Share Your Shelf # 31 & The Books I Read in October

It's the first Thursday of the month and time for Share Your Shelf with Dara and I. I hope you all look forward to this monthly link up as much as I do. I just love getting new ideas for books to read or listen to.  

I had a pretty good month of reading in October, I think 1/2 the books on my list this month were actual physical books I read so I feel like that is an improvement over last month's attention span.  

1. The Romance Revival by Christina Lauren-- Not a bad read but not my favorite by this duo. Emery is a scientists working on a top secret medical invention that could change the world. She's happily married to Luca but the two are starting to feel the tension of the lies from Emery's job and all the time she spends at work. Then a tragic accident takes Luca from her and Emery uses her top secret technology to save his life and literally bring Luca back from the dead. When he wakes up with amnesia, Emery knows this is her second chance and this time she's putting Luca and her relationship first. So, yeah, I was rolling my eyes at the premise but I ended up getting into the story; particularly the relationship they build together the second time. 

2. Never Your Valentine by Jordan Bloom-- I got this adorable rom-com through NetGalley and enjoyed it a lot. Annabelle is a greeting card designer and has just moved to a new town to start her life over. She's sunny, sweet, and looking for her very own Hallmark movie moments in this snowy Michigan town. Enter Grant, resident pessimist, and owner of the town's rage room. The two meet on Annabelle's first night in town and Grant, thinking she's a tourist, lays it on thick only to ghost her once he realizes she's staying. He does not believe in love and relationships but in a small town the two can't help but run into one another-- particularly since they share the same building. It was so, so cute and it's listed as book 1 so I hope the author keeps writing. Grant has lots of adorable, single brothers and Annabelle made lots of wonderful single friends in town-- so many of which would make adorable pairings of their own so I am eager to see what Jordan Bloom comes up with next!

3. The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister-- Lilian's restaurant hosts a cooking class once a week. We learn more about each of the main characters attending class and what drew them or forced them into attending as well as more about Lilian herself and what drew her to cooking. The book is filled with lovely food descriptions, blooming friendships, and it was just really lovely. 

4. Healthy Brain, Happy Life: A Personal Program to Activate Activate Your Brain and Do Everything Better by Wendy Suzuki, Ph.D.-- As a psychology major in college I have always been fascinated by the workings of the brain and how that brain/body connection works. This was a fun listen written by a neuroscientist who decided to apply some of her own research to her own life when she realized so much was missing from her life after focusing on her career for so long. Filled with anecdotes from her own life, practical advice, and information about the brain this book is supposed to help you improve the health of your brain for optimal living. I can't say any of the information was Earth shattering but I enjoyed hearing about the various experiments and quasi experiments and further research she hopes to do or hear about in this field. 

5. Just for the Plot by Meghan Quinn--Oh I loved this one. Bennett has been in love with his sister's best friend ever since he was a teenager and now that she's moving to his city and he's all grown up he hopes he finally has a chance to make his move. Bower knows she could never fall for her best friend's little brother or risk blowing their whole dynamic but moving into Bennett's building has the two of them blurring that line between friendship and more. When Bennett and Bower are asked to team up and create an online book club to help his teams images those lines between friendship and more blur further and further. It was a really cute story. This reminds me a whole lot of Liz Tomforde's Windy City series so if you like those you'll probably like this one too. 

 

6. Fury in Death by J. D Robb (Book #63 in the series)-- This time Eve Dallas must discover why a rich Biotech executive was mangled in death. The excessive violence leads Eve to believe this kill must have been deeply personal but what about the secret Caymen Island account and the mysterious company he works for... and the second victim? Eve will have to dig deep to find the layers behind what led to this explosion of fury and who is behind it. I always enjoy this series so much! 

7. Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland-- A very engaging listen. I ended up listening to the whole book in just a single day. Henry Page can't help but notice when Grace Town walks into his class one day. The new girl is unlike any other with a limp and a cane, wearing ill fitting men's clothes, and in need of a shower but yet he finds her oddly compelling. As the two begin working on the school paper together they can't help but fall for one another. However, Grace is keeping some pretty big secrets and is not over the series of events that led to her starting over in a new school. It was sweet and sad and doesn't really have a happy ending but definitely a fitting one for all involved.  

8. The Book of Sheen by Charlie Sheen-- A very honest feeling memoir about his childhood, rise to fame, struggle with addiction, etc. I learned a lot about him and his family and I love when a celebrity memoir is narrated by the celebrity themselves. Hearing their story in their own words is quite powerful. It's amazing he's still alive.. there were times I was a bit lost or he referred to things that I had no reference for like this apparently infamous 20/20 interview or his sit down with Matt Lauer. While I enjoyed watching him on Spin City and 2 1/2 Men I can't say I've ever been a huge fan so while-- neither of which I knew anything about. I knew he had made headlines. I didn't know he had been diagnosed with HIV nor did I even realize he had kids (who aren't mentioned much in this book). Basically not a huge fan of his obviously but I still enjoy celebrity memoirs even when I only know who they are marginally. 

9. The Thoroughbreds by Elin Hilderbrand & Shelby Cunningham-- I enjoyed this second book in the series just as much as the first. While I didn't remember all the character ins & outs from last time it didn't really matter as the book did focus on new scandals and dramas at this illustrious boarding school. I could see this series making an excellent show/mini series. 

 

10. Love You More by Emily Giffin-- Billie has worked hard to craft her perfect life. She's an MD working in New York, newly engaged, with a thriving medical practice when she gets called home to Wisconsin. She hasn't thought much about her first love since they broke up 1/2 way through her medical school training when she felt torn between her old life and friends and the new one she was creating. Now the choices she'll need to make are more complicated than ever. I enjoyed this one quite a bit. 

 11. Butter, Sugar, Magic by Jessica Rosenberg (book #1 in the series)-- This was a really fun fantasy audiobook. Cassie is newly single and both her and her daughter are headed to a quaint town outside Boston to see what a great aunt (that Cassie never met) might have left her in her will. Turns out Cassie inherited a bakery with an adorable apartment above. Perfectly fitting since Cassie always wanted to own a bakery. But Portney isn't an ordinary town and Cassie's bakery isn't an ordinary bakery either. Turns out there are a large assortment of witches in town and Cassie, unknowingly, is one of them. As she and her daughter settle in, Cassie learns a bit more about her powers, how magic works, and her family history. Certainly not my usual genre but I enjoyed it a lot. 

12. The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai-- This was such a cute audio- listen! Rhiannon has created a dating app and runs her own very successful business but when Samson, a guy who once ghosted her, comes back into her life she really doesn't want anything to do with him despite feeling an attraction. However, the two end up getting thrown together and work through a whole lot of old hurts. It was sweet. 

13. Bread, Coffee, Magic by Jessica Rosenberg (book #2)-- I didn't enjoy book 2 nearly as much as book one but it was still pretty adorable. When Cassie's ex shows up he stirs up all sort of trouble between Cassie and her daughter, even going so far as taking their daughter back home without Cassie's permission. With the help of her friends she's able to get her daughter back. 

14. Rewind it Back by Liz Tomforde (Windy City Book #5)-- I loved reading Rio's love story! He fell in love with the girl next door growing up in Boston many, many years ago but there was a huge rift in their families and the two split apart as collateral damage. Now 6 years later they run into each other again in Chicago when Rio unknowingly hires her as a designer to redo his house. At first neither is sure they can even be in the same room but the more they talk the more they realize they were at the mercy of circumstances beyond their control.  

I finished up the 52 Book Challenge with a few months to spare! I will have a full recap of all the books I read for each prompt coming soon(ish).

 

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