A new year, a new decade, a new book list! The first few months of 2020 have been nothing short of hectic. We have had more on our plate than usual since we changed calendars and at time we were treading to keep our heads above water. As always, books were my calm in all this chaos. The first ten books for this year were all a great distraction. There were a few super stand-outs but I will leave it up to you to figure out which titles they were. Enjoy!

“Twice in a Blue Moon” by Christina Lauren

For the first time in her eighteen years, Tate Jones is going on an adventure, two highly planned weeks in London with her Grandmother to celebrate her recent high school graduation. What Tate didn’t plan on was meeting her first love, Sam on day one of her trip. Sam and his grandfather are visiting England for a month and cross paths with Tate and Jude at a pub and realize they are staying at their hotel. The group begin sight-seeing together while Tate and Sam have secret meetings in the garden at night. While the two lay in the dark looking at stars they begin talking about their lives back home in California and Vermont. Tate confides in Sam the true identity of who her father really is, a secret she’s only shared with her best friend. Tate and Sam quickly fall in love, fast and all encompassing but when the paparazzi show up and Tate’s secret is all over the news Tate can’t believe that Sam could betray her. Fast forward fourteen years and Tate is building a life and a career that her younger self only dreamed of. Her next major project involves her relocating to Northern California for a few months but when she arrives she realizes that her past has walked back into her life, Sam is back. “Twice in a Blue Moon” was my second book by writing duo, Christina Lauren and I loved it just as much as “The Unhoneymooners”. After the holiday craziness I wanted to start off the year with something fun and lighthearted and this was the perfect book! Christina Lauren is a master of Contemporary Romance writing that always leaves the reader saying “just one more chapter”. Be sure to add this one to your TBR list.

“The Woman in the Window” by A.J. Finn

Anna Fox lives alone in her New York City apartment afraid to go outside. She developed PTSD induced agoraphobia and hasn’t left her five-story townhouse in close to a year. Her husband and daughter have been gone just as long but Anna manages to speak to them on a daily basis, one of her few contacts to the outside world. Anna makes connections online to other people suffering from the same condition she does and finds little joys in being able to put her psychologist hat on still once in a while. Anna’s guilty pleasure is looking out her window through her zoom lense camera and into the homes of her neighbors. When a new family moves into one of the townhouses across the street Anna has already done her research online and learned their names before the boxes have been unpacked. The Russell family seem to be the perfect package: mother, father, teenage son but one night when her camera was trained on their window Anna witnesses something she shouldn’t. After seeing Anna’s nightly cocktail of pills mixed with her never-ending supply of red wine the authorities aren’t really interested in what she tries to tell hem but Anna is convinced what she saw was real and makes it her mission to save Ethan from his home as well as her sanity. Despite “The Woman in the Window” being 464 pages I read this book in day. Yes, it made for a late night but I could not put it down. I did figure out one of the major plot twists well before it was revealed but I didn’t find that to be a damper on how much I enjoyed this. Mystery/Thriller fans should definitely add this one to your TBR list. I can’t wait to see the movie interpretation of this in May with Amy Adams cast as Anna. (…but as the saying goes we all know that usually the book is better.)

“The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae” by Stephanie Butland

Born with a once fatal heart defect, Ailsa Rae is in desperate need of a transplant in order to make it past her twenty-eight years. Ailsa’s blog, her window into the outside world, has kept her company throughout countless extended hospital stays. BlueHeart, as she is known to readers, is a reference to the color of her skin a pale blue for most of her adult life. When Ailsa finally gets the heart she has long been dreaming of her mother Hayley tells her that her life is about to begin. Now for the first time in her life Ailsa needs to think into the future. Never before has she been allowed to consider long-term goals or plans having been an inch from death her whole life. While most of her peers have long since checked off their typical life firsts – jobs, apartments, babies – Ailsa now has to ask herself “What do I do now?”. “The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae” was a sweet, warm-hearted (pun-not-intended) read that really opens your eyes to what it’s like for transplant patients after the dust settles and life begins. With the book set in Scotland you will have to navigate some language and euphemisms that may not be familiar to the reader. (Nothing a true Outlander viewer couldn’t handle.) If you are looking for a feel-good read that has a bit more substance than the traditional boy-meets-girl story then add this to your TBR list. Big thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

