If you didn’t catch my Instagram toward the end of December 2019. I set a Goodreads reading goal for 2020 at 25 books. I figured reading an average of 2 books per month was manageable. Well, to my surprise, I am already 5 books in and it is only January! I can’t wait to see what other books Ill get lost in this year. For now, here is a recap of my January books.
The Flight Attendant
by Chris Bohjalian
What is it about?
Cassandra Bowden is no stranger to hungover mornings. She’s a binge drinker, her job with the airline making it easy to find adventure, and the occasional blackouts seem to be inevitable. She lives with them, and the accompanying self-loathing. When she awakes in a Dubai hotel room, she tries to piece the previous night back together, counting the minutes until she has to catch her crew shuttle to the airport. She quietly slides out of bed, careful not to aggravate her already pounding head, and looks at the man she spent the night with. She sees his dark hair. His utter stillness. And blood, a slick, still wet pool on the crisp white sheets. Afraid to call the police – she’s a single woman alone in a hotel room far from home – Cassie begins to lie. She lies as she joins the other flight attendants and pilots in the van. She lies on the way to Paris as she works the first class cabin. She lies to the FBI agents in New York who meet her at the gate. Soon it’s too late to come clean-or face the truth about what really happened back in Dubai. Could she have killed him? If not, who did?
What did I think?
I wouldn’t say this book is a MUST read, but because I love thrillers / mysteries it was a good, quick read. At times I got a little bored, but then the author would grab me again with an exciting chapter.
Daisy Jones & The Six
by Taylor Jenkins Reid
What is it about?
Everyone knows DAISY JONES & THE SIX, but nobody knows the reason behind their split at the absolute height of their popularity . . . until now. Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock ’n’ roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things. Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road. Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes that the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.
What did I think?
This is a New York Times Bestselling book & was a Reese book club book. At the end of 2019, this book was on a bunch of lists for best book of 2019. My preferred genre is mysteries, thrillers, and romantic comedy type books, but I am trying to step out of my comfort zone a bit this year. Once you get used to how this book is written, you will fly through it! I ended up really enjoying it. It will also be an Amazon Prime series so read it before it is on TV.
What Happens in Paradise
by Elin Hilderbrand
What is it about?
A year ago, Irene Steele had the shock of her life: her loving husband, father to their grown sons and successful businessman, was killed in a helicopter crash. But that wasn’t Irene’s only shattering news: he’d also been leading a double life on the island of St. John, where another woman loved him, too. Now Irene and her sons are back on St. John, determined to learn the truth about the mysterious life — and death — of a man they thought they knew. Along the way, they’re about to learn some surprising truths about their own lives, and their futures.
What did I think?
This is the 2nd book in the series and the first one I have read. i would definitely say to start from book number one (Winter in Paradise) so you get a feel for the characters in the book. This was also a pretty quick read that I enjoyed. There was a bit of mystery and romance so the best of both worlds
The Turn of the Key
by Ruth Ware
What is it about?
When she stumbles across the ad, she’s looking for something else completely. But it seems like too good an opportunity to miss—a live-in nannying post, with a staggeringly generous salary. And when Rowan Caine arrives at Heatherbrae House, she is smitten—by the luxurious “smart” home fitted out with all modern conveniences, by the beautiful Scottish Highlands, and by this picture-perfect family. What she doesn’t know is that she’s stepping into a nightmare—one that will end with a child dead and herself in prison awaiting trial for murder. Writing to her lawyer from prison, she struggles to explain the unravelling events that led to her incarceration. It wasn’t just the constant surveillance from the cameras installed around the house, or the malfunctioning technology that woke the household with booming music, or turned the lights off at the worst possible time. It wasn’t just the girls, who turned out to be a far cry from the immaculately behaved model children she met at her interview. It wasn’t even the way she was left alone for weeks at a time, with no adults around apart from the enigmatic handyman, Jack Grant. It was everything. She knows she’s made mistakes. She admits that she lied to obtain the post, and that her behavior toward the children wasn’t always ideal. She’s not innocent, by any means. But, she maintains, she’s not guilty—at least not of murder. Which means someone else is.
What did I think?
Ruth Ware is one of my favorite thriller authors. I would also recommend reading The Woman in Cabin 10, In a Dark, Dark Wood and The Death of Mrs. Westaway. All of her books are suspenseful and make you want to read it in one sitting! I think it took me just 2 days to read this book.
Get a Life, Chloe Brown
by Talia Hibbert
What is it about?
Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan, and a list. After almost—but not quite—dying, she’s come up with seven directives to help her “Get a Life”, and she’s already completed the first: finally moving out of her glamorous family’s mansion. The next items? Enjoy a drunken night out.Ride a motorcycle.Go camping.Have meaningless but thoroughly enjoyable sex.Travel the world with nothing but hand luggage.And… do something bad. But it’s not easy being bad, even when you’ve written step-by-step guidelines on how to do it correctly. What Chloe needs is a teacher, and she knows just the man for the job.
Redford ‘Red’ Morgan is a handyman with tattoos, a motorcycle, and more sex appeal than ten-thousand Hollywood heartthrobs. He’s also an artist who paints at night and hides his work in the light of day, which Chloe knows because she spies on him occasionally. Just the teeniest, tiniest bit. But when she enlists Red in her mission to rebel, she learns things about him that no spy session could teach her. Like why he clearly resents Chloe’s wealthy background. And why he never shows his art to anyone. And what really lies beneath his rough exterior…
What did I think?
OMG this was the cutest book ever! No joke I read 75% of it in one sitting and finished it in under 24 hours. It was nice to end the month with a cute romantic comedy book and am excited to check out a few more by this author.
Do you have any book recommendations? I would love to hear them in the comments!
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