November 2021 Wrap Up

November felt so fast. Probably because the first part of the month was finishing wedding things and going on our honeymoon. And then my October wrap up being sooo late. I will try to be better from now on.

But our honeymoon to Hawaii was lovely! We got to see a ton of things on Oahu. Saw a bunch of different beaches and areas of the island, the Dole plantation, Disney Aulani resort, sea turtles, and so much more. It was great and coming back to real life was hard.

We have now been married for a month! Had our first married Thanksgiving together, just the two of us. That was also very nice. He's my favorite person and being married to him has made me very happy. We finally ordered and got our thank you cards so we need to work on getting those out soon.

I managed to read a fair number of books. I have felt a bit bummed because I just haven't found a book to read (a physical book) that I LOVED in a long time. It has made me feel discouraged. I have soooo many books that I haven't read and some of them seem good, but nothing has really sparked my interest. I have picked up several and none have held my interest. I guess I am in a rut. I hope I will find something to get me out of it soon.

Here are the books I managed to finish this month. All audio books.

Title: The Frontier Magic trilogy

Author: Patricia C. Wrede

Narrator: Amanda Ronconi

 

Synopsis: This series follows Eff, the unlucky thirteenth child. Her twin brother, Lan, is a lucky seventh son of a seventh son. Lan is a natural magician and powerful. Eff is afraid of her magic hurting someone when she "goes bad." So Eff's magic develops a little bit differently, but it gives her a unique perspective that, turns out, is just as important as Lan's.

 

Thoughts: I have read these books many, many times. They are old favorites, old friends. And comfort books. I can't explain it, but I just adore this series.

 

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 stars

 

 

Title: The Charm Offensive

Author: Alison Cochrun

Narrators: Vikas Adam, Graham Halstead, and Cassandra Campbell

 

Synopsis: (Copied from my review in September) Charlie is a socially awkward, anxiety-riddled wealthy and eligible bachelor who agrees to be on a dating reality show to help improve his public image. Dev is a huge romantic and it has been his dream to work with the reality dating show Ever After. Despite his lack-luster romantic life, he really believes in true love. And then he is promoted to being Charlie's handler for the show. And Dev has his work cut out for him getting Charlie to be the prince he is expected to be. After spending some (awkward) time together, Charlie realizes that his chemistry with Dev feels like so much more than his chemistry with the 20 women on the show. Dev agrees, but his career and heart are on the line. Can they find happily ever after?

Thoughts: I just had to re-read this again. But I loved this book just as much the second time. And if you want to know more, you can read my review from September.

Rating: 4 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

 

 

Title: Boyfriend Material

Author: Alexis Hall

Narrator: Joe Jameson

 

Synopsis: (Copied from my review in March) Luc has to clean up his image fast or risk losing his job. He needs to be seen with a nice, normal, appropriate boyfriend. Enter Oliver, a serious, ethical barrister with a squeaky clean record. The two enter an agreement to be fake boyfriends as it will be mutually beneficial. And then real love happens.

 

Thoughts: I generally love the fake dating trope. This was yet another re-read. And I still loved it and thought it was sweet and funny!

 

Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars

 

 

Title: The Love Hypothesis

Author: Ali Hazelwood

Narrator: Callie Dalton

 

Synopsis: PhD candidate Olive is in a weird position. She needs a boyfriend, or a fake boyfriend, ASAP in order to convince her best friend, Anh, to date Olive's ex (who Anh really likes). The only man at hand, however, is Dr. Adam Carlsen, notoriously unapproachable and harsh. Luckily for Olive, Adam needs to convince the administration that he isn't going to leave Stanford any time soon and having a girlfriend will help him look more settled. So they fake date. And of course, real feelings happen.

Thoughts: Fake dating trope, need I say more? That's sort of my thing I guess. As a scientist myself, I enjoyed the science parts. I really enjoyed the book overall. My only complaint was that it felt like the ending fell really flat for me but I can't put my finger on why exactly. But it was happy and fluffy and definitely worth the read!

Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

 

 

Favorite book read this month: geez... since I mostly re-read favorites, nearly all of them?

Least favorite book read this month: none, really. I guess the Love Hypothesis only because it has a slightly lower rating, but not because it was bad and I didn't enjoy it.

I have read 50 books towards my goal of 50! Yay! Maybe I didn't need to lower my goal as badly as I thought. So now I am ahead of schedule for my 2021 reading goal and I will see how many books I get in and plan next year accordingly.

And now it is December! Hanukkah has already started, but I always enjoy Hanukkah and "lighting" my menorah (they are electric tea lights...). Then my birthday and Christmas. Kevin and I will be going out to visit his family in Connecticut for a few days over Christmas, which will also be nice. I love December. And I love holiday reads. Especially Landline (which I believe I read twice in a row last year...). Anyone else have exciting holiday reads planned?