Book Club December 2020- Becoming

By: Michelle Obama
Published Year: 2018
Publisher: Crown
Pages: 426

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America—the first African American to serve in that role—she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments. Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare.

In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same.

What I thought

I have been meaning to read this book ever since my mom read it and enjoyed it. Because it’s an autobiography, it always got pushed to the bottom of my list. I enjoy memoirs/autobiographies but know that they tend to take a little more time and I need to be in the right mood for them. I was thankful that Logan picked it as a book club book because it forced me to finally sit down and read it.

The book is split into three parts. The first part is Michelle’s live before meeting Barack, the second part is their relationship and marriage before he became President, and the third is after. This makes it sound like her life is defined by meeting Barack, but it definitely isn’t. It’s more so that these events in her life caused big changes in hers.

Honestly, because I’m not huge into politics, I didn’t know much about Michelle prior to reading this book. I really only knew the very public information about her and what her causes were as First Lady. I always respected her and thought she was classy and smart, but this book has made me respect her even more.

I appreciated that she and I have a lot of similar thought processes and personality traits. A lot of what she said I found myself thinking “that’s how I would have reacted” or “I’ve thought the same thing.” That made reading this a lot more interesting. I also learned a lot during this book in regards to her relationship with Barack and found it fascinating. They always came off as a perfect and strong couple so it was interesting to read about their struggles and how they overcame them.

What Book Club Thought

Unfortunately, only one person had finished the book before book club. While I do find it a fascinating read, it has been slow. I got close to finishing, but didn’t make the deadline. I do intend on finishing it, but may take a break with another book before I pick it back up again.

It seems as though everyone else felt the same way. We are all enjoying it and intend to finish it, but are finding it to be a little slower of a read than we originally thought. I think if we had all finished it, there would have been even more of a good discussion since I did have some good discussions about the story with my mom since she has read it. There are a lot of very interesting points that come up in her story and I think a lot of women can learn from it.

One to Watch

By: Katy Stayman-London
Published Year: 2020
Publisher: Dial Press
Pages: 432

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Bea Schumacher is a devastatingly stylish plus-size fashion blogger who has amazing friends, a devoted family, legions of Insta followers--and a massively broken heart. Like the rest of America, Bea indulges in her weekly obsession: the hit reality show Main Squeeze. The fantasy dates! The kiss-off rejections! The surprising amount of guys named Chad! But Bea is sick and tired of the lack of body diversity on the show. Since when is being a size zero a prerequisite for getting engaged on television?

Just when Bea has sworn off dating altogether, she gets an intriguing call: Main Squeeze wants her to be its next star, surrounded by men vying for her affections. Bea agrees, on one condition--under no circumstances will she actually fall in love. She's in this to supercharge her career, subvert harmful anti-fat beauty standards, inspire women across America, and get a free hot air balloon ride. That's it.

But when the cameras start rolling, Bea realizes things are more complicated than she anticipated. She's in a whirlwind of sumptuous couture, Internet culture wars, sexy suitors, and an opportunity (or two, or five) to find messy, real-life love in the midst of a made-for-TV fairy tale.

First Impressions

The cover definitely draws the eye. And how can I resist a Bachelorette spoof? But honestly, this book came to me highly recommended by Stephanie. So, my first impression was one of my friends raving about this book, which says a lot.

What I thought

I could not put this book down it was so fun.

Bea is a famous plus-size fashion blogger and avid fan of bachelorette-esque Main Squeeze. One night when watching, she tweets about how this reality TV romance industry really only shows real love for unrealistically beautiful looking people. Her tweets go viral and she gets asked to become the next Main Squeeze. However, because of her past, Bea isn’t sure if she wants to find love. The story follows Bea as she learns about herself and grows through her journey with 25 eligible bachelors.

I haven’t had a book that I haven’t wanted to put down in a while. This was the type of book I thought about when the next time I would have to read it when I was doing other things. I’ve only watched a few seasons of The Bachelor/Bachelorette, but I loved all of the references and the premise of the entire book. This was like binge watching an entire season of bad reality TV but while simultaneously getting the inside scoop. Loved it.

Bea was a very enjoyable main character. I loved the balance of her fighting for body acceptance while also dealing with the fact that it isn’t easy. Her distrust of all of the guys made perfect sense, so it never felt over the top.

