"I know its mean, and I only think like this when I remember those bad times, but sometimes, just sometimes, I'd like him to experience what it feels like to not know where somebody you love is, to be out of your mind with worry. To fear the worst."
pages: 340
read: 7/30-31/2020
book: 65 in 2020
SYNOPSIS
It’s Livia’s fortieth birthday and tonight she’s having a party, a party she’s been planning for a long time. The only person missing will be her daughter, Marnie.
But Livia has a secret, a secret she’s been keeping from Adam, her husband, until the party is over. Because how can she tell him that although she loves Marnie, she’s glad their daughter won’t be there to celebrate with her?
Adam is determined everything will be just right for Livia and the party is going to be perfect… until he learns something that will leave him facing an unbearable decision.
THOUGHTS
this is BY FAR my FAVE BAP book.
I did not care for Bring Me Back. I fucking disliked the dude in Behind Closed Doors (but I mean overall, it was a good story!) ....and apparently I loved The Breakdown but I dont remember what it's about because it was during that period where I didnt blog what i read so I don't remember much.
This book is not at all like the 3 above.
And I think knowing that is the reason why I really liked this book.
Her first 3 books were about a mystery of some sort...-ish. Suspense, thrillerish, what happened kinda deal.
This one is more so about a marriage and "testing" it and Livia's big ass 40th bday party.
There is no mystery, there is no whodunnit, there's only a party and family secrets.
And that's it.
And I think that's why its received a lot of flack on bookstagram; because readers i guess expected the usual BAP we've all come to know.
seeing everyone rate it low because it wasn't what they expected prepared me for it once I dove in. I didn't expect much which is why I loved it! I'm telling you starting on page 300 til I finished it, I was tearing up a bit. no lie. I didnt go in with high ass expectations so there was nothing to break my heart.....and i still ended up crying. lol!
I wanted to take this one with me when i went camping (instead I took The Last Flight) but now that's it's all said and read, I'm kinda glad I waited til I was home to read it because once I picked it up I didn't want to put it down. And you know what, i really did like this book. because it's the 14th book of the month and I don't really remember any other book pulling me to keep reading it like this one. once I picked it up, i didnt want to put it down (and i only did cause sleep cause work). I couldve easily read this one in one sitting. I just breezed through the pages.
all that being said, man, if I ever get that nuts over a party, smack me.
I can understand Livia's reasoning. and home girl financed it herself so fuck it but man. Admittedly the party is kinda like another character in this story in that it brings it all in together but this story really revolves around 2 main things. There are other things that add to the story that I felt fit just right but if you read it you'll see what I mean about the 2 things. I don't want to spoil it here but you do find out what they are kinda early on so the story is more so about the journey in revealing them.
I liked it.
It works out.
I really did like this one.
I think the one thing that threw me off a bit was the love Adam and Livia have for each other. Only because, fuck it, they got knocked up early on before they really knew each other. They talk about how in love they were in the present but when you read about them in the past, they talk about how "fuck it, we got married cause we done fucked up." That didn't really match up.
B U T my fave part HAS TO BE when Adam does some math on Livia towards the end. Its 100% fucked up for me to say that that part is my fave but oooooh honey, you can only push so far before someone pushes back and Adam pushed the fuck back. I was like tearing up a bit but then also cheering him for him.
Tbh, I wont remember this story a year from now because of who I am as a human. But I hope I remember that this was my fave BAP book up to date.
Anyway, jump over for spoilers.
thanks for reading!
 #bookslesreads on IG |
"....I hope I've become someone who doesn't get angry when others are just trying to get by. I hope I can be the kind of person who looks towards forgiveness first."
published: 2020
pages: 302
heard: 7/25-27/2020
book: 64 in 2020
SYNOPSIS
Two women. Two Flights. One last chance to disappear.
Claire Cook has a perfect life. Married to the scion of a political dynasty, with a Manhattan townhouse and a staff of ten, her surroundings are elegant, her days flawlessly choreographed, and her future auspicious. But behind closed doors, nothing is quite as it seems. That perfect husband has a temper that burns as bright as his promising political career, and he's not above using his staff to track Claire's every move, making sure she's living up to his impossible standards. But what he doesn't know is that Claire has worked for months on a plan to vanish.
A chance meeting in an airport bar brings her together with a woman whose circumstances seem equally dire. Together they make a last-minute decision to switch tickets ― Claire taking Eva's flight to Oakland, and Eva traveling to Puerto Rico as Claire. They believe the swap will give each of them the head start they need to begin again somewhere far away. But when the flight to Puerto Rico goes down, Claire realizes it's no longer a head start but a new life. Cut off, out of options, with the news of her death about to explode in the media, Claire will assume Eva's identity, and along with it, the secrets Eva fought so hard to keep hidden.
