The Best of books Archives

What I’m Reading: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Published on May 21, 2021 by TracieLeave a comment

What I’m reading this week: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

This book was recommended to me from a friend. And then I started seeing people online review it – which I quickly escape from to avoid any spoilers – AND then I started seeing it show up in my great magazine pile. I knew that I needed to pick it up and see what all of the brouhaha was about.

You can quickly read what the book is about in the simple synopsis below if you want; but what I want to mention is the writing. This book is lovely. It’s slow, sometimes plodding, but magical at the same time. The actual story is what drew me in with this book. Not the plot, since you know what that is from the very beginning, but Addie’s story.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget.

France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.

Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name. via

A good story is hard to find in my opinion and this book delivers one in spades. There are twists and turns that I didn’t see coming, and the ending was fantastic, if slightly predictable. But the story is wonderful. I’ll definitely reread this one and these days, there are few books that make me say that.

Have you read it? I’d loved to know what you thought!

You can find all of the other books I’ve read this year here!

What are you reading right now? I am always looking for another great book to read.

What I’m Reading: The Awakening

Published on April 7, 2021April 5, 2021 by TracieLeave a comment

What I’m reading this week: The Awakening by Nora Roberts

A brand new book and a new series, by Nora Roberts. It was a good weekend. Now I’m very sad because I have to wait for the other two to come out.

I always enjoy reading her books, but I am going to tell you that I particularly LOVED this one. I loved everything about it. I loved the storyline, the setting, her writing as usual and I especially loved the characters.

In the realm of Talamh, a teenage warrior named Keegan emerges from a lake holding a sword—representing both power and the terrifying responsibility to protect the Fey. In another realm known as Philadelphia, a young woman has just discovered she possesses a treasure of her own…via

Just a few words to explain why you should read this book if you aren’t committed to it yet: Dragons, Ireland, Fey, Portals to other worlds, Magic, and there is a puppy. If those words don’t intrigue you enough to want to pick this book up, I don’t know if I can help you. But I’ll try.

Have you read it? I’d loved to know what you thought!

You can find all of the other books I’ve read this year here!

What are you reading right now? I am always looking for another great book to read.

What I’m Reading: Where the Crawdads Sing

Published on February 17, 2021 by TracieLeave a comment

What I’m reading this week: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

The story follows two timelines that slowly intertwine. The first timeline describes the life and adventures of a young girl named Kya as she grows up isolated in the marsh of North Carolina from 1952–1969. The second timeline follows a murder investigation of Chase Andrews, a local celebrity of Barkley Cove, a fictional coastal town of North Carolina. via.

WARNING: This link will lead you to MANY spoilers!

This book has been on my wait list for quite a while. I finally picked it up this past weekend and read it in two days. I liked this book. I LOVED the sections that encompass Kya as a child. The writing and the descriptions reminded me of The Clan of the Cave Bear which is one of my favorite – of all time – books.

The consensus on goodreads seems to be split down the middle with people who loved, loved, loved this book and people who absolutely hated it. And I understand why. I’m trying to tread very carefully here, because I don’t want to give any spoilers away. Agatha Christie is just about the only author who has ever led my mind on a merry chase and kept me guessing up until the last page ~ literally! So it didn’t surprise me that I guessed the ending of the book before I got there. This didn’t upset me, because I was enjoying the writing so much. Apparently I’m in the minority on this one.

What I’m trying to say is, you should read this book. You may or may not guess the ending, but guessing the ending isn’t why I read. I read to be immersed in another world, to be transported into someone else, and to learn things that I will more than likely never experience any other way. This book did all of those things for me. And I repeat, her descriptive writing is astounding and beautiful.

Have you read it? I’d loved to know what you thought!

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

You can find all of the other books I’ve read this year here!

What are you reading right now? I am always looking for another great book to read.

What I’m Reading: Snow Falling on Cedars

Published on February 12, 2021 by TracieLeave a comment

What I’m reading this week: Snow Falling on Cedars

Set on the fictional San Piedro Island in the northern Puget Sound region of the state of Washington coast in 1954, the plot revolves around a murder case in which Kabuo Miyamoto, a Japanese American, is accused of killing Carl Heine, a respected fisherman in the close-knit community. via

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

I originally picked up this book because of its setting. I am very drawn to the Pacific Northwest. The weather, the landscape, the sea with the old growth forests, it all just soothes me. Did I mention the weather? Any time that I can read more about it I will.

I didn’t know what to think of this book. It’s a number one bestseller, but by the reviews on goodreads, you would never know that. A lot of people did NOT like this book. However, I am not most people, and I generally don’t give a flying fig about what other people think. So there is that.

I really liked this book. I wouldn’t say that I loved it, but I REALLY liked it. It’s slow. Not plodding, but slow in that it makes you want to stop and think about what you’ve just read for a little while before you find out what’s going to happen next.

It’s sad. It’s not going to make you sob into your pillow all night, but just the situation that all of the main characters are in is hideous. Knowing that we as a nation rounded up 120,000 people and put them into concentration camps on American soil isn’t light reading and not really what this book is about. Or is it? And if you are going to send me a quick little note to say that NO, NO they weren’t concentration camps, they were in internment camps…..Don’t bother. Most of them were second and even third generation Americans. Also – if you don’t know what I’m talking about, you should definitely read this book.

If you are still with me after that little tirade, I felt that this was a beautifully written book about a terrible subject that everyone needs to read. Although I think that my next book will be a wild and rollicking comedy.

Have you read it? I’d loved to know what you thought!

You can find all of the other books I’ve read this year here!

What are you reading right now? I am always looking for another great book to read.

What I’m Reading: The Searcher

Published on February 4, 2021 by TracieLeave a comment

What I’m reading this week: The Searcher by Tana French

Last year was a difficult year for me reading-wise. If I actually think it through, I’ve had a couple of difficult years with reading. Nothing was holding my attention. I feel like I’ve stated this more than once. Until I picked up this book. I won’t leave you in suspense. I LOVED this book. I had never read a book by Tana French, but I have her on my to be read list now and I plan to burn through all of her work.

Hayden asked me why I picked this one up from the library. Just reading the synopsis generally wouldn’t have made me want to read it.

Retired detective Cal Hooper moves to a remote village in rural Ireland. His plans are to fix up the dilapidated cottage he’s bought, to walk the mountains, to put his old police instincts to bed forever.

Then a local boy appeals to him for help. His brother is missing, and no one in the village, least of all the police, seems to care. And once again, Cal feels that restless itch.

Something is wrong in this community, and he must find out what, even if it brings trouble to his door. via

But I kept coming across this book over and over. People kept saying that “You HAVE to read this”. And they were right. This book kept me in a very slight state of anxiety – IN A GOOD WAY – throughout it. I couldn’t wait to abandon all of my responsibilities for the day, just so I could get back to it. Again, I LOVED it.

That summary does not do this book justice. I can’t wait to read another one of her books.

Have you read it? I’d loved to know what you thought!

The Searcher by Tana French

You can find all of the other books I’ve read this year here!

What are you reading right now? I am always looking for another great book to read.

Tag: The Best of books

What I’m Reading: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

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What I’m Reading: Where the Crawdads Sing

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What I’m Reading: Snow Falling on Cedars

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What I’m Reading: The Searcher

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