ShayKay's Review of The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

GoodReads: The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

I've been really getting into audiobooks because not only am I able to listen to them while I am working but I finally started using Overdrive! I love being able to listen to unlimited audiobooks, just depends on what is in stock at my library! It is absolutely AMAZING! Plus now that I'm back to working 40 hours a week it has allowed me to continue to read books, it is actually the fastest that I've read books in a long time! 

Since the books are on an audio format it has been really hard for me to keep up with my usual review format. That being said I'm trying to remember to at least post about the books that I've read/listened too after I finished the book. So let's jump into this review!

I've been wanting to read this book for a while now! I thought it sounded amazing and after I read The Wife Between Us I've been really trying to read more thrillers. From the sound of this book, I thought it was right up my ally. I've been really dedicated to Anna Fox's life! She sounded like such an interesting character and I was really curious as to why Anna was so reclusive. The book started out really strong. But then it started getting really, really predictable. However, I continued on with this book even though I've been struggling with it because I was so freaking dedicated to it. I learned about why Anna was so reclusive, I learned about what Anna did throughout the day, and pretty much what happened to Anna. So you'd think the book would be pretty much at the end since so much of these things have been figured out or implied. But no I'm only about 50% through the book and it is just dragging on. I feel like by the end of the book it might flip around into an amazing story but right now it is really hard to continue on with the book. I feel like there is just so much that got tied up too fast and now the author is trying to drag it out more and more. I just don't know.

Maybe I need to read this book versus listening to it but I just don't think I'm going to pick it up now. I have a little bit of time left on the book before I have to return it back to the library so I'm going to keep trying to finish it but I just don't know if I can. I still have about 6 hours left in the book. 

Wish me luck! 

