It's Monday, What are you Reading?

What a great reading week!  I have been listening to Catch and Kill and finished it this week, hoping for more audio in my future.

A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

On the Corner of Love and Hate by Nina Bocci
Meet Me On Love Lane by Nina Bocci
You Were There Too by Colleen Oakley
Calli by Jessica Lee Anderson
Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow

Currently Reading:

How Quickly She Disappears by Raymond Fleischmann

Next on the TBR pile:

The Vineyards of Champagne by Juliet Blackwell

Review: Catching Christmas by Terri Blackstock

Catching Christmas

by Terri Blackstock

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Pages: 286

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  As a first-year law associate, Sydney Batson knows she will be updating her resume by New Year’s if she loses her current court case. So when her grandmother gets inexplicably ill while she’s in court, Sydney arranges for a cab to get her to the clinic.

The last thing cab driver Finn Parrish wants is to be saddled with a wheelchair-bound old lady with dementia. But because Miss Callie reminds him of his own mother, whom he failed miserably in her last days, he can’t say no when she keeps calling him for rides. Once a successful gourmet chef, Finn’s biggest concern now is making his rent, but half the time Callie doesn’t remember to pay him. And as she starts to feel better, she leads him on wild goose chases to find a Christmas date for her granddaughter.

When Finn meets Sydney, he’s quite sure that she’s never needed help finding a date. Does Miss Callie have an ulterior motive, or is this just a mission driven by delusions? He’s willing to do whatever he can to help fulfill Callie’s Christmas wish. He just never expected to be a vital part of it.

Kritters Thoughts:  Sydney Batson is a young lawyer trying to survive as the law firm is making cuts while also being the caregiver for her grandmother who she has just recently reconnected with.  When a call to a cab driver to help get her grandmother to a doctor's appointment becomes a serendipitous moment!  Finn Parrish is the cab driver who ends up spending a lot of time with Miss Callie and helping her out in a time of need and being a generous, kind fellow may just change his life!

I love a Christmas book where values are at the forefront of the story and a lesson can be learned.  Many of the books I have read this season, love has been at the center, so it was nice to have love be a very side story and instead relationships and values be the center of attention.

Beware, this one has a moment or two that could cause some tears, so you may not want to read this one out and about.  


Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Ebook 2019 Challenge: 58 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Viking Penguin.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: One Day in December by Josie Silver

One Day in December

by Josie Silver

Publisher: Broadway Books

Pages: 409

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Two people. Ten chances. One unforgettable love story.

Laurie is pretty sure love at first sight doesn't exist anywhere but the movies. But then, through a misted-up bus window one snowy December day, she sees a man who she knows instantly is the one. Their eyes meet, there's a moment of pure magic... and then her bus drives away.

Certain they're fated to find each other again, Laurie spends a year scanning every bus stop and cafe in London for him. But she doesn't find him, not when it matters anyway. Instead they "reunite" at a Christmas party, when her best friend Sarah giddily introduces her new boyfriend to Laurie. It's Jack, the man from the bus. It would be.

What follows for Laurie, Sarah and Jack is ten years of friendship, heartbreak, missed opportunities, roads not taken, and destinies reconsidered. One Day in December is a joyous, heartwarming and immensely moving love story to escape into and a reminder that fate takes inexplicable turns along the route to happiness. 

Kritters Thoughts:  Does love at first sight happen?  While riding a bus Laurie spots a guy and she swears she is destined for this guy and she is sure that he spots her too.  He will enter and exit her life over a course of a few years, but the question remains, will they eventually find each other at the right time and fall in love?

What a great story.  I love reading as these two wove in and out of each other's lives and the ups and downs they had, it made the ending (trying not to spoil!) so satisfying.  The timing of them meeting often in December gave it a little something extra and I am so glad I read it in the middle of all my Christmas romance reading.  

If you enjoy those tv shows or movies where it is all a will they, won't they, then this book is right up your alley and you will read this one so fast!  I recommend picking this one up during the holiday season, it is so quick and easy to read during the craziness this season can be.  


