Books I Read in May

 I read lots of great books again this month!  I am loving this reading kick I have been on lately and can not seem to find enough time to read ALL the books I have piling up.  It's a good problem to have though.  

1. Getting the Pretty Back by Molly Ringwald-- I listened to this book on CD and thought it was just okay.  I was a bit disappointed that it felt more like an advice book at times since I was hopeful it would be more like a memoir.  I'm not ashamed to admit there were whole sections I completely skipped over; like the one giving me advice on picking a great wine, or the one telling me what I should and should not have in my wardrobe.  

2. The Apology Project by Jeanette Escudero-- I am so glad I picked this book back up! I had started reading it on my Kindle a year or so ago and got sidetracked but it really is an adorable story.  Amelia's life is turned upside down when she stands up to her boss and loses her job.  When no one that she invited actually shows up for her birthday she decides on a drunken binge to write up a list of people she has wronged that she should apologize to.  With a cute little romance thrown in and lots of personal growth it was really enjoyable. 

3. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson-- I read this book in just 24 hours over Mother's Day weekend.  It was such a cute little murder mystery that kept me guessing! Pip decides to look into a murder/suicide that happened in her hometown 5 years ago for a school project.  Feeling deep in her gut that that accused wasn't capable of murder Pip starts to dig into the the lives of these two teens. There were so many fun and unexpected little plots twists along the way.  I can't wait to read the next book in the series! 

4. The Home-Wreckers by Mary Kay Andrews-- When Hattie finds herself co-starring in a reality TV show fixing up an old house on the island, she has no idea how much her life is about to change.  Her co-star tries her last nerve, they stumble upon a few clues to a women who went missing years ago, and mysterious problems keep cropping up throughout the building process. It was such a cute read and I was intrigued as to what was going to happen with the missing woman. 

5. The Best We Could Do By Thi Bui-- I'm not normally one to read graphic novels but I really enjoyed this one!  Written about Thi's life growing up with two Vietnamese parents that emigrated to the United States after living through fighting and war in Vietnam. It was an emotionally heavy book with looking at ways that PTSD effect future generations. 

6. That Summer by Jennifer Weiner-- I'm going to have a hard time describing this one without giving major plot points away...  This was a book on CD I listened to this month and while I enjoyed it (with Sutton Foster reading it) there is no denying that it's a weird and twisty story.  Daisy is unsatisfied with her life and struggling to sleep most nights when she starts getting emails meant for Diana; an apology quickly turns into an invitation and a full on friendship between the two women.  But all is not as it seems though and one women has an axe to grind about what happened that one summer when she was raped.  

7. The Light Through the Leaves: A Novel by Glendy Vanderah-- This book had me from the very first page! Told in two parts I knew the stories were going to tie together and yet I was still surprised at all the twists and turns they took!  Ellis leaves her infant daughter unattended for just moments and when she returns her daughter has vanished. Unable to cope Ellis turns to alcohol and drugs to numb the pain.  Afraid of her young twin sons growing up with an addict like Ellis did she decides to flee her family.  Meanwhile a little girl named Raven is growing up in the woods with a mother that believes in the magic of Earth spirits and forbids Raven to talk to anyone about the magic.  I loved this story and thought it was unique enough that it is going to stick out in my mind for years. 

8. Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover-- When Sydney finds herself homeless on her 22nd birthday she finds herself being dragged into a nearby apartment by a very annoyed women in a Hooters uniform.  Turns out the guy she's been watching play guitar lives in this very apartment and the two strike up an unlikely deal-- Sydney will write lyrics for his songs and become the 4th roommate in their 4 bedroom apartment. I loved this little love story and all the side characters were so much fun too. 

9. Abandoned in Death by JD Robb-- Another fun installment in the Eve Dallas series! This time Dallas is working against the clock to find the identity of a serial killer that is trying to recapture his childhood; abducting young women that remind him of his own mother when he was a child, making them over in the hopes of getting a second chance at being a kid.  

10. The Wedding Veil by Kristy Woodson Harvey-- Oh I just LOVED this story!  Told in multiple story lines all the stories center around a wedding veil the Vanderbilt family wedding veil.  The present day storyline deals with Julia, her mom, her aunt, and her grandmother Babs.  Julia is about to be married and doesn't feel like she's making the right choice so she decides to flee her wedding and head to the Virgin islands.  Her grandmother is struggling to live along after losing her husband and decides to move herself into a retirement community where she bumps into an old flame. The historical timeline picks up with the Edith Vanderbilt and takes us from her childhood to her marriage to struggling to hold onto the Biltmore for her daughter through tough financial times.  I adored the characters in the present day storyline and was itching to learn more about Biltmore so I Googled a lot as I read and may even be trying to talk my family into a little side trip on our Tennessee trip to go and tour the Biltmore!

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