Reading Recap

 The Women

"When Frances "Frankie McGrath's brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path when she hears that women can be heroes too. Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed and politically divided America."

I don't even know where to start with this book other than IT'S A MUST READ! I've loved Kristin Hannah for years and years (The Nightingale and The Great Alone are two of my all time favorites) and look forward to her new releases like Christmas morning ;). 

I was hooked from page one of The Women and found myself captivated from that point on.  Kristin Hannah not only captures the time period she makes you FEEL it.  From Frankie's time in Vietnam to her life when she returned home I FELT so much while reading.  It was heart breaking and inspiring, eye-opening and thought-provoking. 

I LOVED IT!!!

The Housemaid

" Millie was recently let go from her job, and was forced to live in her car. Desperate to find a job with room and board included, she applies for a live in maid/nanny position. Millie doesn’t expect to get the job, but a week after interviewing for the job she gets a call asking if she wants it.

Millie sees instantly why the Winchesters needed help, their place is a mess. Nina Winchester is rude to Millie from day one. Nina will purposely tell Millie one thing, to turn around and say she never asked her to do it to begin with. Andrew Winchester is the complete opposite, he’s kind, and understanding.

Millie is forced to live in their attic, on a small cot, with a door that only locks from the outside, but it’s better than living in her car. After working for the Winchester’s for a while, she can’t understand how Andrew is married to such an awful woman as Nina. Millie and Andrew start to get close, maybe too close. Millie thinks she understands what’s happening at the Winchester’s, but by the time she realizes she was wrong, it’s already too late."

The Housemaid was another winner for me this month.  It was dark and twisty psychological thriller that honestly kept me guessing until the end.  It was an easy read and while I found most of the characters a bit contrived I really enjoyed the story as a whole.

Someone's Listening

"A psychologist with a best seller book on how to escape the predator, Faith soon found her life turned upside down. A wrongful charge, missing husband, suspicious cops, and threatening notes tightened the noose around her neck. A race against time to save herself, she had to find the starting point which was the end too."

I really enjoyed "Someone's Listening" because I was suspicious of literally every character in the book.  The story was unique and kept me guessing and I particularly enjoyed the twist at the end. 

Don't You Forget About Me

"Don't You Forget About Me follows the story of Georgina who used to work as a server in one her city's nastiest Italian restaurants until she was unjustly fired from her job so that the chef/owner of the place can save face when a famous food critic accuses them of reheating food instead of making a new one. Down in the dumps, Georgina accepts a job working as a bartender to an event and there meets a man who offers her a position at the pub he partly owns. It isn't only until she meets the brother of the man who offered her a job does the past come barreling back to her. Turns out, her first love, Lucas, grew up to a handsome man. Through working together regularly, readers will slowly see how both characters get rid of their early awkwardness after they both realize their shared histories. "

Don't You Forget About Me wasn't bad but it wasn't necessarily my favorite from the month.  It was a little bit slow and predictable BUT I really did enjoy the characters and found myself rooting for them.  If you're wanting a chick-lit type book with a little more depth than standard check this one out!

I Found You

"In the windswept British seaside town of Ridinghouse Bay, single mom Alice Lake finds a man sitting on a beach outside her house. He has no name, no jacket, and no idea how he got there. Against her better judgment, she invites him inside.

Meanwhile, in a suburb of London, newlywed Lily Monrose grows anxious when her husband fails to return home from work one night. Soon, she receives even worse news: according to the police, the man she married never even existed.

Twenty-three years earlier, Gray and Kirsty Ross are teenagers on a summer holiday with their parents. The annual trip to Ridinghouse Bay is uneventful, until an enigmatic young man starts paying extra attention to Kirsty. Something about him makes Gray uncomfortable—and it’s not just because he’s a protective older brother.

Who is the man on the beach? Where is Lily’s missing husband? And what ever happened to the man who made such a lasting and disturbing impression on Gray?"

I typically love Lisa Jewell but was disappointed in this book.  Maybe it was just too farfetched for me? Reached a bit more than I would have liked? I'm not really sure.  I didn't find any of the characters particularly likeable either which made the book feel extra slow.  That said, it has great reviews and lots of other people seem to really enjoy it so take my review with a grain of salt ;) hahaha

Out Of My Mind

"Eleven-year-old Melody is not like most people. She can’t walk. She can’t talk. She can’t write. All because she has cerebral palsy. But she also has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She’s the smartest kid in her whole school, but NO ONE knows it. Most people—her teachers, her doctors, her classmates—dismiss her as mentally challenged because she can’t tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by her disability. And she’s determined to let everyone know it…somehow."

I shared a picture of G reading this over of my IG and was overwhelmed with messages talking about how incredible the book was.  I knew that G was loving it and she had told me the premise and so I decided to grab my own copy and give it a go.  YOU GUYS. If you haven't read it, but it for your kids and read it yourself first.  The author did an incredible job conveying Melody's frustrations... " We can feel Melody’s suffocation and frustration, her embarrassment of the sloppy task of being fed in front of others, being confronted with a steep staircase leading up into a restaurant where the rest of her classmates are already seated, shame at her lack of ability to control her spastic attacks and drooling in front of her classmates, desolation at being dismissed or condescended to, of not being able to tell her parents how much she loves them and how much she appreciates everything they do for her, terror of finding herself face down on the carpet like a turtle flipped onto its shell." 

I appreciated that the story didn't conclude with a big "happy" ending - there were joyful moments but it didn't leave you with a "now everything is perfect" feeling because that wouldn't be anyone's reality.  I really feel like this is a must read for kids (G is reading it as their class novel in 5th grade) and adults alike - it does such a fantastic job of providing insight and perspective and I think it's one of those books that will stick with the reader after.  If you pick one book off of my list this month I think it should absolutely be this one.