emileereadsbooks's reviews
1113 reviews

So many motherhood books are telling you how to mother. How to deal with discipline, sleep, and what and how to feed them. This book focuses in on the mom. How motherhood can be isolating and lonely. How you can feel lost in a new world full of conflicting information and a new life relying on you to figure it all out. But this book focuses in on how to find your footing. How to surround yourself with wisdom and love and support and not do it all by yourself. I thought it was encouraging, vulnerable, and a great message for me as I navigate my still new season of life being a mom. 

 

I was a peripheral watcher of the Duggars on TV. I would watch it if it was on somewhere, but I was never a dedicated fan. But still being aware of who they are and some of the controversy surrounding their family, I was interested in this book. And I'm so glad I picked it up. I devoured the audio in a single day. The book is written to give you enough facts to let you know what is going on while also being vulnerable about Jill's personal story in the midst of the craziness of her family and their reality show fame. 

I also love how her faith has grown and evolved to be her own and a faith based on the Bible and not what men tell her to believe. It's a powerful testimony of God revealing the truth in someone's life. 

If you like a powerful, well written memoir and haven't picked this one up yet, I highly recommend it. 

Thank you Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook. All opinions are my own.

This is a romance where the characters get into a relationship fairly early in the book and it makes so such sweet moments as they carve out time for each other and make room for the relationship in their lives. I love a book that ends in a tidy bow and this one pays off with a very tender HEA. 

If you like a sweet romance that isn't a slow burn, give this one a shot!  

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This is a closed door, kisses only rom com. It is the first in a series, but can be read as a stand alone. 

Thank you to the author for the free book. All opinions are my own.

Kai sees Mila as a friend. A friend he wants to help out with the inn she owns. A friend who has a loveable 7 year old son. A friend that he wants to date. Wait, scratch that. Definitely not. A friend he wants to protect by pretending to date her. There, that's it... He's just stepping in to keep her ex-husband at bay. There is definitely no possibility of a relationship. Mila is just kind and beautiful and feels like home. But she is very anti a real relationship. So, this is very much not happening. 

But...the more they spend time together pretending to date, the less comfortable Kai feels staying in the friend zone. Is a real relationship even a possibility?
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All the warm fuzzies and butterflies for this one. Kai and Mila are mature adults who are well established in who they are, so they don't play games with their feelings (although they try really hard to stuff them down and ignore them). So, as they navigate these fake dating waters, their comfort level as friends really shines as they grow even closer. I adore a relationship that is setting up the forms for a solid foundation. 

Many single parent books don't feature the kid or kids too much. But here Noah is his own loveable character. His relationship with Kai is so heartwarming and you can see why that is a reason that Mila finally allows herself to admit her feelings for Kai. 

This book is a sloowwww burn, so the tension just keeps ratcheting up and when they do finally kiss, it is such a sweet moment and worthwhile payoff. 

Savannah Scott continues to knock it out of the park in this series. She balances hilarious shenanigans with heart so well and gives us those characters we have grown to love in previous books as side characters we can love here.  
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This is a closed door, kisses only rom com. It is part of a series but can be read as a stand alone. 

Content Note (from the author): In this story, you will read about: Divorce (not on page), child abandonment (not on page), parental reconciliation with child (on page), and death of parents (character backstory).

Thank you to the author for the complimentary book. All opinions are my own. 

Dr. Lauren Westlake is the assistant curator of Egyptology for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And two new opportunities have arisen for her.

One is from her father who has historically been full of empty promises and unmet expectations, has invited her on one of his Egyptian excursions. 

The other is from her childhood friend, Detective Joe Caravello, to join him to help sniff out art fraud among New York's wealthiest patrons. 

As Lauren works with both men, things get more complicated and the tangle of politics, emotions, and loyalties become more and more complicated. Who can she trust, and how will she stay out of harm's way?
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This story has layers and layers of overlap and of connection. Lauren's relationship with these men that have given her these options really drives her motivations and you get to see the why instead of being told why she does what she does. 

I had not read any book that focuses on the Egyptomania during this time before, so this book gave me a new appreciation for all the the information gathered during this time that we still use to look at the world today. 

Also New York is a character in it's own right in this book. It is celebrated as well as reviewed with a loving touch. 