The Last Flight is the story of two women ― both alone, both scared ― and one agonizing decision that will change the trajectory of both of their lives.
THOUGHTS
Oooooohhhhh, honey!
I was thisclose to missing out on this book. I was going to skip June's BOTM selection but at the last minute decided to give this one ago. And lately I've seen it all over bookstagram receiving all sorts of praise so I took it with me while I went on an overnight camping trip. It was calling me to pick it up and I'm so glad that I did.
this is Inception in book form. I won't say much up here because I don't wana spoil it for anyone who wants to read it. But I guess what I'm trying to say is: remember how in Inception, if the thingy was spinning it was all a dream? Or some shit like that? and even though we knew that, we were somehow still not sure of what had happened? Like was it a dream or real or wtf happened? That's this book.
I'm still a bit unclear at that epilogue. (Gah! It sucks not being able to say it up here!!!!) what truly happens? did you read this!? lets talk because i need to know!
anyway, this book. i can see the hype. completely see the hype. the other night i caught myself thinking about this book and how i was sad that it was over. i want to re-read this one again. eventually i will i think.
usually in stories like these with a connection like that i kinda get thrown off by it because it seems so far fetched and kinda lazy but in this case, i didnt mind it at all. i think i would have preferred for it not to have happened but it doesn't bother me.
i think the thing i like about this book is that it fucks with you. i dont want to mention it here because i don't want to spoil it but i do like that you can't really rely on your narrator. and then there's the whole inception thing that im getting from it that im like WOAH!
but yeah, anyway, i really liked this book. and im so glad i didnt skip it.
jump over for spoilers!
thanks for reading!
#bookslesreads on IG |
"you're so sure about the world Leena. but i'm not like that. you know the best way for you to deal and you've been doing it. ....i haven't worked out how to heal so i'm trying everything.
that's my way."
published: 2020
pages: 336
heard: 7/22-25/2020
book: 63 in 2020
SYNOPSIS
Eileen is sick of being 79.
Leena's tired of life in her twenties.
Maybe it's time they swapped places...
When overachiever Leena Cotton is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, she escapes to her grandmother Eileen's house for some overdue rest. Eileen is newly single and about to turn eighty. She'd like a second chance at love, but her tiny Yorkshire village doesn't offer many eligible gentlemen.
Once Leena learns of Eileen's romantic predicament, she proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen can live in London and look for love. Meanwhile Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire. But with gossiping neighbours and difficult family dynamics to navigate up north, and trendy London flatmates and online dating to contend with in the city, stepping into one another's shoes proves more difficult than either of them expected.
Leena learns that a long-distance relationship isn't as romantic as she hoped it would be, and then there is the annoyingly perfect - and distractingly handsome - school teacher, who keeps showing up to outdo her efforts to impress the local villagers. Back in London, Eileen is a huge hit with her new neighbours, but is her perfect match nearer home than she first thought?
THOUGHTS
hooray for netgalley having audiobooks and offering this one up for grabs for freeeee! (cause other wise, i'm sure i wouldn't have been approved.)
I read the flatshare back in 2019 and while it wasnt a super favorite of mine, I was down to read this one once it was available at my library but then Covid happened and the release date got pushed back and uh, anyway, here we are.
This was a cute little story that I could've gone 100% never having read.
Bah, that sounds bad.
Hear me out....
Eileen and Leena swap lives because well, shit hit the fan for Leena and if I'm being 1000% honest (and sorry it is a bit spoilery) because Eileen was looking for dick. I know I'm crude but in this case, I'm not being crude i'm just stating whats said in the book.
I can't really go into details about their similarities because there's one thing they have in common that's not mentioned in the synopsis that I don't wanna spoil for anyone who wants to read this book but I guess I can see how that one thing is leading them both to have the same lives. or no, not even that. not even that one thing. its just there really wasnt much to differentiate them besides their age. what Eileen wanted to accomplish in her hometown, she did in Leena's and what Leena wanted to accomplish in London, she did at her grandmas. yea, sometimes you need a change of scenery but this was meh at most to me.
