book review – Page 14 – Mackenzie Carose

As The Page Turns: February Edition

March 12, 2018 By Mackenzie 16 Comments

Hey all! I am surprised at the number of books I was able to read in the last month or so, considering I have a baby at home, but I am not complaining! Let’s get on with it, shall we? 🙂

The Life We Bury

I liked this book but I figured out what was going on pretty quickly and so when the ending bared out what I believed to have happened, I was a bit disappointed. But, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good book, because it was!

Elizabeth Is Missing

I loved this book!!! Someone on the last book blog round-up mentioned this book and the premise sounded so interesting. A woman who has dementia, believes her friend Elizabeth to be missing. She leaves notes for herself that she thinks are clues, but she is also rapidly losing her mind. Does she find Elizabeth? Was she really missing? You’ll have to read it to find out! 😉

Mrs. Sherlock Holmes

This book was a total bait and switch. I picked this book to read thinking, along with several other readers it turns out, that it was about a true missing persons case that occurred in 1917 and the woman who solved the case. Turns out, the case doesn’t even take up half the book. The author spends an inordinate amount of time bringing up other cases that the detective/lawyer Grace has solved and even ones where she doesn’t. And it is boring as hell. Seriously.

This book jumps all over the place and you are like, WTF most of the time. It also suffered from a serious lack of editing.

Do not recommend. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.

Last Christmas in Paris

This book was another recommendation from the last book blog round-up. I thought it was just okay. This novel, about friends that write letters to each other during the First World War and promise to meet in Paris for Christmas, was predictable and trite. I also feel like the authors picked all the moments from history that happened during that time frame, and made all of them happen to those characters. A serious pet-peeve of mine.

No Shred of Evidence

Charles Todd is one of my favorite mystery authors, so it probably was a given that I would enjoy this book 🙂 If you enjoy post World War One mysteries concerning a detective from Scotland Yard, than definitely check out the Ian Rutledge series!

DID NOT FINISH: The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes. I tried and tried but could not get past the first couple of chapters. The book just couldn’t hold my interest. I hate giving up on a book, but I had to.

Want to see what I am reading or what I am up to? Check me out on Instagram! All these photos are from my page 🙂

What have you guys read lately? Let me know!

As The Page Turns: 2018 Reads So Far…

February 7, 2018 By Mackenzie 23 Comments

Last year my reading goal for the year was 50 books. I set my bar low just in case while dealing with pregnancy, I wouldn’t be able to read as much as usual. I ended up reading 69 books in 2017 🙂

This year, I set my goal pretty low (25 books) because I have a baby. There is just not the free time I used to have to be able to devour books. However, I have been able to sneak in some reading here and there during nap time (hers not mine), and here is what I have read so far since the beginning of the year:

Breathe Mama, Breathe by Shonda Moralis

I enjoyed reading this book about mindfulness for mamas because let’s face it, there are times when being a mom can get the best of us. This book shows how to have mini meditation breaks during the day and still keep your sanity while taking care of your kiddos! Definitely recommend for mamas no matter what stage of parenting you are in.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

LOVED THIS BOOK! I seriously had all the feelings about this novel and it is truly such a great read. This book about a young girl’s life in the early 1900’s in Brooklyn, is so good!

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Guys… I wanted to like this book. I really did. I adore Plath’s poetry and I thought I would feel the same about her stand-alone novel published right around the time of her suicide, but I just couldn’t. This book, which is a fictionalized version of Plath’s actual nervous breakdown and subsequent shock therapies, just really did not pull me in, as the main character wasn’t one that you could really understand and therefore, it was hard to sympathize with her subsequent downward spirals. I empathized with her plight, but felt not enough was explained as to how she got there.

