My Girlish Whims Book Club #40

Happy December! Before I get full on festive, I need to round up my last set of book reviews (that I'm a bit behind on!) as my next post will be my last full set of reviews before the end of the year and I will round up my favorite books I've read in 2021 (hint: I think one of the books I read in this post will make the list!)

Dress linked here, maternity one piece linked here. 

I got a good amount of reading done last month when we flew down to Florida for a long weekend on our babymoon! We weren't hanging out at any bars sipping wine late into the evening, that's for sure - lol.  On our first night down there we were in bed by 8PM - ah...living it up :) It was a nice and relaxing vacation where we enjoyed lots of time together by the beach and with our nose in our books at times too!

Maternity bikini linked here

It's crazy to me to think that in only two months, we will be legit parents and have TWO babies here!!! I'm mostly excited, but definitely have my fair share of worries as well. I try not to dwell on them too much though, and reading is a good distraction ;) 

Maxi dress linked here

Here are the books I've finished since my last set of reviews!

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Rock Paper Scissor

 By Alice Feeney. Synopsis from Amazon:

 
Things have been wrong with Mr and Mrs Wright for a long time. When Adam and Amelia win a weekend away to Scotland, it might be just what their marriage needs. Self-confessed workaholic and screenwriter Adam Wright has lived with face blindness his whole life. He can’t recognize friends or family, or even his own wife.

Every anniversary the couple exchange traditional gifts--paper, cotton, pottery, tin--and each year Adam’s wife writes him a letter that she never lets him read. Until now. They both know this weekend will make or break their marriage, but they didn’t randomly win this trip. One of them is lying, and someone doesn’t want them to live happily ever after.

Ten years of marriage. Ten years of secrets. And an anniversary they will never forget.

 

 This was a fun read for me. I read it really quickly and like the set-up and pace of the book - the story alternated being told between present tense and past tense from letters written from Adam's wife which worked really well with the story.  This book came off a bit more mystery/spooky than true thriller for me but I still really liked it.  I'm enjoying stories where there is a twist/part of the story that the reader easily gets led astray by and I for sure did not guess the twist in this book (it reminds me a bit of the twist from 56 Days which I read earlier this year - not the twist itself but type of twist/how it was revealed to us.) I didn't find any of the characters extremely likable (I think my favorite character was Bob the dog, lol) but for once that didn't really impact my reading experience, if anything it might have added to the book.  All of the characters are unhappy in their marriage for one reason or another and you learn through hints in the story that no one is really blameless....but to what extent and what secrets are they each hiding? I would reccomend picking this one up - it's the perfect book to cozy up with while the weather turns colder to get immersed in!

A Day in the Life of My Girlish Whims: Work from Home, No Kids Edition

 I've always enjoyed reading "A Day in the Life Posts" by other bloggers because I think they are a fun peak into someone else's life and schedule.  I've never posted one myself though because honestly, I think my routine and schedule most days is pretty mundane and boring and not very blog post worthy.  I still feel the same way, but with two babies coming next year I know my day to day schedule is going to change a LOT so I thought it would be fun to document what a normal day looks like these days so next year when I'm trying to keep two 9/10 month old babies alive daily I can see how vastly different my days have changed.

So...without further ado...my very un-blog worthy daily routing working from home married with no kids from Monday October 25!

My Girlish Whims Book Club #39

One week left until Halloween! Are you ready?? My prep for the holiday this year has included decorating our front porch for the season (I'm much more into general fall decor verses spooky/scary Halloween specific items) and buying a bulk size bag of Halloween candy that I may or may not have already opened and slowly have been picking all of the Hershey's Cookies and Cream mini chocolate bars out of for myself. Hey, what the trick or treaters don't know won't hurt them ;)

We've enjoyed doing some general fall activities in between nesting projects this year like going apple picking and I just baked my first apple crisp of the season last night using our harvest.  I follow a super simple recipe from my great grand-mom that lacks many words or instructions but somehow turns out insanely delicious each time my family makes it. 

Besides that, my only real Halloween prep has been picking a Halloween themed read as one of my recent books which ended up being pretty cute and very seasonal so I'm glad I did! Here's what I've been reading since my last set of reviews!

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 The Ex Hex

By Erin Sterling. Synopsis from Amazon: 

 

Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music, bubble baths…and a curse on the horrible boyfriend. Sure, Vivi knows she shouldn’t use her magic this way, but with only an “orchard hayride” scented candle on hand, she isn’t worried it will cause him anything more than a bad hair day or two.

That is until Rhys Penhallow, descendent of the town’s ancestors, breaker of hearts, and annoyingly just as gorgeous as he always was, returns to Graves Glen, Georgia. What should be a quick trip to recharge the town’s ley lines and make an appearance at the annual fall festival turns disastrously wrong. With one calamity after another striking Rhys, Vivi realizes her silly little Ex Hex may not have been so harmless after all.

Suddenly, Graves Glen is under attack from murderous wind-up toys, a pissed off ghost, and a talking cat with some interesting things to say. Vivi and Rhys have to ignore their off the charts chemistry to work together to save the town and find a way to break the break-up curse before it’s too late.

 

I liked this book, but it's hard to say exactly why.  The book was very fluffy, but being in the romance category that is to be expected.  I will say for a romance book - a genre that typically makes me want to claw my eyeballs out - I had very few eye clawing urges during this book.  There is the over arching story of the spell Vivi cast on Rhys which causes problems for fixing the magic in their town when he comes back to visit 9 years later and Vivi and Rhys have to fight together to save the town and one of their lives.  While it sounds robust, the storyline really wasn't a huge focus and things get tidied up almost too quickly when it's time to wrap things up.  Most of the book focuses on Vivi and Rhys and their super hot love affair they had 9 years ago, and how it could never happen again now that they are older and wiser but yet they both still obviously have feelings for each other...so of course you know it's going to happen again.  The book had a bit of steam, but definitely not nearly as much as most romance novels. I think the use of phrases that included "tits," "dickbag," and the F bomb trying to be funny/hip was excessive and came off as gaudy and forced rather than how it was intended, but the family camaraderie between Vivi, Elaine and Gwyn was heart warming. the magic concept was done tastefully, and it was a fun, quick and easy little seasonally appropriate novel if you are in the mood for something light to get you ready for Halloween.

