Latest Good Reads No. 2

I have found there is a direct correlation between my stress level and whether or not I am reading a good book.

Chances are, if I’m reading often, I’m so much less stressed and usually sleeping better. If I’m not reading as often, then I’m way more easily stressed, not sleeping as well and usually getting far more headaches.

I love to fall into a great book.

The problem is that I don’t always allow myself to read as much as I would like to. Since the holidays though, I’ve been making it a point to always have a good book nearby and have zoomed through five since the end of December.

And they were so good. 

If you’re an unashamed, freak flag flying book nerd like me and always on the hunt for your next good read, here are the books I’ve most recently read. Hope you love them too!

Latest Reads

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First, I went on a Karen White binge.

Spinning the Moon by Karen White

Spinning the Moon is actually two novels in one book – In the Shadow of the Moon and Whispers of Goodbye, which are Karen White’s first novels. Karen White became a favorite of mine with her Tradd Street series, so I wanted to give some of her other books a whirl, and oh my stars, she does not disappoint! I literally read through both of these stories in a matter of days. It was holiday vacation, so I had ample time to read, but still I don’t know if I would have been able to put the book down if it hadn’t been vacation.

The first story, In the Shadow of the Moon, is about a woman named Laura who inadvertently discovers she can travel through time and finds herself in Civil War era Georgia on the same plantation that she had actually bought in the future. I’m usually not one for time travel stories, but this one proved me wrong – it’s sooooo good. She has to fight to keep the future from changing and in the process falls in love as well.

The second story, Whispers of Goodbye, is set after the Civil War in Louisiana. No time traveling in this one, but Catherine, who has lost her husband and son, finds herself traveling to Louisiana to help her sister who has written for her, but discovers the sister is missing when she arrives in Louisiana. Not only does she have to figure out what’s happened to her sister, but there is also a web of family secrets to untangle.  Like I said, you get both In the Shadow of the Moon and Whispers of Goodbye in Spinning the Moon and the book is still less than $10.

A Long Time Gone by Karen White

Many small town girls dream of chasing their dreams in a big city. In A Long Time Gone, Vivien left after high school to do just that, but a decade later, she finds herself going back home to try and put back together the pieces of her broken life. However, home isn’t how she left it. Her grandmother who raised her is no longer there and when a storm hits and lightening strikes a tree’s roots, exposing a body, Vivien is left trying to sort out fact from fiction in her family’s past. What she doesn’t realize is that while diving into her family’s history, she also finds herself.

The Forgotten Room by Karen White, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig

I was a little skeptical of The Forgotten Room at first because it had not one, but three authors. While I love Karen White’s work, I wasn’t so sure I would love it when paired with two other authors. I had nothing to worry about – The Forgotten Room is amazing. The story follows three generations of women who are all connected not only by blood, but also by this forgotten room that each woman has stumbled onto in some way in the past, but never passed down the knowledge of what happened in that room to her daughter. Because the book follows three different generations, it is set in three different time periods – the late 1800’s, the 1920s and the 1940s. The Forgotten Room holds a secret that unlocks the mystery, secrets and questions that each woman has carried with her.

Burying the Honeysuckle Girls by Emily Carpenter

Whoa. This book was very much one of those “suck you in and can’t put it down one of books” for me. It was actually suggested by one of you guys on one of my last book posts and I’m so glad you mentioned it! It is filled with emotion, heartache, mystery and dark family secrets. The book is set in Alabama and the main character is Althea who is on a search to discover why both her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother died on their 30th birthday. The clock is ticking for her, because her 30th birthday is in less than three weeks and she doesn’t want the same fate her mother and grandmothers got. The search takes her all the way into the Alabama mountains in the 1930s only to discover how far the men in her family are willing to go to preserve the family’s reputation. Burying the Honeysuckle Girls is definitely a favorite of mine and I can’t wait to see what else this author will do. P.S. This book is also only $5 on Amazon.

And coming up next on my reading list…

The Guests on South Battery by Karen White

Karen White’s fifth book in The Tradd Street Series is finally out and I’m so excited to read it! If you love a good ghost story that’s steeped in history and not far fetched, then you will love The Tradd Street Series. Start with the first book though, The House on Tradd Street, and work your way through the series. I promise that you won’t be disappointed!

And as always, I want your book suggestions! Leave me your favorite latest reads in the comments! 

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