Angie

May 31, 20236 min read

June Reviews

Updated: Jul 2, 2023

June 1

Mise en Place

Marisa Mangani

This memoir follows a young female chef as she makes her way and holds her own in a male-dominated industry. From a difficult childhood in a dysfunctional family situation and early entry into the work force, to learning from a variety of chefs in the United States and around the world, to starting a family and leaving the kitchen, readers see how each stage of Marisa's life came with new opportunities and challenges. I loved the anecdotal stories and the vivid descriptions she used to really help immerse the reader in the time and place she was in at each stage of the memoir. I enjoyed learning about New Orleans and some of the history that led to the food and culture that makes it unique. Overall it was a really enjoyable memoir and one I would definitely recommend to anyone interested in the culinary life. Thanks to Booksirens for giving me the chance to read and review this one! If you've read Wine Girl by Victoria James, this one is definitely up your alley!

June 7, 2023

Claim Your Swagger

Jennifer Sukalo

Book Synopsis

Informed by her work with almost fifty thousand leaders at various multinational and Fortune 500 companies, her experience with cancer survivors, and her personal journey, Jennifer Sukalo’s SWAGGER approach shows readers what makes them not only unique, but extraordinary. Claim Your SWAGGER gives readers exclusive access to what companies have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for—Jennifer’s expertise.

Claim Your SWAGGER helps readers develop a new relationship with their self-worth and learn to appreciate their strengths and limitations. Jennifer Sukalo explains how to find gratitude for the way one’s life experiences have shaped them and clarifies how to become grounded in their core values. Readers will learn to step into their power to overcome the self-limiting beliefs that hold them back and experience a sense of renewal through a greater focus on their passion and purpose.

In Claim Your SWAGGER, readers will learn by doing. Jennifer Sukalo designed the SWAGGER process to guide motivated individuals as they take exploratory steps into the next phase of their personal development. The content and activities in Claim Your SWAGGER will help readers develop new knowledge and skills that enable them to respond to situations differently and create lasting behavioral change.

My Thoughts: This book is a great self-improvement/self-help book. It is motivational and encouraging and I think that readers will get a lot out of the opportunities for reflection and goal setting. The book definitely reads like a motivational speech, which is inspiring and fitting for the genre, but may not be every reader's cup of tea. For me, there were lots of great takeaways and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for an opportunity to really reconnect with their inner self and core values.

Thanks to the author, Jennifer Sukalo, as well as the publisher, Morgan James Pub and the PR team at PR by the Book for the chance to read this book!

June 8, 2023

Spirit of a Hummingbird

Felicia Thai Heath

This audiobook was super interesting! I really enjoyed listening to it and think it would be great to read in physical form as well!

In this memoir, the author tells about her life growing up as the daughter of Vietnamese and Chinese immigrants who met in the United States. Her father, a notorious Vietnamese gang member, is in and out of jail and often on the run for many periods of her childhood. Felicia helped take care of her mother and her younger siblings all while growing up in a transient and impoverished home, witnessing domestic violence and experiencing abuse, navigating the cultural norms and expectations while trying to assimilate to American and Canadian ideals, were feats each and of themselves, much less compounded and while being only a young child! Heath also had interrupted schooling, and when she was at school, her father's crimes haunted her through teachers reading the headlines and other forms of discrimination she experienced throughout her disjointed education. With such a difficult experience as a child, it is incredible to see how she was able to use her trauma to grown and adapt and is a testament to her resiliency and unending ability to forgive.

This is a remarkable story and one I would definitely recommend! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to listen to and review this audiobook!

June 9, 2023

I actually finished this a week or two ago, but I can't remember the exact date, so lets go with this. My FOLD choice for May was Conjoined by Jen Sookfong Lee and I loved it! Check out my post here.

June 10, 2023

How We Do Family (Audiobook)

Trystan Reese

Narrated by the author, this memoir tells the story of a Transgender male and his experiences creating a family with his partner Biff, through fostering and adopting as well as giving birth to their biological child. When Biff's 1 year old niece and 3 year old nephew are taken into protective custody due to abuse and neglect, Trystan immediately commits to being a parent for these two young children. With each chapter being titled something along the lines of "How we do ______", readers/listeners learn all about the challenges the couple faced along the way to creating their beautiful family together.

In a world where there really is no such thing as a "normal" family, this book is the perfect opportunity to embrace all types of families and remember that love really is the only important thing. This was a wonderful memoir and audiobook and I would definitely recommend it! Trystan's writing and narration are super well done and it is engaging and interesting every step of the way. This would be perfect for anyone hoping to sneak in another pride themed book this month, because being proud of who you are and true to yourself is 100% the message in this story and a great thing to celebrate this month!

June 12, 2023

The Fall

Shari Low & Ross King

As expected, this series finale was as great as its prequels! Check out my full review: https://teachreadinspire.wixsite.com/website/post/the-fall

June 16, 2023

The Lying Kind

By: CB London

A lie might hurt, but the truth can kill.⁣

This book was soooo good! I didn't think I'd finish in time for my #booktour date, but it was so good, I couldn't put it down! I'm a pretty big chicken when it comes to anything scary, and this one definitely had a few tense moments, but I survived so you can too! Boston mob bosses, steamy one-night stands, picturesque details about Halifax and Boston, definitely gets lots of stars from me!

The Lying Kind by C.B. London is an all-new romantic suspense novel and it's out NOW! Get started on it today ➞ https://amzn.to/43MUKE5⁣

Check out my blog post to find out more about this book:

https://teachreadinspire.wixsite.com/website/post/the-lying-kind

June 20, 2023

Love Theorem

By: Camilla Isley

It was fun seeing these two characters who are complete opposites merge into a couple. I love that they both stayed true to who they were, but also accepted the differences in each other. This book is a quick and light read, yet there were elements that kept the action going, like when Christian would admit his stardom and how Lana will manage to keep her job and research without a grant. See my full review and learn more about this great book at: https://teachreadinspire.wixsite.com/website/post/love-theorem

June 21, 2023

Greetings from Tucson

By:Cherie Genua

I started, abandoned and restarted this one, and I'm so glad I did!

Written in the style of diary entries and letters, this book covers many decades and many miles as it tells the story of four sisters tragically separated at a young age. When Cookie, Frankie, Dottie and Connie are suddenly orphaned after their parents die both within 24 hours of each other, the girls are split into multiple foster homes. However, foster homes are meant to be temporary, and soon the girls find out they have been adopted, but in two separate groups. The older two siblings, Cookie and Frankie are staying close to where the girls grew up, but Connie and Dottie, the younger two girls are adopted by a family moving to Tucson!

Greetings from Tucson is a story about relationships, loss, love and piecing together the past to lead the way to a new future. This book is well written, draws readers in and brings so many feelings and emotions with each passing chapter. Each of the four girls are well developed, even though the majority of the writing is done through letters back and forth. We see the girls grow and change into young women, choose their own paths and carve out their own futures, all while staying true to the promise they made to stay close to each other, no matter the distance between them.

I would definitely recommend this book and am so glad I finally got down to reading it. If it has been on your TBR (or even if you're just hearing about it now), go grab it right now, you wont regret it!

Thanks again to #breysbooktours and the author @cheriegenua for giving me the (second) chance to read this fabulous book!