I was determined to be on time this month.

It also helps that I only read five books. Three short of my goal for the month, but in my defense, it was a busy month and I had to DNF two books. Which books met their fate? I’m afraid they’re both quite popular and came highly recommended. I’m not sure if it was the mood I was in, or what, but I just couldn’t finish them.

“The Nightingale” by Kristin Hannah - DNF

I really wanted to read and love this book.  I started it and cried every night for 3 nights straight as I fell asleep to the heartbreak that sets up this book.  Unfortunately I just don’t have it in me to read another WW2 story at this moment. It’s VERY well written, to the point where it felt extremely real and I couldn’t handle it.  If you think you can, I would recommend. Hopefully I can come back to it at some point.

“The Unmaking of June Farrow” by Adrienne Young - DNF (ON AUDIO)

I was about 2 hours into this book when I decided to DNF it and request the book as an e-book instead of listening.  It’s fantastic writing and I felt like I was missing too many details with my mind wandering in and out.  I will update this review when I get my e-book in!  If you focus better with audio, definitely get it on audio, the reader’s voice is beautiful.

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Good Apple Tales of a Southern Evangelical in New York by Elizabeth Passarella

The first thing you should know about me?  If New York City is in the title, I’m most likely going to read it.  Now if the skyline is also on the cover, I’m for sure hooked. This might not be the most unbiased review because she already had me at New York.  But truly I did enjoy her storytelling.  It was a bit of a random-what’s-the-point-here kinda book, but I enjoyed it. I felt like I was sitting down for coffee with the author and I felt like I knew her by the end.  If you’re looking for an easy read and you don’t mind tuning out the politics, I’d recommend this (what I consider to be a) memoir.

We Used To Live Here by Daniel Hurst

Definitely a shorter story. I enjoyed the voice actor’s voices.  I could’ve used more to the story, although I do see the point in the author’s choices to keep it short. It almost added to the mystery and suspense. I was only truly surprised once, which even that is hard to achieve for me. I wouldn’t say I’d recommend, as the characters were quite annoying, but it was a decent filler as nothing I have on hold is currently available.

Troubles in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand

This book felt forced.  The third book in a series, I wasn’t super impressed.  The plot “twists” were not surprising, the first half of the book went by very slowly and the ending was rushed and felt extremely forced.  The back and forth between the characters, timeline wise, was too close together and I found myself confused about where I was at.  There were also some random characters that I didn’t think added to the book at all and I didn’t love the perspective of “the Island”.  Overall the series was a good and easy beach read, but I need a break from Elin Hilderbrand for a bit.

You Shouldn’t Have Come Here by Jeneva Rose

If you have any issue with violence, don’t read this book.  Definitely don’t listen, I absolutely detested the male narrator’s voice. I’m not sure which book I listened to him read on before, but I remembered his voice and it is like nails on a chalkboard. The ending is gruesome.  I expected this to be a bit hairy since it’s a thriller.  But this one was hard to get through.  Jeneva kept me listening with all of the twists and turns, but the ending felt rushed and predictable.  The days also seemed to drag on and the sexual elements were completely unnecessary.   There were also quite a few plot holes with questions that I wanted answers to.  And that last chapter?  Should’ve scrapped it. The only reason that I did not “DNF” this book? I was just being lazy and felt guilty because I DNF’d the first two books that I mentioned that same week. I wish I would’ve.

Lets All Be Brave by Annie Downs

How refreshing it was to end on a good note. July was an awful month for reading and my choices probably contributed to my reading slump. Part of the issue? My holds on Libby are maxed out and they’re all a few months out. I had to settle for what I could get my hands on. Thankfully, I spotted this gem at Goodwill and picked it up. This book was delightful in every sense. I love Annie’s story and have followed her for almost six years. Her story was similar to mine in the process of moving to Nashville and in this book I got a beautiful glimpse into her mindset and I related heavily. If you’re feeling stuck in life, looking for a change or just struggling with your faith and courage, I would highly recommend this book. It was a light and easy read that made me giggle and inspired me to be brave. I won’t say it is life changing writing, but sometimes you need to strip it back to remember what’s important.