“The Glittering Hour” by Iona Grey

In 1925, the war is over and the “Bright Young People” rule London. They are the wealthy, fashionable elite that the paparazzi adore and young socialites don’t mind giving them plenty to write about. Selina Lennox is one of their shining stars. The youngest of the Lennox children she has always been the rebel of the family much to her mother and sister’s distain. One evening the “Bright Young People” are racing around the city on one of their treasure hunts when Selina’s friends runs over a cat. When Selina gets out of the car to check on the animal her friends become impatient and decide to leave her there and continue on their hunt. From a nearby apartment a handsome stranger comes to her aid. After her encounter with Lawrence, Selina’s carefree life suddenly is filled with complicated choices. Fast-forward to 1936. Selina’s daughter, Alice is staying with her grandparents at her childhood home while Selina and her husband are away on business. To stay connected to her nine year old daughter Alice while they are apart, Selina has conspired with their maid to create a treasure hunt around the family estate which will lead Alice to little clues and stories about her mother’s past. Iona Grey as written the most beautiful dual-timeline story with rich, authentic characters that will stay with you long after the last page. (I would LOVE to see this made into a movie or tv mini-series so I could selfishly discover this story again!) I absolutely loved this book and would highly recommend adding this to your TBR list. “The Glittering Hour” isn’t one to be missed.

“Class Mom” by Laurie Gelman

Jen Dixon isn’t your typical Kindergarten Class Mom. No, she’s a veteran Class Mom having graced the halls of William Taft Elementary for years when her college-aged daughters were students there. Now that it’s her son Max’s turn her PTA president best friend has roped her into volunteering…again. Jen’s sense of humor in her emails to her class don’t strike some of her fellow parents as funny nor does her timing their response times when she needs chaperones or class supplies brought in but to Jen’s circle of friends she is just what they need – a breath of fresh air. At curriculum night Jen runs into her high school crush, Don, now a single parent to Lulu. The two strike up a witty text message chain that Jen’s best friend Nina warns is stepping into dangerous territory. Having to juggle the drama of both her adult daughters lives, these new Kindergarten parents and training for her first mud-run Jen is at her breaking point. Being Class Mom becomes more than Jen signed up for. “Class Mom” started out strong for me and had me laughing out loud while waiting in the school pick-up line. Unfortunately, it took a nose dive somewhere between the crude humor, stereotypes (the allergy-mom’s portrayal was just not necessary) and the racist comments (there were SO many). I really wanted to like this as a former class mom/PTA volunteer but really Jen just gives us all a bad rap. If you are looking for a quick, fluff read with not much of story line other than getting to the bottom of mom gossip and don’t mind off-color humor then give this a try but I think this will be my one and only book from this series.

“Lie To Me” by J.T. Ellison

From the outside looking in Ethan and Sutton Montclair are the perfect couple. Both successful writers, a beautiful Victorian mansion in Nashville and a whirlwind marriage filled with romance. When tragedy comes knocking on their door the Montclair’s don’t respond well. The couple begin fighting, the knock-down-police called kind usually ending with them retreating to their separate corners of their home to work on their respective novels. Just when Ethan believes they might be getting back on track he awakes one morning to find Sutton gone. She has left everything behind, her phone, her laptop, her wallet, all her clothes…and a note. Sutton tells Ethan not look for her causing him to panic that she is in some sort of danger. He decides to call the police but soon Ethan is their number one suspect when all the evidence of her sudden disappearance leads back to him. “Lie To Me” is often seen compared to “Gone Girl” but in my opinion J.T. Ellison has crafted something even more creative and chilling. I can usually figure out the ending of these twisty tales early on but this one had me completely fooled. Told in two parts from both Ethan and Sutton’s point of views as well as a few flashbacks into their lives “then”, “Lie To Me” is one you won’t be able to put down! Be sure to add this one to your TBR list.

