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2024 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (Hosted by Yours Truly)

My Progress:


30 / 30 books. 100% done!

2024 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama (1)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas (1)
- California (11)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (2)
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (3)
- Georgia (4)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois (4)
- Indiana (4)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland (1)
- Massachusetts (4)
- Michigan (1)
- Minnesota (2)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri (1)
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada (2)
- New Hampshire (1)
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (9)
- North Carolina (4)
- North Dakota (1)
- Ohio (3)
- Oklahoma (2)
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania (2)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota (1)
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (4)
- Utah (4)
- Vermont (2)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (3)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming (2)
- Washington, D.C.* (2)

International:
- Argentina (1)
- Australia (5)
- Austria (1)
- Bolivia (1)
- Canada (3)
- China (2)
- England (25)
- France (1)
- Ghana (1)
- India (1)
- Indonesia (1)
- Ireland (4)
- Italy (1)
- Poland (2)
- Russia (2)
- Scotland (3)
- The Netherlands (1)

My Progress:


51 / 51 states. 100% done!

2024 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

My Progress:


52 / 50 books. 104% done!

2024 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge


36 / 50 books. 72% done!

Booklist Queen's 2024 Reading Challenge

My Progress:


52 / 52 books. 100% done!

2024 52 Club Reading Challenge

My Progress:


51 / 52 books. 98% done!

2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

My Progress:


37 / 40 books. 93% done!

2024 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge


18 / 40 books. 45% done!

2024 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

My Progress:


25 / 25 cozies. 100% done!

2024 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge

2024 Mystery Marathon Reading Challenge

My Progress


5 / 26.2 miles (4th lap). 19% done!

Mount TBR Reading Challenge

My Progress


48 / 50 books. 96% done!

2024 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge

My Progress:


98 / 109 books. 90% done!

Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge

My Progress


52 / 52 books. 100% done!

Disney Animated Movies Reading Challenge

My Progress


137 / 165 books. 83% done!

The 100 Most Common Last Names in the U.S. Reading Challenge

My Progress:


88 / 100 names. 88% done!

The Life Skills Reading Challenge

My Progress:


32 / 80 skills. 40% done!
Saturday, March 31, 2018

Heartfelt Southern Romance Authentically Messy and Satisfying

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Living with her mother has been a blessing for 21-year-old Shandi Pierce as she tries to finish college and raise her young son on her own.  As reluctant as she is to leave the only home she's ever known, Shandi knows it's time.  She needs to be closer to the GSU campus in Atlanta and her brilliant boy needs the kind of education that can't be had in the small town where they now live.  While she tries to stay out of her parents' bitter post-divorce battles, this time Shandi's father has made her an offer she can't refuse—a condo in the city.  It's far enough away to allow her and her 3-year-old some independence, but also close enough for little Nathan to visit both of his maternal grandparents often.  As much as she will miss her mother, Shandi knows making this move is the right thing to do.

She doesn't get very far away, however, before disaster strike.  A gas station robbery turns ugly, trapping Shandi, Nathan, and several others inside the mini-mart with a very agitated gunman.  It's a strange place for romance, but Shandi can't help but fall hard for the handsome stranger who bravely steps between Nathan and a loaded gun.  The alarming incident may be over, but Shandi's relationship with William Ashe is just beginning.  Although the 33-year-old geneticist is haunted by an aching loss and watched like a hawk by his disapproving bulldog of a best friend, Shandi's determined to make him hers.  She's willing to fight for her unexpected hero, even if it means embracing someone else's love story instead of her own.

I've enjoyed several of Joshilyn Jackson's heartfelt Southern novels and this one, Someone Else's Love Story, is no exception.  It's not my favorite of those I've read, but I still found the story authentic, touching, and realistically messy.  The characters are sympathetic, their challenges compelling.  While none of them get neat, perfect endings, the novel still feels satisfying.  Yes, I could have done with a less sexed-up, more PG-13 version, but all in all, I liked this one.  

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of other Joshilyn Jackson novels, especially The Almost Sisters)

Grade:


If this were a movie, it would be rated:


for strong language, violence, and sexual content

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find
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Reading

<i>Reading</i>
Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie

Listening

<i>Listening</i>
The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth



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