2024

Title/Author: Happily Haunted Afters by Brittany Kelley

Type: Audio

Rate: 3/5 Stars

Friends to enemies to lovers mixed with a haunted house theme. Characters Jack and Emma have been lifelong friends until college when they have a falling out. Fast forward some time and a business opportunity comes up for Emma, but she must enlist Jack's background knowledge to help. They reunite at a Bed and Breakfast that Emma is looking at buying. She can get a deal if she stays the whole weekend there. They soon discover the place is haunted and must uncover the ghosts together. Throughout their time together they resolve their problems and fall in love with each other. 

The story of this book is told from both Jack and Emma's characters and the audio does a great job of having a male and female voice for the different chapters. The book has some spicy moments so be prepared. It also has a good amount of suspense if you are a scaredy cat. However, the plot I feel is very predictable and minus the haunted house part, not very fall-ish. 

Title/Author: From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks

Type: Hardcopy

Rating: 3/5 Stars

A twelve-year-old girl receives a letter from her long-lost father who is in prison for supposedly killing someone. She goes behind her parents back writing and talking to him with the help of her grandma. Through their correspondent, she learns that he claims he is innocent and has an alibi witness but his public defendant didn't look into it. With the help of a friend, they track down the witness and try to discover if what her father says is true. With bumps in the road and teenage friendship drama, will she be able to discover the truth and set her dad free? 

This is rated as a middle age read and I would very much agree with that. Janae, the author does a great job of mimicking the thoughts and actions of a typical12 year old. I think that since I spend parts of my day with 12-year-olds, it is why I didn't always enjoy this book. I need my space from them sometimes. The book brings up the challenges of interracial marriages and flaws in our court system. I mostly read this as it was free and a student recommended it and I am trying to read a few more of their books to make connections. I would one day recommend this to the twins and I would read it along with them to spark good discussion.  

Title/Author: The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams

Type: Audio

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Friends who both love each other but won't admit it type of story. The female character, Bri, is a dance teacher and the male character, Nathan, is an NFL superstar. After a drunken mistake by Bri, they are forced to fake date. However, Nathan uses the time to pursue a real relationship with Bri using a "cheat sheet" that he and his teammates come up with in order to help win Bri over. However, it doesn't take Nathan much to win Bri over as she has been in love with him since they first met back in high school. Read through their "fake" relationship to learn how the two finally uncover the truth about each other and end up happily ever after. 

The audiobook has two readers, one for Bri and one for Nathan. The voice of Bri, I can't stand, but the voice of Nathan and how he mimics Bri's voice outweigh Bri's reader. I think that if I had read this I would have enjoyed it just a little more due to the voice of Bri as the story is told from her perspective the most. I love the surprise Nathan has planned for Bri at the end, it sure pulled at my heartstrings. It also has an epilogue, which normally I love, but I don't feel it's needed, just ties the book back to the title, not telling the story of Bri and Nathan's post happily ever after. 

Title/Author: Cut Off by Adrianne Finlay

Type: Hardcopy

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Contestants take part in a new reality game called Cut Off testing our new technology and virtual reality. They are stranded on an island and told to the last to survive the wilderness wins. After a few weeks, four contestants are joined together and discover they are the only ones left. All of their connections to the outside world and producers of the show are cut off. Along with losing connection to the outside world, they also start to encounter all of these fearful things-earthquakes, thousands of thousands of spiders, a wild dog, and many other things. Eventually, by working together the contestants are able to discover what happened and how to solve all the issues they are facing. 

For sure a science fiction book. Gives me Hunger Games, the show Survivor, and Lost all mixed in one. If it was not for a book club, I would not have read this book. The first hundred pages are slow, but needed as they set the tone and setting of the book. It gives interviews of the contestants and how they got selected for the show. After that, the book takes lots of twists and turns and I was hooked. The end of the book was confusing for me as it gets very computer-specific and science-based. The author does her best to explain things for those not science fans to understand, but still, I am a little lost. A young adult book so makes for a quick read. The author is local to the Cedar Valley area so that is cool and gives me a personal connection. 

Title/Author: Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon

Type: Hardcopy

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Main character Maddy has been diganosed with a rare disease that basically anything came make her deathly ill and die. She can't go outside, she can't go to school, she can't have friends over. For the past 17 years, she has never questioned her life or wanted to leave her house. That was until she met Olly. Through instant messager and secret visits, she starts to fall in love and will give up everything to be with him. After running away and getting sick, many things come to light for Maddy and her life starts to change.

