January Wrap-Up and Mini Reviews

These are listed in chronological order of when I read them, not in ranking order.  I read 10 books in January and liked all of them, so I would consider this a good reading month.  I read a good mix of genres.

1. The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton (Memoir) - This was a great book to start the year on and one that I will continue to think about.  It is thought-provoking and powerful.  Ray Hinton's story is a testament to a strong spirit and faith.  I cannot imagine being wrongfully imprisoned for 30 years due to an unfair trial and false evidence.  I look forward to also reading Bryan Stevenson's book, as he was the lawyer who worked tirelessly for Ray.  This is not an easy book to read due to the difficulty of the subject, but it reads very quickly and the story is conveyed well.

2. The Dating Plan by Sara Desai (Romance) - This book doesn't officially release until March, but BOTM had it as an early release.  I read this book in under 24 hours and loved both Daisy and Liam.  This was a sweet romance and Liam was a really good guy and a worthy romantic hero.  He was kind and supportive of Daisy.  Daisy's family was funny and very involved in her life, and Liam had some past family issues and struggles that he worked through in the book.  The book was mostly light and balanced some heavier, serious topics within that.  This was a thoroughly enjoyable story to read.

3. The Survivors by Jane Harper (Mystery) - As many reviews that I've read have said, this was a slow burn mystery.  It takes its time to develop the characters and give significant important backstory.  There was a mystery in both the past and the present.  This book dealt with complex emotions relating to guilt.  Kieran was a layered character, with strong, complicated relationships with his family and his girlfriend, Mia.  His friends from childhood featured in the story prominently as well.  I also loved how atmospheric the small town coastal setting was and how that was almost a character in this story as well.

4. The Push by Ashley Audrain (Contemporary Fiction) - This story was a dark, complex, and layered book.  The writing style of being written in second person to Blythe's ex-husband was not my favorite, but I didn't have any difficulty following it.  There were some very serious and sad topics in here, and I felt for Blythe, while also not always being sure that her narration was reliable.  I never knew whether she was seeing Violet correctly, or if her gut instincts about her were wrong.  I would have liked a couple more chapters at the end for some more closure after the last line.  This is definitely a book that makes you think.  The interweaving chapters with the story of Blythe's mother were interesting and showed a bit of insight into what she was like as a mother.

5. Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang (Fantasy) - At the beginning of this book, I wasn't sure how I would feel about the book being centered around Weylyn but being told from the perspectives of only people other than Weylyn.  I ended up loving this book, though.  I enjoyed every side character's perspective and the different people that Weylyn met.  This book was a light fantasy, with magical elements that weren't really explained, in an otherwise normal world.  This was a sweet story about an amazing man who changed the lives of many.  The love story was sweet as well. 

6. Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah (Contemporary Fiction) - I don't cry often or really ever at books, but this one got me.  The main heart of this story was the friendship between Tully and Kate, but it was also a poignant story about love, family, and loss.  I loved both Tully and Kate, though Tully tended to make more mistakes and hurt Kate more and struggled with apologizing, due to her broken relationship with her own mother.  This story was heartwarming and showcased many forms of love through Kate's family that Tully found a family with as well.  I loved how we got to follow the girls through many years from them being teenagers all the way through Kate raising her own teenager.  This was my first Kristin Hannah book, but it will certainly not be my last. 

7. Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self by Danielle Evans (Short Story Collection) - This is the second short story collection by this author that I've read, and she is a talented story writer.  Since this is a short story collection, I did like some more than others, with standouts being "Snakes", "Someone Ought to Tell Her There's Nowhere to Go," and "Robert E. Lee is Dead."  Overall, this was an enjoyable and insightful collection.  One of my reading goals of 2021 will be to read one short story collection a month, or 12 total this year, since I didn't really dive into many collections in the past, but there are a lot out there that sound good that I would like to read.

8. The Mothers by Brit Bennett (Literary Fiction) - This book was just as good, if not better, than The Vanishing Half.  It focused within a smaller scope of characters than Bennett's sophomore novel.  The three main characters were Nadia, Aubrey, and Luke and the story plays with the many ways that their lives intertwine through a period of about 10 or so years.  The story deals with heavy topics, including loss, grief, infidelity, and abortion.  All of these impact the lives of these 3 characters.  I did not agree with every choice that the characters made, yet I loved them anyway.  I don't believe that Bennett intended every choice to be one that readers would agree with, as these characters read as very complicated and real people.  I loved this story and would definitely recommend it.  I look forward to reading more of Bennett's future novels after enjoying both this novel and The Vanishing Half.  

9. The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe (YA Thriller) - I have been a fan of Tess Sharpe since Far From You released in 2014.  Luckily, this one held up to her debut and was a strong story as well.  I adore Nora, Iris, Wes, and Lee, and how deeply they cared for each other.  Lee was an amazing sister and strong.  Nora went through a lot in her childhood and I can't imagine all of what she experienced.  Part of this story is told in the past and I really liked some of those chapters, especially the one with Nora and her sister when she was 12.  There was a lot of suspense with the hostage situation, and I had to keep turning the pages to see how everything would resolve and to hope all of the wonderful characters would make it out okay.

