It’s been an entire year since I posted a book list. While I got consumed by my crochet projects for a time, I also managed to squeeze in some reading over the past few months. I think I felt compelled to share more about our move than anything else because it just took up so much of our lives for a while. So today I’m happy to share with you a year of books I read and loved. It’s not as many as I usually read, but there are some good ones. Mostly suspense thrillers (my go to form of escapism) but a couple non-fiction titles are thrown in there too. I only read one book that I wasn’t a fan of, and I included it here as well. I love to talk about books I’ve read, so leave me a comment if you’ve read any of these too. Or let me know what book I should add to my TBR pile! And be sure to check out my other book lists here!
To see more of this cozy reading nook in our Amsterdam apartment, watch my Reel!
The Lying Game by Ruth Ware
A group of what are essentially prep school mean girls come together many years later as adults to face consequences of an old lie that can no longer remain buried (quite literally). The mysterious circumstances around the death of one of their old school teachers, who also happens to be the father of one of them, have surfaced. 3/5 stars
Watching You by Lisa Jewell
I love a good Lisa Jewell mystery. Infatuation. Fixation. Spying on your neighbors. A gruesome murder that rocks a nice safe neighborhood. Someone saw something. Who else is watching? This is one of those good “peel the onion” mystery thrillers that I enjoy. 4/5 stars
Isaac’s Storm: A Man, A Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson
Erik Larson is one of my favorite non-fiction authors. I’ve read many of his books and enjoyed this one as much as the others. In it, he details the events leading up to and following the hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas in 1900. I grew up not far from Galveston and have spent a lot of time there. It was fascinating to me to see just how the storm completely changed life on the island forever. The early science of predicting a hurricane’s path as well as the development of the National Weather Service is really interesting too. 4.5/5 stars
Someone Knows by Lisa Scottoline
A game of Russian roulette goes horribly wrong. Years pass and members of the original group are gathered once again when one of their own commits suicide. Was it because of something they knew? Someone knows something. Someone knows what went wrong and who is to blame. How far would you go to keep a secret buried? 3.5/5 stars
A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins
Another gruesome murder! I really love this genre. In this story, a man is discovered brutally murdered aboard his houseboat. Three women with different connections to the victim each have a motive. But who is responsible? Is it the one-night stand who was possibly the last to see him alive? Is it his aunt, his own flesh and blood? Or was it his nosy neighbor? Each of these women have a reason for revenge. Even the best of them. 4/5 stars
When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole
I wanted to really like this one. I really did, but I just didn’t. I finished it to find out how it ended, but I expected more from the story as a mystery thriller. I guess I just didn’t find it very thrilling. At the center of the story is a Brooklyn neighborhood going through gentrification. But as homes go up for sale and luxury condos replace them, the long-time residents start disappearing one by one. Suddenly there are new neighbors living in their homes, people with no idea who you’re talking about when you ask about the previous owner. Paranoia and fear build as suspicious figures are seen canvassing the neighborhood at odd hours, perhaps watching you through your windows and sneaking into your home at night. Where has everyone gone? Does the new real estate developer know something? 2/5 stars
The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell
Another good one by Lisa Jewell. This one is just such a tragedy. You just think, how much more can one family endure? Every Easter they gather for an egg hunt, their mother putting on a bit of a spectacle in her eccentric way, but the Bird family children are grown up now and seeing their childhood in perhaps a new way. Now that their mother has died, the house and her belongings must be dealt with, and they discover just how much of a hoarder their mother became. And it all stems from one tragic Easter many years ago. 4/5 stars
Under The Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer
A word of caution: This book is a true story and is quite violent and gruesome at times. Overall what I found fascinating was the history of the Mormon faith and that of the extremist LDS community (not to be confused with each other). The book explores what it means to be faithful and how “being called by God” can have no limits to the brutality of what a person is willing to do. I was hooked from page one. It’s also a Hulu series, which I haven’t watched yet but it is on my list. 5/5 stars
The Sisters of Auschwitz by Roxane van Iperen
I just finished this one and loved it. Another true story, it tells the story of the Brilleslijeper sisters who lived in The Netherlands during the Nazi invasion. I picked this book up not even realizing the author is Dutch and many of the events take place here in Amsterdam, even in the neighborhood in which we currently live. It’s a story of strength, courage, resistance to evil, and the fight for survival. The Brilleslijeper sisters helped many Jews by keeping them in hiding in a country house known as The High Nest, where the author also lives today. I was glued to the pages of this one. 5/5 stars
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xo – Erin
A Year of Books I Read and Loved appeared first on CathedralsandCafes.com. If you see this content published anywhere else, please email cathedralsandcafes@gmail.com.
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