Out of all the twists this story had I was only really surprised by one. and that one was done good but eh. but in general everything else was kinda predictable. I didn't care for Ethan (Leena's) boyfriend. I get WHY he was in the plot but tbh, this story would've been fine without him. There was no need for him at all. Leena could've fallen in love with the other dude just fine without having to introduce Ethan. And she could have strongly disliked homegirl without well, having to have had all that happened. (See!, kinda can't talk about it too much cus its spoilery)
It wasn't a bad story but to me it was just 2 women living repetitive lives at different ages/stages in their lives.
I felt like the problems they had were idk...not to sound like a bitch but aside from the one major thing, small. Eileen's was easily solvable if she'd just accepted the dick that was there for her all along....and Leena's was solvable if she'd just accept that other people are allowed to make their own choices no matter what YOU think is the right thing to do. Tbh, that fucking pissed the fuck out of me. I get her feelings are her feelings but she was just too much there. no one can tell anyone how to live their lives so i don't really sympathize with her there. (but please note that i 1000000% understand that i have NEVER been in that situation so who knows how i would act in that moment. its always the easiest thing to talk about when it isn't you that the thing is happening to.)
Anyway, it's not out in the US yet but somehow everyone is already reading it so I'll leave it here cause I don't wanna continue spoiling anymore for those that are waiting until August to read it.
....but jump over for spoilers if ya want.
thanks for reading!
#bookslesreads on IG |
SPOILERS
S P O I L E R S
S P O I L E R S
S P O I L E R S
S P O I L E R S
S P O I L E R S
Leena gets put on a 2 month leave from work after having a panic attack.
to explain it clearly, her sister passed away. i didnt really pay attention to the timeline but if it wasnt a year that its been, i think its the anniversary that's coming up. so idk that clearly but i know it has to do with her sisters death.
so anyway, she has a panic attack so they place her on a 2 month PAID work leave.
she goes to visit grandma and catches Eileen's list that she had made about finding someone to date and that's when they decide to swap lives.
Leena is mad at her mom because her mom let her sister Carla end her life even though there was possible treatment. she thinks she's the only one suffering her sisters death but her mom is also heartbroken. it just so happens that Leena was the "adult" when all this was going on.
Leena is looking to open up her own company with her best friend, Bea, but keeps putting it off. its not until her grandma catches Ethan cheating on her that she kicks her shit into gear (after being a dumb bitch about it) and gets it all going. she eventually decides to leave London and move down with her grandma to start her life over.
she also breaks up with Ethan and finally gives into dating Jackson (tbh, i can see it but this shit also came out of left field because its not like they spent lots of time together.)
Bea of course ends up moving with her daughter to whatever town it is because a) London is horrible for dating but also, the new dude that she is now dating that she was conveniently set up by Eileen, happens to live there or visit or some shit.
---
Eileen goes to London, sets up a dating profile, gets a hit and ends up having casual sex with some dude (forgot his name). she realizes that he is good times but ultimately that's no the kind of man she wants to end up with. (she's dating now because her husband left her).
Eileen doesnt really care for her neighbor Richard and thinks he's annoying but it turns out that they actually had chemistry way back when but because she was married she decided to turn cold against him.
this trick knew all along that she had dick right next door but had to travel on the train to realize it. in the end they end up together.
tbh, there's a lot im leaving out but im over this book so...yea, if you have questions, ask. if i remember, ill answer.
thanks for reading!
“It would be nice if you were here,” she murmurs. Then she falls asleep. I am alone in the bookstore, looking across the city at her sleeping form, lit only by the gray light of her laptop. In time it, too, falls asleep, and the screen goes dark."
published: 2012
pages: 242*
read: 7/17-18/2020
book: 62 in 2020
*according to the kindle version of my library hold.
SYNOPSIS
The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon away from life as a San Francisco web-design drone and into the aisles of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, but after a few days on the job, Clay discovers that the store is more curious than either its name or its gnomic owner might suggest. The customers are few, and they never seem to buy anything; instead, they "check out" large, obscure volumes from strange corners of the store. Suspicious, Clay engineers an analysis of the clientele's behavior, seeking help from his variously talented friends, but when they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, they discover the bookstore's secrets extend far beyond its walls.
THOUGHTS
what in the world did I just read?
this is one of those books that's been around for forever therefore has forever been on my tbr list but I just never got around to it.
I was thisclose to buying it at B&N when I bought Open Book by Jessica Simpson book and I couldve read it for free when I had scribd but somehow, I ended up putting it on hold at my library and like always, i forgot.
I got it the other day and I decided to finally jump in.
Like I said on goodreads: "what in the Sally sells seashells down by the seashore did I just read?"
