The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

 

Are you looking for the perfect summer read? Well, you can stop searching now because The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid absolutely delivers a scorching summer read. This book has it all: diversity, romance, humor, and a little intrigue. If you've never read anything by Taylor Jenkins Reid, you seriously need to. I read my first book by her last year and immediately fell in love. She's one of my favourite authors and one I can truly say just keeps getting better. This story is woven together so intricately that you will begin to wonder if you're actually reading a celebrity memoir.

Evelyn Hugo is a 79 year old former Hollywood headliner who is finally ready to tell the story of her seven husbands. Throughout her time in Hollywood she was the seductive blonde with massive sex appeal and more than one scandal to her name. There is way more than meets the eye with Evelyn, though. She recruits journalist, Monique, to tell her story. Monique is fairly young and going through a divorce. Evelyn's choice to recruit Monique leaves her curious and left me wondering if there was some sort of connection between the two.

I found myself getting lost in this beautiful story. Each section is about Evelyn's relationship with one of her husbands and I could not read this fast enough. There is one person in particular who is the love of Evelyn's life and one of the reasons she has chosen to finally tell her story. I won't spoil anything, though, because it is truly better to not know who her one true love is until she wants you to know.

This story was completely captivating. Evelyn was a fantastic character full of contradictions; humble yet bold, soft yet hard, and a little infuriating at times. She was the perfect actress and one Hollywood would surely be obsessed with today if she were real. I really did feel like she was real at times, which is a testament to Taylor Jenkins Reid. Reid has a way with words, especially when dealing with love and loss. She shines brightest when she's writing about love and loss and what it means to be human. Her characters become real people right before your eyes.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a must-read this summer! It's on sale today, so go out and buy it! While you're there, pick up one of Taylor Jenkin Reid's other books because she is amazing. I would probably read her grocery list and be enthralled.

I'm part of Simon and Schuster Canada's blog tour, so a copy of the book was provided for free, but as always, opinions remain my own. Make sure to check out my fellow bloggers posts; something tells me their feelings will be similar to my own.

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The hardest thing as a book blogger/reviewer is writing a review for a book you absolutely loved. If I didn't like a book, I can usually find a few reasons why and BAM, there you go. For a book I loved, I just want to write, 'THIS WAS AWESOME. READ IT,' but I don't think that's really effective.

The book that I absolutely loved and am therefore having a hard time reviewing, is One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I picked up After I Do by Reid earlier this year, and completely fell in love. Why did no one tell me to read her books earlier? When the lovely people at Simon and Schuster Canada contacted me and asked if I'd like an early copy of One True Loves, I immediately said YESPLEASEGIMMETHANKYOU. Or, you know, 'yes, please! Thank you!' like an actual polite human. I devoured this book in two sittings, staying up way too late one Sunday night.

The quick synopsis for this book is Emma marries her high school sweetheart, Jessie. They spend their days traveling and living their lives far away from their hometown. On their first wedding anniversary, Jessie disappears in a helicopter accident over the Pacific. Emma moves home to grieve and try to start over, where she is reacquainted with an old friend named Sam. Sam used to work in her parent's bookshop. They fall in love, get engaged, and then Jessie is found alive. Emma clearly has a choice to make. Does she choose Sam, her new love who offers her the quiet life she's discovered she really loves, or does she choose Jessie, who offers her the crazy, travel-filled life she once had?

I loved both Sam and Jessie for different reasons, however I did lean towards one of them more than the other. I won't say who, because that's who she ultimately picked and I was very happy with the end of this book. They both offered her a completely different lifestyle, and part of her choice was choosing which version of Emma she wanted to be. It wasn't just about choosing the right guy. She had to choose the right Emma. I loved trying to figure out who she was going to pick and see her settle into her future. There was a lot of growth for Emma, and it all felt very genuine.

