I did a lot of traveling this month so I wanted to read lighter books…that didn’t always work out and I didn’t read as much as I thought I would.  Busy Busy! I am finding that I am losing interest in some of the books I am reading too.  For example I started three books on Saturday while reading at the beach and just couldn’t get into them.  Guess they weren’t “beach reads” .  Hopefully I will find some good ones for this holiday weekend coming up 🙂

If you follow my Goodreads you will find books not on this list…that is because I read them a while ago but didn’t add them…just trying to keep up.

Stone Barrington Series by Stuart Woods – (Mystery) I LOVE this series so much I read the next five books.  It seems to be my fall back series when I can’t get seem to get into anything.  Luckily for me there are 27 books in the series!!  Super fast reads, I love all the characters and I can’t wait to see where the author takes us.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley – (Mystery) This could almost be defined as YA since the main character is a teenager but its not quite.  It was an interesting read but not fast.  Based in 1950’s England and from a young person’s view its different and fairly interesting.  Not sure I would read any more of them.

Maid for the Billionaire by Ruth Cardello – (Romance) Typical romance book but still a fun and fast read.

Arrows of the Queen Series by Mercedes Lackey – (YA Fantasy) Yes, Yes…I know I am behind but I never read these when I was young.  I LOVED them , fast reads and great characters.  There are only three in this series and its a great as an introduction to fantasy.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See – (Fiction) This book was recommended to me through this blog and I can see why.  It was an awesome book but disturbing so I could only take it in doses…which was hard to do since it was such a page turner.  You know there’s trouble coming but you don’t know when or why and then when it gets there you feel so sorry for them.  I learned a lot from this book about China, feet binding, arranged marriages etc… a definite must read!

Room by Emma Donoghue – (Fiction) I actually listed to this as an audio book but forgot to write about it.  As for the audio…it was awesome!  The narrators were good and really brought the book to life.  As for the book, it was told from a 5 year olds point of view and the author did a great job of doing that.  She didn’t use perfect English and she spoke like a kid would.  The book is a little disturbing and surprising but definitely worth listening to or reading.

The Shack by Wm Paul Young – (Religious Fiction) I read this one a few months ago too but forgot to write about it.  This book is really powerful especially in times of tragedy.  Its not a fast read, not because its not interesting but more because you need to reflect and think about things.  Its a great book if you are searching for answers but also a good book if you are a believer and need a reminder.

The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman – (Fiction) Unfortunately, this is one of those books I couldn’t finish.  It was interesting and if I was reading it as part of a book club I would have finished it but I just couldn’t…I didn’t like the added drama.  I wanted the family to be happy and I just didn’t want to read about the drama.  I learned a lot about light houses though 🙂

The Serpent’s Shadow by Mercedes Lackey – (Retelling Fairy Tales) Part of the Elemental Master’s series.  Even though it is a RFT book you can’t really tell.  Its not as obvious as some of the others.  I loved how the author mixed in a lot of information about the Indian culture and gods.  Fast and interesting read!

Fortune Hunter Series by Christina Dodd – (Chic Lit) Great fun fast reads!

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George – (Retelling Fairy Tales) The story of the 12 princesses that ruined their shoes every night dancing.  I had never even heard of that before and then I read two books about it….weird.  In general this was a good read.  I liked the main characters and how the author strung everything together without being obvious.

Second Honeymoon by James Patterson – (Mystery) Another home run for JP.  Lots of twists and turns and I liked the two FBI agents who end up hooking up.  It will be interesting to see where they take this series.

Bloody Jack by LA Meyer – (Young Adult) I listened to this one on audio.  I loved it!  Its a story of a little girl who needs to work in England so she pretends to be a boy and works on a ship.  Great story and the authors voice was perfect!