Welcome to my WINTER book review!

I am a book lover at heart...since I learned to read in first grade with Mrs. Saylers I have always been someone who loves reading. I previously was a children's librarian at a school for 4 years and I loved reading all types of children literature and enjoying learning about new authors and meeting new authors.

Some of my favorite authors are Nicholas Sparks and Melanie Shankle (who I recently discovered). I love all different types of genres from chick literature to thrillers and mysteries.

Over the past couple of months, I have found myself curled up reading either on my iPad or with a book in hand. I go back and forth between print and a hand held device.

 “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away.”

Church of the Small Things is about celebrating the small things in life and appreciating them. Shankle's book is about the little things and everyday life. Shankle is genuine, honest and she doesn't sugar coat things. She is raw and truthful but makes even the worst case scenarios funny.

The chapter titles are catchy and funny and make you want to keep reading! Melanie and her husband even have started a church themselves. She refers back to the Bible multiple times and relates everyday living to scripture so it makes you feel normal. :-)

OMG THRILLER!!

The main character Anna Fox lives alone and is a recluse. She spends most her time drinking wine, watching old films and watching her neighbors. She suspects that one of her neighbors is hurt and claims she had just had the lady over for wine and to play a game of chess.

As a reader you spend most of the novel wondering if what she saw really happened or she imagined it. Anna was a shrink and had a husband and little girl. Throughout the book she talks about speaking to them and about her life. She can't leave her house because of something that happened to her personally so her husband and daughter moved out. (maybe little spoiler)


Anna helps people who are struggling with a disorder similar to hers online. She used to be a child psychologist. In the end you learn about her husband and little girl (what really happened to them) and someone does end up dying.

Was what she saw out her window real? Will Anna ever be able to leave her house again? Read this one to find out.



Another book by Melanie Shankle...this one is about marriage.

So many times I found myself laughing out loud throughout this novel and realizing we all go through similar things in our marriage.

Melanie talks about painting an outside shed....who hasn't in their marriage decided to paint something? You wish you had hired professionals or you spend time fighting with your husband over how it is being done.

Melanie talks about her early marriage, marriage with kids and how important it is to love your spouse and go with the flow of things. Melanie actually does have a large antelope head in her house. Being married is work and she talks about learning to appreciate the talents your husband has that you don't and vice versa.
This book I just recently finished and it kept me on my toes the whole time.

There were lots of plot twists and turns I didn't see coming. The first half of the book is told from Ethan's perspective, while the second half is told from his wives.

Ethan and Sutton are both writers, the have a baby who dies and it seems to rock both their marriage and careers. Then Sutton goes missing. She leaves a note saying don't look for me. Ethan talks to her mother and friends and then goes to the police. He of course is suspected in her murder. She claims he hurt her and possibly killed their baby.

Sutton goes off to another country, changes identity and then finds a knife in her apartment. She is being framed for a murder and is also missing from America.

Should Sutton trust her best friend Ivy who helped her get away? Did Ethan really murder Sutton? Who really killed their baby? Can they make it through all of this?