Thought we’d finish off the month with 5 books read, but The Wishing Game reeled me in at around 3am and I couldn’t put it down.
Anyway, I will be drinking the largest cup of coffee to make up for it. But it was totally worth it. You know it’s a good book when you sacrifice your sleep for it.
Here are my reviews, copied and pasted from GoodReads!
4 out of 5 stars
Out of the Woods by Hannah-Bonam Young: Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young follows Win and Bo, a married couple who have spent over 30 years together. They’re navigating a phase in their lives where external pressures—from careers to unresolved emotional baggage—have eroded the easy communication they once had. Their journey to reconnect, both with each other and themselves, leads them on a path to self-discovery and healing, with the natural world offering them the space to reset and reflect.
Oh goodness. I loved this book so much. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did, especially since this is a romance between two characters who are already married and have spent more than half a lifetime together. Where’s the romance in that? Ha. But it resonated deeply, particularly as someone approaching 10 years of marriage myself. While Win and Bo don’t have small children (and don’t want them), so many external factors have taken hold of their relationship, making communication difficult.
This story was an eye-opener in the way it illustrates how we change and evolve over time. The negative self-talk that can take over if we let it, the ways we sometimes don’t even recognize the inner battles we’re fighting—it’s all so real. The author often shares dialogue juxtaposed with inner monologue, and it’s so true how our brains can work in those moments. The way we present ourselves to others (or the things we say) can sometimes differ greatly from what’s actually going on inside.
I also really appreciated the theme that disconnection and time spent in nature can heal a relationship—both with your partner and with yourself. When we can step away from our devices and get under the trees, we hear our internal nudges more clearly.
I loved everything about this book, including Win and Bo’s presence in it. Their tight-knit unit of four (five with Gus!) reminded me of the beauty of friends-turned-family. It made me appreciate my own.
4 out of 5 stars
The Love of my After Life by Kirsty Greenwood: Not your average rom-com. A romance with some magical realism sprinkled in.
Went in anticipating things would be relatively predictable and was surprised at the twists and turns it took. (Though, at some point, I caught on. Because, hello, if you’re not a LITTLE predictable, are you even a romance novel?!).
Delphie is quirky and has a backstory that makes you understand why she shields her heart from others. Why she closes herself off. But the second chance at getting to live a life where you’re open and vulnerable had me rethinking MY own life. Am I soaking up everything I possibly can? Am I living and creating community with the people around me?
I’ll end with a quote I highlighted as It resonated with me: “Things have been stressful and weird and scary and overwhelming. Yet somehow, I’ve felt more alive than I ever thought possible.”
We are MEANT to feel the hard and the stressful and the overwhelming. And by closing ourselves off to the hard emotions, yes, it can feel easier, but it also means we’re limiting ourselves from the great stuff too.
4 out of 5 stars
Pictures of You by Emma Grey: “The story of a young woman struggling to piece her life back together in the wake of a tragic accident, and the man who gives up everything to help her.”
A second chance romance with a mystery element to it. Evie struggling to piece her life back together was emotional at times – seeing how different her life turned out compared to what high school Evie wanted for herself.
Went in blind and maybe that was a good thing. A lot of twists and turns. Appreciated the dual POV from Drew and Evie’s perspective. A very quick read; short chapters that made me want to find out what happened next.
TW: toxic relationship, psychological/emotional abuse, narcissism, loss of a parent (cancer), mentions of suicide ideation
3 out of 5 stars
Husbands and Lovers by Beatriz Williams: I appreciated the modern day story more than the historical one. Maybe it was because I am not very well-versed in the Hungarian revolution or the Cold War, or maybe because I had a difficult time centering myself in whatever timeline was being discussed (there is modern day, and then flashbacks to their HS years. But then there is also the 1950s timeline and then flashbacks to pre-refugee life).
I had a difficult time getting into this one.
4 out of 5 stars
The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan: A cozy little book for anyone who loves books, libraries, bookstores. The sweetest read about a woman leaving her safety net and following her heart. And, in following her heart, expanding the world of so many others around her. Highly recommend this book if you, like me, are obsessed with all things books.
“Just do something. You might make a mistake, then you can fix it. But if you do nothing, you can’t fix anything. And your life might turn out to be full of regrets.”
5 out of 5 stars
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer: A reminder that we are all working through our childhood wounds.
Inspired by Willy Wonka and it should be read as something totally fictional – never, EVER gonna happen in real life! – because I think if you spend too long trying to suss out what could happen and couldn’t happen, you lose the beauty of the book and the writing.
I loved the riddles, brought me back to my own childhood and the fun we would have when we figured it out and were “in” on it.
Slow to start, but the way I cried toward the end. It’s what pushed it from 4 stars to 5. I love when books can make me FEEL SO HARD.
That’s it! April is a month of putting my Kindle to the side and picking up some paperbacks. I’m currently reading this book for our book club and I’ve picked up a few books from the library. The Kindle will, of course, remain under my pillow while I sleep for all those 2am wake-up calls (but, let’s pray, April is a month where there will be few of those).
If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading! And tell me what you’re reading! 🙂
