Four books in the Prairie River series (Kristiana Gregory)

Why I have these books: I had the whole series in paperback before, and I remember LOVING them. They came up on a good deal on Kindle, so I bought them to read again.

I gave them each three stars this go-around. (I think I read them the first time before I had Goodreads.) They are written for mid-to-upper elementary kids, and are kind of along the lines of Little House on the Prairie in tone. I didn't remember them being as religious in nature as they are, and I actually think I was confusing them in my mind with another book series or book that I read? There were things that I thought were going to happen that never did, so now I'm wondering what other book or series I was thinking of.

Anyway, I did enjoy them. I like the simplicity of life set in those times. The simple faith, the simple lifestyle without a lot of the modern distractions, the sense of community, etc. I fully realize they dealt with challenges that we don't worry about: harsh weather conditions, lack of medical help, growing all our own food, survival in the early days of settling the land, worrying about "Indian" attacks (or from the perspective of the Native Americans, worrying about attacks and losing land to the white people), etc.

Yeah, life wasn't simple at all for them, but I guess it was nice to imagine a time without all the distractions and information and crazy stuff that is happening in our day. It was a small escape from the things that are on my mind right now.

Side note: In one of the books, the author talks about the different tribes of Indians a character had encountered in his travels. One was the "Utahs." I have never heard of a Utahs tribe. I think she meant the "Utes." When I googled, it did say that early explorers used variations like Yuta, Eutaw, and Ute-ahs for the Ute tribe. Interesting new information for me! 

Also, the Kindle versions of these books had some weird formatting, so that's too bad. It was a little distracting.

Clean. There were some deaths and descriptions of things early settlers dealt with, but again, it is geared toward elementary readers, so it's not overly graphic.

The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom (Shari Franke)

Why I have this book: I used an Audible credit to "buy" the audiobook because I wanted to hear more of this story that I had only heard bits and pieces of on the news.

To be honest, my interest also was because this happened in a nearby area involving members of my former religious community.

I gave this one five stars on Goodreads. I thought the author (who is also the narrator) did a great job telling her story in a way that was conversational in tone. She seemed to respect the privacy of her minor-aged siblings and stated that their stories were theirs to tell if they wanted to in the future. It was interesting to see a more complete picture of what had been happening in the household for years before the events we all saw on the news. It's sad how some people get caught up in belief systems that end up harming others. To some degree, I understand how it happens, and I've seen it happen due to religion, politics, or "motivational" type organizations. It's scary how easily twisted and influenced the human mind can be.

I was surprised that the author stayed in the Church after her experiences. I'm not sure where she is now with all of that, but it would be interesting to see how her father and other siblings relate to religion after all they went through.

The story talks about domestic abuse, sexual relationships, and sexual abuse (mildly descriptive). I don't recall any profanity.

The Correspondent (Virginia Evans)

Why I have this book: It's the talk of the internet, but I also had a friend ask if I wanted to read it at the same time she was. I ended up buying both the Audible and Kindle versions.

I'm glad I did buy both versions. I referenced the Kindle version quite a few times, plus was able to read it at night instead of listening. It still took me a bit to get through it because our household has been busy and we've had some irregular things doing on that disrupt my brain focus. Oops.

I really enjoyed the story very much. I gave it four stars on Goodreads.

Having said that, there were a few things I would have changed to make it a little easier to understand some details.

It's probably the first book in a long time that hit all the feels for me. I found myself really close to tears a couple of times.

Mostly clean. If there was any profanity, it was rare. I don't really remember (and I just finished it last night), so it must not have stood out. I don't recall anything sexual, either. It does deal with death and aging.

The Ex-Wives Club (Sally Hepworth)

Why I have this book: It was super cheap because it is a short story/novella. I bought it for my Kindle.

I gave this only two stars on Goodreads. It was okay. It felt like a little mystery play without a lot of depth or character development. Somewhat entertaining, but that's about it.

I don't recall the profanity level. From other books I've read by the author, there was probably some. I don't think there was anything sexual... but oops, it's been a few weeks since I read it. (Dating this post to the date I finished the book, as usual.)

The Kill Clause (Lisa Unger)

Why I have this book: I think it was a free option on Prime First Reads? Yeah, it was. 

This is a short story, thank goodness. I did not like it. I didn't like the subject matter (assassins), I didn't like how dark the story was, I didn't like the way it made me feel. It was just... yuck. It was heavy and sad and gross. Not my kind of story at all.

I gave it one star on Goodreads. If it had been a full-length novel, I wouldn't have finished it. Since it was short, I pushed through to see if it would redeem itself. It didn't.

Maybe some would say I'm just too wimpy for stories like this, but I'm okay with that. I think the world has enough darkness without inviting more into my mind.

Murder, assassins, profanity, some mildly descriptive sex. Not a light-hearted read. 

Not Quite Dead Yet (Holly Jackson)

Why I have this book: I bought the Kindle version because my parents were both reading it. Figured we'd do a little book club.

I gave this one three stars on Goodreads. While it completely kept my attention, the writing needed a bit of cleaning up, and I feel like there were a few holes in the story. It also wasn't plausible at all, but it was great entertainment!

Lots of profanity. Some violence and death involved in the storyline. Still, somewhat of a light vibe even though it was intense at times. It wasn't written as a dark story, I guess is what I mean.

The Names (Florence Knapp)

Why I have this book: It was another one I borrowed from the ebook library and had to put my Kindle in airplane mode in order to read it after the due date. Oops. December. I also used an Audible credit to buy the audio version.

I am so torn on this book. On the one hand, it was such an interesting concept. The writing was beautiful, and the audiobook had a narrator with a lovely voice. 

I had such a hard time following the story, though. It was absolutely impossible for me on Audible. The timeline jumps ahead every seven years in each part, and each part contains the stories of three variations of the characters' lives. It was just hard for me to remember what had happened seven years ago for each of those characters and their alternate lives. I ended up not listening to the audio version past the first section because I needed to go back and reference things and try to keep it straight, and that was easier in the Kindle.

I think it would have worked better for me if the story would have carried out each variation through start to finish, then the second alternative, then the third. Tell each story all the way through before switching to the next. 

But maybe it was just me. Maybe it was because I still had December brain.

Even with that issue, I still gave this book four stars on Goodreads. It really was a well-written book, the writing style was exquisite, and for a debut novel, I was very impressed with the author.

Domestic abuse, death, SA (framed as teenage stupidity), bullying... all these play a role. I don't recall the level of profanity, and nothing stands out in my mind about any kind of graphic content.