This week was for celebrating my best friend’s grandmother’s 86th birthday. Grandma Lili (she shares the same name as my Mom) was a really good friend to my Mom and our families have always been close but Theresa’s family adopted to be Brenna’s other side since it’s always been just me and Brenna. So Bren and I went to celebrate Grandma Lili’s birthday. We had a really good time and it’s always good to see Grandma Lili light up whenever she sees us. Brenna and I talked about how we need to make more time to go and see her, just like we need to spend more time with my Dad while we can. They’re not getting any younger!
Aside from that, it’s been really quiet at home which is probably a good thing since last week, we crammed so much into RJ and Caiden’s time here so we’re chillin’ this week.
Now, onto the books…
What I’m Currently Reading
Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim
Published by Penguin, Berkley on June 11, 2019
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Point of View:First Person
Pages: 320
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges:2019 GoodReads Challenge
At the news of her mother's death, Natalie Tan returns home. The two women hadn't spoken since Natalie left in anger seven years ago, when her mother refused to support her chosen career as a chef. Natalie is shocked to discover the vibrant neighborhood of San Francisco's Chinatown that she remembers from her childhood is fading, with businesses failing and families moving out. She's even more surprised to learn she has inherited her grandmother's restaurant.
The neighborhood seer reads the restaurant's fortune in the leaves: Natalie must cook three recipes from her grandmother's cookbook to aid her struggling neighbors before the restaurant will succeed. Unfortunately, Natalie has no desire to help them try to turn things around--she resents the local shopkeepers for leaving her alone to take care of her agoraphobic mother when she was growing up. But with the support of a surprising new friend and a budding romance, Natalie starts to realize that maybe her neighbors really have been there for her all along.
After I quit The Perfect Date (the hero was awful and the heroine wasn’t a bag of sunshine either, definitely not anything I wanted to read), I immediately started this book and though I’m not done with it, I’m still enjoying it and I’m a lot more happy with this read than the others that I DNF’d this week. Wish me luck that my luck holds, will ya?
What I Read
Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin | 4 out of 5
If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann | DNF, 2 out of 5
The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen | 4 out of 5
The Perfect Date by Evelyn Lozada | DNF, 2 out of 5
The Jalaluddin and the Dessen were both great reads and I was super thrilled that they held up their promising beginnings. The same can not be said for my reads of If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann and The Perfect Date by Evelyn Lozada. I thought I would get one kind of story with them both and they veered off into something else that I wasn’t prepared for and didn’t want to read so I quit them both. Oh well, can’t win them all.
Eye Candy Friday
West Ravenel
Devil’s Daughter (The Ravenels #5) by Lisa Kleypas
What I Reviewed
Then Came You (Laws of Attraction #3) by Kate Meader | 4 out of 5
Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo | 3.25 out of 5
What I Posted
The Monthly Recap: April & May 2019
The Wednesday Post (13)
Eye Candy Friday: West Ravenel from Devil’s Daughter by Lisa Kleypas
What I Got
Water Bound (Sea Haven/Sisters of the Heart #1) by Christine Feehan
Blood Magic (Wing Slayer Hunters #1) by Jennifer Lyon
The Spymasters Lady (Spymasters #1) by Joanna Bourne
How to Date Your Dragon (Mystic Bayou #1) by Molly Harper
The Iron Duke (Iron Seas #1) by Meljean Brook
The Kingpin of Camelot (A Kinda Fairytale #3) by Cassandra Gannon
Written in Red (The Others #1) by Anne Bishop
This month kicks off Book Binge’s Summer Reading Challenge so I went book shopping to load up on the books that Casee and Holly chose for me to read this summer. Lots of stuff I probably wouldn’t have read on my own but thanks to these two, I’ll finally be checking them out. Wish me luck!
What I Got for Review
Love on Lexington (Central Park Pact #2) by Lauren Layne
Heiress Gone Wild (Dear Lady Truelove #4) by Laura Lee Guhrke
Superfan (Brooklyn Bruisers #6) by Sarina Bowen
What Made Me Laugh
Great week it looks like you have had. Family is really important so take as much time as you can to spend with them for sure, Great books you grabbed up. I really loved Water Bound and How To Date Your Dragon.
Hey Renee,
Yeah, I had a really good and relaxing week. I’m looking forward to reading those soon. I hope I like them!
I have Lauren Layne and Superfan! I can’t wait to start those two! Glad you guys had a blast at the birthday!
Genesis @ Whispering Chapters
Superfan was a lot of fun so happy reading on that one. I can’t wait to jump into the next Lauren Layne. I liked Claire in the first book so I’m looking forward to her getting her happily ever after.
That’s great that you got to visit with your friend’s grandma. I bet she loves the company – and the attention. 🙂 Ugh, two DNF’s in one week. Blah. Hope the current read ends up being a hit. I’m super excited to start Superfan!
Yeah, it seems that lately, I’ve been quitting books a lot more than I’ve ever quit them. I just don’t have the time to sit through characters I don’t like. Oh well. Superfan was a lot of fun so I hope you enjoy that one as much as I did. 🙂