10. The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw (Short Story Collection) - When I bought this book after making the goal to read a short story collection each month, I intended to read this in February.  I ended up being excited to read it and finished the whole thing in January.  This book was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2020, and I believe it was certainly deserving of the award.  This was a strong collection of stories.  To me, the standouts were "Snowfall" and "Peach Cobbler," but the others were good as well.  Despite only having limited pages to develop them, these characters were developed and complex, and there are many that I would read a full novel about if written.  I will definitely want to check out whatever Philyaw writes next.

New Books Read in 2020

This is the breakdown of all the new books that I read in 2020.  This is broken down by genre for adult books (any YA books that I read this year are all grouped together).  Rereads are not included in this breakdown.

Mystery/Thriller:
1. The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
2. The Other People by CJ Tudor
3. The Holdout by Graham Moore
4. Good Girls Lie by JT Ellison
5. You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
6. Hour of the Assassin by Matthew Quirk
7. The Broken Girls by Simone St. James
8. The Widow by Fiona Barton
9. The Child by Fiona Barton
10. The Whisper Man by Alex North
11. The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
12. Next Girl to Die by Dea Poirier
13. A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight
14. An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena
15. Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight
16. Derailed by Mary Keliikoa
17. Beneath the Ashes by Dea Poirier
18. This is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf
19. The Guest List by Lucy Foley
20. Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
21. The Last Flight by Julie Clark
22. The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
23. The Shadows by Alex North
24. Once You Go This Far by Kristen Lepionka
25. The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

26. Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

27. Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell

28. The Girl in the Mirror by Rose Carlyle

29. Pretty Little Wife by Darby Kane

30. Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy

31. The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

32. People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd

Contemporary Fiction:
1. The Reckless Oath We Made by Bryn Greenwood
2. Minor Dramas and Other Catastrophes by Kathleen West
3. A Good Neighborhood by Therese Ann Fowler
4. The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare
5. When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald
8. Happy and You Know It by Laura Hankin
9. Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner
10. In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
11. 28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand
12. You and Me and Us by Alison Hammer
13. What You Wish For by Katherine Center
14. The Comeback by Ella Berman
15. The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes by Elissa R. Sloan

16. Beartown by Fredrik Backman

17. Troubles in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand
18. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

19. The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman

20. This Close to Okay by Leesa Cross-Smith

Romance:
1. The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver
2. Beach Read by Emily Henry
3. One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid
4. The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon
5. One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London
6. Head Over Heels by Hannah Orenstein
7. Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner

8. Well Played by Jen DeLuca

9. Ties That Tether by Jane Igharo

10. This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens

11. Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur

12. In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

Literary Fiction:
1. Ask Again Yes by Mary Beth Keane
2. The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe
3. A Burning by Megha Majumdar

Historical Fiction:
1. This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
2. The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

3. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Fantasy/Sci-Fi:
1. Recursion by Blake Crouch
2. The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

3. The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by VE Schwab

Memoir:
1. Notes on a Silencing by Lacy Crawford
2. Know My Name by Chanel Miller
3. I Have the Right To by Chessy Prout
4. Forever Liesl by Charmian Carr
5. The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner

6. The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya

7. The Beauty in Breaking by Michele Harper

Other Nonfiction:
1. The Girls by Abigail Pesta
2. Unbelievable by T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong
3. What Made Maddy Run by Kate Fagan
4. She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey
5. Missoula by Jon Krakauer

6. Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

Young Adult:
1. The Map From Here to There by Emery Lord
2. One of Us is Next by Karen M. McManus
3. What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter

4. All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban

5. The Summer of Impossibilities by Rachael Allen

6. The Cousins by Karen McManus

Short Story Collections:

1. The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans

December Wrap-Up and Mini Reviews

 1. This Close to Okay by Leesa Cross-Smith - This was a lovely book.  I would say it is a "quieter" story overall, focusing more closely on characters and relationships than on a plot.  I do not mean that as a negative, because I enjoy books like this if the characters are strong, and in this book they were definitely strong characters.  The characters were good, kind people who cared deeply about each other and about their mental health.  This was ultimately a powerful and hopeful story with good messages, though there were sad parts throughout as well.

2. Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur - This was a light and fun romance that I was able to read almost all in one sitting.  I was connected and attached to the characters, which made the story more emotional and kept me turning the pages wanting to know how everything would turn out for them.

3. The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans - I took my time reading this one gradually, as it was a short story and novella collection.  I would say that the standouts from this one to me were the "Boys Go to Jupiter" story and the title novella.  The ending to that novella was shocking.  While some stories were stronger than others, this was overall a strong collection.  This was the first short story collection that I have read, and the first short stories I've really read since high school, and I would like to read more.

4. In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren - This was a cute and fun holiday romance.  I think it did exactly what it was trying to do.  While it wasn't super deep and I didn't feel very emotionally connected to the characters as I have in some other romances, I still enjoyed the read as it was light and happy.

5. The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins - This was a quick and twisty read.  I enjoyed the characters and the development, even if many of them ended up being terrible people.  This book was at least partially a retelling of Jane Eyre, which I have never read, so I would definitely be interested in reading it and seeing how the books relate.

