July 2016 Wrap Up
Today needs another pick me up. We're about to leave for vacation tomorrow and I feel like crap. All I wanted to do today was lay in bed and sleep. It's almost nine o' clock and I haven't finished packing. The only thing that I have packed is books. I am bringing so many. I would take a picture of it but my phone isn't working. Go figure. So for my pick me up today I am going to post the July Wrap Up. I am probably not going to finish the book that I wanted to by tomorrow. Oh well. This month was a pretty good month. I knocked out some books that I wanted to read. Swag and I read The Unexpected everything. That is a book to read with your friend. Grab all your girlfriends and read that book together. Oh my goodness that would be so fun. I need to make a list of the things that I am going to make my kids do.
The Unexpected Everything, Morgan Matson 5/5 *favorite*
Andie had it all planned out. When you are a politician’s daughter who’s pretty much raised yourself, you learn everything can be planned or spun, or both. Especially your future. Important internship? Check. Amazing friends? Check. Guys? Check (as long as we’re talking no more than three weeks). But that was before the scandal. Before having to be in the same house with her dad. Before walking an insane number of dogs. That was before Clark and those few months that might change her whole life. Because here’s the thing—if everything’s planned out, you can never find the unexpected. And where’s the fun in that?
I will admit that I had high expectations for this book. I think I will with every Morgan Matson book. The reason that I held off reading this book was because I was in a reading slump for what seemed like forever. I didn’t want to love this book less because I was in a reading slump. Since I was dog/cat sitting like the main character in the book was doing. Unfortunately I never met a cute guy. This book was amazing. I loved the characters, the writing and the length of the book. With every contemporary book you normally always wish that there was a little more. This is the classic summer read. It seems long looking at it but trust me it is worth it. You will go on a roller coaster of emotions with this book. I would have read this book faster but I was in a funk. I was homesick for the first few days of ‘working’ and I didn’t feel like reading. Clark was the perfect name for one of the guys. All I could think about was Clark Kent. Which means I was thinking about Henry Cavill. That’s always a good time. This book had me laughing and this book had me crying. Going through so much change right now this book was such a comfort. When I read the quote up top I was tearing up a little. How true is that? The fact that life isn’t over when things don’t go your way. That maybe there is something better for you. So now the quotes are a thing.
2. The Jane Austen Book Club, Karen Joy Fowler 3/5
In California's central valley, five women and one man join to discuss Jane Austen's novels. Over the six months they get together, marriages are tested, affairs begin, unsuitable arrangements become suitable, and love happens. With her eye for the frailties of human behavior and her ear for the absurdities of social intercourse, Karen Joy Fowler has never been wittier nor her characters more appealing. The result is a delicious dissection of modern relationships
This is one of those books that I wanted to like so much. The book bothered me though. I didn’t love the writing and I didn’t particularly enjoy the story until the ending. I know I never say this that much but I enjoyed the movie better than the book. The ending is what saved the book. I didn’t love the characters until I saw the movie. There I said it. I’m not proud of it but I said it. I’m sorry DL that I didn’t love this book as much as you do but I didn’t. I think the reason was because the main characters were adults. They were going through situations that I have never dealt with. There was a disconnect with the characters and the plot. Maybe I’ll read it ten or fifteen years from now and enjoy it more.
3. The Winter Sea, Susanna Kearsley ⅘ *Favorite*
In the spring of 1708, an invading Jacobite fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown. Now, Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next bestselling novel. Settling herself in the shadow of Slains Castle, she creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors and starts to write. But when she discovers her novel is more fact than fiction, Carrie wonders if she might be dealing with ancestral memory, making her the only living person who knows the truth—the ultimate betrayal—that happened all those years ago, and that knowledge comes very close to destroying her.
Before reading: I heard this book was like Outlander. Please, please don’t let me down.
I am kind of at a loss for words with this book. Ever since I’ve finished Outlander I have been searching for a book just like it. I saw this book everywhere. I don’t know why I didn’t give it a shot until now. Oh right Rachel Hollis recommended it. I would probably read any book she recommended. If you love a good romance story with a beautiful writing style this book is for you. There is two romances, one in the present and one in the past. So you get two love stories. What is better than that? This book is also a story rich with Scottish history. It didn’t seem like the romance overpowered the history and vice versa. The one difference that I noticed from Outlander is that it’s less adult-like. There isn’t much cursing and sex scenes. So if that is a reason that you won’t read Outlander I would recommend picking up this book first. At the same time it gave me that feeling that Outlander gave me. I felt like I was in Scotland during the winter while reading this book. Where I live we are currently in the middle of a heat advisory warning. It’s about a hundred degrees outside. Still I found myself wrapping up in a blanket. That’s how awesome this book is. It also forced me to keep reading and feel all the feels. It was magical in a sense and books like that are always the best. At one point your heart will feel like it’s about to burst and then this book will rip your heart out. Don’t worry though the ending doesn’t suck.
