Recent Reads

I started the year in a reading funk. I am not too picky a reader. I have a few genres I try to avoid but I try to keep an open mind. I'll overlook a few inconsistencies if it's a fun and thrilling experience. As we do with other forms of entertainment like movies and tv.

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The Girl in the Mirror by Rose Carlyle

Synopsis - Twin sisters Iris and Summer are startlingly alike, but beyond what the eye can see lies a darkness that sets them apart. Cynical and insecure, Iris has long been envious of Summer’s seemingly never-ending good fortune, including her perfect husband Adam.
Iris is called to Thailand to help her sister sail the family yacht to the Seychelles. But when she unexpectedly finds herself alone in the middle of the Indian Ocean, everything changes. When she makes it to land, Iris allows herself to be swept up by Adam, who assumes that she is Summer.
Iris recklessly goes along with his mistake. Not only does she finally have the golden life she’s always envied, with her sister gone, she’s one step closer to the hundred-million-dollar inheritance left by her manipulative father. All Iris has to do is be the first of his seven children to produce an heir.
Iris’s “new” life lurches between glamorous dream and paranoid nightmare. On the edge of being exposed, how far will she go to ensure no one discovers the truth?
And just what did happen to Summer on the yacht? Only Iris knows . . .

Thoughts - This was a fun thriller to get me out of my reading funk. It was almost like one of those Lifetime movies with crazy twists and turns. So while I won't say it's recommended reading it did what I needed it to do... get me reading again.

                             

Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

Synopsis - Hazel Camille Bradford knows she’s a lot to take—and frankly, most men aren’t up to the challenge. If her army of pets and thrill for the absurd don’t send them running, her lack of filter means she’ll say exactly the wrong thing in a delicate moment. Their loss. She’s a good soul in search of honest fun.
Josh Im has known Hazel since college, where her zany playfulness proved completely incompatible with his mellow restraint. From the first night they met—when she gracelessly threw up on his shoes—to when she sent him an unintelligible email while in a post-surgical haze, Josh has always thought of Hazel more as a spectacle than a peer. But now, ten years later, after a cheating girlfriend has turned his life upside down, going out with Hazel is a breath of fresh air.
Not that Josh and Hazel date. At least, not each other. Because setting each other up on progressively terrible double blind dates means there’s nothing between them...right?

Thoughts - This is my second Christina Lauren book and it was positively adorable. Even had a few laugh out loud moments. It does have a few R moments for those not interested.

A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kremmerer

Synopsis - Emberfall is crumbling fast, torn between those who believe Rhen is the rightful prince and those who are eager to begin a new era under Grey, the true heir. Grey has agreed to wait two months before attacking Emberfall, and in that time, Rhen has turned away from everyone—even Harper, as she desperately tries to help him find a path to peace.
Meanwhile, Lia Mara struggles to rule Syhl Shallow with a gentler hand than her mother. But after enjoying decades of peace once magic was driven out of their lands, some of her subjects are angry Lia Mara has an enchanted prince and magical scraver by her side. As Grey's deadline draws nearer, Lia Mara questions if she can be the queen her country needs.
As two kingdoms come closer to conflict, loyalties are tested, love is threatened, and an old enemy resurfaces who could destroy them all, in this stunning conclusion to bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer’s Cursebreaker series.

Thoughts - This was the third and last book in the Cursebreaker series. I reviewed the first two books here. I started out as a retelling of Beauty and the Beast but then the world the author created grew and the story turned into much more. I read this in a day and a half.. I would have read it faster if I didn't have small humans to feed and entertain. After the mixed feelings the second book left me with I was prepared to be disappointed with the conclusion and while I was not a hundred percent in love with the way it ended it was still pretty good. 

ps. we did go back to ski last weekend and with all of your words of encouragement and H's advice to not think so much I was able to put my skis on and get back on that mountain. Half way through I broke down into more sobs and officially gave up. Sat out the next run and then M gave me an incredible corny 'I believe in you' kind of pep talk.. and miraculously I skied two days straight.. with some hesitancy but no tears and crippling fear. Wohoo! 

      

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