A Cozy Happy Life

Finding Happiness in the Coziest of Places

Review of Winter of the Wolf

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Winter of the Wolf by Martha Hunt Handler

WARNING THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW!!!

I’m so frustrated with this book! Winter of the Wolf was beautifully written and had me believing this would be a 4.5 star book for me. The writing starts out deep and thoughtful. The subject matter is beautifully handled and as someone who has suffered the loss of a loved one through suicide I appreciated that fact immensely. But then I hit the 85% complete mark and the book was close to ruined for me. It was as if the book was all of a sudden written by a different author and if not that then it just seemed like the author gave up and wanted a quick end. The depth was gone and I felt they almost made light of Sams death. All of the time and work Bean, her mother and Julie spent trying to find answers about the real reason for Sam’s death and we come to find out it was auto erotic asphyxiation. AEA is tragic in itself and I appreciate an author bringing attention to it but I felt it was completely out of sync with this book. And to have the family just seem to not care AT ALL that their son died in this manner was painful to read. They thought for 19 months that their son had died at his own hand, then learned that he accidentally killed himself instead and they all just accepted it instantly and happily. I would have been devastated if I’d found out my loved one had accidentally died, I wouldn’t just go hang out and have a meal as a family and pretend nothing changed. As a reader I became attached to these characters and felt their loss! That’s how well the first 85% was written but the last 15% made me feel I didn’t know these characters at all. I’m so disappointed. I will say I am sure my personal experiences with suicide caused my reaction to the end of this novel. I have spent years wondering what happened to my loved one and I bonded with Bean for her drive to try to find some answers because I can relate to that desire. I give this book a 2.5 because it had so much potential, however, with the casual acceptance of his death and the complete confusion of the last 15%, I can’t bare to give it a higher rating.

April and May Reading Wrap Up

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This is going to be a long reading wrap up because it’s covering two months and I happened to do a good amount of reading both months. I’ll plan to keep my mini-reviews extra mini and maybe do more full reviews on these books for future posts. Yes… I think that will work!

April:

I read seven books in April and I’m thrilled because it kicked off some good reading for May as well. Here are the books I read in April:

Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer

This series is the first fantasy type series I’ve ever read. I absolutely loved these books. I think Marissa Meyer is fantastic at writing young adult fantasy novels. I thought the spin on Disney stories was genius and the way she tied these characters into those Disney stories was very creative. Winter wasn’t my favorite of the four books, I think because Meyer had to tie everything together with this being the final book. However, I would absolutely recommend this series. I will do a more in depth write up on the series soon!

The Dutch Wife by Ellen Keith

This book was fantastic. I’m really into WWII books right now and this was such a unique storyline. I had no idea that brothels existed in the concentration camps. It opened my eyes to added horror that existed during that time. I’ve already recommended this book to a few people. I think because it is so different than other books of the same genre this is a must read for everyone. 

Girls of Glass by Brianna Labuskes

My mom recommended this book to me. It touches on some difficult subject matter but the majority of the book it just a great who-done-it? I did NOT see the ending coming and I’m still shocked by who the bad guy turns out to be at the end. The characters are well developed and your heart just aches for all of them and what they’ve gone through as a family. I definitely recommend. 

Spilled Milk by K.L. Randis

Man-o-man talk about difficult subjects. I didn’t really know what this book was about but it had pretty decent kindle reviews so I thought what the heck. I’m glad I read this because I really enjoyed it but it was really hard to get through certain parts of this book. This covers incest between a girl and her father and shows how she was able to overcome. It’s a heartwarming story in the end if you can get past the icky stuff. 

The Things We Do for Love by Kristin Hannah

I will post a longer review of this book soon. I really enjoyed it but not as much as some of Hannah’s other books. The Nightingale is still my favorite book ever so maybe I hold her to a higher standard. I think this is certainly worth reading though. The two main characters are wonderfully developed and incredibly relatable. 