One of my favourite chapters in this book was the chapter dealing with Emma's grief. It was so raw, and yet so beautifully written. I completely felt Emma's pain and anguish. That chapter didn't follow the format of the rest of the book, but I thought it worked really well. The rest of the book is written in Before and After, so you really get a sense of Emma, Sam, and Jessie.

No one writes about love and loss like Taylor Jenkins Reid. I've now read all of her books, and I've loved every one of them. She has a way with words that leaves you nodding along. I'm married, and many of her books deal with marriage in some sense, so I can always relate to the characters. I think you could definitely enjoy these books even if you aren't married. There is something to take away from each book, no matter your season of life. Her books always leave you wondering what you'd do in the situation she poses, and I find myself incredibly grateful for all I have.

One True Loves is on sale today, so please do yourself a favour and go out and buy it and then buy her entire back list. You won't be sorry.

Top Ten Best Books I Read In 2015

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish.

Narrowing down my favourite books of the year is next to impossible. In order to do so, I went to Goodreads and these 13 books are the only books to receive the coveted 5 star rating from me this year.

All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven - This book killed me and broke my heart.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah - If you like historical fiction, this HAS to be on your list. It was fantastic!

I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios - I loved this one. It felt very authentic and real.

The Lost Girls: Three Friends. Four Continents. One Unconventional Detour Around the World by Jennifer Baggett, Holly C. Corbett, and Amanda Pressner - This made me want to quit my job and travel even more than I already do.

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen - I was starting to wonder if I was outgrowing Dessen, but after this book, I definitely think I'm not.

Before The Storm and Secrets She Left Behind by Diane Chamberlain - Such a fun duology with an awesome main character.

The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley - Another historical fiction, but this one takes place in the past and present. Can't wait to read the rest!

The Blue by Lucy Clarke - Clarke's books have the best settings and always make me long to travel. This one had a bit of a mystery, too.

Those Girls by Chevy Stevens - If you're looking for a thrilling mystery, this is the book you want.

Always The Bridesmaid by Lindsey Kelk - Kelk is hilarious and this one had me laughing out loud.

Me Before You by JoJo Moyes - Another one that broke my heart into a million pieces.

Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson - Lawson is a brilliant advocate for mental illness, but she is also hilarious.

Top Ten New-to-Me Authors I Read in 2015

 

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish.

Creating this list, I found I didn't actually read a lot of new authors. There was only about a handful more that I could have added to this list. I should make a goal to change that in 2016. Who knows how many other fantastic authors I'm missing out on.

This is not in any particular order, just the order they showed up in my Goodreads.

Some of these authors are debut authors, like Sabaa Tahir and Susan Philpott so I've only obviously read their debuts. You should check them out if you're looking for a new author. Sabaa Tahir wrote An Ember in the Ashes, which I absolutely loved and was one of my favourite fantasy novels this year. Philpott wrote an exciting cross-Canada story about an underground railway system that helps women in trouble. It's called Blown Red and I have an arc of the second one, Dark Territory, which is set to come out in January.

The others on the list all have multiple books out and some are very well-known. I wrote yesterday about my complicated relationship with Colleen Hoover. My favourite of her books so far is Maybe Someday.

Morgan Rhodes is releasing the fourth book in her Falling Kingdoms series next week and I cannot wait to get my hands on it! Check it out if you're missing Game of Thrones, like I always am.

Lucinda Riley writes historical fiction novels and I read the first book in her newest series called The Seven Sisters and I loved it. I'm impatiently waiting for the next one, The Storm Sister, to come out in the spring.

Emery Lord is a master at writing female friendships and I fell in love with her love of female friendships.

Marissa Meyer writes the Lunar Chronicles series and I should be ashamed that I only read them this year, but I actually loved being able to mostly marathon the series. Winter was an incredible end to the series.

Jennifer Niven wrote All The Bright Places which killed me and I think it's an important book for everyone. It's, of course, being made into a movie so that should be interesting.

Harlan Coben is the author of many suburban thrillers and I love me a good thriller. I seem to get instantly addicted to his books and fly through them.

