Books for Breakfast

I'm catching up!  If you create a goal in Goodreads, they keep you updated on your progress. They'll tell you how many books you've read towards that goal, and how many books you are behind or ahead of schedule. I've been behind schedule for a few months now, but I'm catching back up :) All in all I read 6 books in June; not bad. My genres varied as expected: mostly mystery, with non-fiction, contemporary, and romance thrown in.  Cotillion by Georgette Heyer was my last read of the month. This was my second novel by her, and while it didn't end up being what I expected, I enjoyed it nonetheless. I was expecting a regency romance characteristic of Heyer. What I got instead was a humorous narrative of 1800's London, with a dash of romance. I'm looking forward to my next read by this author! The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie is written in the style of my favorite mysteries: a whodunnit. A review I read of this title claimed that you would never...

Amish fiction is a niche genre that I enjoy reading very much. The Amish way of life is something of a fascination for me; years ago when I first started reading it, I often wished that I had been born into it. There's just something about the simplicity. I can't quite explain it, but with every book I read, I find myself drawn more and more to it. Someday I would love to go to Pennsylvania and visit the Amish townships there, and pick up an authentic quilt :) The benefits of this genre are that it inspires and convicts me. How can I serve my family better? How can I draw closer to the Lord, simply and sweetly? How can I practice forgiveness more? Usually, the Amish fiction novel contains some kind of romance and that's the kind I enjoy; clean, sweet, and endearing.  The Amish Outsider was a random find on Libby. After a quick perusal, I discovered that unfortunately, I won't be able to feed my habit much without the benefits of a library hold on physical books. ...

I did not like this book... now that I've gotten that out of the way :) I picked this one up because Sarah Clarkson included it in one of her recommendation lists in Book Girl . The initial concept intrigued me and I am always up for reading a good book about books. However, this one did not turn out quite like I expected. Honestly I would have abandoned it if I had realized earlier on that I wasn't enjoying it; by the time I did I was more than halfway through and it seemed like a waste not to follow through. I am glad I completed it, though. I really dislike DNFing books because of the feeling I get of no resolution. I had the overall feeling of a lack of plot, for one thing. Sometimes I thought the main plot was a romance between Miss Prim and the Man in the Wing Chair, but that wasn't entirely resolved. Other times I thought it was meant to be some kind of growth journey on Miss Prim's part, and while she did show some change at the end, it didn't feel like e...

Prepare yourselves, friends. This review will not be a short one. I suggest you make yourself a hot drink and perhaps a snack and settle in, because I've got thoughts. First of all, I don't know how I managed to go 21 years before reading and finishing Little Women . I have attempted this novel several times in the past and I never got very far. My most recent attempt was a few months ago; I borrowed my sister's pretty Puffin copy, but only achieved the first 10 chapters or so. After she and I watched the new Little Women movie adaptation (twice!), I decided once and for all, come hell or high water, I was going to finish this book. And OH. MY. GOODNESS... YA'LL!!! This is now my favorite book. You know how we can never pick a favorite book or movie because there are just too many and we have so many beloveds in different ways? Well, this tops all that... Little Women will forever and always be my favorite book. Let me begin my review by saying that I credit p...

I read this novel rather quickly, in less than a day in fact. A Clever Alliance by Laura Beers was my first Kindle read of the year. I had a craving for a romance, and the plot of this story involved a fake engagement, which is another trope I love. I don't have a whole lot to say about this one; it was a quick, easy, and clean read. I only gave it two stars, mainly because I found the romance less than convincing. I found it engaging and I wanted to keep reading more. I liked that there was an added element of intrigue and action and a villain you just want to hate. The dialogue and story-telling alone were just fine, and for that, I may have given it three or four stars, had it not been for the delivery of the romance. In the end, the romance crossed that line for me between sweet and sickeningly sweet. I used to swoon over this kind of dialogue, but in this context and delivery, I found myself feeling the opposite. So I guess my quest for clean romance will continue. I do gra...

I really enjoyed this one. I picked up Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer based on a friend's recommendation of the author. It turns out Devil's Cub is actually a sequel, but I never even noticed, or felt like I was missing information. While I did give this novel a rating of four stars on Goodreads, I'd say my overall opinion of this book might land more at three stars instead. First of all, I loved the regency romance theme. I loved the whole "forced marriage" concept, and hate-to-love is one of my favorite romance tropes. I also really liked that it was a clean romance (it had to be, since it was written in 1930), but I did also feel like the romance was rushed a little. One moment Mary and Dominic were irritated with each other and wanted nothing to do with the other, and then it was LOVE! So I don't know how I feel about it... maybe I'm trying to compare it to romance novels of this generation. Sophia and Juliana both annoyed me, but I suppose th...