I’m Fine and Neither Are You by Camile Pagan

This just turned out to be an ok read. I liked the story well enough. It’s unique and unlike anything else I’ve read so for that reason alone its worth reading. This wouldn’t top my recommendation list but it was a nice book to pass the time. It was easy to get into and stayed interesting throughout. 

The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes

My sister recommended this book for me and I loved it. It’s a totally different take on war novels. I’ve read so many WWII books recently that my brain had a hard time recognizing this was actually WWI but that was more my brain’s fault than the author’s. I think this is a really unique story and again is so unlike anything I’ve ever read before. 

May

For the month of May I read nine books. How is that even possible I feel like I need to go back and double check that… yep nine books! That’s my best month this year so far! So exciting! Here are my May reads:

The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Selection started out as just a free kindle book that I downloaded on my IPad. I thought it sounded playful and fun which is a direction I sometimes go if I feel I’m hitting a reading slump. I ended up loving this book. It’s a little cheesy and definitely a young adult book, written for teenage girls. But hey, my heart still yearns for books like this from time to time. It’s a fairytale type of becoming a princess novel that turned into a series. I did order the full series so I’ll report back as I read them!

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

I didn’t realize this was a book until I happened upon it on audible. I’m ashamed to say that because I give people such a hard time who assume something is just a movie and I wish I could slap myself. This was a great book! It was difficult to read at times and made me think about what I’d do if this situation happened to me. I loved the book but my only critique is that I didn’t like how the author read it on the audible option. She is monotone and uninteresting and I felt like she was just reading from a page instead of telling a story. So that was disappointing. 

Misery by Stephen King

UGH this book. If you read my most recent post (tagged here) you will know of my struggle with Misery. I plan to do a more in depth breakdown of my thoughts because it was such a challenge for me to get through, but man this book had me disliking reading for a while. I did pick up after I published my latest blog so I was thankful for that. That being said, I do not recommend this as a first King book for anyone because I don’t think they will continue reading his books!

The President is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

This book also started out slow. I am working on a full review for this book too because I think it’s important to explain how much this book changed over time. By the middle of this book I was absolutely hooked. I recommended it to my family and friends and I think its a must read for the times we are in now. 

The Calculus of Change by Jessie Hilb

This book is written by a woman I went to high school with so I think I’d have a little more interest in it than others. She writes about a girl in high school and she writes about the school in a way that reminds me so much of the school we attended. I’m sure she pulled from what she knows! The book was well written and was deeper than I anticipated but I didn’t like how quickly the book ended. The main character’s problems are stretched out throughout the novel and then all of a sudden they end and are tied up with a neat little bow. Endings like that drive me nuts. 

Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T Sullivan

Such a cool take on WWII writing. I had no idea this book was a true story and wow it made the whole thing more incredible. The afterward is important to read because it ties much of the book together. I begged a friend to read this once I started because I NEEDED a friend to talk to about this! There are so many times I just wanted to start yelling but no one would know why! I recommend this book as a must read for 2019. 

I am Watching You by Teresa Driscoll

This book was another free kindle read. I’m not knocking free kindle books because I have read a ton of really great ones! I just tend to think these books are advertised because they are less popular, not because they aren’t as good as others. This book had me wondering who did it the entire read. The author did an incredible job of pointing the finger at a number of possible culprits and I fell for it every time! The ending came together beautifully too! I would definitely recommend this.

Honeymoon in Paris by JoJo Moyes

This was more of a short story and I’m not sure if I should actually count it as a book, but Goodreads does so thats good enough for me! This story was just so so. It is a backstory on The Girl You Left Behind so I found it interesting but nothing to write home about.

What have You Done by Matthew Farrell

This book was dark but in a good way. I cruised through it because I had to know what would happen! Its a murder mystery that has you focusing on only one possible killer…. but the end will get ya! This is a book you could easily read in one sitting! It’s a perfect summer read.

Well if you made it through all of that you are a serious trooper! I will be posting some full reviews on some of these books shortly so stay tuned for that!

Erin

Struggling With Misery!

