Hi Friends and Happy Fall! Aren't you impressed that I am not rushing Christmas this year? It's the new me. I put up only a couple of things that most people won't see yet- the tree in my office and the tree in our master bedroom. Other than that, I am waiting until after Thanksgiving for the full thing. I am learning to slow down and enjoy every day and every season and it has done wonders for me, my attitude and outlook for sure!
Anyway, I digress. I am overdue to share some recent and current reads so thought I would link up with Shooting Stars Mag and share away and hope to get some great recommendations from you too, as always!
September
Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan (Book Club Read)
Nora’s life is about to get a rewrite…
Nora
Hamilton knows the formula for love better than anyone. As a romance
channel screenwriter, it’s her job. But when her too-good-to work
husband leaves her and their two kids, Nora turns her marriage’s
collapse into cash and writes the best script of her life. No one is
more surprised than her when it’s picked up for the big screen and set
to film on location at her 100-year-old-home. When former Sexiest Man
Alive, Leo Vance, is cast as her ne’er do well husband Nora’s life will
never be the same.
The morning after shooting wraps and the crew
leaves, Nora finds Leo on her porch with a half-empty bottle of tequila
and a proposition. He’ll pay a thousand dollars a day to stay for a
week. The extra seven grand would give Nora breathing room, but it’s the
need in his eyes that makes her say yes. Seven days: it’s the blink of
an eye or an eternity depending on how you look at it. Enough time to
fall in love. Enough time to break your heart.
Filled with warmth, wit, and wisdom, Nora Goes Off Script is
the best kind of love story—the real kind where love is complicated by
work, kids, and the emotional baggage that comes with life. For Nora and
Leo, this kind of love is bigger than the big screen.
I am a sucker for a love story and this one did not disappoint!
The Breakaway by Jennifer Weiner
Thirty-three-year-old Abby Stern has made it to a happy place. True, she still has gig jobs instead of a career, and the apartment where she’s lived since college still looks like she’s just moved in. But she’s got good friends, her bike, and her bicycling club in Philadelphia. She’s at peace with her plus-size body—at least, most of the time—and she’s on track to marry Mark Medoff, her childhood sweetheart, a man she met at the weight-loss camp that her perpetually dieting mother forced her to attend. Fifteen years after her final summer at Camp Golden Hills, when Abby reconnects with a half-his-size Mark, it feels like the happy ending she’s always wanted.
Yet Abby can’t escape the feeling that something isn’t right...or the memories of one thrilling night she spent with a man named Sebastian two years previously. When Abby gets a last-minute invitation to lead a cycling trip from NYC to Niagara Falls, she’s happy to have time away from Mark, a chance to reflect and make up her mind.
But things get complicated fast. First, Abby spots a familiar face in the group—Sebastian, the one-night stand she thought she’d never see again. Sebastian is a serial dater who lives a hundred miles away. In spite of their undeniable chemistry, Abby is determined to keep her distance. Then there’s a surprise last-minute addition to the trip: her mother, Eileen, the woman Abby blames for a lifetime of body shaming and insecurities she’s still trying to undo.
Over two weeks and more than seven hundred miles, strangers become friends, hidden truths come to light, a teenage girl with a secret unites the riders in unexpected ways...and Abby is forced to reconsider everything she believes about herself, her mother, and the nature of love.
I enjoyed this book by one of my favorite authors BUT it was not one of my faves of hers. Nice light read however!
October
Friends, Lovers and The Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry
So begins the riveting story of acclaimed actor Matthew Perry, taking us along on his journey from childhood ambition to fame to addiction and recovery in the aftermath of a life-threatening health scare. Before the frequent hospital visits and stints in rehab, there was five-year-old Matthew, who traveled from Montreal to Los Angeles, shuffling between his separated parents; fourteen-year-old Matthew, who was a nationally ranked tennis star in Canada; twenty-four-year-old Matthew, who nabbed a coveted role as a lead cast member on the talked-about pilot then called Friends Like Us. . . and so much more.
In an extraordinary story that only he could tell—and in the heartfelt, hilarious, and warmly familiar way only he could tell it—Matthew Perry lays bare the fractured family that raised him (and also left him to his own devices), the desire for recognition that drove him to fame, and the void inside him that could not be filled even by his greatest dreams coming true. But he also details the peace he’s found in sobriety and how he feels about the ubiquity of Friends, sharing stories about his castmates and other stars he met along the way. Frank, self-aware, and with his trademark humor, Perry vividly depicts his lifelong battle with addiction and what fueled it despite seemingly having it all.
