Last month I did my first full month blog post sharing about each of the books I read and reviewed during the month. It meant that I was able to keep track of all of my books and also look back on the month as a whole, so I think I will stick with this strategy and start a new month wrap up!
November 1, 2022
The Abortion Caravan
Karin Wells
This Audiobook gives a very detailed. description of the events that took place leading up to, during and shortly after the Abortion Caravan protests in Canada in the 1970s. Published at a time when our neighbours to the south are really struggling with abortion and women's reproductive rights, this book is an important part of our history as well as contemporary events.
The information was extremely thorough, and was heavily referenced, even though it was an audiobook. At times I felt like the content was dragged out a little too much. It was not excessive, but thorough descriptions did make some sections feel a little slow.
As far as audiobooks go, the narrator was clear and easy to listen to. I was able to follow the story and understand the content and historical information.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to learn about this important issue by listening to this audiobook.
November 2, 2022
Revenge Honeymoon
K.J. Gillenwater
Check out my full review and blog tour post here: https://teachreadinspire.wixsite.com/website/post/revenge-honeymoon
November 3, 2022
The Prince's One-Night Baby
Juliette Hyland
My romance novel streak is still going strong, and this medical romance novel definitely had me wanting more love story sagas! Check out my full review here: https://teachreadinspire.wixsite.com/website/post/the-prince-s-one-night-baby
November 7, 2022
Kwan Kew Lai
The Girl Who Taught Herself to Fly is a memoir written by a female doctor named Kwan Kew Lai who was originally from Penang, Malaysia. This memoir tells about Kwan's childhood growing up in the British Straits Settlement of Penang Island, as one of 12 children (10 girls) in an impoverished Chinese family. Kwan knew from a young age that the way out of a cycle of poverty and young motherhood was to get an education. There were many battles she faced growing up and attempting to get an education, including scholarships unfairly distributed to other racial groups, poverty preventing her from affording school fees and uniforms, and life-threatening illness. Kwan was determined though, and was able to not only get a secondary education, but was able to leave her homeland and attend an American university. She then went on to become a doctor and traveled the world treating patients in many wars and outbreaks. She also wrote two other books I believe and I can't wait to check those out too! Thanks to booksirens and the author for giving me an advance review copy for free. I am reviewing this book voluntarily and would also highly recommend it!
November 8, 2022
The 3 am Shattered Mum's Club
Nina Manning
I had so much fun reading and reviewing this book as part of a Boldwood Blog Tour. This book is hilarious, candid and definitely one I would recommend.
November 10, 2022
The Mom Group
Jennifer A Jones
I started reading this one at the same time as The 3 am Shattered Mum's Club, and while the two books are very different, they also had quite a bit in common and I had fun creating a battle of the mom club blog post. Check it out here: https://teachreadinspire.wixsite.com/website/post/thinking-about-joining-a-mom-s-club
November 11, 2022
After It's Over*
Hunter Chadwick
Blurb:
Like many of us, Reece Daniels' life was changed forever during the pandemic. He lost his mom to the virus and then his work was shut down, eventually for good. He found himself drifting aimlessly, alone.
Reece was horrified to watch as one disastrous decision after another led to supply chain disruptions, worldwide food shortages and the end of life as he knew it before. When an old friend calls for help, he has a choice to make. Will he continue to stand on the sidelines and watch the world burn or will he stand up and do what heroes always do…stand in the gap to hold the chaos at bay. In the face of all this loss, can the life of one man really make a difference? Reece is about to find out.
I have really been looking forward to the roll out of pandemic-related literature (at least something positive can come from this pandemic right?) and was excited to give this one a try, even though it is a bit more in the dystopian genre and is a tiny bit outside my comfort zone. I think that Chadwick did a really fantastic job explaining the ramifications of issues that are currently taking place now, in the mid-end pandemic range, and making predictions as to what these kinds of problems may lead to in the near future. For someone who doesn't have a huge understanding of geo-politics and global issues, I was able to follow the descriptions and it made me look at our current state in 2022 with a fresh set of eyes and a bit more (realistic) fear than I may have had before reading. That being said, I really am not a post-apocalypse type reader and so early on I knew this wasn't the right book for me. The writing was really good, and the storyline was definitely interesting, but it just wasn't quite the book for me. I definitely would recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind or enjoys dystopian novels, especially because this one is so related to our current time period and events affecting us now and in the recent past. Thanks to Katie and Brey PA for giving me the chance to step outside my comfort zone and give this one a try!
November 12, 2022
The Emergency
By: Doctor Thomas Fisher
Also a piece of COVID-19 literature, The Emergency is a non-fiction memoir written by a doctor who worked in a South Side Chicago ED during the pandemic (and the years leading up to it).
I request so many books. Waaaaaay more books than I can possibly read. And I get approved for so many books. Also way more than I could possibly read. Even so, I still feel the sting of being denied a book I want to read. I get it. I'm not a book seller. I have less than 700 followers on Instagram. I have all these unread books on my netgalley shelf... I really do understand why I'm not always chosen and I should just be happy with the way too many books I already have, but it still stings... Anyway, the reason I went on this little rant is, I was not approved for The Emergency, but I saw my local library had a copy that was not yet out on the shelves as it had just come in and was getting a dust jacket put on. I quickly signed myself up for the holds list and while I had to wait a fair amount of time, it was worth the wait and I still got to read this book!
