Is it really the end of October?! Are we really down to the last nine weeks (gasp) of 2019?! I find myself getting pickier and choosier with my books as the year winds into a close. I really want to choose well! I really want them to count! I want to look back on the year and feel like I’m better for what I have read. Likewise, I hope to help guide YOU into feeling the same! I have absolutely loved this journey of reviewing all of my reads, so pretty please keep letting me know if you end up reading one of my recs, whether you enjoyed it or didn’t! But I sure hope that you did!
Also, as I pile up my last batch of books to read before 2020, I want to hear from you! What is the best thing you’ve read this year?! If there’s a particular one that impacted you deeply, or made you think critically, or moved you wildly, or really just took you to the next level of obnoxious obsession for any reason or other—you know I wanna hear about it!!!
And now, it’s review time! Here you go, fellow readers! The five books I read in October. What a fantastic little bucket of treats right here! I adored them, except for one. Details below, as always! Big hugs and Halloween cheers!!!
Momentary Unforgettable Memoir
Hmm. How do I say this? Demi Moore’s memoir absolutely blew me away. Did I say that loudly enough? Totally blew me away, guys!!! *Insert at least three tears-streaming Emojis* I don’t really know what I was expecting. Some light entertainment? Some Hollywood juice? A little light shed on the Great Big Mystery of what exactly happened between her and Ashton Kutcher? And what exact movies was Demi Moore in, anyway? All I knew is that I’d always vaguely loved her, the raven-haired beauty’s strong-featured face a mainstay in my formative years. So when I heard that a.) she had a new memoir coming out and b.) SHE WAS NARRRATING THE AUDIOBOOK, I knew I had my newest companion for the carpool line and my chores. And now I’ll tell you what I was NOT expecting. Demi’s incredibly deep, raw, vulnerable self-awareness and willingness to share. The absolutely spectacular writing. Her heart-wrenching upbringing, her insights on motherhood, her captivating career journey I actually knew very little about. I certainly did not expect to be so deeply touched by her body image journey—or to weep through the whole last chapter! You’ll get your Hollywood juice and some serious scoop on one of the most famous older-woman-younger-man love stories we’ll ever see. But you will also get more than you bargained for. I loved this book SO very much. I truly couldn’t stop listening. I’m still telling all of my friends about it and wanting to know what they thought. It’s been one of my favorites this year, absolutely. Five stars for you, Demi Moore. Thank you for baring it all. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Momentary Restorative Soul Read
Another book I’m gonna gush over!!! Rebekah Lyons is one of those authors whose words speak straight to my heart, pretty much no matter what. I just love everything about her as a spiritual leader, author and woman. Every new book she writes goes *plop* into my Amazon cart on the day pre-orders begin. Rhythms of Renewal exceeded my (high!) expectations for a meaningful, rejuvenating, encouraging soul read right at this time of year when our schedule seems to jam more than ever and my to-do lists can’t seem to quit. The book is 28 chapters, so I opted to read one per day over the course of the month as my quiet time in the morning (which also often means *breakfast surrounded by 3 cute hooligans time*). The chapters are organized into four different rhythms for renewal: Rest, Restore, Connect, Create.The content comes straight from Scripture, Rebekah’s deep well of wisdom and relatable life experiences, and super-compelling research on topics ranging from anxiety and depression to science and social media. I just loved this book!!! It is a strong call to rest in the love of Jesus, to quit striving and cultivate peace. My copy is underlined to the nines and I know I’ll go back to it often. The words really spoke into my life on just about every topic you could imagine. Friendship, creativity, insecurity, mental health, stress. And so much more! I feel better and calmer and closer to Jesus for reading it. Five stars!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Momentary Timeless Fairy Tale
Ann Patchett is a highly well-known, international best-selling author and contemporary literary icon. She is a writer’s writer, as they say, which basically means you’re the realest deal, and you take your craft very seriously while managing to make it look effortless. (How do they do it?!) The Dutch House was the first work I’ve read by Ms. Patchett and let me tell you, it did not disappoint! Wow. Simply put, this is an exquisite story. And yet it’s also a simple one. The grand Dutch House itself provides the whole book’s foundation, but brother and sister Danny and Maeve Conroy are the ones who bring it to life. Abandoned by their mother as children and later left to poverty by their evil stepmother after the death of their wealthy father, Danny and Maeve go on about their lives, struggling and surviving along the way while holding intrinsic ties to both the enormous house and each other. I adored their brother-sister dynamic and found myself wholly swept up in their fate. While no big, dramatic, riveting incidents necessarily happen in the middle chunk of this story, the tale is told with a careful touch and magnificence that made it—for me—a masterpiece. The house serves as a powerful and effective literary device in all of its splendor and personality. The ending is lovely, redemptive and totally made me choke up. Something about this novel felt darkly enchanting yet also achingly real. I loved it! Big-time BONUS is that Tom Hanks narrates the audiobook, and he did a FANTASTIC job! I was so sad when it ended! The experience of this book stole my heart. Four-and-a-half stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Momentary Fast-and-Fun Mystery
I gobbled up this fast-paced mystery for my Book Club, who decided we wanted a creepy read in honor of Halloween month! Many of us had read and loved The Couple Next Door by the same author and were eager to dive into her newest. Well done, Book Club, WELL DONE! Everything I love about domestic thrillers is right here in these fantastic, fun pages. The plot centers around two recent major dramas in a New York suburban neighborhood: the murder of a beautiful woman named Amanda, and the discovery of a teenager’s multiple home break-ins to snoop on people’s computers and discover, well, who knows what! I loved learning more and more and more about these families, their friendships and their sinister secrets. I finished it in a couple of days because nobody could stop me! It kept me guessing right ‘til the end. I desperately needed to know who killed Amanda and what precisely the young hacker knew. My only complaint is that I wanted to know more about the victim, Amanda, on a deeper level—her thoughts, her inner life, her motivations (if you read this book, you’ll know what I mean). Still, four flashy (and maybe a bit bloody) stars! This is a super fun one! It also lent to some surprisingly deep and meaningful Book Club conversations on parenting, friendship, protecting our families, the secrets we keep, and more. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Momentary Young Love Story
The Unhoneymooners by author team Christina Lauren was an absolute top summer read for me. I was obsessed!!! So I thought I’d try out one of their earlier works. Now, I can’t tell you how much I wanted to love this book. Young romance?! Wine country?! Words?! I felt like I was destined for consuming obsession… but turns out, not quite. I didn’t hate it, but I definitely didn’t love it, not nearly as much as The Unhoneymooners. We meet Macy as a stable, ambitious pediatrics resident engaged to an older man. When she bumps into her first love, soul mate and the best friend she ever had, Elliot, we begin our journey in alternating timelines between the past and the present. As Macy and Elliott slowly reconnect, we are rewarded with increasingly telling flashbacks. I became deeply invested in when and how they fell in love—and more so, why they fell apart. I loved Macy. I loved Elliot. I loved their sweet, slow-burn, special friendship and the exquisiteness of their love. Their soul connection founded on words. What I didn’t love was the ending! I guess it just felt unbelievable to me, and not at all a match for the build-up that took up most of the book. And suddenly I’m realizing that my feelings on this book almost identically echo my thoughts on The Girl He Used to Know, which I read in April. The sweetest, most loveable characters ever! A promising story. Beautiful moments. But an ending I couldn’t quite buy. This one also felt a bit more YA, which actually isn’t a negative for me personally, but just FYI! Next month, I plan to read Roomies by the bestselling duo, and I have a feeling I’ll like it better! Stay tuned! Three stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Until next time!!!
