November became the unofficial month for fiction books. With the exception of one book, everything I read this month was fiction. This is pretty opposite of my norm. Usually it’s the opposite – lots of nonfiction and one or two fiction books. It felt good to do some fun, easy reads this month. Here’s my list of books to read and skip this month!
A side note before we jump in: when I’m reading for fun, I like Christian fiction, cozy mysteries, and good young adult novels. So that’s what I covered this month. Most of these were ebooks this month, borrowed from the library via the Libby app (which you NEED if you read ebooks! It’s so great!!) Some of these were great, and some were not. I’m searching for a new mystery series to enjoy this winter, hence the wide variety of cozy mysteries on the list this month. I’m not going to say a lot about every book, because some of them were just not that great. Let’s dive in!
Different, by Sally and Nathan Clarkson
Let’s start with my lone nonfiction read for the month. I’ve owned this book for a year and a half, and felt that this month was the right time to read it. And I LOVED it. Which isn’t a surprise, because I love everything written by Sally Clarkson, as is evidenced all over my blog. She has quite a few books on my list of Recommended Reads.
Anyhoo. Allow me to bear my soul to you for a moment. I sometimes feel like I have no idea how to parent my son. My daughter is a piece of cake. My little guy – he’s tricky. He’s a boy in every sense of the word: he’s loud and energetic and moves constantly. He and I see the world very differently. We have skirmishes daily. It can be exhausting on the best of days, and heart wrenching on the worst of days.
I wasn’t entirely sure if “Different” would offer any help or not, but once I started reading, I didn’t put it down. I read it in a day and a half. It was THAT good. It was so calming and reassuring. After I finished it, I felt entirely encouraged to keep doing the hard work of parenting a child that isn’t always easy for me to relate to. The stories Sally shared of feeling frustrated and exhausted were balm for my weary little soul. It came down to her learning that she needed to stop controlling Nathan and start finding ways of reaching his heart, and then trusting God to work in their relationship. So good. Highly recommend to ANY parent.
Verdict: READ
Mistletoe Murder, by Leslie Meyer
Ummm. I thought this sounded like a cute little cozy mystery to read, now that the holidays are upon us. Nope. This one was not awesome. The main character was NOT likeable at all and the mystery was meh. Not my cup of tea.
Verdict: SKIP
Murder at Maypole Manor, L. B. Hathaway
I did enjoy this mystery. The characters were interesting, and I thought the plot was very creative. It felt a bit slow at the beginning, but really picked up toward the end. I would read more in this series.
Verdict: READ
Greenglass House, by Kate Milford
This is my YA read for the month, and it was…good. I hesitate just a bit in saying that because there is a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming at all, and I’m not sure that I loved the twist. I felt like I’d been tricked in a way, which is silly, but I give the author points for creativity for sure. I did give this book four stars on Goodreads, which may have been a little generous, but I did love the main character, so extra points for that. There is a follow up book to this one, but I don’t feel the need to read it. All in all a good read for a chilly fall day.
Verdict: READ
The Alaskan Courage Series, by Dani Pettrey
I read the first book in this Christian fiction series a long time ago, and somehow managed to get the remaining four ebooks this month. I REALLY enjoyed this series. Each book was action packed, the characters were very likeable, the plot lines were creative, and the messages of faith were moving and thought provoking. Very well written. I generally enjoy books written by this author and these did not disappoint.
Verdict: READ
The Summer I Met Jack, by Michelle Gable
A podcaster recommended this book that chronicles a fictional account of a relationship between JFK and Alicia Corning Clark, and when I saw the ebook was available on Libby I grabbed it. It’s not the type of book I typically read, but it sounded really fascinating. I expected it to be a sort of historical fiction novel, which I generally enjoy.
When I finished this book, I was just overcome with sadness. It was really just a sad book. The majority of the characters were shallow, self-centered, and selfish. And it kind of bugged me that the author states in the afterword that it was mostly all a fictional account. I mean, I knew going in that it was a work of fiction, but when a book involves real people and events, I like to have an element of the truth. From what I can gather, the author made most of this story up. And I found the ending unsatisfying. So it was an interesting book, but sad overall.
Verdict: SKIP
By Cook or by Crook, by Maya Corrigan
Another disappointing cozy mystery. Very predictable, focused a LOT on tennis, and tons of relationships that were just WEIRD. This is probably not the series for me. I guess the search for that perfect cozy mystery series continues into next month.
Verdict: SKIP
Books mentioned in this post:
- Different, by Sally and Nathan Clarkson
- Mistletoe Murder, by Leslie Meier
- Murder at Maypole Manor, by L. B. Hathaway
- Greenglass House, by Kate Milford
- The Alaskan Courage series, by Dani Pettrey
- The Summer I Met Jack, by Michelle Gable
- By Cook or by Crook, by Maya Corrigan
Whew! So, there you go. Hopefully there’s something on this list that helps you out – even if it’s giving you books to steer clear of. 😉 What did you read this month?
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