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readingwitherin's reviews
417 reviews
Mastering Adulthood: Go Beyond Adulting to Become an Emotional Grown-Up by Lara E. Fielding
This book just wasn’t for me. I think for someone fresh out of highschool this book might work but even then it’s still not great at figuring out life skills as a whole. It’s more about emotional well being which is not what I was expecting going into it.
Ladies of the Lake by Cathy Gohlke
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
My Rating 3.5 stars
(Listened to a finished audiobook copy)
Ladies of the Lake follows several different characters from the time they are in school, till they have become old women. Our main characters are Adelaide and Do1900s earlyrothy, who are very different people but become the best of friends for a period of time. The Ladies of the Lake was formed when four friends met at a boarding school, and supported and were there for one another in a way no one else was during the most important formative years. Adelaide and Dorothy continued to work at the boarding school after graduating and they met two young men who up until WWI started seemed like it was going to end perfectly. But with the start of WWI, rules changing, and people's opinions towards the men they love heritage things get tense at times, and tragedy strikes one of our main characters causing them to not see one another for a long time.
Overall I did enjoy this book, but I did struggle with it at times due to some of the choices the characters were making. Adelaide while I understand why she did what she did in order to protect someone she loved, also made it so other people who loved her thought that she was dead causing them a lot of heartache as well. As for Dorothy I really struggled with her character and went back and forth between liking her or not liking her and at times just plain being exasperated with her because of the choices she was making. The setting behind the time a little before WWI started and going through the start of the great depression was interesting and I enjoyed seeing a different time period in historical fiction for a change.
I think if you like saga's and seeing characters go through different stages of life then this book is for you.
The audio narrator was good. However, at times I did struggle to tell if Adelaide or Dorothy was talking because of how every few chapters we switched pov's.
(Listened to a finished audiobook copy)
Ladies of the Lake follows several different characters from the time they are in school, till they have become old women. Our main characters are Adelaide and Do1900s earlyrothy, who are very different people but become the best of friends for a period of time. The Ladies of the Lake was formed when four friends met at a boarding school, and supported and were there for one another in a way no one else was during the most important formative years. Adelaide and Dorothy continued to work at the boarding school after graduating and they met two young men who up until WWI started seemed like it was going to end perfectly. But with the start of WWI, rules changing, and people's opinions towards the men they love heritage things get tense at times, and tragedy strikes one of our main characters causing them to not see one another for a long time.
Overall I did enjoy this book, but I did struggle with it at times due to some of the choices the characters were making. Adelaide while I understand why she did what she did in order to protect someone she loved, also made it so other people who loved her thought that she was dead causing them a lot of heartache as well. As for Dorothy I really struggled with her character and went back and forth between liking her or not liking her and at times just plain being exasperated with her because of the choices she was making. The setting behind the time a little before WWI started and going through the start of the great depression was interesting and I enjoyed seeing a different time period in historical fiction for a change.
I think if you like saga's and seeing characters go through different stages of life then this book is for you.
The audio narrator was good. However, at times I did struggle to tell if Adelaide or Dorothy was talking because of how every few chapters we switched pov's.
Love in Winter Wonderland by Abiola Bello
4.5
My rating: 4.5 stars
I absolutely loved this book! It is such a sweet and heartfelt read that will make you smile. Trey and Ariel are two characters that are just wanting what’s best for their families, while also trying to figure out life. With Trey you have his family owning a black owned book shop and them potentially having to close due to financial issues. Then with Ariel her dad died a year ago and her family has been struggling since then, she is an artist like he was and wants to go to university for it, but isn’t sure how she is going to be able to do that. Ariel ends up getting a job at Trey’s family bookstore and together these two come up with ideas to help raise money for the store to be able to stay open and to have more customers. This book is filled with so many ups and downs as they go through life and have school, dreams, and friend and family drama. It’s a lot but is told so well.
Overall I highly recommend this book if you want a nice Christmas read that has community building, family bonding, figuring out who you are, friendships, and advocating for yourself, friends, and community.
The audio narrator did a fairly good job, with all the different characters and having slightly different voices for them. There were only a few that I struggled with at first, but by the end of the book I knew which character was talking all the time.
I absolutely loved this book! It is such a sweet and heartfelt read that will make you smile. Trey and Ariel are two characters that are just wanting what’s best for their families, while also trying to figure out life. With Trey you have his family owning a black owned book shop and them potentially having to close due to financial issues. Then with Ariel her dad died a year ago and her family has been struggling since then, she is an artist like he was and wants to go to university for it, but isn’t sure how she is going to be able to do that. Ariel ends up getting a job at Trey’s family bookstore and together these two come up with ideas to help raise money for the store to be able to stay open and to have more customers. This book is filled with so many ups and downs as they go through life and have school, dreams, and friend and family drama. It’s a lot but is told so well.
