January Readin' Roundup!!

This year started out with a bang for me, at least as far as reading is concerned.  I was able to finish 9 books this month.  

I started off the year with Hum If You Don't Know the Words by Bianca Marais.  

Robin and Beauty. Robin is 10 years old and she is quite a curious little girl. She loves her parents and her twin sister Cat, but when tragedy strikes and she loses both her parents in one fell swoop, her world will be turned upside down. Beauty is a mother and a teacher in a remote village in South Africa. She has just received a letter from her brother that her daughter, Nomsa is in trouble. Beauty tries to get to Nomsa as quickly as she can, but will she be able to make it before it's too late? In both of their struggles these two are brought together to be a strength for the other. 

I also finished off an audiobook that I had started at the end of 2017 Invisible by James Patterson.  I didn't do a blog post about this book, but I'm trying to get better about posting my audiobook reviews on the blog this year.  

 Emmy Dockery is on a mission to find out who killed her twin sister Marta. As a research analyst for the FBI she has been researching fires all over the country that are made to look like accidents. She brings her work to her superiors, but they don't believe her. When she takes what she has found to her ex-fiance Books, who is also a former FBI agent, he agrees to take her information to the top, with the caveat that she will do as he says, when he says.

Next for me was Wonder by R. J. Palacio.  I have wanted to read this book for a very long time and when I saw it was going to be a movie, both me and my kids wanted to see it.  We decided that we needed to read the book first.  I was on a long waiting list at the physical library as well as the online library in order to get this book.  Fortunately, they both came in at the same time and me and my oldest daughter we able to read it together.  

August Pullman is not your typical 10 year old. He has never been to school, he has had countless surgeries, and he has a rare facial deformity. But despite all of that, his outlook on life is very positive. This year, Auggie, as he likes to be called, and his family have decided it is time for him to go to school. He has been homeschooled all of this time because of the countless doctor's appointments and medical tests he had to do that it wasn't practical. But he's finally reached the stage of his life where none of that is necessary. Of course, he and his parents are a little skeptical about how this will all play out. How will the other children treat him and will he be able to make new friends? 

A couple of years ago, I was given the opportunity to read and review Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave.  So I was excited to hear about her new book, Hello, Sunshine.  I bought a copy of this book when it first came out and finally got the opportunity to read it.  I liked Eight Hundred Grapes better, but still enjoyed this book.  

Sunshine McKenzie is a the top of her game. Her YouTube show, "A Little Sunshine" has millions of subscribers, The Food Network wants her to host a new show, and she's about to put out a series of cookbooks. But when her Twitter account is hacked an her entire world comes crashing down, she must evaluate what is truly important in her personal and professional life.

 Room by Emma Donoghue had been on my TBR for  years now.  I even owned a copy.  But I decided to listen to this on audio.  This was one of the best audiobooks I have ever listened to.  It kept me interested throughout the whole thing.  

Jack is five years old and to him Room is his entire world. He lives in Room with his Ma, Joy, and calls each inanimate object by it's name, toilet, sink, table, plant, etc. What Jack doesn't know is that his Ma was kidnapped 7 years ago and was brought to Room and hasn't left since. No one knows she is there and no one knows Jack exists. When Joy decides it's time to make a great escape, she has to tell Jack about the outside world. Up until now, he has thought everything outside of Room was only on TV. He doesn't know that there are really other people and a great big world outside the walls of Room. Will the plan Joy has mapped out work? How will their lives change if they are able to get away? What happens if they don't?

Marieke Nijkamp is a new author for me, but her books always strike you right in the heart.  The first book I read of hers was This Is Where It Ends about a high school shooting.  Before I Let Go is another YA book that will grab you.  Right now Goodreads is doing a give away for This Is Where It Ends click here to enter(Ends April 9th)

Corey and her best friend Kyra have lived their whole lives in Lost Creek, Alaska. They have been inseparable from the start. But when Corey's mom gets a new job hundreds of miles away, Corey and Kyra will be separated. Will they both be able to survive? Even though Kyra writes to Corey, Corey is unable to write back. She can't bring herself to tell Kyra how happy she is now that she has left Lost. When Corey learns of a tragic accident that lives Kyra dead, she returns home to a place she doesn't recognize. It's no longer the place she called home. Determine to find out why Kyra didn't get the help she desperately needed. Corey has 6 days to find out what has happened to this town and her best friend in the few months she's been gone.

The next book for me was Private #1 Suspect by James Patterson.  My regular readers know by now that I am trying to read almost everything he has written.  This is a series I had started a couple of years ago, and figured it would be easy to catch up on this one since it doesn't have too many titles out right now.  For me, this book was hard to put down.  I think I read it in 3 days.  

Jack Morgan is the head of Private, an Investigation firm out of Los Angeles with offices all around the world. He has an elite team of ex-military and ex-police officers who are all experts in their fields. Jack has just come home from a business trip when he finds his ex-girlfriend dead in his bed. Someone is framing him for murder. Will he be able to find the killer before he is arrested for a crime he didn't commit.

The last two books I read this year, I haven't quite finished my reviews on them yet, but look for them over the next week.  