If you are looking for a unique historical fiction, check this one out! 
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This is a closed door historical mystery/romance. It is the first in a series. 

Thank you to the author and Bethany House for the gifted book!

Elsa has always dreamed of one day becoming an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History. But she is currently stuck just doing grunt work behind the scenes. However, when a deceased patron bequeaths his bird collection to the museum, Elsa is sent to their Gothic country mansion to catalog the collection. 

The change of scenery isn't the only change in Elsa's life. For at the mansion, she befriends the gardener and her intriguing daughter as well as the gentlemen working as the architectural salvage dealers. All together this group of new friends works to unearth the treasure that holds the key to the future for the gardener and her daughter. 

Elsa also is facing changes to her own health as her childhood illness continues to haunt her. 

Can Elsa overcome the external and internal pressures, as well as the secrets old and new, to secure hope for the future for herself and her new friends?
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I was so invested in every facet of this story. Elsa's struggles, excitements, and dreams became my own as I felt like I too was wandering through NYC and this Gothic country estate. So many topics were covered in this book, but I felt that they were woven seamlessly together. 

Elsa's struggles with her disability because of childhood polio felt so grounded and real. It added such depth to her character. 

This book has a romance, yes, but the relationships between all the key players are the fabric from which this story is woven. And I was invested in every facet of those stories the whole way through. 

If you want a unique look at 1920's NYC, give this one a shot. 
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This is a closed door historical mystery/romance. It is the second in a series but can be read as a stand alone. 

Thank you to the author and Bethany House for the gifted book! All opinions are my own.

What a lovely ending to this series. And this book also felt like a big warm thank you to the parents who have read this journey that Ivan has been on. As Ivan becomes a parent he philosophizes about what that role means, as well as his role as a silverback in captivity. I think it handled the burden of closing out this series well, I love the happy ending for Ivan and his found and biological family. But I feel it might be a little too deep for some young readers. They will definitely need to be invested in the series as a whole and not just jump in here. 

 

Ruby is having to deal with a lot of emotions as she is headed into her Tuskday, the marker of her growing up. I appreciate how this book models for kids how bad and good things can go hand in hand in life, but the bad doesn't have to ruin the good. You can hold space for both. The elephant facts and antics were fascinating for me as an elephant lover, and I also loved getting to see some of Ivan and Bob. This book can be read as a stand alone but would be better read as part of the series. 

Thanks to HarperKids and Netgalley for the gifted book. All opinions are my own.

I previously really enjoyed Louisa June and the Nazis in the Waves and this one lived up to my expectations. 

Bea is all alone in the world, left by her dad to take care of her sister, and she has to find within herself the grit and perseverance to eek out a life amidst hardship while also seeking the goodness of others to help her along the way. 

Elliot writes the voice of a young girl so well. She is plucky and determined and you just want to wrap her in a hug and help her out. 

I loved the snap shot of the time period this book was. It shared the hardships in a way that makes them understandable, but not too gruesome for a middle grade audience. 

Horse girls will love this book, but also so will any reader who appreciates some good middle grade historical fiction. 

Thanks to Netgalley and Katherine Tegen Books for the gifted book. All opinions are my own.

It's 1940 and Bramble Heath is a small village shaken nightly by Nazi bombs because of the location of the local airbase, and Annie worries nightly about the people of their village and their safety. Annie is the village nurse and midwife, so it's logical that if someone needs a safe place to leave a baby, they leave it with her. But Annie knows that since whoever left the baby left their ration book with her, they are in a desperate situation. 

So with the help of her friends and neighbors, Annie begins to try and piece together the clues in an effort to reunite this child and her mother. But when social services steps in and forces her to accelerate her timeline, Annie has to really press forward to find the best solution for everyone. 
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I really enjoy a WWII Homefront book and this one did not disappoint. It is layered beyond the story of the ration book baby with romance and family drama and community pride. 

A theme of this book is the goodness of people beyond status or clout or looks. It's about how you navigate through life based on your principles. I really enjoyed the angst of this novel feeling earned as they moved through loss of people, hope, and security to find what life had to offer them on the other side of grief. 

If you enjoy a WWII Homefront novel that ends in a tidy bow, you'll want to check this one out. 
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Content Note: War violence (bombings), medical content, burns, child abandonment, prejudice

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the gifted book. All opinions are my own.