As always First Line Friday comes courtesy of Hoarding Books Blog. I discovered this magic thanks to Crystal at Must Love Reviews. This week I have been reading an advance reader copy of the new Sandie Jones book, The First Mistake. I’m pulling this quote from the prologue…
She looked at me with real warmth in her eyes, as if she trusted me with her life, and for a moment I thought I couldn’t go through with it.
Yeah, it has my attention!! What book are you reading this week? Drop me a link to your First Reads Friday blog post and I’ll swing by! Happy Friday!
Welcome to Thursday Quotables. Books Kat Likes has joined in on the weekly fun and came up with this great description of what this is…
This feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage discovered during your reading each week. Whether it’s something funny, startling, gut-wrenching, or just really beautifully written, Thursday Quotables is where my favorite lines will be, and you’re invited to join in! Created by Lisa, over at Bookshelf Fantasies.
You should join in too! Leave the link to your Thursday Quotable post below and I will make sure to check it out!!
I actually put a sticky note in this book while I was reading because this quote hit me like a shark attack…
It’s funny how people have a distinct smell that can immediately transport you back in time. It’s not unlike hearing a favorite song. As a matter of fact, there are times I hear a song on the radio, and not only does it remind me of a specific time, place, and girl, but I swear, I can also smell those memories. I know that sounds completely whacked, but it’s true.
How TRUE is that quote?!?!? Here’s where I snagged it from…
I am so SAD that this trilogy is over now…I fell in love with the characters and just want more of them! These books did leave an amazing imprint on my life so at least I am left with that! What quotes have stuck out at you lately??
*sigh* I have no idea how to begin this. Have you ever read a book that just touched you and has stayed with you? I have. Welcome to my review of Between Hello & Goodbye. The book that has opened my eyes, had me laughing, ugly crying like a baby in public on an airplane, and comforted me all between 312 pages.
Let’s look at a few pictures from places that are mentioned in this book. Get a feel for the setting. All these pictures were taken by me on my latest trip to Maine.
Nubble LighthouseView from The Cliff WalkShort Sands Beach
Now I have to talk about the book…ugh…this book hit me in the feels. Just when you think you’re sitting down to read more about Josh and his summer shenanigans the book takes a serious turn and turns into something I needed at that point in time. This is a book we ALL can relate to.
Yes, this book still has the strong language as the first, but don’t let that deter you from this heartfelt novel. Truly this book can be read as a standalone. Don’t ask to read my copy of it because I’m not letting this book leave my side.
We are at a crossroads in Josh’s life. He is turning 30 and is becoming jaded to everything in life. He has come to partner with Doug at his bar, but he still feels empty inside. A summer fling unexpectedly comes along and changes his summer. Will he find the one? You’ll have to read this one to find out…
I want to leave a small passage from this book that slapped me in the face when I read it.
‘Hellos always come so easy…and goodbyes too f***ing fast.’ Scott got up and walked over to the fridge. He grabbed a couple bottles of water and tossed me one. ‘Maybe we should just be happy that hellos come at all.’
Deep. From this point on in the book it takes a serious turn and really drives home to live your life. You have dreams and aspirations, go after them. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow or even today; go out and do what you want to do. Make your life the one you want to live.
I moved from New England to the West Coast and it’s still hard for me even though I’ve been out West 17 years now. I love the life I have and the family that surrounds me here, but I miss the family I feel I left behind. Some things are going on and I had a semi-small break down when I was there and then this book happened. Perfect timing. The inner dialogue I had with myself after I finished this book was therapeutic and well needed. This book gave me that clarity.
Understand that Josh, our main man, went through life always wanting to write a screenplay and thanks to some inspiration, decided to take the horrid screenplays he wrote as a teen and turn them into books. He did it. I would like to note that I absolutely could see Between Hello & Goodbye as one of the ultimate summer/fun comedy/chick flick movie. Truly. If you have any Hollywood connections please get them a copy of this book. Seriously.
This is a 5 star read. Once you dive in to this book there is no turning back. It is very rare to find books like Between Hello & Goodbye, but here it is right in front of you. Do yourself a favor and order this one. If you regret reading it and think it’s the biggest piece of crap you’ve ever read, 1) you’re lying and 2) I’ll pay you back the $15. Because as this book tells us…”Sometimes, it’s not until you realize that nothing ever lasts for long, that you truly appreciate the fact that it ever existed at all.”