Overall I highly recommend this book if you want a nice Christmas read that has community building, family bonding, figuring out who you are, friendships, and advocating for yourself, friends, and community.
The audio narrator did a fairly good job, with all the different characters and having slightly different voices for them. There were only a few that I struggled with at first, but by the end of the book I knew which character was talking all the time.
Christmas in Peachtree Bluff by Kristy Woodson Harvey
fast-paced
5.0
This was the first book I have ever read for the Peachtree bluff series and I loved it. This family is truly one of a kind and I loved how supportive but real they were with each other. Felt like a real family for a change, and not something that was just having drama to have drama, but instead had real problems and mishaps that they were addressing and dealing with together.
Christmas in Peachtree Bluff follows the Murphy family as they get ready for Christmas, and while they all have big plans, those plans end up changing quickly due to a hurricane of the century happening.
Overall I loved this book. I loved seeing all the different pov's from all the different Murphy women and the lives they had created. For the first time ever I didn't have a favorite, and I loved all of them equally and enjoyed seeing what would happen in their lives next as they all lived such different lives. The fact that this was set around Christmas made the book even better, as we saw the entire family come together to rebuild and spend time with one another.
While this is the third or fourth book in the series I didn't feel like I was missing anything with having not read the first books in the series. I was able to jump right in and just read what the family was doing now and enjoy it. Having said that though I do think I will be going back and starting the series from the beginning because of how much I enjoyed reading about them.
Christmas in Peachtree Bluff follows the Murphy family as they get ready for Christmas, and while they all have big plans, those plans end up changing quickly due to a hurricane of the century happening.
Overall I loved this book. I loved seeing all the different pov's from all the different Murphy women and the lives they had created. For the first time ever I didn't have a favorite, and I loved all of them equally and enjoyed seeing what would happen in their lives next as they all lived such different lives. The fact that this was set around Christmas made the book even better, as we saw the entire family come together to rebuild and spend time with one another.
While this is the third or fourth book in the series I didn't feel like I was missing anything with having not read the first books in the series. I was able to jump right in and just read what the family was doing now and enjoy it. Having said that though I do think I will be going back and starting the series from the beginning because of how much I enjoyed reading about them.
Dracula by Bram Stoker
2.0
I’ve gone back and forth on if I should even write a review for this one, and I’ve decided to go ahead and write one just so I have my thoughts down somewhere. I did not enjoy this book.
First this book is very long, and at times just way too drawn out for my liking because I felt like certain things could have been handled a lot easie and it was overly detailed at times. Second thing is that while I did learn some things about Dracula like how he is apparently related to Attila the Hun in a round about way which was interesting as I hadn’t read that anywhere else until now. Third I was expecting this book to be far scarier than it was. Now maybe it was at the time it was written, but overall I just found this book to be rather boring and none of what happened in it scary or even all that entertaining. Fourth so much of this book is just Jonathan and Dracula going back and forth about things,and then rushing here and their to try and fix them, when Dracula already knew what was happening, but no one was following his rules and then wondered why the bad things kept happening. Like really people come on.
Overall this book was not for me, and I don’t know if I will be reading anything else by Stoker in the future.
The White Feather Murders by Rachel McMillan
medium-paced
4.5
This is the final full book in this trilogy and I am so sad to see it end. This one was bitter sweet for me in the fact that it is the end and that throughout most of the book one of the characters had a problem with another character making it hard to like both of the characters. As for the mystery part I could not figure it out and I was shocked by who the person was, I never would have suspected them. I'm still shocked by it.
A Lesson in Love and Murder by Rachel McMillan
fast-paced
5.0
"Sometimes in the city, you can find what the solitude of the wilderness can never give you a sense of constant companionship. You're connected to everyone around you and you're never really lonely."
In the first book Bachelor Girl's Guide to Murder we see Merinda and Jem start up their detective business and start to make names for themselves with the police and the rest of the City as well.
This one starts a few weeks after the last one ended with Jem and Ray married and have started a life together. Recently they've had some financial struggles, plus Ray is worried about his sister and nephew, and finally a surprise that has both of them slightly on edge and unsure what to do next.
"We have something better. Fairy tales just end. The excitement of turning a page and not knowing what happens? That ends. You never get to see the ever-after. Don't you see, that's what we're in right now! The after. It's a beginning and constant adventure."
