It’s still hard for me to not consider audiobooks cheating when it comes to my quarterly roundups, but WOW did Q4 kick my butt between travel and wedding season! It was the only way to keep myself sane, and I blew through so many books this way. They ranged all over from historical fiction to thrillers to just plain fun, and I had a great time reading them all!!
89. A Bad Day for Sunshine: Darynda Jones
90. Cilka’s Journey: Heather Morris
91. American Royals: Katharine McGee
92. 28 Summers: Elin Hilderbrand
93. Majesty: Katharine McGee
94. The Flatshare: Beth O’Leary
95. Vendetta in Death: J.D. Robb
96. The Heart’s Invisible Furies: John Boyne
97. Confessions on the 7:45: Lisa Unger
98. Little Secrets: Jennifer Hillier
99. Love Lettering: Kate Clayborne
100. Dangerous Minds: Janet Evanovich
101. The Wife Between Us: Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
102. The Unhoneymooners: Christina Lauren
103. Call Your Daughter Home: Deb Spera
104. The Nature of Fragile Things: Susan Meissner
105. The Ex Hex: Erin Sterling
106. The Stranger Inside: Laura Benedict
107. The Maidens: Alex Michaelides
108. Next Year in Havana: Chanel Cleeton
109. The Lost Apothecary: Sarah Penner
110. The Stolen Lady: Laura Morelli
111. The Broken Girls: Simone St. James
112. The Golden Hour: Beatriz Williams
113. Wild Women and the Blues: Denny S. Bryce
114. The Forest of Vanishing Stars: Kristin Harmel
115. The Things We Cannot Say: Kelly Rimmer
116. Tools of Engagement: Tessa Bailey
117. Of Women and Salt: Gabriela Garcia
118. Mexican Gothic: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
This quarter’s favorites: Cilka’s Journey, The Heart’s Invisible Furies, Call Your Daughter Home, The Broken Girls, The Forest of Vanishing Stars, and The Things We Cannot Say.
Cilka’s Journey: This was written by the author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and coincides briefly with those characters – this follows Cilka, a woman who is sentenced to a Siberian labor camp after Auschwitz Birkenau is liberated because she is convicted of helping the Nazis. Based on a true story.
The Heart’s Invisible Furies: This has been on my to-be-read list for almost 2 years and it was worth every minute. This novel follows Cyril, born out of wedlock in 1940s Ireland throughout his life as he discovers himself and his past. I haven’t felt this engrossed in a book and its characters in YEARS. My heart broke, soared, and tripped during the telling of Cyril’s life. If you only read a single book I’ve ever recommended, make it this one.
Call Your Daughter Home: Three women are entwined together in South Carolina in the lead-up to the Great Depression. One woman has 4 daughters she must save from starvation or her abusive husband, one is a freed slave, and one is a plantation owner – all bound together by the events of their small town. I couldn’t put this one down!
The Broken Girls: Equal parts creepy & sad, this book didn’t stop moving. From the moment we learn of Idlewild Hall, we wonder: did Erica’s sister really die at the hands of her boyfriend? Does the supposedly haunted problematic girls school need to be restored? It does jump between 1950 & 2014, so be warned (especially if this isn’t your type of book!).
The Forest of Vanishing Stars: I loved Kristin Harmel’s previous novel, and this one was no different. A woman finds herself alone in 1941 in the forest in Eastern Europe after having been kidnapped from German parents. She discovers a group of Jews fleeing the Nazis from nearby towns and unaware of the outside world, is horrified to learn what is happening. She teaches them how to survive in the wilderness, but is eventually betrayed in a German occupied village where her past comes back with a vengeance. Inspired by true events.
The Things We Cannot Say: Alina grows up in a Polish village in the beginning days of the war, and reminds unconcerned about the Nazis who are slowly starting to take the village over. She is instead waiting for the day her Tomasz gets home from university in Warsaw so they can be married, but little by little the village is torn apart by invading forces and then Tomasz disappears. Where has he gone? How will Alina survive? I absolutely LOVED this one.
I can’t believe it took me so long to get this one up as the end of Q1 for 2022 is getting closer, but I am so proud of myself for getting past my 100 book goal last year and can’t wait to smash the record this year!!
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