6. The Summer of Impossibilities by Rachael Allen - This was a cute and fun read with a strong focus on friendship.  The girls in the book were dealing with a lot of serious issues and it was fun to see them grow in their relationships to each other.

7. The Cousins by Karen McManus - This author is one of the few young adult authors that I have consistently kept up with.  I prefer One of Us is Next to this book, but I still enjoyed the characters.  I did put this book down partway through to read some other books, but I liked it when I picked it back up again.

8. People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd - This book had characters that were such terrible people in the influencer world.  I ended up putting down the book for a while partway through.  I finished it because I wanted to know how it would end, but I wouldn't really say that I liked this book particularly much.

9. The Beauty in Breaking by Michele Harper - I think it is better to think of this book as being short stories about different patients in the author's life.  As a whole, I wasn't a big fan of this, but I enjoyed some parts/patients/stories.  I think Dr. Harper is a great doctor and cares a lot about people, but I didn't enjoy all of how she wrote this book.  I found the spiritual aspects to be a bit too "New Age-y" for my taste, and the book was a bit preachy.  The connections between her patients and her own life were too much of a stretch sometimes.  Overall, I have mixed feelings on this book.  I enjoyed some parts more than others.

10. The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by VE Schwab - This was a magical and unique read.  I loved Addie and Henry and their relationship.  I was hoping for a different ending than how this book actually ended, but I can't say that much about that due to potential spoilers.  I liked the present timeline more than the historical portions of the story, but they were still interesting as well.  While I really liked this one a lot and flew through it pretty quickly, I don't think I loved it quite as much as the hype about it.

November Wrap-Up and Mini Reviews

 1. Pretty Little Wife by Darby Kane - This was a really quick read and it kept me turning pages to know how it would all unfold.  I'm glad I was able to get this as an early release from Book of the Month.  Lila was a character with flaws but I still liked her and felt for her situation.

2. This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens - This was a cute, feel-good romance.  It was light and fun, with emotion as well.  I liked both main characters, Minnie and Quinn, and rooted for them to be together.  The premise of them being born on the same day at the same hospital was intriguing.  They both had complicated family relationships that developed throughout the book.  I liked Minnie's friends, such as Leila, and the rest of her bakery crew.

3. The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman - This was a fun, atmospheric read in Italy, with some family secrets in the forefront.  While there were some romantic aspects to the story, this was more of a book about Emilia "finding herself."  Poppy was a wonderful character, with an interesting back story.  She was a kind and caring person.  I also liked the character that Lucy developed into as the book progressed.

4. Caste by Isabel Wilkerson - I started this book in September and read it gradually over a couple of months.  I found it to be an interesting book, but as it was a meaty nonfiction packed with history and information, it took time to read it.  Wilkerson had a very readable writing style that flowed well and kept the story interesting without feeling bogged down in details, while still providing many enlightening details.  She interweaved both personal stories and historical stories into the narrative.  Her history ranged from recent history that I remember from the news to much less recent history that I hadn't heard of.  Her thesis is interesting, and I don't agree with all parts of it and everything in the book, but I think it is a worthwhile read.

5. Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy - This was a quick thriller with engaging twists and interesting characters.  I flew through this book in a couple of days.  It definitely had a surprising and a bit misleading turn that it took after Part 1.

October Wrap-Up and Mini Reviews

 1. Ties That Tether by Jane Igharo - I picked this as an October BOTM selection, and it was a very quick read that I flew through in a bit over a day.  This was a sweet romance that also had some serious themes about culture and family.  I enjoyed Azere as a main character and Rafael as her love interest.  Azere had a good support system in place, which was helpful to her during her pregnancy.  I enjoyed every moment of reading this book, and this was a strong debut.  I will definitely look forward to reading whatever Jane Igharo writes in the future.

2. Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell - This was an interesting domestic drama/suspense story, and my third book by Lisa Jewell.  I think my favorite book by her is Then She Was Gone but this was also very good.  I was intrigued throughout and had to keep reading because I wanted answers about what was going on and how everything connected.  I felt for Saffyre and her struggles, and I didn't really like Owen particularly much.  This was a quick read, even if it took me a bit longer due to reading it during a work week.

3. Troubles in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand - I started this one on a Friday and read the rest of it that Saturday.  It was a nice, enjoyable third return to the world of Irene, Huck, Ayers, Maia, Baker, Cash, and others.  I enjoyed reading all of their drama and was satisfied with this conclusion to the series.  

4. The Girl in the Mirror by Rose Carlyle - This was an interesting and mostly fun thriller.  The premise was a bit absurd, with the main conflict being an inheritance that was dependent on which child could have a baby first.  Once Iris started taking over Summer's life, I wondered when she would eventually be found out.  The conclusion and twist at the end were shocking.

5. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman - This was a powerful and moving story while also being a comedy about people making some idiotic decisions.  The story and characters were a bit quirky, but lovable, even if some of them were annoying.  I loved how everything fell together by the end, even if you didn't know where the story was going right away.  There were so many connections and kind moments shared between the people in the story.