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2019 Challenge: 56 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Christmas Spirits on Tradd Street by Karen White

The Christmas Spirits on Tradd Street

by Karen White

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 384

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Melanie Trenholm should be anticipating Christmas with nothing but joy--after all, it's only the second Christmas she and her husband, Jack, will celebrate with their twin babies. But the ongoing excavation of the centuries-old cistern in the garden of her historic Tradd Street home has been a huge millstone, both financially and aesthetically. Local students are thrilled by the possibility of unearthing more Colonial-era artifacts at the cistern, but Melanie is concerned by the ghosts connected to the cistern that have suddenly invaded her life and her house--and at least one of them is definitely not filled with holiday cheer....

And these relics aren't the only precious artifacts for which people are searching. A past adversary is convinced that there is a long-lost Revolutionary War treasure buried somewhere on the property that Melanie inherited--untold riches rumored to be brought over from France by the Marquis de Lafayette himself and intended to help the Colonial war effort. It's a treasure literally fit for a king, and there have been whispers throughout history that many have already killed--and died--for it. And now someone will stop at nothing to possess it--even if it means destroying everything Melanie and Jack hold dear.

Kritters Thoughts:  The sixth in a series of books that all take place in Charleston, SC and involve historical homes that have spirits still roaming the halls.  Melanie Trenholm is able to "see" these spirits and semi communicate with them and hopefully help them get to their next destination, this book takes place during the holidays as there are Revolutionary War spirits who are still dealing with events from that time and need Melanie to solve some puzzles to help them crossover.  

First on this series.  I would advise that it is best to start at the beginning as there is a lot of character development that you would miss if you start out here on this book or in the middle of the series.  Each "ghost story" is self contained in each book, but I think you need to slowly meet Melanie and the cast of characters that show up in book after book.  

I have enjoyed this series even though I am not quite a ghost story kind of girl.  The slight nod to historical events is what keeps me reading these books.  For me these books are good, but not great.  It was hard where this book left off, Melanie wasn't in a great place, so I will definitely have to read the next one so I can at the least get an update on Melanie's personal life and how that is going beyond the ghosts.


Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Ebook 2019 Challenge: 50 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Christmas in Vermont by Anita Hughes

Christmas in Vermont

by Anita Hughes

Publisher: St Martin's Griffin

Pages: 304

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Emma can’t believe her luck when she finds an open pawn shop on Christmas Eve in Manhattan. She’s there to sell the beautiful bracelet her ex-boyfriend gave her when a familiar looking watch catches her eye. It’s the same engraved watch she gave her college boyfriend, Fletcher, years ago. On a whim, she trades the bracelet for the watch and wonders at the timing.

Practical Emma thinks it’s just a coincidence, but her best friend Bronwyn believes it’s the magic of synchronicity that caused Emma to find the watch. Fletcher was the one that got away, and somehow Emma never quite moved on.

When Bronwyn finds out that Fletcher is in snowy Vermont at a romantic inn for the week, she can’t help but give synchronicity a push. She signs Emma up to help the inn keeper as the children’s activity coordinator. Emma agrees that a week filled with quaint shops and maple syrup would do her good… and maybe Fate really does have a Christmas gift in store for her. That is until she sees Fletcher with his daughter and fiancée.

Suddenly, the fairytale trip seems doomed to fail… much like the innkeeper’s dwindling cashflow. It will take a miracle to save her heart and the inn. And that just might be what Fate has in mind.


Kritters Thoughts:  Emma has recently broken up with another wrong guy and while purging some of the boyfriend things, she stumbles upon something from her past and through the help of a friend she may stumble back upon the guy that got away.  

With me and Anita Hughes books, I either really love them or not so much and I usually know pretty quickly into reading, so I was so excited when from page one I was swept into this story.  

Emma was such a fun character to follow and this book just reminded me of all of the perfectly cheesy Christmas movies that are great to watch during the holidays.  The ups and downs that Emma and Fletcher go through in this book were just at the right moments and this book had just that bit of Christmas magic!

