July Book Review

Good Monday Morning!  My girls have been looking forward to this Monday for a few weeks now!  Today is our big registration day at the school where they get their picture made for the yearbook and find out who their teacher is going to be.

They are excited and nervous for the new school year!  Friday we were able to go and get everything they needed to prepare them for 4th and 5th grade.  I pray we all have a great school year together.

Today I am going to share with you my July Book Review.  I was hoping to read more while we were at the beach, but that didn’t happen because I enjoyed the girls and swam and played with them more than I ever have.

ONE

The first book I read this month was On Second Thought by Kristan Higgins.  I have read a few of her books before and always enjoy her writing.  This book was the type of book I had to keep reading to find out what happens! It was about two stepsisters, Kate and Ainsley.  Both sisters go through lots of different emotions throughout the book and the author did a great job portraying the emotions.  I was laughing and crying while reading this book.  Ainsley gets dumped by her boyfriend of 11 years and Kate’s husband dies in a freak accident.  This leads to thhe two sisters moving in together and learning how to deal with their grief in different ways.  I loved how this book turned out because both girls got a happy ending even though it was very different than what they had originally thought.

TWO

The next book this month was The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena.  This book was SOOOOOO good!  There were so many plot twists that I loved!  Just when I thought I had it all figured out, something else happened and changed the book.  Basically, you have Anne and Marco who leave their new baby at home ALONE and go next door for a dinner party.  They bring the baby monitor with them and check on the baby every 30 minutes.  Well, the baby, Cora, turns up missing.  Anne and Marco go crazy and the search for Cora begins.  Through the investigation and looking for the baby you learn about Anne’s parents who are millionaires and their poor relationship with Marco.  Even though the plot changed so much, I was able to follow along with the book and it all made sense to me.  I was BLOWN away at how it turned out!  If you like mystery/suspense type books I would recommend that you read this one.

THREE

The last book I read this month was The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens.  This is the first novel this author has ever written and he did a phenomenal job!  So good, I hope he writes a sequel to this book so we find out what happens to the characters.  Joe is a college student that is assigned to write a biography on anyone he chooses.  With no relatives around and a crazy mom, Joe decides to go to the local nursing home and write about Carl Iverson’s life story.  Carl has spent the last 30 years in prison for raping and killing a 14 year old girl.  Carl is in the nursing home because he is dying of cancer and doesn’t have long to live.  Carl is a Vietnam Veteran and swears he is innocent.  He promises to let Joe interview him for his college paper and to tell the truth of his life story.  Through the interviews you learn a lot of secrets about Carl Iverson and also begin to think he may actually be innocent in the murder.  Carl helps Joe write his biography, but Joe might help reveal that Carl was wrongfully accused as a convicted murderer for all of these years.

What are some of your favorite books you have read this year?  I am always looking for book recommendations, so don’t hesitate to leave me some feedback on what to read next.  With school starting and a new foster baby, I don’t know how much time I will have to read in August, but I will add the books to my list!

Have a great Monday!  The girls and I are going to soak up every minute of being together this week before it is back to school time.

~Jen