Tuesday, February 5, 2019

JANUARY BOOK REVIEW | 2019

Hello hello, friends!!

Welcome to my January Book Review! This is my first review of 2019 and also my first official review since October! #slacker 

November and December were crazy busy and when it came to organizing my thoughts on books--it just wasn't happening.  Disney World and then straight into the holiday rush won out in the end.

But I'm back on track now and finished 6 books in January-all audiobooks-and there was a pretty wide range of genres this time around.  Some rom-coms, some fluffy chick lit, some dramas and some thrillers.  Some were hits, some were misses and man, those misses are super annoying.  I'm not one to stop a book midway through but I really wanted to with one of these!

Just to reiterate for those of you who are new around here, I am an audiobook queen.  So if I ever say that I "read" this book, I almost always meant I listened to it.  I don't have a lot of time to sit and read.  Actually.  I could have time to read if I carved it out but I just don't.  I am a multitasker to my core and if I'm not doing at least two things at once, all day every day, then I feel like my time is being wasted.  This is a slightly annoying quality of mine, I know.  I just love to be listening while I'm painting Etsy orders, folding laundry, getting dressed, etc etc etc. Two birds. One stone. Boom.

Audiobooks really are a multitasking bookworms DREAM.

But I digress.

At the very end of December, I finished up a book that I knew I had to include in my January review so we're going to start with that one.  It's appropriately titled too. ;)

ONE DAY IN DECEMBER

This was the December pick for Reese Witherspoon's Book Club.  And I tend to like most of Reese's suggestions so I went for it.  And it was so cute!!  Just like her.



First of all, you can enjoy this book any time of the year.  So don't let that stop you. ;)

Second of all, this book was so charming.  The book is about Laurie, a young woman living in London, who happens to look out her bus window one day (in December...) and catch the eye of a man waiting at the bus stop.  She has an instant urge to jump off the bus and run to him.  It is love at first sight.  But then the bus pulls away and she spends the rest of the year on the lookout for him everywhere she goes.

Until one day, she is introduced to her best friend's new boyfriend.  Dum dum DUMMMM.  Yes, it's him.  He recognizes her (she thinks).  She recognizes him for sure.  But she doesn't want to say anything.  Her best friend knows how obsessed she has been with looking for him all year and doesn't want to ruin their new relationship.  So she keeps her mouth shut.  And you'll find out if that was a wise choice or not.

For me, I was a little annoyed that she didn't just SAY SOMETHING the night they met.  But then there would be no book. ;)   Their story spans a time frame of 10 years!  From the day they first saw each other until the end of the book.  A lot can happen in 10 years.

 I really enjoyed this book.  Although about 75% of the way through it, I remember thinking "How is this possibly going to resolve itself and end well?!  There's just no way!".  You'll have to read it to see how it ends but I'm happy to say that I was left smiling.  Yes, I wished there was one more chapter or an epilogue.  SOMETHING to give me more time with these characters.  But I did end with a smile on my face so I really can't complain.

READ IT!  You'll like it!!!





My next pick was a thriller.  I love love love a good thriller.  If I can't see the ending coming, you will most certainly earn 5 stars from me.  And this one definitely had me flip-flopping on what exactly I thought happened.  (Spoiler alert:  I was wrong!  Yay!)

The Last Time I Lied is set mostly at Camp Nightingale where Emma spent her summer when she was just a young teen.  She ended up in a cabin with 3 older girls that took her under their wings until one night, all 3 girls disappeared.  Emma was the last to see the three girls sneak out of their cabin that night and after years and years of therapy and even a mental breakdown, she now has the opportunity to go back to Camp Nightingale as a counselor for the summer.

Being back at the camp continues to bring back old memories and we are tossed back and forth between the past and the present as more and more of the story about that night begins to unfold.  Emma is determined to find out what really happened to the girls and has plans to search the grounds for clues...or bodies.  Creepy things start happening around her and she's convinced it's all related somehow.