I've only read one JoJo Moyes books so far, Me Before You, and that book left me a weeping mess. I seriously need to pick up her other books asap.

Always the Bridesmaid by Lindsey Kelk

Have you read anything by Lindsey Kelk yet? Because if you haven't, you definitely need to get to it!

From Goodreads: Everyone loves a bridesmaid.
Except Maddie, who’s perpetually asked to be one.
Everyone loves a wedding.
Except Maddie’s best friend, who’s getting divorced.
And everyone loves the way Maddie’s so happy backstage.
Except Maddie herself.
One best friend is in wedding countdown while the other heads for marriage meltdown. And as Maddie juggles her best chance at promotion in years with bridezilla texts and late-night counselling sessions, she starts to wonder – is it time to stop being the bridesmaid?

My thoughts: Kelk is definitely on her game in this new book! If you've read Kelk then you already know that her books are funny, but this one was hilarious. Definitely the funniest book I've read in a while. What I like about her books is that, while funny, they're also real. Her characters are certainly flawed, but in a way that you or I are flawed.

Maddie is sick and tired of being walked on by her friends, family, and work, but is too nice to speak up and say much about it until she's had enough. I found her family to be really frustrating, her sister especially. I can't even remember her name because I was so annoyed with her. The only one who had any sort of redeeming quality was her brother, and even he was a bit of a wanker. Side note, Kelk's books always make me start using British slang. This is not a bad thing.

Maddie's best friends, Sarah and Lauren were also frustrating, but to a lesser degree. I really liked Sarah and her situation made me really sad because who wants to go through a divorce in your early 30s?  She was cynical (obviously) and sarcastic, and I always appreciate good sarcasm. I'd like to read a book with Sarah as the main character. I didn't like Lauren as much because I found her selfish and spoiled, but we all have friends like that. Unless you are that friend, in which case you probably don't even know it. Now you're wondering if you're that friend.

There is, of course, romance in this book. Maddie has a one night stand with Will, which turns into lots of one night stands with him. She can't get him to commit to anything more than bedroom fun, and naturally, can't see the other guy who would be perfect for her. I liked the romance in the book, but it wasn't my favourite part.

Maddie is an events assistant for a large PR firm and has been in the same position for the last 10 years. Her boss is an absolute nightmare and even Satan wouldn't want to work for her. An opportunity for a promotion comes up at work, and Maddie is forced into applying. This is where things got really fun because Maddie is put in full charge of planning a baby welcoming party for a gay couple with extravagant requests. As you can imagine, things don't go so well. This was one of my favourite scenes, and had me laughing like a moron alone on my balcony:

There was a lot of growth for Maddie in the book, and I was excited when she finally started to stick up for herself and refuse to make everyone else happy. It's hard to always be on for everyone else, especially when they don't appreciate it. It was refreshing to see her argue with her friends and finally tell them off because they really needed to hear it.

I loved the very end with all the IMs, emails, and texts, and wished those had been scattered throughout the entire book. I love when authors add little things like that to a story.

If you're looking for something hilarious and light, but with real, flawed characters, check out any of Lindsey Kelk's books. I'm still making my way through her books because I don't want to run out of them. 5 out of 5 stars!

Top Ten Of My Auto-Buy Authors

Top Ten Of Your Auto-buy Authors (no matter the genre or what it's about...you'll buy it from these authors!) Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish.

I feel like a broken record with many of these, but what can I say? I like to support my favourites. Some of these authors I still have unread books by, but I intend to get to them.

Jodi Picoult - I don't think I could rave about Picoult any more than I already do. Leaving Time blew me away, as do all of her books.

Kristin Hannah - Hannah is an author that I think just keeps getting better the more she writes. I absolutely adored The Nightingale. It's a historical fiction set during WW2, and shows the struggles that the women had to go through. It also shows had amazing they were, and how integral to the war effort they were.

