April sure showered some great reads upon me! Let’s get right to it, shall we? It was definitely an audiobook month for me—three of my five were Audible picks. I purchased one of those three-packs for a deal and thought I’d spread them out over time. But, you know: ME. My inner book addict won out per usual, and my ears popped them faster than candy. We’re also doing some super-fun home improvements, so this has led to lots of organization and ruthless spring cleaning. Which, of course, is so much more enjoyable with a great story serving the soundtrack!
For the first time so far in 2019, my favorite book of the month was nonfiction: Here, Now, by Kate Merrick. Perhaps you saw me rave about it in my Instagram stories, and prepare for more raving below! I really adored most of the novels, too, with a special shout-out to a throwback by Emily Giffin, whom I officially adore to the moon! Like Liane Moriarty, she provides what I’d call addictive, sort-of “chick lit” with some serious meat and superior writing. I honestly get a little bored with “chick lit” if it skips right along too breezily; I need complex relationships, fascinating issues or something crazy surprising! Needless to say, I’m all in for Emily and can’t wait to read more. This was only my second of hers.
Here you go, friends! As always, I’d love to know if you’ve read any of these or if you’ve loved anything lately!
Momentary Spiritual Read
I’m sitting here wondering if I could possibly have loved this book more. Nope! I just adored it, friends!!! If you’re not familiar with Pastor Britt and wife Kate Merrick’s story, they lost their 8-year-old daughter Daisy to cancer in 2013. Can you even imagine? During the brutal battle for Daisy’s life, the greatly influential, widely loved family made a conscious choice to go totally dark on social media and pull all the way back from the spotlight, to pour all they had into fighting for Daisy. There is so much more to say about their journey and unwavering faith, but this particular choice provides the basis for Here, Now.The book reflects Kate’s deeply grounded, gracious, distinct perspective on choosing a life of presence in our digital, fire-paced, crazy-connected society. She manages to share her experiences with neither judgment nor condescension, remaining wholly relatable page after page. Yes, even from a ranch without WiFi, guys! I laughed. I cried. I almost never stopped underlining. I was deeply inspired. This book will probably cause you to pause and re-evaluate your own electronic habits, and, more importantly, your heart.
Kate is such a powerhouse example of how to be a mighty woman, wife, mom, sister, friend, writer, creator, warrior of God—without buying into the hustle/swipe/strive/tap vortex that probably affects us in a million ways we can’t even yet know. She proclaims boldly with her life and her words that you can master your screens instead of letting them master you. That the most important things, the life-changing moments, the salt and the earth of our real, actual, breathing existences—are unfolding right in front of us every second. That we should have the right kind of “well-directed FOMO” over missing THOSE things instead of #allthethings on the gram. Isn’t that all so freeing? The word “courage” also appears more times in this book than I can count, and we know how I feel about this word for 2019! This book is so exceptional. I could go on and on. It reminded me a lot of Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist. Pure gold. Read it. Five stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Momentary Magic
Speaking of stars… Where the Forest Meets the Stars is so enchanting and special! It’s about broken people learning to love; it’s about nature and her mystical elements; it’s about keeping secrets and holding out hope. In the wake of her mother’s death, breast cancer survivor and graduate student Joanna Teale settles into a rural Illinois town to resume her graduate research on bird nesting. You quickly feel her scars inside and out, through Vanderah’s beautiful character writing. Suddenly, one night out of the blue, a mysterious little girl appears at Jo’s cabin with dirty clothes and scars of her own, claiming to be from the stars—an alien sent to earth until she beholds five miracles. Her name is Ursa. Jo takes an immediate sense of responsibility for Ursa, alerting authorities, learning whatever she can. Soon Jo’s neighbor and head of the local egg stand, Gabriel, gets involved to help care for the girl—and what results is a deeply affecting story of generosity, kindness, family, mental health, secrets, love. Not to mention mystery! Is Ursa telling the truth? Where on earth did she come from? I was incredibly satisfied by this book’s end, but my reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is that the first half unfolded a little slowly, I thought. Not in a bad way, per se—just not much fast-paced action happening. I remember distinctly looking at my Kindle at 53% going, “OK, wow! This just really picked up! Now I’m dyingto see how it ends!” Other than that, though—LOVED! Four stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Momentary New Favorite Author
