Hello, hello!

Happy Sunday!

I’m currently curled up on the couch watching Ishu do a little brain break situation on TV while Ankur and Riyu take a nap.

I had my last day of our Pickleball league earlier today and I’m a little sad it’s done! I’m happy we’ve still got lots of Open Play to sign up for. It’s been so fun.

While I got some time to myself, I thought I’d log on and share my ratings/reviews of the books I read in February. It was a great month of reading!

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Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid:

Okay, this was much better to me than book #1. And, perhaps, why the TV series chose this particular couple to write about!

We love Ilya and Shane <3

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Dear Debbie by Frieda McFadden:

Listened to this one on audio and dang it was addicting.

Freida has such a way of pulling you in and not letting go. I was Team Debbie from start to finish. We love a woman who takes justice into her own hands and we especially love a woman who has another woman’s back.

If you’re looking for a fast-paced, can’t-stop-thinking-about-it read, I highly recommend this one (honestly, you can’t really go wrong with any Freida book). My only regret is listening instead of reading it! I wanted to flip back and re-read certain moments with fresh eyes once the reveals started clicking into place.

Dark, twisty, and deeply satisfying.

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Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston:

An engaging, page-turner, who-dunnit thriller. Small town secrets can be complex.

There were parts of the reveal I loved. Other parts, I was like….uhhh…why. But I was locked in ’til the end. It felt impossible to put down at times and I found myself opening up my Kindle app on my phone instead of scrolling through social media.

Ashley Elston is becoming a new fav for me!

Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan:

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley

A charming, emotional romance about a single mama who’s always handled everything on her own. Dolly returns to her hometown for the summer to help her dad, and ends up catching the attention of Stuart Whitfield, an affluent, annoyingly handsome soon-to-be CEO. Enter a Pretty Woman–style arrangement where she pretends to be in a relationship with him. And, of course, real feelings develop. Things unfold more or less how you expect. Except Annabel Monaghan is just such a fantastic writer that it never feels predictable.

This book had me hooked from start to finish. As my friend from book club perfectly put it, “Reading this book was like drinking a glass of champagne.” Monaghan has such a beautiful way with words, and one line in particular made me stop, reread, and then immediately sob into my Kindle. When talking about her son, Dolly says, “I put a hand on his cheek so I can experience the smile with more of my senses.” WHAT A LINE. I mean, we all do this with our babies. We just want to feel it all more FULLY. Ugh. So good.

Beyond the central romance, I loved watching the supporting characters come to life. Dolly’s brother, who suffered a traumatic brain injury earlier in their lives; her middle-schooler-turned-high-schooler son, who struggles to make friends and then finds something really special that summer; and Dolly’s best friend. Truly, the cast of characters is so well done.

I loved this book so much. It was an absolute delight to read.

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Real Americans by Rachel Khong:

Told from the point of view of three different people across multiple decades. At times I had to pause and ask myself if I was still reading the same book.

The author did a good job showing how parents both do their best and can still fail their children. I also think the author did a good job acknowledging that there are some immigrant parents that want their past to stay in the past and don’t do a great job sharing their history with their children, whether it’s because it’s painful or otherwise. Also, the fact that some immigrant families are forced to assimilate quickly and lose parts of their own culture as a result.

The time glitch thing seems very minimally discussed? And not quite sure if it was relevant or maybe I just missed the point of it all.

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The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff:

A multigenerational family saga about love, secrecy, and addiction, The Bright Years follows a Texas family as they fracture and then, over time, find their way back to one another.

The writing is absolutely beautiful, and the portrayal of addiction and its ripple effects on a family feels painfully real. As readers, it’s easy to crave a tidy ending. Something neatly wrapped up with a bow. What I appreciated most about this book was its refusal to do that.

“How can he say and do such normal things when he’s said and done such awful ones? To be fair, how can he say and do such awful things when he’s said and done such normal ones?”

Simple sentences, but layered with so much meaning.

“As the baby’s head emerges, the mother roars like a lion. Her husband weeps. Her power beside his softness makes my breath catch.”

Heartbreakingly beautiful. I want more from this author.

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The Mad Wife by Meagan Church:

Okay, this was absolutely crazy to me. The things women had to deal with at a time that was NOT THAT LONG AGO.

They call it hysteria. Housewife syndrome.

It’s crazy and ridiculous and troubling. And it was REAL LIFE. This was a great depiction of what life was like for women in the 1950s. I couldn’t put it down.

Now I wanna read her other book, The Girls We Sent Away.

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Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson:

An addicting read!
From start to finish in just one day.

Never imagined I would be sobbing during a thriller, but here we are.

A who-dunnit. But, also, a reminder that our lives are short and we may not get tomorrow! Holly Jackson hit all the emotions with this one!

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That’s it!

I just got a TON of holds in from the library. So, March will hopefully be a busy month of reading as well!

I’m in the middle of Project Hail Mary and The Lifeguards.

Tell me in the comments – have you read some of these books? What’d you think? And what’re you currently reading?!