Looking back at my blog, I can't believe that the last post I published was way back in August of 2018!!! That was so long ago and so much has happened since then. Since it was nearly two years ago, I literally feel like I'm a different person now.

When my last book review was published on this blog, my baby girl, Emery, was only two months old and now she is almost two years old! She has grown up so much over the past year and has a sassy little mouth on her. She is so spirited and there is never a dull moment with her. I also had another baby since then and he is almost six months old! RJ is so chill, hardly cries, loves eating and much to my delight, is sleeping through the night in his own room! After Emery, I never thought I would have a baby like him!

I'm still teaching special education and with everything that is going on right now, I'm trying to figure out this whole distance learning/teaching thing. Speaking of these unprecedented times, I have found that I have a lot of extra time to get back to reading now! And I thought, why not get back to blogging again too! It's unlikely that I'll be back to work this school year so it looks like I'll have extra time throughout the summer too!

So far in 2020, I have read 14 books. 3 adult fiction, 2 young adult fiction, 1 middle grade book and 7 picture books (I'm taking a children's literature class right now). I think this is the perfect time to get back into reading and blogging and being involved in this community again! After having two children and getting my teaching license, I'm starting to feel like myself again and it feels so good! Hope to see you back here soon!

Book Review: Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman

Title: Something in the Water
Author: Catherine Steadman
Publisher: Ballantine
Release Date: June 05, 2018
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Length: 342 pages
Source: Purchased
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Find it Here: Amazon // Goodreads

A shocking discovery on a honeymoon in paradise changes the lives of a picture-perfect couple in this taut psychological thriller debut--for readers of Ruth Ware, Paula Hawkins, and Shari Lapena.

If you could make one simple choice that would change your life forever, would you?

Erin is a documentary filmmaker on the brink of a professional breakthrough, Mark a handsome investment banker with big plans. Passionately in love, they embark on a dream honeymoon to the tropical island of Bora Bora, where they enjoy the sun, the sand, and each other. Then, while scuba diving in the crystal blue sea, they find something in the water. . . .

Could the life of your dreams be the stuff of nightmares?

Suddenly the newlyweds must make a dangerous choice: to speak out or to protect their secret. After all, if no one else knows, who would be hurt? Their decision will trigger a devastating chain of events. . . .

Ever since I had a baby, I haven't read nearly as much as I used to. I still wanted to read at least one book a month, so I decided to keep up with Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine Book Club and the June book was Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman. It sounded really interesting and since I love a good mystery/thriller, I thought I would give it a go.

When I read a mystery, I really don't want to be able to predict what is going to happen at the end. I don't like when it's obvious who the "bad guy" is. Something in the Water really had me guessing almost until the very end. Since the book is told from the perspective of the main character Erin, you only know her motivations and her thoughts. The reader is not privy to what the other characters are thinking so we don't truly know if the other characters are who they say they are or if they're telling the truth.

Something in the Water is told from Erin's perspective so we really get her inner monologue and we get to understand her motivations. She's a really strong female character who is trying to secure her safety and her future after she and her husband find this mysterious bag in the ocean on their honeymoon.

If I could sum up the theme of Something in the Water in one phrase or sentence it would be: How well do you really know the people around you? Something in the Water was a really great summer read for me and a very engrossing mystery/thriller all around!

Can't Wait Wednesday: The Witch Elm

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly blog hop of anticipated book releases hosted by Tessa @ Wishful Endings.

Title: The Witch Elm
Author: Tana French
Release Date: October 09, 2018
Find it Here: Amazon // Goodreads

Toby is a happy-go-lucky charmer who’s dodged a scrape at work and is celebrating with friends when the night takes a turn that will change his life – he surprises two burglars who beat him and leave him for dead. Struggling to recover from his injuries, beginning to understand that he might never be the same man again, he takes refuge at his family’s ancestral home to care for his dying uncle Hugo. Then a skull is found in the trunk of an elm tree in the garden – and as detectives close in, Toby is forced to face the possibility that his past may not be what he has always believed.

I read Into the Woods by Tana French a couple years ago and I remember it being very engrossing. I've always wanted to read another one of French's books but didn't really want to commit to the Dublin Squad series. I'm very excited to read her new stand alone novel which sounds really great! It also seems like the perfect October/Halloween read.

What are you waiting for this week? Let me know in the comments!

Can't Wait Wednesday: The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock

Can't Wait Wednesday is a blog hop of anticipated book released hosted by Tessa @ Wishful Endings.

Title: The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock
Author: Imogen Hermes Gowar
Release Date: September 11, 2018
Find it Here: Amazon // Goodreads

This voyage is special. It will change everything…

One September evening in 1785, the merchant Jonah Hancock hears urgent knocking on his front door. One of his captains is waiting eagerly on the step. He has sold Jonah’s ship for what appears to be a mermaid.