Sign me up for the Emily Giffin fan club! After simply adoring her latest book, All We Ever Wanted, I was curious to read more. (Thank you, Nic, for recommending I do!) This one caught my eye during one of my GoodReads rabbit holes and thank goodness it did! I was obsessed, guys. Something about it hooked me from the very onset and never, ever let me go! Maybe because I’m a girl mom, maybe because I’ve always had a deep interest in adoption, maybe because I love NYC—most likely, as T-Pain would say, all the above. High school senior Kirby Rose has always known she was adopted without thinking excessively of it, but as her emotional life grows more complicated and her 18thbirthday draws near, she decides to track down her birth mother. Thus Marian, now a successful, sophisticated 36-year-old TV producer living in Manhattan, finds the shock of all shocks on her doorstep one late night after a fight with her hot fancy boyfriend. This book was the perfect spring girly read (with plenty of meaning) that I was craving! It is heartwarming, heartbreaking and perfectly paced. I give it five stars! Has anyone read anything else of hers? Which one should I grab next? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Momentary Mind-Blowing Mystery
Holy mind trip to Lord knows where! As my hilarious friend, Jill, in my book club joked: “This book messed me up!!!” I mean, not really. But kind of! I’m going to go ahead and say in the same breath that I both LOVED this book… and feel like I can’t recommend it without a warning label. Ha! So much twisty darkness! Highly adult! I don’t want to send you to therapy! But, as I’ve mentioned before, I kinda live for crimey books and psychological thrillers, and this book sure blew me away for exactly what it is: a brilliant piece of art that sucked me in from beginning to end. I loved how DEEP this book went into the psyches of the main characters. Alicia Berenson leads what appears to be a charmed life as a famous painter and wife of a successful fashion photographer. The epitome of a super-posh power couple. Then one night, Alicia’s husband returns home late, and she shoots him five times in the face. (You know; casual. I told you!) From that moment forth, Alicia refuses to speak. Enter psychotherapist Theo Faber, who becomes determined to crack her reticence and unearth her side of the story. And oh, what a labyrinth does he lead us on! Geez, guys. It’s cray. I could not stop and did NOT see the ending coming from anywhere! Might I also say that the audiobook was SO well done! Always a weakness for those British accents. This book had me feeling so squeamish and gave me the ultimate hangover, and yet—four-and-a-half stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Momentary Moving Love Story
Oh, this book!!! It’s one I wanted so much to love, love, love—and I did… until the end. Gah! I hate when that happens. But it gets three shining stars for the first three-fourths or so, which totally captured my heart. This is a story of friendship, romance, heartache. Of being different; of unconditional love. Adorable, likeable, whip-smart Jonathan meets anxious, socially awkward, drop-dead gorgeous, also-brilliant Annika in chess club at the University of Illinois. Through their unfolding relationship told in alternating time periods and perspectives, we learn that they fell madly in love during college, but then fell apart—only to reconnect 10 years later.
Why did they break up? Will they rekindle the fire? The thing I adored most about this book was Annika, an exquisitely drawn, unforgettable character whom we discover is on the autism spectrum. Her difficult moments, delicate brilliance, struggles, quirks and preferences both broke my heart and filled it to overflowing. I definitely cried at least once, and I’m still thinking about one of the scenes in a restaurant. Jonathan, too—what a gem and a gentleman. Their love story was almost one for the ages! But again, the end just wasn’t my cup of tea! I don’t want to give any spoilers, but it took a highly dramatic, pretty unbelievable turn (in my opinion) and I wish the plot had stuck to where it shined for me most—the simple and exquisite beauty of Annika and Jonathan’s relationship. At the very least, I needed an epilogue! I wrote one in my own head, but, you know. That’s never quite the same, shockingly. Ha! (Contains steamy scenes.) Three stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️
