Category: Book Recommendations

My Favorite Read of September 2023

Goodreads Synopsis:

A riveting tale of unfathomable success great joy deep pain, and redemption that can come only from above. From a working-class background in North Carolina to a job as a cook and club singer in Nashville to his “overnight success” with his smash 1986 album Storms of Life–which launched the neotraditional movement in country music–Randy’s first three decades are a true rags-to-riches story. But in 2009, this seemingly charmed life began a downward spiral. His marriage dissolved, he discovered that his finances had unraveled, and his struggles with anger led to alcohol abuse, public embarrassment, and even police arrest in 2012.

Then, just as he was putting his life back together, Randy suffered a devastating viral cardiomyopathy that led to a massive stroke which he was not expected to survive. Yet he not only survived but also learned to walk again and, in 2016, accepted his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame by singing the hymn that explains his life today: “Amazing Grace.”

Filled with never-before-told stories, Forever and Ever, Amen is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at dizzying success and the miraculous road to restoration.

Reasons I loved this book:

  • I have been a Randy Travis fan from the beginning of his career, and there was so much I didn’t know about him.
  • It’s an inspirational story of strength and survival.
  • You get to see Randy’s sense of humor and a side of his personality the public doesn’t always show.
  • It’s a piece of country music history.

My Favorite Read of August 2023

Goodreads Synopsis:

Put the kettle on, there’s a mystery brewing…
Tea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective?

Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective’ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet).

But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer.

Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth.

Reasons I loved this book:

  • It’s hilarious!
  • Despite her flaws, you can’t help loving Vera
  • The suspects are all likable, and the murder victim is deplorable
  • Delicious food and tea descriptions
  • Found family

My favorite read of July 2023

Goodreads Synopsis:

As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don’t mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she’s used to being alone and she follows the rules…with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos pretending to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously.

But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and…Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he’s concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat.

As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn’t the only danger in the world, and when a threat comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn’t know she was looking for….

Reasons I loved this book:

  • It’s a beautiful combination of whimsical and heartwarming
  • A delightful cast of diverse characters with unique backgrounds and personality quirks
  • Found family trope
  • I loved how Mika looks at people through the lens of nice vs. kind
  • It’s a great model for making social change in small steps

My Favorite Read of June 2023: The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

“Please try to remember that books aren’t always an escape; sometimes books teach us things. They show us the world, they don’t hide it.”
― Sara Nisha Adams, The Reading List

Goodreads Synopsis:

Widower Mukesh lives a quiet life in the London Borough of Ealing after losing his beloved wife. He shops every Wednesday, goes to Temple, and worries about his granddaughter, Priya, who hides in her room reading while he spends his evenings watching nature documentaries.

Aleisha is a bright but anxious teenager working at the local library for the summer when she discovers a crumpled-up piece of paper in the back of To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s a list of novels that she’s never heard of before. Intrigued, and a little bored with her slow job at the checkout desk, she impulsively decides to read every book on the list, one after the other. As each story gives up its magic, the books transport Aleisha from the painful realities she’s facing at home.

When Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to forge a connection with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha passes along the reading list… hoping that it will be a lifeline for him too. Slowly, the shared books create a connection between two lonely souls, as fiction helps them escape their grief and everyday troubles and find joy again. 

Reasons I loved this book:

It celebrates that a great book can mean different things to different people.

I love a intergenerational friendship story.

I learned more about Indian culture.

I love creating my own book lists.

Throw Back Thursday Book Review 6/1/23

Welcome to my weekly post where I look back at some of my four and five star reads before I started Nicole’s Nook.

Today’s Book: A Beautiful Heist by Kim Foster

Publisher: Kensington Publishing

Publication Date: June 6, 2013

Date Read: December 27, 2014

Favorite Quote: “Sooner or later everyone behaves badly. Some of us are just better at it than others.”
― Kim Foster, A Beautiful Heist

Goodreads Description:

Everyone has a talent. Some are just more legal than others. Cat Montgomery steals jewels for AB&T, the premier agency for thieves in Seattle. Career perks: good pay, great disguises, constant adrenaline rush. Drawbacks: the possibility of jail time…or worse. Now she’s taken on a lucrative side job—recovering a priceless Faberge egg for an alleged Romanov descendent.

Though Cat is working solo, there are plenty of interested players. Her FBI ex-boyfriend is nosing around, as is her former mentor-turned-nemesis. Then there’s the sexy art thief helping—or is he hindering?—her mission. If her luck holds out, this could be the case that allows Cat to retire with her conscience and her life intact. If not, it’ll be her last job for all the wrong reasons…

My Thoughts:

This whole trilogy was a really fun, suspenseful read. Cat is a great gray character who works on the wrong side of the law, but has her own moral code. In fact all of the characters are multi-faceted, most of whom enjoy walking a thin line between right and wrong. This is great for people who like a mysteries which aren’t centered around murder.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

My Favorite Read of May 2023: A Stitch in Time by Kelley Armstrong

“Everyone needs things that serve no greater purpose than to make them happy.”
― Kelley Armstrong, A Stitch in Time

Goodreads Synopsis:

Thorne Manor has always been haunted… and it has always haunted Bronwyn Dale. As a young girl, Bronwyn could pass through a time slip in her great-aunt’s house, where she visited William Thorne, a boy her own age, born two centuries earlier. After a family tragedy, the house was shuttered and Bronwyn was convinced that William existed only in her imagination.

Now, twenty years later Bronwyn inherits Thorne Manor. And when she returns, William is waiting.

William Thorne is no longer the boy she remembers. He’s a difficult and tempestuous man, his own life marred by tragedy and a scandal that had him retreating to self-imposed exile in his beloved moors. He’s also none too pleased with Bronwyn for abandoning him all those years ago.

