Life

I love a good devotional and I really adored this one. I love that Lisa Harper didn't offer vague generalities -  she shared stories from her life, lessons she's learned, failures, and many, many joys (often involving her adopted daughter). Each devotional opened with a few lines from scripture and then shared a story from her life that tied in to the scripture. The stories were candid, insightful, and didn't always make her look the best (which is INSPIRING - we aren't all perfect!). Following that there were three questions to help the reader will dig in deep and reflect on what was just read and make a plan on how to incorporate a lesson or a mindset into their lives. Wonderful! I need to read more of her books! 

The Shippers

This was such a cheesy, fluffy book and it came at the right time! This book is... 100% predictable. Cheesy. Over the top. Wonderful. No part of this book is believable, but did that stop me from enjoying it? Absolutely not. It was so cliche and romantic and I didn't even care! JoJo walked away from her fiancé at the alter (more like fake fainted) and while she is glad that she dodged that bullet, she is unmoored. What comes next? Her older sister's wedding is mere weeks after JoJo's failed wedding and JoJo is dreading it. It's a cruise ship wedding and her whole family and neighborhood friends will tease her mercilessly at her botched attempt at love. When her sister informs JoJo that her childhood crush will be attending the wedding and that he's newly single, the sisters make a plan to steal his heart and remake JoJo's image. What could possibly go wrong? When JoJo's best friend also shows up on the cruise, she makes him go along with her plan and makes him pretend to flirt with her to make her crush jealous. But what if they're not pretending? Predictable, charming, fluff. 

Wrath of Poseidon

This series is fun and I liked that this one was a prequel of sorts. Wrath of Poseidon goes back to how Remi and Sam met and their very first adventure together. Is it cheesy? Yes. Did I still thoroughly enjoy it? Also yes. Remi was young and inexperienced at the ways of the world (gun handling, scuba diving, etc.) but luckily for her Sam has already made it through DARPA training. Despite her lack of "skills" she showcases her quick thinking and adaptability. The only thing that troubles her is how "easy" it was for Sam to kill a man in self-defense. Can their budding relationship survive when bodies are hitting the floor? This isn't going to win awards anytime soo but it was fun and I plan on reading (aka listening) to the next installment whenever it comes out. 

The Mash Up

This was such a cute, feel good novel for millennial women. It' a little over the top, but that didn't bother me in the slightest. Ruby Wynne likes to play it safe. She and her boyfriend Conner are as beige as they come and they have everything mapped out. On Ruby's 35th birthday, her best friend presents her with a remnant from the past. A rediscovered MASH game. According to her younger self, her dream future included marrying her twin brother's best friend Penn (yuck!), driving a tie-dyed jeep, owning a roller rink diner, and so much more. Ruby can hardly remember that idealistic and over the top girl. When her boyfriend tells her, he's moving to NYC later that night - Ruby is aghast. Her carefully planned future is destroyed. After a few too many drinks she falls, hits her head, and wakes up in her MASH future. In this world, everything is as young Ruby envisioned it, down to the multiple pools, mansion, and roller rink diner. But what about Penn? And how on Earth is she supposed to get back to reality? This will be of most fun to girls who grew up in the 90s. It's a nostalgia overload and super cheesy but it works. Excellent debut! Make a Hallmark movie of this already! The witty banter was amazing! 

Fight Oligarchy

Concise, easy to read, well stated, ESSENTIAL! I read this short manifesto in under 90 minutes and man it packs a punch and gets you mad. Bernie Sanders has been fighting the oligarchy for decades so he knows what he's talking about and he knows what's effective at disrupting it. At no point in our country r world's history has so few people held all the money and power. It's disgusting, disruptive, and dangerous. This book is perfect for anyone, regardless of political affiliation (he craps on the democrats too!), because it is a cliffs note book on what is wrong in our country, how it got that way, and how to fix it. Very impactful, I've already passed this book on to someone else to read!

Yesteryear

I don't normally enjoy books where the main character is supremely unlikeable, but this book was hard to put down! Natalie Heller Mills is an influencer, a tradwife to be exact, although she resents the term. She and her perfect husband and her perfect children live on a huge ranch and they work the land, homeschool their children, and live simple lives. But what if it's not all that it's cracked up to be? What if there are two realities, the one that social media users see and the one that's really happening? One morning Natalie wakes up and she's in her room, but it's not her room and it's not her family. She's back in time, in the late 1800s and she has no idea how or why? Is she on a reality show? Did she eat something weird? Life may have looked wholesome and easy, but having to put in this level of work (no washing machines!!), is tedious. Told through multiple storylines, Yesteryear is raw, thought provoking, and unputdownable. I didn't see the end coming!

Thinky Thoughts

Very much in the same style as Jenny Lawson, this collection of humorous essays discuss motherhood, trauma, womanhood, writing, friendship, love, and more. I felt personally seen in some of the essays. Gwenna has a way with words and her humorous turn of phrases or funny insight really helped this book shine. I especially loved the essay that was from the sofa's perspective, it was so sweet and heartening, and her author's note at the end was a delight as well. An excellent book of essays that will make you feel less alone and more seen.