Between the Lines – September Book Review

I really had to look back to see that it has really been a full month since my last book review!  Whew..where did September go!  Three books seems to be my number and today I’m sharing what I read in September.

Of Mess and Moxie: Wrangling Delight Out of This Wild and Glorious Life

Amazon:  In this highly anticipated new book, beloved author Jen Hatmaker parlays her own triumphs and tragedies into a sigh of relief for all normal, fierce women everywhere. Whether it’s the time she drove to the wrong city for a fourth-grade field trip (“Why are we in San Antonio?”) or the way she learned to forgive (God was super clear: Pray for this person every day, which was the meanest thing He ever said to me. I was furious.), she offers a reminder to those of us who sometimes hide in the car eating crackers that we do have the moxie to get back up and get back out. We can choose to live undaunted “in the moment” no matter what the moments hold, and lead vibrant, courageous, grace-filled lives.

My Thoughts:  If you have not read For the Love then I would suggest you start there but if you have and loved it then you will love this book as well.  I feel like Jen is again, relatable, honest, full of moxie and honestly hilarious.  The how to chapters alone are worth this read!  Any woman of any age out there could find some love and hope in this read! 

Everything We Keep: A Novel

Amazon:  Sous chef Aimee Tierney has the perfect recipe for the perfect life: marry her childhood sweetheart, raise a family, and buy out her parents’ restaurant. But when her fiancé, James Donato, vanishes in a boating accident, her well-baked future is swept out to sea. Instead of walking down the aisle on their wedding day, Aimee is at James’s funeral—a funeral that leaves her more unsettled than at peace.

As Aimee struggles to reconstruct her life, she delves deeper into James’s disappearance. What she uncovers is an ocean of secrets that make her question everything about the life they built together. And just below the surface is a truth that may set Aimee free…or shatter her forever.

My Thoughts:  I grabbed this book because it was only $4.99 (free if you have kindle unlimited) and could not believe how captivated I as from the very start.  The book jumps back and forth with flashes of the relationship between Aimee and James as they were growing up and leaves you definitely speculating about family secrets.  The author does such a great job describing the characters I felt I had a really good mental picture for all of them.  I was definitely heartbroken for them both but ended up happy at the end.  If you love a great love story with a little mystery I think this is a great read.

Everything We Left Behind: A Novel

Amazon:  Two months before his wedding, financial executive James Donato chased his trade-laundering brother Phil to Mexico, only to be lost at sea and presumed dead. Six and a half years later, he emerges from a dissociative fugue state to find he’s been living in Oaxaca as artist Carlos Dominguez, widower and father of two sons, with his sister-in-law Natalya Hayes, a retired professional surfer, helping to keep his life afloat. But his fiancée, Aimee Tierney, the love of his life, has moved on. She’s married and has a child of her own.

Devastated, James and his sons return to California. But Phil is scheduled for release from prison, and he’s determined to find James, who witnessed something in Mexico that could land Phil back in confinement. Under mounting family pressure, James flees with his sons to Kauai, seeking refuge with Natalya. As James begins to unravel the mystery of his fractured identity, danger is never far behind, and Natalya may be the only person he can trust.

My Thoughts:  The only thing I love better than a good book is getting to the end and realizing there is a 2nd book continuing the story!  Again, super cheap on Amazon and I think I may have loved the second book even more.  So many twists I didn’t really see coming but a beautiful story by the end.  Now I’m only sad I have to wait for book 3 until next summer!!

Right now I’m looking for my next read and leaning towards Brene’ Brown’s new book, Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone.  Her books always make me think!  Others on my list; Undone: A Story of Making Peace With an Unexpected Life, I Liked My Life and Maybe Someday.

Can’t wait to see what suggestions you have for me!

January Book Review

February Book Review

April Book Review

June Book Review

August Book Review 

Book Club Linkups: What We’re Reading Wednesday The Sirois Family , Wife Mommy Me,  My Glittery Heart   and others

Carpool Bookclub + all my favorites on the Linkup Love tab in the navigation bar!

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