As their friendship rekindles and sparks into something more, Bronwyn must also deal with ghosts in the present version of the house. Soon she realizes they are linked to William and the secret scandal that drove him back to Thorne Manor. To build a future, Bronwyn must confront the past.

My Thoughts

This book was a taste of all my favorite genres: romance, fantasy, historical fiction and mystery. It has the feel of a classic with a modern twist. I enjoyed the way Armstrong weaves in just enough small details to build suspense throughtout the story so that you’re guessing until the end.

Reasons I liked A Stitch in Time:

  • Bronwyn loves William, but doesn’t just give up her life for him
  • The fun way Bronwyn exchanges information about the future with William through food and financial advice
  • Enigma the kitten is a great “character” who adds a touch of humor

Top Five Wednesday 5/3/23

Top Five Wednesday is a Goodreads group that posts new bookish prompts every week.

This week’s Topic:

May 3rd: MAY You Please Read This…?

To celebrate a new month starting, let’s share some recent recommendations of books we have absolutely loved! After all, May is a great time to ask if they’ll read titles we’ve shared about, so MAY you have fun! 😉

These are the last five books that I’ve rated with 5 Stars.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Goodreads link

My Review

School Trip by Jerry Craft

Goodreads Link

My Review

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Goodreads Link

My Review

Front Desk by Kelly Yang

Goodreads Link

My Review

How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior

Goodreads Link

My Review

My Favorite Read of April 2023: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

“Libraries were full of ideas—perhaps the most dangerous and powerful of all weapons.”
― Sarah J. Maas, Throne of Glass

Goodreads Synopsis:

In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king’s champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass—and it’s there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena’s fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

My Thoughts:

I read this one as part of a challenge to read books that have been on my tbr pile the longest. I don’t why I waited so long. It was so good! I read a lot of fantasy novels with young, strong, female protagonists. But, Celaena stands out from the rest. Even though she’s faced many hardships and has lethal skills, Celaena still finds enjoyment out of life and holds true to her ethics. She loves dogs, reading, dressing up, and going to parties like many girls. She just happens to fight some dark forces along the way.

Reasons I liked Throne of Glass:

  • Celaena is incredibly relatable for an assassin
  • Even though some horrible things are happening in this world, there’s a thread of hopefulness throughout the story
  • Captain of the Guard, Chaol is a perfect combination of tough and kind

Throw Back Thursday Book Review

Welcome to my weekly post where I look back at some of my four and five star reads before I started Nicole’s Nook.

Today’s book: Snow White Red-Handed by Maia Chance

Publishers: Berkely Prime Crime

Publication Date:November 4, 2014 

Date Read: September 3, 2016

My Rating: 4 stars

Favorite Quote:

Goodreads Synopsis:

Miss Ophelia Flax is a Victorian actress who knows all about making quick changes and even quicker exits. But to solve a fairy-tale crime in the haunted Black Forest, she’ll need more than a bit of charm…
 
1867: After being fired from her latest variety hall engagement, Ophelia acts her way into a lady’s maid position for a crass American millionaire. But when her new job whisks her off to a foreboding castle straight out of a Grimm tale, she begins to wonder if her fast-talking ways might have been too hasty. The vast grounds contain the suspected remains of Snow White’s cottage, along with a disturbing dwarf skeleton. And when her millionaire boss turns up dead—poisoned by an apple—the fantastic setting turns into a once upon a crime scene.
 
To keep from rising to the top of the suspect list, Ophelia fights through a bramble of elegant lies, sinister folklore, and priceless treasure, with only a dashing but mysterious scholar as her ally. And as the clock ticks towards midnight, she’ll have to break a cunning killer’s spell before her own time runs out…

My Thoughts:

This book combines all of my favorite genres: romance, mystery, historical fiction and fantasy. As if that isn’t great enough, there’s also a fairy tale connection. This is a delightful twist on fairytale retellings, where they are investigating the truth behind Snow White’s story.

My Favorite Read of March 2023:Thin Ice by Paige Shelton

“I knew I was keeping it together by only the thinnest of threads, but that was better than not keeping it together at all.”

Paige Shelton, Thin Ice

Goodreads Synopsis:

Beth Rivers is on the run – she’s doing the only thing she could think of to keep herself safe. Known to the world as thriller author Elizabeth Fairchild, she had become the subject of a fanatic’s obsession. After being held in a van for three days by her kidnapper, Levi Brooks, Beth managed to escape, and until he is captured, she’s got to get away. Cold and remote, Alaska seems tailor-made for her to hideout.

Beth’s new home in Alaska is sparsely populated with people who all seem to be running or hiding from something, and though she accidentally booked a room at a halfway house, she feels safer than she’s felt since Levi took her. That is, until she’s told about a local death that’s a suspected murder. Could the death of Linda Rafferty have anything to do with her horror at the hands of Levi Brooks?

As Beth navigates her way through the wilds of her new home, her memories of her time in the van are coming back, replaying the terror and the fear–and threatening to keep her from healing, from reclaiming her old life again. Can she get back to norma, will she ever truly feel safe, and can she help solve the local mystery, if only so she doesn’t have to think about her own?

My Thoughts:

This book was a great kick off for a mystery series. The Alaskan setting is perfect for a murder mystery. The isolation and harsh weather conditions add an element of danger. Normally, I find it improbable when series are set in small communities that have murders take place every couple of months. It works here for a couple of reasons. First, it’s a place people in trouble go to as an escape. Second, there’s a halfway house bringing in a criminal element. So, the danger makes sense. I also like that there are two mysteries: the main mystery which is solved within the book, and the bigger mystery of Paige’s stalker which I assume will progress in each book.

Reasons I liked Thin Ice:

  • Alaskan setting
  • Cast of interesting characters
  • Interesting subplots
  • Main character is a writer

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