As with ever season of the Bachelorette I’ve watched, I didn’t think I was going to fall for any of the guys and of course, I fell for 4 of the top 5. Even the ones I knew weren’t a good match for her, I couldn’t help but loving them. I also loved Bea’s personal perspective was interspersed with transcripts from a Podcast, text messages from a group chat, message boards, and more. I loved getting the fan perspectives.

Honestly, I don’t want to say much more about this book because I want you to experience it all for yourself. I loved this book. I am shocked it’s a debut because the writing was wonderful. I can’t wait to read more by her and think you need to pick this book up now!

Troubled Blood (Cormoran Strike #5)

By: Robert Galbraith
Published Year: 2020
Publisher: Sphere
Pages: 944

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Private Detective Cormoran Strike is visiting his family in Cornwall when he is approached by a woman asking for help finding her mother, Margot Bamborough — who went missing in mysterious circumstances in 1974.

Strike has never tackled a cold case before, let alone one forty years old. But despite the slim chance of success, he is intrigued and takes it on; adding to the long list of cases that he and his partner in the agency, Robin Ellacott, are currently working on. And Robin herself is also juggling a messy divorce and unwanted male attention, as well as battling her own feelings about Strike.

As Strike and Robin investigate Margot's disappearance, they come up against a fiendishly complex case with leads that include tarot cards, a psychopathic serial killer and witnesses who cannot all be trusted. And they learn that even cases decades old can prove to be deadly . . .

First Impressions

Holy moly this book is massive. I’ve read the other books in the series and added this one to my to-read list without much thought but then I picked it up from the library and just immediate shock at how large it was. Probably a good thing I didn’t know how long it was before putting it on hold because I definitely would have put off reading it

What I thought

The Cormoran Strike series is a very enjoyable detective mystery series. If you haven’t read the previous novels this review might not be for you. Other than avoiding spoiling the mystery itself, I’m probably going to talk about minor storyline things that could spoil earlier books. Just fair warning.

Robin is a partner at the agency now (can’t remember exactly when that happened) and she is taking on a lot of work. She is becoming more confident in her abilities as a private detective and is also working through her divorce from her first husband. Strike is pretty much the same, except his aunt (and basically mother because she raised him) has been diagnosed with cancer and his father (who he has never had a relationship with) is trying to get in contact with him for the first time ever. When Strike is visiting his aunt, a couple comes up to him. One of the wives asks Strike to look into the disappearance of her mother 40 years ago. Robin and Strike have never taken on a cold case, but something about this one draws them in and then have 1 year to solve it.

The fact that they have a year is what I think made this book so long. There is a lot of secondary plot that happens throughout this mammoth of a novel. Don’t get me wrong, I was all-in the entire time, but it definitely could’ve been trimmed down a few hundred pages. The entire storyline with Strike’s dad seemed to do nothing but provide a reason for Strike to be irritable at times. Robin’s secondary plot I enjoyed more and felt more integral to the story to me.

The fact that they were working on a cold case was definitely fascinating. It didn’t feel like they were on a time crunch to save someone so the overall feel of the book was a bit more relaxed with a mystery that was just as intriguing.

As always, I judge mysteries on whether or not I was able to figure them out. I had my suspicions throughout the novel but only one moment where I had a strong feeling that I quickly dismissed. So, this series continues to win points by stumping me each time.

The only thing that throws me a little bit is that by the end of book 5 I’m still very confused as to Strike and Robin’s relationship and where it’s going to lead.

It’s pretty impressive that a 900+ page book consistently held my attention for the two weeks it took me to read it. This series doesn’t hold punches. It can be gruesome at times, so it’s not for the faint of heart. However, Galbraith (Rowling) is a wonderful writer and really knows how to deliver a good story. I definitely recommend checking out the series if you haven’t already. If you have, this one will live up to your expectations.

The Switch

By: Beth O’Leary
Published Year: 2020
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Pages: 330

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Eileen, newly single and about to turn eighty, would like a second chance at love, but her tiny Yorkshire village doesn't offer many eligible gentlemen. Then in bustling London, Eileen's twentysomething, overachieving granddaughter Leena is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work.

Once Leena learns of Eileen's romantic predicament, she proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen will live in London and look for love. Meanwhile Leena will rest and take care of things in rural Yorkshire.

But trading places isn't as easy as either of them expected. Will swapping lives help Eileen and Leena find themselves…and maybe even find love?

