*This post may contain affiliate links, which means at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through or make a purchase
Hey friends. I know this is late this month. I love reading and sharing book reviews but they take the longest time and it has been a busy month with Spring Break, and new schedules.
Total physical/kindle books: 7
Total audible: 7
Total for March: 14
Total books for 2024: 33
Goal: 150 books
.png)
Title: Outlive
Author: Peter Attia
Genre: self help
How I Read It: physical book
My Rating: 4 out of 5
Amazon Description: Wouldn’t you like to live longer? And better? In this operating manual for longevity, Dr. Peter Attia draws on the latest science to deliver innovative nutritional interventions, techniques for optimizing exercise and sleep, and tools for addressing emotional and mental health.
For all its successes, mainstream medicine has failed to make much progress against the diseases of aging that kill most people: heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and type 2 diabetes. Too often, it intervenes with treatments too late to help, prolonging lifespan at the expense of healthspan, or quality of life. Dr. Attia believes we must replace this outdated framework with a personalized, proactive strategy for longevity, one where we take action now, rather than waiting.
This is not “biohacking,” it’s science: a well-founded strategic and tactical approach to extending lifespan while also improving our physical, cognitive, and emotional health. Dr. Attia’s aim is less to tell you what to do and more to help you learn how to think about long-term health, in order to create the best plan for you as an individual. In Outlive, readers will discover:
• Why the cholesterol test at your annual physical doesn’t tell you enough about your actual risk of dying from a heart attack.
• That you may already suffer from an extremely common yet underdiagnosed liver condition that could be a precursor to the chronic diseases of aging.
• Why exercise is the most potent pro-longevity “drug”—and how to begin training for the “Centenarian Decathlon.”
• Why you should forget about diets, and focus instead on nutritional biochemistry, using technology and data to personalize your eating pattern.
• Why striving for physical health and longevity, but ignoring emotional health, could be the ultimate curse of all.
Aging and longevity are far more malleable than we think; our fate is not set in stone. With the right roadmap, you can plot a different path for your life, one that lets you outlive your genes to make each decade better than the one before.
My Review: A lot of information, a lot of repeating, and some parts to much jargen. Basic overview of what you need to do to live longer is nothing new but put into different context. I like the idea that he puts towards thinking of the longer future or what you want to be able to do and not just your current goals, such as being able to still carry groceries in your 70s and getting on the floor with your grandchild and being able to get up unassisted.
Title: A Love Letter Life
Author: Jeremy and Audrey Poloff
Genre: Christian biography
How I Read It: audiobook on Libby
My Rating: 4 out of 5
Amazon Description: As Jeremy and Audrey write, if you can fall into love, you can fall out. True love is something you choose to live out each day through your actions, decisions, and sacrifices. To find and still seek, now that is love. From the moment you meet your potential spouse, you can be intentional about shaping a beautiful love story, uniquely written for who God created you both to be. Whether you're single and searching, in a serious dating relationship, or desiring to love your spouse better, Jeremy and Audrey equip you to pursue an intentional, creative, and faithful love story by sharing theirs.
The journey to their wedding day was the culmination of a bumpy and complicated dating relationship. From health problems, to emotional walls, to being separated by one thousand miles, the couple faced daunting obstacles. But their unique approach to dating empowered them to write an uncommon love story and prepared them for married life. Because as beautiful as their wedding was, the Roloffs made a point to prepare more for their marriage than their wedding day.
Told through both Jeremy's and Audrey's voices, A Love Letter Life tells a passionate and persevering story of relatable struggles, hard-learned lessons, practical tips, and devout commitment. In this audiobook, they encourage you to stop settling for convenient relationships, offer perspective on male and female differences in dating, tackle tough topics like purity, give their nine rules for fighting well, suggest fun ideas for connection in a world of technology, and provide fresh advice on how to intentionally pursue a love story that never ends.
My Review: I have never seen Little People Big World but someone recommended the book to me. Within the book there was some great advice tidbits. I love the personal tone and love that the authors who also narrated the book shared.
Title: The Frozen River
Author: Ariel Lawhon
Genre: historical mystery
How I Read It: audiobook on Libby
My Rating: 5 out of 5
Amazon Description: Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the close-knit community. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town’s most respected gentlemen—one of whom has now been found dead in the ice. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own.
Over the course of one winter, as the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha doggedly pursues the truth. Her diary soon lands at the center of the scandal, implicating those she loves, and compelling Martha to decide where her own loyalties lie.
Clever, layered, and subversive, Ariel Lawhon’s newest offering introduces an unsung heroine who refused to accept anything less than justice at a time when women were considered best seen and not heard. The Frozen River is a thrilling, tense, and tender story about a remarkable woman who left an unparalleled legacy yet remains nearly forgotten to this day.