I haven't really seen reviews for this one around in a while besides Rad's on ig but even then prior to that, I dont think anyone really spoke about what this book entailed.
I knew it was about a dude who works at a 24 hr bookstore. I just thought idk, spooky ghost shit would happen if I had to guess. No idea really where it would go but I did not expect at all what I got.
Uh. So this was a funny read (it had its moments) and overall, I do think this was a good read. While I'm definitely not mad I read it, I do have to say I'm glad to be done with it. Something about it kinda gave me the hibbie jibbies. First when I started reading it and kinda the overallness of it all in the end.
At first it was kinda dragging for me, then it picks up but about 70% in I was kinda just ready for it to be over.
This story is about essentially a "cult" hell bent on discovering the message one person left behind that leads to the discovery of everlasting life.
This has been going on for 500+ years. Here comes Clay to (unknowingly) shake things up.
I won't go into details about that because it would be considered spoiler-ish and I dont wana do that here but woooah, what the fuck.
Maybe I still need time to process this book but..., not really. I mean, idk if it was just weird af because I had no idea what it was about or what but!, while I know I should focus on what it's really about, the bigger picture, I'm choosing to focus on Clay's relationship with Neel. And how they both bonded as kids over some dorky ass books which I wont say anything else about except: 😍. And how I love the way their relationship was played out in this story.
Or I can also focus on how Clay had what he needed when he needed it (can also be a bit spoilery)...basically what I'm tryna say is that theres a lot going into this story besides the main point but I kinda dig that!
overall, trippy read.
anyway, jump over for super basic spoilers because I couldn't even if i tried.
This story is about essentially a "cult" hell bent on discovering the message one person left behind that leads to the discovery of everlasting life.
This has been going on for 500+ years. Here comes Clay to (unknowingly) shake things up.
I won't go into details about that because it would be considered spoiler-ish and I dont wana do that here but woooah, what the fuck.
Maybe I still need time to process this book but..., not really. I mean, idk if it was just weird af because I had no idea what it was about or what but!, while I know I should focus on what it's really about, the bigger picture, I'm choosing to focus on Clay's relationship with Neel. And how they both bonded as kids over some dorky ass books which I wont say anything else about except: 😍. And how I love the way their relationship was played out in this story.
Or I can also focus on how Clay had what he needed when he needed it (can also be a bit spoilery)...basically what I'm tryna say is that theres a lot going into this story besides the main point but I kinda dig that!
overall, trippy read.
anyway, jump over for super basic spoilers because I couldn't even if i tried.
thanks for reading!
SPOILERS
S P O I L E R S
S P O I L E R S
S P O I L E R S
S P O I L E R S
S P O I L E R S
Clay is walking around San Francisco looking for a job when he inadvertently stumbles upon Penumbra's bookstore which happens to need a night clerk.
He interviews for it, gets it and starts the job. But the peculiar thing is no one really buys books it's more like they borrow them and then return them for other books.
He was told not to look inside of them so he doesnt until his roommate Matt stops by one night and does the looking for him.
The point of the story is that there is a Society (cult) whose set their life mission to find the message hidden in these books.
Theres the one main book that lives in NEW YORK but you don't get to touch that book until you've solved the mystery in all of the other tiny books and written your own book that passes the test you are given.
For 500 years theyve tried cracking the ultimate message. Here comes Clay and cracks the first piece of the puzzle with the help of Kat who happens to work at Google. From there on Penumbra let's him in on the story and basically, he goes to New York and copies the one book that is never supposed to be leaked and then hands it over to Kat to crack.
....which of course she doesnt.
It's not until Edgar (the dude that guards the entrance to the underground library in New York) asks Clay to track down the missing Gerritszons font pieces (honestly, I'm missing a lot here so it makes sense if you're all wtf? *head scratch*) that Clay makes the connection to the mystery message.
When Clay was in 6th grade, he bonded with Neel over some dragon books. They've both read them several times but it's not until hes driving home with the missing pieces that hes listening to the audio version of the book that he realizes how to find the message.
Turns out the message was in all of the Gerritzons font tablet things. They were like carved in all tiny and when put together, its Gerritzon saying thank you to his friend Teobaldo for essentially giving him the key. (Garritszons was forced to work in i forgot where that went against his beliefs so when he turned 16, he ran away and ended up working with Teobaldo where he was able to create his font and live his life they way he wanted to.)
Penumbra and crew had spent 500 years looking to find this message because they believed that it would lead to everyone finding immortality (they believed Garritszons never really passed away and that once they found this message not only would he come back but also revive all those who wrote their own books and have since passes but also all those currently doing the work)
Honestly, a lot of other shit also goes down but I don't feel like getting into it.
