Guys, I’m so excited to welcome you to something new I’m trying in 2019: Monthly book reviews, here on my blog! Books are one of my biggest hobbies, pastimes and passions, as you know if you’ve ever talked to me for more than 10 minutes! Over the last few years, I’ve been sharing my reads and bookstacks on social media; sporadically, but frequently enough, I suppose. Over time, more and more of you have let me now that you enjoy and appreciate my recommendations—and this makes me SO happy! I’m just a book nerd who loves talking about it. Since I’m always reading anyway, an average of one book per week, I decided: Why not start doing a mini-review on every single book I consume?
So, here we are! My first review for the year! I know that book taste is incredibly personal. No two people on earth are going to love ALL the same books all the time. This is what makes us (and book clubs everywhere) go ‘round. However, I also know that I almost never read a book if I haven’t heard something, somewhere about it. I soooo appreciate having people, online and in person, who generally like the same books I do. I’m thankful for the folks who weed out the duds, so I don’t end up wasting my time! I hope to offer helpful assessments as I work through my goal of reading 40 books in 2019.
Overall, my taste is quite broad, so I hope to offer ideas for everyone! For instance, I don’t know why I am like this!, but I absolutely love true crime, twisty thrillers and mind-bending, dark-sided plots. I also adore biblical nonfiction books that transform my soul, focus my faith and increase my deep love for Jesus. I love memoir, I love New Adult romance, and I’m even growing to love me some historical fiction. So, my hope is that by providing my own reviews, you can maybe find some fantastic new books that suit your personal taste—and/or expand your own reading horizons!
I also want you to know that I will keep the sensitive reader in mind. I see you, and you’re important to me! I know that some of us are more tender than others, when it comes to crime, or tough topics, or sex scenes (most books these days with love storylines have ‘em, as you know if you read a lot, too)! I will try my best to give caveats and ratings when it feels appropriate. Some of my favorite books of all time (like some of my favorite films and TV shows)—contain more R-rated material than I would prefer. I personally can still cherish the baby when I don’t love every ounce of the bathwater, but I know we’re all wired differently. I will be mindful of this!
I know this will be super fun for me, and I hope it is for you, too!!! I debated sticking to Instagram posts, but ultimately determined that I like the idea of giving you a place where you know you can come, anytime, for a host of fresh book recs. A mix of old and brand new; of all kinds of genres.
For now, my round-ups will be filed under “Reading + Writing” here on the blog and tagged #MOMentaryReads on Instagram. All star ratings are out of 5 stars. At the end of the year, I’ll recap my top picks, in time to provide a good list for Christmas shopping!
But oh my gosh, let’s not even think about Christmas yet. Although books are always a little like Christmas to me! So, without further delay, here are the 6 books I read in the last few weeks of December and all of January!
It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way
I have a small handful of authors whose new books I will place on pre-order, no matter what. In most cases, their words reached into the deepest crevices of my soul during a season when I needed them most. And now I trust them. I crave their perspective and insights. Their stories matter extra to me. I also must have the hardback copy because I know I’ll be underlining like crazy. Lysa TerKeurst is one of these authors. She writes and teaches according to the Bible in a deeply inspired way that feels rare. She reminds me that all the unwavering truth I will ever need resides in the Word of God. To be honest, I’m not currently in a season of crushing despair, so I wasn’t sure how this book would land for me. First of all, yes, I wish desperately that I had these fighting, unshakeable words—from her journey though her husband’s affair, her breast cancer and more—in times when my own soul was devastated. But, it spoke to me in a hundred other surprising ways. Creative pursuits, relationships, everyday frustrations, the enemy’s machinations, upside-down outcomes turned right-side up for God’s glory. I went through it slowly, as my morning meditation time over a month or so. I cried more than once; I laughed, too. I recommend it wholly. Especially for anyone going through a hard time. I know I’ll revisit it often. Five stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Castle of Water
OKKKKKKK. If this book isn’t in my top 10–heck, top 3!!!!!—of the year, I’ll be shocked. Dane Huckelbridge, where are you? What are you writing next? We need more of you STAT! It’s hard to write much about this contemporary novel without spilling spoilers, but I can tell you now, it’s a treasure. I immediately texted all my best friends and said, “Read this!!!” With a string of 10 tears-flowing Emojis. Every sentence sparkles with specificity. No comma or word of this book is lazy. It’s a tale of survival, human nature, relationships, focus, and strength, set in the South Pacific. It’s about a plane crash and a remote island and that’s about all I can say. Through a Goodreads deep dive, I read that the author thinks literary fiction can frankly feel a little boring and high-brow. (I completely agree!) Thus he aimed to write a modern-day story that was both entertaining AND literary, dubbing it “fun-brow.” I love that. For me, he nailed this work of art to the wall. (Art also plays a beautiful role in this book.) Please read it. Please tell me what your heart thinks of it. Five stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Educated
