Hi friends! I’ve been promising this in our vlogs for about a month now, but I finally sat down and completed the list of all of the books I’ve read in quarantine over the past 5 months. With little else to do, especially since I feel like we’ve now watched all of Netflix (anyone else?) I’ve read quite a bit. So here is the list of all of my quarantine reads, along with little mini reviews of each. All books are linked in our Amazon shop.
The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver
4 out of 5
I was excited to read this because I loved One Day in December from this author. While I did enjoy this novel, I think I liked One Day in December better. This is a story about love and loss, but with a fresh twist.
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
2 out of 5
So everyone raved about this book. People said they couldn’t put it down, couldn’t stop crying while reading it… but I didn’t really like it. To me it started off very promising, but as the story progressed the choices the author made were very strange to me. I actually said out loud when I finished it “wow, that was a waste of my time”. That being said, a lot of people LOVED it so don’t let my review deter you if the story resonates with you.
The Art of Inheriting Secrets by Barbra O’Neal
4 out of 5
I was hooked on this book just from the synopsis- women finds out when her mother passes away that she is really British aristocracy and she has inherited a large estate in England. Since that’s basically my dream, I knew I had to read this book. I really enjoyed it, but my only complaint is I wish there was more. The story was going at a nice pace until the last few chapters where it just sort of accelerated and wrapped up. Almost as if the author had a certain page limit and realized she only had 40 more pages to finish the story.
Accidentally Hers by Jamie Beck
2 out of 5
This is just your typical trash romance novel. I think it was a free download and I was in the mood for an easy read. It’s fine. If you’re into this sort of book you’ll like it.
Love on Beach Avenue by Jennifer Probst
3 out of 5
This is the first book in a three part series and the second book comes out in August. The series follows three sisters who have a wedding planning business. It was a light and easy beach read. I will probably read the next book in the series when it comes out.
The Start of Something Good by Jennifer Probst
1 out of 5
I read this one after Love on Beach Avenue since it was by the same author thinking I would like it, but it wasn’t great. The storyline never really developed and it was super boring. I wouldn’t recommend this one.
Sorry I Missed You by Suzy Krause
2 out of 5
This had potential but the end went somewhere very unexpected but in a bad way. The story is of 3 strangers that all move into a house together. A mysterious letter appears in the mailbox so badly destroyed that the intended recipient is unknown. Based on the letter inside each person assumes the letter could be for them. Following a clue in the letter the trio form a bond, but where the letter leads them is just so bizarre I couldn’t get on board.
Wind Chime Cafe by Sophie Moss
3 out of 5
Another romance novel but this one is a bit darker, not necessarily a light beach read. I found it better than most books in this category with more developed characters. It’s part of a series though and I don’t know that I was invested enough to read the others.
With A Twist by Staci Hart
4 out of 5
I’m a sucker for any book based in New York, and this one follow a ballerina in the New York ballet. Dance and New York? Of course I was hooked pretty quickly. It’s a cute light read with a pretty relatable storyline. I enjoyed it!
That Boy by Jillian Dodd
3 out of 5
Ok so the writing here is really bad. So bad that I almost stopped reading it several times. It felt at times like reading a teenagers diary. And while you meet the main character as she is a teenager, I do not think the author intended the writing to feel like a diary. I think it was just poorly written. But that being said, there was a section in the story that was so raw and real that it caught me very off guard (which is hard to do, I usually always can see what’s coming) and I could not stop crying reading it. Who knows, I may have just been in a weirdly emotional place that day, which in the middle of a terrifying global pandemic who isn’t on a daily basis, but for someone who RARELY cries at books or movies this was weird for me. So it gets points for that.
Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner
4 out of 5
This is your classic summer beach read novel. It’s a story about the ups and downs of friendship, the toll of social media, and all of life’s ups and downs while figuring out what matters most.
Normal People by Sally Rooney
4 out of 5
So I was reading this simultaneously as I watched the TV show adaption on Hulu. I would watch an episode or two and then read the corresponding chapters in the book directly after. I only read ahead one time, the majority of the time I was reading after I had already seen the story play out on TV. The show follows the book exactly. I can’t think of any other book that has been adapted to a TV show or movie that follows the book so exactly. So that’s why reading it as I did worked so well. I also liked following along with the book because the chapter titles were timestamps, and with the show it wasn’t always clear quite how much time was passing. It’s hard for me to say which I liked better, the TV show or the book. I would say if you’re not a big reader just watch the show. But if you’re not a big reader why are you reading this post? 🙂
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
5 out of 5
Every woman on planet Earth should read this book. Period. This memoir is packed with insight, female empowerment, and discovering what happens when you stop trying to meet people’s expectations and start trusting the voice within. Highly recommend you read this one! I liked it so much I then bought the audio book version and am listening to it as I take my daily walks around Central Park.
Worth The Wait by Jamie Beck
3 out of 5
This is the second book by this author I read. You know how Kindle recommends books to you based on your recent reads? I think that’s how I ended up reading this one. I liked it better than her other book (Accidentally Hers). I felt that the storyline was more developed and the characters were more relatable.
When We Believed In Mermaids by Barbra O’Neal
3 out of 5
I had high hopes for this novel after liking The Art of Inheriting Secrets by the same author so much. In some ways it was very similar, just different characters and a different location but the same formula was followed. In fact my complaint about this one is the same as my complaint about the other novel- The story was going at a nice pace until the last few chapters where it just sort of accelerated and wrapped up.
The Bright Side Of Going Dark by Kelly Harms
4 out of 5
I read another book by this author (The Overdue Life of Amy Byler) last year that I enjoyed so I thought I would give this one a go. It’s cute! The modern day story follows a social media influencer, which obviously was pretty easy for me to relate to.
A Woman Like Her by Marc Levy
4 out of 5
The story, set in NYC, has a perfectly unique and quirky cast of characters. It was a fun and light easy read.
A Happy Catastrophe by Maddie Dawson
4 out of 5
I accidentally read a sequel to a book I read last year and loved! I initially picked this book because the cover was cute and it was set in NYC (I love reading books set here) but it wasn’t until 2 or 3 pages in that I realized it was a sequel to Matchmaking for Beginners! It was fun to drop back into that world.
Someone Else’s Secret by Julia Spiro
3 out of 5
This novel was a bit darker than most I’ve read this summer. It is mostly set about 10 years in the past, setting up a big event in the story that impacts the two main characters before flashing forward to present day towards the end of the book to show how that event is still impacting their lives.
The Heir Affair by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
5 out of 5
I’ve been looking forward to this one for awhile and wow did it deliver. This is the much anticipated sequel to The Royal We! If you read and loved that book, or just love British Royalty in general, you’ll enjoy this!
-Ash
P.S. You can find past reading list posts here.