Since I am behind on my book reviews, I am combining my October and November reads. October reads were OK, but November was when a bunch of books came out that I was waiting to read, and they did not disappoint.
October
Beautiful on the Outside by Adam Rippon- 5 Stars
Olympic figure skater, Adam Rippon’s memoir is the book that I did not know that I needed in my life. It’s refreshing and funny while demonstrating the ups and downs of being an elite athlete. As the first openly gay athlete at the PyeongChang Olympics, the book chronicles his path from a figure skater in rural Pennsylvania to the Olympics. There were parts of this book where I was laughing out loud (when his Russian coach was driving him to a competition while drinking a beer) and others where I was cringing. (The drug testing scene) Adam’s honesty in this book is a breath of fresh air and will keep you entertained.
I’m fine and Neither are You by Camille Pagan- 2 stars
I was very frustrated at this book. Penelope is the breadwinner of her the family. She works full time, runs carpool for her two kids, and does all the cooking and cleaning in the house. Her husband, Sanjay, is a med school dropout who hasn’t worked in eight years. He has been trying to write a book for but has not made any substantial progress. Penelope is exhausted, stressed and tired of carrying the financial burden. Then her best friend dies suddenly. It makes Penelope and Sanjay reevaluates their lives to be happier. I just couldn’t get past the fact that her husband is a piece of $hit. No job, he doesn’t help around the house, and is in a garage band. He is basically a 40-year-old living like a punk high schooler. When Penelope suggests he gets an actual job, my first thought was what took you so long? Nor does Sanjay see how miserable his wife is. While it is good they are recognizing their issues and working to fix them, it seems to me this should have been done five years ago. And the book does not tie everything up at the end. I would have passed, had I known.
Her One Mistake by Heidi Perks- 4 stars
When Charlotte takes her best friend Harriet’s daughter, Alice, to the school fair with her children she thinks nothing of it. When Alice disappears from the fair, Charlotte goes into panic. How could she have lost her best friend’s kid? And what will she tell Harriet? Harriet and her husband are hysterical, and as the days pass there is still no sign of Alice. But once you start digging into everyone’s secrets even darker ones come to the surface. This book has a wild ending you don’t see coming. This book takes place in England and I found it odd that the child advocate from the police station comes and pretty much lives with Harriett and her husband while Alice is missing. Perhaps that is a common thing in England? This book reminded me of Gone, Baby Gone by Dennis Lehane.
The Mother in Law by Sally Hepworth -4 stars
This was my book clubs pick for November. We have some lively discussion about the book and the general consensus is that Diana is the worst. Lucy’s mother in law is difficult. She is cold, tough, distance and extremely wealth. When she turns up dead, everyone is a suspect. Told in alternating points of view between Lucy and Diana, their relationship is revealed as well as Diana’s past and why she is the way she is. Out of everyone in book club I sympathized with Diana the most and is worth the read.
November
The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez- 5 stars
I really enjoyed this book. It is the classic boy and girl are friends and each have feelings for each other but don’t say anything for fear of ruining their friendship. Josh recently moved to LA after breaking up with his long-term girlfriend because she does not want kids. Kristen is smart, says what she is thinking, and while she wants kids, she can not have them. She delays telling Josh because she knows that she will never see him again. But when a mutual friend is in a bad accident, the two lean on each other more than before and makes them face the truth. This book keeps the reader engaged so you will fly threw it.
The Bromance Book Club – 5 stars
The best night of Gavin’s professional career is also the worse night of this personal life. After hitting a walk off grand slam in game 6 of the ALCS, he has a huge fight with his wife and she kicks him out of the house. Gavin’s ego is bruised when he finds out that his wife has been faking it in bed of their entire marriage. Gavin is initiated into the Bromance Book Club; an underground group of whose who among Nashville’s males. The group reads romance books to better understand the women in their lives. Gavin takes tips from the books as he tries to woo his wife back, but the first rule about the Bromance Book Club is you don’t talk about the Bromance Book Club. The book was cute and liked how it was from the male’s perspective plus conversations of book club are hilarious.
What Happens in Paradise (Paradise #2) by Elin Hilderbrand -5 stars
The middle book in Paradise Trilogy finds Irene, Cash and Baker all moving to St. John. There are still so many questions surrounding the mysterious death of their husband/father and his mistress, Rosie. Rosie’s diary is also discovered which gave the history of her love affair with Russell. (A lot of people did not like the addition of the diary, but I think it was much needed.) Irene gets a job working on Huck’s boat as Cash gets a job working with Ayers, further complicating the relationships. A large stash of cash is found in Rosie’s draw which causes even more questions. With the FBI investigating, you know they are going to uncover something huge. The book ends as a cliffhanger, so we have to wait until next fall to see how everything wraps up.
Royal Holiday (Wedding Date # 4) by Jasmine Guillory- 3 stars
I loved the other books in the Wedding Date series and was excited to read this book as it jumps across the pond for Christmas. Maddie gets a call to fill on for her mentor as a stylist to the Duchess (AKA Meghan Markle) for Christmas and she invites her mother, Vivian, along. While in England Vivian meets Malcolm, the private secretary to the Queen. Vivian and Malcolm develop a relationship, but how will it last since they live on opposite sides of the world? I appreciated how the book focuses on an older couple, but the spark from her previous books was missing. I loved the castle setting especially at Christmas time. Typically, new characters are introduced and the next book is about them. So either this is the end of the series or Malcolm’s nephew will get a book?
Christmas Shopaholic (Shopaholic #9) by Sophie Kinsella- 4 stars
Disclaimer: This is the only book series that I own in its entirety. Back in 2000 when Confessions of a Shopaholic came out, it introduced to me to the genre chic lit and also go me back into reading. The first three books of the series are fabulous, but the last two were not great.
I have been waiting years for a Shopaholic Christmas book and it is finally here! Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood) is back and for the first time ever she is hosting Christmas. (Just like me!) Everyone has an opinion about what to do and what food to serve which is driving Becky crazy. And she still needs to find Christmas presents for her husband, Luke, and daughter, Minnie, not to mention get her hands on the must have ornament of the year, a silver llama. Becky stops at nothing to get her family the presents they deserve which are no easy tasks. When Becky’s ex-boyfriend comes to town, he threatens everything that Becky as worked so hard for. I love her references to Hallmark Christmas movies and that Christmas in England is very different from New England. The book is cute and festive and also leaves the door open for another book in the Shopaholic series, so we will have to wait and see. Ten books in a series seems so much better than nine.
What books have you read this fall? I need some recommendations for 2020!
dresses and desserts 