first friday five: book edition
similar dress | shoes | bag | earrings
Happy Friday, loves! Does anyone else feel like this week totally flew by?! I know that's usually the case after a three day weekend but this one felt even faster than most. Totally not complaining. We were anticipating a fun week full of pool time but instead, the rain has hit again in Houston and doesn't appear to be going anywhere anytime soon (until next Wednesday). So we've traded in the swimsuits for rain boots and are resorting to museum trips instead of the neighborhood pool. Bear doesn't seem to mind and we're used to lots of rain around here, but this mama is still ready for some sunshine!
I've wanted to do something fun & different on HH for awhile and it finally hit me this morning to start a Friday series! Every Friday, I'll share 5 things that I'm currently loving or just feel like rambling about. Sometimes the pictures may accompany the theme (like 5 recipes) and other times, like today, it may be a smorgasbord of photos and babbling that don't really go together. But hopefully it'll work and we'll just roll with it if not. :) To kick off the series, I want to share 5 books that I've read recently- recently being over the past year because I don't read as much as I'd like to- that are great summer reads!
1. The Kite Runner
My friend Michelle let me borrow this book about a month ago (oh hey Michelle, I need to give you your book back!) and I read it in just a few days. It's not something I'd normally choose as I usually go for romance/mystery but I could not put this book down! It's a compelling story set in Afghanistan that shows the friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father's servant. The relationship between the boys and their fathers will shock you and leave you thinking about this book for weeks after you've finished.
2. The Perfect Stranger
If you read any book this summer, this has to be it! This is one of those books you'll stay up all night reading long after your eyes are burning because you just.can't.put.it.down. A rundown of the plot: former journalist Leah Stevens loses her career, boyfriend and life in Boston in the blink of an eye, so when she bumps into an old friend, Emmy Grey, they decide together to start over their lives in a small town in Pennsylvania. Leah begins a new job as a high school teacher and life in Pennsylvania is an adjustment, but everything seems to be going well, until a woman with an eerie resemblance to Leah is left for dead near their house and Emmy goes missing. || This book has everything I love in a book: mystery, a little romance, and spine-tingling suspense.
3. Girl on the Train
My brother and SIL gave me this book last Christmas and I read it in two days- then my Mom read it in one! There's so much that goes into the explanation of this novel that I can't even begin to shorten down the plot for y'all- just know that this is a must-read! Also prepare yourself that the book is a little dark and doesn't exactly leave you feeling like butterflies and rainbows. But it definitely makes you think if you like books like that!
4. The Girl with No Past
This is another thriller, similar style to that of Girl on the Train. This book is very suspenseful and will have you wide-eyed with every page turn. The plot: Leah Mills lives a life of a fugitive, kept on the run by one terrible day from her past. It is a lonely life, without a social life or friends until-longing for a connection– she meets Julian. For the first time she dares to believe she can live a normal life. Then, on the twentieth anniversary of that day, she receives a card. Someone knows the truth about what happened. Someone who won’t stop until they’ve destroyed the life Leah has created. || This book, you guys...I have the chills again just thinking about it!
5. Gone Without a Trace
Hannah Monroe comes home from work one day to find that her boyfriend, Matt, is gone. His belongings have disappeared from their house, and every call she made to him and every text she ever sent has vanished from her phone. As Hannah begins her obsessive search for Matt, the reader is forced to constantly question her sanity- did Matt even ever exist? Maybe Hannah is the crazy one? || Yet another thriller that is honestly a little slow in the beginning but you'll be so glad you stuck with it about halfway through because the second half is intense. The ending is a little far-fetched yet shocking and you'll likely have to reread the last few pages 25 times to wrap your head around the unexpected twist.
So now I need to know, pretty please, what are some of your book recommendations?! I need to stock up on summer reads and I'd love to hear your favorites!
Hope you have a great weekend!
xo, Britt