Title: Between Hello and Goodbye
Author: Jody Clark
Publisher:Vacationland Books (self-published, buy it here for a signed copy)
Thank you to Flat Iron Books for the advance copy of The Guest Book by Sarah Blake. I know guys, this was released on May 7, 2019 and here we are in June…I promise you I read it myself before the release date…my little fingers just could not connect to the keyboard fast enough!
This is a work of historical fiction. Not my usual genre; however, I happen to occasionally enjoy mixing things up. This books takes us between the 1930s-1950s and present day. This novel tackles racism and the power that families have held in the US for generations.
The family owns an island. The money has run out. The granddaughter does not want to give the island up because of the family history it has to offer. She sets off on a journey to uncover what exactly her family stood for and how they really made their money.
I found myself speed reading this gem. The book is long and a LOT is said throughout the book. The irony is that the book deals with things that are unsaid. I guess we the reader just need a lot to understand everything going on.
I will say, without giving too much away, I really enjoyed the end and how it was all brought together. Sometimes family secrets are best kept a secret and I enjoyed how the author chose to leave the book. I did not enjoy the amount of time it took me to get to that point however.
The story is one that is multi-generational (and told through multi-generational perspectives) and bits and pieces are put together from past to present. It was lovely having the different viewpoints and how we as a society have changed (and haven’t) since the World War II era.
I am going to give this book 3.5 stars (rounding up to 4 on rating sites). It was a long read that felt like a chore at some points for me. I did enjoy how everything came together, but it was just so long. I felt like a huge part of the beginning of the book was only focused on the past and the present day was only there to uncover “secrets” which aren’t really that amazing of a secret. The one secret that would be scandalous isn’t ever outright said, we the reader just need to interpret what the characters are saying. Overall, just an OK read. Have you read this one?
Let me start this post out on a different note. There are places in all of our lives that hold a special meaning…York, Maine is one of those places to me. This little yellow house used to be in my family and we would spend family vacations here each summer. The Empty Beach takes place in this lovely beach community.
When I read this, floods of memories came back of the York I would visit every summer (not so much now, living on the West Coast and all). The descriptions of these locations were spot on so even if you have never visited York, you could still image it!
This story is about Josh and his summer in his beach town. Warning: this book does hold a lot of strong language, however, this book is also absolutely hysterical. Josh ends up managing a local restaurant and falls for one of the wait staff, Elise, but to be fair, he met her BEFORE she started working there.
Josh is a character all in himself. If he likes a girl, he goes on the overkill…flowers, mixtapes, and overly babbles. His friends try to give him guidance, but when one is hooking up with someone new every night and the others in relationships, it leaves little room for trusting romantic advice. The silver lining is that his friends are ridiculously hysterical. It made me wish I grew up in York and spent entire summers here.
We go through this whole book wondering if Josh and Elise will ever be a real thing…the suspense there will kill you. He walks her to her car every night and they even go out on a few wewon’tcallthemdates dates. My heart was pulled out of my chest at the ending and my fist was shaking. Whether it was shaking at Josh or Elise, well, you’ll have to pick this book up yourself and read it to find out!
The story doesn’t stop here though…The Empty Beach is book one in a trilogy. Don’t worry…Jody Clark isn’t a jerk and doesn’t leave us hanging by a thread for the next installment. In fact, you could essentially read each book as a standalone and be ok, you would just miss some minor back stories, almost like inside jokes, that don’t affect the story at all. If you want the ENTIRE story, start here. Is there love for Josh in the cards? We have 3 books to figure it all out!
Solid 4 star read. Yeah, I might be partial because of my connection to York, however, it still could have sucked and it didn’t. This is the perfect time of year to read about the mis-adventures of Josh and his friends…it will have you yearning to be on the beach! I don’t read much from indie authors, but trust me when I say this is worth the read! I’m practically standing on my room shouting to everyone to read this series! Stayed tuned for my review of book two, Between Hello and Goodbye!
