Fly Away by Kristen Hannah (Purchase)

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Source: Personal Copy

*If you haven't read Firefly Lane, please don't read this review. It will contain spoilers for Firefly Lane*

Kristin Hannah is one of those authors that really draw you in, and hold your attention from beginning to end. Every book of hers that I've read, I thoroughly enjoyed. I noticed a few Booktubers reading Firefly Lane recently, and I remembered that I hadn't read the second book by Hannah. I decided to pick up Fly Away and I'm so glad I did. I really enjoyed Firefly Lane but Fly Away really has my heart. I closed the book and knew I would miss the characters. 

If you've read Firefly Lane, you know that best friend duo TullyandKate are no more. Without Kate, her family and best friend are truly lost and begin to fall apart. This story follows Johnny, Marah, Tully and her mother Cloud. We finally get Cloud's backstory, and it was so well done. I was so surprised with her story, and why she was never around for Tully. Marah and Tully are the ones who begin to spiral after Kate's death. It's hard to read as a reader, but it was so wonderfully written. If you love found family, I recommend this one. 

Full disclosure; I tried to read this book in 2019 but I was dealing with a lot of grief at the time after losing my mother. I couldn't read this one then and stopped 25% in. I'm so glad I was able to pick this one back up. I do think you need to be in the right mindset, grief is one of the most difficult things to go through in life. It's dark, and there's not a lot of joy in this book, but I promise you, you can't close this book and not feel for these characters. It's touching, and powerful, and will stay with you once you finish the book. 

*This post does contain affiliate links. I will receive a small commission if you purchase through the link. Thanks for supporting this blog.

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave (Purchase)

This was a twisty suspense novel that I had a hard time putting down. I rated this five stars, and can't wait to talk about it. Owen Wilson's employer is suddenly raided for embezzlement, and Owen disappears that same day. He leaves a note for his wife to protect his daughter, and he leaves his daughter a bag full of cash in her school locker. Owen and Hannah have only been married briefly, but she vows to protect her stepdaughter, Bailey. Hannah knows Owen would never leave his daughter unless he had no choice. Bailey is less than thrilled about being left with Hannah but they must work together to stay safe, and figure out what is happening. 

I don't read a lot of domestic suspense books, but this one was really good. I had heard this was coming to Apple TV, and the trailer made me curious about the book. I decided to give it a try and I highly recommend this one. I would love to try this author's other books. I did not see the ending coming, and I thought it was well written and the fast was great. This is one you can sit and binge. Have you read this one? 

*This post does contain affiliate links. I will receive a small commission if you purchase through the link. Thanks for supporting this blog.

 Echo Mountain - Lauren Wolk (Purchase)

This was my first Lauren Wolk book and it will not be my last. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute, I was sitting down to read this book. After the Great Depression; Ellie and her family are forced to move away from her hometown into the mountainside. There's hardly any civilization around them. Life is tough, and life gets tougher when her father has an accident and slips into a coma. Ellie is 12 years old, she's the only one adjusting well to life away from everyone. She's determined to wake up her father and help her family in any way possible. She's a strong character, and her determination is inspirational. 

Every character in this story is on a healing journey. If you love being in nature and appreciate what's around you, you will love this book. 

*This post does contain affiliate links. I will receive a small commission, should you purchase through those links. Thank you for supporting Little Corner of Mine blog.

The Two of Us by Taylor A. Torres (Purchase)

Mara has no intention of returning home, facing what she ran away from, and coming back to a place that caused so much pain for her. However, when she learns her father's cancer is near the end, she decides it's time to go home. It's been seven years since she saw Ambrose and seven years since her terrible mistake and when she returns home, she quickly learns he's still living across the street and she might not be able to avoid him. Mara and Ambrose have many layers, they were childhood best friends and through the years they have a lot of history and love but there's also trauma. Their love story isn't over and readers will be turning the pages to see what happened and whether they be able to move forward. This book does deal with the death of a parent, it has small-town vibes and tragedy. We don't always make the right choices or say the right things during hard times, but life keeps moving on and we need to figure out how to proceed. I really enjoyed this book, and I think more people need to read it. It is available on Kindle Unlimited, and I encourage you to give this one a read. 4/5 rating.

How to read more for less? If you're a part of the bookish community in any way, you'll notice many large book hauls and I want to tell you that you don't have to spend all of your money on books. If you want to, go ahead I won't judge but here are my tips on reading more for less. Yes, I'm a book blogger but more than anything I'm an avid reader and I love finding those five-star reads; jumping into new stories, and meeting new characters. Books are expensive, inflation is everywhere and I want to help those who want to read and want to do it with less money. 

Friday is here, and it's the last week of summer break for us. My son will be starting school next Thursday, and I will admit I'm a bit nervous for next week. My son has an anxiety disorder and going back to school will be a hard transition for him. I'm hoping for the best, but expecting it not to go smoothly. There will be a lot of reassurance and coaching as we settle back into the school routine. If you have a child who struggles with anxiety and panic- I feel you. We have a plan set with his therapist and I'm hoping we get more answers this year.

Let's Talk About Books will be a new series on my blog. Instead of writing a full-length post for each book, I'll include a few books to talk about. You'll notice I like to read a different type of book once I finish a book. I think grouping them into groups of four will give readers a great recommendation selection. If I read the same genre over and over, I will get burnt out and fall into a reading slump. This way I can keep reading and keep myself engaged. Happy reading!

This is the third book in the Lovelight Farms series, I didn't review the others but they're called Lovelight Farms, and In the Weeds. Each book covers a different couple at the farm and in Mixed Signals we read about Layla Dupree, the talented baker but someone who's very unlucky in love. These books were originally on Kindle Unlimited, I do believe they're now traditionally published. If you've read the other books in the series, you won't be disappointed with this one.