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What do you do when you struggle to get into a book you are reading? I very rarely don’t finish a book but I hate when one book slows down my reading momentum because I just can’t get into it. I never used to be someone who would read multiple books at once, other than maybe a paper book and and audio book. But currently I have four books open because I am so stinkin bored with two of them! One of the books is Stephen King and I absolutely refuse to give up on King! 

The King book I’m having issues with is Misery. It’s just not spooky and creepy like the books he usually writes. The creep factor is what I look forward to with King and so far this is just BLAH! I do have to say, I also had a few issues with Pet Sematary so I’m slightly concerned that maybe Stephen King just isn’t for me and that just is not ok! i have to be into Stephen King’s books… I just have to! Years ago I set a goal of reading all of his books and seeing how I probably own half of them I’ve gotta get more excited about him!

So heres the plan… I will read a little everyday so I don’t feel like I have to deprive myself of reading a book I like until I’m done with Misery. Then hopefully the next King book I pick up will boost me into a Stephen King obsession that I know must be waiting for me! I hope reading a bit at a time is good plan and not like a reading assignment in school because if that’ the case I will end up despising this book! Fingers crossed Misery picks up or I find a way to get through it! 

Did you like Misery? What do you do when you don’t like a book you’re reading but you just have to finish it?!

Erin

September Reading Wrap Up

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Ugh! I’m so late on posting this! I even started typing this in September but life got busy and I forgot to finish! Boo. Anyway, here is my September reading wrap up!

September was my best reading month so far this year! I managed to complete ten books which is double most of my previous months. It’s helped me get back on track for my yearly reading goal of 75 books and I’m definitely in the reading spirit. I was able to read so much for a couple of reasons. First, I’m injured so I’ve been doing a lot of hanging on the couch lately with plenty of time to do some reading. Second, I LOVE reading scary books in October so I wanted to get some of the non-horror books on my TBR list completed before the month of the spooky books! I read a couple of duds this month but overall, I was happy with my September reading experience.

The Bookstore by Deborah Meyler

                This book was great! It was sweet and the main character bonded with some really unique and memorable characters. When I went to enter my review in Goodbooks, I noticed it had received a really low rating from other readers. Others had issue with her passive nature and that fact that she was bullied and torn down by her boyfriend/fiancé throughout the novel. I suppose I understand what their rationale but having been a girl in college in my early twenties, I can say that I had my share of crappy, mistreating boyfriends so I feel the author was just hitting real life on the head. Despite their bad reviews, I still really enjoyed this book.

 

Then She was Gone by Lisa Jewell

                This was my first audiobook for the month. I think it was a great book to listen to. It’s engaging and suspenseful but not so much so that I risked running off the road while driving to work! I loved the character development and I started guessing their relationships early on, even though I was only right about a few. The twists in this book are heart wrenching and surprising which kept me wanting to listen. I even ran a few extra errands this month so I could keep listening to find out what happened next. I would definitely recommend this to a reader who enjoys a suspenseful novel.

 

The Rooster Bar by John Grisham

                I started this book three times before I really got into it. I think the first few chapters are a bit dull and seem to lag. I’m so glad I stuck with it though. This is a book unlike anything else I’ve read. The story line is incredibly creative. I’ve read so many books recently that seem to be written with the same prompt but this was so different. When I started the book I had no idea it was going in the direction that it did. I was interested throughout the entire novel (well, after the first couple of chapters) and the ending is totally satisfying!

 

Three Wishes by Liane Moriarity

                I switch back and forth between Liane Moriarity and Kristin Hannah as my favorite author. After reading this I realize they have such differences that they are both my favorite. I’m allowed to do that! I love how real Liane Moriarity’s characters are. They are always dealing with real life problems that so many people can relate to. I loved all three women in this book and their interactions make me miss seeing my own sister everyday. There are twists in this book, as there typically are in her novels, but overall it’s just an easy, fly through it, read. I always blow through her books, no matter how long they are.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

                I am SO behind on reading this! I even read this after the Netflix movie came out. I’ve seen the hype and needed to hop on the YA bandwagon again. This was an audiobook for me and it was a PERFECT audiobook choice! Like similar books, it’s easy to read and a fun, mindless novel to knock out quickly. I knew this came with two sequels, one of which I ordered halfway through my reading of this one. Basically, this book is cute. The characters are well developed and relatable and their interactions take me back to my own high school days. I did watch the Netflix version and I was a little disappointed with the differences in the book and the movie. I liked the book quite a bit better but I’m chalking up the differences to needing to keep the movie relatively short. Although, the end of the movie ruined the cliff hanger at the end of book so that’s frustrating.

