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24 Hours in Italy, by Romi Moondi: Two Mugs

This was a sweet travel romance story. I enjoyed traveling vicariously through the characters in quaint and touristy towns in Italy, as well as eating their way through them: I’m ready to try a limoncello spritzer and lemon pasta! Also: anyone else feel like EVERYONE went to Italy this summer?! My pet peeves on this one were the over-use of “2 years” and “24 hours,” which was respectively how long it had been since Mira and Jake had seen each other, and how long they had in Paris, and coincidentally also how long they had together in Italy. It got to the point that I really wanted to say out loud: I KNOW IT’S BEEN TWO YEARS! BUT: a sweet read, nonetheless ;)

My Shadow is Yours, by Edoardo Nesi: One Mug

This one was hard for me to finish. I was expecting one thing from the description and felt like it was something completely different. I definitely wasn’t expecting casual drug use and prostitutes, ha! I don’t think I’m a complete prude in this areas, but I felt uncomfortable by them and it just wasn’t something I was expecting. There were several monologues that felt tedious to read through, and the translation just didn’t’ feel right. I also felt like the story line wasn’t really flushed out: it didn’t really end anywhere for the main character.

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, by Robert Dugoni: Three Mugs

I read this book right after My Shadow is Yours and I could tell within the first few sentences already that this book was going to be GOOD. Well, that and obviously hearing lots of amazing things about it. Jeff and already read it as well and loved it. But seriously, you can tell good writing right away. I love books that are not high drama, just a re-telling of a life in a great way, and that’s exactly what this book is, although from a very unique situation (someone born with red eyes). I loved that the small, ordinary moments in our life are what can ultimately make for an extraordinary life. I had several favorite quotes:

Reality could be painful to acknowledge, but there came a point when we all realized we weren’t going to walk on the moon, star in a Hollywood movie, or be president of the United States. We’d be who we were, and we could either come to grips with this fact and like the person we’d become, or live with regret and disappointment.

I think this is so true – I think I’m still trying to work through my own expectations of what I have to achieve to feel like I’ve made something of my life.

For some reason, we think our parents will never grow old, perhaps because when they do, we are forced to acknowledge that we will one day grow old, and we face our own mortality.

Woof.

But to my mother – I suspect to all mothers – their little boys will always be their little boys, no matter how old those boys become.

Ahhhh, bring on the waterworks!

The Power of Moments, by Chip & Dan Heath: Two Mugs

This book was my summer assignment for our management group at work. For me, it put research and numbers to confirm a lot of the things I’ve always believed would make a difference in the workplace. But as stated in the book: most employers don’t want to invest in those actions because they’re not practical or financially efficient.

A Wild and Heavenly Place, by Robin Oliveira: Three Mugs (pub date: 02.06.24)

For my historical fiction fans: this one’s for you! This book starts in Scotland in the late 1800s, and then the initial establishment of Seattle. I haven’t been to Seattle yet, but it was so interesting to picture what a city of that size started out like. I really enjoyed all the characters, seeing the immigrant beginnings of a city, and reading about some beautiful settings.

The Wishing Game, by Meg Shaffer: Three Mugs (July pick for The Literate Lushes Bookclub)

This one has been on my TBR for a while so I was so excited when it was picked for our book club. And it did not disappoint. Who doesn’t want to get whisked away to a magical-sounding island for their deepest wishes to come true? I loved that there was a romance strung in the story line, but it wasn’t the main story line (although I was definitely invested in it!).

Kids with hard lives deserved gentle words.

‘We tell people,’ he said, ‘to follow their dreams. We tell them that they won’t be complete until they do, that they’ll be miserable until they start reaching for that brass ring. They never tell you how good it feels to give up on a dream. That it’s a…’ ‘Relief?’ Lucy said. ‘A relief, exactly,’ Jack said, nodding.

Liz’s Road Trip, by Bernadette Marie: Two Mugs (pub date: 08.01.23)

I was torn on this one. I thought the story line was interesting and overall I did enjoy it, but there were a few things that really kept me from loving this book. One was maybe just the fact that it’s an ARC and the format wasn’t fully finished, but I’ve read other ARC’s now that haven’t been this difficult to follow. The format was a bit funky, and every “f” was replaced by special characters, that sometimes also included the second letter following the “f,” so I had to stop and guess what the word was. It just constantly interrupted the flow of reading – but I’m assuming this won’t be an issue in the published version.

I know this book is about the main character mourning the loss of her grandmother, but there was a LOT of “tears,” “crying,” “sobbing,” and “I’m $ine!” The character broke down at almost anything she did. To be honest, I’ve been lucky enough to not have a loss like that yet and therefore I’ve never experienced a real grieving process, so maybe that’s accurate and relatable for some. It just wasn’t for me. Oh also the “interlacing” or “entwined” fingers was used A LOT. I also felt like this book was about 100 pages too long. I hate when a book starts feeling long.

***SPOILER ALERT***

I loved Mark, but I couldn’t figure out how he fell in love so quickly with Liz. Maybe he’d heard about her for decades so he kind of already loved her before he knew her? I dunno, I thought it was sweet and romantic how well he cared for Liz, but also couldn’t’ quite figure out how he got there so quickly, it was constantly in the back of my mind like a red flag. Also, if someone called me “baby” the first time I ever talked to them, I would be weirded out.

***END SPOILER***

In the Likely Event, by Rebecca Yarros: Three Mugs (and a jalapeno) (Amazon First Reads)

This one I could NOT put down. It’s told from two points of view, which I always love, and with backflashes that fill in information as you go along. I though the story line of the evacuation in Afghanistan was a great setting to highlight a time that was so important and maybe overlooked by a lot of us. Ladies, don’t hate me, but I did feel like Nate’s hotness was a little over the top, haha. And oh yes, LOTS of spicy and very explicit sex scenes in this book. This is the same author as Fourth Wing, which is toping lots of lists lately, and I’m curious if that book is also this level of spicy…(I might find my answer among the 49k reviews!!). I’ll have to find out when I read it!

This book had a big twist near the end, which when it started twisting literally had me adding a highlight that said “WTF?!” I had to go back to some parts of the book to revisit them with the newly acquired information, and it was great.

Ohh because I seem to always find little veins of commonality between books I’m reading at similar times: Izzy (in this book) and Liz (in Liz’s road trip) are both afraid of flying, and just noticed they have very similar names, haha. There was also a lot of lacing fingers in this one too and some crying from Izzy, but I think spaced out or used better than in Liz’s Roadtrip.

Currently

Reading: Pocketful of Poseys, by Thomas Reed (pub date 09.19.23). Just a few pages in, but promises to be a great family novel.

Listening to: Travels with Charley in Search of America, by John Steinbeck. I’m only a few minutes in, but I love the narrator’s old-timey accent, John Steinbeck’s humor, and I’m curious to see how I feel about some generational differences (he already said something about being the “breadwinner” that I’m sure was very timely then, but completely irrelevant now).

What have been your favorite reads lately?

If you’re looking for your next read, here are some of my TBR lists:

You can also follow me along on Instagram for regular posts on what I’m reading (@alexs.reading.nook)

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