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing is an unforgettable memoir that is both intimate and eye-opening—as well as a hand extended to anyone struggling with sobriety. Unflinchingly honest, moving, and uproariously funny, this is the book fans have been waiting for.
This is heart wrenching to write about now. Beautiful soul- gone too soon. This was an A+ book.
The Housemaid by Freida McFadden (Book Club Read)
Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.
I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.
I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late.
But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am.
They don’t know what I’m capable of…
Oh I couldn't put this one down- addictive it truly was- such a great thriller...then I was so excited to learn that there was a sequel so I ripped through that one too!
The Housemaid's Secret- Freida McFadden
It’s hard to find an employer who doesn’t ask too many questions about my past. So I thank my lucky stars that the Garricks miraculously give me a job, cleaning their stunning penthouse with views across the city and preparing fancy meals in their shiny kitchen. I can work here for a while, stay quiet until I get what I want.
It’s almost perfect. But I still haven’t met Mrs Garrick, or seen inside the guest bedroom. I’m sure I hear her crying. I notice spots of blood around the neck of her white nightgowns when I’m doing laundry. And one day I can’t help but knock on the door. When it gently swings open, what I see inside changes everything…
That’s when I make a promise. After all, I’ve done this before. I can protect Mrs Garrick while keeping my own secrets locked up safe.
Douglas Garrick has done wrong. He is going to pay. It’s simply a question of how far I’m willing to go…
The sequel did not disappoint and I can't wait for Book #3 to come out in June!
November
Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns by Lauren Weisberger
I didn't even know there was a sequel to "The Devil Wears Prada". I found it by accident and I enjoyed every page! I kept picturing Ann Hathaway in the role of Andy since she played her in the movie and that worked for me! Light- Fun and such great Chick Lit :)
The New Couple by Alison James (Book Club Read)
As I step through the cherry-red door of my new home, I know I should feel like the luckiest woman alive. I have a handsome husband, a beautiful daughter and now the house of my dreams. And to everyone else my life looks perfect…
When the neighbours stop by to welcome us, I tell them my name is Stephanie Hamlin and, under the watchful gaze of my husband Richard, I introduce him and our curly haired little girl Poppy. I smile as wide as I can and desperately hope I can fit in to this exclusive place with its pretty communal gardens. Because I’ve risked everything to be here.
Behind closed doors I try to relax, to unwind in the huge clawfoot bath and forget about my complicated past. It’s hard being the new couple on the street when you’ve got secrets.
Because the truth is, my charming husband isn’t really my husband.
And I’m not Stephanie Hamlin…
Even though Bethany is hosting this month, she asked me to pick the book so I did. Not sure when I bought this but it has been on my Kindle for awhile so I thought why not and held my breath- hoping the girls would like it. Oh boy...I couldn't put this one down either. Such a great suspenseful novel!
Daily Devotionals
In addition to my two books per month, I read devotionals every day to get my day started and practice my Catholic faith. It is like my oxygen and always sets the tone of the day. Occasional days, when I jump right into work and forget to start my day with these devotionals just aren't as happy so here are the ones I am reading this year...
So...what are YOU reading?
I didn't read Matthew Perry's book when it first came out, although I wanted to. It almost feels too sad to read it now, but it would be a way to honor his life and struggle. I'm glad you shared it here.
ReplyDeleteWe have some similar reading styles- I, too, like the thrillers. I will definitely add some of these to my TBR list. I agree that is so good to also read a devotional and/ or the Bible every day. There is fun reading and then there is reading that will impact me spiritually- that is the most important kind of reading. Have a great Tuesday!
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize that The Devil Wears Prada had a sequel either! I really enjoyed Nora and Matthew's book too.
ReplyDeleteI put a few of those thrillers on hold! Can't wait to read them!
ReplyDeleteOoooh... such a good list! I've been looking at The Housemaid for a while, well this pretty much sealed the deal that I need to read it. And, I keep telling myself not to read Matthew Perry's book, but I may have to, especially now.
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up! Sounds like you've been reading some great books. I LOVED The Housemaid as well. I really need to get book 2 soon.
ReplyDeleteLauren @ www.shootingstarsmag.net