Whitney Dineen- Relatively Normal AND Relatively Sane

Guys!  Whitney Dineen!  I'm not sure where to start!  I read Relatively Normal and Relatively Sane in two days.  I was reeled in immediately by the characters.  I was laughing out loud at almost every page.  I was entranced.  Who doesn't love kilt wearing, bagpipe playing, and Scottish dancing fools? 

So, why did I pick up these books?  Well, the cover of Relatively Happy drew me in on Netgalley, and I was chosen to read that novel.  What I didn't know when I selected it was that it was the third book in the series.  So of course, I needed to read the first two before I could read the third!  I wasn't disappointed to say the least. 

I've never read anything by Whitney Dineen before.  I didn't know what to expect, but the covers of the stories drew me in and I had a feeling it was going to be a fun and quick read.  I was right.  I was immediately drawn in by the characters, Cat, Ethan, Sam, Sarah, and my personal favorite, Nan.  They were all so different, but melded so well together for the storyline. 

The novels touched on heartbreak, illness, laughter, and Sottish heritage among so many other things.  This was certainly a fun and easy read though.  I have rated 4-5 stars on Goodreads, and have already uploaded the books on others Kindles.  I will undoubtedly be reading more from Dineen in hopes that the rest of her storylines are just as catching.

Girl, Wash Your Face-Rachel Hollis

Title- Girl, Wash Your Face

Author- Rachel Hollis

Published- Feb 2018

Genre-Nonfiction, Kickass empowering 

Where I got the book- Netgalley

Synopsis- Can be found at Goodreads

My thoughts-

First, let me start of by saying that I can relate to Rachel on so many levels.  I understand that this kind of nonfiction may not be for the masses, but it's her version of her life, not everyone needs to read it. I, however, couldn't put it down. (Seriously, I spent two days hiding in my office at work reading.)

 Rachel brings about humor, tragedy, and real life issues to light.  I didn't know I was in need of "pick my up by the boot straps book" but this was the perfect book at the perfect time for me.  I laughed, I thought, I smiled.  That was all I needed.  I thoroughly appreciate her candor, her willingness to shed light on her trials and tribulations.  Reading her stories made me think about things in ways that I needed to, but was maybe too afraid to.  

I wouldn't consider this a self help book.  I do think this book keeps things in perspective and shows the struggles of most women.  We've all been in a relationship like hers, mothers I know struggle with thoughts like hers, every one I know hates their body at some point in their life.  This is truth.  We aren't alone, and it's nice to hear someone elses perspective on things once in a while. 

Since I've started this book I have researched and followed Rachel on all social media accounts.  I am excited to follow her and her crazy yet empowering self.  I read this as an ebook, but I may just have to pick up a hard copy to have.  

I'd recommend this to anyone, and have already told a few people they need to pick this up.  It was such a good read.  

 

The Dinner List-- Rebecca Serle

How many times have we said to ourselves, "I wish I could have one more day, one more hour, one more moment with ____."  I know I have.  I never met my grandparents and would love to sit on a park bench and have them watch their great grandkids and listen to their stories.  I often wonder if they are proud of the people we turned out to be.

Sabby has that chance with The Dinner List.  She chooses five people in which she would love to have dinner with.  Some dead, some alive, everyone with their own story to tell and their own advice for her.

She's in love with this man, and has been for many years.  She is the one for him and he for her.  Or so they think.

Most of the relationships Sabby has seems to be rocky, but there has been one person at one time helping her along the way.

Overall, I liked what this novel represented.  It was a first for me from Serle, but I look forward to more from her.

Caterina- Patricia Paris

Title: Caterina: A Bonavera Novel
Author: Patricia Paris
Publishing Date: December 4, 2018
How:   ARC from BHC Press and Library Thing
Synopsis:  Caterina is one of four Bonavera sisters who inherited a winery.  She had ambitions to open a restaurant in NYC and become one of the top Chefs.  When things didn't go as planned she had to move back to the winery and with her sisters. 
Deciding to build her own restaurant on the winery property she meets Liam, the stubborn, hot headed, but attractive building construction contractor.  Caterina and Liam have a first instinct to dislike each other, but will that be all?  Will the family accept that?

My thoughts:  This was one of those good feelings books.  This is the first I've read of the Bonavera sisters novels, but with just reading this one, I look forward to reading them all. 
This novel was full of love, laughter, family, food and mystery. 

Caterina's character is strong, with a no nonsense vibe.  She wants to find love, but she views cooking and family as her heart.  When she meets Liam, it is immediate chemistry that she perceives as dislike on his behalf. 
Liam is a strong willed single parent to a little girl who has had to overcome a great deal of sadness and anger in his life.  Due to this, he is afraid to let just anyone in and around his daughter. 
Over time however, the chemistry between the two becomes overwhelming and undeniable.

Patricia Paris did a wonderful job putting this little feel good novel together.  She left the mystery until the perfect time, she let the love unfold, and gave a happy ending.  I will definitely be looking forward to seeing what else she comes up with, both within the Bonavera family and outside it.

I cannot say enough good things about this novel and will recommend it with joy as a feel good book of the season.

Stars:  5!

In the House in the Dark of the Woods

Title:  In the House in the Dark of the Woods
Author: Laird Hunt
Date Published:  October 16, 2018
How: ARC from Little Brown Publishing on Netgalley
Goodreads synopsis: link
In this horror story set in colonial New England, a law-abiding Puritan woman goes missing. Or perhaps she has fled or abandoned her family. Or perhaps she's been kidnapped, and set loose to wander in the dense woods of the north. Alone and possibly lost, she meets another woman in the forest. Then everything changes.