As gossip spreads through the docks, coffee shops, parlours and brothels, everyone wants to see Mr Hancock’s marvel. Its arrival spins him out of his ordinary existence and through the doors of high society. At an opulent party, he makes the acquaintance of Angelica Neal, the most desirable woman he has ever laid eyes on… and a courtesan of great accomplishment. This chance meeting will steer both their lives onto a dangerous new course, a journey on which they will learn that priceless things come at the greatest cost…

What will be the cost of their ambitions? And will they be able to escape the destructive power mermaids are said to possess?

In this spell-binding story of curiosity and obsession, Imogen Hermes Gowar has created an unforgettable jewel of a novel, filled to the brim with intelligence, heart and wit.

I'm a sucker for books set anytime before the 1900s and that cover really caught my eye! I've really been wanting to dive into more books that feature mermaids and I think this one will be right up my alley!

What are you waiting for?

The Ugly Side of Motherhood

The side that no one likes to talk about. The side that tells me I will never sleep again. The side that makes me think I will never be my old self again. I will never have time to read books ever again or play bingo with my friends. Will I ever get back to this blog regularly? I hope so. I haven't finished a single book all summer and I've been reading Something in the Water since the beginning of June. Hopefully, I can at least finish that book and post on the blog about it.

The ugly side has give me a love/hate relationship with my baby. It makes me wonder how I will ever survive going back to work in August when Eme still wakes up every one and a half to two hours to eat. That ugly side of motherhood makes me feel like a failure because motherhood hasn't been effortless for me. I have some weight to lose. I'm still wearing my maternity clothes and my regular skinny jeans don't fit. I have purple stretch marks all over my belly and I wonder if they'll ever fade. That ugly side makes me feel guilty because I can't wait to go back to work. I can't wait to get back to a regular life. Does that make me a bad mom? I hope not.

But then she wakes up in the morning, I see her smile and it makes me so glad that I have her in my life. I see her grow and get stronger more and more every day and think, "How did I make such a beautiful, tiny person?" I may not be happy with how my body looks at this moment, but it has done something pretty amazing and I wouldn't change it for the world.

I've come to understand that everything is going to take time and for some things, a little extra time. Eme will learn to sleep through the night eventually and she will start eating solids soon. Then she'll learn to crawl and move around on her own. Then she'll learn to talk and by then, I probably won't even remember what life was like without her!

But for now, motherhood is hard. Eme and I are getting through it together and I know it will all be worth it in the end.

Can't Wait Wednesday: Blood Sisters

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly blog hop of anticipated book releases hosted by Tessa @ Wishful Endings.

Title: Blood Sisters
Author: Jane Corry
Release Date: January 30, 2018
Find it Here: Amazon // Goodreads

Three little girls set off to school one sunny morning. Within an hour, one of them is dead.

Fifteen years later, Kitty lives in an institution. She can't speak, and has no memory of the accident that put her there, or her life before it.

Nearby, Alison, a local artisan, struggles to make ends meet and to forget her past. When a job opens up in a prison as an art teacher, she takes it. Soon, though, she starts to receive alarming notes--followed by a frightening prisoner-on-prisoner assault while her back is turned. When an impressive new student arrives in Alison's class, things seem to settle down. But not for long.
For someone is watching both Kitty and Alison. Someone who wants revenge for what happened that day. And only another life will do. . .

What are you waiting for? Let me know in the comments!

2018 Reading and Blogging Goals

2018 is here and when the new year arrives, I always love to set new goals and challenges for myself in my reading life. After evaluating my reading from 2017, I found that I read a lot of just mediocre books and nothing really blew me away; nothing challenged my world view or really made me think. And just in general, not one single book that I read stood out to me. So here I present my Goodreads Reading Challenge for 2018:

As you can see I've only challenge myself to read 25 books this year. There are many reasons why I've set my goal at only 25 books but the main reason is because I didn't meet my goal last year of 50 books. In September, I found out that I'm pregnant which really effected my reading life and I've only finished 2 books since then! I've been reading a lot more lately and I want to get back to a semi consistent reading life. But I am going to have a baby in May and I know that I'm not going to have a ton of time to read for the first few months. I also think that challenging myself to reading only 25 books this year will allow me to focus on quality books instead of the quantity of books that I read. I also have a bunch of books that are 800-1000 pages long and I don't want to feel guilty spending so much time on them. 

The second and final reading challenge that I'm participating in 2018 is the Beat the Backlist Challenge hosted by Novelknight. I feel like this one can really go hand in hand with my Goodreads Challenge because I know I have a lot of quality books on my shelves and I really want to read what I already have. I'm only setting my goal at 10 books which I hope I can achieve and then just see where it goes from there!

As far as blogging, I would like to post a least a couple times a month. I want to keep you guys in the loop, let you know what I'm reading and what's going on in my life and I know almost everyone loves cute, squishy baby pictures! I love blogging and reading and since I've been pregnant and I haven't had that aspect of my life, I have felt like something is missing because it's so important to me. So, even though I'm pregnant, I'm getting back to what I really love! 

Here's to an awesome 2018!!!