Challenge - Fictional Books by States

1. Alabama	The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson – This book was really good! I loved Leia! She was so quirky and had so much going on that would really break anyone. She is so resilient that she won't allow it to break her. There were some really interesting twists and turns that I honestly didn't see coming and to think that these two little old ladies caused pretty much all of it. I definitely want to read more written by Jackson. The only reason the book isn't a five star is that I just wanted more in the end. I feel like so much of the book was the build-up and the consequences of everything, so the ending was really rushed and thrown together, I think. But I really loved this book. I love how Leia grew up in a family where her father was gone, and her stepsister was having issues sharing the spotlight. By the time the book starts Leia is a grown woman but she still struggles with her life and issues that were created when she was a child, such as the fact that she didn’t really resent her sister but she felt like her sister was prettier than she was, and the part where she tried to call their father dad and her sister literally bit her so hard and then she cried when her dad told she was in the wrong. Then the fact that Leia is a huge nerd was just even more amazing. There was just so much going on in this book.
2. Alaska	Alaskan Holiday by Debbie Macomber – I hated this book! I hated the instalove factor of this book. If this book would have started in the beginning of the summer when Josie first started working in the lodge in Ponder, then it might not have been such a horrible book because we could have started with learning about how Josie and Palmer met and experiencing their connection grow versus being thrown right into the middle. The book does explain some of this stuff, but I don’t think it does a good enough job at really explaining how this couple really started. I just kept getting these crazy creepy vibes and I think it really came from personal experiences that made Palmer’s obsessiveness really creep me out and not enjoy reading this book. If I was reading this book versus listening to the audiobook I would’ve DNF it. I gave the book a 1 out of 5 stars and that is only because of Josie. I really enjoyed her parts of the book, mostly because she acted like a normal person. She didn’t let her feelings dictate her life and she continued with her life and worked out her feelings. I really enjoyed her sections.
3. Arizona
4. Arkansas
5. California
6. Colorado
7. Connecticut
8. Delaware
9. Florida
10. Georgia
11. Hawaii
12. Idaho
13. Illinois
14. Indiana	Eliza and her Monsters by Francesca Zappia – This book was set in Wellhouse, Indiana. This book really set off some Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell vibes. I love the way this book was written, character development, and the way this book was set up! Eliza’s story was so amazing, and just like Cath I could really relate to her. Although I don’t have an issue talking to people, I do feel like I connect better to people through writing or online. I love how her identity came out. Her parents didn’t mean to tell the world because they really did not understand how popular her story was until it was too late. Even the events that followed this was sad you honestly could not be mad at the parents because they didn’t mean to hurt her. I just wish that they would have taken the time to really know their daughter instead of pushing her away from the things that she really loved. As a parent you want the kids to experience everything but you also have to experience the things that they love too. I honestly read this entire book in one day.
15. Iowa
16. Kansas
17. Kentucky
18. Louisiana
19. Maine
20. Maryland
21. Massachusetts
22. Michigan
23. Minnesota
24. Mississippi
25. Missouri
26. Montana
27. Nebraska	Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell – I loved this story! It was so stinking cute, and I loved how Cath grew throughout the story. However, I only gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars. The book started out so well and I felt so hard for Cath, I think her story was so grabbing. But I think the last third of the book is where the book really lost one star because it got really slow, and then the way it ended just left me with so many questions that were really answered. For example, Cath’s paper and life outside of fanfiction was just a big let down because she never worked on it because she chose that she just wasn’t good enough to do it! I feel like Cath could honestly have done such an amazing job with the assignment if she tried. So overall loved most of the characters such as Cath and Levi of course, and then absolutely hated some of them. I just wish there was more to the story. Most of the book took place in while the girls were in Lincoln at college, but the twins lived and grew up in Omaha.
28. Nevada
29. New Hampshire
30. New Jersey	Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich – I started this series pretty much the same time I started the In-Death story, but I did a horrible job at keeping up with this series as opposed to the In-Death series. Even though this series was really funny I just had a hard time keeping up with it. I’m so glad that I gave the series another chance and reread this book. This time around I listened to this book on Audible and it was such a great choice. I laughed so much throughout this book and I honestly enjoyed this book so much. This series follows a bounty hunter named Stephanie Plum and she isn’t really a successful bounty hunter. She lives in this small neighborhood in New Jersey where everyone knows everything so anything that Plum does her parents automatically find out and start worrying. Then she is involved in a crazy love triangle which is always hilarious. This was an amazing book and I cannot wait to jump into the next one.
31. New Mexico
32. New York	Innocent in Death by JD Robb – I’ve been in love with this series since the second I started it! I love Eve and Roarke and Peabody, and really just everyone in this series. These books are set in the future in New York City. They all follow a lieutenant named Eve Dallas. There are so many books in this series that it can be super intimidating, I believe this actual book was the 24th book. Even though I absolutely love this world I do not read them back to back because it is so long, and I really do not want to get burned out on this series because I LOVE IT! This particular book we saw a different side of Roarke and Eve, their relationship was truly tested because an old love of Roarke’s appears with a vendetta to hurt them. It takes most of the book for Eve to get her stuff back together and then convince Roarke of what is going on. It was a crazy storyline. This whole series, every single installment have a million different storylines within them. Then the actual murder story in this book! Not only was the murderer a sociopath but it was a ten-year-old kid! I just loved this book!
33. North Carolina	Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks – I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with Nicholas Sparks books. Sometimes I either love them and sometimes I just can’t get into them. This book was different though. I loved the first 2/3 of the book, but then I hated the last third. I loved how this story was kind of based off of a true story! I loved the while Kindred Spirit idea! Like all Sparks books this story was based in North Carolina, this one was at Sunset Beach. I absolutely loved Tru and half the time I loved Hope too. But by the end of the story I felt horrible for Hope! I ended up rating the book 4 out of 5 stars. Like I said earlier the first 2/3 of the book was AMAZING! I loved the pace of the book, the characters’ backgrounds, and the story as a whole. But the way things went down with Hope and Tru is where the book took weird turn and it was just so sad! That’s where I started to hate the book. Not because of how it turned out but how it happened really. Was it my absolutely favorite Sparks book? No, but I still enjoyed it.
34. North Dakota
35. Ohio
36. Oklahoma
37. Oregon
38. Pennsylvania
39. Rhode Island
40. South Carolina
41. South Dakota
42. Tennessee
43. Texas
44. Utah
45. Vermont
46. Virginia
47. Washington
48. West Virginia
49. Wisconsin
50. Wyoming

ShayKay's 2019 A Colorful Year Challenge

Black Cover

  

Blue Cover

        

Brown Cover

Colorful Cover
 
Gray Cover

Green Cover

     

Orange Cover

Pink Cover

   

Purple Cover

Red Cover

     

White Cover

     

Yellow Cover

Disclaimer: This is not an original idea! I got the idea for this challenge from Gisbelle on Goodreads that was posted back in 2012 in the Crazy for Young Adults Books group that I'm apart of and I really thought it was a cute idea. I took screenshots of the rules but now I can't find the original post to link into this post. 

