Between the Lines – July Book Review
After several months of not much reading I’ve picked up steam again over the summer. All the car riding we do to and from baseball games seems to give me plenty of time to read. Today I’m sharing what I’ve been reading lately in my July Book Review. 
Amazon: In the overlooked moments and routines of our day, we can become aware of God’s presence in surprising ways. How do we embrace the sacred in the ordinary and the ordinary in the sacred? Framed around one ordinary day, this book explores daily life through the lens of liturgy, small practices, and habits that form us. Each chapter looks at something―making the bed, brushing her teeth, losing her keys―that the author does every day. Drawing from the diversity of her life as a campus minister, Anglican priest, friend, wife, and mother, Tish Harrison Warren opens up a practical theology of the everyday. Each activity is related to a spiritual practice as well as an aspect of our Sunday worship.
My thoughts: This was not a quick read but more of a study. I picked this book up for a bible study but was never able to actually make it to get together with the ladies. I wasn’t sure I would really be able to dissect this book on my own but taking it slow and soaking up chapter by chapter all the while taking notes I really did grab some great takeaways. If you struggle at all with thinking you are not “big” enough in the eyes of God, this book really opened my eyes to the gift of an ordinary day. I loved this quote “The most significant thing in our day is not the loudest and flashiest or most entertaining. The repetitive and mundane is where we begin to love, listen, to pay attention to God and those around me.”
Amazon: Max Jennings is in a bad mood. It’s not anything you did; it’s just that secrets from her past make it her natural state of being. But she’s not going to talk about it or share her feelings, so don’t bother asking. Max’s bad mood means that very few people actually truly understand her or know that her secret dream is to be a pastry chef. When a rare opportunity to work for world-famous Avis Phillips presents itself, Max jumps at the chance. Avis and her staff aren’t stingy with the tough love, so Max spends every spare minute practicing her craft. As she bakes brownies and custards, cookies and galettes, she builds an unlikely friendship with a man she once loathed and finds herself falling into something she’s spent the last six years avoiding. Will she let her painful past stand in the way, or will she muster the strength to forgive herself and realize her full potential?
My thoughts: This is book 2 in the series which I originally picked up during my trial with Kindle Unlimited because they were all FREE. I absolutely loved Party Girl and while this second book started a little slower, I ended up falling in love with Max as much or more than I loved Landon in book 1. Sweet Girl is an easy read and I don’t necessarily think you would have to read book 1 to fall into book 2. Plus, even without Kindle unlimited, these books are under $5.
When Life Gives You Lululemons
Amazon: Welcome to Greenwich, Connecticut, where the lawns and the women are perfectly manicured, the Tito’s and sodas are extra strong, and everyone has something to say about the infamous new neighbor. Let’s be clear: Emily Charlton does not do the suburbs. After leaving Miranda Priestly, she’s been working in Hollywood as an image consultant to the stars, but recently, Emily’s lost a few clients. She’s hopeless with social media. The new guard is nipping at her heels. She needs a big opportunity, and she needs it now.
When Karolina Hartwell, a gorgeous former supermodel, is arrested for a DUI, her fall from grace is merciless. Her senator-husband leaves her, her Beltway friends disappear, and the tabloids pounce. In Karolina, Emily finds her comeback opportunity. But she quickly learns Greenwich is a world apart and that this comeback needs a team approach. So it is that Emily, the scorned Karolina, and their mutual friend Miriam, a powerful attorney turned stay-at-home suburban mom, band together to not only navigate the social land mines of suburban Greenwich but win back the hearts of the American public. Along the way, an indispensable ally emerges in one Miranda Priestly.
My thoughts: This book caught my attention early, then had a mini lull in which I thought it was going to be predictable but then came back around to surprise me! It’s probably just the way my momma raised me but I am a sucker for any story where the woman sticks it to the man in the end! If you are looking for an easy read that is entertaining but not too deep I did enjoy this one.
Amazon: Nantucket is only eleven miles away from Martha’s Vineyard. But they may as well be worlds apart for estranged twin sisters Harper and Tabitha Frost. After not speaking for more than a decade, Harper and Tabitha switch islands-and lives-to save what’s left of their splintered family. But the twins quickly discover that the secrets, lies, and gossip they thought they’d outrun can travel between islands just as easily as they can. Will Harper and Tabitha be able to bury the hatchet and end their sibling rivalry once and for all? Before the last beach picnic of the season, there will be enough old resentments, new loves, and cases of mistaken identity to make this the most talked-about summer that Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket have experienced in ages.
My thoughts: Elin is definitely one of my favorites for a good summer read and this story of two identical twin sisters did not disappoint. She does a great job developing the characters and showing how a few twists of fate in their pasts has brought them where they are today. Finding out “the rest of the story” down the line and cheering for them to become best friends again along the way made this a favorite for me.
Amazon: Award-winning photographer Ian Collins made only one mistake in life, but it cost his mother her freedom and destroyed their family, leaving Ian to practically raise himself. For years he’s been estranged from his father, and his mother has lived off the grid. For just as long, he has searched for her.
Now, Ian seemingly has it all—national recognition for his photographs; his loving wife, Aimee; and their adoring daughter, Caty. Only two things elude him: a feature in National Geographic and finding his mother. When the prized magazine offers him his dream project on the same day that Aimee’s ex-fiancé, James, returns bearing a message for Ian but putting a strain on his marriage, Ian must make a choice: chase after a coveted assignment or reconnect with a mysterious woman who might hold the key to putting his past to rest. But the stakes are high, because Ian could lose the one thing he holds most dear: his family.
My thoughts: Everything We Give is the 3rd book of a series and, while, I think you could possibly read and enjoy without first reading the others, I definitely loved all 3 and would suggest the entire series. This book took some turns I was not expecting and I loved how the author flashbacked through Ian’s life to give a reference to what he had gone through as a child. The ending was very unexpected to me which always makes it fun. In my opinion, this series is a true bargain read.
Everything We Keep and Everything We Left Behind….loved them!
For years I was the person who refused to read anything but a “real” book and slowly converted to my iPad but I really felt it was hard on my eyes. Ever since I switched to the Kindle paperwhite it has been my chosen method for reading with no glare and as many books as I want at my fingertips. The added benefit has been finding some reads I never would have given a second thought because I have found them for basically free or under $4. I also love I am able to download a sample of the book first and it really gives me a clue as to whether or not I will love the read.
I’ve found a love for reading again and sharing my books with you is a favorite. What should I add to my list?
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