That is the amount of books I read during the MONTH of May!!! Don’t ask me how that happened, but I’ll take it! Here are my stats…
4: Ebooks
6: Physical Books
3,395 pages
I have fallen behind, so behind, on all my reviews of what I’ve read so expect my blog to be jammin’ with some content this month! Thankfully I have the time off where I can play catch up!! Here’s a collage of what I read…
What did you read in May? Have you read any of these or are any on your TBR??? Drop me a line and let me know!
Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillian USA for my advance copy of this book. I am so terribly sorry my reviewed has been delayed, but I’m here with it now!
I just want to note that my husband was reading a magazine where The Mother-In-Law is featured as a book to read this summer…he made sure to let me know about this book because I had to go out and get it to read it…I let him know I already read it and he was right, I did love it!
Lucy meets Ollie, falls in love, and hopes to gain a mother since her own mother died when she was young. Lucy gets everything except a mother…from the get go Diana, Ollie’s mother, does not like Lucy and makes no qualms about it.
They have a strained relationship. When Lucy births her first child, Diana puts priority in helping a refugee instead of being there for her family…so you get the idea of the type of person Diana is. Yes, I loved hating her as I read this book.
A weird thing happens though…toward the end of the book I absolutely love and respect the relationship that Diana and Lucy have. Is it a good one? No. It is one that is oddly filled with trust and some respect. Yes.
Overall this story tells a tale of a mother who has all the means in the world, but refuses to help her own children. She has a charity where she works with refugees from other countries and that is where her passion and assistance lay. This starts to cause a rut between her and her children and well…you just need to read it.
The ending. Thank you, thank you, thank you for creating an ending where we see a little into the future with what happens with everyone. I will tell you, you may think you know who killed who (yes, someone dies), but you will not have pegged who did it. Or why they did it.
This is a wonderful 4 star read. It’s a page turning mystery that you won’t be able to put down until you know who did it. Plus, the strained relationship is a train wreck you can’t help but keep watching. Pick this book up, you’ll be glad you did!
As always First Line Friday comes courtesy of Hoarding Books Blog. I discovered this magic thanks to Crystal at Must Love Reviews. Let’s get right into the beginning of this one shall we?
I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ. Slit me at my belly and it might slide out, meaty and dark, drop on the floor so you could stomp on it.
To say this is a dark read would be an understatement…any guesses as to what book I’m reading??? This is a book lent to me by one of my co-workers…and it is quite the gripping read!
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn!
What are you reading this week? Drop your link in the comments and I’ll make sure to visit your FLF blog post as well!
Welcome to Thursday Quotables. Books Kat Likes has joined in on the weekly fun and came up with this great description of what this is…
This feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage discovered during your reading each week. Whether it’s something funny, startling, gut-wrenching, or just really beautifully written, Thursday Quotables is where my favorite lines will be, and you’re invited to join in! Created by Lisa, over at Bookshelf Fantasies.
You should join in too! Leave the link to your Thursday Quotable post below and I will make sure to check it out!!
This week I have chosen a quote from the book I’m currently reading…
Never let them see you sweat, dear, or they’ll think they have the power. I’ve heard that for as long as I can remember. And honestly, it does come in handy sometimes, in business.
I really liked that quote, it reminds me to always keep my composure and act like everything is a ok. What quote has stuck out to you this week??
Well, today was the day…I walked back in to my local library, paid my embarrassingly high fine, and walked out WITHOUT a book for myself! The restraint is REAL today guys!
Because my fine was so high I opted to get this special edition tote bag because, well, I stayed up way too late last night finishing up Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. This bag is totally appropriate. Plus, I ended up checking out 9 books (5 for my daughter and 4 for my son). Do you think I was going to lug those books around in my arms? Psh! Now, they have a place to stay when they’re at home so we don’t lose any…
I bet you’re wondering how I walked out with no book in my possession…well, wait until you see the stack of books I own that I want to get through this summer. The real reason I finally went down was to start my OverDrive account! I already have 4 books on hold once I got home with tips from my local librarian. Do you use any ebook service through your local library?? Tell me all about it, I’m all ears! I cannot wait until my first hold comes out and I can really test this out!
Donna's Reading Chair 