I Don't Need Therapy: and other lies I've told myself (Toni Lodge)

Why I have this book: My daughter recommended the audio version after she listened to it.

I've seen Toni in brief clips from her podcast on my IG feed. Let's face it, the Australian accent makes everything better, and she is pretty funny. When my daughter mentioned the book, I put it on hold because of what I'd seen of Toni online.

Okay, so do we all agree that the British and Aussies use the F-word way more than most Americans? Or maybe it's just where I live and the culture I've lived in for decades. Either way, when it comes with the accent, it doesn't seem as bad. I don't know why. Maybe I'm kidding myself that it's not as bad in those countries. I don't live there, so I don't know.

In any case, the book was a memoir of Toni's life, and I did enjoy it even though I really don't know much about her. I thought it was pretty touching when she talked about her mom (who died of cancer when Toni was in her late teens, if I'm remembering correctly). It's obvious that she loved her mom a lot, and that the pain of losing her is still there. 

I did laugh aloud a few times, and I felt emotional at other times. I can't really recommend it to anyone who would be offended by the F-word, but I'm glad I listened it to it.

Lots of swearing. She talks about losing her mom (which is rough).

The False Flat (Melissa Collings)

Why I have this book: Someone online recommended it, so I borrowed it from Kindle Unlimited.

Ugh. 

Okay, the book itself was well-written, but it was SO SAD. Too sad for me, and also... I just wasn't expecting it to be that way. Maybe I didn't read the synopsis.

I liked it a lot, but I only gave it three stars because it was just too sad for me. Maybe that's not fair on my part to give it fewer stars because it was sad. I don't know.

The story deals with cancer and death. Again, not sure on the swear words. There's sex, but I don't remember it being descriptive. (Back-dating again.)

Three books from The Housemaid Series (Freida McFadden)

The Housemaid

The Housemaid's Secret

The Housemaid is Watching 

Why I have these books: I borrowed them from Kindle Unlimited just because I had seen them around online and thought I'd give them a try.

I'm not usually into thrillers or suspense books. I get creeped out too easily. I've tried a handful in the last few years, and luckily none of them have been horrifyingly creepy. These were the same. Nothing too scary, although the first one did have a pretty yucky person whose psychological issues were just icky.

Still, they all three kept my interest, and it was nice to just lose myself into the stories, so I gave them all four stars on Goodreads.

The books deal with abuse, creepiness, murder. I'm sure there were swear words (seriously, I think I see so much swearing in the regular world now that it's hard to remember if it's in a book or not), and there were some out-of-wedlock and adulterous relationships. I don't remember anything descriptive, but true to form (lately), I'm writing this late and back-dating it.

The Children's Blizzard (Melanie Benjamin)

Why I have this book: I think Amazon might have recommended it? I don't remember. I spent about $7 on it, so it wasn't a bargain.

Honestly, for me... not worth the price. I gave it two stars on Goodreads. Some of it was compelling, and I debated if I'd recommend it to my friend, but there were also parts that were boring. The character development wasn't very deep. I walked away for days at a time at one point. I did like learning about an event in history, but I couldn't give it three stars when it came right down to it.

I assumed this was a children's book when I bought it, maybe written for upper elementary grades. Nope. It's not. There are some sleazy (but not descriptive) things in the story. There is some swearing, but I don't remember any of the "worst" words being used. I don't remember exactly what, but I definitely had moments while reading that I thought, "This is not a book for kids."

When Your Family Says No (Laya Martin)

Why I have this book: I bought it on Kindle because I'm always interested in memoirs about leaving one's faith or other strong family cultures. I can't remember how it came to my attention... even though it was just a few days ago that I bought it. Oops.

I gave this book four stars on Goodreads, although I probably would have gone with 3.5 or 3.7 if I had the option. 

The memoir itself was very interesting, and it's always fascinating to hear how similar the pressures and tactics can be among high-demand religions. The guilt, the belief that only they have the truth, the devastation of family when someone walks away, etc.

I do wish the author had been more clear on the timeline of events (give us the year things are happening throughout the book!), and at times it felt like she was going out of order (especially toward the end), but it wasn't too difficult to figure out. It just messed up the flow of the story a bit.

Annnnnnd... imagine my surprise when in her Acknowledgments, she thanked her husband "Gary" when her husband was actually named John throughout the book. I thought, "Whoa. They must have gotten divorced." I had to do research online to discover that John actually died of brain cancer 27 years into their marriage. I'm super surprised she didn't include this in the memoir. It's pretty significant! (The book was just published a couple of years ago, so he would have died years before.) She does thank John in her Acknowledgments, but doesn't say why there's a new husband. That's why I thought they were divorced.

In any case, it was a good book, and the author herself is quite impressive in all that she's accomplished in life.

Clean.

Darling Girls (Sally Hepworth)

Why I have this book: I borrowed it from Kindle Unlimited because I've liked other books by the author.

I gave this one four stars on Goodreads. Definitely kept my interest and kept me guessing right up until the end.

There was probably some swearing. There were some sexual things... some implied, one somewhat described. Addiction. Abuse and murder were part of the storyline. Psychological issues. (Not as dark as it sounds!)

The next three books in the Countess of Harleigh Mystery series (Dianne Freeman)

A Fiancée's Guide to First Wives and Murder

A Bride's Guide to Marriage and Murder

A Newlywed's Guide to Fortune and Murder

Why I have these books: I borrowed them from Kindle Unlimited to finish out the series. There's actually one more book that will be published soon, so I'll borrow that one when it comes out.

I gave these four, four, and three stars respectively. They were all enjoyable.

Clean. I don't recall any swearing, but if there was, it was mild and rare. (I am once again backdating this review since it's been two - three weeks since I read these.)