• BOOKS

    What I Read in September 2021

    THE FOUR WINDS by Kristin Hannah – 4.25 stars Elsa grew up ostracized by her own family in the pretense of protecting her fragility. Having been an oddball all her life, Elsa jumps at the attention from Rafe Martinelli, a child of Italian immigrant farmers, and finds herself pregnant with Rafe’s child. Though Martinelli family resents her at first for ruining what they had planned for their son (going to college college, marriage to another girl to whom he was engaged to), they grow to accept and love her as much as the two children Elsa eventually has. While life was mostly happy for Elsa, the Great Plains begin to…

  • BOOKS

    What I Read in August 2021

    Happy September, friends! This week at work, I accidentally typed 2021 for a future date before correcting it to 2022 and was hit by the reality that 2021 is flying by. Here’s everything I read in August. POPISHO by Leone Ross – 4 stars I picked up Popisho while visiting Charleston. I knew nothing about the book but the cover art design grabbed my attention. In the world of Popisho, everyone is born with cors, magical talent gifted by the gods. Though the book only spans just about a day, it covers quite a bit of story. It begins by introducing Xavier Redchoose, the macaenus of the generation which means…

  • BOOKS

    What I Read in July 2021

    Happy August 1st, friends! I was hoping to squeeze in another book before the end of July but I am still working on it haha. Here’s everything I read in July. THE BOOK OF LOST NAMES by Kristin Harmel – 4 stars Set in France during WWII, The Book of Lost Names follows Eva, a France-born Polish Jew, who finds herself part of the Resistance. While trying to escape for Switzerland, she learns her artistic talents make her a great forger and decides to stay for a while to help the Resistance. As she creates fake documents for people to escape from Nazis, she records their names in “The Book…

  • BOOKS

    What I Read in June 2021

    Somehow, it is already July (really?! halfway through 2021?) so I am back with my monthly book post! In June, I read multiple solid books and read some books that had been on my TBR list for a LONG time, which always feels good. 28 SUMMERS by Elin Hilderbrand – 4 stars This was my first book by Elin Hilderbrand, and I totally get the hype. Crowned the queen of beach reads, Elin Hilderbrand is a prolific author who mostly writes stories set on or around Nantucket. 28 Summers follows Mallory and Jake’s love story (read: affair) over 28 years. After their first summer together on Nantucket (for Mallory’s brother…

  • BOOKS

    What I Read in May 2021

    Happy Pride month, friends! May was sort of all over the place for me, reading-wise. I didn’t read as much though that could be due to work being busier than before. I picked up a couple of books during my recent trip to Charleston that I am excited to read so I hope I get to read more in June. Here’s everything I read last month: CASTE: THE ORIGINS OF OUR DISCONTENTS by Isabel Wilkerson – 4.5 stars The Warmth of Other Suns was one of my favorites reads from 2020 so I had been looking forward to reading Caste! In Caste, Wilkerson draws parallels between the unofficial unspoken social…