My Favorite Book of Winter 2020 (So Far)

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

     Release Date: February 18, 2020

     Read from: 2/7/20 - 2/9/20

     Format: Print (My January 2020 BOTM pick)

     My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

     Goodreads Rating: 4.21 stars

Goodreads Link

     There was a major lapse in getting my review for this one up on the blog! So far, between all the books I read before this and the books since, this one is my favorite, and I think it might just be the favorite for the entire winter. I'm about to head off on a cruise, so I wanted to get this one up, since I already have the review written, before we leave. This book was just released to the public so grab it up right away!

Just woah.

     I could not stop reading this book. Absolutely flew through it. I can't completely pinpoint to you why it didn't get the 5 star rating, even though it was really close, just that it didn't quite reach that feeling. But I really did love this book and am so glad I chose it for my January Book of the Month Club pick.

     The story is told from two points of view. One from Vivian Delaney in 1982, and then Carly, Vivian's future niece in 2017. After the death of her mother, Carly is left with no answers about what happened to her aunt when she mysteriously disappeared from the Sun Down Motel during an overnight shift. Her mother would never talk about it, and now Carly is taking it upon herself to travel to Fell, NY, where the motel is located, to see what she can dig up. Her first stop is the apartment where he aunt Viv lived when she was in town, and wouldn't you know, he current resident, Heather, is looking for a roommate. They then visit the Sun Down and find out that they're hiring for the night shift. So fearless Carly takes the job, and during her first shift, she quickly learns that something other worldly is also present with her at the hotel.

     Back in 1982, Viv learns the same thing, and she is determined to figure out what is going on. Who is here with her, and why. There aren't a lot of guests at the Sun Down. At least no one honest or safe. And one person in particular, who never puts their correct name down when they check in, catches her interest as someone who may be the root of the answers she's looking for.

     The story is scary, but not quite the type that made me afraid to read it at night, so maybe that's why it didn't hit 5 stars for me. In 1982 Viv is investigating a string of cold case murders from the past decade on her own that she is convinced are connected, even though the night cop in town doesn't really believe her. Carly also comes across these names in her research. She learns that there were A LOT of deaths and disappearances in this town; her aunt among them. She sets out to figure out if they're connected in any way.

     Both girls in separate decades find allies along the way, but not all are necessarily trust worthy, or forthcoming with the truth. It's hard to tell who to trust.

     The ending to me was a surprise. I figured it could possibly be the answer but it really wasn't my first choice. To me, it was kind of crazy. The way it unraveled was great. I felt like it wasn't too slow of a reveal, and not too fast. There was an epilogue as well to give us a few more of the answers I felt like I was left without when the story ended.

     Overall, this may just be my most favorite book of 2020 so far. I won't be surprised if it makes my Top Reads list for the year!

My First Tana French Book; Ruth Ware Lovers Need to Check It Out!

The Witch Elm by Tana French

     Release Date: October 9, 2018

     Read from: 2/6/20 - 2/15/20

     Format: Audiobook (Overdrive)

     My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

     Goodreads Rating: 3.54 stars

Goodreads Link

WOWWWWW. What a long. WEIRD. book. I listened to the audiobook version of this one, and I will say I think the narrator made the creepiness factor and the accents were great. Being that this was a book I was just ok about I think reading it wouldn’t have been as good.

For those Ruth Ware fans out there, this is the book for you. This reminded me of her so much, although I liked this one better than most of the books I’ve listened to by her. There was a lot more to this one and I did mildly care what was going on.

The book starts out introducing you to the main character, Toby, and we see him get nearly beaten to death early on in the story when his apartment gets broken into. He has a long physical and mental recovery ahead of him, and no idea who did that to him or why. I went into this book blind, so I was like ok, we’re going to uncover this mystery.

But wait. Toby’s cousin Susannah calls to tell him that their uncle Hugo is dying of cancer and that she wants him to go stay at his house with him so that he’s not alone. So Tony and his ever faithful girlfriend Melissa find themselves at the Ivy House. A house where Toby, Susannah and her brother Leon spent a significant portion of their childhood. While having a family discussion about the fate of the property after Hugo’s passing, Susannah’s kids come across a human skull in a tree in the garden. Of course! Quickly the story changes paths, and a good chunk of the rest of this story had to do with figuring out who killed the person inside that tree. You’ll go back and forth between several main characters. They’re very manipulative and they trick you just like they trick the cops. I began to wonder if, with Toby’s brain damage, he could’ve possibly been the murderer and didn’t even realize it. Well we figure out the answer eventually, and the answer is veryyyyyy long and drawn out. I was wondering why the heck it needed to be so long. What I found hilarious was, that the character being told the story was so upset that they weren’t trusted to be included in this murder scheme. LOL. So weird. This confession doesn’t happen to the cops though. The cops think someone else did it. And the real answer is remaining hidden.

But wait. There’s more. We end up with ANOTHER murder. And now Toby is really fucked up. His men’s two health is through the roof, his PTSD takes over and he tries to kill himself. Doesn’t succeed. I don’t consider this a spoiler because there’s a good hour left in the story when this scene happens. And this hour unravels the aftermath of the second murder.