At the meat of the story, everything I wrote above is what the story is all about.
The end. :D
It was a valuable thing, he suddenly realized, to have someone you could count on for honesty. How many times in his life had he wanted only that?
published: 2016
pages: 277
read/heard: 6/24/2016 to 7/20/2020
book: 61 in 2020
"But 20 years to figure out who you are, how hard can that be?"
"Plenty hard. The plain truth can be the hardest thing to see when it's about yourself. If you dont want to know the truth, you'll do anything to disguise it."
SYNOPSIS
Pax was only a kit when his family was killed, and “his boy” Peter rescued him from abandonment and certain death. Now the war front approaches, and when Peter’s father enlists, Peter has to move in with his grandpa. Far worse than being forced to leave home is the fact that Pax can’t go. Peter listens to his stern father—as he usually does—and throws Pax’s favorite toy soldier into the woods. When the fox runs to retrieve it, Peter and his dad get back in the car and leave him there—alone. But before Peter makes it through even one night under his grandfather’s roof, regret and duty spur him to action; he packs for a trek to get his best friend back and sneaks into the night. This is the story of Peter, Pax, and their independent struggles to return to one another against all odds. Told from the alternating viewpoints of Peter and Pax.
THOUGHTS
you read that right. It only took 4 years to finish this one. 😅
I started this one right away when I bought it. made it about a hundred and something pages in and put it down because all of me couldnt handle the story.
Think The Fox & The Hound.
Yea.
Exactly.
As a kid I could eat that movie up. As an adult, I have yet to watch it again. Basically the last time I saw that movie, I owned it on VHS.
So when it came to this book about a kid and his fox and leaving Pax behind, I couldnt deal with it.
I always said I'd pick it back up soon but never did and it wasn't until now that I thought to myself that I could just finish it up as an audiobook.
I placed the hold, forgot about it, got it and finished it in like an hour. For someone who forgets everything easily, I was able to pick this one back up real quick.
Overall, l was being a super softie. It's just who I am. The story ends up working out the way it's supposed to but from beginning to end, I just couldnt handle it. 😅
Yea.
Exactly.
As a kid I could eat that movie up. As an adult, I have yet to watch it again. Basically the last time I saw that movie, I owned it on VHS.
So when it came to this book about a kid and his fox and leaving Pax behind, I couldnt deal with it.
I always said I'd pick it back up soon but never did and it wasn't until now that I thought to myself that I could just finish it up as an audiobook.
I placed the hold, forgot about it, got it and finished it in like an hour. For someone who forgets everything easily, I was able to pick this one back up real quick.
Overall, l was being a super softie. It's just who I am. The story ends up working out the way it's supposed to but from beginning to end, I just couldnt handle it. 😅
good story, beautiful book with gorgeous illustrations & deckled edges. 😍 what more do you need to love this story!?
I'm telling you, kids books are made up entirely of something else.
Just because it isn't happening here doesnt mean it isn't happening.
jump over for quick spoilers.
SPOILERSS P O I L E R S
S P O I L E R S
S P O I L E R S
S P O I L E R S
S P O I L E R S
Uhm, well, yes, Peter's dad makes him leave Pax in this field and then he drives him to his grandpa's.
Pax is all wtf & Peter regrets it right away so now they're both on their journey to find one another.
Peter runs away, ends up breaking his foot or messing up his ankle really bad (I dont remember) but he ends up in the farm of a lady (I forgot her name/too lazy to get up and go look it up) (her name is Vola. I needed to look up a quote and there was her name. Lol!) she has issues of her own but they end up helping each other out.
Meanwhile Pax is learning to fend for himself.
He meets up with another fox who ends up passing away (again forgot his name). Pax ends up bonding with a brother/sister pair who becomes his family.
He tells them that his master or owner is one of the good ones but of course the other foxes are hesitant because they've seen humans in another light.
After many attempts trying to find each other, Peter & Pax finally find each other. But by then Peter can see he is late and that Pax has made his new family so he throws the toy once again and tells him to leave. Well, I wouldnt say he can see he's late. I'd say something more like he realized where Pax truly belongs.
(The messed up part is that the dad made Peter leave Pax in an area where he knew Pax could possibly be hurt because he was part of the crew that was laying down dynamite for the enemies to get blown up by.)
of course there are other things i left out but for the most part, this was the main plot.
"True love doesn't always last. It doesn't always have to be for a lifetime."
