Show Us Your Books: Birthday Eve book talk

Is there a better way to spend my birthday eve than talking books? No, there is not. Well, I could be talking books from a warm, sunny beach chair under the sheltering shade of a colorful umbrella, but other than that, no. 

Linkup Guidelines:

This link up happens the second Tuesday of every month. The next is  Tuesday, April 11, 2017 

1. Please visit and comment with both of your hosts, Jana & me
2. Please display the button (need it? let me know) or link back to us on your blog post
2. Please visit a few other blogs who've linked up and get some book talk going!

Here's what I've read from the last linkup.

Engrossing Reads

Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough - I sped through this book, totally engrossed. Then something that sort of crossed the line into another genre that I don't typically read happened, and I was like hmmm...then the end came and I had no idea that was where it was going. It was unusual, so on that alone I'd recommend it. BOTM hardback, owned/passed along for someone else to read

The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens - Sometimes it feels like I've wanted to read a book forever - and that is this book. It was much different than I thought it would be, and the focus was even different than I thought it would be, but I really liked it. More towards a four than a three, maybe. Library paperback

The Seven Husbands of Eveyln Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid - I loved this book from start to finish - complicated, interesting, and I loved the story within a story, which I typically don't like. I want to meet Evelyn Hugo and at times I wanted to be Evelyn Hugo because she just storms through her life and that is powerful, even when it leaves earthquakes around her. ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Passed the Time Just Fine
Lucky You by Erika Carter - Really weird. I'm still not sure of what the whole point of this book was, but I liked the writing a lot and given that it was short, it took me almost no time at all to get through. BOTM hardback, owned/passed along for someone else to read

Almost Missed You by Jessica Strawser - I liked this book, but it definitely required suspension of belief. I loved the Grandma relationship but the husband and wife relationships were bizarre to be kind. Free ARC e-book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

The Widower's Wife by Cate Holahan - I spent a lot of time confused here. Which is actually not a bad thing in this sort of book. A very quick read. Amazon e-book

Sister Sister by Sue Fortin - I had this figured out early, but it didn't stop me from rushing through it to figure out how it ended. I liked the writing. Amazon e-book

Perfectly Undone by Jamie Raintree - This was a three for a while but it blossomed into a four. It shook off some things that annoyed me in the beginning. The characters seemed to settle into themselves and that's when the story gelled. More of a love story than I usually read, but I didn't mind it. Free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Hearts of Men by Nickolas Butler - Shotgun Lovesongs is one of my favorite books of all time. I also enjoyed the short stories collected in Beneath the Bonfire. The raw grittiness mixed with searing beauty of those is missing from this: the narration is more detached, and that made me as a reader feel more removed. Does that mean it's not an accomplished novel? No. The writing is good, and the story, nuances, and language show his range as an author. It spans 60 years and feels like an epic in some ways. I didn't connect with it like I did the aforementioned works, but honestly? Nothing he could have written would have surpassed Shotgun Lovesongs for me. Hardback, own

Not Worth It
Perfect Little World by Kevin Wilson - This book was trying earnestly to be literary. The way it's written, packaged, marketed, even the title and cover seem more about a vehicle to sell it than something to sink into. The story could have been great, because the premise is interesting. On goodreads I have it as a three but it's actually probably a 2.5. It ended up feeling pretty surface. BOTM hardback, owned/passed along for someone else to read

The Loving Husband by Christobel Kent - This book was a mess both in how it was told and the actual story line, which I felt like I had to keep running after and grabbing only to have it fly off again. There were zero characters I could get behind. Free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Did Not Finish
Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil by Melina Marchetta - I loved Saving Francesca and The Piper's Son from jump. The writing and story got me both times. This one, I got about 20 pages in with no click. It could be a great book, but it's not for me and I won't go back to it.

What are you reading?

An InLinkz Link-up