January 2018 Book Review


Today’s post is my January Book Review!  Woohoo!  I love talking books, finding out what other people are reading, and sharing my reviews with you all too.  January is already behind us and I read 7 books!  I’m starting the new year of reading off strong toward my goal of reading 75 books this year, and my fun Book Bucket List of 2018.  Read about my Book Bucket List here.

So here we go, with my first monthly book review of 2018:




and a Miracle for a Mother Who Never Gave Up by Cathy LaGrow

Wow, what a way to start the new year.  This book will stay with me forever and it’s already a contender for my favorite book of the year.  This is a true story written with so much love.  It’s an adoption story, and a memoir about a beautiful family and an incredible woman.  Their story spanning decades of longing for the child she gave up at a young age, and how else her life was shaped in that time, is so beautifully written. Tears streamed down my face at so many words of this memoir. A quote from the author’s note, “May we each live a tale that needs to be told. May we never stop with the telling.”  I’m so grateful this family told their story.  They were also featured on the Today Show.  Here's that video.  Oh, my heart!  For how heartwarming I found it, I gave it 5 stars (would have given it 6 if I could). Book Bucket List item also checked off here:  Read a book based on a true story.


Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult

I love this author and read several by her last year, including one of my favorite books of 2017 (Small Great Things) so I always expect big things from her.  This one was not my favorite, as I think the storyline somehow got diluted in the facts and research of the setting which was in an elephant sanctuary.  I’m basically saying, there was a whole lot about elephants and a whole little about the main character and the mystery.  However, not unlike all the books I’ve read by Picoult, I was still totally impressed by how much she does research on a topic for her books.  There was a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming, and that always gets extra points on a rating scale too.  I gave this one 3 stars.


Church of the Small Things by Melanie Shankle

Ahh, I love a book like this that speaks to my heart in just the right way, at just the right time.  This is a Christian non-fiction book and the writer is so relatable, and laugh out loud funny.  Her Friends tv show references just get me.  Ha!  The book description has it right, “Melanie helps women embrace what it means to live a simple, yet incredibly meaningful life and how to find all the beauty and laughter that lies right beneath the surface of every moment.”  This book found me when I was needing to learn to show mercy and live a more graceful life even in challenging situations.  I so needed that!  I gave it 4 stars.


Confessions of a Domestic Failure by Bunmi Laditan


This easy read was funny and cute about first time motherhood and the race to be the perfect mom.  I found the author to be hilarious.  She created a lead character who a lot of first time moms could probably relate to, and the things she gets into just cracked me up.  I did happen to read most of this book during late night baby feedings every 3 hours, so obviously, I was right there with the character.  Anyone who uses the hashtag #momlife should go ahead and read this book and laugh through it.  I gave it 4 stars.


Catch of the Day by Kristan Higgins

I found Kristan Higgins to be my favorite new author last year, and one of her books was named in my favorites of 2017 (On Second Thought), but this one wasn’t my favorite of hers.  Man, why did that happen twice to me this month?  It was a good enough, light, beach read, chick lit book but I just didn’t really care all that much for the characters or what they were doing.  Darn.  I’ll need another Higgins book to redeem this one soon.  I gave Catch of the Day 3 stars.


I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez

I listened to this one on audio, and I must say, that added to the effect.  I loved the reader.  She totally fit the main character and was so real and funny in how she delivered.  The main character, Julia, loses her sister (who was perfect in everyone’s eyes) in a tragic accident, and then Julia is caught having to live up to her sister.  As the story goes on, it turns out maybe the perfect sister wasn’t so perfect after all.  The Mexican culture, traditions, and beliefs were weaved throughout the book.  The plot thickened while also focusing on the family relationship.  I gave it 3 stars.


Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner

Well, where I was disappointed in some books this month, this one totally made up for it to cap off my 7 reads in January.  I loved this book set in World War II.  I find that I do love to read about that era and am grateful to learn so much more about the war through books like this.  The war setting pulled at my heartstrings, and the family storyline did too.  The story just developed beautifully.  It was one of those books where I couldn’t wait to figure out how it ended, then when it ended, I was so sad it was over.  I wanted more, like I missed the characters after I finished it.  I also find it so interesting that over the last few months, I’ve been picking books that include a foster family storyline without even trying.  It’s like the universe knows my own foster journey is underway and somehow, I pick books that include that, and I think I cry every time that happens.  I gave this book 5 stars for being simply beautiful and unforgettable.


That's it for my January reads.  I hope if you add any of these to your To Read list, that you enjoy them too!  You can also find me on Goodreads, and I keep a running list of all the books I read on the Books tab from my home page.  In case you missed it, here's all the books I read in 2017 with star ratings and also links to last year's monthly book reviews.  You can also find out which books I named my 2017 favorites here.  Happy Reading to all!

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