Chevy Stevens - If you like thrillers, Stevens' has to be on your TBR. She is fantastic at writing thrillers that get into your head. Her latest release, Those Girls, left me an emotional wreck by the end.

Lucy Clarke - She only as three books out so far, but I have absolutely loved each one. Her newest, The Blue, just came out this month and it was a 5 star read for me. She is a master at writing breathtaking settings. Random bonus: her covers are always gorgeous.

Emery Lord - Lord is a new addition to my auto-buys, as I just read both of her books, Open Road Summer and The Start of Me and You, this year. She writes YA contemporary fiction, and celebrates female friendship, which is a nice change.

Sarah Dessen - I've been reading Dessen's novels for about 10 years now, and I don't see myself ever stopping. They're YA, but they always make me nostalgic and understand my past a little bit more. Saint Anything was released earlier this year, and it's Dessen at her finest.

Kimberly McCreight - Her latest, Where They Found Her, as well as her previous book, Reconstructing Amelia, kept me guessing the entire time. Her characters are very relatable, and you may find yourself in one of them. Perhaps even the 'bad guy'.

Morgan Matson - She is another contemporary YA writer who writes realistic characters. I wrote a Why You Should be Reading Morgan Matson post last year that better explains my love for her books.

Lindsey Kelk - Her books are just so much fun to read. I always turn to her when I need something light and fun. I don't consider 'light and fun' to be a negative thing at all. I recently started her I Heart series and loved the first book. I also really loved The Single Girls' To-Do List.

Diane Chamberlain - She is an author whose back list I still need to finish (I have Summer's Child sitting right next to me), and is someone I turn to when I need a book that I know I'll love.

I know I've mentioned all of these authors in previous posts, buy they're all just so good! Who is your #1 MUST BUY author?

The Blue by Lucy Clarke

I stumbled upon Lucy Clarke last year, and fell in love with her two books, Swimming at Night and A Single Breath. Both of them made it onto my favourites list for the year, and they're books I push onto others whenever I can. Clarke's writing is just so beautiful and readable. That's not to say it's simple or mindless, because it's definitely not. Her books are detailed, and I absolutely love the mystery in all of them.  The Blue was perhaps a little darker and grittier than her previous two, but it was just as great! I started this book on June 30th, but read the majority of it on Canada Day because I could not put it down. 

 

Go ahead and drop me right into that cover. I'd be one happy girl.

 

Clarke is a master at writing settings that will transport you and make you never want to return to reality. I lose myself in the beautiful surroundings in her books. The Blue had me picturing long, lazy days laying on beaches and snorkeling through coral reefs, while spending the evenings drifting through the ocean on a beautiful yacht. If you have severe wanderlust, like I do, beware, this book will make it 10x worse. 

 

Best friends Kitty and Lana decide to take a trip after some personal issues come to a head, and find themselves enchanted by The Blue, a yacht being sailed by a group of misfits looking for adventure. After befriending the crew, they are invited to continue to sail with the group. In total, there are seven people aboard the yacht, so one can imagine that there would be problems. No one ever imagined a death, though, and that's what happens after one crew member disappears overboard.

 

The characters in this book were fantastic. Considering that there's seven of them, they're all very well developed. Everyone appears to be keeping a secret and no one is entirely up front about why they've come to The Blue. When you live and breathe the sea, trust in your fellow crew members is essential, but what do you do when you're not sure you can trust anyone? The story is told mostly through Lana's point of view after she leaves the yacht, with the perspective switching between the present, and her time on the yacht. Dual perspectives is one of my favourite writing styles when done well, and it works really well in this book. It definitely drew me into the story even more. I HAD to know why Lana left the yacht, and Kitty, behind. 

 

Lucy Clarke tends to reveal the big event early on, and then spends the rest of the book describing what led to the event, and the consequences. In this case, the big event is that the yacht has sunk and all crew members are missing, including Kitty. Once that was revealed, I was done. I needed more. There are always fantastic twists and turns and a few moments where I stopped reading and just said, "what?!" to myself.

