What I Read in November & Share Your Shelf #8

 Marilyn, Jennifer, Tanya, and I are so happy to be hosting this monthly link up (that goes live on the first Thursday of every month) dedicated solely to books and book reviews. Through this link up I've gotten lots of great ideas on what books to read next!

I finally broke out of my reading slump; I went back to requesting books from the library and picked books that I thought looked/sounded too good to put down.. things like Drowning, and the next book in the Kate Burkholder series (that I still have waiting for me in my reading pile!). Admittedly my list looks so long since I read/listened to a whole series of short stories but at least I found myself reading real books again in my spare time. I don't think I've ever had 20 books on one list before!  

1. Amazing Grace by Danielle Steel-- My mom gave me this book in paperback over the summer and I added it to my overflowing pile of books that I rarely take the time to read. I haven't read a Danielle Steel in ages. This book brings together 4 unlikely people one night during an awful earthquake in San Francisco. Sarah is the organizer of a huge event benefit being thrown for a non-profit organization. By the end of the week she won't even recognize the life she and her husband built, reeling from secrets he's kept she turns to her new friend for guidance and advice. Melanie is the Grammy winning performer working the event and the time spent helping in the aftermath of the disaster and the new people she's met push her to want more in her life than just success/money/fame. Seth is the photographer and finds himself trailing an intriguing woman around the city in the aftermath of the quake taking photos and wanting to learn more. Sister Maggie attended the benefit rather reluctantly but can't help but jump in and help everyone she meets in the weeks and months after the disaster. 

 

2. Not In Love by Ali Hazelwood-- I listened to this on Audio and I liked that they used two voice actors; one for the male and one for the female so I always knew who was thinking/saying what.  Eli and Rue meet on a dating app of sorts only to find the very next day that they are on opposite sides of a hostile takeover. I thought the two were rather cold and weirdly abrupt at first but the more I read the more I realized they're just both a little awkward and gun shy when it comes to any sort of relationship. They both agree they just want sex and no strings attached but as their attraction for one another grows both are struggling between keeping their loyalty to their friends while also trying to carve out something new and scary for themselves. I ended up liking the story in the end and I was rooting for the two of them to sort of help heal each other and get together in the end. But I do have to warn you that it is definitely rated R (or perhaps higher; I'm not a ratings expert but there were lots of explicit sexual scenes).  

3. Staged by Elle Cosimano-- I didn't realize this book was a short story until after I downloaded it. It was cute enough and only took an hour out of my day to listen to. It's book one of a series and at the time I listened all of them were free with prime... I am usually not a short story person! However, the characters are just as fun as those found in her Finlay Donovan series.  Lyda and her best friend Dani are staging a house they've been working on flipping when one of the workers turns up dead/murdered. Pretty sure the police have the wrong person in custody they decide to investigate on their own. It wasn't bad.. for a short story. 

4. The Reunion Dinner by Jesse Q Sutanto-- I was so surprised to find that each book in this series focuses on a completely different set of characters and is written by a completely different author. But I loved his author's Vera Wong book so I decided to listen. Josephine Ying is thrilled to finally be hosting her family's huge Chinese New Year celebration when a murder in her own home threatens to ruin the whole night. Turns out there are lots of people that could have murdered the new comer and Josephine is determined to help the cops figure out who it was. It was cute and fun and short, of course.  

5. Crime of Fashion by Emma Rosenblum--  When a very expensive necklace goes missing during a fashion photo shoot the lowly assistant is accused of the crime. Determined not to go down for something she didn't do the assistant decides to investigate on her own. Of course it seems like everyone would have something to gain by taking the necklace and while the reader knows it's not the assistant it's not obvious who the real culprit is until the big reveal. Again, I thought it was pretty cute short story. 

6. The Nosy Neighbor by Nita Prose-- Another quick little short story; this one written by the same author as The Maid series that I had really liked. In this book a nosy neighbor has been left in charge of her neighbors' house while while the couple goes on vacation. The nosy neighbor begins to suspect that perhaps both neighbors did not go on vacation and that women has killed her husband and buried him in the backyard. 

