Carving Out Some Reading Time

Over the last few weeks I've been in an interesting reading place. I haven't had much time to read as I've been running to different events in my roles as mom, wife Primary leader, PTA mom, photographer and friend. In the midst of all the crazy, I was lucky enough to take some time for myself and go to BYU Women's Conference with some good friends. It was relaxing and wonderful, inspiring and brilliant but didn't allow me much time to read.

I've been reading Valiant Ambition : George Washington, Benedict Arnold and the Fate of the American Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick. It's absolutely fascinating and as usual Philbrick writes well but I can only read a few chapters before I fall completely asleep and it doesn't lend itself well to being read in quick snippets while I wait in the car to pick up Neal after tennis or in dentist appointments. I tried and I found myself reading the same page over and over after I was repeatedly interrupted. I needed something enjoyable to read that I could squeeze into those short available moments.

I first picked up Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase. Compared with Daphne du Maurier, I was anxious to get my hands on this gothic, psychological thriller. Black Rabbit Hall has been a magical getaway for Amber and her family for years. Their estate is weathered but filled with love. Tragedy strikes when Amber's mother is suddenly killed in an accident. Her father isn't the same and Black Rabbit Hall becomes a place of grief and suffering for the young family struggling.

Years later, Lorna is drawn to Black Rabbit Hall. She has brief glimpses of spending times there with her mother when she was a child. Now that Lorna is engaged, she'd like to have her wedding there. As she explores the dilapidated estate she uncovers it's secrets and mysteries.

With solid writing that captures that strong emotions of both Amber and Lorna, Black Rabbit Hall kept me entertained and entranced. It had that dark, eerie feeling without being scary. Though the setting is important to the novel, the characters and their relationships with each other are central to the developing story. I appreciated that and the exploration of their mourning and grief for the loss of loved ones and how they interacted with those still alive.

Black Rabbit Hall was thrilling and absolutely readable. I didn't want to put it down.

Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase was published by Putnam and released in February 2016. 

I read Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner in just two days. Though I've heard of Weiner for years and follow her on Twitter, this is the first time I've read one of her novels. It's a delightfully quick and enjoyable read with realistic characters and a fateful plot full of coincidences and chance meetings.

Rachel is just a little girl, recovering from heart surgery when she meets Andy in the hospital emergency room. He's alone and her comforting story helps him get through his fear of being injured and separated from his mother. Rachel can't forget him.

Throughout the years, though their lives take very different paths, Rachel and Andy find each other and their relationship grows. They are soul mates. Meant to be together.

I especially liked the characters in Who Do You Love. Sometimes I rather disliked them. Weiner allows them to grow and explore and become adults. Occasionally, they make mistakes and rather bad choices. In other words, they are pretty realistic people.

Some may say that the coincidences are unbelievable and unrealistic, but if you buy into the idea of soul mates (even just in the context of this novel and don't we regularly suspend our normal beliefs to enjoy stories) than it would make sense that the world would conspire to regularly put them together.

Who Do You Love is not a style of book that I regularly read. It was enlightening to read it and find it rather enjoyable. While it is essentially a romance and has more sex scenes than I'm really comfortable with, Weiner does more than just write a love story. She explores people--what inspires their choices, good and bad.

Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner is published by Washington Square Press and the paperback edition released on April 5, 2016. It's also one of the Spring Book Club Selections for SheReads.

I'm so glad I've been able to squeeze in some fun and entertaining books to keep me reading while I continue to work through the history from Philbrick. At some point my life will get less busy and I'll have more time to read, right? Not likely.

**I received complimentary copies of both books. All opinions are my own. No compensation was received.**