Reading Thread/Goals for 2025

[wvjules]

#14 - The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros.
“The Last Letter is a haunting, heartbreaking and ultimately inspirational love story.“—InTouch Weekly

Beckett,

If you’re reading this, well, you know the last-letter drill. You made it. I didn’t. Get off the guilt train, because I know if there was any chance you could have saved me, you would have.

I need one thing from you: get out of the army and get to Telluride.

My little sister Ella’s raising the twins alone. She’s too independent and won’t accept help easily, but she has lost our grandmother, our parents, and now me. It’s too much for anyone to endure. It’s not fair.

And here’s the kicker: there’s something else you don’t know that’s tearing her family apart. She’s going to need help.

So if I’m gone, that means I can’t be there for Ella. I can’t help them through this. But you can. So I’m begging you, as my best friend, go take care of my sister, my family.

Please don’t make her go through it alone.

Ryan

I bawled at the end of this book. I am heartbroken. What a wonderful read

 

[clappyclaps]

9/30 - Guilty by Definition by Suzie Dent. 3/5.

I'd been intrigued to read this as Suzie is a staple on Countdown's dictionary corner, but ultimately it was far too wordy. Going into unnecessary explanations and descriptions about words that was far too much. A shame as the plot itself was actually vaguely decent.

 

[OKW8297]

8. State of Terror by Louise Penny and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Outstanding thriller.

 

[clappyclaps]

10/30 - His and Hers by Alice Feeney. 3.5/5

An above average thriller, well written and an easy read although I wasn't convinced with the ending.

 

[Simba's Mom]

#17/56-"The Lies We Leave Behind", Noelle Salazar. Another really good WWII book. I'd really rate it a 4 1/2, docking it a half point because the "twist" about 1/2 way through raised some questions and stretched credibility. But great read otherwise.

 

[melk]

14/30 Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

The story takes place over the weekend wedding of the daughter of a very socially awkward woman. She has to deal with her daughter, who confesses a secret, her ex-husband with his cat in tow, and her mother.

A very quick read, overall I liked it. There were some surprising revelations and I liked the ending.

 

[Wood Nymph]

15/30 - Battle Mountain - a Joe Pickett novel - by C.J. Box - 3/5

C.J. is very busy producing shows, writing screenplays and writing books. But maybe he is too busy because this story did not have the amount of action that his earlier books had. But the story was interesting. If you have followed Joe Pickett than this book works.

"The campaign of destruction that Axel Soledad and Dallas Cates wreaked on Nate Romanowski and Joe Pickett left both men in tatters, especially Nate, who lost almost everything. Wondering if the civilized life left him vulnerable to attack, Nate dropped off the grid with his falcons in tow to prepare for vengeance. When Joe gets a call from the governor asking for help finding his son-in-law, who has gone missing in the Sierra Madre mountain range, he enlists the help of a local, a rookie game warden named Susan Kany. As Nate and fellow falconer Geronimo Jones circle closer to their prey, Joe and Susan follow the nearly cold trail to Warm Springs. Little do Nate and Joe know that their separate journeys are about to converge . . . at Battle Mountain"-- Provided by publisher.

 

[Kirby]

This is book #2 of The Martini Club series. I enjoyed it a lot, but it wasn't quite as good as the first book in the series (The Spy Coast).

I hope to read this one day, it's in my book list but there are sooooo many books ahead of it.

#14 - The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros.

I've been tempted to read some of her other books since reading her Empyrean series. I'll definitely check it out.

#15 - The Do-Over by Sharon M Peterson
Genre - Romantic Comedy
This is my Book Club's pick for April. I definitely needed a light hearted book after reading Matthew Perry's book. While it wasn't outrageously funny, there were moments when I caught myself smiling and a chuckle appeared a time or two.

#16 - The Amish Matchmakers by Beth Wiseman
Genre - Inspirational
As always, I enjoyed reading this book with an Amish storyline.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Happy World Book Day everyone!

 

[wishiwasindisneyjen]

31/104: The Crash by Freida McFadden
Suspense about a pregnant woman who gets in an accident and is held against her will by her rescuers. The twists were a little forced and I was annoyed by the constant assumptions made by the two main characters but it was a quick and easy read for vacation. 3

32/104: Selling Sunshine by Mary Bonnet (Audio Book)
Memoir by a woman from the Netflix show Selling Sunset. My other hobby is watching crappy reality TV so nothing like combining reading and reality into one. Her story was interesting. I don't normally rate memoirs unless they are exceptional but I'd give it 3

33/104: We All Live Here by JoJo Moyes
Story of a blended family dealing with divorce, dating and parents/parenting. I felt that the story was too long and slow. 2.5 rounded up to 3

34/104: The Complete Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Beginners by Dorothy Calimeris
Trying to help my osteoarthritis with a better diet. This gave me some ideas but was mostly recipes.

35/104: The Snowbirds by Christina Clancy
A couple flees the midwestern winter for Palm Springs thinking the change of venue may help resolve their relationship/personal issues. Even though this was a pretty short book, I felt like it was too long. I didn't connect with either of the main characters and just found them both insufferable and selfish. 2

36/104: I'm That Girl by Jordan Chiles (Audio Book)
Memoir by Gymnast Jordan Chiles about how she began gymnastics, her experiences with a terrible coach and her experiences in the Olympics. I found her story very interesting and learned quite a bit about the behind the scenes stuff of elite gymnastics, which I've always been interested in. Just wish she waited a bit to finish the book so the medal controversy would have been completely resolved and the story would have a true ending. 5

37/104: Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough
A woman meets a wonderful man at a bar and shares a kiss. The next day she realizes he's her new boss. Then she is befriended by his wife. Sounded interesting and there is an adaptation into a limited series on Netflix so thought I'd read it first, then watch. The ending is weird and really not what I was expecting at all (not in a good way). 3

 

[wvjules]

31/104: The Crash by Freida McFadden
Suspense about a pregnant woman who gets in an accident and is held against her will by her rescuers. The twists were a little forced and I was annoyed by the constant assumptions made by the two main characters but it was a quick and easy read for vacation. 3

I felt the same way. The two women drove me nuts. I did NOT see that final twist coming though.

 

[bobbiwoz]

31/50
“The Reading List” by Sara Nisha Adams. A friend read this for her book club, and recommended it. I began it, but found it difficult to get into, she said I would. Well, she was right, it may be a slow starter, but it’s a good book. 4.5/5