What To Read This January

I’ve had a solid reading month-I’ve been curled by the fire at home trying to stay warm and cozy with a book, so the cold weather has definitely been good for my reading habits. Some thrillers, some romcoms, and one of the most dysfunctional families that I’ve ever encountered in a book. I also started reading Harry Potter before bedtime with Cece, which was something that I did with the older girls and am having such a great time doing again! Harry Potter never gets old for me. Here’s a quick rundown of what I’ve gotten into recently. -Eloise

Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann

Well, if you ever want to feel better about your dysfunctional family, then this is the book to do it! Telling the story of the Briscoe family, who’s scandals are once again the talk of their small town in Texas, is no easy task, since each family member seems to embody a different deadly sin-pride, anger, jealousy, you name it. Even though they have all the issues, I did root for (some) of them and want them to figure out how to actually be a happy family.

Heard It In A Love Song by Tracey Garvis Graves

Layla is a music teacher, recently divorced and struggling to regain her confidence and passion for life. Josh is a single dad, who’s wife just left him and who’s getting a lot of attention from the mom’s in the carpool line. When he strikes up a conversation with Layla at school drop-off, they form a friendship that could lead to more. This was a mellow read-it wasn’t a dramatic love story but more like a slow awakening and as much about the character’s life potential as their love lives.

They All Fall Down by Roxanne St. Clair

This YA thriller that begins with Kenzie Summerall, a junior at Vienna High, waking one morning to find that she’s been voted on the Hotties List, a list that will instantly catapult its members to popularity. But when the girls on the list started to die, it becomes clear that it’s about something more. I have to say, this book went in a wild direction that I did not anticipate when I grabbed it, but it was fun and fast and very entertaining.

The Last Resort by Marissa Stapley

This thriller is set at a resort in Mexico, home to a couples’ therapy retreat, run by well-known doctors, Miles and Grace Markell. Their latest group has arrived for two weeks in paradise with secrets and issues to work through, and it’s clear from the outset that the couple in charge of it all has a few secrets of their own. The whole situation turns dangerous as a hurricane heads towards the resort and the couples’ problems come to a potentially violent turning point. I was mixed on this book-I rooted for some of the characters, but I was also hoping that some of them would get swept away in the hurricane, and I guessed some of the twists way ahead of time.

It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey

This was such a happy book for me. LA party girl Piper, gets into trouble one too many times and her family sends her to the little fishing town in Washington, where the father she never met was born and raised, to run his old dive bar and learn about responsibility. The town seems to be populated entirely by cute old people and hot (grumpy) fisherman. Of course, all kinds of romance and hijinks and life lessons ensue. It was the perfect book for me to read when I was in a funk-can’t recommend it more if you like this kind of book!