"And that doesn't mean it wasnt true."
published: 2016
pages: 327
read: 7/17-18/2020
book: 60 in 2020
SYNOPSIS
In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.
On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.
Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.
That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.
Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?
Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She’s just not sure what it’s saying.
THOUGHTS
*not completely spoilery but there are some so beware!*
Ooooh. Definitely liked this one the most of all 3 TJR books I just read.
I'm a sucker for love stories. and i loved this love story because of that ending!!!! *heart eyes*
stories where both parties agree to an ending because it is what it is are even better for me!
I think it's safe to say that I am a person afraid of time. Afraid in the sense that I'm afraid of losing time with something that's meant to be. I need to learn to let time do its thing. What's meant to be will find it's way....and if it doesnt well then, you shouldn't be wasting time on it anyway. So of course I'd love this book because OMG time is a fickle thing.
(but how funny that one of my favorite Jack Johnson songs has my most favorite lyric ever: "you tell me time never waits, well that's okay cause i don't wait for time.")
Emma has finally gotten her life back on track and is so happy with Sam when she gets a call from Jesse and everything she thought she knew just falls apart. Now she has to decide what and who she wants and what to do with it all.
I think I liked this story over maybe in another life because it's a singular line type of story vs the two stories we get in that book. It wasnt...idk how to explain it...it was straight forward, you don't get to see two happy endings. It's just time doing its thing. What's meant to happen is....happening.
I did feel like Jesse was never really the one (obvs I know this is a made up story and that only they know their relationship). but I guess my reasoning is because first he doesn't know she exists and then he does, then the next minute they're married and then he's gone.
And once they reconnected....they were both just so different that you could just tell they weren't meant to be anymore. I guess maybe I'm team Sam because you saw them blossom together and you saw him understand her "new" life and you saw them put in the work into the relationship that they have/are building towards. With Jesse it was all in a flash. It didnt seem to me like there was any sustenance to them. BUT maybe that's what TJR meant to do! Maybe this is her genius working its magic. We're sposed to get this love story that was right for the moment but ultimately its sposed to get the back seat to the true love story of this story.
Overall, I'm really happy with the way this one turned out. *sorry if it's a bit spoilery * my favorite thing about this story is the closure. They were grown ups about it, there was no animosity towards anyone and they said goodbye with nothing but love.
They once had their time and now its time to move on. And Jesse might not fully grasp it but he knows....he ends up knowing and it was the best ending ever.
Ah, I love a good closure.
Everything about this story spoke to my time fighting/needing to understand time heart.
Emma has finally gotten her life back on track and is so happy with Sam when she gets a call from Jesse and everything she thought she knew just falls apart. Now she has to decide what and who she wants and what to do with it all.
I think I liked this story over maybe in another life because it's a singular line type of story vs the two stories we get in that book. It wasnt...idk how to explain it...it was straight forward, you don't get to see two happy endings. It's just time doing its thing. What's meant to happen is....happening.
I did feel like Jesse was never really the one (obvs I know this is a made up story and that only they know their relationship). but I guess my reasoning is because first he doesn't know she exists and then he does, then the next minute they're married and then he's gone.
And once they reconnected....they were both just so different that you could just tell they weren't meant to be anymore. I guess maybe I'm team Sam because you saw them blossom together and you saw him understand her "new" life and you saw them put in the work into the relationship that they have/are building towards. With Jesse it was all in a flash. It didnt seem to me like there was any sustenance to them. BUT maybe that's what TJR meant to do! Maybe this is her genius working its magic. We're sposed to get this love story that was right for the moment but ultimately its sposed to get the back seat to the true love story of this story.
Overall, I'm really happy with the way this one turned out. *sorry if it's a bit spoilery * my favorite thing about this story is the closure. They were grown ups about it, there was no animosity towards anyone and they said goodbye with nothing but love.
They once had their time and now its time to move on. And Jesse might not fully grasp it but he knows....he ends up knowing and it was the best ending ever.
Ah, I love a good closure.
Everything about this story spoke to my time fighting/needing to understand time heart.
jump over for quick spoilers.
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When the story starts, Emma is with Sam and her parents having dinner to celebrate her dads bday. They're all getting ready to leave when she gets a call.
Its Jesse.
Her husband.
Who had passed away 3 years earlier in a plane crash.
Emma sees Jesse at a swim meet in high school and falls in love with him then & there. It's not til years later that they're at a house party that they connect while running away from the cops.
Emma understands Jesse's desire to leave swimming behind since it's his parents dream because she wants to leave her parents dream for her behind. She doesn't want take over the bookstore and she wants to travel.