 

Oh, and that epilogue. Oooh, that epilogue! Killed me. RIP me.

If I haven't convinced you to read this, Simon and Schuster Canada have kindly provided an excerpt from the book! Read below to get hooked:

 

The paintbrush slips from Lana’s fingers, turning through the air as it falls. It clatters to the floor at the foot of the easel, splattering tiny flecks of blue acrylic paint against her ankle.

Lana doesn’t glance down, doesn’t notice the spots of paint that decorate the small tattoo of a wing inked on her ankle. Her gaze remains fixed on the radio that sits on the windowsill, her fingers raised as if still holding the brush to the canvas. That silver box of metal and wires holds the entire sum of her concentration as she focuses on the voice of a news presenter.

“...has sunk a hundred nautical miles off the north coast of New Zealand. The yacht—The Blue—was believed to have left Fiji eight days ago with a crew of five on board, including two New Zealanders. A search-and-rescue operation has been launched from the Maritime Rescue Centre at the Bay of Islands. The Coast Guard has described the sea state as moderate with wind speeds of up to twenty knots.”

Lana blinks, struggling to absorb the information, as if it’s rain running off hard, scorched earth. Her gaze bores into the radio, willing it to disclose something more, but the newscaster has already moved on to the next story.

She turns on the spot, lifting a hand to her head. She feels the cool silk of her headscarf keeping her hair off her face. It has been eight months since she stepped from that yacht, her skin tanned, her feet bare, a backpack heaved onto her shoulders. She’d walked along the shoreline with dark hollows beneath her eyes and hadn’t looked back. She couldn’t.

As she turns, she catches sight of herself in the long mirror that leans against her apartment wall. She stares: her face has paled, and large green eyes glare back at her, wide with questions. Was Kitty still on board after all this time? Had she stayed even after Lana left? It’s possible that Kitty could have returned to England. Lana tries to picture her riding the Tube with a script in her hand, glossy dark hair loose over her shoulders, her lips painted red. But the image won’t form, not clearly. She knows that Kitty wouldn’t have left the yacht, because how could either of them go home after what’d happened?

------------------------------

See? You know you want to find out what happens! The Blue by Lucy Clarke is available August 4th from all major book retailers. Check it out, as you will not be disappointed. Five out of five wanderlust filled stars.

A copy of this book was graciously provided by Simon and Schuster Canada, so thank you to them!

Those Girls by Chevy Stevens

I discovered Chevy Stevens about two years ago, and have absolutely devoured each of her books. My mom is also a huge fan, and I literally spend most of the year listening to, "when is the next Chevy book coming out?"

Her newest book, Those Girls, came out July 7th and did not disappoint!

From the publisher: Life has never been easy for the three Campbell sisters. Jess, Courtney, and Dani live on a remote ranch in Western Canada where they work hard and try to stay out of the way of their father's temper. One night, a fight gets out of hand and the sisters are forced to go on the run, only to get caught in an even worse nightmare when their truck breaks down in a small town. As events spiral out of control they find themselves in a horrifying situation and are left with no choice but to change their names and create new lives.
Eighteen years later, they are still trying to forget what happened that summer. But when one of the sisters goes missing, followed closely by her niece, they are pulled back into the past. And this time there's nowhere left to run.

Stevens knows how to write a book that will leave you tense with anticipation. Within a few pages, you are sucked into the story and it won't let you go. I found myself all tensed up during a lot of the story, but I could not stop reading. The setting is fantastic because it's set during the hot summer days, but what happens is so dark and horrible. The contrast between the two really adds to the feeling of the book. I should mention that there are some scenes of violence that may be triggering or difficult to read.

I really liked all the characters and just wanted to protect them, especially Skylar (the niece). She was a bit naïve, but that is no surprise considering how protective her mother was. Though naïve, she was also stubborn and strong. Courtney absolutely broke my heart, and watching her struggle to rid herself of the past was difficult. I wish I'd gotten more of Dani's story because I felt like I barely got to know her.