On a journey that will take her through dark woods full of almost-human wolves, through a deep well wet with the screams of men, and on a living ship made of human bones, our heroine may find that the evil she flees has been inside her all along. The eerie, disturbing story of one of our perennial fascinations--witchcraft in colonial America--In the House in the Dark of the Woods is a novel of psychological horror and suspense told in Laird Hunt's characteristically lyrical prose style. It is the story of a bewitching, a betrayal, a master huntress and her quarry. It is a story of anger, of evil, of hatred and of redemption. It is the story of a haunting, a story that makes up the bedrock of American mythology, but told in a vivid way you will never forget.


My thoughts:
My first thoughts are about the cover of this eerie novel. I loved it. It brings the title together with the content of the book. It's just enough to pique my interest of what could be within the pages under the cover.

The writing style is slightly different from most other reads I've read lately. It took me a bit to get into, but once I did I was not disappointed in the least. Hunts writing was almost poetic, but in a dreamlike, grim way. His foreshadowing was brilliant. It was symbolic and literary in so many ways, I can see this being on many TBR lists.

The content was a perfect read for this time of year. It was full of the colonial time period witches, dark magic, grim forest, revenge and creepy characters. It isn't too often a book will give me feelings other than love and happiness. This one, however, gave me the feels of something I couldn't quite put together while reading. I felt the chills, I felt entrapped in the words on the page wanting to know more and more. I felt my mind racing after about a quarter way through with dark thoughts and gloomy characters.


Overall:
Four stars. I would recommend this dark and twisted fairy tale to anyone, especially this time of year.

Fractured

Title:  Fractured
Author:  Olivia Flaggert
Published date:  9/14/2018
Genre: Adult fiction
Rating:  4 stars
Synopsis:   Love can be so blind. 
He's the perfect man. He's charming, sincere, intelligent, successful.  He's the man all the women fall for. 
Dr. Lenny Jameson has a way of luring women in.  His practice partner, Dr. Amanda Hemingway is head over heels in love with him, the drug reps are swooning, how could a girl like Emma Johnson possibly not fall in love? 
Fall she does.  Emma is a young and hopeful woman trying to piece together her life when it doesn't seem to be going her way.  After her first meeting with Lenny she starts to think that things can't get any better than him.  She places her trust, her life in his hands. 
When Emma starts to think that maybe this man having affairs and her mother ends up dead, she starts to wonder if the man she loves is too good to be true.

My thoughts: I immediately related to this book on so many levels.  The work place relationship, working in the medical field, the girl who doesn't quite have her life together, falling for the one that looks great on paper. 
The idea behind the story line was great.  Older man with younger woman whom he can manipulate into thinking she's crazy.  Love it.  I think what I was surprised most about the book, and maybe didn't like all that much, was the pace of the novel.  I feel like there could have been things described in a little more detail instead of just hopping around.  Though the ending answered a  lot of the questions, there still were a few I didn't feel were answered.  For example, what was the motive behind the murder? Why did Kyle suddenly flip a switch and decide he still loved Emma?
Let me talk about Emma.  I had mixed feelings about her.  She needed to be a weaker character in order for Lenny to be able to play her, but at the same time I wanted her to be so much stronger than she was. She would be the character on screen that I would be yelling at for being so stupid in the horror films.  Despite this, I think she was portrayed to be exactly as the author wanted her to be, and that's okay.
I think the book had some good structure and bones.  The voice was consistent throughout and made it an easier read.  Though I knew the ending would be with Lenny getting caught, I didn't foresee it playing out exactly how it did, and that was a plus for me. 
Overall, I enjoyed this novel and will look forward to reading more from Olivia Flaggert in the future.  I will definitely recommend it to friends.

Forget You Know Me

Title: Forget You Know Me

Author: Jessica Strawser

Publishing date:  2/2019

Genre: Contemporary fiction

Where I got it:  ARC from St Martins Press

Rating: 3 stars

Synopsis:  Liza and Molly are best friends from college now living in two different states and have two different lives.  In an effort to save a strained friendship, they have what they call girls night that consists of wine and catching up over Webcam.  When her daughter needs her, Molly steps away from the computer leaving Liza alone to watch, in horror, as a masked man enters her friends home.  

After frantically calling the police, Liza decides to take the eight hour drive to make sure her friend is unharmed and well.  Only when she arrives Molly slams the door in her face and acts like Liza crossed state lines for nothing at all.

Liza returns home to a burned down apartment complex, no where to live and not understanding the thought process of the person who she's called her best friend all these years.  While Liza is thinking her friendship is over, Molly is thinking she's dodged a bullet only to make another one in its place.  

They cant avoid each other forever though, and soon they'll face a reckoning that will show them just how much weight a shared history can take.

My thoughts: I was surprised by this novel.  I liked the synopsis.  However, I was surprised by the story line ending.  If I learned anything from this novel it's to trust no one.  Not your best friend for so many years and not your husband.  It took me a while to read this book.  When I was reading it I was into it, but the desire to continue reading after I put it down just wasn't there for me.  I didn't get connected to the characters, in fact, I can't even say I liked most of them.  However, I can say that the characters were well developed, to me they were just selfish, paranoid and psychotic.  

Characters and ending aside, Strawser did a good job at tying together all the unknowns that were dropped throughout the book.  Though I can't say I liked the ending.   To me I don't understand how two wrongs make a right, but she did not leave me with any questions unanswered.  

Though I can't say I would read this particular book again, I would like to look into some of her other novels and see how they compare.  Her writing was good, and her ideas where there.