November/December 2019 Book Review

Today is January 4th and I am just now posting November and December book review.

And even worse. There will only be two books on this post!

I let the Christmas stress win this year y’all!! I got completely overwhelmed with life and the day to day grind and I fell off the reading wagon. I just could not for the life of me get my brain to slow down for a second and just enjoy the ride.

For November I started with Kristin Hannah’s “Magic Hour”. This book was an oldie (published back in 2007, hard to believe that was 13 years ago1) but I had heard amazing things about it and wanted to give it a read.

Honestly, I had no idea what the book was even about. I saw the book had great ratings on Good Reads and it was available right away at the library so I just went for it. Not to mention, Kristen Hannah has not disappointed me yet.

So I started off reading this book, and honestly was bored out of my mind in the beginning.

Based off of the first few chapters I thought I was getting myself into some kind of Sci Fi book.

But being that I will never give up on a book, I plugged on and boy am I so happy I did!!

I thought Magic Hour was amazing!!! It gave me all the feels. I didn’t feel like it was too predictable at all other then a few minor points in the book that are a little obvious.

Some of the dialogue bored me a bit or felt slightly childish, but other then that I thought the story and the way it was told was incredible.

Magic Hour is about a young girl who suddenly appears in an old small town one day. She doesn’t speak at all and will sit statue still for hours on end. The girl looks as though she’s been through a lot, but where she came from and who she is a complete mystery.

After getting the girl to safe quarters the police Chief calls upon a world renowned Psychiatrist from California to fly in and analyze the girl. Dr. Julie Cates is happy to take on the case but has recently been through the ringer in a court case about a previous patient. Her client list is dwindling and people all around are starting to know her for all the wrong reasons.

The process she takes with the girl, the surprises and stories that go along with the search to find out where she came from, the relationships lost and the relationships built. It was just so good guys! If you haven’t picked this one up make sure to grab your copy here or pick it up at your next visit to the library!

I picked up a few more books in November. “Stay sexy and don’t get Murdered” and “Mrs. Kennedy and Me” but I just couldn’t get through them, so I returned them to the library and moved on. 🙂

So to begin December I ordered “The house we Grew up in“.

I’ve had this one on my list for a while.

It was was kind of the opposite of “Magic Hour”, for me. I LOVED everything about it when I first started and then it just seemed to get weird.

So I kind of have a mixed review on it for you guys.

The House we Grew up in, is about a family with an eclectic mother. A mother who adores her children. Saves every single piece of art work they’ve ever created. A mother who runs around outside with them and truly loves being with them. She feels youthful and vibrant. A complete Free spirit.

And she LOVES Easter. The egg hunts, the food, the family time, the traditions .

Then one Easter, tragedy strikes. The unthinkinable happens and it changes the family forever.

The book then bounces back and forth between the present day, the past memories, the Easter’s following that awful day.

It shows a family drifting apart while also so desperate to stay together.

It really is a great story. But its also just so dang weird.

You’ll have to read it and give me your thoughts on it! It was definitely a strange one to end the year with. So many things just seemed a little too Soap Opera-e to me. If you’ve got a lot of family drama in your life, it’ll probably make you feel much better about all of that! haha

But anyway, that’s it….

I’m so bummed that I didn’t hit my goal of 45 books for the year. But I did still get through 36 books and I am super pumped about that!

And there were sooo many good ones! My sisters Grave, Big Sexy Love, Unstuffed, We were the lucky ones.

But if I had to pick just ten to recommend to you all I think that these would be the ones I’d choose…

TEN:

Gone Girl made my top ten list mostly because it had a plot twist that I did not see coming!! I’m pretty good at overanalyzing the books I read. I tend to ruin a good thing because I think of every single plot twist that could happen and 9 times out of 10 I get it right.

But this one got me. So for that it makes #10 on my 2019 List. 🙂

Educated comes in at a very very close second! I loved it so much. Such an incredible story and an insight to other peoples beliefs and upbringings. (I know I kind of cheated by putting two at #10 but I just couldn’t decide!)

NINE:

I’m going to have to give the number nine spot to My Oxford Year.

I thought this was such a sweet book about life and love and how most of the time things just don’t go as planned.