 

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

                Ok… I wanted to like this. I liked If I Stay a lot but this was nothing like it. This book felt like it was forced. A sequel didn’t need to happen and I don’t know if the publishers pushed Forman to write this or if she was trying to stretch her popularity after If I Stay. It took me a good twenty pages to figure out which character was telling the story! I think this was a big miss and I don’t recommend reading it because it ruined If I Stay for me.

 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone AND Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K Rowling

I’m lumping these two together because, lets be honest, I don’t have much to add to the million plus reviews that are out there for the Harry Potter books! The Harry Potter books are all they are cracked up to be. They are fun, imaginative and such a pleasure to read. I read both of these in two days. This series will be one I finish quickly and I will love every minute of it!

 

The Dead Path by Stephen M. Irwin

                SO FREAKING WEIRD! SO SO WEIRD. I have little else to say. I think I liked this book but I’m not sure! Parts were incredibly interesting and engaging and others were really confusing. And OMG so many spiders in this book. I won’t ruin it by telling more but if even the thought of the eight legged creatures gets you squirming, you will be VERY uncomfortable reading The Dead Path. I’m thinking of writing a full review on this book, once I can figure out what the hell happened in it.

 

The Wife by Alafair Burke

                This was an audio book for me.  It’s good enough that I had this going in my office while I worked, before I went to sleep, in the car, and basically anywhere I could because I was so interested in what would happen. I wanted to punch the husband throughout most of the book so there’s that, but other than my pent up aggression towards cheating bastards I really loved listening to this. The lead character is powerful and pretty realistic. She stands by her man in tough times but she sure doesn’t get walked all over. The problem with this book is it doesn’t stand out for me because similar books were published around the same time. I think if that wasn’t the case this really would be a book I’d think about often and recommend freely.

 

Ok I’m so excited it’s October! I have so many spooky reads and a lot of time to read them! Check out my October TBR, coming soon!

               

 

 

 

May (and April) Reading Wrap Up

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Somehow I missed posting an April reading wrap up. So that sucks… big giant fail on my part! SO how about I make May’s wrap up a joint month wrap up and mention the books I’ve read in the past two months! This is my blog so I make the rules…. Don’t I?! Ok so that’s my first rule, I make the rules. So following that, here is my monthly (plus one more month) wrap up!

I read 12 books in the past two months and I can honestly say I enjoyed all of them! No duds in this bunch (thank God). I don’t think I can pick a favorite because I managed to read a really good variety of books, everything was unique.

Simon and the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

I think this is an awesome YA book because it touches on issues that people will deal with in some capacity throughout their youth. Especially in high school. I remember high school being a particularly brutal time for me so I was able to really relate with some of the characters. I envisioned the story taking place in my old high school which made the story even more realistic. I’d recommend this book to younger readers.

 

The Secrets She Keeps  By Michael Robotham

Amazon compares this book to In a Dark, Dark Wood (see my review below) but I don’t really see it. I liked this one a lot better. Probably because the story is unique! I found myself sympathizing with the protagonist in this which, in my opinion, means the author did an awesome job captivating the characters. He made them more human and relatable which I appreciate in a book with a storyline like this. I loved the ending, I think it was the only way the book could have ended but the journey to get there was even more captivating. I think this is a must read!