Fisher's book is divided into chapters, that can be classified into two types; the months of the pandemic (ie. March 2020) and letters to real people. In the regular chapters he shares a standard day in the ED at his hospital including example patients and their stories, interactions with his colleagues and the impact of the pandemic not just on the health of the people in Chicago but also on the already tense racial situation in Chicago and really the entire US. The chapters that are letters are usually written to a person mentioned in the previous chapter. These letters could be to patients, family members or colleagues and are an opportunity for Fisher to speak in a more narrative style and explain contextual information as if he was speaking to the person. Throughout the book there is a very clear message that Emergency Medical professionals do not get to spend real time with their patients. Fisher explains that there is really only about 3 minutes of time per patient for him to actually evaluate and treat the person face-to-face, and these letters emphasize this message in their own way. By showing the reader that he wishes he could give the real-life people he works with a clearer picture of what is going on in the hospital, the city, the country and the world he shares information with the reader while also showing his vulnerability as a human and a doctor just trying to do his best.
As a black man and someone who fully understands and appreciates the challenges faced by the community members whom he serves, Fisher is able to give an OwnVoices perspective of both the political and racial climate during the pandemic as well as an informed medical opinion on what was going on. He has both first-hand experience and the knowledge and training to carefully dissect the pandemic from many different viewpoints and perspectives. This book is extremely well written. It is clear and concise and filled with valuable information, but it is also personal and story-like and relatable for the average reader. Through reading this book I really feel like I can not only picture the ED Fisher described, but also feel as though he was a friend I've recently had coffee with. At this imaginary coffee date I was entertained with interesting day-to-day stories, caught up on our time apart during the pandemic, and also informed about so many important issues related to race, economics, health care, and American history and politics. It was quite the coffee date! And for a non-fiction text to cover all of those topics (and more) and be written in an interesting and almost narrative fashion, it checks all the boxes I need for a good book! I highly recommend it, so go check your local library and see if this new hidden gem just hit the shelves and is ready for you to pick up!
November 12-21st
Shy Girls Can't Date At Christmas
Milly Rose
I am having all the fun getting in the Christmas Spirit and helping launch this fun YA!
Check out my full post about Shy Girls Can't Date At Christmas by Milly Rose here!
November 14th, 2022
The Orphans of Berlin*
Jina Bacarr
I read this one as part of a Boldwood Blog Tour. Check out my post here:
November 15, 2022
Owe Me One
Kay Cove
This sporty romance book tells the story of Quinn, an under 30 year old CMO of her family's company and Cody, a retired NFL player who is trying to find his way now that he can no longer play the game he loves (or so he thinks). Cody and Quinn started off as friends, but they both knew there was a spark there. The story begins in Vegas, where Quinn has drunkenly asked Cody to fly out and visit her and wakes up to find him naked in her bed. (spoiler alert: this book is steamy from the first few pages!). In an attempt to invoke a company clause that says she cannot be transferred within 6 months of a big life event, Quinn and Cody get married to prevent her from being forced to move to Singapore for at least the next 2 years. As you can probably guess, this fake relationship trope quickly turns into a real relationship.
Beyond the romance novel concepts and storylines are some really interesting underlying themes and storylines. As the story unfolds we find out that Quinn's mother past away about 3 years earlier, so around when Quinn was 26ish? Quite young anyway. There are some other relevant ideas that are part of this theme, for example, what you wish you could have said to the people you love, the choices you make when you decide between work and family, distracted or impaired driving and properly dealing with grief. As someone who also lost a parent in her twenties, I definitely can relate to a lot of the challenges Quinn worked through in this story and while it made it a bit harder to read at times, it was also probably a really needed opportunity to reflect on where I am at in my journey through grief.
This book is the third in the series and while it can be read as a stand alone, I would definitely recommend starting with book one. There are a lot of background characters who have clearly been a big part of previous books and I think it would be easier to have gone in order. I also felt that the book started sort of abruptly and I wonder if having finished the second book right before reading this one might have impacted that a bit. So, if you only have this one and you're asking yourself "to read or not to read?" definitely read it, it is a great book, but if you have the chance to start with book one, I think I would recommend it. I will definitely be backtracking and grabbing a copy of the first book soon!
I would recommend this book to romance readers who enjoy some steamy scenes but also enjoy something with a bit more depth and character development. There are definitely some usual tropes and predictable storylines which are pretty standard for romance novels, but this book definitely goes beyond those surface-level plot lines. Thanks to Katie and Brey PA and the author for giving me the chance to be a part of this book tour and to read and review this book!
November 21, 2022
Perfection and Other Illusive Things by J. Mercer tells the story of 17-year-old Eden who wakes up one day and sees something completely different when she looks in the mirror; what she deems to be perfection. This novel reminded me why I love YA romances! Thanks to Katie and Brey PA for the chance to read and review this book. For my full review check out my previous blog post here.
November 25, 2022
Two Truths and a Guy
Jeannine Henvey
This YA novel alternates between two main characters point of views. Stella and Peter are twins who have recently moved to California from their less progressive home state. I really liked the way Henvey was able to weave in so many ideas related to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in this story. Thanks so much to Katie and Brey PA and the author for introducing me to this book and giving me the opportunity to read and review it. I really enjoyed it and look forward to seeing what Henvey comes out with in the future! Check out my full review here!
November 26, 2022
A Sister's Promise
Caroline Finnerty
Penny is given a devastating cancer diagnosis and has to figure out how to take care of herself and her 4 year old daughter Willow with no friends or family living near her in Australia. She hasn't been home to Ireland in over 20 years and she left on not great terms with her sister and father. When she shows up on her sister's doorstep in the middle of a rain storm, she has no idea just how much she needed to come home.
I really enjoyed it (even though it made me cry). I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading books that touch on some sensitive family topics and have powerful messages of love and letting go of the past. It was a quick read and one I couldn't put down! Check out my full review here. Thanks to Rachel and Boldwood Books for giving me the chance to read and review this touching story!
November was a great month! Considering report cards and conferences both landed in this month, I'm really impressed that these 14 books made their way into my hands this month!
*DNF
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