The Thing with Feathers

The Thing with Feathers by McCall Hoyle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In short: I think this book has lots of things going for it - compelling protagonist, unique setting, well set-up conflicts, etc. Though its target is a YA genre, it still can captivate an adult audience. So why three stars instead of higher? It just wraps up too quickly. After a well set-up beginning and middle, I needed more from the story's resolution. Still glad to have read it and still really love the cover. Happy reading--

What Alice Forgot - Round 4

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Yeah, so I read "What Alice Forgot" again...it's as though these characters are speaking to life experiences that I need articulated or that I find so comforting that I cannot help but spend another chunk of time with them. Summer reading really is the best. Happy reading--

Falling Together

Falling Together by Marisa de los Santos
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I just love how Marisa de los Santos writes. Even when I don't fully buy plot details, I'm so captivated by her descriptions and her characters, that I'm willing to ignore the implausibility of something. "Love Walked In" is still my favorite of de los Santos' books by a long shot, this was a perfect companion for those "middle of the night" reading sessions that are so common during third trimester pregnancy. If you need a beach read, this is it.

Happy reading and happy summer--

I'll Be Your Blue Sky

I'll Be Your Blue Sky by Marisa de los Santos
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It was such a pleasant surprise to find out that Marisa de los Santos was revisiting some of the characters that readers couldn't help but fall in love with in "Love Walked In" and "Belong to Me". Because so much time has theoretically elapsed between the books' respective timeline, I think anyone could pick up "I'll Be Your Blue Sky" and be just fine following what is happening. I half wished I had used the book coming out as an excuse to fall in love all over again with "Love Walked In", which is still one of my very favorite books.

Marisa de los Santos is an effusive writer - she loves adjectives, setting descriptions, and homages to the book and movie characters that made many of us love story telling in the first place. That said, her writing is like sitting in the sun on a perfect summer day with a drink in hand and the sound of a refreshing breeze in the trees. You can't help but give in. At least one of her main characters tends to be melodramatic, but many of the greats, like Anne Shirley, were too.

Explaining the plot of "I'll Be Your Blue Sky" would only take away from the reading experience and make it sound overly trite or formulaic. It is hardly that. The only thing I will say is that yet again, de los Santos explains love as I think it feels. I love that about her writing....and perhaps that's why I've already started another one of her books.

Happy reading and happy summer--

Alex and Eliza

Alex and Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I wanted to love this book - after all, I thoroughly enjoyed Chernow's biography of Hamilton and loved reading Miranda's libretto and background book on the musical. But the charm and wonder of the respective real life and fictional characters was lost in this story. There were brief glimpses, but mostly I just felt bored or in a hurry to press forward. If I hadn't been so determined to finish (or stuck in a doctor's office for three and a half hours), I'm sorry to say I might have moved on without finishing.

Glad to be on to the next. Happy reading and happy summer--

Girl, Wash Your Face

Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies about Who You Are So You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be by Rachel Hollis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As I stepped into summer, I needed something light-hearted and encouraging. Hollis' "Girl, Wash Your Face" is exactly that. I honestly had no idea who Hollis was in terms of her social media presence, etc, but you know need to know her brand to enjoy her content. She's smart, real, and funny - all the characteristics you need for someone who is going to draw life lessons from her personal experiences. The content isn't new, but her delivery is great and I will revisit her ideas as I define this new chapter of my life.

Happy reading and happy living--

ps. This is probably too sedate of review - third trimester tiredness fog has definitely settled in, but if it helps, I've told at least half a dozen friends to read this in the last two days...so I really, really liked it.

pps. Hollis also harbored a not-so-secret belief that she would marry Matt Damon. As someone who signed my handwritten notes to friends as Mrs. Damon in high school, I loved her anecdotes about this.

The Read-Aloud Family: Making Meaningful and Lastting Connections with Your Kids

The Read-Aloud Family: Making Meaningful and Lasting Connections with Your Kids by Sarah Mackenzie

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If we're honest, I have no interest in parenting books. Each kid and each parent are so different that I can't quite wrap my head around blanket statement advice on how to get my future children to sleep on a schedule or to be polite to others. I'm sure there is some naiveté in that view, but for now I am not pouring through parenting books like many other first time mommas. Enter "The Read-Aloud Family" - it is the only parenting style book I have purchased and read because when I heard Sarah Mackenzie interviewed about connecting with your kids and how to make kids life-long readers, I felt like she was speaking my hopes and dreams for my future family.

I loved this book. I loved how simple and straight forward the suggestions are for how and why we should read with children. I love that she has dozens of book recommendations for readers of all ages, including Little Mann who will fall into the 0-3 bracket. The ideas in Mackenzie's book are not revolutionary, but they are rooted in real life and so they can be applied to most individual situations - whether you have toddlers or teenagers and whether you have children who are readers or children who run whenever you say it's time to read for their assigned 20 minutes a day.

I truly cannot wait to use her ideas with my son. It feels a little strange to read to him before he's here (I've tried it a couple times), but I am ready as soon as he arrives.

Happy reading to you and your family--