Educated is one that sat in my TBR stack for months. For whatever reason, I kept putting it off. Probably because of its likely weight and intensity—both which proved true. Once I dove in, though, I could not stop! The brilliant memoir has been likened to The Glass Castle,and I think that’s a spot-on comparison. The heartbreaking story of family and resilience also reverberates with the spirit of The Sound of Gravel and All The Pretty Things, both of which I adored. While I personally found this book to be more of an intellectual journey than an emotional one (unlike those last two gorgeous sob-fests I mentioned)— its effect was still great, and its tales, unreal. Tara Westover grew up under the heavy-handed authority of a severely anti-establishment father and acquiescent mother (with complex sibling dynamics) in mountainous Idaho—no birth certificate, no formal education, no normalcy by any standards. She fought to break terrible chains of abuse, ultimately forging her own way to a PhD at Cambridge. I’m still thinking about it, asking myself questions like: Was she naturally brilliant, crazy ambitious, or both? What can we learn from the common, heartbreaking threads of mental illness and narcissism that run through these (often fundamentally religious) families? How do these women heal from such wounds and rise up to such astonishing greatness? What role does memory play in our unfolding reality? What do we learn from school; and what from our communities, our parents, ourselves? It’s a fantastic memoir. Not a beach read! By any means. But one unforgettable lesson in education. It didn’t pull at my heart strings in the way I thought it might, but it’s still picking away at my brain. Five stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Good Luck with That
Book hangover in Mammoth! That’s my recollection of this weighty (pun fully intended) novel I finished on my family’s snowy vacation. Oh, this book. How do we see ourselves? How do we love ourselves? What is beauty, and what unrealistic standards pervade our personal and collective lens? Trio of friends Marley, Georgia and Emerson grew up going to “fat camp” together, and this well-paced novel follows their friendship and relationships following one of their deaths. The journeys of grief, self-discovery, mistakes, regrets, family, love, and body image truly moved me. I grew to care for each of the characters. I especially recommend it to anyone who has ever struggled with eating or body issues in a big way—overeating, starving, binging, purging, yo-yo-ing, crying, obsessing. Nitpicking yourself in front of the mirror. Fighting to believe in your worth so far beyond the body you carry. The reason I’m giving it four stars instead of five, is because certain parts were so painful to read. In a good way, for me—but maybe not for everyone. If you read Roxane Gaye’s uber intense book Hunger, and liked it, but thought, wow,that was some really dark stuff. Try this one. It brings to light many of the same issues, in a more digestible way. It’s another contemporary novel I’ll be sitting with for a while. Four beautiful, brilliant stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
One True Loves
“I am finishing up dinner with my family and my fiancé when my husband calls.” Hold up! You had me at fiancé AND husband. This story’s been told before, a la Pearl Harbor with Josh Hartnett and Ben Affleck, and other places too, I’m sure. Young husband dies, wife moves on, OH, SNAP, husband is not really dead! That’s not a spoiler—the storyline starts unfolding in the first chapter. Honestly, I have zero shame in my entertainment preferences. Gimme a love triangle, gimme the Bach! I don’t shy away from clichés! But I think it’s possible my hopes were too high for this book. I’ve been seeing Taylor Jenkins Reid pop up all over the place as an author I’d likely enjoy. And I did enjoy it, I did. She’s a fantastic writer. Emma, the blonde protagonist around my age, is quite lovable, and her relationships with both Sam (fiancé) and Jesse (husband) dating back to high school, felt genuine. But the story ultimately wound up a bit too tidy, too fast for me—and endings are everything, aren’t they? Has anyone else read this? Would so love to know your thoughts! I felt it had smokin’ potential but turned lukewarm by the finish. Three stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Kennedy Debutante
This was my book club’s first pick of the year, and while a few of our girls loved it to pieces, our general feels were the same: We’re obsessed with the Kennedys. Fascinated. They’re pretty undeniably American royalty. We enjoyed learning about Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy, JFK’s savvy, strong, socialite younger sister and her intriguing romance with William “Billy” Cavendish, Marquess of Harrington, oldest son and heir apparent of the 10thDuke of Devonshire. But, in the end, something fell a bit short. I really liked it but wasn’t obsessed. The most compelling part for me was the disparity between Catholicism (Roman Catholic Church) and Protestantism (Church of England) at the time—and the role this played in the pair’s high-profile relationship. Also young Rosemary Kennedy’s heartwrenching mental health battle struck a deep chord; oh my, I need to know more. In the end, I learned a lot from this novel, and that’s always a win for me. 3.5 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Please keep me posted on all the books you are loving (or not loving)!
Big hugs and happy reading!
