Recent Reads (SUYB 2017)

My 2017 reading life is off to a great start!! I knew it would be, mostly because a lot of great library holds came in at once and I am enjoying my picks for Erin's book challenge 6.0 so far. Check out Steph & Jana's posts today to see what others have been reading lately!! Here are the books I've read since the last Show Us Your Books link up:

Great books:

The Mothers by Brit Bennett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I know most people have already heard others rave about this book, but it's for good reason!! This book had beautiful writing and I felt so much sympathy for all of the characters at one point or another. The character development was fantastic. This subject matter isn't what I normally turn to in my reading life, but it had a lot of different perspectives and I appreciated that. It was fun to follow the characters through adolescence into adulthood too. I loved "the mothers" sections especially.

The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I absolutely loved this book and it was a great start to my 2017 reading year. I sat on the couch and read it while my kids played with their new Christmas toys. It was a great reading-in-front-of-the-tree-with-a-coffee book. It reminded me of PS: I love You (the movie) for some reason and I really wanted Nina to succeed in her new adventure. The setting was perfect and the characters were awesome. The introduction is also fantastic - don't skip it!! (I read this for Erin's challenge).

Books that kept me interested:

Woman of God by James Patterson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a complicated book to review. It was quite compelling and I absolutely loved the characters, especially Brigid. As a lifelong Catholic (but not necessarily conservative), I think that this book was interesting, pertinent, and hopeful. It would be amazing if some of the parts of this book became reality one day, but I'm not sure if that will be the case or not. I have always enjoyed Patterson's books and this one was no exception even though it was miles away from most of his other novels. I will also say that parts of this book seemed a bit unrealistic, but I think it was meant to be that way. If you feel strongly that women should play a larger role in the Catholic church, I would recommend this book. It's not a read for everyone though, understandably. The tagline for this book is a bit misleading, but I'm sure it grabs people's attention. I read it after my mom raved about it. (I read this for Erin's challenge). 

View all my reviews Winter Street and Winter Stroll by Elin Hilderbrand
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed reading this book and Winter Stroll in a few days leading up to Christmas when life was busy. These books are super fluffy and the character development isn't 100%, but they were better than most fluffy Christmas books I've read. I am still on hold for the third book so I might not get to that until about February, but that's okay- I still need to find out what happens to all of the characters anyway :)


The Children of Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a cute read and I can't wait to read it to Molly sometime - unfortunately it went back to the library before I got to it with her. Written by the author of Pippi Longstocking, which I loved as a child.




The Lord's Persuasion of Lady Lydia by Raven McAllan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book well enough while I was reading it, but it's not about to become a favourite in the historical romance genre. Parts of it felt a bit too contrived, and although I appreciated Lady Lydia's position and independence as a woman in this era, it felt a bit overdone at times. The mystery element was a bit unique and the parts set in the countryside were nice too, but unless this is your favourite genre to read, I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book. Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book! (Read for Erin's challenge).

Books that I started and DNF: Jane and the 12 Days of Christmas (enjoyable but felt weird reading it after Christmas so returned it to the library at 50% - I will pursue this Jane Austen series at some point though), First Star I See Tonight (couldn't get into it, not in the mood), The Life Intended (maybe someday I'll pick it back up).

Currently reading:

The Count of Monte Cristo (I picked this for Erin's challenge and it is 54 hours long on audio so I'll be reading it right til the end, I think) and I'm about to start one of these books below...which one should I go with!?!?!

Really, which one should I read next? Jellicoe Road is on my list for Erin's challenge, but My Brilliant Friend and Midnight Riot are library books!!!

What have you been reading lately!?