The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand was an audiobook I listed to over the past couple of weeks.  Tabitha and Harper are identical who were separated when their parents got a divorce when they were just young teens.  The parents each went to separate islands, Tabitha and her mother to Nantucket and Harper and her father to Martha's Vineyard.  After the death of their father, Billy, will the 2 be able to come together after not speaking for almost 14 years?

After You by Jojo Moyes, is the second book in the Me Before You series.  Book 3, Still Me, was released this week and I have that on my Kindle waiting to be read thank you NetGalley and Penguin.

In After You, it is two years after Will Traynor's death and Louisa Clark is still trying to find herself.  She has traveled for a few weeks around Europe to the places Will suggested, but now she has settled in a flat in London, working at an Irish Bar at the Airport and just trying to make it day by day.  Then she has a nearly fatal accident, and someone from Will's past comes into her present and she has to finally dig deep and figure out what she is going to do with herself. 

What did you read in January?  Anything good?  I would love to hear about it. 

**Click on the title links above to read my full review on any of the books**

To order any of the books I have reviewed, click on the covers below:

July Readin' Roundup

I don't know if July passed by slowly, or if I was reading a lot faster because of all the great books I read this month, but I read twice as many books as I normally do each month.   From YA and thrillers, along with audio books and my introduction to a few new authors this month.  July was filled with great reads.  Here are the books I read in July along with my brief synopsis of each.  Click on any book cover to purchase the book.  Click on the title, to see my full review!!  Happy Readin'!!



The Map That Leads to You by J.P. Monninger
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Heather Mulgrew is on a summer trip with two of her closest friends from college. They have just graduated from Amherst College and Heather has a job waiting for her at Bank of America in New York City. This trip is exactly what they need before beginning the rest of their lives. On the train to Amsterdam she meets Jack and from that moment forward, her life will never be the same. Jack has a freedom that Heather has never experienced and together they build a great friendship that quickly turns to so much more.


The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
One Folgate Street is very unique. It is a minimalist designed apartment that is completely white and sterile. There have been very few residents at this address, the questionnaire alone is enough to turn most away, but Emma and Jane aren't like most women. They have both experienced a kind of trauma in their lives and see One Folgate Street as a way to make a fresh new start. When they each begin to experience things with the house, "glitches" it's enough to scare them. But with such an airtight contract with demanding rules, will they be able to leave this house or will it keep them trapped forever.



Watch Me Disappear by Janelle Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Billie Flanagan is an exciting woman. She lives for the moment. On the other hand, her husband, Jonathan, and her daughter, Olive, are a little more reserved. When Billie goes missing after a hike in Desolation Wilderness, her family is sure she is dead, but when Olive starts to have visions of her mother, she is unsure. Together, Jonathan and Olive embark on a quest to find Billie, and in the process discover secrets she kept and a bit about themselves as well.



Two From the Heart by James Patterson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book is divided into two short stories. The first is about Anne McWilliams. She lives on the beach in North Carolina, where she has lived for the past few years following a divorce from her husband. She is an old school photographer, so when a hurricane moves through and takes out half of her house that includes her darkroom, she is beyond devastated. Instead of dealing with the mess, she decides to travel the country and take new pictures and hear the stories of the people that go with those stories. How will this journey change the rest of her life?


All Is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Imagine if you could take a pill and forget a traumatic event in your life. Sounds great right? But what happens when you still feel the emotions tied to that event? And how do you deal with those emotions when you're not even sure why you have them. Months after Jenny Kramer is raped at a party, she starts to see Dr. Alan Forrester to help her deal with the emotions of the trauma. All Is Not Forgotten is told from the Doctor's perspective as he treats Jenny and her family.




The Breakdown by B.A. Paris
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Cass is on her way home from an after work party in a storm. Her husband warned her about taking the shortcut as it could be very dangerous especially during a storm. When she sees a woman parked on the side of the road, she has to stop. But when the woman doesn't signal for her to help, Cass continues on the way home. The next day, she discovers that the woman has actually been murdered and this causes her to go into panic mode. When she finds out that she actually knows the woman, Cass is riddled with guilt. We follow Cass's story from July and the time of the murder to October when the murderer is caught. Cass's life takes a traumatic turn during these months and the story is enough to keep you on the edge of your seat.


I See You by Clare Mackintosh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Monday through Friday for most people is like Groundhog Day. You leave home at the same time every day, take the same route to work and then do the same thing on the way back home. Zoe Walker is on such a commute when she spots a picture in an advertisement that looks a lot like her. Her family can't believe it's her, but when more women appear in the same advertisement, then she is convinced she is correct. Officer Kelly Swift is the first to hear from Zoe and the pictures in the paper. She makes the connection between other pictures in the paper and crimes against women that have happened in the area. Will Kelly be able to find out who is behind the ads before it's too late?

Solo by Kwame Alexander
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Blade Morrison has reached a pivotal point in his life. He's graduating from high school, about to turn eighteen and has his whole life in front of him But with a famous father who is always in the media and a girlfriend whose parents can't stand you, it's hard to find your place. When Blade discovers something about his past, it will change his future forever. Set on two continents, inspired by rock and roll, and written in poetic verse Solo is one of the best books I have read this year.


What great books did you read in July?  Comment below!