This book was so so good!  I had a friend message me to ask if it was gory or scary and NO.  It's not.  There is no gore and nothing that will really keep you up at night.  At least it didn't for me.  It's mostly a mystery as to what happened to the girls that night with bits of thrills interlaced between.  If you need a new thriller, pick this one up!


I wanted to continue on with the good thrillers, so for my next pick, I chose Gillian Flynn's "Sharp Objects".  Has anyone seen this on HBO??  I need to add-on HBO to my Hulu account so I can watch.  Anyway, in case you didn't know, Gillian Flynn is also the genius behind Gone Girl.  (If you have never read Gone Girl or watched the movie then that needs to be your next book.  Seriously.  Don't wait.)

Although this one wasn't as good as Gone Girl, it was still really good.  It was twisted and just disturbing enough to give you chills but not follow you to your dreams at night.  haha

This is about Camille, a reporter for a small paper in Chicago, who is told to go to her small hometown to cover the murder of two preteen girls.  She hasn't seen her mother, stepfather and stepsister in 8 years so this is something she's not exactly looking forward to.  Her mother is neurotic and a hypochondriac.  Her stepsister is now 13...going on 30 and a lot to handle.  And her stepfather is basically a stranger to her.

She stays with them in their rambling Victorian mansion while she works on the story and helps uncover the truth.

I don't want to give anything away but I will say this was definitely rated R based on a few sex scenes that I thought were completely unnecessary.  That annoyed me.  But other than that, this book was twisted and wicked and will have you second guessing your thoughts on the killer all the way to the end.

RUSH




After two thrillers in a row, I was in the mood for something light-hearted and fun.  I have been watching old re-runs of Greek (on Freeform) and I LOVE that show!!  (I'm watching on Hulu if anyone starts trying to search it out as well.)

Anyway, when this book, Rush, popped up while browsing new book choices, I immediately thought it was a sign.  haha

I was a sorority girl at Northwestern State in Louisiana.  I rushed in 2000 and was a Tri Sigma.  It wasn't a huge school with giant houses that we all lived in like it is at the big schools (or on TV) but we did have a house where we held our meetings and just hung out in.

Here's a throwback pic.  See me in the middle?!  So much fun!!

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But this book is about sororities at Ole Miss.  The main sorority is fictional but there are tons of other stuff in this book that are so accurate.  It will bring you back, sisters!  This brought back so many memories for me and if you've ever gone through Rush (although now the politically correct term is "recruitment") or just wondered what it was like, you should read this!!

The plot of the story revolves around several girls who come from all walks of life.  One is super spoiled and super rich while her roommate is sweet, down-to-earth and has hard-working parents who are trying to give her a great college experience but also working hard in order to provide it.  And then there's Cali.  Cali has lived with her grandparents her whole life since her mom ran off and she never knew her dad.  She doesn't have much money but she's hard-working and sweet and determined to join a real sisterhood.

The book follows the girls through Rush, pref teas, bid day, Monday night chapter meetings...I mean, seriously.  It will take you BACK if you were also a sorority girl!

The book isn't all fluff though.  You'll fall in love with Ms. Pearl, the housekeeper at the sorority house, who loves all "her babies" like her own.  Ms. Pearl is hoping to become House Mother when the opportunity arises but is pushed down immediately from snobby and racist Mrs. Whitmore.  I wanted throat punch Mrs. Whitmore.

This book has the perfect amount of chick-lit, nostalgia, drama and charm.  It would make a great beach read too.

THE HOUSE WE GREW UP IN



Ahhhh.  My least favorite of the group.  I've read other Lisa Jewell books and loved them but this one was a big no.