I loved that in this book one of the big plot things that happens in romance happened in this book two - right when you think things will go right there is a twist and the characters have to make the final decision whether they will fall in love or part ways.  I love in a romance book when this happens and am always intrigued as to how the author will throw a wrench in things and then how will the characters overcome it to get to the happy ending - love it!

I hope that there are more books just like this one in Anita Hughes' future!


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2019 Challenge: 51 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from St Martin's Press.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

November - a time to be grateful

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November was by far my best month of reading. I had a few down and quiet days and weekends and some short and sweet Christmas books, I am so glad to end the year on a positive note!

1. Zenith Man by Jennifer Haigh
2. Everything My Mother Taught Me by Alice Hoffman
3. The Great Pretender by Susannah Cahalan
4. Coming Home to Christmas by RaeAnne Thayne
5. Christmas in Vermont by Anita Hughes
6. The Christmas Spirits on Tradd Street by Karen White
7. Christmas Angels by Nancy Naigle
8. A Year and Six Seconds by Isabel Gillies
9. Butterfly Yellow by Thanhha Lai
10. Christmas From the Heart by Sheila Roberts
11. A Wedding in December by Sarah Morgan
12. Tis the Season by Robyn Carr
13. The Rancher's Christmas Song by Robyn Carr
14. November Road by Lou Berney
15. One Day in December by Josie Silver
16. Meg and Jo by Virginia Kantra
17. The Christmas Wedding Ring by Susan Mallery
18. Catching Christmas by Terri Blackstock
19. An Unexpected Christmas by Shannon Richard
20. Jackie O On the Couch by Alma Bond
21. Hope at Christmas by Nancy Naigle
22. Good Girls Lie by JT Ellison
23. The Way We All Became the Brady Bunch by Kimberly Potts
24. The Country Guesthouse by Robyn Carr

Total pages read, clicked and flipped:  7,664

Where having I been Reading?:
Pennsylvania 
Massachusetts 
Idaho (2)
Vermont
Charleston, SC
New York City, NY
North Carolina (2)
Texas
Washington
Aspen, CO
California (2)
London
North Carolina
Missouri
Tennessee
Virginia
Colorado

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. 
I hope this is the start of a great holiday season for you and your family!

Review: Butterfly Yellow by Thanhha Lai

Butterfly Yellow

by Thanhha Lai

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 304

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  In the final days of the Việt Nam War, Hằng takes her little brother, Linh, to the airport, determined to find a way to safety in America. In a split second, Linh is ripped from her arms—and Hằng is left behind in the war-torn country.

Six years later, Hằng has made the brutal journey from Việt Nam and is now in Texas as a refugee. She doesn’t know how she will find the little brother who was taken from her until she meets LeeRoy, a city boy with big rodeo dreams, who decides to help her.

Hằng is overjoyed when she reunites with Linh. But when she realizes he doesn’t remember her, their family, or Việt Nam, her heart is crushed. Though the distance between them feels greater than ever, Hằng has come so far that she will do anything to bridge the gap.

Kritters Thoughts:  I love to read out of my usual genres every so often to stretch my reading muscles and this one was out of my usual and I enjoyed it.  

Hang can't forget that day 6 years ago when her brother and herself were bound a journey and instead they were separated and she has spent 6 years trying to figure out how to get him back.  Finally she is on a journey herself and hopes to reconnect with him and restart the relationship that they had, but her hopes may be misplaced and she may have to find a new normal.  

For me the book was great, but there was one thing that kept the book from reading smoothly for me.  There were bits of the book where Hang spoke in half Vietnamese and half English and although LeeRoy was able to translate it, I didn't feel as though it was all translated and would have loved the English to be in a different font, so I knew what she was saying, I didn't always catch it.  I wouldn't take it out by any means, it gave some authenticity to the book, but I needed some translation help!  

I am glad I read this one, it was great to read a book out of my usual element and I challenge you to pick this one up and read a great immigrant story.


