It’s been another great reading month thanks to snow, rain, and a cough that has decided to set up shop in my lungs for the last several days. There have been book and author discoveries that I hope you will be inspired to pursue! Authors Amy Harmon, Diane Chamberlain, Fiona Davis, and Erin Bartels have been the writers I’m most happy to have found recently. You should definitely check out their books.
Favorites. You will notice there are some with 5 stars (I’m using the Goodreads rating system because it is the most recognizable) and some with “extra shiny” 5 stars. Anything with 5 or 4 stars is one I really liked or loved, but books with those extra shiny ones had a profound effect on my reading experience. We’re talking a “book hangover” type of effect. The kind that lasts for days. All of them have reviews on this site that I will link to and all of them I highly, highly recommend. Let’s take a look:
Top 3 Favorites this month are:
Making Faces, by Amy Harmon (10 Stars on this site!)
The Spectacular, by Fiona Davis (Available June 13, 2023/10 Stars on this site!)
The Homecoming of Samuel Lake, by Jenny Wingfield (10 Stars on this site!)
Believe me, three 10-Star books in one month is pretty remarkable! These and all of the other 5 star books are very much worth your time. Here are more links to reviews on this site:
The Last House on the Street, by Diane Chamberlain
Beyond the Wand, by Tom Felton
The Dead Romantics, by Ashley Poston
And there are the 5 star books that didn’t get a review but that I still recommend:
Travels With Charley, by John Steinbeck, is a famous quasi-memoir by a beloved American writer. I say “quasi” because its truthfulness has been challenged, even by his own family. Regardless of whether Steinbeck really went to these places or wrote the book while sitting in his own backyard, it’s a charming, introspective tale of a man and his dog off to discover the nation.
The Butterfly Girl, by Rene Denfeld, is part 2 of the Child Finder series and follows more heroic adventures of Naomi Cottle. Once an abducted child herself, Naomi now seeks others who are lost. This time she encounters a young runaway while hunting a killer who preys on children who society has forgotten. Although I liked the first book slightly more (The Child Finder,) this one is still a very worthy sequel.
Everything Is Just Beginning, by Erin Bartels, is the first of many books I plan to read by this author. It is the story of a directionless young man who crashes the party of a big time music producer. Here he meets the producer’s daughter, who, like him, writes and plays songs but has the connections to make dreams a reality. Their friendship and collaboration is full of hope and pathos. The book is full of the poetic lyrics they write together and also has a special QR Code for the reader to listen to a special playlist on Spotify.
And now, on to March! I have several books lined up to read. Let’s see how many find their way here.
HAPPY READING
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