Save the Date (Jenny B. Jones)

Why I have this book: My friend recommended it, so I borrowed it from the ebook library.

I gave this book three stars on Goodreads. If I had an option, I'd have gone with 3.7 stars, but I couldn't bring myself to give it four stars, so I had to round down.

It was definitely entertaining and enjoyable to read, and I was sucked into the storyline. Lots of good stuff in there: fun plot twists, fun characters, moving spiritual growth...

However. :) Some of it just wasn't realistic in the least, and I didn't think the protagonist was very lovable. Lots of whining and crying and drama was going on. I could see why she fell in love with him, but not sure why he fell in love with her.

Anyway, it was a fun way to lose myself in a nice book that wasn't very deep (but still worthwhile).

Clean. 

Miranda (Grace Livingston Hill)

Why I have this book: It was the third book in the Miranda Trilogy I've been mentioning lately.

Okay, so I gave this three stars on Goodreads, but it was a stretch. Here's the thing: I liked the parts about Miranda and her backstory with Allen, but got sooooooo bogged down on the political stuff and the traveling stuff with the preacher guy from Oregon. I guess if I was in the mind of wanting to expand my knowledge of that kind of thing from that era, it would have been more interesting, but I just wasn't there right now. I did a lot of skimming through those parts.

It was a cute series, though. I don't regret reading it, and it was fun to learn about the books by this author. I had never heard of her or her books before.

Clean.

Dangerous Alliance: An Austentacious Romance (Jennieke Cohen)

Why I have this book: Someone on IG recommended it, there were good reviews, and I liked the idea of it being tied to Jane Austen books.

Oh, my gosh. Soooooooo dumb. I actually sped the book up (I was listening to the audio version) to get through it faster. During most of the book, I thought I'd give it a three, but that dropped to a two, and by the last couple of chapters, I was at a one star rating.

I can't tell you how many times someone "scratched at the door." Is this a thing? I mean, besides a dog or cat... did people back in the day "scratch" at doors? I googled it and couldn't find anything to support that idea. Every single time it happened, I was thrown out of the storyline because it just sounded so odd.

And "Are you in earnest?" was probably the most repeated phrase of the book. (or "You can't possibly be in earnest" or "I assure you I am in earnest.") Ugh. I started to cringe every time I heard it.

Anyway, the romance was predictable, the last bit with the "bad guy" was eye-rollingly ridiculous, and I was so happy when it ended.

The "Author's Notes" at the end was interesting, but I still couldn't give it more than one star on Goodreads.

Pretty clean. The book discusses rape and marital abuse (none descriptive), and there are a handful of mild swear words.

Phoebe Deane (Grace Livingston Hill)

Why I have this book: It's the second part of the trilogy book called The Miranda Trilogy that I mentioned a couple of posts ago. 

I enjoyed this one, as well. I mean, it's definitely old-fashioned, but I still liked it. This one had a little more depth than the first one. It also seemed to increase in typos/editing errors.

I gave it three stars on Goodreads. 

Clean.

Everything I Never Told You (Celeste Ng)

Why I have this book: I checked out the audiobook after liking her other book so much.

Another winner from this author. Her books are so deep, and the character development is, as well. Again, it shows how complex we are as people and how we are shaped by our life experiences. Those experiences can influence how we parent and what we hope for (and expect from) our children.

I gave this four stars on Goodreads.

There is some swearing in this book, including once or twice with the ol' F-word. There is also an extramarital affair (not really descriptive), and the suggestion of teenage sex (not described at all). There is one character who is gay, but it's not talked about very much.

Marcia Schuyler (Grace Hill Livingston)

Why I have this book: It's part of a trilogy called "Miranda Trilogies" that my friend recommended. I actually bought it in trilogy form (one book) that was only 99 cents on Kindle.

This book was first published in 1908 from what I can tell! Wow. It was a light, cute story. Very clean and very sweet and very hard to relate to in our day and age.

I enjoyed it (three stars on Goodreads) and am reading the second book now. I did skim some of it with all the extra details of scenery or whatever, but all-in-all, it was cute.

Clean.

Little Fires Everywhere (Celeste Ng)

Why I have this book: I borrowed the audio version from the library after a friend recommended it.

I really liked this book. I actually had purchased the ebook version first, but had a hard time getting into it. I then borrowed the audio version and got hooked right away. I listened to the whole book while quilting... well, except the last chapter which I read in bed from my ebook version.

What made this book so good to me were all the complexities of relationships and life choices. I thought the author did a great job helping the readers learn about and understand the various points of view each character had. There was such great character development. I honestly cared about nearly every person in the book.

The narrator of the audiobook was great, as well.

This book had some swearing, including a handful of the F-words. Teenage sex seems to be an expected part of life in the community where this book was set. None of it is descriptive. Abortion is also a part of the story.