“Braving the Wilderness” by Brené Brown

In “Braving the Wilderness” by Brené Brown we learn what true belonging can look like. What does it mean to to truly belong to your friends, your beliefs, your partner or even yourself? Brown leads her reader on a journey through what she calls braving the wilderness, having the ability to be strong enough stand out alone. Being brave enough to stand in adversity and with integrity to defend what you believe in. There were so many “aha” moments while reading this I began taking pictures of quotes to return to later. Some of my favorite Brené gems were, “You will always belong anywhere you show up as yourself and talk about yourself and your work in a real way”, “True belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance” and the mantra “Strong Back. Soft Front. Wild Heart.” For those of us who have ever felt like you just don’t know where you fit in, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of “Braving the Wilderness”.

“Us, in Pieces” by Tasha Cotter & Christopher Green

Lilly and Adin met as freshman in college and they quickly became inseparable. The two would spend lazy afternoons sharing a set of headphones to listen to music, hang out for hours watching movies, take long naps and be a shoulder for the other to lean on at a moments notice. There was only one major problem…Adin was head over heels in love with Lilly who had friend-zoned Adin often coming to him when her long-term boyfriend upset her. Afraid to lose her completely Adin never opened up to Lilly about how much he cared for her. Completely out of the blue, Lilly doesn’t return to school the following semester cutting off all contact with Adin and breaking his heart. Fast-forward ten years and Lilly is still the one Adin compares all women to. When his best friend Tristan lets it slip that Lilly is recently divorced, Adin decides to put it all on the line and picks up the phone. Could this possibly be his chance with Lilly he has always dreamed of? This creative co-written, dual-perspective story is told through emails, texts, letters and brief first-person narration. There are times you want to shake both of these characters and tell them to get it together but I think that’s what makes them so relatable. Whether you’ve been friend-zoned or been the one talking your friend through confusing times there is at least one character in this book that everyone can relate to. This was such a cute love story, a perfect read right before Valentine’s Day. Be sure to add this to your TBR list for a weekend binge read. Thank you to Netgalley and Shadelandhouse for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

“Ghosted” by Rosie Walsh

Sarah, newly single and approaching 40, returns home to England for her annual visit to her parents only to find that they have left on an emergency visit to care for her Grandfather. Alone, she sets out on a walk and comes across a man and an escaped sheep. Eddie and Sarah develop a fast connection while solving the mystery of where “Lucy” the sheep came from. The two spend the entire day together, which turns into the evening, which turns into the week. As their time together ends and Eddie must leave on a pre-planned vacation the two confess that they are falling in love with one another and promise to pick up where they have left off upon Eddie’s return. Blissfully happy Sarah begins to dream of a future with Eddie but when he suddenly doesn’t return her texts or calls she begins to panic. Has something happened to Eddie? Was she so completely off on their connection? Had he been lying to her about who he really is? Sarah begins to spiral all the while picking up the pieces of her broken heart. Just as her friends have completely lost their patience with her “what-ifs” Sarah discovers that she is right, there is a reason that Eddie vanished into thin air, a discovered truth about their past. “Ghosted” for me lacked the suspense/mystery that I was expecting and felt more like a dramatic contemporary romance. I’m not sure how these two would have managed in reality. I finished this one out of curiosity more than the need to tear through the story. For a book that generated a lot of marketing hype, this one was just okay for me.

“A Murder in Time” by Julie McElwain

Kendra Donovan, a young stand-out agent with the FBI, is working on a task force to bring down two of the most wanted players in an international drug ring. When things don’t go as planned on their raid Kendra decides to take matters into her own hands traveling all the way to England to continue her search. Kendra arrives at Aldrich Castle to take out her target but when she finds herself in a dangerous situation she takes cover in a stairwell. Opening the door she has been hiding behind, Kendra steps into 1815. She first encounters the Duke who mistakes her for a lady’s maid. Convinced she has hit her head or hallucinating Kendra decides to go along with what is being asked of her to hopefully get some questions answered. Soon Kendra’s FBI skills are put to the test when a women’s body is found on the castle grounds. Without modern day technology Kendra must find a way to solve this mystery while not raising too many questions as to who she really is all while trying to find a way back to her time. The first in a multi-book series starring Donovan, “A Murder in Time” was an absolute page-turner! This CSI meets Outlander tale is the perfect book for a weekend escape. I can’t wait to dig further into this series.

Til next time,

E

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