7. One Lucky Subscriber by Kellye Garrett-- Kennedy has been picked to participate in a weirdly unusual game with some pretty high stakes winning. Her brother has used her account to follow his favorite YouTuber and when this YouTube sensation reaches 10 million subscribers he picked her along with a few others to engage in a high stakes hide and seek at the local mall. But when the games turns sinister, Kennedy has to wonder which of the players has it out for the host and why. 

8. A Classic Case by Alicia Thompson-- Audrey loves old classic movies and always goes to the video store at the same time every week; mostly to see the cute clerk at the store but also because she's sort of become friend with the little old man who rents the same movie week after week. Then one day the old man is missing and Audrey is concerned so she goes to his house to look for him; going so far as to climb in an open window. The cute clerk has followed her and as the mystery of the missing man continues, Audrey starts to wonder if the clerk knows more than he's letting on. It was another cute and very quick story. 

9. The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley--  In the sequel to The Guncle, this time GUP (Gay Uncle Patrick) is helping his niece and nephew make peace with the idea of their father getting remarried. Determined to teach them about love and love languages, Patrick takes them to a few places in Europe on their way to Italy to meet up with their dad and step-mother to be. The kids are older and a bit snarky, Patrick is sad and exhausted and their dynamic seems a bit off  at first but it was a really cute and sweet story. 

10. Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller-- This started out as such a fun listen. When one small group of people get together in a small southern town in Georgia and ban books, one person decides to do something about it. Lula Dean, the driving force behind the book banning, erects a small little library in her front yard and stocks it with "wholesome" books she's sure the town will love but what Lula doesn't know is that one night someone switched all the book jackets in her lending library to cover up all those books she tried to have banned. As a result many unsuspecting townspeople picked up some controversial books that made them look at the world in a whole new light. The book does get pretty political and starts to feel like a dramatization of many fake news stereotypes which I didn't necessarily love. It also got a bit dark at times and I did roll my eyes a time or two... but overall I thought it was pretty good. 

11. Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421 by T. J. Newman-- a book that starts with a plane engine on fire and an entire plane of panicked passengers and crew is pretty hard to put down! It might not have been the best idea to read about a plane crash off the coast of Hawaii less than one month before our trip but I had no idea where the book took place before I started reading and once I started I just couldn't stop until I knew how it ended. Unlike Newman's previous book this one had quite a few casualties but it was definitely gripping. 

12. The Wedding People by Alison Espach-- Phoebe takes off on a whim one day to a hotel in Newport, Rhode Island hoping to escape her life-- literally with plans to kill herself (I don't know why none of the recaps/blurbs I read about the book mentioned that since she tells the bride this fact at their very first meeting). Once there she finds the hotel is completely overrun with people from a wedding. The bride has planned for every single possibility-- except for Phoebe. When the two meet and Phoebe tells the bride her plans the bride objects on the grounds that Phoebe's actions will ruin her wedding. Quite honestly I just thought this was the most bizarre book with the weirdest cast ever. Definitely not a favorite but I at least cared enough to finish the story. 

13. Dial A For Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto-- Meddelin is surrounded by her aunts and her mom all pushing her to work in the family wedding business, date the "right" guy, and settle down. She is terrified to stand up to any of the strong women in her family but then one disastrous date ends in her accidentally murdering the guy and her aunts and mom all pull through in helping her "clean" up her mess. It was far fetched and funny and really entertaining. 

14. Enemies with Benefits by Moxie Noir--  Violet is having the worst day ever when she runs into Eli, her old high school nemesis. She didn't even realize he was back in town and she's pretty sure she never wants to see him again, even if he did grow up to be rather handsome and irresistible. When the two find themselves thrown together for work they decide to make the best of it but eventually their mutual attraction leads them to decided on a friends with benefits type of relationship but since they're not exactly friends they can't call it that. Of course as the summer goes on and their relationship grows they both find themselves trapped by their pact and the belief that this is exactly what the other wants even if they themselves want more. It was an adorably (steamy!) romance-- definitely rated "R" with this one too. 