First Impressions

O’Leary’s debut novel The Flatshare was easily one of my favorite books of 2019. I was excited to see that she came out with another book so quickly. I adore the style of the covers, though I much prefer the British version to the US cover. Even if I hadn’t read O’Leary’s previous book, the concept would have immediately sucked me in.

What I thought

I knew that this book was going to have a lot to live up to after The Flatshare, so I tried to keep y expectations low. While I may not have loved it as much as Flatshare (which would be hard to beat), this book did not disappoint.

Leena is, or more like isn’t, dealing with the death of her sister a year ago. Eileen, Leena’s Grandmother is in a rut after her husband leaves her for the ballroom dance instructor. After Leena’s work forces her to take a two month paid leave, she comes up with the idea to switch places with her Grandma for two months. Eileen is looking for love and her options in the countryside are much smaller than they would be in London so she readily agrees. She also hopes that by switching with Leena, it will force Leena to reconnect with her mother.

This book was pretty much everything that I expected it to be and it was a delight. I very easily could’ve predicted the entire story from the beginning, but the writing and the characters were wonderful. I think what made the Flathshare so wonderful was that it wasn’t what I completely expected, which is why that one definitely had more of a wow factor for me, but that doesn’t mean I liked this book any less.

Leena’s struggle with grief was handled very well. There were a lot of lines in the story that I related to and it felt very real to me. I also liked her character growth while living in the country. It wasn’t over night and wasn’t drastic which I enjoyed. It did, however, seem to follow the Hallmark trope of her wearing her hair tightly pulled back to show how uptight she is and then slowly wearing it looser and more natural over time to show that she is more relaxed and happy in her life.

Between the two stories, I maybe ever so slightly preferred Eileen’s, if only because I haven’t read many stories like hers. I loved her adventure into London as a 79 year old. She wasn’t old and cranky like a lot of stories that center around older women are. She was ready to take on life and I loved how she just pushed her way into everybody else’s lives and meddle to make them better.

If you’re in the mood for a feel good story, I would definitely recommend picking this one up. While it’s not quite as stand-out as The Flatshare, it is wonderfully written story and I enjoyed very minute of reading it.

Simmer Down

By: Sarah Smith
Published Year: 2020
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 336

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this novel.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): In this finger-licking good rom-com, two is the perfect number of cooks in the kitchen.

Nikki DiMarco knew life wouldn’t be all sunshine and coconuts when she quit her dream job to help her mom serve up mouthwatering Filipino dishes to hungry beach goers, but she didn’t expect the Maui food truck scene to be so eat-or-be-eaten—or the competition to be so smoking hot.

But Tiva’s Filipina Kusina has faced bigger road bumps than the arrival of Callum James. Nikki doesn’t care how delectable the British food truck owner is—he rudely set up shop next to her coveted beach parking spot. He’s stealing her customers and fanning the flames of a public feud that makes her see sparks.

The solution? Let the upcoming Maui Food Festival decide their fate. Winner keeps the spot. Loser pounds sand. But the longer their rivalry simmers, the more Nikki starts to see a different side of Callum…a sweet, protective side. Is she brave enough to call a truce? Or will trusting Callum with her heart mean jumping from the frying pan into the fire?

First Impression

I honestly don’t remember my first impression of this book very well so, that probably doesn’t say much. The cover is cute, but I don’t know if it’s one I’d pick up based on that below. I was ultimately drawn in by the summary which sounded cute and I liked the fact that it focused on Filipino cuisine.

What I thought

Uh… well… the idea was cute?

Nikki runs a food truck with her mom in Hawaii. Callum parks his food truck next to hers one day. When Nikki goes to tell him that it’s an unwritten rule to park that close to another truck, he goes off on her and they immediately become rivals. Their rivalry comes to a head with the Maui Food Truck wars to determine who gets to keep their truck on that spot. Of course, in the midst of that they fight their attraction to each other.

Like I said, the idea was cute, but the execution was very lacking. The writing and character development was… not great. When Nikki meets Callum he’s all nice and has “kind eyes”. The minute she says that he’s not supposed to park next to her he turns into a raging ball of fire who immediately slams doors. The change of character gave me whiplash. Then, just ask quickly, they’re friends with benefits and in love with each other. Because of all of this back and forth it made the chemistry between the two main characters a little hard.

Since I liked the story itself I was able to finish the book. I liked the rivalry between food trucks and I liked Nikki’s family drama. I want to say I liked the characters but they really didn’t have much substance. Nikki was pretty decent but sometimes her attraction to Callum confused me. I also didn’t like the problem that splits them up partway through the book. It just seemed a little lazy.

