Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy's Fight for Survival (Omid Scobie)

Why I have this book: I borrowed the audio version from the ebook library.

I'm glad I listened to this book because it helped to make sense of things I've seen online over the past decade or so. Even though this author also wrote Finding Freedom (which I felt was very biased toward Meghan), I think he was a bit more objective and fair in this one. Maybe still a bit biased toward Meghan, but not as blatantly as in his other book. I obviously am just going by what I've heard/read from different sources to help me decide what is true and what isn't, though.

I was surprised to learn the author is in his 40's and that he has a better resume than I had assumed. As the narrator of the audio version, he sounds educated and like a reliable source of information. Again, though, I can't be sure since I know nothing for certain. Haha.

In any case, I enjoyed the listen, and mostly it reminds me that families are complicated. Being in the royal family of Great Britain just makes those complications more complicated AND more visible to everyone. I don't envy them at all.

I gave it four stars on Goodreads.

Clean. I don't recall any swearing or anything, but like the last book I reviewed, it's been a few days, and I might not remember. 

Two Women Walk into a Bar (Cheryl Strayed)

Why I have this book: It was a freebie on Amazon First Reads.

I gave this one four stars on Goodreads. It was a touching record of the last weeks of the author's mother-in-law's life. It brings to the forefront how our lives are intertwined and how we create relationships over time. 

As a short story (not really a "story" since it's true), it was a quick read, but it had a big impact.

Clean. I don't recall any swearing or anything, but it's been a few days since I actually read it, so I can't be sure.

Beach Read (Emily Henry)

Why I have this book: A friend read it and must have given it a high rating because I borrowed it from the ebook library on audio.

Sadly, I gave it only two stars on Goodreads. I thought I'd give it a higher rating at first, but by the end, I wasn't as thrilled.

The narrator did a great job. Some parts of the story were cute and fun, lots of humorous bantor, etc. I guess this is a "rom-com" type of book. Here were the things I didn't like:

The male love interest was way too in touch with his feelings. He spoke like a romantic girl, not a typical man. I can't imagine, in all honesty, any man or woman speaking the way either of them did. Definitely sounded like a movie script and not real life.

The sex scenes were more descriptive than I needed to read (listen to), and they also seemed a bit unrealistic. Too fast and furious and in uncomfortable places. It also kind of annoyed me that both times "protection" was brought up, it was her asking for it. Why can't the guy just be responsible and take care of it without her asking him about it? So dumb.

There was another male character who did some written communication that also sounded a bit too flowery and in touch with his feelings than a typical man. Maybe I'm just not around those type of men or maybe I'm just jaded, but I actually rolled my eyes a few times.

All in all... meh.

There were the above-mentioned sex scenes. There was some profanity, including the F-word. Part of the storyline involved researching a suicide cult, but none of that was graphically described.

10 Blind Dates (Ashley Elston)

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

I thought it was okay. It was cute (like my friend said), but also an unlikely scenario within the family of the protagonist. The romantic relationships seemed a bit grown up considering the characters were still in high school. If I didn't know that, I'd have thought it made more sense for college-aged students than for kids still in high school.

I gave it two stars on Goodreads.

I don't recall any swearing (but could be wrong). I do know they used God's name as an exclamation of emotion. There is one scene that alludes to a porn movie and a related "toy" shop, but nothing is described in depth and it's handled as an inappropriate situation.

Wish (Barbara O'Connor)

Why I have this book: I borrowed the Kindle version from the ebook library because my daughter said she loved it. She's read it three times! (We have the paperback edition, but I like reading on my Kindle, so I was glad the library had it available.)

I really loved this book. I even gave it five stars on Goodreads because four didn't seem like quite enough. It's a sweet and touching story that makes you want to hug your dog and do the things that make your home filled with love.

Clean.

The Happiest Refugee (Ahn Do)

Why I have this book: I don't remember at all why this book ended up on my wish list on Amazon, but I eventually bought it. It wasn't cheap, either, so...

I gave it four stars on Goodreads. In actuality, my rating was somewhere between a three and a four, but his story is interesting, and I'm grateful it reminded me to think about the lives of hard-working immigrants. So many who immigrate to various countries around the world (his family immigrated from Vietnam to Australia through both illegal and legal processes... illegally leaving, legally being assigned a country) sacrifice a lot and work very hard to give their children a better life. He recognizes that and appreciates what his parents did for him.

He's apparently quite a big star in Australia, but I haven't seen anything he's done. I might look him up online and watch some of his work. 

I'm glad I read it. I'm not sure I would pay as much as I did, though. It's probably a $7 book instead of the sixteen dollars I paid.

Clean. I don't remember any swearing or anything offensive at all, but I did read it over the course of several weeks, so I might be forgetting something.

Two books in the "Sweet Magnolias" series (Sherryl Woods)

Stealing Home

A Slice of Heaven

Why I have these books: Because I hadn't learned my lesson and bought ALL the (Kindle) books in the series when there was a special. I was interested because I watched the first two seasons of Sweet Magnolias on Netflix, and it seemed like the books might be nice to read.

*To be accurate, these two came in a "boxed" set, but I entered them separately on Goodreads so I'd get credit for two instead of one large book (as it is with the Kindle edition I bought). Gotta get my book count! haha

I gave them both 2 stars on Goodreads. Oh, my gosh. The first one had a scene in it that would not fly at all these days. I just checked, and I'm surprised to see it was originally published in 2007. I can't imagine the scene in question would have been okay then, either. (A man takes a woman's hand and puts it on his crotch to prove he is, indeed, attracted to her.) So gross and inappropriate, and dare I say, even sexual harrassment/assault.

I think if I hadn't seen the show, I wouldn't really have much connection to the characters. The character development isn't there. The story depth isn't there. I'm actually really surprised someone was able to see the potential in the story for a tv series. This is one time I can honestly say the show is better than the books.

As I mentioned, I bought the whole series on a whim. Dumb! I'm sure I'll still read them, but I've got a couple others to get to first.

I don't recall any swearing, but if there is, it's mild and infrequent. There is the one stupid scene mentioned above in the first book. The second book has a moderately described sex scene. A fair amount of "hot and bothered" going on in both books.