Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. This weekly feature is hosted by Carole's Random Life.

This week's forgotten book is:

Title: Wildwood 

Author: Colin Meloy

Publisher: Balzer & Bray

Release Date: August 30, 2011

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Series: Wildwood Chronicles #1

Length: 541 Pages

Source: Purchased

Wildwood captivates readers with the wonder and thrill of a secret world within the landscape of a modern city. It feels at once firmly steeped in the classics of children's literature and completely fresh. The story is told from multiple points of view, and the book features more than eighty illustrations, including six full-color plates, making this an absolutely gorgeous object.

In Wildwood, Prue and her friend Curtis uncover a secret world in the midst of violent upheaval—a world full of warring creatures, peaceable mystics, and powerful figures with the darkest intentions. And what begins as a rescue mission becomes something much greater as the two friends find themselves entwined in a struggle for the very freedom of this wilderness. A wilderness the locals call Wildwood.

I bought this (the whole series actually) because it sounds so cute and the illustrations are so beautiful. I figured it could be a really quick read and one that I would really enjoy because I love a good fantasy. But then life got the better of me and it has been sitting on my shelves for at least six or seven years. Maybe this year I will get to it! 

What book has gotten lost in your shelves? Have you read Wildwood? Would you recommend it?

WWW Wednesday: February 01, 2023

 WWW Wednesday is hosted at Taking on a World of Words!

The three Ws are:

1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you'll read next? 

Currently Reading: I'm currently reading Jade City by Fonda Lee. I'm really loving it (more than I thought I would) but for some reason I'm reading it really slow. I've even been almost falling asleep while I read it! But I really do like it! I hope to finish it sometime this week. I'm also listening to The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins. I just started it yesterday but it's pretty good so far. I didn't realize it was a modern twist on Jane Eyre until I started listening to it. So far, so good!

Recently Finished: This past week I finished reading Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. It was good but I think it could have been shorter. I finished listening to the first Harry Potter book on audio book. Listening to the audio has breathed new life into the series for me! I also finished listening to Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica. It was a great mystery/thriller and not my first Mary Kubica book. I also listened to Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson. I love Peter Swanson! He's an author that I will auto buy!

Reading Next: After I finish reading Jade City, I will be moving on to Chains of Gold by Cassandra
Clare. I didn't know she had a new trilogy out and I was sucked in by the Goodreads banner. Up next for audio books is Hook, Line and Sinker by Tessa Baily! I'm so excited to get to this book! I loved It Happened One Summer and I'm excited to get back into the world of the Bellinger sisters!

What are you reading this week? Have you read any of these I've mentioned? Let me know!

Book Review: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Title: Lessons in Chemistry
Author: Bonnie Garmus
Publisher: Doubleday Books
Release Date: March 31, 2022

Genre: Historical Fiction/General Fiction

Length: 400 pages

Source: Purchased

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Find it Here: Amazon // Goodreads

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.

But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.

Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.

My Review: 

I bought Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus because it was said to be one of Barnes & Noble book of the year. Well I love Barnes & Noble and I trust them, so I picked it up expecting to be blown away. Well, I gave it three stars so I can't really say that it met those expectations. 

My biggest problem with Lessons in Chemistry is that the whole story was slow and it was hard to get through. I thought at the beginning it was just build up to something exciting that was coming, but that something exciting turned out to be at the very end of the book. I even considered DNFing the book but in the end I'm glad I didn't. I'm glad I finished it. 

My second problem with this book is that I just didn't like the main character Zott! She was very strict and rigid and she just seemed like she never had any fun. She didn't seem to have any hobbies. I don't mind characters with strong opinions, but Zott would scoff at other people who held strong traditional values! She lived a very different life than most people at that time and wanted to be accepted but really only surrounded herself with people who were like her. 

I'm really glad that I finished Lessons in Chemistry because, by the end, it was all neatly wrapped up with a bow. There were no loose ends and nothing was out of place. The ending was the reason why I gave it three stars and not lower. I like when a book tells me how it ends and when it's not open-ended. 

Overall, not my favorite book and not the worst book. Just be ready for a bit of a slow read if you decide to pick it up.

Book Review: 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard

Title: 56 Days
Author: Catherine Ryan Howard
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Release Date: August 17, 2021
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Length: 305 pages
Source: Purchased from Book of the Month
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Find it Here: Amazon // Goodreads

No one knew they'd moved in together. Now one of them is dead. Could this be the perfect murder?

56 DAYS AGO
Ciara and Oliver meet in a supermarket queue in Dublin the same week Covid-19 reaches Irish shores.

35 DAYS AGO
When lockdown threatens to keep them apart, Oliver suggests that Ciara move in with him. She sees a unique opportunity for a new relationship to flourish without the pressure of scrutiny of family and friends. He sees it as an opportunity to hide who - and what - he really is.

TODAY
Detectives arrive at Oliver's apartment to discover a decomposing body inside.

Will they be able to determine what really happened, or has lockdown provided someone with the opportunity to commit the perfect crime?

My Review: 

56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard was the perfect book for me to get back into reading. The story was interesting enough that it kept me reading easily and the story line was so easy to follow that I didn't find myself getting confused. 

Before I started reading 56 Days, I wondered how I would react to a book that takes place during the start pandemic, since we are still in the pandemic. But I actually didn't mind reading about it and I was actually quite entertained when I was reminded of all the toilet paper that people bought. I also really enjoyed seeing the start of the pandemic from an international point of view, since this book takes place in Ireland.