I'm going to start this challenge on 1-1-19 and it will end on 12-31-19. It's going to be an ongoing thing throughout the year and basically, just show off some of the books that I've read throughout the year. 

Rules: There are going to be categories for each color and within these categories are going to be books that I've read throughout the year 2019. I don't think I'm going to set a limit for each category. I just think it would be fun to see the statistics of the books that I've read. Basically, all I'm going to do is post a picture of the book under their assigned categories.

*I was going to start this post and let it just sit unpublished until December because it's the routine I've been doing, I start my posts but don't publish them until they are completely finished. But I feel like this post is just one that I'm going to just keep updating every so often.

**I do jump the gun a little bit with this post because I will let it go and then add a bunch at one time but by doing this I'm also going to add the books I'm currently reading too so there will be some spoilers.

ShayKay's Review of The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson

Goodreads: The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson

Synopsis from Goodreads

With empathy, grace, humor, and the piercing insight, the author of Gods in Alabama pens a powerful, emotionally resonant novel of the South that confronts the truth about privilege, family, and the distinctions between perception and reality the stories we tell ourselves about our origins and who we really are. 

Superheroes have always been Leia Birch Briggs' weakness. One tequila-soaked night at a comics convention, the usually level-headed graphic novelist is swept off her barstool by a handsome and anonymous Batman.

It turns out the caped crusader has left her with more than just a nice, fuzzy memory. She's having a baby boy - an unexpected but not unhappy development in the thirty-eight-year-old's life. But before Leia can break the news of her impending single motherhood (including the fact that her baby is biracial) to her conventional, Southern family, her step-sister Rachel's marriage implodes. Worse, she learns her beloved ninety-year-old grandmother, Birchie, is losing her mind, and she's been hiding her dementia with the help of Wattie, her best friend since girlhood.

Leia returns to Alabama to put her grandmother's affairs in order, clean out the big Victorian that has been in the Birch family for generations, and tell her family that she's pregnant. Yet just when Leia thinks she's got it all under control, she learns that illness is not the only thing Birchie's been hiding. Tucked in the attic is a dangerous secret with roots that reach all the way back to the Civil War. Its exposure threatens the family's freedom and future, and it will change everything about how Leia sees herself and her sister, her son and his missing father, and the world she thinks she knows.

Thoughts Before Reading

I have been wanting to read this book for a while! I think the synopsis of this book is so interesting! I love that she works with comic books and that she gets pregnant by a one night stand. I think this adds some humor to a book whose main plot is dealing with some hard issues like her grandmother being sick, having to deal with what to do with the house that has been in her family for generations, and then whatever this unknown dilemma is. This is just a lot of things to deal with for anyone plus dealing with it all while being pregnant along with the complications of being a single mother. I cannot wait to jump right into this book.

(1/4/19)

Halfway Through Check-In

****Spoilers Below****

So the old ladies were hiding a box of bones in the attic?! 

Apparently, Leia and her grandmother are the last two living Briggs and Birchie is the last relative that Leia has that is blood-related. Right now only her niece knows about Leia being pregnant. It seems like Leia's stepsister is living the ideal life but when this book starts and Leia goes to visit her sister and tell her about the baby she runs into her brother in law who is in the moment of getting kicked out of the house. Once inside the sisters talk about everything going on and immediately start planning on going to Alabama to be with Leia's grandmother. The daughter ends up overhearing everything that goes on between her parents so Leia's sister decides that she should go to Alabama with Leia. On the way, there is when the niece finds out about Leia being pregnant. I think it is nice that it helps her niece feel better to know that her aunt is pregnant and so far she is the only one that knows about the baby.

