I hope everyone is getting in some good reading time as we head into Spring. I read four fabulous books that I wanted to share with you this month. I have everything this month from a multi-generational family story to a fun bit of chick lit to a fabulous love story that will simply take your breath away.
If you are looking for a little inspiration this new year, be sure to check our MomAdvice fan page for a weekly check-in on what everyone is reading each week on our Facebook Fan Page. I hope you will swing by on Fridays and share about the books you are working on or request recommendations with one another. So far it is a huge success and I have gotten a few new ideas for my own stack!
Just as a reminder, I read many more books than are just featured here, but try to feature the ones that are my absolute best picks of the month here. If you want to read more, please feel free to friend me on GoodReads! You can find me right here and I am always happy to connect with people there too! There is nothing more motivating than seeing what other people are raving about and my to-be-read pile continues to grow with all of my new friends on there! In fact, many of the books featured are ones that I have found through my friends on GoodReads.
Sometimes you just want to sit down with a good chick lit book and laugh. As always, Sophie Kinsella delivers a funny, charming, and hilarious book that will be perfect to tackle for your summer reading this year.
When Poppy Wyatt begins showing off her family heirloom engagement ring to all of her friends at a hotel reception, her ring ends up missing, amid the chaos of the fire alarms going off at the hotel. Not only is Poppy lost without her ring, her phone is stolen during the chaos with the number she has given the hotel staff to use to contact her if they do discover her ring.
When she spots a cell phone on top of a trash can, she gives that phone’s number out to the hotel staff, in hopes someone will find her engagement ring and call her on it. Of course, the phone belongs to someone and with that first call, Poppy’s life is turned upside down when businessman Sam Roxton begins chatting and texting Poppy.
The book is back to Sophie’s roots of hilarity that made her infamous Shopaholic series so delightful. I really enjoyed this cute modern day love story and I think you will too!
(MomAdvice Rating- 5 Stars out of 5 Stars)
I love to read books that are sweep me quickly into their story line, whose words read like lyrics, and prose that reads as beautifully as poetry. Alex George offers a book that you will long remember that has been elegantly and eloquently crafted in a way that I have not read in many years. It is a book that I found myself reading paragraphs aloud to my husband, simply because they were written in such a descriptive manner that you felt as though you were watching a movie.
“Always there was music.” The book opens with Frederick, an amateur opera singer, serenading an unlikely girl named Jette who is tall in stature and just as equal in her elegance & family upbringing. Frederick quickly woos Jette in a whirlwind love affair and Jette discovers she is pregnant, forcing the couple to leave as quickly as possible from her family’s disapproving eyes. The year is 1904, Jette and Frederick board a ship to New Orleans instead of their originally intended boat to New York when they discover that the boat is full. “What’s the difference? They’re both new,” they say.
They end up settling in the tiny town of Beatrice, Missouri where we meet a cast of unlikely characters who all find refuge in this German speaking town. The book chronicles the journey of their family through prohibition, the Great Depression and the Kennedy assassination. Despite the depth of the book and the plots it carries, it moves swiftly and is well-executed, leaving the reader hanging until the final page.
I loved this book so much that I emailed the author when I finished it to tell him just how much I enjoyed this book. He immediately replied with heartfelt thanks for the compliments, which makes a reader like me feel even more connected to this amazing story.
I can’t recommend this one enough!
(MomAdvice Rating- 5 Stars out of 5 Stars)
Julia Win, a young lawyer from New York, is on a mission to find out what happened to her father. Tim Win, of Burmese origin, was a prominent Wall Street lawyer disappeared without a trace four years before, leaving Julia wondering if her father had been leading a double life.
One day, she finds a very old letter written in the 1940s by his father to a woman named Mi Mi in Burma. An address in Kalaw is all she needs to follow her instinct and begin a search for her father. Once she arrives in Kalaw, she is approached by a gentle man in a restaurant named U Ba, who seems to know all about her even though Julia has never met him before. He wants to tell Julia a story… a story about her father. It is a story that confuses Julia and causes her to realize that the man she knew has her father, is not who he really was.
This is a love story that will captivate your heart with vivid imagery of a blind man falling in love with a disabled and beautiful woman. It is a love story that pulled at my heartstrings and was so moving that I still cannot stop thinking about it. This story will pull you in from the first page.
(MomAdvice Rating- 5 Stars out of 5 Stars)
I have read several of Kristin Hannah’s books and she has rarely disappointed me. Kristin Hannah delivers another tear-jerking book sharing a vivid story about two women, Jolene & Tami, two best friends who serve in the millitary flying Black Hawk helicopters.
Both women are being deployed to Iraq and Jolene is heartbroken to leave her daughters and husband. She has found that her marriage is failing and her husband, Michael does not understand her military background or why she must serve her country. Tami’s family, on the other hand, is strongly supportive and believe in her missions to serve her country.
When Michael tells Jolene, just before she leaves, that he no longer loves her, Jolene leaves heartbroken. Her daughters are confused and are both embarrassed and distraught that their mother would leave them. It is a jumble of emotions for all involved. Through it all though, Jolene knows she will always have Tami and the two friends survive the worst together in Iraq.
The story told of war is eye-opening and heartbreaking. It gives you a new appreciation for our military and what they have done to serve our country. The characters, however, are not as likable in the book and can cause the reader to become detached from some of the story line. It was not my favorite Kristin Hannah read, but I still enjoyed it very much.
All in all, this is a strong book and a great story of two wonderful friends who loyally serve their country together.
(MomAdvice Rating- 4 Stars out of 5 Stars)
Not enough great reads for you? Check out our Books section of our site for monthly recommendations and ideas for making reading a priority again in your busy mom life!
Books I have read in 2012 (so far):
Disclosure: All of the links above are affiliate links and are provided so you can locate the books quickly and easily. Feel free to order a book, but we encourage utilizing the library system and buying me a latte instead. Then we both would be really happy and we could have our own little book club together! Wouldn’t that just be so much more lovely? Happy Reading!
What has been in your book stack this month? Feel free to share your book recommendations or feedback on any of the books that have been mentioned above! I love getting new suggestions for my book pile!
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