While this isn’t the worst book I’ve read, the writing was just too poor to get over. I was interested enough to finish the book, though I will admit I skimmed bits of it. I would recommend skipping this one, even if you are looking for a light read. There are much better ones out there.

Book Club November 2020- You Should See Me in a Crown

By: Leah Johnson
Published Year: 2020
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pages: 336

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Liz Lighty has always believed she's too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it's okay -- Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor.

But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz's plans come crashing down . . . until she's reminded of her school's scholarship for prom king and queen. There's nothing Liz wants to do less than endure a gauntlet of social media trolls, catty competitors, and humiliating public events, but despite her devastating fear of the spotlight she's willing to do whatever it takes to get to Pennington.

The only thing that makes it halfway bearable is the new girl in school, Mack. She's smart, funny, and just as much of an outsider as Liz. But Mack is also in the running for queen. Will falling for the competition keep Liz from her dreams . . . or make them come true?

What I thought

Liz lives in small town outside of Indianapolis where Prom is a massive deal as is fitting in. Liz already stands out being poor and black, which is why she hides the fact that she’s queer. When she decides to run for prom, it’s initially just for the scholarship. But then it becomes something more.

I read this book in a day. It’s an easy read and was very cute. I loved all of the prom drama and different things that the potential kings and queens had to do. I liked Liz as well. She was awkward and nerdy but had a good heart. There were a few little bits here and there that felt thrown in at the last minute, but overall it was a really cute book.

This is the first young adult book to have been picked by Reese Witherspoon and while I can see her reasons, I do think there are better books out there. If I was between two diverse, young adult, debut books, I would pick This is My America over this one every time. Granted, they’re two very different types of books, but I think that one will stick with me much longer than this one.

This book is almost pure fun with some prejudice thrown in. I also was intrigued by the fact that her brother had sickle cell anemia and wish that there had been a little bit more to the story. I think between that, the prom, her friends, and the relationship there was a lot going on. In my opinion, a few things here and there could’ve been taken out so that other parts could’ve had more focus and a little bit more meat. But overall, I did enjoy the book and would gladly visit these characters and this town again.

What Book Club Thought

Oddly, talking about this book with book club made me like this book a little bit less. We were talking about a lot of the details and I started to realized that there were a lot of little things that didn’t match up and bothered me. The rest of book club really enjoyed the book. We agreed that it was a fun, light hearted novel and easy to read. I think it also made for some good discussion because we definitely talked about high school and what it would’ve been like in small town Indiana.

Queenie

By: Candice Carty-WIlliams
Published Year: 2019
Publisher: Orion
Pages: 330

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Queenie Jenkins is a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman living in London, straddling two cultures and slotting neatly into neither. She works at a national newspaper, where she’s constantly forced to compare herself to her white middle class peers. After a messy break up from her long-term white boyfriend, Queenie seeks comfort in all the wrong places…including several hazardous men who do a good job of occupying brain space and a bad job of affirming self-worth.

As Queenie careens from one questionable decision to another, she finds herself wondering, “What are you doing? Why are you doing it? Who do you want to be?”—all of the questions today’s woman must face in a world trying to answer them for her.

With “fresh and honest” (Jojo Moyes) prose, Queenie is a remarkably relatable exploration of what it means to be a modern woman searching for meaning in today’s world.

First Impression

Definitely was drawn in by the orange cover and the beautiful silhouette. The summary didn’t initially appeal to me, but when I was looking to purchase books by authors of color I remembered hearing lots of positive things about this one so it jumped to the top of my list. Everyone raved about this book, so while the first impression of the summary wasn’t super strong, the recommendations were.

What I thought

Queenie is a 25 year old black woman living in London. Her boyfriend has just asked her for a break and to move out of their shared apartment. Slowly but surely her life starts to unravel as she copes with being single, alone, and black in an ever changing neighborhood of London.

Initially, I really liked this book. A lot of what Queenie was going through hit close to home. I separated from my ex 2 years ago and went through a lot of similar emotions that Queenie did. It’s a very shocking adjustment to go from being with someone to all of a sudden, not. Honestly, the truth and rawness of it made it a little hard for me to read.

