Many lives of Mama Love

At first, I was not sure how to perceive this book. Being a memoir, you never really know what to expect. But now that I’ve finished it, I am happy to have chosen it for my book of the month back in August of last year.

Book of the month is a really great subscription service that lets you choose the book you want for about $18.95, and it’s the only one I have found to let you cancel or skip a month without charging you. If you get to stick with them long enough to earn their BFF status, you get a free tote bag and a few other perks.  Go get it if you haven’t already.

From the standpoint of being married to someone who had trouble with the law as a teen and has friends who are/were addicts as well as friends who are in jail from it, this book is on a more personal level.

I used to judge people like him because my parents did , but not now. I’ve learned that these types of people can be some of the most loyal friends you will ever have. In my experience, the most disloyal friends are the popular, the rich, the church-goers.

Take this review however you choose, but if you do decide to read it, let me know.

Harmony of Lies

This is the sequel to Harmony of Fire by Brian Feehan (aka Christine Feehan’s son), and once again, I was not disappointed.

You can definitely tell that he gets his style and talent from his mother.

I won’t go into details because I have to leave something to make you want to go pick up both books.

I will say that I am of no surprise and that if you love his mother’s work, then you will surely love him.

The Jane Austen Society

The first thing that caught my attention was the cover. Very beautiful cover, in my opinion. The next thing that got me was the title. Being a huge Austen fan myself, I was curious as to what the story was about, so I got it at this nice used book store (https://www.prettygoodbooks.net/) and If anyone wants to check the place out I definitely recommend it. Their Harry Potter section was under the stairs, totally appropriate, lol!

The more I read the book, the more I fell in love with it. If you’ve read any of Austen’s books, then you’ll understand when I say the pacing and the flow of the story, plus the characters are almost like they were written by Jane Austen herself. It was just too perfect. I think the author,herself, is a fan of Jane Austen, too.

I do hope you will get this book and read it for yourself. I also suggest reading all six of Austen’s books before reading this one because they do discuss them in great detail. I have yet to read Northanger Abbey or Mansfield Park, and that’s a shame. I will definitely be picking those two up after reading this book.

Happy Reading 📚

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

I can relate to this book on a lot of things. The first is the main family’s last name. (Allbright) that was how my ancestors spelled the name when they first came to the U.S from Germany (Albrecht to Allbright) then after a time the name started showing up as spelled with one L instead of two. (Albright), which is how I spelled my name until I married at nineteen.

The father of the main character, having spent time in the military, in the Vietnam War is another relation. My grandfather was there too. Now, he was never abusive as far as I know, but he has been gone from this world since 2018. I miss him like crazy.

The description of Alaska makes me want to pack my things and go there. It all sounds so beautiful.

Needless to say, Kristin Hannah won yet again with this book. So far from my backlist reading of her books, I have found only one to be disappointing.

Let me know your thoughts on this book. I’m curious to know.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Ok, at first, I could decide if I had wanted to read this book or not. I have read Beach Read by this author, and I was not too thrilled about it. However, I am really liking this one.

*spoiler alert*

I really resonate with Charlie saying that he likes how one can be anonymous in NY, but places like his small town, you never shake off what people already think of you. Since I have grown up and still live in the small town I grew up in, I completely understand this statement. There could not have been a more truer quote for me from any of my books than this one.

I am happy that I picked this up. A romance between two literary agents, what is not to love? Especially since my love of books has me wanting to write one some day.

Comment with your favorite Emily Henry book.

A winter in New York

Ok, this will be my last post for this year, so I figure to make it a review of my last book of the year.

I just figured this book would have been just a cutesy rom com, and it was, but with a few twists that I was not expecting. Iris and her relationship with her mother is very prominent in the story, and it gives me the vibes of my favorite show (gilmore girls) and the love that is prominent in the Belotti family is just heartwarming.

Then there is the abusive ex Adam Bronson. That was a twist that was surprising.

If you are looking for a great rom com holiday read, then I highly recommend this one.

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

My favorite line so far is where Sam is explaining to Sadie why he wants to make this game with her. I just love his description of it. I can also relate to Sam’s fear of Sadie and Marx getting along and leaving him. I can fully relate to that on all levels.

*update* I have been three days since my last update to you, but I still stand on the side of Sam. But in all honesty, I love the friendship with the whole thing. I love how the story is about making games. How it mentions some popular titles. And most of all, I love how the main characters can just be friends without making it into some sort of romance. Not everyone wants to see immediate romance between main characters all the time. Some want just the friendship. I am over halfway into the story, and I can definitely see why it won book of the year from the book of the month subscription service. (Which I definitely recommend getting.) Anyways, I’ll update more once finished.

Two days later…..

I know I am late on this last update and getting this published, but I was not expecting the *spoiler* shooting part and I like how there was a little Easter egg thrown in there about how video games supposedly makes gamers more violent. When in reality, IT DOES NO SUCH THING! I have been a gamer for most of my life, and I am not violent at all. I’ve played Call of Duty, grand theft auto San andreas, and even play the Sims yet none of those games ever made me want to be violent. The book was great u til this last part so my rating ended up being a three stars instead of four.

Yellowface by R.F Kuang

This book started out being hyped up. It also got hyped for me thanks to tiktok, but the more I read, the more June Hayward starts to get under my skin. She is annoying and practically whines about Athena for most of what I’ve been reading so far. I am tempted to dnf the book, but at the same time, I’m hoping it gets better. Right now, I am reading it as I write this part of the review. I will update as I continue.

*Update*

The part about American POWs in the Korean War hits home a little too close. I have a few veterans in my family for almost all the wars and reading about the wars or, like in this book, mentions always seem way too personal to me. But that’s just my personal opinion. More to come later.

Another update two days later……but I am finding the main character to be really annoying. She judges everyone around her way too much. She’s also paranoid because of what she has done. Don’t worry, I’ll let you figure that out if you haven’t read this book yet, but as of right now, my rating might end up being a two stars. We shall see.

Last update: I was rather liking this story until I read the line about scamming money from rednecks and claiming that she’s “not a Trumper because she voted for Biden.” With the way this country has been going, she should not have admitted to voting for that old crazy man. Everyone is throwing in little barbs like that in their writing now, and it is honestly sad as hell. So my rating was going to be a four stars but with that jab, my rating is now two stars 🌟 🌟

Recovery Road by Christine Feehan

Book 8 in the Torpedo Ink series.

She just has a way with words. You may not like these chara ters at first, but by the end of the book, you end up losing them and feeling sorry for them all at once. Especially with this series. Each book so far has stabbed me in the heart.

Each of the men in the Torpedo Ink club are so messed up yet fall so hard for their woman. It makes me smile at just the little things they do or the little things they end up appreciate being done for them.

Now, I will say that this series definitely has trigger warnings that everyone needs to be careful of, especially if you read about the character of Savage and his woman Seychelle. Other than that, I do recommend reading it if you want someone to cry over.

I am almost finished with the book, so I will update you when finished.

*UPDATE*

Ok, I finished this book and forgot to post this review on the 22nd. Oops! But here it is and no surprise, it’s a gem like all her other books. Hope you enjoy!

The Four winds by Kristin Hannah

The only words I can use to describe this book: H.O.L.Y S.H.I.T!

I have no words to describe this book, honestly. It was just that good.

Now I have no idea what to read next…..it’s always so hard to choose after such a heavy story.