Recently Read

I ended 2018 on a reading binge! The week between Christmas and New Years I read a ton. Safe to say Colleen Hoover can do no wrong in my eyes - she's one of my favorite authors and probably why she's the author of so many of the books below. One of the questions I'm asked is how I find the time to read. I'm thankful for my commute to and from work because that gives me 20-30 minutes to read and at night / during the weekends when I'm rocking Sophia to sleep I'll read on my phone. It's allowed me to really plow through my TBR (to be read) list! 

My Oxford Year || This book broke my heart, in the best way possible. It was such a great read andif you are a fan of Me Before You then you'll like this book. I actually liked it so much more than Me Before You. Ella is a fierce girl ready to make her mark for her one year at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Of course she's thrown of track with Jamie who has a really big secret that changes the course for their time together. It takes a lot for a book to move me to tears, but this one did and I still can't shake it! LOVED IT! 

Verity || WOW! I haven't read a book that I needed to finish in a really long time and this one I read in a day! I love Colleen Hoover's writing style and this was a departure from her usual romance. This was a thriller through and through. It was creepy to read because it got really dark and depressing, but that's just a testament to her writing ability and how consumed you are by the characters. Lowen is a writer and she accepts a once in a lifetime writing opportunity from Jeremy, the husband of a bestselling author. Verity Crawford is unable to finish the remaining books in her series and Lowen is tasked with getting into the mind of one of the most successful suspense writers out there. She stays in the family home and finds an autobiography that reveals that Verity isn't who Jeremy thought she was at all. The book alternates between the present and Lowen to the autobiography. I thought I had it all figured it out and then it totally flipped!

All Your Perfects || Oh boy, this book was really hard to read. Not because the writing was bad (the opposite, it was beautifully written), not because the characters were horrible (the opposite, you could absolutely relate to them in some ways), and not because the plot was far fetched (the opposite, it could and does happen every single day). This book was hard to read because of those reasons, it felt very real and almost like it could be any one of your friends going through this. I wasn't a huge fan of the main character, Quinn, but her husband Graham was written perfectly! This asks the tough question of a married couple: can your love withstand heartbreak if you can go back remember your perfect beginning. 

Blind Kiss || 14 years ago Penny and Gavin shared a blind kiss as part of a psychology experiment that changed the course of their lives. Their friendship and love for one another that first year is almost heartbreaking and I kept reading, willing the book to take the turn that I wanted it to take. There were moments that I was really annoyed with both characters, but I guess that's why Renee Carlino is such a great writer, she made me invested in their lives. I really loved the book and read it in a flash! 

November 9 || Fallon, a one time teen actress and Ben, an aspiring novelist, meet on the day she's set to leave for NYC. They spend the day in LA together and decide for the next 5 years they are going to meet up on November 9th with goals that they set for one another. They aren't allowed to communicate with each other during the year & they don't even exchange contact information. When Fallon comes across Ben's manuscript on one of their day's together, she doesn't know if he's been telling the truth or if it's for the sake of the book he's writing. While this wasn't my favorite Hoover book, it was interesting enough and had a twist I wasn't expecting! 

Maybe Now || I read Maybe Someday two years ago, yet the story of Sydney & Ridge (and all the other characters) was still really fresh in my mind. I really liked that this book took the big 6 characters and alternated chapters with the POV's. I really liked getting to know Maggie & Jake in this book even though their relationship wasn't at the forefront. I would make sure to read Maybe Someday first before Maybe Now because of the character development and you really don't want to ruin the story for yourself! In short - read both books, you wont be disappointed! 

I don't really have a reading goal for myself this year, but at I'd love to read a book a week. Would love to know what's on your reading list!