The Bird family lives in a beautiful village in the Cotswolds.  They have 4 kids.  Meg, Beth and twins-Rory and Rhys.  The parents are happy and a little hippie but they are all close and loving.  And then one Easter Sunday, tragedy strikes.  And it will change all of their lives forever.  The family all grow apart until one day another tragedy strikes which brings them all back to the house they grew up in.  Secrets are finally revealed as the book flashes back from present to past.  Blah blah blah.  Don't bother reading it.

This book got amazing reviews from almost everyone so I was definitely the odd man out on reviews. But honestly, it was just not a fun read.  I found it hard to get through and absolutely none of the characters were likable.  I felt uneasy, uncomfortable and tense the whole way through.  It was just a book full of one awful thing after another.  Nothing light.  Nothing fun.  No one worth cheering for or investing in.  No one really had any redeeming qualities.  They were all so broken and so empty.  It was depressing.

The story also kept switching around from past to present so much that I found it hard to keep track.  It was distracting.

The only thing that kept me going was that I wanted to find out what really happened to Rhys the night before "it" happened.  Because apparently, that event was the catalyst to everything that happened afterward.  BUT, when it's revealed it left me even more uncomfortable and depressed.

I'm kind of surprised by how many people loved this one but for me, it was definitely not a favorite.  I like books that leave me wanting more and more (even if the characters aren't likable) or make me feel like I don't want to say goodbye because I love the characters so much.  At the very least, I like the ending to be wrapped up nicely.  But I was glad to be done with all of these people.

I'd skip it.  There are so many books out there that are better.  But then again, it had a 3.88 out of 5 rating on Goodreads so odds are you might actually enjoy it.  Just don't say I didn't warn you. ;)

For my last book in January, I chose one from my Kindle Unlimited subscription.  After the super depressing book I finished before, I was ready for another light-hearted fluffy fun.

I chose Down and Out in Beverly Heels almost purely based on the cover.  Because how fun is that?!

This book was a lot different than the cover let on though.  For starters, it was much less fluff and a lot more mystery!

The plot of the story goes like this: Meg is a former actress who used to have it all.  A great career, perfect (very rich) new hubby of one year, friends, fame.  And then one day, she got a phone call that her husband had been kidnapped in Mexico and she needed to pay the ransom.  She does what she's told but never hears from him again.

She's distraught about her husband but the FBI isn't so sure he's been taken against his will.  They also think that maybe Meg had something to do with it.  Not only is her husband missing but so is all of their money, along with everyone else's who invested with him.

So Meg makes it her mission to figure out the truth behind his disappearance even though those around her who know too much are dropping like flies around her.

Lots of drama and mystery in this one mixed in with some Hollywood fun!  A great KU pick!

I scored this book a solid 4 out of 5.  It was also great that it was FREE with Kindle Unlimited including the audiobook version!  (For more info on Kindle Unlimited and to get a free trial for a month click HERE.)

And that's it for January!  If you want to check out my other reviews from 2018, you can see them all HERE.

I'm also keeping you updated on what I'm reading over in my IG Highlights and on Goodreads so hop on over there to see what's up next!

And of course, I'll be posting Deals and fun finds over in the Facebook Group throughout the day today!  Be sure to join us if you haven't yet!


Have a great day, friends!


PS: I'm having some technical difficulties due to making some changes with my hosting platform and still trying to work out the kinks.  If you see the message below at any time when you're trying to get to my blog, DON'T FREAK OUT.  haha  It doesn't mean anything scary, I promise.  Just click yes and come see me. :)  I am not technologically savvy enough to figure out how to get it to go away so I've got to wait on the experts.  Why is computer stuff so hard?!

Also, if you get a page that says "Account Suspended" it's because I left that hosting platform for another.  And my redirects are all messed up.  Try going to www.thatinspiredchick.blogspot.com instead.  Let me know if there are more problems!  They don't always show up on my end!


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2 comments

  1. Must. Read. These. Stat!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. One Day in December is already on my to-read list. I've heard great things about it. And I'm going to add Rush to my to-read list. It sounds like a fun book!

    ReplyDelete

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