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Wunderkind PR.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

With Christmas books on the agenda, I got a lot of reading done this week.  Most of these are short and sweet!

A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

One Day in December by Josie Silver
Meg and Jo by Virginia Kantra
The Christmas Wedding Ring by Susan Mallery
Catching Christmas by Terri Blackstock
Jackie O On the Couch by Alma Bond
Hope at Christmas by Nancy Naigle

Currently Reading:

Good Girls Lie by JT Ellison

Next on the TBR pile:

Meet Me On Love Lane by Nina Bocci

Review: Coming Home for Christmas by Raeanne Thayne

Coming Home for Christmas

by Raeanne Thayne

Publisher: HQN Books

Pages: 384

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Hearts are lighter and wishes burn a little brighter at Christmas…

Elizabeth Hamilton has been lost. Trapped in a tangle of postpartum depression and grief after the death of her beloved parents, she couldn’t quite see the way back to her husband and their two beautiful kids…until a car accident stole away her memories and changed her life. And when she finally remembered the sound of little Cassie’s laugh, the baby powder smell of Bridger and the feel of her husband’s hand in hers, Elizabeth worried that they’d moved on without her. That she’d missed too much. That perhaps she wasn’t the right mother for her kids or wife for Luke, no matter how much she loved them.

But now, seven years later, Luke finds her in a nearby town and brings Elizabeth back home to the family she loves, just in time for Christmas. And being reunited with Luke and her children is better than anything Elizabeth could have imagined. As they all trim the tree and bake cookies, making new holiday memories, Elizabeth and Luke are drawn ever closer. Can the hurt of the past seven years be healed over the course of one Christmas season and bring the Hamiltons the gift of a new beginning?

Kritters Thoughts:  Elizabeth Hamilton left her family years ago and through an interesting turn of events has stayed away.  With rumors swirling her husband Luke must find her and get her to clear the air, so him and the kids can continue the life they built.  

I am enjoying this series, each book builds on the previous and the characters are just spot on.  I love that each book in the series has a connection to the previous with characters waltzing in and out of the storylines, but each book has a different main character.  

For me this book felt a little too dramatic and made me roll my eyes once or twice at the storyline.  The plot just seemed a little too soap operay in parts and of course it is fiction, but a few moments just seemed a little extra!  I tend to like my romance to have a bit of drama, but not to the soap opera level.  

I would say this is a good read if you have been reading the series and it is nice to see there character's journey, but you may have to suspend disbelief just a bit in this one.  


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Little Bird Publicity.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: November Road by Lou Berney

November Road

by Lou Berney

Publisher: William Morrow

Pages: 320

Format: book

Buy the Book: HarperCollins

Goodreads:  Frank Guidry’s luck has finally run out.

A loyal street lieutenant to New Orleans’ mob boss Carlos Marcello, Guidry has learned that everybody is expendable. But now it’s his turn—he knows too much about the crime of the century: the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Within hours of JFK’s murder, everyone with ties to Marcello is turning up dead, and Guidry suspects he’s next: he was in Dallas on an errand for the boss less than two weeks before the president was shot. With few good options, Guidry hits the road to Las Vegas, to see an old associate—a dangerous man who hates Marcello enough to help Guidry vanish.

Guidry knows that the first rule of running is "don’t stop," but when he sees a beautiful housewife on the side of the road with a broken-down car, two little daughters and a dog in the back seat, he sees the perfect disguise to cover his tracks from the hit men on his tail. Posing as an insurance man, Guidry offers to help Charlotte reach her destination, California. If she accompanies him to Vegas, he can help her get a new car.

For her, it’s more than a car— it’s an escape. She’s on the run too, from a stifling existence in small-town Oklahoma and a kindly husband who’s a hopeless drunk.

It’s an American story: two strangers meet to share the open road west, a dream, a hope—and find each other on the way.

Charlotte sees that he’s strong and kind; Guidry discovers that she’s smart and funny. He learns that’s she determined to give herself and her kids a new life; she can’t know that he’s desperate to leave his old one behind.

