Map of the Heart

Camille Palmer has a quite and unassuming life as an old photo developer, one of those types who sits in a dark room with film to discover forgotten times and family secrets. Though, she never thought that her family would be one of the ones filled with secretes themselves. In Map of the Heart by Susan Wiggs, Camille and her daughter Julie discover their pasts, and along the way they find some really great friends.

This is the second Susan Wiggs book that I have read, and I fell in love with this one just as I did the first one I read, which was Between You and Me. The way that Susan writes, you are fully immersed in the story from the get-go, you feel all of the feelings that each character is hiding, and you’re pushing for them to succeed.

In this book, Camille is a widow who has a teenage daughter named Julie, both women have their secrets, Julie is being bullied in school, and Camille still hasn’t let go of the husband that passed away years ago. When a new man comes into Camille’s life, she just can’t open up to him, to his dismay, because he is really into her. As the family finds an old box full of family heirlooms, Camille and her French father, along with Julie, travel back to his roots to discover what really happened to his parents. While there, Camille discovers that the secrets of her families past may open doors to her future.

This is one of those books that I couldn’t put down. I was non-stop picking it up between doing my daily chores, school, and working, but it was so worth it. If you are interested in books that are full of heart, a little mystery, and some cute romance, then you are definitely going to want to pick up this book! I give this one 5 out of 5 stars, perfect for Valentine’s Day!

Advertisements

99 Percent Mine

Darcy Barrett is not one to back down from basically anything, she’s a tough barkeep who isn’t afraid to speak her mind. With the exception of Tom, who is her brothers best friend-and completely off limits. She’s only had a crush on him since she was eight years old, and in 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne, Darcy is determined to snag Tom once and for all.

This charming book with the adorably colorful cover had me hooked from the very first page. I was seriously entertained by Darcy’s snarky attitude, her no bs ways, and her vulnerability when it came to Tom. It was pretty cool to see her go from bad ass barkeep to blushing girl in his presence, I mean, we’ve all been there, right?

Since being her brother’s best friend, Tom has been a no-no for Darcy, but when her and her brother inherit a townhouse that needs some work done, Tom is there to help. This is her chance to finally get Tom out from under her brother’s wing, and make him 99% hers.

The writing style of this author just makes you feel like you’re talking to an old friend about some funny and fun story that she is sharing. It’s perfect to sit down on the beach with, or snuggle up by a warm fire with a hot cup of tea, this book will get you through any season. The plot, while probably overdone, is different in a way that makes it a fresh tale. I had fun reading this over Christmas break, and I definitely want to check out more from this author. I did not read her first book The Hating Game, but it’s now on my list. 5 out of 5 stars from this girl.

Help me with my research paper :)

I am currently in the process of working on my research paper, it is about how ASMR can help children and adolescents with depression and anxiety. If you are between the ages of 10 and 21, or have a friend, child, grandchild who is, could you please allow them to take this survey? It would be a super incredibly awesome help. Thank you! I also plan to have a follow up survey

 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/C7J3Z2S

Looker

This debut novel by Laura Sims has one of the more interesting covers that I’ve seen lately. The lipstick smeared all over the photo of this anonymous woman makes me want to read more. Looker is the story of an obsessed neighbor, an actress who has no idea, and an incident that changes the narrative from peeping Tom to over the edge madness.

Although the cover pulled me in, the story, to me, felt like what I read in The Girl on the Train and so many more of these “obsession” thrillers that have become popular lately. I felt no connection to the narrator in this book, I didn’t want to know why she obsessed over the actress, nor did I care to find out what happened in the end of the book. This was one of those books that I was hoping was going to be one of my favorites of the year, but it fell short, very short, for me.

Sadly, this book gets a 1 star from me. I wanted to like this, I wanted to be invested in the story, but it didn’t do anything for me.

My 2019 Bookish Plans

Hello my awesome readers, I hope you guys are having a wonderful new year! I know that mine’s been both crazy and relaxing, I’ve been working a lot as an editor/proofreader, as well as going to school, and taking care of my kiddos. It’s been fun, but man I am glad the holidays are OVER!

I know that my reviews have been few and far between lately, and all I can really say is that there is a reason for that. I’ll try to explain what’s been going on, and tell you my plans for 2019.

In the fall of 2017, I started graduate school, which has been increasingly harder and more time consuming. I’m now in my last year and will be extra busy working on my thesis. I also moved in 2018, downsized from a 3 bedroom farm house to a 2 bedroom apartment, and everything has been crazy but very satisfying. I’m loving life right now! With that said, I have found it hard to keep up with reviewing books. I have not had review requests open on my blog for over a year now. I am still working on reading books that I’ve been sent a couple of years ago. It seems like I keep losing the passion to read, and the reason for that is I felt I was forced to read certain books, and I didn’t find joy in it like I used to.

I started reading back when my son was a baby, he’s 5 now, because it helped me deal with my depression. Ever since then I have thrown myself into books, which I absolutely love because it’s my favorite hobby. Then I got bombarded with requests, and I felt like I could never say no, I didn’t want to let some people down. That caused a back log of books that I don’t know when I’ll ever get to. Having hundreds of books to review, plus having my own shelves of books to read was daunting. I even got rid of a lot of books over the course of the move, but then I acquired a bunch due to book sales and a going out of business sale. My shelves are full, my Netgalley TBR is full, and my requests are closed. My brain feels cluttered with all of the books I need to read, and it’s almost stressing me out thinking about it.

I know it sounds like such a silly think to get stressed about, but I’m taking 2019 to get this in order. I plan to read all of the series that I own, that I have not finished, in the first part of the year. I will sprinkle in some of the reviews that I have to do, in order to get the list down to a manageable number. I work with a couple of companies who I respect and love working with, so I will continue to review those books in a timely manner, but I will not take requests this entire year, and I plan on getting my own personal books down by at least half. Chances are that I will not be reviewing every single book I read, but I would still love to share what I am reading with you guys. Please follow me on instagram @comfyreading, where I post pictures of books that I am currently reading, along with cute pics of my kids and cat. That doesn’t mean I won’t ever post a review, I do have some coming up for books I read over the winter break that I LOVED, but if it’s my own personal book, I am going to read it for my own personal enjoyment. Once I get everything settled and figured out, I plan on going back to the regular review schedule that I had set up in the beginning of this blog.

Thanks for listening, I hope you all have a wonderful day and please feel free to reach out to me for a chat!