I can barely write this review because I loved the book so much, and I don't want to give away any spoilers. It was visceral and suspenseful and Stevens is a master at writing thrillers that will leave you breathless. I could not turn the pages fast enough, and I actually had to stop myself from reading so quickly because I was missing things.

While this is incredibly intense, the bond between the sisters and the niece is actually heartwarming. I was so emotionally spent by the end, but also so moved and almost happy. Sounds weird for a thriller, right? But it totally worked.

Stevens' books are terrifying because they are situations that can happen to anyone. They aren't hugely fabricated tales, but simple things we all do everyday that lead to terror. These books mess with my head because I find myself wondering what I would do in the same situation and they always make me a little edgy for a few days. I kind of love that, though. Maybe I'm just weird.

Not sure it's for you? There's an excerpt on St. Martin's Press page here that you should check out if you're unsure.  If that doesn't hook you, then well, I don't know what else will.

I can't say enough about how great this book was. If you want a good thriller, pick this up. Still searching for that elusive book after reading Gone Girl? Pick up ANY of Steven's books. I dislike book/author comparisons, but I am willing to make one in this case.

5 out of 5 incredible stars for sure and my favourite thriller this year! I can't wait to pass this onto my mom and go back to listening to "when is the next Chevy book coming out?" I want to know, too, mom.

May Wrap-Up

I keep thinking I'll do a wrap-up post each month, but it never happens. So here's what I hope will not be a one time thing!

Books I read in May:
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir - I started this on the last day in April, but finished in May. LOVED this book. Can't wait for the next one!

Finding Paris by Joy Preble - This was absolutely not what I was expecting, but not in a bad way. I was expecting a nice summery road trip story, but there was much more.

The Start of Me & You by Emery Lord - This was the summery contemporary story I was looking for. I really enjoy Lord's writing style and that she celebrates female friendship.

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen - LOVED. I will be reading Sarah Dessen when I'm 50.

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover - This wasn't my favourite (favourite so far is Maybe Someday), but it was still a good read. I can understand why so many people do love it, though.

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover -  I read this entire book in a day, as Hoover's writing is very addictive. This started out really good, but the ending was a little too dramatic and unbelievable for my tastes.

A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J. Maas - Absolutely loved this book, too. I think I will enjoy this series even more than the Throne of Glass series.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare - Not as good as City of Bones, but still interesting. I'm going to finish this series and then finally read City of Heavenly Fire.

Before The Storm by Diane Chamberlain - Really loved this book and (most) of its characters. If you want a multi-layered story, then check this out.

Secrets She Left Behind by Diane Chamberlain - This is a sequel to Before The Storm, and while it wasn't as good as the first, it was still really good. I just had a harder time liking one of the main characters in this book.

10 books read this month! Not bad at all. I'm at 43 books for the year, which is further than I was this time last year. To be fair, this time last year I was knee-deep in wedding preparations.

Currently reading:
The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley - I am really enjoying this so far! It's a really interesting story about seven sisters who after their adopted father dies, he leaves them clues about where they came from. This will be a seven book series and each book is one sister's story. This book is about Maia's story, who was the first one adopted and whose roots trace back to Rio. I'm only about 160 pages in, but it's really great so far.

I'm also reading Cocktails at Le Carmen by Isabelle Andover, which is a book I got for review. Look out for a cocktail post on June 19th, and a review during the week of the 22nd!

It's been a very good reading month for me, but my reading will be pushed to the side from the 12th to about the 20th as my husband and I are heading back to Nova Scotia for a week! We went there last year for our honeymoon and I absolutely fell in love with the province. We are also going to be heading to Prince Edward Island for the first time, where I'm determined to buy a copy of Anne of Green Gables. I'm SO freaking excited to go!

Other than that, all I've been doing is working. Husband and I did have a day off together (doesn't happen very often), so we went exploring and happened upon a waterfall!

