Joy Comes in the Morning

I love starting off my day with a devotional and I really enjoyed this one. Joy Comes in the Morning has 60 morning devotionals. Each day starts with a passage, a devotional, a prayer prompt, and ends in a quote. It's a quick read but it get's your mind in a great place to tackle the day. This is one that I will save and turn back to again. 

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon

So much fun! This quick and spicy fantasy romance was just the palate cleanser I needed. It was deliciously cheesy and over the top and fun. It's not quite a cozy fantasy, but close. Cinnamon finds herself on a quest with a demon, she is more of a stay at home kind of gal, so this is... an adventure. She starts off pretty reluctant, but as the trip lengthens she finds herself warming up to the hunky demon. Lots of fun tropes, lots of boning, lots of fun characters. It's not the best written thing you've ever read and the world building is only mildly fleshed out, but I can't wait to read more in the series! 

Funny Story

This is definitely my new favorite Emily Henry romance. I loved the characters so so much! I wanted to move into this tiny Michigan town and befriend them all. They were all so funny and relatable and I loved that Daphne was a librarian. Everything was going perfect for Daphne; she and her fiancé Peter moved to this beachy little Michigan town and she befriended all his friends, fell in love with her job, and was more than happy. That is until she was jilted by her fiancé who decided that he was in love with his best friend Petra. Forced to move out, the only place she can find to go is to Petra's boyfriend's apartment. Talk about weird. They've both been jilted and are stuck with each other while Peter and Petra. One drunken night Will and Daphne decide that to get back at their exes, maybe they should pretend date to make them jealous. What could possibly go wrong?! The storyline sounds so cheesy but I promise, the book is so so good!

Raise the Titanic

My favorite Dirk Pitt novel to date. I think it's mostly because I am partial to anything to do with the titanic. It was interesting because Dirk Pitt was hardly in the first third of the book because it took so long to set the scene. It was one heck of a tale, defied belief for a lot of it, but honestly... I was intrigued and it kept me going. Another macho adventure book down, many more in this series to go!

Lines of Courage

There are lots of WWII books for kids but not many from WWI. I thought this was an excellent book that outlined many different aspects of the war and humanized kids from all sides of the conflict. Obviously this book is intended for middle grade readers so it isn't as brutal and horrific as it could be, but these kids go through a lot, see horrible things, friends murdered, towns leveled, gruesome injuries. Five different teens find themselves connected by courage and an Austro-Hungarian medal. Throughout the course of the war, all of them are gifted this medal for one courageous act or another. There is a daughter of a German general, a fourteen year old Russian soldier, a young woman working on an ambulance train, a Jewish boy trying to brave for his mother, and a young girl separated from her family by the Germans. Their stories are all heartbreaking and I love the way they all weave together. The only thing that is too over the top for me (as an adult reading this) is that some of the main officers seem a little too nice. I don't want to spoil anything, but there is no way that men in their position would be as lenient as they were under the circumstances. Very good middle grade novel about WWI.

What About Will

I never realized that Ellen Hopkins wrote middle grade books! What About Will is so masterfully done. Ellen writes in her trademark style, putting together a novel in verse that will rip your heart out. 12 year old Trace constantly worries about his older brother Will. Ever since he suffered a catastrophic brain injury during a football game, he hasn't been the same. He's mean, moody, and never leaves his room. Trace thinks that there is something else going on but his mom is never around, his dad is always so busy working, and he doesn't want Will to get mad at him for "tattling." Thankfully he has a new friend to share his concerns with, a new girl who has joined his little league team who has some relatable problems going on in her own home. Heartbreaking, funny, and hopeful. I love Ellen Hopkins! 

Onyx Storm

I made the mistake of not re-reading the other two books before I read this and I definitely struggled the first third of the book. I had to keep looking up to see who was and look at the map to see what was going on. The first half of the book was a little meh for me but it definitely picked up. There are a lot of moving parts to this story even though the plot doesn't move very fast. It's a lot of hurry up and wait. It's not my favorite of the three but it did end on a cliffhanger so now I gotta read the next one. How many are supposed to be in this series anyways?