Jem and Merinda are still solving crimes, but no big cases have come up for them that is until a Mountie shows up needing help finding a family member who may be the cause of some recent explosions that have been happening. Not only does this involve them into some dangerous situations we also have Jasper and Ray who are trying to keep them safe and away from what is happening, all while also helping them solve the mystery (this sounds impossible, but it works somehow).
We also have a new character Benny who is the Mountie that needs their help, but he also just might make someone show a little bit of human emotion for a change. (Oh Merinda who well you had us all fooled, turns out you might not be as much like Sherlock as you originally thought. )
"What bothers me most is that you won't tell me about it. That you won't say it out loud. Just tell me. Let's stay up half the night giggling over his smile or his broad shoulders. Or are you too logical for romance? For love? You think there's some sort of virtue in keeping a brick wall around your softer emotions. Well, you have them! Even as we keep playing detective and tripping into solutions, you have the same capacity to love and have your heart broken as any other woman. Why can't you just let yourself grab at some happiness?"
Not only does this one take place in Canada we also get to see Chicago in the earlier 1900s and what was happening in both countries wasn't that different for the most part when it came to how immigrants and women were treated.
Overall I really loved this second book in this trilogy and I can't wait to read the final one even if it does make me sad to know that there won't be more (besides the novels which I know I'm just going to end up buying).
Side note I really like how each chapter starts out with some about being a detective or a proper lady.
In the first book Bachelor Girl's Guide to Murder we see Merinda and Jem start up their detective business and start to make names for themselves with the police and the rest of the City as well.
This one starts a few weeks after the last one ended with Jem and Ray married and have started a life together. Recently they've had some financial struggles, plus Ray is worried about his sister and nephew, and finally a surprise that has both of them slightly on edge and unsure what to do next.
"We have something better. Fairy tales just end. The excitement of turning a page and not knowing what happens? That ends. You never get to see the ever-after. Don't you see, that's what we're in right now! The after. It's a beginning and constant adventure."
Jem and Merinda are still solving crimes, but no big cases have come up for them that is until a Mountie shows up needing help finding a family member who may be the cause of some recent explosions that have been happening. Not only does this involve them into some dangerous situations we also have Jasper and Ray who are trying to keep them safe and away from what is happening, all while also helping them solve the mystery (this sounds impossible, but it works somehow).
We also have a new character Benny who is the Mountie that needs their help, but he also just might make someone show a little bit of human emotion for a change. (Oh Merinda who well you had us all fooled, turns out you might not be as much like Sherlock as you originally thought. )
"What bothers me most is that you won't tell me about it. That you won't say it out loud. Just tell me. Let's stay up half the night giggling over his smile or his broad shoulders. Or are you too logical for romance? For love? You think there's some sort of virtue in keeping a brick wall around your softer emotions. Well, you have them! Even as we keep playing detective and tripping into solutions, you have the same capacity to love and have your heart broken as any other woman. Why can't you just let yourself grab at some happiness?"
Not only does this one take place in Canada we also get to see Chicago in the earlier 1900s and what was happening in both countries wasn't that different for the most part when it came to how immigrants and women were treated.
Overall I really loved this second book in this trilogy and I can't wait to read the final one even if it does make me sad to know that there won't be more (besides the novels which I know I'm just going to end up buying).
Side note I really like how each chapter starts out with some about being a detective or a proper lady.
A Singular and Whimsical Problem by Rachel McMillan
fast-paced
5.0
Oh how I've missed all these characters and the things they get into. So much was packed into this one little book and I was so sad when it was over.
Thankfully I have two more to read today and I can't wait to see what they get up to next!
Thankfully I have two more to read today and I can't wait to see what they get up to next!
The Bachelor Girl's Guide to Murder by Rachel McMillan
fast-paced
5.0
I originally got this as an e-arc from netgalley and the publisher. I ended up reading a finished copy from the library.
"She no longer cared about propriety. She no longer cared to be one of those girls who married at a proper age, who had their lives figured out, who wouldn't be caught dead in trousers."
Merinda Herringford and Jem Watts balance each other out pretty well, and I can see the resemblance between Sherlock and Watson with them. But that doesn't take anything away from the story. In fact, besides Merinda being reckless most of the time when it comes to social things and dragging Jem along for the ride at the beginning, they completely stand on their own. At times I did notice myself Imagining this happening the Murdoch Mysteries world but I think that has more to do with it being in Canada and me not really knowing much about it, especially in the early 1900's.
"Since she wasn't going to be one of those girls, she could do exactly what she wanted. She could love whomever she wanted-- even if he refused to love her in return! As for her parents expectations and every young lady's etiquette guide, why expectations be hanged."
