December Reads

I ended the year with 28 book read. I was hoping to get to 30 but I was in a book funk by the end of the year and just didn't feel like reading :(

The Widow's Watcher by Eliza Maxwell

Synopsis - Living in the shadow of a decades-old crime that stole his children from him, reclusive Lars Jorgensen is an unlikely savior. But when a stranger walks onto the ice of a frozen Minnesota lake, her intentions are brutally clear, and the old man isn’t about to let her follow through.
Jenna Shaw didn’t ask for Lars’s help, nor does she want it. After he pulls her from the brink, however, Jenna finds her desire to give up challenged by their unlikely friendship. In Jenna, Lars recognizes his last chance for redemption. And in her quest to solve the mysteries of Lars’s past and bring him closure, Jenna may find the way out of her own darkness.
But the truth that waits threatens to shatter it all. When secrets are surrendered and lies are laid bare, Jenna and Lars may find that accepting the past isn’t their greatest challenge. Can they afford the heartbreaking price of forgiveness?

Thoughts - I read a lot of depressing books this year.. I'm not saying I don't like depressing books.. I am reading a real downer right now as well. The vulnerability of characters going through something traumatic are a special breed of people. Their courage inspires me. What I didn't expect was the mystery at the center of the story. What I also liked was that she didn't need to meet a man and fall in love to get through her suicidal depression. I won't call it a must read.. but I like it. 

Life and Other Inconveniences by Kristan Higgins

Synopsis - Emma London never thought she had anything in common with her grandmother Genevieve London. The regal old woman came from wealthy and bluest-blood New England stock, but that didn’t protect her from life’s cruelest blows: the disappearance of Genevieve’s young son, followed by the premature death of her husband. But Genevieve rose from those ashes of grief and built a fashion empire that was respected the world over, even when it meant neglecting her other son.
When Emma’s own mother died, her father abandoned her on his mother’s doorstep. Genevieve took Emma in and reluctantly raised her–until Emma got pregnant her senior year of high school. Genevieve kicked her out with nothing but the clothes on her back…but Emma took with her the most important London possession: the strength not just to survive but to thrive. And indeed, Emma has built a wonderful life for herself and her teenage daughter, Riley.
So what is Emma to do when Genevieve does the one thing Emma never expected of her and, after not speaking to her for nearly two decades, calls and asks for help?

Thoughts - I wasn't so sure about this book.. I am not a fan of over sentimentality. But I was surprised by this one.. there were some very laugh out loud moments and a lot of tears as well. This too had a mystery at the center, which was unexpected. But I think the mail question it put forth was 'what makes you a good mother?' You think you will be a relaxed mom.. but your lack of rules makes your child lack direction. You are strict and your child rebels against you. But on the flipside a child may thrive in structure and routine or or or.. There really is no manual. I found it an endearing reading.. a variety of three dimensional characters. 

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

Synopsis - Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.

Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven’t spoken since.
Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.
Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?

Thoughts - This book was all kinds of adorable. If you like a good rom com read it. Really. 

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K Rowling

Synopsis - There is a door at the end of a silent corridor. And it’s haunting Harry Potter’s dreams. Why else would he be waking in the middle of the night, screaming in terror?
Harry has a lot on his mind for this, his fifth year at Hogwarts: a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher with a personality like poisoned honey; a big surprise on the Gryffindor Quidditch team; and the looming terror of the Ordinary Wizarding Level exams. But all these things pale next to the growing threat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named - a threat that neither the magical government nor the authorities at Hogwarts can stop.
As the grasp of darkness tightens, Harry must discover the true depth and strength of his friends, the importance of boundless loyalty, and the shocking price of unbearable sacrifice. His fate depends on them all.

 Thoughts - This is the fifth and longest Harry Potter book. I love Harry Potter but this book needed some editing man.. there were chunks of descriptions I just skipped over..sshh don't tell the kids. But we still love them, love the characters and the story.. and are currently reading number six. 

      

The stack of books on my bookshelves gets taller each year... I need to read faster!

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