Do yourself a favor and pick up this book. Also read Outlander if you haven’t already. You are missing out.
After Reading:
The Unexpected Everything, Morgan Matson 5/5 *favorite*
“Maya’s words were staying with me. The idea that you could rethink the thing you’d always thought you wanted and change your plan-it was a revolutionary concept. That it was the opposite of everything I had long believed to be true.”
I will admit that I had high expectations for this book. I think I will with every Morgan Matson book. The reason that I held off reading this book was because I was in a reading slump for what seemed like forever. I didn’t want to love this book less because I was in a reading slump. Since I was dog/cat sitting like the main character in the book was doing. Unfortunately I never met a cute guy. This book was amazing. I loved the characters, the writing and the length of the book. With every contemporary book you normally always wish that there was a little more. This is the classic summer read. It seems long looking at it but trust me it is worth it. You will go on a roller coaster of emotions with this book. I would have read this book faster but I was in a funk. I was homesick for the first few days of ‘working’ and I didn’t feel like reading. Clark was the perfect name for one of the guys. All I could think about was Clark Kent. Which means I was thinking about Henry Cavill. That’s always a good time. This book had me laughing and this book had me crying. Going through so much change right now this book was such a comfort. When I read the quote up top I was tearing up a little. How true is that? The fact that life isn’t over when things don’t go your way. That maybe there is something better for you. So now the quotes are a thing.
“You've done so many things and read so many books. Do you still believe in happy endings?"
"Oh my Lord, yes." Bernadette's hands were pressed against each other like a book, like a prayer. "I guess I would. I've had about a hundred of them.”
In California's central valley, five women and one man join to discuss Jane Austen's novels. Over the six months they get together, marriages are tested, affairs begin, unsuitable arrangements become suitable, and love happens. With her eye for the frailties of human behavior and her ear for the absurdities of social intercourse, Karen Joy Fowler has never been wittier nor her characters more appealing. The result is a delicious dissection of modern relationships
This is one of those books that I wanted to like so much. The book bothered me though. I didn’t love the writing and I didn’t particularly enjoy the story until the ending. I know I never say this that much but I enjoyed the movie better than the book. The ending is what saved the book. I didn’t love the characters until I saw the movie. There I said it. I’m not proud of it but I said it. I’m sorry DL that I didn’t love this book as much as you do but I didn’t. I think the reason was because the main characters were adults. They were going through situations that I have never dealt with. There was a disconnect with the characters and the plot. Maybe I’ll read it ten or fifteen years from now and enjoy it more.
“So, you see, my heart is held forever by this place," she said. "I cannot leave.”
In the spring of 1708, an invading Jacobite fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown. Now, Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next bestselling novel. Settling herself in the shadow of Slains Castle, she creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors and starts to write. But when she discovers her novel is more fact than fiction, Carrie wonders if she might be dealing with ancestral memory, making her the only living person who knows the truth—the ultimate betrayal—that happened all those years ago, and that knowledge comes very close to destroying her.
Before reading: I heard this book was like Outlander. Please, please don’t let me down.
I am kind of at a loss for words with this book. Ever since I’ve finished Outlander I have been searching for a book just like it. I saw this book everywhere. I don’t know why I didn’t give it a shot until now. Oh right Rachel Hollis recommended it. I would probably read any book she recommended. If you love a good romance story with a beautiful writing style this book is for you. There is two romances, one in the present and one in the past. So you get two love stories. What is better than that? This book is also a story rich with Scottish history. It didn’t seem like the romance overpowered the history and vice versa. The one difference that I noticed from Outlander is that it’s less adult-like. There isn’t much cursing and sex scenes. So if that is a reason that you won’t read Outlander I would recommend picking up this book first. At the same time it gave me that feeling that Outlander gave me. I felt like I was in Scotland during the winter while reading this book. Where I live we are currently in the middle of a heat advisory warning. It’s about a hundred degrees outside. Still I found myself wrapping up in a blanket. That’s how awesome this book is. It also forced me to keep reading and feel all the feels. It was magical in a sense and books like that are always the best. At one point your heart will feel like it’s about to burst and then this book will rip your heart out. Don’t worry though the ending doesn’t suck.
Do yourself a favor and pick up this book. Also read Outlander if you haven’t already. You are missing out.
After Reading:
DFTBA
-AB
Song Recommendation:
"I want to live," Skillet
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