That's all for now. Hopefully I can do this next month, too!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 Favourite Authors

Top Ten Tuesday was created by the ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish, and is a fun weekly top ten list of some sort.

Today's list is top ten favourite authors. Talk about a hard topic! That's almost like asking an avid reader to name their absolute favourite book. It just can't be done. At least I can't do it. I will try, though, to list my favourite authors.

1.) Jodi Picoult - she has been my favourite author since I discovered My Sister's Keeper years ago (pre-movie hype). I've enjoyed every book I've read by her, and I've almost read every one. She is honestly getting better and better the more she releases. I absolutely gushed over her latest, Leaving Time here. She will forever be an auto-buy.

2.) Kristin Hannah - If you love books about female friendships that span decades, you need to read Firefly Lane. It was fantastic! There's a sequel, Fly Away, which wasn't as good as Firefly Lane, but worth checking out. Like Picoult, Kristin Hannah keeps getting better. Her latest, The Nightingale, follows two sisters during World War 2. I loved it and it's my favourite read of 2015 so far.

3.) J.K. Rowling - I don't even have to explain this one, do I?

4.) Sarah Dessen - Dessen is my favourite YA author. I discovered her books during the summer before I went to University, which kind of makes me sad because I wish I'd read her books while I was in high school. The older I get the less I feel I relate to her high school aged characters (obviously), but I will continue to read her books because I just love her writing and the way it takes me back.

5.) Morgan Matson - I discovered Matson last year, and I'm so happy that I did. Like Dessen, Matson's stories leave me reminiscing about the past and happy that high school is far behind me. I loved Amy and Roger's Epic Detour and wrote a post about why you should be reading Morgan Matson here.

6.) Lucy Clarke - I also discovered Lucy Clarke last year when I won a book through Goodreads and absolutely fell in love. Her stories are just so good and captivating. She has a way of writing that makes you feel like you're right there in the story. Her books always amp up my intense wanderlust, too. She's only released two books to date (A Single Breath & Swimming at Night), but I've loved them both.

7.) Chevy Stevens - She is a Canadian who writes intense thrillers. I even got my mom loving her books. So much so that she's forever asking me when the next Chevy book comes out. Her books always have some sort of twist, and characters that you'll both love and hate. Plus, I like that they take place in Canada!

8.) Diane Chamberlain - I don't think I've read a book by Chamberlain that I didn't like. She has a long list of books, so I'm slowly working my way through them, but they're so great because they're all so different. Two of my favourites have been The Midwife's Confession and Necessary Lies.

9.) Rainbow Rowell - I've read all of her books and loved them for different reasons. I absolutely loved Fan Girl and Landline made me reflect on my (new) marriage (here). She has such a great ability to write real characters. I can always find myself, or my loved ones, in her characters and I love that.

10.) Diana Gabaldon - I read Outlander last year and loved it! I'm slowly making my way through the rest of the series (I've read the first four books), but I'm taking my time because they're so long, and because I want to savour them. I love the world she's created, and I often find myself missing Jamie and Claire when I'm not reading about them.

Well, that was actually easier than I thought! I'm impressed that my list includes all women (girl power!)

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Historical fiction is a genre that I don't tend to read a lot of, but that I love. It's a genre that's full of rich details, despair, poverty, and ultimately hope. Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale was no exception. If pressed to give an answer on my favourite authors, I always answer with Jodi Picoult and Kristin Hannah. They never disappoint.

From Goodreads:
In love we find out who we want to be.
In war we find out who we are.

FRANCE, 1939

In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France...but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When France is overrun, Vianne is forced to take an enemy into her house, and suddenly her every move is watched; her life and her child’s life is at constant risk. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates around her, she must make one terrible choice after another.

Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets the compelling and mysterious Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can...completely. When he betrays her, Isabelle races headlong into danger and joins the Resistance, never looking back or giving a thought to the real--and deadly--consequences.

