After a couple of years considering joining Book of the Month, I finally did it! I was so excited to get my first blue box. Picking my first book was not easy, but when I read about a new book that is a reimagining of Jane Eyre, I couldn’t say no.
When I heard the title The Wife Upstairs, it definitely reminded me of Jane Eyre and for good reason. The Wife Upstairs is a contemporary reimagining of Jane Eyre set in the American south, Birmingham, Alabama to be specific. I’ve always loved Jane Eyre. I read it once in my twenties at my mom’s insistence that it was an amazing book (she was right!). Then I read it a couple more times in college while studying women in literature and English literature. Jane Eyre is one of my all-time favorite protagonists. In a time when women, especially young ladies, were expected to be silent and compliant, she was vocal, independent, and brave. Realizing that The Wife Upstairs drew inspiration from this classic and personal favorite, I couldn’t wait to start reading.
Continue reading “My First Book of the Month Pick: The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins”
This month I am thrilled to be a part of the Revell Reads blog tour for Erin Bartels’s newest release, The Words Between Us. I was drawn to this book right away by – you guessed it – the cover art! I have often admitted to not necessarily judging books by their covers but being drawn to books by their covers. I mean, that’s what cover art is supposed to do, right? The cover of this new novel is books – stacks of books upon stacks of books. We see the pages but never the covers or spines. I liked that. It made the cover intriguing. Between the cover art and the title, it was clear that books and writing play a big role in this story, and that is always a plus for me. There is also a grey feather loosely placed among the books, which I found out is attributed to a certain feathered character who ended up becoming a favorite of mine.
This is one of those rare instances when I’d heard of a movie before I’d heard of the book it was based on. My hubby and I made a trip to the movies recently, and one of the trailers we saw was for a new movie about a young girl with a rare illness that prevents her from going outside. Basically, she lives as a girl in a bubble. But what happens when she falls in love with the boy next door? Will she risk everything to be able to go outside, to be a part of his world, of the world? The trailer looked great and reminded me of Me Before You, a great read about a relationship dealing with circumstances beyond their control. So imagine my joy when I heard the line, “based on the best-selling book.” I knew I had to read Everything, Everything!
Fatal Frost is the first book in the Defenders of Justice series by Nancy Mehl. I was excited to receive this copy as the synopsis from the publisher sounded intriguing and unique for a Christian fiction novel.
Kaitlin Scirri