May B. (Caroline Starr Rose)

Why I have this book: My friend recommended it, so I borrowed it from the ebook library. It was available to borrow right away and was a quick read, so that was nice.

I gave this book four stars on Goodreads. I probably would have gone for about 3.75 if that were an option, but I rounded up. 

The story tells a whole lot with relatively few words. It kept my interest even though I'd guess it's written for mid to upper elementary students.

Clean. There is a death that occurs, but it's mentioned briefly and isn't the focus of the story. 

Catherine, Called Birdy (Karen Cushman)

Why I have this book: I decided to read it after seeing there was a show based on the book. I don't remember if it's a movie or a series, and I actually haven't watched it yet. In any case, I borrowed the book from the ebook library.

Such a fun book. I gave this a solid 4 stars on Goodreads. Very clever, humorous, and enlightening about the medieval times. I'm going to look for other books by this author.

Mostly clean, although sexual relations are mentioned very casually and matter-of-factly. Violence is part of the story in passing (hangings, fights, death), and there may have been some mild swearing... but I can't say for sure. Maybe not.

Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots (Deborah Feldman)

Why I have this book: I believe I saw it recommended on Instagram, so I borrowed the ebook version from the library.

I gave this book four stars on Goodreads. It's hard to believe that women still live such controlled and extreme religious lifestyles in this day and age. It's also crazy that this is happening in America.

While most of the religious customs and regulations are far beyond anything I've ever been required to do, I could certainly relate to some of the feelings the author described in relation to how she fit in with her cultural and religious community.

I'm impressed with the author for finding a way to leave and for managing to bring her son with her. I think it's admirable how she is keeping some parts of her Jewish heritage intact so her son can stay connected to his heritage and to his father. 

There's a lot of discussion about sexuality and how the religious influence contributed to the problems the author had early in her marriage. There's also some parts that refer to sexual assault (including against children) and murder. I don't recall any swearing.

We Were Liars (E. Lockhart)

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

I gave this only two stars on Goodreads. Honestly, I was ready to stop reading it at about 40%. Up until that point, it just wasn't that interesting, and parts of it were confusing. It got more intriguing around 43% in, so I decided to finish it, and once the story was all laid out, all the confusion from the first half made more sense.

I'm just not sure it was worth pushing through the first half to get to the conclusion. It took me a long time to get through it because I wasn't compelled to pick it up. I guess there's a prequel, but I'm not interesting in reading it.

There were swear words, including the F-bomb. There's a bit of teenage lusting, but nothing descriptive. One character keeps saying she has "sexual intercourse" with her boyfriend for some reason. Overall, not super clean, but probably about average for modern teenage/YA books.

Holly (Jude Deveraux)

Why I have this book: I bought it for cheap on Kindle because it looked Christmasy, and I had loved a book by Jude Deveraux years ago. (A Knight in Shining Armor was the title of that one.)

Okay... I can't even remember Christmas being in this book at all. The cover makes it look like a Christmas Hallmark movie. If the holiday plays a role at all, it's very brief. The main characters are named Nick and Holly, so maybe that's enough.

Anyway, I gave it one star on Goodreads. Dumb book. Dumb storyline. Dumb character development. I only finished it so I could add to my Goodreads book count for the year. Haha.

It makes me wonder if I'd even like A Knight in Shining Armor now. Maybe my taste in books has changed a lot, or maybe this was just a bomb of a book for the author. In any case, I deleted this book from my Kindle library because it was that bad.

Quite a few unrealistic sexual scenes. Not super detailed and drawn out, but there wasn't much "use your imagination" going on. And when I say "unrealistic," I mean it. There may have been some swearing, but I don't think there were any F-bombs? Honestly just glad to have this one over and done.

Anxious People (Fredrik Backman)

Why I have this book: I borrowed it from the ebook library because I saw that a friend had rated it highly.

Okay, I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads. I'd give it a 4.7 if I could, but I can't, so I'm rounding up.

Brilliant. The book is brilliant. What a beautiful story of humanity! It's a rare book that I actually articulate, "Wow. That was a great book!" when I finish it, and this is one of them.

Mostly clean. There is some swearing. I can't remember if there were any F-bombs. There is a married lesbian couple (which doesn't bother me, and in fact, I'm not going to differentiate between straight or gay couples from here on out unless there's a good reason to mention it). The storyline involves depression and anxiety and suicide.

A Season for Second Chances (Jenny Bayliss)

Why I have this book: I borrowed it from the ebook library because a friend recommended it to me. 

I gave it three stars on Goodreads. It was a cozy story set in the UK near the ocean, and I probably would have given it four stars except there were a few odd elements... like casual talk about the gift of a vibrator from her book club friends, which (who?) makes the occasional cameo throughout the book with its name "Mr. Knightly." 

I don't know. That's all I want to say about that. Like I said, it was a little odd. 

Otherwise, it was pretty good. It could have been cleaned up a little more for my taste, but I realize that the way these characters live in regards to sex is normal for most of the world.

Some swearing, including the F-word and God's name. Some hot and heavy moments (but not descriptive). One character is caught in an affair. Lots of lusting on the part of the main character, but there's no actual action, really. And we musn't forget Mr. Knightly, but luckily we don't hear too much about him beyond his initial appearance.