August Reads

With the 11 books I have read this month, my yearly total is now at 74. Maybe I will reach my goal of 100 after all.

I started the month off by reading a freebie on my kindle, The Marriage Pact by M.J. Pullen. This book caught my attention for two reasons a) the main character was turning 30 and dealing with her feelings towards this and b) she gave herself a timeline to find a husband and if she didn't she made a pact to marry one of her male friends. I laughed because I too made this deal, however, life happened and me and this male friend lost contact and our deadline has come and gone. Maybe he found his life partner, huh?! This book also disgusted me because I could not drum up any sympathy for a woman who was heartbroken as a result of sleeping with a married man. That is incorrigible behavior and she deserved what came to her especially since she KNEW he was married.

Elements of Kayla Perrin's Heart to Heart troubled me. I could not fathom getting involved with an ex-boyfriend's older brother. There has to be boundaries, right?! If you are friends or family of anyone I previously dated, then you are off limits to me. No exceptions to the rule. I then read the first book of Perrin's Hart Sisters series Always in My Heart. What I must say - if I would have read these books in order, I would have stopped with this one - it did not impress me and many parts were too unrealistic to me or maybe it leads me back to my issue with forgiveness. One of the sisters summed it up for me and had me thinking maybe I could start to apply this: If you know better, then you would do better. Sometimes you just have to forgive people because they didn't know a better way.

I really enjoyed The Beautiful Ones by Adrianne Byrd. The way the story was narrated was captivating and different from most novels. Not to mention I was so wrapped up in the story and wanted to know what (if anything) would happen between Solomon and Ophelia. So of course I had to read the other books of this series Unforgettable, Feel the Fire, and Love Takes Time.They were all quick/good reads - the last book of the series will be released next spring and I will definitely dive into that one.

Reshonda Tate Billingsley's The Secret She Kept was deep. I have personally been in a relationship with someone who was bi-polar and it is NO fun...as I result I could not love him in spite of...you cannot help someone who does not want to help themselves.

While on vacay, I packed my kindle and read Tara Sampson's The Rented Husband - the book was ok outside of the glaring typos consistent throughout the book - but it was free, so I cannot complain too much, right?! The funniest thing is as I started this book, I had my laptop up and I received a friend request and an inbox message from the same guy I was referencing when I discussed The Marriage Pact. How weird is that?!

It took me forever to get through Allison Winn Scotch's Time of My Life - not because it was a bad book, but because it didn't engage me enough at first - but one day I made myself sit down and finish since after weeks I was only 70 pages in...and it gave me lots of reflection - if you could go back and change different elements of your life, would you? Or would you realize what you previously endured was an avenue to present you an opportunity for personal growth - you learn and change from life's missteps (if you are wise enough to acknowledge your need for this change) so you don't constantly follow the same pattern. This book reaffirmed for me what I have been trying to do this past year - appreciating the many blessings bestowed upon me - recognizing life is not perfect and I cannot plan every aspect - there are things that will happen out of my control, what matters the most is how I overcome this adversity - ALSO I am beginning to embrace the "live in the moment" philosophy and allowing myself to enjoy life more - my responsibilities will always be there, but if a chance presents itself to have some fun, I am willing to let my hair down and indulge.

I have been anxiously awaiting Francis Ray's When Morning Comes to become available at the library for me to read. I was captivated with this book from beginning to end experiencing an array of emotions. I highly recommend it and refuse to go in any detail because I don't want to give anything away - if you read it, contact me so we can discuss - there is so much I want to talk about.