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Monday, August 19, 2019

Recent Reads

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Wow what a crazy month it has been so far. I am checking up on my blog reading, I am answering comments and just trying to get back into the swing of things. I wrote this post on Friday and at that time, I had been home for 4 days out of the last three weeks. Some of it was vacation and some of it was work. But man it feels good to be home.

But when I was away, I did read several books and I am trucking away on another couple as we speak.

It Ends with Us - Colleen Hoover
It Ends with Us - Colleen Hoover

I love Colleen Hoover. I haven't read a book yet that I haven't loved. Here is the synopsis:

Lily hasn't always had it easy, but that's never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She's come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up - she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily's life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.
  
Ryle is assertive, stubborn, and maybe even a little arrogant. He's also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily, but Ryle's complete aversion to relationships is disturbing.
  
As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan - her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

I went back and forth on who I wanted Lily to be with. I loved reading her journal entries from when she was a child and her relationship with Atlas. The book kept me guessing as to what was going to happen with Lily and how the title, It Ends with Us comes into play. This story is raw, honest and beautiful. Definitely read this one!

Ugly Love

Another Colleen Hoover book that I loved.

When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she doesn't think it's love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.

Never ask about the past. 
Don’t expect a future.

They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.

Hearts get infiltrated. 
Promises get broken. 
Rules get shattered.
Love gets ugly.

I loved Tate from the beginning and I was intrigued by Miles. This book gets going right out the door with Tate coming to live with her brother and bumping into a very drunk Miles at her brother's door. From there you see Tate struggle with an unrequited love towards Miles. Most of the time I wanted to shake Miles so hard and see what was wrong with him. But as the story unfolds you get the reason why he acts this way. It is heartbreaking, UGLY and a good read.

An Anonymous Girl - Greer Hendricks

This book has been on my to read list for awhile. So when it became available through my library, I quickly finished my last book to read this one. I thought this was a good book. I would give it 4 stars out of 5.

Looking to earn some easy cash, Jessica Farris agrees to be a test subject in a psychological study about ethics and morality. But as the study moves from the exam room to the real world, the line between what is real and what is one of Dr. Shields’s experiments blurs.
Dr. Shields seems to know what Jess is thinking… and what she’s hiding.
Jessica’s behavior will not only be monitored, but manipulated.
Caught in a web of attraction, deceit and jealousy, Jess quickly learns that some obsessions can be deadly.
From the first meeting of Jessica through the twists and turns of this research project, I kept guessing who had an actual part in all of this. I am sure that doesn't make sense, but when you read it, it will. Dr. Shield's is creepy, obsessive and just crazy. I couldn't wait to get to the end to see what happens and it is good. Read this.
The Breakdown - B. A. Paris
I loved the Couple Next Door by this author and I have Behind Closed Doors in my que to read. I read this book just last week on my trip and I really enjoyed it. 
If you can’t trust yourself, who can you trust?
Cass is having a hard time since the night she saw the car in the woods. It was on the winding rural road, in the middle of a downpour, and a woman was sitting inside—the woman who was killed. She’s been trying to put the crime out of her mind; what could she have done, really? It’s a dangerous road to be on in the middle of a storm, and she probably would have been hurt herself if she’d stopped. Not only that, her husband would be furious if he knew she’d broken her promise not to take that shortcut home.
But since then, she’s been forgetting every little thing. Where she left the car; if she took her pills; even the alarm code.
The only thing she can’t forget is that woman, the woman she might have saved, and the terrible nagging guilt.
And the silent calls she’s receiving, or the feeling that someone’s watching her…
This book starts off as described above and then the story starts to unfold. She find outs who was murdered, that she knew her (not really a spoiler) and it just tears her apart. It starts to break her down and then the story unfolds even more and you see why. It is a good read. I would give it 4 stars. I didn't see the end coming and had no idea who was making the silent calls.
Into the Water - Paula Hawkins
I had started this book late into my rental. I got about 20% through and it just didn't catch my eye as much as I thought it would. I have read several of Paula Hawkins books and this one just wasn't for me. I probably would have finished it if I had purchased it, but I only rented it, so I never re-rented it to finish.
What books have you read recently? I am now reading The Switch by Sandra Brown.

32 comments :

  1. I’ve read all these but one. It ends With Us was my fav. Have a marvelous Monday girl!

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    1. Which one haven't you read? Wow you are rocking it with the reading. I need to be better. Ha.

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    1. I really did!!! But I definitely need to read a bunch more. ha. I have a ton left in my digital library to finish.

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  3. Ok, these all look amazing and are added to my must reads now.

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  4. I couldn't get into Into the Water either. It was a did not finish for me! Thanks for all the recommendations.

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    1. I am glad I wasn't the only one. And you are very welcome.

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  5. I need some more Colleen Hoover in my life. I really liked An Anonymous Girl. I just read Twisted Family Values and When we believed in Mermaids and really liked both.

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    1. I will add those to my list. Thank you for the recommendations. I love Colleen Hoover books a lot!!!

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  6. I'm always sold on anything Colleen Hoover, so I'm glad you enjoyed both of her titles!

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  7. I've never read anything by Colleen Hoover but I have a couple of her books on my wish list. I'll have to check her out!

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  8. It Ends with us totally turned me into a Colleen Hoover fan!

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    1. Me too. I love her stuff so much. I can't stop reading it!

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  9. I have yet to read a Colleen Hoover book.. and I have only heard good things about her.. I have so many of her books on my TBR.

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  10. Oooh, these sound like some really great books! I'm especially interested in It Ends With Us and The Breakdown.

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  11. I loved The Breakdown and An Anonymous Girl!

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  12. Super jealous of all your recent reading! I need to add An Anonymous Girl to my list <3
    Green Fashionista

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    1. They are all pretty good reads. An Anonymous Girl was great!

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  13. You read some great books! it's a shame you couldn't finish the last one but it's good you read so much! :)

    Hope that your week is off to a great start :)

    Away From Blue

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    1. Thank you so much Mica. Ya, sometimes I can't get through the books and sometimes I just can't even get into them.

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  14. I'm really trying to expand my reading list this fall. I read into the water and enjoyed it!

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  15. Always love book reviews! I recently read It Ends With Us, too -- wow. Definitely a powerful read! And good to know about Into the Water. I feel like if it wasn't worth renting again to finish, then I'll probably skip it! Thanks for sharing. :)

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    1. You are very welcome. It ends with us was soooo good. I am starting All Your Perfects today.

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  16. Great reads! I listened to the audiobook for Into the Water and tbh the British narrator was the only reason I kept going haha. It was an interesting story just different from her other novels.

    x,
    S | Je M'appelle Chanel

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  17. No joke, I thought I was reading my own post at first LOL because of the first two on the list. I just read them too! LOVE Colleen Hoover! Have you read Verity yet? I haven't and need to!

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