Without revealing any spoilers, the mystery was pretty good and I did not expect it to end the way that it did. The story has a lot of build up for about 75% of the book and then it really picks up speed and everything is revealed within the last 15% of the book. So it was definitely an information overload at the end.  

Overall, 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard is a solid thriller/mystery novel and I will definitely read another Catherine Ryan Howard book soon!

WWW Wednesday: January 25, 2023

 WWW Wednesday is hosted at Taking on a World of Words!

The three Ws are:

1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you'll read next? 

Currently Reading: I'm currently reading Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. I didn't think I was going to read this book, but I saw everyone talking about how excited they were about Hell Bent, so I just had to see what everyone was talking about. As soon as I read the description of Ninth House, I knew I had to read it and I am really loving it so far! I'm also reading (or listening to) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling. I can't tell you how many times I've read this series but this is the first time I've listened to them on audio and Jim Dale brings new life to the story!

Recently Finished: The most recent book I finished on Sunday was The Last Time I Lied by Riles Sager. I loved it and I knew I was going to love it. This is the third book I've read by him and I've loved all of them so far! I also just finished It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey which was a huge surprise for me. I didn't think I was going to like it because I don't typically go for that genre, but I was instantly sucked in!

Reading Next: After I finish Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, I'm going to read Jade City by Fonda Lee. I've technically already started Jade City, but I put it on hold so I could read Ninth House from the library and make sure I finished it before I had to return it. So now I'm going to go back to reading Jade City! My next audio book will be Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica. I've listened to her books before so I know I'm going to love this one!

Have you read any of these? Let me know!

Book Review: The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

Title: The Night Swim 

Author: Megan Goldin 

Publisher: St. Martin's Press 

Release Date: August 04, 20202

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Length: 344 pages

Source: Purchased from Book of the Month

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Find it Here: Amazon // Goodreads

After the first season of her true crime podcast became an overnight sensation and set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall is now a household name―and the last hope for thousands of people seeking justice. But she’s used to being recognized for her voice, not her face. Which makes it all the more unsettling when she finds a note on her car windshield, addressed to her, begging for help.

The small town of Neapolis is being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. The town’s golden boy, a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness, has been accused of raping a high school student, the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. Under pressure to make Season Three a success, Rachel throws herself into interviewing and investigating―but the mysterious letters keep showing up in unexpected places. Someone is following her, and she won’t stop until Rachel finds out what happened to her sister twenty-five years ago. Officially, Jenny Stills tragically drowned, but the letters insists she was murdered―and when Rachel starts asking questions, nobody seems to want to answer. The past and present start to collide as Rachel uncovers startling connections between the two cases that will change the course of the trial and the lives of everyone involved.

Electrifying and propulsive, The Night Swim asks: What is the price of a reputation? Can a small town ever right the wrongs of its past? And what really happened to Jenny?

My Review:

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin is the first book that I've read by her and she has several previously published books. The Night Swim is told from multiple POVs: from the main characters all the way down to the small minor characters. Long story short, the main character, Rachel, goes down to Florida to cover a rape trial because she is a podcaster. While she's there, she unravels the missing pieces of a 20 year old cold case. 

Have you ever listened to a murder mystery podcast? I listen all the time, I'm completely obsessed so I thought I would love this book! But I found it to be a little slow and not all that mysterious. Really, the only thing that kept me hooked was the cold case and wondering if she was going to solve it or not. I didn't find the sections about the rape trial all that interesting and I actually though that whole story line was pretty predictable. 

Another aspect of the book that I didn't enjoy was the multiple POV's. As a long time reader, I have found that when a book is well written and uses changing POVs to follow a couple different characters, I really enjoy seeing the perspective of different characters. But I found The Night Swim to have too many perspectives and it took away from the story. 

Even though I've said some negative things about The Night Swim, I did enjoy the book overall. It was an interesting story that had me hooked to the point that I wanted to know what would happen at the end. I personally love a good shock at the end, nevertheless I still enjoyed it. 

Long Overdue Life Update

 

It has been a long time since I've posted anything on my blog. I would like to say that I've been reading a ton of books and I've been doing so many things that I can't wait to share with everyone but that simply isn't the case. The benefit of having a free blog is that it pauses when I pause and it's always there for when I'm ready to come back. 

As I'm writing this, I literally can't believe the last review I post was over a year ago! And I honestly haven't read anything since. I recently joined a book club with a couple of girls at my church and I'm currently reading American Royals by Katherine McGee and it's reminding me why I gave up young adult books all those years ago. I've kept up my subscription to Book of the Month but I haven't had a chance to read any of the books. I just like to think that I'm building up my collection of books that I'm going to want to read later! 

The kids have been growing up so fast and I've been trying to enjoy every moment I can! Emery is 3 now (which blows my mind) and RJ will be 2 in October! They love to read books so I think I might have to start adding some posts about the books that they love on the blog, as well!

Something new that I've added back into my life that is completely different from the blog is that I've gotten back into studying the Bible. By reading God's Word every morning, I feel so much better throughout the day. I have less worry and more peace and clarity. 

I can't wait to expand my blog into so much more: back to more review, talking about children's books and talking about what God has been teaching me through my daily Bible study. I'm so glad my blog was right here waiting for me when I was ready to come back. I'm so glad the kids are getting older, my district and my job are going back to school full time next month and I feel like we're finally getting back to normal life. Which means I can finally get back to picking up my books and reading like normal again!