Nicola and her husband work together on this book. Nicola writes the book, while her husband illustrates the book. Some of the pages are a few lines which make the book super easy to read. I like that the illustrations are added into the book as it helps me visual things much better. This book was also a good chnage of pace. It had a bit of a love story to it. It also makes you question a few moral issues as a parent. It was made into a movie and I am going to do my best to watch it and see how it compares. 

Title/Author: The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab

Type: Audio

Rating: 2/5 Stars

A young girl in the 1700s makes a deal with the devil. She basically becomes invisible. Anytime she encounters someone and they turn away from her they forget they met her. The only way to end the deal is if she turns her soul over to the devil. It makes for a hard life that she must learn to navigate through until one day she comes across a man who remembers her. After meeting Henry, Addie must learn why Henry remembers her and what lessons she must learn from this. Go along with Addie to discover if she trades her soul or not. 

I started reading this book on kindle and switched to the audio. I think it's probably better that I did as I don't know if I would have finished this otherwise. The book jumps back and forth between time periods and characters and I got very confused. I also felt that the climax of the book was half way through the book and from there it just dragged on. The person who read the audio version did have the perfect voice for this type of book so that was good. A book of the month book, but very underwhelming for me. 

Title/Author: The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling

Type: Audio

Rating: 2/5 Stars

Gwen and Wells are two witches that live in the same town. They both own their own store and pose a friendly competition against each other. Some town drama pops up and at a house party they are trying to discover the drama, but while snooping around the house they are caught and fake kiss each other and pretend to be a couple to throw each other off. Slowly the relationship evolves, but just at the peak of their relationship, Gwen get's snatched and Wells must rescue her. 

I liked this better than the first book in the series, but it was very confusing and I didn't get a connection of the plot. I got hooked the last 7 chapters, but felt that ending was rushed and not explained. This book was way more spicy than I remember the first one being. The person who read this on audio was better than the first, but not sure if it is the same person from the first book. I also liked how short this book was that was probably what allowed me to finish this book. 

Title/Author: Awkward in October by Teresa Yea

Type: Kindle

Rating: 2/5 Stars

Theodora is a 30 year old who is single, living with her parents, and hates her job. Finally, she can't take it anymore and needs a change. She quiets her jobs, moves to a new town, and buys a huanted fixer upper house. While in this town she meets Carter who gets roped into helping Theodora fix up her house. During the process, the discover they both like each other, but with many hiccups along the way, will they end up living the happily ever after fairytale? 

This started off strong, it had funny moments, and very relatable, but then the author tired to fit to much into the story and in such a short time. I am not a hopeless romantic and just don't think people can fall in love after a few days. Theodora also has hamsters and Carter runs into a burning house to save them and I just feel it was so very the top to wrap up the story and bring about the happily ever after. The chapters are short though so that is a positive. There is some spicy spice monets and a few funny that help save the story, but overall not my favorite. 

Title/Author: A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

Type: Audio

Rating: 4/5 Stars

In a small town many girls go missing. Through the discovery of evidence at home Chloe Davis discovers that her father is person who committed these crimes. After 20 years, girl's in Chloe's life start to go missing again. Through self discovery she must work through who is committing these crimes and why. 

Very true crime like and the person who reads this does a great job. Great emotion is shown through the different characters and she does a great job of doing different voices for each character. Many of the plot twists are predictable, but the plot twist at the end I did not see coming. Maybe not the best for scaredy cats, but a great read right before Halloween. 

Title/Author: Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter

Type: Kindle

Rating: 4/5 Stars

In 2003, Luke Ryder was found dead at his family home, the murderer was never found. Twenty years later, Guy Howard, stepson to Luke Ryder, brings the case back to light and plans a TV show around the case to try to discover who did it, no matter the cost. Through many twists and turns, read to see who the real killer is.

Written as a screenwriter of the episodes and includes illustrations and newspaper clippings. It can be a quick read due to the setup of the writing. I wish they made this into a show as it would easily translate into one. I loved all the plot twists in this, but the ending of who actually killed him, I did not see coming and it was also rushed I feel like. Lastly, there was a lot of people involved and I would have liked a better family tree to help me visual how people were related. 

Title/Author: On Air With Zoe Washington by Janae Marks

Type: Hardcopy

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Second book in the series  for Zoe Washington. In book one, Zoe has helped prove her biological dad was innocent and got him freed from jail. Now both Zoe and Marcus are adjusting to life post prison. Zoe must learn to balance life with Marcus and the dad she has known all her life. Marcus must learn the culture of the US and how to get back on his feet. The two work together to information out to the public about life after prison and persue their dreams of opening their own restaurant together. 

