Tag: julia whelan

Book Review | Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

Posted September 27, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Book Review | Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

Being single is like playing the lottery. There’s always the chance that with one piece of paper you could win it all.

From the New York Times bestselling author of In Five Years and One Italian Summer comes the romance that will define a generation.

Daphne Bell believes the universe has a plan for her. Every time she meets a new man, she receives a slip of paper with his name and a number on it—the exact amount of time they will be together. The papers told her she’d spend three days with Martin in Paris; five weeks with Noah in San Francisco; and three months with Hugo, her ex-boyfriend turned best friend. Daphne has been receiving the numbered papers for over twenty years, always wondering when there might be one without an expiration. Finally, the night of a blind date at her favorite Los Angeles restaurant, there’s only a name: Jake.

But as Jake and Daphne’s story unfolds, Daphne finds herself doubting the paper’s prediction, and wrestling with what it means to be both committed and truthful. Because Daphne knows things Jake doesn’t, information that—if he found out—would break his heart.

Told with her signature warmth and insight into matters of the heart, Rebecca Serle has finally set her sights on romantic love. The result is a gripping, emotional, passionate, and (yes) heartbreaking novel about what it means to be single, what it means to find love, and ultimately how we define each of them for ourselves. Expiration Dates is the one fans have been waiting for.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Audiobook Challenge
2024 Library Love Challenge

The Reason

I found the premise interesting. Plus, Julia Whelan narrates the audiobook!

The Quotes

“It’s hard to hold on to people the older we get. Life looks different for everyone, and you have to keep choosing one another. You have to make a conscious effort to say, over and over again, “You.” Not everyone makes that choice. Not everyone can.”

“But being surprised by life isn’t losing, it’s living. It’s messy and uncomfortable and complicated and beautiful. It’s life, all of it. The only way to get it wrong is to refuse to play.”

“My life has been filled with magical moments, I was just so busy waiting I didn’t see them when they were here.”

“If you never stop long enough to sink into something, then it can’t destroy you. It’s easier to climb out of a pool than a well, is the thing.”

The Narrator(s)

Julia Whelan. The Awesomest!

My Thoughts

I’ve read one other book by the author before and if there’s one thing I can say, it’s that she does have very interesting ideas for her stories. This one is mostly fun and light-hearted but there are some difficult topics covered as well. We don’t go very deep with them though.

There’s also a lot of cheesiness here and some things that don’t completely make sense, but that’s okay, it’s magical realism and we’re just going to enjoy the story for what it is. I enjoyed the story itself and I needed the light-heartedness. Bonus is that Julia Whelan reads it and of course, I always enjoy her narration.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Posted September 6, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid

When Lauren and Ryan’s marriage reaches the breaking point, they come up with an unconventional plan. They decide to take a year off in the hopes of finding a way to fall in love again. One year apart, and only one rule: they cannot contact each other. Aside from that, anything goes.

Lauren embarks on a journey of self-discovery, quickly finding that her friends and family have their own ideas about the meaning of marriage. These influences, as well as her own healing process and the challenges of living apart from Ryan, begin to change Lauren’s ideas about monogamy and marriage. She starts to question: When you can have romance without loyalty and commitment without marriage, when love and lust are no longer tied together, what do you value? What are you willing to fight for?

This is a love story about what happens when the love fades. It’s about staying in love, seizing love, forsaking love, and committing to love with everything you’ve got. And above all, After I Do is the story of a couple caught up in an old game—and searching for a new road to happily ever after.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Audiobook Challenge
2024 Library Love Reading Challenge

The Reason

It’s Taylor Jenkins Reid! And it’s Julia Whelan narrating! I don’t need any other reasons.

The Quotes

“Isn’t it nice … once you’ve outgrown the ideas of what life should be and you just enjoy what it is.”

“Here is what I can tell you. All that matters in this life is that you try. All that matters is that you open your heart, give everything you have, and keep trying.”

“I know it will be OK because everything is OK in the end. And if it’s not OK, it’s not the end.”

“I’ve come to realize that resentment is malignant. That it starts small and festers. That it grows wild and unfettered inside of you until it’s so expansive that it has worked its way into the furthest, deepest parts of you and holds on for dear life.”

The Narrator(s)

Julia Whelan. She’s the GOAT!