I'm really hooked on this book so far and I'm loving audio books. I'm a slow reader.

(1/4/19)

Final Thoughts

****Spoilers****

I ended up really loving this book! I loved the characters, all of the different situations that were going on, and just the book overall. Even though I really loved this book I did give it a 4 out of 5 stars. The only reason the book didn't get all 5 stars was that I feel like there was just so much going on and the majority of the book was explaining the issues and the consequences that went along with them, which was amazing and part of why I loved the book. But even though all this was going on I feel like it was also a downside because everything ended up being solved but I feel like the ending was really rushed. I would've loved to have more happen in the ended versus it all being rushed together. Maybe even a second book! Which if there is a second book then this would absolutely be a 5 out of 5 stars. I just wanted more, like what happened with Leia, Batman, and the baby!

The book starts with Leia pretty much finding out that she is pregnant after having a one night stand with Batman and she is trying to tell her sister that she is pregnant, which she goes quite a while before she decides to try and tell her family about being pregnant. But as soon as she gets to her sister's house she runs into her brother in law which just so happens to be the boy that she lost her virginity with! Yet somehow she never told her sister about this and she never really does tell her throughout the whole book. I think that is the one thing that doesn't really get told. Then after she calms her sister down she gets the call about her grandmother in Alabama and decides she needs to go down there. This is the main two things that the whole book is about, her sick grandmother and the fact that she got pregnant by a one night stand. This crazy town just adds so many layers to the book, which I loved! There is very little about this book that I did not love. 

I'm just going to end this discussion here because I really do not want to give away the huge plot twist that is involved with the bones and these two crazy old ladies, and even though I have given away some spoilers here in this post I know none of them are the major ones and I think I could honestly talk about this book forever.

So far 2019 is doing pretty well it's only the 7th day into the year and I've already finished 3 books if this year keeps up with this momentum I'm definitely going to hit the 40 books for the year in no time.

ShayKay's Review of Alaskan Holiday by Debbie Macomber

Goodreads: Alaskan Holiday by Debbie Macomber

Synopsis from Goodreads

Before beginning her dream job as sous chef in one of Seattle's hottest new restaurants, Josie Avery takes a summer position cooking at a lakeside lodge in the remote Alaskan town of Ponder. Josie falls for the rustic charms of the local community including Jack Corcoran, the crotchety keeper of Ponder's sourdough starter, and in particular the quiet and intense Palmer Saxon, a famed master swordsmith.

Josie and Palmer become close during the long Alaskan summer days, and Josie knows that come fall, she'll be returning to reality and the career she's worked so hard for. Palmer, on the other hand, would like nothing better than to make Josie his wife and to keep her in Ponder. But Josie can't imagine abandoning her mother back in Emerald City and sacrificing her career to stay in this isolated town - not even for a man she's quickly coming to love.

Fate has other plans. Josie misses the last boat out of town before winter sets in, stranding her in Ponder and putting her dream job at risk. As the holidays approach, Josie and Palmer must grapple with the complications that arise when dreams confront reality and the Christmas magic that can happen when they put their faith in love.

Thoughts After Reading

****Spoilers Below****

So I know I normally do a little thought before reading about what I think about the book and then a middle of the book check-in before I even finish this book. However, this was an audiobook that I was listening too and I went through it really fast. I didn't go through this so fast because I was in love with this book and I just couldn't stop reading it, in fact, if this book was something I was physically reading versus listening to I would've DNF it. Even though I really hated this book there were some parts I loved.

Josie was one of my favorite characters, mostly because she acted like a normal person. I think she was the only character in this book that was making rational choices. When the book starts you are already at the end of her tenure with the lodge in Alaska and she is getting ready to leave and go home. Palmer literally says that she is living and he can't let her leave and he just has to marry her. Which I think if the book started with Josie just getting to Ponder the book would have some less creepy to it because we are seeing her meet Palmer and watching that connection grow. But anyways I love how Josie misses the last boat out of Ponder because that is some crazy thing that would definitely happen to me. Then she still does everything she can to go home because of this life that she built, she doesn't just drop her whole life over a boy and stays in Ponder. 

