What I’ve read lately

One of my goals for 2025 is to get back into the habit of regularly reading, and to include more fiction in my stack of books. So far this year, I have read (or in one case – attempted to read) nine books. Most of them were fascinating and a great stress reliever. I’m sharing my honest review here. I am not providing a summary of the book, or at least not more than a cursory summary. But summaries are available at the links I’ve listed for each.

The Last Love Note

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Last Love Note is a story about loss with a happy ending. The lead character lost her husband and is raising their young son alone, but with the support of some wonderful friends. I’m a fan of happy endings, and this one was very satisfying. I am not of fan of unrealistic love stories, and this is not one of those at all.

The Women

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Women is a captivating look at women who fought in Vietnam. It is also a love story, with a very surprise ending. I had mixed feelings on the ending but the story overall was hard to put down.

Small Great Things

⭐

I tried really hard to get interested in Small Great Things, but it just wasn’t my style. I’ve been reading as a stress reliever, and even stories that are exciting still work as stress relief for me because they distract from everyday life. This book just caused me to feel more stressed, maybe because of the focus on social issues. I decided this one was not worth it and quit half-way through.

The First Mistake

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The First Mistake had so many twists and turns! I read the whole thing in one evening and could not put it down. It is another story of love and loss, but it is also a thriller and pretty shocking at the end.

The Many Lives of Mama Love

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I didn’t realize The Many Lives of Mama Love was a true story and autobiography until the end. The story was a page-turner, and knowing this is a true story makes it all the more impressive. It is a true story of redemption, and told very well.

The Heiress

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Heiress is a mystery with lots of twists and turns, and I did not foresee the ending until right before the author revealed it. I couldn’t put this one down.

Yellowface

⭐⭐⭐

Oh my goodness, Yellowface is a book that I didn’t really like but couldn’t stop reading – how does that make sense? The main character made some very unethical choices and lots of political issues were a focus (which is the type of book that I generally don’t like), and yet I HAD to know what was going to happen next. I stopped reading this book twice, and both times, by the next day I decided to give it another chance because I wanted to know the outcome. I don’t know if this is a good review or a bad one – I’m giving three stars because this author definitely kept me wanting to read the story, even though I didn’t like the story.

Winter Solstice

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Until I looked up Winter Solstice online, I didn’t realize it the last book in a 4-part series. I still followed the story without any trouble, and I’d like to read the previous books. Multiple relationships are followed in this book, both within families and across families that live all in one area. The author makes you care about the characters and I really liked this story.

The Last Lecture

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Maybe it is just because of where I am in my life, but The Last Lecture really spoke to me personally. Every day is a gift we often take for granted, and this book is a reminder to treasure our time.

I’m linking up with Marilyn, Jennifer, Tanya, and Joanne to share my shelf.