Everybody, Always

What happens when we give away love like we're made of it?

In his entertaining and inspiring follow-up to the New York Times bestselling phenomenon Love Does, Bob Goff takes readers on a journey into the secret of living without fear, constraint, or worry. The path toward the liberated existence we all long for is found in a truth as simple to say as it is hard to do: love people, even the difficult ones, without distinction and without limits.

Driven by Bob’s trademark storytelling, Everybody, Always reveals the lessons Bob learned--often the hard way--about what it means to love without inhibition, insecurity, or restriction. From finding the right friends to discovering the upside of failure, Everybody, Always points the way to embodying love by doing the unexpected, the intimidating, the seemingly impossible. Whether losing his shoes while skydiving solo or befriending a Ugandan witch doctor, Bob steps into life with a no-limits embrace of others that is as infectious as it is extraordinarily ordinary. Everybody, Always reveals how we can do the same.

Bob Goff seems like an amazing human being!  I think it would be wonderful to just sit in a room with him and listen to him tell stories.  Even more so, I'd love to talk to him about an issue or problem and let him help me solve it because I just know it would be beyond anything I could even think or dream.  Love Does, his first book, sits proudly on my favorites shelf and I recommend it all the time.  I can't say I loved this one quite as much, but I don't think that would be possible anyway.  I know this book gets some criticism because Bob's perspective is one of privilege, but I think that's unfair.  He's not asking us to become rich and save the world.  He's using his resources to make the world a better place and show love to everyone.  We can do that, one person at a time in our corner of the world as well, no matter what resources and privileges we have.  That's the great thing about showing love, it's completely free!!  Please do yourself a favor and pick up this book and Love Does, read it and pass it on!

        * I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review *

A Stranger on the Beach

There is a stranger outside Caroline's house.

Her spectacular new beach house, built for hosting expensive parties and vacationing with the family she thought she'd have. But her husband is lying to her and everything in her life is upside down, so when the stranger, Aiden, shows up as a bartender at the same party where Caroline and her husband have a very public fight, it doesn't seem like anything out of the ordinary.

As her marriage collapses around her and the lavish lifestyle she's built for herself starts to crumble, Caroline turns to Aiden for comfort...and revenge. After a brief and desperate fling that means nothing to Caroline and everything to him, Aiden's obsession with Caroline, her family, and her house grows more and more disturbing. And when Caroline's husband goes missing, her life descends into a nightmare that leaves her accused of her own husband's murder.

When I read the premise of this book it had a ton of potential, but it just didn't deliver in a way that I enjoyed overall.  My rating is a 2.5 stars, because, in all honesty, it fell flat.  It seemed predictable and therefore it just didn't hold much suspense for me while I was reading.  I kept reading because I was sure that I was missing something and it would surprise me, but it just never did.  I read and loved the author's previous novel, It's Always the Husband.  Because of that, I would still pick up another novel by this author.  Her writing is easy to read and I know it's there, it just missed the mark for me in this one.

   

             * I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review *

     

Last Summer

Lifestyle journalist Ella Skye remembers every celebrity she interviewed, every politician she charmed between the sheets, and every socialite who eyed her with envy. The chance meeting with her husband, Damien; their rapid free fall into love; and their low-key, intimate wedding are all locked in her memory. But what she can’t remember is the tragic car accident that ripped her unborn child from her. Ella can’t even recall being pregnant.

Hoping to find the memories of a lost pregnancy that’s left her husband devastated and their home empty, Ella begins delving into her past when she’s assigned an exclusive story about Nathan Donovan, a retired celebrity adventurer who seems to know more about her than she does him. To unravel the mystery of her selective memory loss, Ella follows Nathan from the snowcapped Sierra Nevada to the frozen slopes of southeast Alaska. There she discovers the people she trusts most aren’t the only ones keeping secrets from her—she’s hiding them from herself. Ella quickly learns that some truths are best left forgotten.

I hate to admit this, but I almost gave up on this one.  It was feeling predictable and cliche, but I am so happy that I stuck with it!  I have enjoyed Kerry Lonsdale's previous novels, so I was really excited to receive a copy to read and review.  The author does a great job of writing characters you can cheer for and be frustrated with all at the same time.  It's not a perfect book, but it's a great story that I would recommend you pick up this summer.  If you enjoy it, I'd explore the authors backlist titles as well!        

  

         * I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review *

 

The Stationery Shop

Roya is a dreamy, idealistic teenager living in 1953 Tehran who, amidst the political upheaval of the time, finds a literary oasis in kindly Mr. Fakhri’s neighborhood book and stationery shop. She always feels safe in his dusty store, overflowing with fountain pens, shiny ink bottles, and thick pads of soft writing paper.

When Mr. Fakhri, with a keen instinct for a budding romance, introduces Roya to his other favorite customer—handsome Bahman, who has a burning passion for justice and a love for Rumi’s poetry—she loses her heart at once. And, as their romance blossoms, the modest little stationery shop remains their favorite place in all of Tehran.

A few short months later, on the eve of their marriage, Roya agrees to meet Bahman at the town square, but suddenly, violence erupts—a result of the coup d’etat that forever changes their country’s future. In the chaos, Bahman never shows. For weeks, Roya tries desperately to contact him, but her efforts are fruitless. With a sorrowful heart, she resigns herself to never seeing him again.

