Reading Round Up: May 1-15

Hello Book Friends! How was everyone’s May? Sorry this is so late! I decided to take a few weeks off of social media so I haven’t posted anything on my blog or instagram. I read 10 books and had 2 DNF’s. Here are the 5 I read in the first half of the month. Keep reading to see my thoughts!

Bad Day For Sunshine by Darynda Jones – 5 Stars I really loved this book from the beginning! It follows Sunshine, the newly elected Sheriff for Del Sol, New Mexico, only one small catch is they she didn’t know she was in the running. Sunshine returns back to her home after having left years prior after an accident left her injured both physically and emotionally. I loved Sunshine and her daughter and the town’s cast of quirky characters. I can’t wait to see where the next book takes us!

The Sweeney Sisters by Lian Dolan – 4 Stars William Sweeney was a famous author and when he died he not only left his three daughters a memoir to find but also a surprise sister. We follow the three Sweeney sisters as they come to turns on who their famous father was, changes in their personal lives and a new addition to the family. This book started off pretty slow and I had a hard time getting into the story.  It was probably at least halfway thru that I started to actually like any of the main characters and want to know how their story ends.

The oldest sister Liza was a typical mom for their neighborhood. Her kids were in all the right clubs and programs, she was a dutiful wife to her successful husband and she even owned her own art gallery. She is the sister who holds it all together and makes sure everyone is doing what they are supposed too. The middle sister Maggie is the artist and she is very selfish.  I never liked her throughout the book and even though she has some growth in the end she was not redeemed in my eyes. She was cruel to her sisters and was only looking out for her self. The youngest sister Tricia at first appeared to be a very cold and distant sister but as the story goes on she became my favorite.  She is a lawyer in Manhattan and very good at her job. I loved her story arc and Raj!! The fourth sister who is actually the oldest is Serena Tucker, she is a journalist and grew up next door to the sisters. I enjoyed how the four ended up rallying around each other and supporting one another. Sister’s are not always easy to get along with and this book showed that but in the end they all loved and supported each other. Overall I really enjoyed this book. I thought the author did a great job of bringing you into the family and getting you to feel the emotions of all the characters. This would be a fun summer read, its not too hard hitting and the setting of being in Connecticut in the summer was perfect! Thank you Netgalley, Harper Collins, Goodreads and the Fantastic Flying Bookclub for my copies!

Starlight on Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs – 4 Stars

This was my first book by Susan Wiggs and it won’t be my last! I randomly picked this one up from my little free library because of the cover. This story follows Faith who is a widow with 2 children who is barely making ends meet. She ends up taking a job taking care of a woman who after an accident became a qiuadralpalegic. We not only follow Faith and her children but her client and her family is well. I really enjoyed this story, it had romance but at its core was just a great family story about growth.

The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs – 4 Stars This was my second book by this author and I greatly enjoyed it. This is the story of Natalie who looses her mother in a tragic accident and takes over the family bookstore in San Fransisco. Natalie has just been given a promotion at her job up in Sonoma that she doesn’t really like so she decides to quit her job so she can move back to the bookstore where she grew up to take care of her grandfather. When she gets there she finds out that the store is so far behind in bills that there is not a lot she can do to save it. She also finds out that her grandfathers health is getting worse. There is so much more to this story than just Natalie trying to save the bookstore, there is so much history. I love learning knew things in books and then researching it so I can know more. There was also a lot of family history too, Natalies mother and grandfather were researching their family history that have lived in that building for three generations. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a sweet family book that also has a little history and romance and its set in a bookstore. Thank you Netgalley, Harper Collins and William Morrow for advance copy, all opinions are my own.

Rainy Day Friends by Jill Shalvis – 5 Stars This was my first book by Jill Shalvis and I absolutely loved it. I read 2 more by her before the month was over. Lanie is a recent widow who found out after his death that he had left several other woman grieving with his passing. Needing a change of pace Lanie takes a job at a family run winery in Sanoma California. Lanie not only falls for the handsome single dad but also his entire family. This one was so cute and fun, highly recommend for a vacation or beach read.

Until Next Time, Happy Reading!