They end up going to LA for years (9 I think), he proposes, they get married and on the night before their 1 year anniversary he takes a flight to who knows where but the plane crashes.
she moves back home with her parents and eventually gets her shit together.
She runs into Sam (he used to work at her parents bookstore with her when they were teens) at a music store and they end up going on a date. Fast forward they end up engaged.
But now that Jesse is back she needs to figure out what to do.
At first Sam was understanding but there's only so much he can take. He tells her that she needs to figure it out (in a nicer way of course).
She ends up going to Michigan with Jesse to the cabin where they got married. Of course they hook up and you know, do couples shit but in the end they come to the realization that they have grown apart.
She does indeed love Sam and wants to be with him.
So after 3 days, they decide that it's over between them. They love each other but there's no making it work. ...mostly it was Emma realizing this. it took a bit for Jesse to see it but its not til like 8 months later or some shit that he really sees it.
Before all this happened Sam told Emma that he would call her when he was ready to talk.
So of course she was worried that she had blown it with him (especially because she got a phone call from their wedding venue about the cancellation) but Sam comes to his senses and tells her that he wont let her leave that easily and that he needs to, he will fight for her.
just as she was going to look for him, he comes looking for her! <3
They are married sometime later and 8 months after that she gets a call from Jesse.
Hes found someone hes in love with and he can now understand everything that she told him about love and how what they had isnt deemed invaluable just because it didn't stand the test of time.... its just that their time has passed.
And yes. That's the super short version.
They are married sometime later and 8 months after that she gets a call from Jesse.
Hes found someone hes in love with and he can now understand everything that she told him about love and how what they had isnt deemed invaluable just because it didn't stand the test of time.... its just that their time has passed.
And yes. That's the super short version.
there's also some beef shit with her sister....but ya know.
"that is what true love is. true love is saying to someone "forget about us, we'll be okay." when it might not even be true, when the last thing you want is to be forgotten."
pages: 321
heard/read: 7/15-17/2020
book: 59 in 2020
Have you ever heard of supernovas? They shine brighter than anything else in the sky and then fade out really quickly, a short burst of extraordinary energy. I like to think you and Ben were like that . . . in that short time, you had more passion than some people have in a lifetime.
Elsie Porter is an average twentysomething and yet what happens to her is anything but ordinary. On a rainy New Year's Day, she heads out to pick up a pizza for one. She isn't expecting to see anyone else in the shop, much less the adorable and charming Ben Ross. Their chemistry is instant and electric. Ben cannot even wait twenty-four hours before asking to see her again. Within weeks, the two are head over heels in love. By May, they've eloped.
Only nine days later, Ben is out riding his bike when he is hit by a truck and killed on impact. Elsie hears the sirens outside her apartment, but by the time she gets downstairs, he has already been whisked off to the emergency room. At the hospital, she must face Susan, the mother-in-law she has never met and who doesn't even know Elsie exists.
Interweaving Elsie and Ben's charmed romance with Elsie and Susan's healing process, Forever, Interrupted will remind you that there's more than one way to find a happy ending.
THOUGHTS
Elsie Porter is an average twentysomething and yet what happens to her is anything but ordinary. On a rainy New Year's Day, she heads out to pick up a pizza for one. She isn't expecting to see anyone else in the shop, much less the adorable and charming Ben Ross. Their chemistry is instant and electric. Ben cannot even wait twenty-four hours before asking to see her again. Within weeks, the two are head over heels in love. By May, they've eloped.
Only nine days later, Ben is out riding his bike when he is hit by a truck and killed on impact. Elsie hears the sirens outside her apartment, but by the time she gets downstairs, he has already been whisked off to the emergency room. At the hospital, she must face Susan, the mother-in-law she has never met and who doesn't even know Elsie exists.
Interweaving Elsie and Ben's charmed romance with Elsie and Susan's healing process, Forever, Interrupted will remind you that there's more than one way to find a happy ending.