My Girlish Wims Book Club #38

As of this week it is officially fall, and while the changing of the season has brought on a new swell of seasonal allergies for me (boo) it has also brought some cooler, crisp mornings and cozy days perfect for snuggling up with a good stack of books (yay!)

We were gone most of last week taking one last trip down to Chincoteague to ride out the last few days of summer at the beach and to celebrate my birthday on Tuesday! 

The babies and I were grateful to enjoy a few last sunny days at the beach and it was a relaxing and peaceful trip as always, but I'm happy to be back home doing some nesting, decorating for fall, and getting cozy reading some good books! Here's a round of the last four books I've read since my last set of reviews.

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Behind Her Eyes

By Sarah Pinborough. Synopsis from Amazon:

Louise is a single mom, a secretary, stuck in a modern-day rut. On a rare night out, she meets a man in a bar and sparks fly. Though he leaves after they kiss, she’s thrilled she finally connected with someone.

When Louise arrives at work on Monday, she meets her new boss, David. The man from the bar. The very married man from the bar…who says the kiss was a terrible mistake, but who still can’t keep his eyes off Louise.

And then Louise bumps into Adele, who’s new to town and in need of a friend. But she also just happens to be married to David. And if you think you know where this story is going, think again, because Behind Her Eyes is like no other book you’ve read before.

David and Adele look like the picture-perfect husband and wife. But then why is David so controlling? And why is Adele so scared of him?

As Louise is drawn into David and Adele’s orbit, she uncovers more puzzling questions than answers. The only thing that is crystal clear is that something in this marriage is very, very wrong. But Louise can’t guess how wrong—and how far a person might go to protect their marriage’s secrets.

In Behind Her Eyes, Sarah Pinborough has written a novel that takes the modern day love triangle and not only turns it on its head, but completely reinvents it in a way that will leave readers reeling.

 

I really enjoyed this book!!! This was another book I got sucked into reading because I saw a Netflix preview for the new series they made based on this book that I thought looked good so I wanted to watch.  When I saw it was based on this book I had to double check to make sure I hadn't already purchased it on Amazon and read it already because it definitely sounded like something I would have picked out and read before.  Turns out I missed it originally but I'm glad I picked it up now before watching the show and thought it was a great read.  It was easy to connect with Louise and get sucked into this weird relationship she was having with both her boss and friendship with his wife without his knowledge.  This book kept me guessing about some details and had some twists I did not see coming.  The book delves a bit into some...interesting concepts regarding dreams and sleepwalking that I can't discuss much without spoilers, but suffice it to say even if certain parts of the novel/concept were a bit more "out there" I thought it was tastefully done for the story and would recommend picking this one up! 

My Girlish Whims Book Club #37

I'm typing this review up on Labor Day - what often feels like the last official day of summer even if fall doesn't technically start until later this month.  While summer is undoubtedly one of my favorite seasons, I'm not sad to see it go this year for two reasons. Firstly, I had a lovely summer! Two of the books I'm reviewing in this round up I finished during our annual week long beach trip to Chincoteague in August.  During our trip I got to enjoy lots of time at the beach and on the boat...

Got to spend time with family and my hubby while enjoying the pretty views and scenery...

 

And secondly, I'm not sad to see summer leaving because I am so excited to keep growing these little babies that we will get to meet next year! Another season passing means we are one season closer to their arrival :)

 

Until then I'll keep plugging along with my reading list - here's my most recent reads since my last set of reviews and my thoughts on each!

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The Last Letter from Your Lover

By JoJo Moyes. Synopsis from Amazon:

 

 It is 1960. When Jennifer Stirling wakes up in the hospital, she can remember nothing-not the tragic car accident that put her there, not her husband, not even who she is. She feels like a stranger in her own life until she stumbles upon an impassioned letter, signed simply "B", asking her to leave her husband. 

Years later, in 2003, a journalist named Ellie discovers the same enigmatic letter in a forgotten file in her newspaper's archives. She becomes obsessed by the story and hopeful that it can resurrect her faltering career. Perhaps if these lovers had a happy ending she will find one to her own complicated love life, too. Ellie's search will rewrite history and help her see the truth about her own modern romance. 

A spellbinding, intoxicating love story with a knockout ending, The Last Letter from Your Lover will appeal to the readers who have made One Day and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society bestsellers.

 
Even though I've read a few books from JoJo Moyes, the first time I saw this book mentioned was during a preview for a new Netflix movie that popped up and automatically started playing when I opened Netflix recently.  I thought the movie looked good so I added it to my watch list but when it flashed across the screen that it was based on a book by Moyes I knew I had to hold off on watching until I read the book, and I am so glad that I did! I loved this book.  It kept me so interested in the story.  Halfway through you are ripped away from the story of Jennifer in the 60s at a rather cliffhanger & frustrating ending, and I was kind of grumpy at the switch to a new modern day story line at first, but eventually modern day Ellie grew on me and I enjoyed following her part of the story as well.  You get almost two stories in one in this book that of course end up intertwining and coming full circle.  I adored Jennifer's character and even though this book navigates some tough subjects about marriage, infidelity and our choices in life I think it was done well.  I already know the movie won't be able to compete since I enjoyed this one so much - definitely pick it up and give it a try!