My Thoughts

TJR is so good at writing about relationships and family. While reading this book, I kept thinking that she really knew how to capture the essence of relationships, the everyday things that make up a life together, and it’s just so relatable. I don’t necessarily agree with some of her take on relationships, but I do feel that she definitely captures them well.

This book isn’t my favorite from TJR, but I did like it and it made me appreciate my own relationship with my husband very much. We’ve got our own ups and downs, but I think the one thing we do right is that we are always interested in each other. We talk all the time and it never gets boring, we play together, we listen to each other and never take the other for granted. Don’t get me wrong, we have disagreements and bad days too, but it’s always us against the problem.

One of the things I love most about reading is that it make me think and reflect on my own life, and I think this one did a great job of it. I’m not the biggest fan of the story and the MCs themselves, but it was fascinating to see how their marriage worked.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster

Posted August 14, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 4 Comments

Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster

When Jerusha Abbott, an eighteen-year-old girl living in an orphan asylum, was told that a mysterious millionaire had agreed to pay for her education, it was like a dream come true. For the first time in her life, she had someone she could pretend was “family.” But everything was not perfect, for he chose to remain anonymous and asked that she only write him concerning her progress in school. Who was this mysterious gentleman and would Jerusha ever meet him?

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Audiobook Challenge
The Classics Club

The Reason

This is one of my favorite childhood books but I have never listened to it on audio. And then I find out that Julia Whelan narrates it! Of course I had to listen!

The Quotes

“I think that the most necessary quality for any person to have is imagination. It makes people able to put themselves in other people’s places. It makes them kind and sympathetic and understanding.”

“I believe absolutely in my own free will and my own power to accomplish – and that is the belief that moves mountains. ”

“It’s much more entertaining to live books than to write them.”

“It isn’t the big troubles in life that require character. Anybody can rise to a crisis and face a crushing tragedy with courage, but to meet the petty hazards of the day with a laugh—I really think that requires spirit!”

The Narrator(s)

Julia Whelan. The GOAT.

My Thoughts

As I was reading, I’m aware of how times have changed and how Daddy-Long-Legs would probably not be a wholesome story for modern times. However, I love this book too much to get too woke about it, and I think sometimes we have to take into account that stories that come from a different time than ours will play into thinking that is different from ours and it’s necessary to not erase them.

Having said that, I just really love this book for so many reasons; I love that it’s so funny, I love that Judy Abbott has such a wonderful sense of humor, I love that she’s honest about herself and her flaws, I love that she discovers herself and stays true to herself, I love that she makes friends and learn new things. I love so many things about it. I love that it’s epistolary; it really ignited my love of writing letters and journals, and it also helped me to develop a irreverent voice for my own journal-writing because of how irreverent Judy is.

I should also mention that another one of the things I love about it is the cute illustrations, but since I’m listening on audio this time around, they don’t come into play. But also, since I’m listening on audio and Julia Whelan narrates it, what I lose out in illustrations, I gain in Julia Whelan’s narration. So it’s win-win either way!

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | The Women by Kristin Hannah

Posted August 14, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 2 Comments

The Women by Kristin Hannah

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over- whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.

But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #37: Palindrome on the cover )
2024 Audiobook Challenge

The Reason

I love Kristin Hannah’s books and I love Julia Whelan’s narration. I also needed a book with a palindrome on the cover.

The Quotes

“The women had a story to tell, even if the world wasn’t quite yet ready to hear it, and their story began with three simple words. We were there.”

“Women can be heroes.”

“The old white men who run this country are scared. And people do stupid, ugly things when they’re scared.” She leaned close. “But they’re counting on their power and our fear.”

“Maybe that was why people built walls: to look away, to ignore anything they didn’t want to see.”

The Narrator(s)

Julia Whelan. It’s no secret I love Julia’s narration in anything! This one was another beautiful one.

My Thoughts

This book pulls you in and doesn’t let go. I had so many feelings as I was reading it, mostly anger, and fury, and sadness, but also hope. So much hope. I hate that the women were treated so unfairly, I hate that there were so many scummy men, I hate that it was so difficult to find mental health help in the days where it was so important to get that help. With every page, it just got more and more heartbreaking to read and I was sure it wouldn’t end well. But it ended the way it should, and I’m happy with that.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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