10 Books to Read this Winter

1.) The Harry Potter series (J.K. Rowling): Some of the most beautiful winter scenes are in the movie versions of these books. Hogwarts is my dream place to be during the cold months. It’s so festive and wonderful with all the snow and the holiday decorations!

2.) Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier: There’s something so fitting about gothic settings when reading during the wintertime. And this is one of my all-time favorite novels in general.

3.) And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie: What is more perfect to curl up with on a cold winter’s day than a cozy “who-done-it” mystery?

4.) The Raven Cycle series (Maggie Stiefvater) : Honestly, because this my favorite series and any chance I have to recommend it, I will.

5.) The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley: Oh my, I can’t say enough about Susanna Kearsley’s novels, but out of the many I have read so far, this is definitely my favorite. If you want to get transported straight to historical Scotland, this is the novel for you!

6.) Heartless by Marissa Meyer: Because this was release not too long ago, just in time for the end of fall/beginning of winter, and this is definitely near the top of my current TBR pile.

7.) Snow Child: Eowyn Ivey: This has been sitting on my kindle forever, but it’s set in Alaska and the couple builds a child out of snow. Sounds perfect!

8.) Violets of March by Sarah Jio: or any Sarah Jio book (this one just happens to be my favorite!) She write the kind of books that you start and find it impossible to put them down until the last page. Perfect for when the days get shorter!

9.) The Boleyn Trilogy by Laura Anderson: Like mystery novels, there is something so cozy about Tudor fiction. This is a wonderful series that I adore and I think it’s so underrated in the book community!

10.) The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons: I mean, just look at that cover. Another one of my all-time top favorites. This story begins in summer, but spans into the Russian winter and beyond. If you’re looking for an epic love story to melt your heart this winter, pick this one up!

A Month of Favorites: 5 Faves by a Theme

GirlXOXO

Favorite Couple

Allyson and Willem from Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Runners-Up: Belly and Conrad from the Summer series by Jenny Han

Favorite YA and Contemporary

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Runner-Up: Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

Favorite Historical

Brazen by Katherine Longshore

Runner-Up: Rogue by Leigh Talbert Moore

Book Boyfriend That Stole My Heart

Josh from Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Runner-Up: Willem from Just One Year by Gayle Foreman

Favorite Romance

Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

A Month of Bookish Faves: Introduction

GirlXOXO

My Reading Year

Number of Books This Year: 63 so far and my goal was 52. Nursing school in the beginning of the year had me slacking, then May-August I did so well, then starting my new job had be slacking again the last few months.

Most Read Genre: Contemporary! Almost half of my reading was contemporary!

• Contemporary: 30 books
• Historical Fiction: 16 books
• Historical Romance: 6 Books
• Romance: 5 Books
• Fantasy: 4 Books
• Science Fiction: 2 Books

Favorite Reading Location: Sitting by my pool! I read a lot of books out there this year.

Most Read Author: Looks like it was Debbie Macomber this year.

Some Stats

• 61 of my books where by female authors, only two were male.
• 24 books where young adult, 39 adult
• Average days per book (rounded): 5 (that stinks!)
• Average pages per day: 66
• Average pages per book: 335
• Books from the library: 24
• Total number of different authors: 41
• New-to-me authors: 29
• I read the most in: August
• I read the least in: March

The Silence

Oh , wow. It's been a week since I posted anything. :(
I have just been getting used to me new, hectic work schedule. I barely have time to even read anything. I was considering deleting the blog all together this week. But I really don't want to. Hopefully, maybe tomorrow, I will have time to write a bunch of pre-scheduled posts and get some reading in.
I promise I am not giving up on you, dear little blog.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Were Hard For Me To Read

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Why it was hard? I read this in high school, by choice, because at the time I was really into classics. Except this one. I know a lot of people love this book, so don't hate me. I just had an awful time slugging through it, and this was before I DNF'd.

The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher
Why it was hard? Well I loved this book. LOVED IT. But the emotional turmoil it cast upon my heart was awful.

The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simon
Why it was hard? Again with the emotional turmoil. Seriously, tears for days.

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover
Why it was hard? Great book, but the subject matter was tough. If you've read this one, you know what I am talking about.

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi PicoultWhy it was hard? Again the subject matter. I just wanted to scream at all these characters through the whole book, Just, ugh.

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
Why it was hard? Everything! I was curious what the fuss was about. You know that phrase? Yeah, curiosity killed the cat. Well, this killed Kelley's brain cells. No offense intended to those who loved this. Just not for me.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Why it was hard? I REALLY wanted to love this book. So bad. And I didn't. And I read the entire thing anyway hoping and hoping I'd get into it. And I just didn't.

