This series starts off with a wife discovering her husband has died and, oh by the way, he leads a secret life in the Virgin Islands. I flew through both of these books and immediately started planning my trip to the Virgin Islands. Anxiously awaiting the third book to come out in October.
Ask Again, Yes – Mary Beth Keane
For lack of a better description for this book, I’m sharing the Goodreads description. This was absorbing. I don’t always love a dysfunctional family novel, but I found myself thinking about the characters and wondering how all this would end. I was entranced by the intimacy of the characters’ relationships with one another.
A profoundly moving novel about two neighboring families in a suburban town, the bond between their children, a tragedy that reverberates over four decades, the daily intimacies of marriage, and the power of forgiveness.
From Goodreads:
At school Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He’s popular and well-adjusted, star of the school soccer team while she is lonely, proud, and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her housekeeping job at Marianne’s house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers – one they are determined to conceal.
I read this with the Irish accents in my head. I ached at the cruelty of high school and loved the connection between Connell and Marianne. The Hulu series is very sexy, to boot.
The Honey-Don’t List – Christina Lauren
This is like a dishy, what-if story of a certain famous house-flipping couple we all love to watch. (I’m sure Chip and Joanna are totally nice people, by the way!). Another smart, enemies to lovers, opposites attract romance. I have yet to be disappointed by Christina Lauren.
What have you read lately? Comment below with book recommendations!