Pages and Patterns: adult fiction

Showing posts with label adult fiction. Show all posts

March was amazing! I think I might call it now and say it was the best month of the year for me. While I didn't get much reading done, I went on the vacation of a lifetime! My husband and I put a huge check on my bucket list and ventured across the pond to London.

Luckily I haven't fallen behind on my reading challenges, but I didn't get through a whole lot this month.

The Valiant by Lesley Livingston 4/5 ✰

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman* 5/5 ✰

The Young Elites by Marie Lu 3/5 ✰

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr 4/5 ✰

Uprooted by Naomu Novik 5/5 ✰

The Trespasser by Tana French* 3.75/5 ✰

Gotham City Sirens (Book One) 4/5 ✰
Gotham City Sirens (Book Two) 4/5 ✰
*2017 Audiobook Challenge Listen

All the Light We Cannot See was my book club's choice read for the month. I didn't think I would like it, but I ended up really enjoying it, but everyone else in my book club seemed to dislike it. Most didn't even finish it, which really surprised me!

My favorite reads were A Man Called Ove and Uprooted. Both have been on my TBR for a while and they did not disappoint. Ove was a heartwarming story about a grumpy old man set in his ways, and Uprooted is a great fantasy with a strong female lead. It's not part of a series, so if you're looking for an engaging read that you won't get sucked into for years, it's a great choice.

I caught a cold on my vacation which turned into pneumonia, so my first week back I only made it to work half the week before I could barely function. I got a nice regimen of antibiotics and new inhalers, which helped, but the antibiotics were awful! While convalescing, after the meds kicked in, I spent some time working on my Hogwarts Crest. I finished page 8 of 12 of the pattern and am finally in the home stretch! I'm hoping to have it finished soon.

On to the main event!! While other things did happen this month, arguably the most exciting for me was my first trip to London! We wanted to make the most of our trip, so we tried to cram in as much as possible, including the Tower of London, WB Studio Tour London for the Making of Harry Potter, Westminster Abbey, and more.

All pictures below were taken by my husband!

WB Tour London

Tower Bridge Experience

Windsor Castle

Had to get a photo in a red phone booth!

We ate tons of food, explored so many sights, and I'm already wishing to go back. All-in-all, it was the trip of a lifetime. I dearly hope to go back because there's so much more to see, but we made some great, lasting memories!

Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon - the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him 'the bitter neighbor from hell.' But behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations.

When a young, energetic family moves in next door, grumpy, set-in-his-ways Ove is forced to change his daily routines and sets off a chain of life-altering events for Ove and everyone involved.

This was my second Fredik Backman novel, which had been on my TBR list since before it was published, and I’m so glad I finally took the time to read it. I loved Ove and couldn’t help but smile at his crankiness, but also have my heart broken by his story.

Ove was the perfect blend of grumpy-old-man and sweet and sentimental. While reading the story I kept going back and forth with his behavior from thinking it was hilarious to crazy to “that makes total sense”. When Parvaneh and her family move in and shake everything up, I couldn’t help but smile to myself and wonder where it would lead. Parvaneh, a small, fiery woman who wasn’t afraid to tell Ove when he was being rude, was the perfect balance to the neighborhood.

A Man Called Ove pulled on my heartstrings. It’s a delightful, fun, heartwarming story of an old man and a neighborhood that comes together after heartbreak and loss. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a wonderful weekend read, something to put a smile on their face, or a story with a main character that will most likely remind them of someone dear.