A Talent For Murder by Andrew Wilson

Meh… I was so looking forward to reading this book and was just completely disappointed. Agatha Christie, the mystery novelist, really did disappear for 9 days in 1926, and this author decided to take that true story and put his own fictionalized twist on it. The results were underwhelming. I feel that some bad guy telling Agatha Christie to commit a murder for him or else he tells the world that her husband is having an affair and Christie agrees to do what he says, in order to forsake unwanted publicity, seems far-fetched to say the least.

The Address by Fiona Shaw

Such a great read!! This book which flips back and forth between 1885 and 1985 is so, so good! And it really is so interesting and the author gives great detail about how New York was in the late 1800’s.

The Year of Less by Cait Flanders

Cait blogs about mindfulness, minimalism, and personal finance. She wrote a book about how she decluttered her life and went on a shopping ban for a year and all the lessons she learned along the way. I have been reading Cait’s blog for years, so it was super cool to finally read her book! 🙂 I really enjoyed reading it.

And if y’all are interested in what I am currently reading, I post pictures of ’em over on Instagram. All the pictures in this post are from my account. Stop by and say hi! 🙂

What are you guys reading?

Currently: The January Edition

January 21, 2018 By Mackenzie 6 Comments

Hey guys! I can’t believe I am actually in front of the computer typing and not holding a baby! My hubby is on baby duty and helping out while I get a quick post in to let you guys know that I am still here. Tired, but still here 🙂

We have definitely adjusted to our new dynamic in being a household of four instead of three. Well, five instead of four if you count the cat, but still, we have found our groove. But mama is exhausted. Life with a newborn is not for the faint-hearted, but obviously it is well-worth it and I am oh so thankful for both of my beautiful daughters!

What I Enjoyed This Past Month: Actually, I am still enjoying it: The series Victoria on Masterpiece about Queen Victoria when she first became queen. The second season just started and I am absolutely in love with the show just like I was last year when the first season debuted. If you aren’t watching it, you need to!

What I Am Absolutely Over: Twitter. Yes, I have a twitter account and yes I use it. But it seems like every day, it is just crap that is on there or crap that is trending. There are days when I consider deleting the app off of my phone, but then panic at the thought of not being “informed”. Does anyone else go through this? I seriously admire the people who have either sworn off twitter, or only check it when they actually sit down and log into their computer.

And this isn’t a complaint against the actual medium of twitter as a tool for social media. I enjoy the initial concept of twitter. And honestly, how else would I have found out that my favorite show Elementary, comes back on air with new episodes in April? 🙂 But some days, twitter leaves me exhausted with the sheer stupidity that seems to seep forth from it.

I just want twitter to be a happy place. Is that so wrong?

On The Healthy Living Front: I have indeed lost some of my pregnancy weight. But here is the truth: I am not actively trying to lose weight. I am only a few weeks postpartum for crying out loud. However, I am also not immune to the enormous pressure that is put on moms to lose the baby weight immediately. It took a couple of months to lose the weight after having my first daughter and I expect it take the same amount of time or a bit longer this time around.

I walk a lot and am eating as healthfully as possible but if I want a few potato chips with my lunch time sandwich instead of my normal side of carrots, I am not beating myself up over it. I accumulated this weight over 9 months; it is not going to disappear in a matter of weeks.

What I Am Currently Reading: A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. GUYS!!! I LOVE THIS BOOK! And I am not even done with it yet!

I think for many people, this book may have been required reading at some point during your education, but I have never had a chance to read this novel. But I have always, always wanted to read it.

Well last week when I was at the library paying my overdue fines (#frugalfail), I wandered over to a section I rarely visit and saw this book on the shelf. I grabbed it and said to myself, it’s now or never, I am reading the gosh-darn thing, and checked the book out.

I get why this book is beloved and considered a classic. If you are a bookworm like myself and have never read A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, please go to your local library and check this book out. You’re welcome 🙂

Also as a sidenote, I post pictures on Instagram of all the books that I have read. If you are looking for a book to get your hands on and are fresh out of book titles to peruse, check out my feed or better still, look up what I am reading under the hashtag #mackenziereads.

How is January going for you guys? Let me know!