Until, more than sixty years later, an accident of fate leads her back to Bahman and offers her a chance to ask him the questions that have haunted her for more than half a century: Why did he leave? Where did he go? How was he able to forget her?

The Stationery Shop is a beautiful and timely exploration of devastating loss, unbreakable family bonds, and the overwhelming power of love.

This book was beautiful, plain and simple.  I loved it so much I purposefully took longer to read it because I just didn't want to get to the end.  This will definitely be one of my favorite reads of the year!  The writing just totally drew me into a story about 2 teenagers falling in love in Iran, a country I knew very little about, but came to care about so much.  I love a book that explores the history and choices of the characters and how it can alter their lives.  This is a beautiful story you won't want to miss!    

           * I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review *

Girls Like Us

FBI Agent Nell Flynn hasn't been home in ten years. Nell and her father, Homicide Detective Martin Flynn, have never had much of a relationship. And Suffolk County will always be awash in memories of her mother, Marisol, who was brutally murdered when Nell was just seven.

When Martin Flynn dies in a motorcycle accident, Nell returns to the house she grew up in so that she can spread her father's ashes and close his estate. At the behest of her father's partner, Detective Lee Davis, Nell becomes involved in an investigation into the murders of two young women in Suffolk County. The further Nell digs, the more likely it seems to her that her father should be the prime suspect--and that his friends on the police force are covering his tracks. Plagued by doubts about her mother's murder--and her own role in exonerating her father in that case--Nell can't help but ask questions about who killed Ria Ruiz and Adriana Marques and why. But she may not like the answers she finds--not just about those she loves, but about herself.

Girls Like Us was one of my most anticipated reads for 2019 and it completely delivered!  After reading The Banker's Wife, I was immediately drawn to Cristina Alger's writing style, it makes the story so compelling.  She does a fantastic job of writing strong female characters that also feel relatable.  I felt connected to Nell, the main character, the entire book.  I also admired her ability in this book to pace the story so that it didn't hit a slump, I was engaged the whole time.  I found myself looking for any chance possible to pick the book up and continue reading.  If you are looking for a book that keeps you guessing, but doesn't rely on crazy gimmicks, pick this one up soon!  Cristina Alger has become a favorite for me and I will continue to look forward to whatever comes next!

             * I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review *

Raising an Original

Most Christian parents are bombarded with all kinds of advice and plans and programs for how to be a great parent. In parenting eight kids over the last twenty-five years, Julie Lyles Carr and her husband experienced plenty of opportunity for learning, but it was when they began to understand it was about parenting each child according to their own unique needs and personality style that something wonderful happened.

In Raising an Original, Carr helps to redefine the primary purpose of Christian parenting, this raising of the next generation. God has given each of our children specific gifts, abilities and capacities for specific purposes and He can equip parents to discover and support those powerful personality traits if they know where to look and how to respond. So many kids raised in Christian homes launch into their adult lives without any sense of knowing who they are called to be or what their mission on earth is. What if parents, teachers or mentors could help them discover the wondrous, unique threads woven within them that will enable them to see their part in the fabric of God’s universe?

I will start off by saying that I wish I had not taken so long to pick this book up!  It was packed full of wonderful advice on being a parent and how to help your child develop into the person God created them to be.  It's a great book to read no matter what stage of parenting you are in.  It really helped me to see that I can't expect my child to be like anyone else, nor should they be.  It also shined a light on my tendency to see faults as failures, rather than assets in their lives.  Each child is so uniquely created and they deserve parents who will allow them to become fully who they were created to be in every aspect.  I can definitely see myself picking this one up again as my children grow just to be reminded.  This was a wonderful tool to remind me of how amazing my kids, and all kids, are!

 * I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review *

The Summer We Lost Her

It’s been a busy—and expensive—few years for Matt and Elise Sorenson and their young daughter Gracie, whom they affectionately call Little Green. Matt, a Manhattan lawyer, has just been offered a partnership, and Elise’s equestrian ambitions as a competitive dressage rider may finally vault her into the Olympics. But her long absences from home and endless hours of training have strained their relationships nearly to the breaking point.

Now they’re up in the Adirondacks, preparing to sell the valuable lakefront cabin that’s been in Matt’s family for generations. Both he and Elise agree it’s time to let it go. But as they navigate the memories the cabin holds—and come face to face with Matt’s teenage crush, now an unnervingly attractive single mother living right next door—Gracie disappears without a trace.

Faced with the possibility that they’ll never see their daughter again, Elise and Matt struggle to come to terms with what their future may bring. The fate of the family property, the history of this not-so-tiny town, and the limits of Matt and Elise’s love for each other are inextricably bound up with Gracie’s disappearance. Everything for the Sorenson family is about to change—the messy tangle of their past, the harrowing truth of their present, and whether or not their love will survive a parent’s worst nightmare.

This is one of my favorite types of books, a family drama without promising to be the "thriller of the year".  The characters were developed well and I think they were be polarizing.  I've read some reviews that couldn't stand Elise and some that couldn't stand Matt.  I firmly sit in the anti-Matt camp, but regardless I love that a novel can read so differently and evoke so many emotions.  I think this would be a great book club selection because there are so many things that could be discussed.  This was a solid 4.5 stars for me.  My only issues were I think edits could have been made to the middle so I could have had a more drawn out ending.  It just came so fast, I wanted a little more resolution and accountability.  It's hard to talk about a book like this because I don't want to give anything away, but I think this book is definitely worth a try.

         * I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review *