Another rule—fugitives shouldn’t fall in love, especially with each other. A road isn’t just a road, it’s a trail, and Guidry’s ruthless and relentless hunters are closing in on him. But now Guidry doesn’t want to just survive, he wants to really live, maybe for the first time.

Everyone’s expendable, or they should be, but now Guidry just can’t throw away the woman he’s come to love.

And it might get them both killed.


Kritters Thoughts: This book was on my to do list and in my pursuit of a historical fiction book not set during World War II for a book club I host, this one came up.  Without reading too much into the book, I thought it was deep into the conspiracy of JFK's assassination and I am here to say no, it is in the outer works of it, but not as close as I would have liked!

If you are a fan of road trip books, then this one is right up your alley.  A road trip set in 1963 which gives it some interesting color without cell phones and google searches made the book more entertaining than if it occurred this November.  I liked the road trip married with the mafia hunting down one of the road trippers making it a fun pursuit across the country.  The cat and mouse kept me on my edge of my toes and reading where I read this book in just two sittings.

The characters in this book were just great to follow on this journey.  I am so glad that I cared deeply for all of them because that made the story that much better.  I was rooting for Charlotte and her two girls to find happiness however that ended up - with Frank or without.  Knowing the moment in time and how big this was for Charlotte to make such a bold move that defies her husband's wishes, just made me fist pumping for her!

I wish the book had a much closer connection to the assassination, but having it in the backdrop at least set it in a grounded sense of time.  I would suggest this book to a reader who may avoid historical fiction, but like the road trip book.


Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

With Christmas books on the agenda, the reading time has been nice to get me into the holiday season.

A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

Christmas From the Heart by Sheila Roberts
A Wedding in December by Sarah Morgan
Tis the Season by Robyn Carr
The Rancher's Christmas Song by Robyn Carr
November Road by Lou Berney

Currently Reading:

One Day in December by Josie Silver

Next on the TBR pile:

The Christmas Wedding Ring by Susan Mallery

Review: The Great Pretender by Susannah Cahalan

The Great Pretender

by Susannah Cahalan

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Pages: 400

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  For centuries, doctors have struggled to define mental illness-how do you diagnose it, how do you treat it, how do you even know what it is? In search of an answer, in the 1970s a Stanford psychologist named David Rosenhan and seven other people -- sane, normal, well-adjusted members of society -- went undercover into asylums around America to test the legitimacy of psychiatry's labels. Forced to remain inside until they'd "proven" themselves sane, all eight emerged with alarming diagnoses and even more troubling stories of their treatment. Rosenhan's watershed study broke open the field of psychiatry, closing down institutions and changing mental health diagnosis forever.

But, as Cahalan's explosive new research shows, very little in this saga is exactly as it seems. What really happened behind those closed asylum doors, and what does it mean for our understanding of mental illness today?


Kritters Thoughts:  The second book written by Susannah Cahalan and I was such a fan girl after the first that I was first in line at BookExpo to get a signed copy of this one!

This book is different from the first, but seems like a cousin and a perfect pairing.  After Susannah went through her episode and diagnosis that was expertly laid out in her first book Brain on Fire, she took this deep dive into psychiatry and thus this book was born.  Cahalan does a ton of research on a big name in psychiatry - David Rosenhan and his study that he did sending in "sane" people into an asylum to test doctors and nurses and the system.

What a journey this book was.  I am a novice when it comes to psychiatry and its checkered past, so this book was almost part textbook while I learned the ups and downs of institutions and diagnosing of patients.  At first I was hopeful that we had come a long way, but in the end I realized that as a society we are more accepting of mental illness as a true illness, but we haven't come close to making sure that our drugs and therapies are really helping patients.  

While I don't have anyone real close who has been impacted by mental illness, I found this book to be so fascinating and heartbreaking all at the same time.  I hope that Cahalan can write another book that takes us forward in this field and provides hope that we are treating patients as they need to be.  

This was another fantastic book by this author and I maintain my fan girl status!  


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from BookExpo.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.