With courage, grace and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah takes her talented pen to the epic panorama of WWII and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women’s war. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France--a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime.

My thoughts: I read this book fairly slowly (for me) because I wanted to absorb everything about it. I needed time between readings to fully comprehend the sadness and the beauty in both the words and the story.

I fell in love with these characters. Strong, resilient Isabelle and her equally strong sister Vianne. Both women had crosses to bear and their own struggles, but each made the war their own and did what they had to in order to survive. Vianne may seem like the sister who is less strong, but as the story goes on, you see the sacrifices she has to make in order to keep her family safe. It could not have been easy to be a woman (or person) in occupied France during World War II. I feel like any comment I make will not even be close to describing the horrors and sadness of that time, but Kristin Hannah does a good job at it.

This is definitely a tough book to read. It's heartbreaking, dark, and at times can be very difficult to read, but it's important. My history lessons as a child were about the soldiers. The men who fought the war and the men who started the war. I don't remember learning much about the women during the war, but they were fighting, too, and ooh, fight they did. This book, while dark, celebrates women in the war. You won't get battle scenes here, but you will get strong women battling to fight their own demons - inner and outer.

I'm having trouble properly reviewing this book because I don't want to give too much away. I want people to pick this up because it's an important book to read. It will satisfy historical fiction lovers, as well as those just looking for a good read. Have some Kleenex handy, and perhaps some funny animal photos, because you will cry. You'll reach the end with tears running down your face, but also with hope and love for the real people who suffered through the war. After all, Vianne and Isabelle are just characters, but real people are the ones who fought, died, and survived during this awful time. Read it for them.

*photos by me.

Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult: a review

I don't even remember when I read my first Jodi Picoult book, but once I did, I was immediately hooked. There is something about the way she writes that leaves you wanting more. If you've read her books, you know that there is usually a twist of some sort that leaves you breathless with anticipation. Leaving Time was no exception.

When I heard that there was a new book coming out, it became my most anticipated read of the year, and I could not wait until October 14th. I think my husband got tired of listening to me prattle on about how a new Jodi Picoult book was coming soon (this started in January)!

Leaving Time tells the story of 13 year old Jenna Metcalf who is looking for her mother, a scientist who has spent her life studying elephants. Jenna was born on her parent's elephant sanctuary, which while a safe place for elephants, was not a safe haven for people after an accident left one worker dead, and Jenna's mom, Alice, missing.

Jenna lives with her grandma because after the accident her father has a mental breakdown and lives in a psychiatric facility. Jenna knows that her mother would never leave her, and sets out to find her. In her quest, she befriends two very unlikely allies. Virgil is a retired police detective who originally worked on the accident at the sanctuary. Serenity is a disgraced psychic who has lost her psychic abilities, but doesn't have the heart to turn Jenna away.

One of the (many) reasons that I love Jodi Picoult's books is because I always learn something. The story is told from Jenna, Alice, Serenity, and Virgil's perspectives with Alice's story detailing her work with elephants. Elephants are absolutely fascinating creatures. Did you know that they grieve like humans, and recognize people they haven't seen in years?

Because this is a Jodi Picoult book, I knew there was a twist coming, and come it did! I realized the twist a page before it was revealed, but even if you figure it out sooner, it won't take away anything from your reading experience. Once it was revealed, I went back and re-read some parts of the book that were now enhanced because of the reveal.

I really can't gush about this book enough. It is intelligent, engrossing, and moving. You will not be able to put this down until you finish. Before you read this, you can read the two companion novellas (Larger than Life focuses on Alice, and Where There's Smoke focuses on Serenity). They will definitely leave you wanting to read Leaving Time even more!

Now that I've read this, I guess I have to go back to waiting for her next book. This book will stay with me for a long while, though, and will make the wait easier.

If you're interested in learning more about elephants and ways to help them, visit www.elephants.com, which is the site for an actual sanctuary in Hohenwald Tennessee. Some of the elephants in Leaving Time are based on elephants at the sanctuary.