Books

Below is a list of books I've recently read and some quick thoughts on how I felt about them. I should warn you that I don’t usually read classic works of literature, although I do enjoy those too. When I choose a new novel to read I’m usually looking for something easy to read that I can relax with. The date listed with each book is the month that I read them. Hopefully, this section will be updated at least once a month. Please leave comments and let me know what you thought about the books listed below or if you have any suggestions about other books to try.

Twenty Something, Twenty Everything - Christine Hassler

June 2014

The Mortal Instruments: City of Heavenly Fire - Cassandra Clare

June 2014

Wild - Cheryl Strayed

May 2014

Dark Places - Gillian Flynn

May 2014

Quitter - Jon Acuff

May 2014

This book is super motivational! It's geared toward people who have a dream job in mind, but are currently working at a job that isn't. However, even if you already are working your desired occupation, I think this book is worth the read. The author goes through various steps to take in order to propel you towards your dream. I love that he is real and honest with his advice. Acuff tells you your dream is not going to happen in one day. It could possible take years, and lots and lots of hard work; but you can get there. The author also includes numerous personal stories throughout the book. I feel this helps the reader relate so much more to the author and also allows the reader to be more willing to take his advice knowing he's been through it all and came out with his dream. I really love that much of Acuff's advice relates to and includes steps from Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. If you have any goals in your life right now that you are having trouble attaining or perhaps are getting discouraged about, work related or not, you should read this book!



A Year Without Make-Up - Stephanie Yoder

May 2014

This is a very short book of only about seventy pages. The author is a travel blogger who decided to write about her first big trip. She traveled mostly solo to Asia and Australia and gives advice about traveling to these locations and some adventures she had along the way. The book is written in a way that is easy to read and follow along; however, I think this book would have been a lot more intriguing if the author took the time to really go over in detail each phase of her travels and made this short novel into a full length book. I enjoyed it, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if there was some more depth. If you like to travel, then you should definitely check this book out.

The Paris Wife - Paula McLain

September 2013

This was a really great book! I love history, so any sort of historical fiction book is usually right up my alley. The books follows the life of Ernest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley, during their marriage and time living in Paris. The majority of the novel is in Hadley's point of view, but there are a few sections done in Ernest's. I already knew a little about Ernest Hemingway, so it was interesting to piece together the bits I already knew with the plot of the novel. Their time living in Paris was full of interesting people and a changing culture. I really recommend this book if you enjoy history or the 1920's time period.

Entwined with You – Sylvia Day

August 2013

This is the third book in the Crossfire Series (I have also reviewed the first two books, which you can find below). This book continues where the second one left off and is much the same as the others before it. I started this book in July, but didn’t actually finish it until the end of August because I went long periods of time without reading. The book just didn’t capture my attention all that much. Again, the plot line is interesting; we continue to learn more about the main character’s troubled pasts and how it affects their relationship presently. Of course, there is a lot going on in the romance department, which again, I could do with less of. However, I realize that’s the nature of the novel. I caught myself skimming a lot through this book. I don’t usually do that, but like I said before, it was a lot of the same stuff. It seems every time, just when Eva and Gideon are finely going to be happily ever after some new problem/situation arises. Then, the book just ends abruptly. There’s going to be a fourth book in the series, but I honestly probably won’t read it. I don’t want to seem like these books are bad, because they aren’t. However, they aren’t a page turner either.
 

The Host - by Stephanie Meyer

June 2013

I’m sure most of you know this book is by the same author that wrote the Twilight Saga. So I had some small assumptions that this book would be very similar. While this plot involves an alien invasion of Earth, it’s nothing like the werewolves and vampires of Twilight. In this story, the alien, called a soul, is inserted into a human. The human then no longer has control over their body and usually fades away, leaving the soul to completely take over with their own thoughts and feelings. However, in the case of the main characters, Melanie, the human, doesn’t fade away and struggles to exist within the body controlled by the soul named Wanderer. As the story progresses the two actually become allies when they have to join forces in some unusual circumstances. I had a hard time deciding which girl I wanted to root for. They both had endearing qualities, but ultimately they both can’t exist in the same body and live full lives. Also, there is a tangled love story going on too, which makes things even more complicated. It was a very interesting plot line, easy to read and I enjoyed it.

Bared to You & Reflected in You – Sylvia Day

May 2013

All I had heard about these books before I read them was that they are similar to the 50 Shades of Grey Series. I have read that series too and was really intrigued by the plot line; however, it was a bit much for me in the romance department (if you get what I mean). So I thought I’d give these books a try. You can’t help but compare them to 50 Shades of Grey. I mean, how many troubled, drop-dead gorgeous, filthy rich young guys with unusual sexual desires are there out there? But again, the plot line got me. Both the main female and male characters in this series have troubled pasts. I liked trying to figure out what happened to them, because the author doesn’t let on right away what makes them so troubled. The romance is a little toned down, in my opinion, from 50 Shades of Grey, but still definitely a major part of the novel. Again, I could do with less of that and more actual story, but it was still good. These books aren’t top on my list of favorites, but still good enough that I purchased the third book in the series, which just came out. I haven’t started it yet, but I’ll give an update when I’m finished.