I like this one much better than the first. It starts out slow and takes awhile to get to the main plot of the story, but once it got going I was hooked. The writing again is very middle aged based, but since Zoe has aged some from the first book, it is a little better. I like this series especially for my 7th graders as it relates to the 7th grade citizenship social studies standards very well. The tasks Zoe takes on are very similar to what my 7th graders do at the end of the year, and I will be encouraging them to read this series then. 

Title/Author: The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gilmore

Type: Hardcopy

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Hazel helps run the local bookstore in Dream Harbor. While she is working, she discovers books throughout the store with passages highlighted. She takes them as a sign to live up to the last two months of her twenties. But to do so she seeks the help of a local fisherman Noah. Noah is the opposite of Hazel, he is adventurous, always up for fun, and doesn't care what people think. Following the clues, Noah and Hazel go on many adventures together. It is through this that Hazel discovers her true self, but both also find love.   

The second book in the Dream Harbor series. Based on the cover and the first book, I thought this would be more set in the fall, but it is more August/September time and only references fall or Thanksgiving during the Epilogue. Very spicy book, much more than the first one. I also feel that it can be a stand-alone as I read the first book last year and forgot most of the plot. This book filed in some of those pieces. Even though this wasn't a fall book like I thought it would be I did enjoy the book and read through it pretty quickly. The only part I didn't care for was the love scene at the end of the book. I feel that how it was handled did not match what was happening between the characters. I also am curious who the next book is about as I feel the story introduced a lot of supporting characters and highlighted two in the Epilogue that the story could focus on. 

Title/Author: The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews

Type: Audio

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Ivy Perkins is just coming out a bad divorce and looking for a fresh start. After buying a house site unseen, she soon comes to realize she got more than she asked for. The house needs major repairs and is left fully furnished. After going through some of the items left at the house she discovers a Santa Suit and a letter from a little girl asking Santa to bring her dad safely home from the war. It has been many years since the letter is written, but Ivy is determined to find the little girl and learn what became of her dad. Through the journey to find the girl, Ivy falls in love with her realtor. 

A novella so a super short story but I feel unrealistic with the love story. A good way to start Christmas off as it is very focused on Christmas. I will also say the plot twist at the end I did not see coming. I did not care for the person who did the audio for this book. 

Title/Author: How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn

Type: Kindle

Rating: 345 Stars

Kringletown is known for having Christmas celebrated all year long. For most of their life this is where sister duo Taran and Storee have spent most of their holiday seasons, but in recent years they stopped going. After their Aunt Cindy breaks her hip, the venture back to the town to help out. While there Storee enters the town Christmas contest and with the help of her aunt and Taran take on her long lost friend Cole. Throughout the challenge old tiffs between Storee and Cole are address and allows a new friendship to flourish. 

The story models the writing of the Grinch story. However, I would say that this book could be divided into two books. The first half being a rated G book and the second half being rated R. Second half is very spicy and Booktalk on Tik Tok did not disappoint. The first half the book is slow and I feel part of the Christmas contest could have been taking out to help speed the story up. After I got to the second part, I was hooked and the book flew. It also has an epilogue and I am here for those. There are different versions of the epoligue but have not read all of them. 

Title/Author: The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson and Richard DiLallo

Type: Audio

Rating: 4/5 Stars

After ten years of her husband passing, Gabby is ready to start a new journey and marry one of three potential suitors. That's right Gabby has been proposed to by three different men. She invites her four children and her kids to the wedding, to be held on Christmas Day, but leaves them guessing who is she marrying. With lots of family drama, will the Gabby's marriage happen?

Super short 5 hour listen and super short chapters. I was as into this as most James Patterson books, but I still enjoyed it, specifically the mystery part. I thought I would figure out who she was going to marry, but I did not guess right. However, I should have as there are many clues to show who choose in the end. This story was more realistic as there was your typical family drama and helped me stay invested in the story. 

Title/Author: The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry

Type: Audio, Kindle, Hardcopy

Rating: 5/5 Stars

The time is 1940, and London is under attack from World War One, and sisters, Hazel and Flora are sent to the countryside by their mother for protection. The girls live in the country with a mother and her son Harry. After a year of living with them, the three children go out on a picnic together. After Harry says something to Hazel to make her mad, she runs away and he chases after her, leaving six-year-old Flora to be left alone. When Hazel and Harry return, they discover that Flora has disappeared and no one can find her. Flash forward twenty years, Hazel discovers a book about the imaginary land that she and Flora made up to cope with the trauma of the war. Hazel wonders now if her sister is alive and the author of this book. Through her true crime investigation, Hazel must track down the author and figure out how she learned of this land. 