It ended kind of abruptly. And I felt that the first two mysteries, although we do get some answers, don’t feel totally closed. We end without closure and I didn’t love that. But this was a complicated story with a lot of characters, a lot of mystery to unravel and a lot of relationships to try to keep straight when they keep changing. It was a lot, and that’s what kept me absorbed for such a long story. I think Tana French did a good job with it overall, even though it wasn’t exactly my most favorite style of story. Definitely better than most of the Ruth Ware I’ve encountered so there’s that. I would mildly recommend this one. It's definitely a popular one too, because I had this audiobook on hold through the library for MONTHS before I finally got it.

Daisy Jones & The Six: The Book That Just BARELY Missed the Mark for Me

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

     Release Date: March 5, 2019

     Read from: 2/9/20 - 2/11/20

     Format: Print (Owned - BOTM March choice, 2019 Book of the Year)

     My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

     Goodreads Rating: 4.21 stars

Goodreads Link

3.5 stars. 

That’s about all I can say right now. I did have feelings from this story and the fact that this oral history format could bring that out is saying something. But this story had so much more in it that I just don’t feel was released with this format. There were parts that I felt like I could get so much more emotional if there was more description to really bring those feelings out of me. 

Daisy Jones & The Six is a story about a fictional band that was basically the best in the world in the late 70's. In an oral history format, we "listen" to the band members and those important to them, tell us the story of how the band rose to the top. We hear how their personal lives unravel at the same time. The publishers really love the idea of mentioning non stop that this story embodies everything that the rock and roll world was during this era. All about sex and drugs. While drugs definitely were at the forefront of this story (because we all know they definitely were a huge factor in the lives of all our best known rock legends), sex really wasn't. I mean it's mentioned. Two characters are hooking up basically the entire time, and of course it's happening, but it definitely didn't drive the story and I was good with that. 

There is a lot of conflict between the band members in various ways. People thinking they're more important than others, drug addiction, cheating, the hookups, creative conflict between the song writers. We all know the band breaks up in the end, but the wild lives of rock stars bring a lot to the table, so what exactly caused the end? A lot is involved. Love is a big part of the story too, and I found myself rooting for characters to find their happiness, and feeling it in my heart if they didn't. I went back and forth liking and disliking some of the main characters. Then on the side there's a few supporting characters that really remain static the whole time, but sometimes those are needed, otherwise there's just too much going on to follow. 

The ending was overall believable, but when I went back and thought about it, I didn’t entirely believe one of the member’s reason for leaving the band. It just didn’t seem realistic that that member would give up their dream all because of that. Otherwise, it all made sense to me. And I could really feel all of their emotional turmoil, and understand their struggles with their issues. Whether it be relationships, fighting for their dreams, or trying to deal with drug issues, I was rooting for them all through that. 

The ending culminated in most of the feelings I felt. For the first 100pgs I was considering stopping this book and waiting for my audio book hold to come in because I have heard the audio book is great. But today, on a day off, I read the remaining 200+ pages basically in one sitting, and all that time to really delve into it made me feel the build up to the climax and then the gentle let down as it all unraveled in a mildly painful way. But like I said in the beginning, the oral history format that we had to read really left me wanting for more. The entire time I was thinking that if I was watching and listening to this, how much emotion really could be coming out of it. Or, if it was even written in regular prose, with much more description to really dig into our hearts. I boosted my Goodreads rating to 4 stars just because it did leave me with the feels when I finished it, and I really needed my time to settle into that. But much of the book just left me wanting for so much more, and the beginning 100pgs really were rough. The story was there. It had the ability to be amazing, it really did. It just felt short enough with me to leave me disappointed in the end. It got SO CLOSE with me, but just didn't hit the mark. I definitely will be revisiting this story as soon as that audio book hold comes in. I am still wanting more, and maybe hearing the story instead of reading it this time will help give me that. (LOL that for the first time I'm sitting here after reading a book thinking maybe the print format actually took away from it and that the audio format would be better! Haha. First time for everything.)

P.S. there is a TV show  being based off of this via Reese Witherspoons Hello Sunshine. I can not wait for that! Just don’t know yet when it will be released. 

Girl, Stop Apologizing! And seriously, do what's best for YOU! (And read this book, LOL)

Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals by Rachel Hollis

     Release Date: March 5, 2019

     Read from: 1/17/20-1/29/20

     Format: Audiobook (Scribd)

     My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

     Goodreads Rating: 3.99 stars

Goodreads Link

So much yes in this book. I definitely want to get a copy for myself, because there were so many thing Rachel Hollis said that I wanted to highlight and share on social media. And I was wasting way too much time rewinding the book and writing quotes down in my phone LOL. This book is about believing in yourself, making goals for what you want in your future, and how to stay on track. It really spoke to me, because I've been working hard on a fitness journey for the last two years, and when it comes to my routine, especially my early morning workouts and nutrition choices, people judge hard, and often without even realizing it. It's annoying as hell, but it's not about me, it's about my choices. And there's never anything wrong with making choices that will better yourself. Hollis had a lot of empowering things to say that really made me feel good about myself and what I'm doing.

It doesn't matter what you're doing, whether it's trying to lose weight or get healthy, start a business, or just be the best mom, wife or YOU you can be, Rachel Hollis has the words you need to hear in this book. And if you're not working towards a goal right now, you should be! Everyone should be working towards being the best version of them. This book will help you find that. We all deserve to feel confident, fulfilled and happy with who we are. No matter where you are in your journey of life, you need this book! Highly, HIGHLY recommend!