Book Chat @ My New Spot

 Hello, All-

It's been roughly a month since I went completely social media free. While I miss some nice things (e.g., wedding photos, pregnancy announcements, birthdays), I can't say I've missed it all that much. At any rate, I thought I'd fill you in on my end of summer reads.

Check em out.

First up on the docket:

THIS BOOK WAS PHENOMENAL!!! It's about a young woman in Syria during the beginning of their civil war in the early 2000's. She was a pharmacy student, but since the war broke out, had become a fill in doctor at the hospital in her city. Heart breaking, hopeful, gritty, eye opening, and heart touching-this book is a definite must read for your end of 2024 list. It will make you question is it better to have roots or wings, or is it possible to have both? So profound.

This was an amazing book. I will read more from this author, but this was my first Cormac M. book. This is a tale about a father and son traveling a road to get to the coast after an apocalyptic event. The way he weaves words and the way the writing is set up is mesmerizing. It almost reads like a play script. It was eerie and dream like. It had you constantly questioning what you would do in those scenarios in order for your child to survive. **WARNING MENTIONS VERY HEAVY TOPICS LIKE CANNIBALISM, HUMAN SLAVERY, AND KILLING**

There are two movies I can watch any time I'm sad and they are guaranteed to make me happy. 1)-My Big Fat Greek Wedding and 2)-Austenland. The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center is the book equivalent of those movies for my life. I can't TELL YOU how HAPPY this book made my soul. Warm, fuzzy, and bubbly are all the things I was feeling as I read this book. It was like a hug to your heart. Also, as someone who reads constantly and loves to write, I cannot (a second time) begin to tell you HOW MUCH I LOVED THE DIALOUGE between the two main characters in this novel. SO. WITTY. My brain enjoyed every moment of their back n fourth. The hardback copy of this has hot pink pages around the outside that are also so happy to look at. PERFECT end of the summer read or middle of the winter pick me up!

These books were recommended to me and I loved them! Memory Lane is the first in the series followed by Rocky Road. These books follow two separate brothers and the adventures they have. Both books contain an air of mystery or action mixed in with Christian Romance. These were closed door novels, and I found the Christian intimacy refreshing and not in your face. Definitely recommend these and both are appropriate for upper high school students!

This book was darling. It's about two 30 somethings who live in the same house for a summer, but they both think the other is an elderly person. LOL Henry allows a nurse who's doing a summer rotation in his town to rent a room as arranged by his niece. Edith thinks Henry is an elderly man she is staying with for the summer. They keep running into one another in town and sparks fly, not knowing they are living under the same roof. It has over the top small town characters with a Hart of Dixie vibe. Super cute and super light. If you like rom-coms, you'll like this one.

This is a story about high school best friends and how they come back into each other's lives as adults. It takes place in Omaha which I could relate to. I loved how real life this book was and I was cheering for them the entire book. Do they finally get it together? Read and find out! **Definitely contains adult content, would not recommend for high school students**

Finished the final book in the Fire and Flesh series. It wasn't my favorite of the series, but I still thought it was great. Super slow the first 170 pages, but after that it picks up and stays up. ** My only knock against this book, per usual, is it contains graphic intimacy and graphic language. I honestly feel it dumbs down the writing. There's also a conversation regarding abortion and or hiding an abortion from a spouse (which is a story for another day), but I want to make sure people know what's in there if that's something they would like to avoid. All of that detracted from the amazing fantasy plot, and I genuinely wish it was left out** Last B&A book set to release sometime in 2025.

This is the last of my summer reads as we transition into fall! I guess this is a Netflix series, but I have not watched it. This is definitely a teen drama. I was rolling my eyes for 3/4s of the book, but by the end I found myself cheering for damn Cole Walter. This has The Summer I Turned Pretty vibes, but mid-western as it takes place on a ranch in CO. Love triangles, partying, high school drama-that's pretty much the gist of this. I'll probably read the second book in the series, but it doesn't come out until 2025. **I would not let my teen daughter read this** This was probably my least favorite of my summer reads.

Well, make sure to stop in here next time for more book updates, or drop a line! I love chatting books and receiving recommendations!

Kate