15. Managing Expectations by Minnie Driver-- I enjoyed this memoir narrated by the author herself. I didn't know much about Minnie beyond her acting career so it was interesting to learn more about her life growing up and how she made it to Hollywood. I do have to warn you the book ends with her dealing with the death of her mother so if you've dealt with the loss a parent recently this might not be the book for you right now.

16. Now or Never (book #31 of the Stephanie Plum series) by Janet Evanovich--  In this hilarious installment of the series Stephanie has somehow managed to agree to marry both Morelli and Ranger and doesn't know what to do about it. To top that all off she has realized that her birth control pills expired a long time ago and now she may be facing an unplanned pregnancy as well. With her personal life in turmoil, Stephanie is trying to focus on her job but none of the FTA's want to cooperate. She's trying to track down a modern day Robin Hood that steels from various delivery trucks and gives to the homeless, a man who thinks and acts like a vampire (complete with bloody corpses), and a rich mobster that shakes her off at every turn. 

 

17. Lies My Girlfriend Tole Me by Julie Anne Peters-- When Alix's girlfriend Swanee dies, Alix is left with so much grief, anger, and disbelief. As she searches through Swanee's room she uncovers her girlfriend's cell phone blowing up with text after text from L. T.-- Swanee's "other" secret girlfriend. Digging into Swanee's life uncovers lots of lies and half truths about her girlfriend and her girlfriend's family. Alix and L.T. end up befriending one another and helping each other through the grief and shock of having been to lied to for so long but Alix has a secret of her own and the closer the two grow the more afraid she is to reveal the truth to L.T. I thought this was a great young adult novel but I did want to shake Alix a few times for the way she treats and often thinks of her parents... mostly due to things Swanee pointed out (honestly that girl was a bad influence! LOL). 

18. The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore--  This was such a cute story and I was thrilled to find it's part of a series. Jeanie moves to the town of Dream Harbor to take over the little cafe her aunt used to own and run. Trying to reinvent herself and settle into a new life, Jeanie has some adjustments to make. But when Jeanie meets Logan sparks fly; however the two are quite gun shy about starting anything. Logan isn't sure Jeanie will stick around after leaving life in the big city to settle into a small town and Jeanie isn't sure she should be starting any sort of relationship at all since she feels like her life is up in the air. The whole town seems like a fun cast and there are other subplots going on that made it really fun to read.

19. Get Lost with You by Sophie Sullivan-- I finally decided to head back to NetGalley and do something with my account. Even though this is the second in a series I had no idea until I sat down to write this review. I thought it was a really cute story. Jillian is finally feeling settled, moving back home with daughter to work with her brother running his lodge. She is stunned to find that Levi, her high school crush, has also moved back home. The big city chef has returned home to Smile to help his parents and hopes to open his own restaurant in town. Jillian is hesitant to take that leap again and Levi is torn over his feeling for Jillian since she is his best friend's "little" sister. It was really cute! This book comes out Feb. 11th and would make a great Galentine's gift. 

20. Christmas at Fountains Hall (Brookford book 2) by Joanne Tracey-- I just had to read Joanne's latest book as I have loved all hers and this one did not disappoint. I read in in just under 24 hours when I was laid up with a bum knee after Thanksgiving and fell in love with the main characters of this book in the series. Tallis, who has long suspected her husband wasn't being faithful, is faced with his infidelity and now has to make some tough choices about her own life. Meanwhile her friend Gail is floundering at home now that her only child has gone off to university and Gail has decided that she too must make some choices about her life. Both Tallis and Gail debate about the merits of dating and are thankful for the antics of all the other members of their cookbook club to keep them busy. Especially when Tallis comes up with the idea to do another baking show at Fountains Hall just in time for Christmas. Of course things do not go smoothly and the cooking show is nearly put in jeopardy by some misunderstandings and hurt feelings but like any great Christmas novel there are lots of happy endings. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Linking up with: Thinking Out Loud,