THOUGHTS
idk how to start this one.
i mean, i liked it.
it was a good story. i guess i would say that i am indifferent about it.
in this one you meet Elsie and Ben and you go along the history of their relationship. they were married for 9 days before Ben passes away. so the story is mostly about the lead up to their wedding and the aftermath of his death.
i liked the way it was written and how its kinda full circle-ish in the sense that once the story ends, i wouldn't say its the end of Elsie's mourning but the beginning of a new life for her. and i loved it even more that she decides to start anew with Mr. Callahan.
i found her relationship with Susan, Ben's mother, kinda true? maybe...is that the way i would word it? idk. i mean obvs in the beginning they didn't click and that believable but i like that in the end they're their own little family even if its just them two.
i know the story is about Elsie but i would've liked to have seen what happened between Anna & Kevin.....aaannnd i wish there would have been some more of a heart to heart resolution between Anna and Elsie.
read THIS review if you want something better....detailed. she said it better than i ever will.
overall it was a good read. i mean i was up til about 330 am reading it so yea.....i just don't really have much to say about it so yea....onto the next!
anyway, jump over for quick spoilers....there isn't really much to spoil about this story.
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Ben was on his bike when he was hit.
he had gone to get cereal for Elsie because she wanted some.
she waited and waited and got worried and went to go look for him when she sees the accident.
the police officer takes her to the hospital where she runs into Ben's mom who of course didn't know they were married.
at first Susan doesn't really care for Elsie but in the end they end up forming a friendship.
uh.....they are married but Ben had put his social down wrong on the license which is why she wasn't getting the certificate months later in the mail but luckily a lady calls her and manages to fix it for her.
you see their relationship evolve but also see its cracks along the way.
and uh, yeah....
there's really not much to spoil here so yea.
i guess ill leave it at that.
pages: 333
heard/read: 7/14-15/2020
book: 58 in 2020
From the acclaimed author of Forever, Interrupted and After I Do comes a breathtaking new novel about a young woman whose fate hinges on the choice she makes after bumping into an old flame; in alternating chapters, we see two possible scenarios unfold—with stunningly different results.
At the age of twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. On the heels of leaving yet another city, Hannah moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles and takes up residence in her best friend Gabby’s guestroom. Shortly after getting back to town, Hannah goes out to a bar one night with Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan.
Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan?
In concurrent story lines, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision. Quickly, these parallel universes develop into radically different stories with large-scale consequences for Hannah, as well as the people around her. As the two alternate realities run their course, Maybe in Another Life raises questions about fate and true love: Is anything meant to be? How much in our life is determined by chance? And perhaps, most compellingly: Is there such a thing as a soul mate?
Hannah believes there is. And, in both worlds, she believes she’s found him.
At the age of twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. On the heels of leaving yet another city, Hannah moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles and takes up residence in her best friend Gabby’s guestroom. Shortly after getting back to town, Hannah goes out to a bar one night with Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan.
Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan?
In concurrent story lines, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision. Quickly, these parallel universes develop into radically different stories with large-scale consequences for Hannah, as well as the people around her. As the two alternate realities run their course, Maybe in Another Life raises questions about fate and true love: Is anything meant to be? How much in our life is determined by chance? And perhaps, most compellingly: Is there such a thing as a soul mate?
Hannah believes there is. And, in both worlds, she believes she’s found him.
THOUGHTS
this was an okay read.
there are definitely some gems in there and there are times where the overall message in a chapter itself is really great but overall, this wasn't a fave of mine.
i listened to a good chunk at work and i felt like the first half didn't really do much. it just dragged. once i got home and started reading it i was more invested so maybe it lies in that? but idk, i usually dig audiobooks.
its not that Hannah was bad, she just made bad life choices. I'm no one to judge her. we've all fucked up here and there. i just didn't connect with her.
in the beginning we have just the one Hannah, flying home to LA from NYC.
her best friend Gabby and her husband pick her up and the next night or something, they go out with friends.
Han reunites with Ethan, the love of her life, the one that got away (same for him)....when the night is over, when Ethan asks her to stay and she chooses to leave, THAT'S when it starts going both ways. and it wasnt bad, i just idk, didn't care for it.
in one timeline she manages to get back with Ethan rather easily just to lose it again juuuuuuust to end up married to him whereas in the other timeline she decides to leave Ethan just because he took someone else home and they both end up with someone else. (ALTHOUGH! they still touch bases about what could have been soooooo...iiiidddkkkkkk!)
in the end, we get 2 endings BUT there are some similarities in both stories. i think i would have preferred it if the story would have ended in just one way. more....closure. but i think the point of the story is that no matter what you choose, in the end, its mostly kinda similar.
idk.
overall, it wasnt a bad read cause if it was i wouldn't have stayed up until almost 2 to finish it but something about it left me wanting more. more...closure. idk.
"I'll see if there's any way to make it work. That's what you do when you want something. You don't look for reasons why it won't work. You look for reasons why it will.
So I'm searching, I'm digging, for ways to make it happen."
anyway, jump over for spoilers.
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