Life throws us curve balls and we have to just go with it.

This was definitely a great read for me and I would highly recommend it.

EIGHT:

My number 8 for the year would have to be The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.

I would have to say Kristin is one of my all time favorite authors. Her writing is so real and raw that you almost forget you are reading a fictional story.

SEVEN:

A Man Called Ove was one of my absolute favorites this year.

Its a book about finding friendship in the unlikeliest of places with the unlikeliest of people. It was such a sweet sweet read that will stick with my forever.

SIX:

Eleanor Oliphant is completely Fine was another sweet read. At the time I thought for sure it would be my #1 read for the year. It was that good!

It is another story about finding friends in unexpeted places at unexpected times.

Its about being true to yourself and while continueing to find out who you really are.

About confronting our pasts and carrying on towards our futures. Its about love and friendship. And it was just so good you guys!

FIVE:

It Ends with Us comes in at number Five. And I had a really hard time deciding if that was the right number for it, but it definitely was one of those books that sat with me for a while.

It was the second book I read this year and I still remember how mixed my emotions felt at the end of it. There’s a character in the book that you absolutely hate and love equally at the same time. It was definitely a great read though.

FOUR:

My Story was the very first book I read this year. I received it as a Christmas Gift and couldn’t wait to get started on my new reading adventure.

And boy was it a good start.

My Story is written by Elizabeth Smart who was abducted from her home in Salt Lake City when she was 14 years old.

She tells the story of how her captor got into her home. How he snatched her right out of her bed and led her up a grueling mountain that would be her home for the next nine months.

She tells the story of the awful things she had to endure while with her captors and the fear she had for her family if she didn’t listen to her captors every word.

It was so hard to read at times. To think about what this sweet girls was going through. What her family was going through not knowing where she was or if she would ever return. Her Story is amazing, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Okay now for my TOP THREE!!

THREE:

The Great Alone.

This.

It was just so good.

Another Kristin Hannah book, where she just makes you feel like you were there. Like these characters are so real.

This historical fiction is about a young girl whos father was a POW for six years. After his return he is extremely on edge and thinks the world is out to get them. He takes his family on a crazy quest to find some sort of happiness. They move from state to state eventually running from every single one.

Until one day they end up in Alaska. The great alone. Where they have to work harder then they’ve ever worked to prepare for the the deadly winters.

But out in the middle of nowhere, things just get worse and worse for her father.

It was an amazing book that I read in just two days! I just couldn’t put it down.

TWO:

My second favorite would have to have been Where the Crawdads Sing which was so similar to the Great Alone in some ways.

It was another story of survival.

It was about love and loss and the yearning for a normal life.

The story of a girl who was abandoned by nearly every single person in her life. About how she survived so many years being completely alone.

The story of her hoping for love.

It was just so good, I could not put it down!! Definitely pick this one up next time you’re out and about!!!

And finally, My #1 book of the year was

VERITY!!!

There are so many mixed reviews on this one.

It was dark, and dirty. Very rated R. Very twisted and really makes you question the author. ( who NEVER writes a book with this kind of context)

But guys, I read it in one sitting. Its jaw dropping. And unbelievably written. I acutally lost sleep over this one for a few nights, which is why I had to give it the #1 spot.

For a book to effect me in that way.

WOW. just WOW.

WARNING: This book is NOT for the FAINT OF HEART.

If you think you can handle it I would definitely 100% recommend you pick it up ASAP and then call me so we can chat about it!!!

Here’s my complete list of 2019 books for you guys! There were some great ones that I would highly highly recommend checking out!!

I’m going to go ahead and aim high again for 2020 and set my goal at 50! I know it can be done, and I just tend to feel better when I read :). There’s just something about jumping into all of these stories and really becoming connected with these characters.

I’m starting off the year with “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” by Heather Morris. I can tell its going to be a good one!

I hope you all had an amazing holiday season, filled with family and food and fun! I know I definitely did and now I’m ready to refresh and start this new year off with many goals and challenges.

Happy New Year Y’all! And thank you so much for reading! 🙂

**This post contains Affiliate links, which means that if you click on a link and make a purchase I could receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.***

If you missed any of my previous months reviews you can check them out here!

Kerri