Just like that 2019 is coming to a close! This month has been wonderful for so many reasons, with a lot of really great books… and also some not so great ones. All in all, this year has been my best reading year yet. More to come here as I will be doing a yearly wrap up, and a look ahead very soon. But in the meantime, I urge you to take a look at your reading life in 2019 and how you want to move ahead with it in 2020.

Now, onto the books…

What I’ve been Reading:

Beyond the Point, by Claire Gibson. (4 stars). This novel follows three women that are attending the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. They are brought together by the rigorous training, but also somewhat plotted against each other, until 9/11 happens. After the tragic events on 9/11, these three women are pulled in different directions, but bound together by their friendship. I really liked this novel, and the perspective of the U.S. military was fascinating. It covers really big topics like heartbreak, grief, and forgiveness. This novel almost makes you crave to be part of a team, and the bonds that the characters in this novel had made.

The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey. (5 stars). The most perfect novel for  this time of year. Based on a Russian fairytale, Jack and Mabel are recent settlers in Alaska during the 1920’s. They have come to the understanding that after years of trying to have a child, they will not be able to… and it is pushing them apart. But in a spontaneous moment during the first snowfall, Jack and Mabel make a child out of snow. The next morning, the snow child is gone, but they glimpse a young child running through the trees. Like I said, this novel is perfect. Ivey really summed up the desperation of wanting a child, and the grief that comes with infertility. It’s as if this novel has transported you to Alaska, and breathed life into a magical fairytale.

What the Wind Knows, by Amy Harmon. (3 stars). Anne Gallagher grew up listening to the stories her grandfather told her about his homeland of Ireland. When he dies, she takes his ashes to his childhood home. Anne has been consumed with learning about the history of the Easter rising prior to this trip, and becomes literally thrown into the middle of it. Somehow she finds herself pulled into history, and learns first hand some of the history she has been studying. This novel had so much potential… but I just found it a little long, and dragged out. Two things that have my interests peaked now though are Yeats’ poetry, and doing some more reading on the Easter Rising.

The Bromance Bookclub, Lyssa Kay Adams. (2.5 stars). I needed a palate cleanser awhile back, and in most cases a smart romance is always perfect. Ugh, this one didn’t really satiate that need. Gavin plays baseball in the major leagues, but even though he is hitting it out of the park in ball… his marriage is not. His wife Thea has let it slip that she’s actually been faking it in bed their whole relationship, and Gavin flips out. Well, this is the last straw for Thea, and she asks for a divorce. Gavin reaches out to his friends who decide to let him into their “book club”, which includes cheesy romance novels. The book club believes that men could learn a lot about women, if they just took the time to read them. Like I said, this wasn’t my favourite, but it did cleanse my palate for some deeper reading.

A Quote to Ponder:

Although What the Wind Knows wasn’t the best book I’ve ever read, I did think that Amy Harmon had put a lot of thought into this book. I really appreciated the poetry that opened every chapter, and some of the sentences were really thought provoking. The quote below really stuck with me and made me reflect.

We turn memories into stories, and if we don’t, we lose them. If the stories are gone, then the people are gone too.