Then Queenie starts to cope by sleeping around (which, I couldn’t relate to but could understand why, having read a lot of books and seen a lot of movies). But it’s not just sleeping around, she is doing so with men who treat her like an object and it doesn’t seem to bother her in the least. The blunt way in which this was written made me a little uncomfortable and I continued to find this book hard to read but now in a different way

I understand (sort of) the stigma of seeing a therapist, but the entire book I was just yelling at Queenie to go talk to someone because she had problem upon problem that piled up that she just wasn’t dealing with. In addition to that, while I try to understand her anger towards a lot of things, such as people touching her hair, I did feel like her reactions were overblown at times. I’m not saying that she’s wrong, just it’s a very different reaction than I would have had so I didn’t quite understand it.

I’m very glad that I read this book but I definitely think that it is not for me. Meaning, I am very much not the target audience.

Overall, the book is well written and the story is intriguing. I wanted to see what happened to Queenie and I really enjoyed reading about her friends. But there was a lot of this book that made me feel uncomfortable. And not because it was making me face realities I’ve been denying, like I felt when I read This is My America. There is a lot of objectification that is written in a way that I jut didn’t like and I could see it affecting a lot of other readers too. If you’re ok with scenes like that, I do recommend checking this book out. If not, then I say you won’t be missing out on much.

In a Holidaze

By: Christina Lauren
Pages: 336
Published Year: 2020
Publisher: Gallery Books

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this book.

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): It’s the most wonderful time of the year…but not for Maelyn Jones. She’s living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job, and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions.

But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favorite place in the world—the snowy Utah cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born, along with two other beloved families. Mentally melting down as she drives away from the cabin for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy.

The next thing she knows, tires screech and metal collides, everything goes black. But when Mae gasps awake…she’s on an airplane bound for Utah, where she begins the same holiday all over again. With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loop—and finally get her true love under the mistletoe.

Jam-packed with yuletide cheer, an unforgettable cast of characters, and Christina Lauren’s trademark “downright hilarious” (Helen Hoang, author of The Bride Test) hijinks, this swoon-worthy romantic read will make you believe in the power of wishes and the magic of the holidays.

First Impressions

As you should know by now if you’ve been reading my blog with any regularity, Christina Lauren is (are?) one of my favorite authors. I have absolutely adored them ever since reading Josh & Hazels Guide to Not Dating. They are on my automatic to-read list and I know that if I’m in a reading slump or a life slump, that if I pick up one of their books, all will be right with the world.

What I thought

Perfection. I loved everything about this book and it was exactly what I needed.

Every year, Maelyn and her family spend the week of Christmas with her parents’ college friends and their families. At the end of this year’s trip, however, she doesn’t feel as fulfilled as she usually does. Not only is she living back at home at 26, but she has kissed the wrong brother and found out that the cabin is being sold and the won’t be able to all come together again next year. That is, until on the drive back to the airport, Mae and her family are in a terrible accident and she wakes up on the airplane back to the cabin at the beginning of the trip. Mae is the only one who knows that this has all happened before.

When I was describing this book to a friend they said that it seemed like a Hallmark movie and that is exactly the vibe it gives off. This book could easily be made into a Hallmark Christmas movie and I would love every second of it. Mae has been in love with older brother Andrew (not her older brother) but made out with younger brother Theo in the first reality. I loved watching Mae and Andrew’s relationship evolve. The only issue I had was that the relationship with Mae and Theo was a bit underdeveloped. Apparently they were the closest of friends, though they had grown apart in years, but in the story they barely interact. It made it difficult to understand some of the difficulties they were having. I wish that the story had started maybe a day earlier with more interactions between Mae and Theo so that I understood that side of the story a bit more.

Every other side character was so much fun. I loved her “uncle” (whose name is escaping me at the moment). You could tell he really loved and cared for Mae and I loved that he was her confidant. He was a bit more active in the first few rounds of vacation that she lived through, so I do wish he hadn’t fallen by the wayside quite so much in the final reality, but I understand why he did.

I also really enjoyed Mae. I loved her take charge attitude but that she struggled with learning how to do that. I could see some people getting annoyed with her figuring stuff out, but I loved her. I found her to be very relatable and I rooted for her the whole way through.

I just overall enjoyed everything about this book. I don’t think there’s anything that I could criticize. This is the perfect book to pick up for the holiday season and to read in a cozy cabin, just like in the book. I’m so glad that I loved this book as much as I did, because I wasn’t as crazy about their last two books. Christina Lauren does it again! Love.