 

Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson

I read Jenny Lawson’s first book, Lets Pretend this Never Happened, and I loved it. She is hilarious and has such a great way of pulling her readers into her stories. I felt this book was a little more patchy than her first but it still had me laughing out loud. I think this is a great book to read alongside another book. It doesn’t follow a true storyline so you can pick it up and read a chapter when you need a laugh here and there. Jenny Lawson is freaking hilarious, and painfully honest about the shit-show that is life… you won’t be disappointed.

 

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

When I first started this book I thought I wouldn’t like it. I’ve never been a big hockey fan and all of the hockey jargon had me a little wary. But as the story progressed, the sports terminology and hockey references fell a bit to the way side and the story came out. I loved the story! It touches on a difficult subject but Backman writes the story in a sensitive way that kept me wanting to continue reading.

 

Night Road by Kristin Hannah

This was great! Kristin Hannah remains my favorite author because she’s just so good at story telling and tying all loose ends together. This story was really touching and focused on forgiveness in the most difficult of situations. As far as I know this isn’t one of her most popular books but I think it should be! It’s a different story than other authors are telling right now and I think reading about forgiveness is something we should all do more of.

 

The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro

This was my first read by Kathleen Tessaro and half way through this book I was ordering two more by this author! I recommended this book to a number of people and gave my copy to my mom. It’s so beautifully written and Tessaro has an uncanny ability to take you to the scene of the story and make you feel you are there. The way she describes Paris from the scenery to the food to the Parisian characters I felt I was in Paris along with them. This is a must read!

 

The Home for Unwanted Girls by Joanna Goodman

This was another book I didn’t know much about. I think the best way to describe my reading experience with this book was content. I finished it in just a couple of days because I was comfortable reading this. The story flows beautifully and the author does a great job keeping her reader interested. This wasn’t one I felt I needed to stay up late to finish but I always enjoyed picking it up! It’s a really interesting story that makes you think long and hard about the adoption system.

 

The Safest Lies by Megan Miranda

This was a bargain audiobook download so I assumed it would be just so so but man, I was HOOKED! I didn’t like the woman who read the audiobook but that’s not the author’s fault. This had twists and turns I didn’t see coming! I found myself sitting in my garage on numerous occasions because I had to know what happened next. The love story that is intertwined is romantic and captivating. The book is full of action and suspense and leaves you wanting more! This is also the second book I’ve read this year that talks about agoraphobia which is not something I was familiar with. I learned a big lesson with this book; never judge a book by it’s price tag!

 

The Flirt by Kathleen Tessaro

This was one of the books I ordered while I was mi-read in The Perfume Collector. This is a modern setting with a 21st century storyline as opposed to the mid 20th century plot of The Perfume Collector. I did like The Flirt but I think Tessaro does such a wonderful job of writing a storyline from a different era. This story was well written and very interesting but I think I would tend to pick up more of her books written in an earlier time frame.

 

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Wire

I enjoyed reading In a Dark, Dark Wood but it wasn’t my favorite of the month. It is a suspenseful thriller lacking a bit in the thrill department. When I think of this book I think it’s a good starter book for teens or young adults looking to get comfortable with a suspenseful genre. I think all of my Stephen King reads have jaded me a bit!

 

Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow

Initially I didn’t like the style of this book but I’m a creature of habit and sometimes it takes me a while to get comfortable with new layouts. This book doesn’t have specific chapters, it just has page breaks. I got used to it and found myself comfortable reading it within a day. I think this is a really important book to read. As mental illness becomes a better understood topic I think reading books with a heavy focus on mental and emotional healing is important. I appreciate that we have books like this or Simon vs the Homosapien’s Agenda for younger readers these days. When I grew up I never would have picked up a book with these topics because they would have been considered so controversial. I’m thrilled we are living in a time where these books and topics are celebrated and encouraged.

 

Cress (The Lunar Chronicles) by Marissa Meyer

The third book in the series was very good but I didn’t like it as much as I liked the first and second. I like that there are a number of love stories tied into these books and that the plot continues throughout them but I found this book to be a bit slower and less exciting than the first two. I’m hoping the final books in the series will be a little more captivating but I think I’ll take a break on them for a little while and try a new series!

 

 

 

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