Jem having been disowned by her parents for not having settled down with a respectable young man is now working a job while following Merinda around trying to solve mysteries. Merinda is the instigator for most things at first it appears, and while she does seem to be the mastermind, she is also the one that has the funding for them to be able to live in such a nice place.
Then we also have the two men characters who encourage Jem and Merinda in their crime-solving. First, we have Jasper a detective in the police force that helps them get access to certain things (plus he has a crush on Merinda that is almost painful to imagine after a while).
Then we have Ray DeLuca a report for a small newspaper who encourages the crime-solving due and even ends up helping them out along the way. Plus the advice he gives Jem when she is dating someone who is not good for her at all was perfect. I mean can we please have more men like these two in books? Kind, respectful of the ladies' wishes, and encouraging or discouraging when it was needed.
"I don't care if you send him chocolates laced with arsnic, so long as you keep him out of his office long enough for me to get what I need."
Let's get back to Jem and Merinda now. Jem being the more sensible one and also the one that was trained growing up to deal with social situations is also the one that has to go out and find out information and then report back to Merinda. While Merinda is at home trying to piece together all of the information that Jem finds along with what she assumes is happening. I also just want to give it up for Merinda convincing Jem to break the Morality Laws as much as possible, because while dangerous, really needed to happen! Plus women in pants, solving crimes in the 1900's is really something I want to read more of!! Or just women solving crimes in historical fiction in general and actually being successful in it.
"I don't belong with anyone, do I? A girl in trousers who follows Merinda Herringford around the city. But I need to be in your life.. I know that you'll need to chase your stories. That you don't want to be cooped up. Maybe I won't ever be the first thing in your life, but..."
P.S. Why can't romance be like this in every book? It happened naturally and never became the main focus of the book. Plus the characters stuck to who they originally were instead of changing suddenly which I've noticed happens quite a bit in Christian fiction.
"She no longer cared about propriety. She no longer cared to be one of those girls who married at a proper age, who had their lives figured out, who wouldn't be caught dead in trousers."
Merinda Herringford and Jem Watts balance each other out pretty well, and I can see the resemblance between Sherlock and Watson with them. But that doesn't take anything away from the story. In fact, besides Merinda being reckless most of the time when it comes to social things and dragging Jem along for the ride at the beginning, they completely stand on their own. At times I did notice myself Imagining this happening the Murdoch Mysteries world but I think that has more to do with it being in Canada and me not really knowing much about it, especially in the early 1900's.
"Since she wasn't going to be one of those girls, she could do exactly what she wanted. She could love whomever she wanted-- even if he refused to love her in return! As for her parents expectations and every young lady's etiquette guide, why expectations be hanged."
Jem having been disowned by her parents for not having settled down with a respectable young man is now working a job while following Merinda around trying to solve mysteries. Merinda is the instigator for most things at first it appears, and while she does seem to be the mastermind, she is also the one that has the funding for them to be able to live in such a nice place.
Then we also have the two men characters who encourage Jem and Merinda in their crime-solving. First, we have Jasper a detective in the police force that helps them get access to certain things (plus he has a crush on Merinda that is almost painful to imagine after a while).
Then we have Ray DeLuca a report for a small newspaper who encourages the crime-solving due and even ends up helping them out along the way. Plus the advice he gives Jem when she is dating someone who is not good for her at all was perfect. I mean can we please have more men like these two in books? Kind, respectful of the ladies' wishes, and encouraging or discouraging when it was needed.
"I don't care if you send him chocolates laced with arsnic, so long as you keep him out of his office long enough for me to get what I need."
Let's get back to Jem and Merinda now. Jem being the more sensible one and also the one that was trained growing up to deal with social situations is also the one that has to go out and find out information and then report back to Merinda. While Merinda is at home trying to piece together all of the information that Jem finds along with what she assumes is happening. I also just want to give it up for Merinda convincing Jem to break the Morality Laws as much as possible, because while dangerous, really needed to happen! Plus women in pants, solving crimes in the 1900's is really something I want to read more of!! Or just women solving crimes in historical fiction in general and actually being successful in it.
"I don't belong with anyone, do I? A girl in trousers who follows Merinda Herringford around the city. But I need to be in your life.. I know that you'll need to chase your stories. That you don't want to be cooped up. Maybe I won't ever be the first thing in your life, but..."
P.S. Why can't romance be like this in every book? It happened naturally and never became the main focus of the book. Plus the characters stuck to who they originally were instead of changing suddenly which I've noticed happens quite a bit in Christian fiction.