YEAH . . . it’s my favorite post of the month! It’s BOOK REVIEW DAY!!!! After reading SEVEN books last month, and having an insane March To Do list, I managed with THREE books this month. All great!

This month I learned that I am at my best when I stick with either the suspense or chick lit books. I do love the occasional piece of DEEP, classic literature (i.e. The Great Alone, etc.), but I like something to truly entertain me and not rip my guts out, stomp around for a bit, and then leave me gasping for air. I have had a DEEP, classic literature book on my desk for three months, and I took it to Florida for Spring Break. Turns out, my 14 year old niece had just checked the SAME book out of the library. My niece is wicked smart. When I was her age, I was all into the Sweet Valley High books. Y’all remember those? Loved me some Jessica and Elizabeth! Well, my niece is into reading WAY deeper things than Sweet Valley High, and we were pumped to read this book together. Also, please note that it is a Pulitzer Prize winning book. I got through ten pages, and decided it didn’t have the necessary pull I required to have on vacation. Of course, my sweet niece is currently half way through, and loving the book. Maybe I will try again one day soon.

In the meantime, I stuck with what I LOVE, what I can read fast, and what I love to share with you! Here we go . . .

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

I saw this book a couple of months ago at Target, and immediately grabbed it. However, a quick read of the back cover and I said “No, Thank you” out loud to an empty aisle and moved on. The description just seemed a bit heavy for me. Fast forward to late February when a former Bachelorette lead briefly mentioned her love for this book on her IG stories, and I felt compelled to actually read it. Yes, I follow a handful of these people. Some of them are FUNNY!

Then She Was Gone is about Ellie Mack, a beautiful fifteen year old girl that goes missing. As you can imagine, her family is distraught and spends YEARS trying to find her. Her mother, Laurel, loses focus on her life and can only concentrate on bringing Ellie home. I cannot even imagine. Ten years after Ellie disappears, Laurel starts dating a nice man and she begins to see the light of hope after a decade of heartache. However, when she meets his daughter, she looks JUST LIKE ELLIE! What the what?

I really liked this book. It is told by the four main characters, and switches throughout the book by telling stories through their own memories. It is a creepy story, and one that will keep you very entertained. I never had nightmares, although I did question my sanity reading it alone one night while Reid was at a work event and the boys were sleeping. But, I am a mom, and this deals with a missing child. So, a hard topic. Took some will power to not allow my brain to go to a dark “what if” place as I was reading this. If you are up for a suspenseful thriller, definitely check this out! Click here to order from my Amazon store!

99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne

Oh this book. My, my, my. If you remember from last month, I read Sally Thorne’s debut game, The Hating Game. I read it on the beach during my Bahamas trip with Reid, and I LOVED IT! A wonderful chick lit book. Probably the best chick lit book that I had read in awhile. So, I grabbed her second book, 99 Percent Mine, for our Spring Break trip to Florida with family. I didn’t pick it up until the flight home, and I LOVED IT!!!!! Let me just say two words: Sexual Tension. Just need to get that out there. This book leans towards being Rated R, and while the sex isn’t unbelievably graphic, leading up to is is extremely charged. Wowza. And, please don’t judge me, but I LOVED this book!

Darcy and Jamie Barrett are a set of boy/girl twins that have lived a comfortable life with their very much in love mom and dad. Their family basically rescued Tom, the boy across the street, when the three of them were eight years old. Tom’s dad had left when he was a baby, and his mother was in and out of jobs. Just a bad situation. Tom became a part of the family, and life moved on. When Darcy turned eighteen, Tom told her he loved her, and she basically fled town in fear that she would break his heart.

Now in their late twenties, these three characters find their way back to each other as they begin to renovate their late grandmother’s home. Darcy is a bit of a mess: bartender, dates horrible men, heart issue from birth, small drinking problem. Jaime is a bit condescending, only cares about success and money, and treats Darcy poorly. And, Tom, is a hard working guy, starting his own business, and trying his best to tow the line and stay in the good graces of the Barrett family. Oh, and he and Darcy totally have the hots for each other.

This is NOT a serious book. At all. It could also be classified as a bit cheesy. Chick lit cheesy. Just a quick read. With lots of rated R sexual tension. You have been warned! So good! Click here to grab it from my Amazon store!

The Best of Us By Robyn Carr

Have you ever been tired of one of your favorite hobbies? Like just need a minute and step away for a bit? After I finished the first two books this month, I felt like I couldn’t read another book. I picked up three other books and got through the first chapter before putting them down. All good books, but I just wasn’t feeling it. UNTIL . . . I was roaming the book aisle at Target and found this little nugget! You may remember that I read and reviewed What We Find last year, and you can read my review on that book HERE! That precious book was her first “Sullivan’s Crossing Novel”, and I just loved it. So, when I saw that her brand new book, The Best of Us, was ALSO a Sullivan’s Crossing Novel, I couldn’t help myself. It is always a fun comfort for me to revisit my favorite characters. This is the fourth book in the series, but I definitely didn’t need to read any of the others to get what was going on.

After Leigh’s mother died when she was four-years-old, her Aunt Helen has taken care of her. Helen worked hard as a teacher and an author to give Leigh the life she deserved. They have always been extremely close, and have even lived together in Chicago until recently. At thirty four, Leigh finally decides to leave her stressful medical practice, venture out on her own, and look for a more hometown feel.

Leigh ends up in Colorado, just a short drive from Sullivan’s Crossing, and decides to begin a new life. To me, this book started as one thing and became something else. And, that is a GREAT thing! I was expecting a sweet love story and to catch up with my buddies from the first book. However, I really got three story lines in one book, and found myself truly enjoying it all. It started a bit “simple”, if that makes sense? But then really went a little deeper. Definitely chick lit . . . I laughed, and even teared up towards the end. Just a very sweet book. I really liked it. It was the perfect book for me to end the month and NOW I am taking a TINY break from reading. Click here to grab a copy of this from my Amazon store!

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That’s it for the month! Short and sweet! I thought for sure I would be reading a couple more while at the beach, but we just had too much fun for me to sit down and concentrate on something other than my sweet, extended family. I have a stack of books that I am VERY excited about for April, but you know that I am ALWAYS up for your recommendations! Email me, message me, stop me at Starbucks . . . tell me your thoughts on these books as well as books I should read!