This book has it all-romance, mystery, spicy, and historical fiction. Possibly my favorite book of 2024. The book does jump back and forth between the two time periods. This allows the reader to try to solve the mystery of Flora Lea themselves. The audio is my favorite version as the author does a great job with the British accents as that is the book's setting. 

Title/Author: Under the Mistletoe Series on Kindle Unlimited-Authors Include: Ali Hazelwood, Tessa Bailey, Olivia Dade, Alexandria Bellefleur, and Alexis Daria

Type: Audio and Kindle

Rating: Book 1-3/5, Book 2-2/5, Book 3-1/5, Book 4-2/5, Book 5-1/5

Many of the books focus on a female and male character. The couple gets trapped together in a snowstorm or they are forced together through random circumstances and through that time shared together they discover their love for each other. 

VERY little Christmas is involved in the stories. If there is any it is just the setting. LOTS of spice. A majority of the books focus on the spice and not a lot of plot. I am not in the mood for spice right now so I think that is why I didn't like this series. A positive is the series is short less than 75 pages. Kindle joined with Audio so you can read and listen to the story at the same time. Helped me get closer to my goal of 100 books. 

Title/Author: Popularity Isn't Easy by Jillian Dodd

Type: Hard Copy

Rating: Book 3/5

Book two of the Eastbrooke Academy series. Lane "Arrington" has been homeschooled all her life, until her parents finally allow her and her two brothers (all triplets) attend their parents alma mater, Eastbrook Academy.. After a fight that ends a friendship with Branson Johnson, her life long best friend, Arrington spent the summer interning in London and starting dating His Royal Highness Augie. Flash forward to the start of the school year, and the drama has followed Arrington to Eastbrooke. After a public and physical fight involving Branson and Augie over Arrington, the three find themselves in the Dean's office. Branson and Arrington are punished by receiving counseling to salvage their friendship. Along with this Arrington and Augie must decide if they want to continue to attend Eastbrooke or go to a private school in London. The story ends after another big fight between Arrington and Branson, and instead of saying she is staying at Eastbrooke with Augie, Arrington flees campus and catches a private plan back to her parents house. 

So far I like the first book better. I think that the first book had a better cliff hanger. I also feel that the author is trying to dive into more smut and spice, as the second book for sure had more. The plot between Branson and Arrington is really confusing to me and it was just hard to follow this book. There are two more books to this series and I am hoping they explain things better. I also think I struggle with this as a high school teacher some of the plot just doesn't fit with your typical high school and I am just too critical of that as a high school teacher. 

Title/Author: When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

Type: Hard Copy

Rating: Book 4/5

Brothers Omar and Hassan are from Somalia and intense civil war is raging causing their father to be killed and them to be separated from their mom. The boys escape with neighbors to Kenya and shelter in a refugee camp. Journey with them as they spend many years at the camp while they spend time going to school, doing chores, and hanging out with friends. After time, they are selected by the United Nations to start the process of being resettled some where else. Eventually the boys settle in the United States and are reconnected with their mom. 

This is a true story written as a graphic novel. I liked the pictures and the way it was written, really helped me visualize the story better. Since is written by Omar and this is his story to tell it is accurate and well respected. It does a great job showing the pros and the cons of living in a refugee and the problems with the United Nations trying to help resettle refugees. Since it was also a graphic novel it was a quick read for me. There were chapters as well. Finally, I liked that it had a message from Omar at the end to help wrap up some missing information. This book will fit well for my 7th graders. 

Title/Author: My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf

Type: Hard Copy

Rating: Book 3/5

High school classmate of Jeffery Dahmer, Derf Backdef, recounts his incounters with Dahmer throughout Junior High and High School. Damher was really had no friends, he was the weirdo of the town, and if he was pulled into to groups, it was to make fun of him. Dahmer's home life was not great, his parents fought all the time. At school he could slide under the radar and get away with drinking and skipping class. Backderf argues that if the adults in his life would have noticed these issues, would it have prevented him from becoming a serial killer. 

Compared to the last graphic novel I read, I struggled with this one. Many of the pictures had no words and with my lack of knowledge of Dahmer I was confused. I do like the idea of nature vs nurture and that debate. The end of the book includes a lot more detail about the different stories told throughout the book and that gave me a lot more knowledge and understanding of the story. Read this for our high school book club book choice so interested to hear what the kids have to say. 

