Hello and happy Wednesday!
I’m a bit late doing so, but today I’m sharing the books I read in November. Yesterday, I was able to find a few minutes to read during my SNOW DAY! Can you believe it?! In all my years teaching, I don’t think I’ve ever had a snow day in December. We only got a couple of inches, and the roads were fine by 9am or so, but I guess it was one of those days where it was snowing at just the right time for them to call off school.
Anyway, November was a decent month of reading for me.
This month, I read two books and listened to two books. Discovering audio books really has upped my reading opportunities lately.
{As always, book summaries are from Goodreads…}
Starting with the two audio books…
My Life with the Walter Boys:
Summary:
Jackie does not like surprises. Chaos is the enemy! The best way to get her successful, busy parents to notice her is to be perfect. The perfect look, the perfect grades-the perfect daughter. And then…
Surprise #1: Jackie’s family dies in a freak car accident.
Surprise #2: Jackie has to move cross-country to live with the Walters-her new guardians.
Surprise #3: The Walters have twelve sons. (Well, eleven, but Parker acts like a boy anyway)
Now Jackie must trade in her Type A personality and New York City apartment for a Colorado ranch and all the wild Walter boys who come with it. Jackie is surrounded by the enemy-loud, dirty, annoying boys who have no concept of personal space. Okay, several of the oldest guys are flat-out gorgeous. But still annoying. She’s not stuck-up or boring-no matter what they say. But proving it is another matter. How can she fit in and move on when she needs to keep her parents’ memory alive by living up to the promise of perfect?
Quick Thoughts:
I stumbled upon this book while searching the Libby app for books that were currently available and had high ratings. I guess this is book one of two, and it’s a young adult book…and it certainly read that way.
The premise of the book was sad, but it obviously set the foundation for the plot. That being said, I thought it was odd that Jackie would go live out of state with people she didn’t know. Also, she was in boarding school, so I kept wondering why she didn’t just stay in boarding school? Honestly, I didn’t like how the boys treated her when she arrived…honestly, some comments from them were sexual harassment. As Jackie settled in with the family, some of the boys weren’t nice at all. Obviously, there was more to the plot, but I just had a few sticking points while reading.
Rating:
For a YA reader, this would probably be scored higher, but for me, it’s three stars.
Mean Moms:
Summary:
Meet Frost, Morgan, and Nell—a wealthy, gorgeous group of New York City moms, the queen bees of downtown Manhattan. Their children attend Atherton Seminary, the top private school in the city, and their social lives revolve around elaborate themed parties.
On the first day of school, the arrival of a new mom and mysterious beauty from Miami named Sofia shakes up their world. When Sofia quickly integrates herself into their clique, inexplicably bad things start to happen to the women. Frost is the victim of a hit-and-run electric scooter incident. Nell’s dream of launching a fashion line is thwarted when the clothing samples cause people to break out in a rash. Morgan’s new sound bath spa is robbed at gunpoint by a moped-driving thief. Morgan declares it all a “negative event cluster,” but the other women aren’t so sure.
Is someone at school out to get them? Another mom with a vendetta? Let’s not forget to mention the handsome headmaster, Dr. Broker, who every mom has a crush on (and one of them might be sleeping with).
Quick Thoughts:
Mean Moms seems to be a popular book, and I was on the library wait list for a bit before it was my turn to listen to it. Overall, it reminded me a little bit of Real Housewives of New York! The main characters weren’t super likable, and there were quite a few minor characters to keep up with. I liked the drama of it all and there were some suspenseful moments. I enjoyed the last half of the book far more than the first half as there seemed to be more action and a few twists and turns.
Rating:
This is mostly three stars for me, but the last 25% of the book was four stars.
Horse:
Summary:
A discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in American history: from these strands, a Pulitzer Prize winner braids a sweeping story of spirit, obsession, and injustice across American history
Kentucky, 1850. An enslaved groom named Jarret and a bay foal forge a bond of understanding that will carry the horse to record-setting victories across the South. When the nation erupts in civil war, an itinerant young artist who has made his name on paintings of the racehorse takes up arms for the Union. On a perilous night, he reunites with the stallion and his groom, very far from the glamour of any racetrack.
New York City, 1954. Martha Jackson, a gallery owner celebrated for taking risks on edgy contemporary painters, becomes obsessed with a nineteenth-century equestrian oil painting of mysterious provenance.
Washington, DC, 2019. Jess, a Smithsonian scientist from Australia, and Theo, a Nigerian-American art historian, find themselves unexpectedly connected through their shared interest in the horse–one studying the stallion’s bones for clues to his power and endurance, the other uncovering the lost history of the unsung Black horsemen who were critical to his racing success.
Based on the remarkable true story of the record-breaking thoroughbred Lexington, Horse is a novel of art and science, love and obsession, and our unfinished reckoning with racism.
Quick Thoughts:
My Gma suggested Horse to me a couple of years ago, and I finally got around to reading it. This book was amazing…and maybe the best book I read all year…for sure in the top five!
You know I love historical fiction, and the connection to the horse industry and Lexington, KY obviously caught my attention. That being said, there was so much more to the plot as three different time periods were woven together. This was beautifully written and very informative. The ending had a twist that I wasn’t expecting, and I really didn’t want the book to end.
The afterword with historical context info was so insightful too. As I read the book, I shared so many excerpts with Trav. Overall, this book is a fave for sure!
Rating:
The Christmas Cookie Wars:
Summary:
Melody Monroe will do anything to help her nine-year-old twin boys muster up the holiday spirit. Especially since they lost their father, the boys have started questioning the point of Christmas at all.
So, when Melody learns the school’s Yuletide Cookie Club has disbanded due to dissension in the top ranks, she knows she must take over the cookie club herself, even if it means dealing with the infuriating school principal, Jonathan Braxton.
But when a small argument turns into a town-wide bake-off between her and Jonathan, Melody finds that her competitive spirits have turned romantic. Love can’t be in the cards. Her focus is on her boys, and saving Christmas. This year, will Melody be willing to let go of the past and embrace the magic of the holidays for herself?
Quick Thoughts:
I always like to read a holiday book in November to kick off the holiday season, and have one book to share with you going into December.
My TBR Christmas list on Goodreads is full of so many great titles. The Christmas Cookie Wars was available on Kindle, so I snagged it. It was the perfect read to start the holiday season. I loved that Melody’s boys were rambunctious, and of course she’d had heartbreak only to find love in an unexpected place. The cookie war wasn’t without a little drama too.
This was definitely a cute, seasonal read.
Rating:
Did you catch my Friday Favorites post last week? I shared quite a few holiday books that I’ve read through the years.
My Goodreads reading goal was 40 books again this year, and I’m up to 36 read. I don’t know if I can get four books read/listened to this month, but I sure look forward to trying. I have a couple of good holiday options downloaded on my Kindle. I’m not ready for another snow day just yet, but the weather is making it easy for me to want to sit inside and read by the glow of my Christmas tree…I just need my “to do” list to chill a bit!
Happy reading!
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