The Stranger by Albert Camus
Why it was hard? This was an assignment for AP English Lit. I know I read it. I was passed all the quizzes and wrote the papers. But at this time I can't tell you a single characters name or a single thing that happened. All I can tell you is existentialism. 

And eight is all I have. I am pretty good at DNF'ing the books I'm not feeling now, it takes a lot to get me super emotional, and I don't read very many "tough issue" books.  But if you'd like to recommend some tear your heart out books go ahead! Love those!

I Recommend: Christian Historical Fiction Series

One genre I really love is historical Christian fiction. Especially series. I haven't read one in a long, long, time because of blogging and all the amazing YA books, romances, etc that I have found. I used to read a lot of these though, and I thought today I would share a few of my favorites, just in case anyone else maybe interested. But really, this ended up being me really trying to sell Janette Oke, haha!

Love Comes Softy series by Janette Oke (8 books)
These books are set in the pioneer west (with a very Little House kind of feel) and follow Clark and Marty Davis (and their children) as they struggle through all the challenges of that time period and environment. These are quick books and I read the whole series in maybe two weeks in high school. Oh, and a few of them are also made into movies now, as well. Definitely one of my favorite series across all genres.



The Canadian West Saga by Janette Oke (6 Books)
Another one of my all time favorite series. I read this in high school as well and the story still sticks with me. This one follows a woman named Elizabeth, who takes a teaching job in the Canadian frontier. A whole new world for her, considering she was raised in city-life on the East Coast. I read all of these books in just a few days. I devoured this story!

A Prairie Legacy by Janette Oke (4 Books)

ALMOST as good as Love Comes Softly. This series falls Marty and Clark's granddaughter, Virginia. I can see this appealing to YA fans because it's a coming-age-story for Virginia. Shes really trying to find out who she is and her place in the world and how she fits in with her family and her friends. 

Abram's Daughter series by Beverly Lewis

This one set off my love for Amish stories! This one follows for Amish sisters. Another coming-of-age type story for the YA fans. I don't want to give too much away though! All of the series definitely focus on a love story, which may also be appealing for the romance fans. I would honesty give all these series an overall five, for sure! 

Review: Isla and the Happily Ever After

Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
Series: Anna and the French Kiss #3
Published by Dutton
Format: Hardcover
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Goodreads

Love ignites in the City That Never Sleeps, but can it last? 
Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on introspective cartoonist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to confront the challenges every young couple must face, including family drama, uncertainty about their college futures, and the very real possibility of being apart. 
Featuring cameos from fan-favorites Anna, Étienne, Lola, and Cricket, this sweet and sexy story of true love—set against the stunning backdrops of New York City, Paris, and Barcelona—is a swoonworthy conclusion to Stephanie Perkins’s beloved series.

I have to say, as much as I liked the other two books, this is by far my favorite of the three. I honestly had an actual smile plastered on my face during 80% of this story! Definitely worth the wait.

One of the reasons I connected to this book a little more than the other two was the main character, Isla. I saw more of myself at that age in Isla then I did with Anna or Lola which made me able to understand Isla's motivations and emotions. I loved being able to experience the magic of falling in love for the first time with Isla.

The story starts out on a rainy night in Manhattan. Under the influence of some meds from her recent wisdom teeth removal, Isla gets the courage to speak to her long-time crush, Josh, when she sees him sitting alone in a restaurant. They talk for awhile and he ends of drawing her and then taking her home because she's a little too loopy to get there herself. They don't see each other again until school starts back up in Paris.

Eek, I loved the descriptions of Paris. And Barcelona. And even Manhattan. Isla and Josh were just a freakin' amazing couple! They balanced each other out so well and they really needed each other. Isla was too used to only have her one friend, Kurt, and Josh was alone from all of his friends graduating already and they found each other at the perfect time. Josh with his entire future planned out gave Isla, who had no clue how where her future was leading,  that little push out of her shell.

I am having a hard time writing this review, because really, all I can say is that it's beyond adorable. I read this book in pretty much one sitting and it just made me so happy. I immediately had to run and give my fiance a huge hug after the last page because I remember when that was us. So, you know, this was pretty much a perfect book for me. In my opinion, no flaws. Loved it from first page to last. From the crush, to the falling in love, to the challenges and the character growth, it all made my heart swell with the goodness.

5 out of 5