Title/Author: The Christmas Tree Farm by Laurie Gilmore

Type: Hard Copy

Rating: Book 5/5

Kira has been handed everything to her all her life, but after her sister moves away and she goes down the Tik Tok rabbit hole of Homesteading, she decides she wants to do something for herself. Site unseen she buys the Christmas Tree Farm in Dream Harbor. Bennett cares deeply and is always helping others out. After stubbling upon Kira and the Christmas Tree farm, Bennett offers his service to help Kira fix up the farmhouse to make sure she has heat and running water for the winter. Through the time they spend together, Kira and Bennett fall in love, but before they can be together they both need to work through their own problems, Kira feeling like she can't rely on others and must be independent and Bennett and on and off again relationship with Nicole. Can the two lovers work through their problems to have the happily ever after? 

Book three in the series. Probably my favorite book of all. Very Hallmark like, but with just the right amount of spice. I like that the author includes Nicole in the story and makes sure Bennett ties up those lose ends it helps add some drama to the story. Perfect read for Christmas. 

Title/Author: Eleven by Tom Rogers

Type: Kindle

Rating: Book 4/5

Travel along throughout the events of 9/11 with Alex, Mac, and the Man in the White Shirt. Alex is just turning 11 on 9/11. The night before he is chatting with his dad about how he wants a dog for his birthday. His dad says no and that it is a lot of responsibility. Alex gets upset and ends the night by telling his dad that he hates him. The next day, Alex's dad gets up and goes to work driving the train to and from the World Trade Centers. Mac is an old man who with the help from his son at night takes care of his aging wife. Mac's son during the day works in the World Trade Centers. The Man in the White Shirt could be Alex's dad or Mac's son. Journey with Alex on his birthday as he discovers a stranded dog that eventually leads him to meeting Mac. At the end of the book the man in the White Shirt is revealed, will it be Alex's dad or Mac's son? 

Having lived through 9/11 (yes I know I was young and only in 2nd grade) this book hit home hard for me. Knowing people involved in this event mad it hard for me to read and almost made me cry. The book was also slow to start and I felt some of the story wasn't needed. The chapters are super short though. I know my 7th graders will be interested in this book as they did not live through 9/11 and are very interested in the topic. 

Title/Author: Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

Type: Kindle

Rating: Book 4/5

Ha is a ten year old girl living in Vietnam during the Vietnam War in 1975. Her father is missing and the rest of her family is trying to escape the war. Eventually after a long journey, they escape to Alabama, USA where they are sponsored by a cowboy. Ha must attend school and struggle with the challenges of being different from her classmates. It is a long year for Ha with many ups and downs. Journey with her to experience this year with her. 

Written in a verses style so a very quick read. A lot of vietnamese words and the other does try to explain them, but sometimes hard to do with the style of writting. I think that it does a great job of teaching empathy to students when a new kid arrives who is different from everyone else. 

Title/Author: Snowed In by Catherine Walsh

Type: Hard Copy/Kindle

Rating: Book 4/5

Megan hasn't been back home in five years. She hasn't been home since she left her life long boyfriend at the alter on their wedding day. Christian is the family black sheep. He feels that he can never please his dad. Both Megan and Christian are from the same hometown and expected to spend the holidays at home. Megan and Christian bump into each other and after chatting a bit decide to pretend to be dating and face the holidays back home together. After making a visit to a cabin owned by Christian's business, they get snowed in together. During this time, they discover how to face their problems-Megan addressing why she left her boyfriend at the alter and Christian finally feeling good enough in his family. They also discover their true feelings for each other. 

This book gives the same feel the movie The Holiday does as it is also set in Europe. It is the perfect read for between Christmas and New Years. Not much spice and similar to a Hallmark story. This is on Kindle Unlimited so a perfect read during a winter snow storm. Part of a 3 book series, but can be a stand alone. 

Title/Author: Noelle Douglas

Type: Hard Copy

Rating: Book 2/5

Elena works for a big corporate business, Sparkle Cookie. Lawerence owns the local bakery. They start off as enemies competing trying to bring in business. But over multiple interactions, they start to fall in love and realize that if they put their forces together, it would help both businesses. 

Very predictiable and hallmarky. A little spice. If I wasn't so stubborn and trying to meet reading goals I would have put this book down. The story plot dragged on and just I kept thinking get on with it.