Books I Read in March

 I had another great reading month! I read a good variety of books and found so many that I really enjoyed reading.  

1.  Anxious People by Fredrik Backman-- I enjoyed this cute and quirky story.  Part bank robbery gone wrong, hostages that aren't really hostages and become friends, part mystery and just a bit silly too.  It was a fun and quick read.  I found myself rooting for the robber and making some pretty good guesses as to how these stories were going to intertwine.  Not my favorite but definitely an enjoyable read.

2.  Sprinkle with Murder (Cupcake Bakery Mystery book #1) by Jenn McKinlay-- I picked up this series back in the fall with book #12- Pumpkin Spice Peril and really enjoyed the story.  I knew I wanted to start the series from the beginning.  In this first book Mel and Angie have just opened their cupcake shop and their best friend wants his wedding to be their first big gig.  Only problem is that his bride is quite the bridezilla and when she turns up dead Mel is suspect #1.  Determined not to let any bad publicity take down her new business Mel takes the detective work into her own hands and tries to find the killer before the killer finds Mel. A very cute and quick read. 

3.  Supergifted by Gordon Korman-- Evan and I have been enjoying this continuation to last month's book Ungifted.  In this series Noah, one of the kids with the highest IQ ever, attends a traditional public school and seems unaware that he isn't fitting in. He is really loving the fact that he has found so many things he's not good at and can't master just by reading about it.  

4.  The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah-- Set during of The Great Depression, Elsa and her family are struggling to hold onto their farm with drought, dust storms, and financial troubles all around them. When they finally decide to flee the state in hopes of finding a better life in California they are already much changed.  Finding themselves unwanted in a state overrun with refugees they become squatters and cotton pickers and day laborers treated as second class citizens struggling to survive.  A very powerful and moving story that left me in tears.  Be warned though-- it is about the great depression and it really did live up to it's name. I found this book so depressing... but I still loved it.  Nothing has ever painted such a perfect picture for me of just how long these hardships lasted and what so many hard working American's had to go through just to stay alive. 

5. Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend-- This was such a good story! Another series that my middle son has been after me to read and I am so happy I finally got around to it.  Morrigan Crow is a cursed child which means that she's not supposed to live past midnight of Eventide of her 11th year.  So when Eventide comes Morrigan is surprised to be whisked away by Jupiter North to a land she never even knew existed.  The only catch it that Morrigan has to pass a series of tests to get into the secret society that will allow her to say in Nevermoor.  

6. Confess by Colleen Hoover-- This was one of those books that I had a hard time putting down!  I loved it but it made me sad and so frustrated.  Auburn is struggling to put her life back together when she stumbles across an unusual art gallery run by Owen.  All of his paintings are based on confessions that other people write anonymously and drop into a box for him.  But Owen has secrets of his own and they just may ruin everything between Auburn and Owen. 

7.  The Kennedy Debutante by Kerri Maher-- I really wanted to love this book but I just didn't.  I can't say there was anything wrong with it but I just never got very involved in the story and not knowing anything about the Kennedy family I wasn't always able to keep all the characters straight.  This story focuses on Kathleen Kennedy who took England by storm in-between the World Wars.  Just as her and her beaux were trying to find a compromise that would satisfy their families and allow the two to marry war broke out and Kathleen and the Kennedys moved back to America.  She was determined to get back to England as soon as possible and began working on a solution. Mid way through the book I did look up her biography on Wikipedia so I sort of knew how the story was going to go but I found I actually liked it better that way. 

8. When Life Gives You Pears by Jeannie Gaffigan-- I loved this book!  Jeannie was diagnosed with a brain tumor the size of a pear and in this book she goes through how her and her family handled it.  The book was both humorous and touching.  

9. The Chicken Sisters by KJ Dell' Antonia-- I really enjoyed this book but I'm not sure I can do it justice trying to explain it.  Mae and Amanda grew up with their mother Barbara, a hoarder that ran her own fried chicken restaurant. Across town there was a Frannie's fried chicken restaurant that was their biggest rival.  The two businesses were started by sisters many generations back and the two had been rivals for as far back as the town could remember.   When Amanda married Frannie's son Frank and Mae moved away to New York City Barbara was left to run her restaurant alone while Amanda began working at Frannie's.  Amanda has the idea to enter their two restaurants in a reality show cook off and her sister Mae comes home to help their mom compete.  Things escalate quickly and before long the two sisters are warring on camera and it looks like everyone will lose. 

  

10.  Escape to Curlew Cottage by Joanne Tracey-- Another great story!  I read this book in a single weekend and it was such a fun and light read filled with amazing descriptions of food that made me so hungry!  Claire is a tv show host that genuinely enjoys people and her job.  She is a rising star and is about to propose to the love of her life when everything falls apart.  Trying to recover from a scandal, a broken heart, and a failed career, Claire hides out at Curlew Cottage; a cottage her sister owns and rents out.  Claire finds that you can go home again and begins to heal while in her hometown surrounded by family and friends.  There's a bit of a mystery involved in her fall from fame and a love story with an old rekindled flame and a bunch of really sweet friendships.  I'm pretty sure there will be a book 2 in this series and I can't wait to read it.  

11.  Buttercream Bump Off by Jenn McKinlay-- Book #2 in the series finds Mel's mother Joyce heading out on her first date... only to have her date turn up dead and now Joyce is the prime suspect in his murder.  Mel decides that once again it is up to her and her amateur's sleuthing to solve this case and save her mom. 

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