Jack was another character that I really appreciated in the book. Jack is definitely not normal, but he is the funny crazy old man that is always enjoyable in any book. But when he meets Josie's mother and had some crazy instalove thing with her really put some dings in that appreciation of Jack. But I'm glad that she didn't reciprocate his feelings and just let it die there, even though it was really not needed in this book. 

The thing that really did it in for this book for me was just Palmer! He was so creepy! Literally, from the second, we meet him he is completely obsessive! Every time the book swapped to his point of view I just kept creeping out and I hated it! I just could not get past the creepy feeling I got from him. I think it wouldn't have been so bad if the book would've started with Josie and Palmer first meeting. It was just a rough time to really start reading right in the middle of the book pretty much.

It was definitely a 1 out of 5 stars book and it only got a 1 start because of Josie. I really loved her point of view and she was a great character.

ShayKay's Review of Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

Goodreads: Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

Synopsis from the Book

In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, and friendless. Online, she's LadyConstellation, the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. Eliza can't imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves the online one, and she has no desire to try.

Then Wallace Warland, Monstrous Sea's biggest fanfiction writer, transfers to her school. Wallace thinks Eliza is just another fan, and as he draws her out of her shell, she begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile.

But when Eliza's secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she's built - her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity - beings to fall apart.

Middle of the Book Check-In

****SPOILERS BELOW****

This book really gave off the same vibes that Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell did, and by that, I think the main core of these two books have similar ideas. I feel like I could relate to the fanfiction side of Eliza and Her Monsters more, mostly because the book didn't talk about Eliza's stories and then cut to the same exact excerpt. 

Anyways you really see Eliza's self-confidence issues on the very first page when she talks about how she is Eliza Mirk but online she is this amazing persona named LadyConstellation. I feel like you see this confidence in her MirkerLurker profile, which is pretty amazing because the people she talks to on the second profile really knows that she Eliza. So it really shows that she has the potential to be that confidence in herself all the time. Then she meets Wallace and he really helps her come out of the shell in the real world. This first half of the book really hit so strong! I loved the characters and even though it started out kind of rough it was still amazing. The roughest part, in the beginning, was being hit with so many characters at one time with no real explanations on who they were. Then as you read and the story unfolds you really start learning who each person is and what their purpose is. I love how Eliza and Wallace really connect with one another! It first started when their homeroom teacher throw these two together so that Eliza can Wallace around the school since he is new. But what does Eliza do? She just leaves him and says that the school isn't that complicated. These two really don't come together until the two school bullies are picking on Wallace and Eliza stands up to them. After that even these two really start building a relationship! I love these two characters. The first part is really a 5 out of 5 for me.

(1/1/19)

End of the Book Thoughts

****SPOILERS BELOW****

I love how Wallace really brings more and more people into Eliza's tiny circle. Eliza really cannot talk to people in person without anxiety and as the book progresses this really changes. Eliza helps Wallace too because he has issues talking when there is a lot of people around. I mean most of the book these two characters are talking on a computer, texting, or writing notes out on paper. 

Suddenly the world finds out that Eliza writes Monstrous Seas and everything changes. It was hard to be mad at her parents for telling the world because they really did not know how popular the comics really were. Plus they were talking about how much they love and appreciate their daughter when they made the newspaper post. This makes it sound like the post was some random thing, but it was what this tiny town did when their seniors were about time to graduate. So the way this information was crazy because you couldn't be mad at how it got out. 

Then the fallout was HORRIBLE! People were terrible to Eliza once they found out, some were really nice to her. But the way Wallace reacted was awful! I hated the way this side of the story came out. I really enjoyed this story but the second half of this story was a 3 out of 5 story. I love how Eliza and Wallace made up and how the story ended but getting to that point was awful! It was also nice that they started going to therapy, they both really needed it.

So my overall rating for this story is a 4 out of 5 stars. I really did enjoy this book, I mean I literally read this entire book in one day! It was a very cute story and had some really touching moments. I loved the characters and the story overall. 

(1/1/19)