November Reads

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The Vanishing Half – Brit Bennett

A fictional story about black twins growing up in small southern black town. On sister returns to the town that she once tried to escape, now with her daughter in tow.  The other sister lives a secret life across the country, passing as a white woman (not even her husband knows!).  This book, with all of its beautifully complex characters, had so many layers.  This was November’s pick for my bookclub and it definitely led to some hearty discussion about identity and what we choose to show vs hide from the people that we surround ourselves with. 4.5/5 stars

The Searcher – Tana French

Oh Tana French... I love her writing and was eager to pick this book up as soon as it came out last month.  While I definitely enjoyed this stand-alone storyline, I would not match it up with the high standards that I have for her Dublin Murder Squad series.  The first half was very slow, in my opinion.  But the second half definitely picked up quite a bit.  A good solid read, but not one of my favorites when it comes to Tana French books. 3.5/5 stars

House of Salt and Sorrows – Erin A. Craig

“In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed.” This retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale was dark and spooky and had all the fun of a good campfire story.  It was a light and easy read and a nice break from the heavier themes of the other books I’ve read this month.   3.5/5 stars

The Things We Cannot Say – Kelly Rimmer

This book is going to stay with me for a while. It is such an intense story of survival, hardship, heartbreak and sacrifice and it was my favorite read of the month.  The book consist of two story lines – One takes place during WWII and centers around the character of Alina who is engaged to Tomasz just before he takes off to university and their Polish village falls under Nazi control.  The second storyline is present day and centers around Alice who is juggling all the stresses of life with kids, marriage, and a dying grandmother.  This read is all about tragic love, family secrets and how small acts of love or defiance can often make all the difference.  5/5 stars

As always, you can see a consolidated list of all my book reviews HERE.

Now it’s your turn – what book have you recently read that you can’t stop thinking about?  I don't know about you, but I need some solid book recommendations to get me through the next few months.  Something that will pull me in immediately and keep me going through to the very last page.  So tell me in the comments what you are reading, what you are loving, and what book recs you have for me.

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