My Review: Historical mysteries are not my typical genre. Once I started I needed to know what happened next. The detail and descriptions kept you hooked even with a predictable outcome.
Title: The Cowgirl Ropes a Billionaire
Author: Cora Seton
Genre: contemporary romance
How I Read It: kindle
My Rating: 4 out of 5
Amazon Description: Bella Chatham will lose everything - her veterinary practice, her animal shelter, and even her home - if she can't find another source of income, fast. So when her best friend signs her up for the hot new reality television show, Can You Beat a Billionaire, Bella accepts the challenge and hopes against hope she can win the ten million dollar prize. If she doesn't, it's bye-bye pet clinic and shelter, bye-bye Chance Creek, Montana, and hello to marriage to the billionaire for a year!
Evan Mortimer, billionaire, can't believe he's reduced to competing in a television contest to win a wife. Unfortunately, it's the only foolproof way to secure his position as head of Mortimer Innovations. At least he'll be able to dump his "spouse" at the end of the year; he's much too busy to be tied down to a country bumpkin cowgirl.
Bella doesn't expect her adversary to be handsome - or funny, or compassionate - but Evan's all three, and he's proving a tough competitor, too. When they end up sharing a tent - and a sleeping-bag - her body betrays her with a longing so deep it cuts her to the core. Still, this cowgirl must stay strong. If Evan uncovers her secret fears, he'll use them to win the contest - and then he'll own her for a year. She'll be out of luck, out of cash, and stuck being Mrs. Mortimer until he kicks her to the curb. Too bad she can't decide which is worse - winning the show and losing Evan forever, or losing the show and only being his temporary wife.
Evan can't believe he's falling for the one woman who doesn't want him. This cowgirl's not impressed by his money, his name, or his inability to sleep in a tent with her for an entire night, but every look and touch she gives him sends his desire through the roof. With a director determined to use his claustrophobia to make him look like a fool, and an adversary so sexy he can hardly see straight, he'll need all his savvy to come out on top. Too bad he's going to lose no matter how this show turns out. If he beats Bella, he'll destroy the first woman he's ever loved. If he doesn't beat her, it's bye-bye Mortimer Innovations.
Will either of them remember in time that it's not who wins or who loses - it's how they play the game that really counts?
My Review: A cute little reality show romance of two very unlikely compatible contestants. Each one wants to win for their own personal gain.
Title: One Night Only
Author: Lauren Blakely
Genre: erotica romance
How I Read It: kindle
My Rating: 5 out of 5
Amazon Description: When the sexy billionaire heiress falls for her bodyguard…
On the outside, I look innocent – blonde hair, bright smile, buttoned-up blouse.
But inside, I’m black lace and dirty dreams. And for the last year, I’ve been fighting my desires for the one man who’s totally off limits – my bodyguard.
He’s strong, powerful and completely forbidden. But the more time he spends protecting me, the more I let him into my heart.
And finally, I let him into my penthouse suite one night, where we combust. But in the morning, we vow it can’t happen again. His job and my company are at stake.
Then his best friend – the world’s biggest rock star – comes to town.
And both of them want me. At the same time…
My Review: Wow a short steamy read. Even being a short read the characters were likeable and had backstories.
Title: Risk of Ruin
Author: Norma Marie
Genre: romance
How I Read It: arc kindle edition
My Rating: 5 of 5
Amazon Description: I thought I had it all.
The career. The fame. The notoriety. The woman I would spend the rest of my life with.
Until one injury cost me everything.
When things hit rock bottom, my friends convince me to go to Vegas with them for a weekend of forgetting.
The last thing I expected was to meet her, let alone marry her.
And now that she has my last name, the last thing I want to do is let her go.
I’m risking it all on a woman I just met.
I only hope she doesn’t ruin me.
My Review: I received an advance reader copy to review. This was my first book by Norma and I will be reading more. I am normally not a novella fan but I loved this quick read. The characters were had depth and were likeable.
Author: Heidi St. John
Genre: Christian Self Help
How I Read It: libby ebook
My Rating: 5 out of 5
Amazon Description: Have you ever looked into the faces of the people who call you “mom” and wondered what in the world you got yourself into?
If you’re like many Christian moms today, you’ve been reading the headlines and watching the rapid-fire changes in our culture with frustration and fear. Let’s face it: Moms today are facing questions that previous generations didn’t even see coming, and even our right to determine what is best for our own children is under fire. Popular speaker and blogger Heidi St. John (The Busy Mom) believes that today’s mothers need a special kind of strength. We need to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. We dare not rely on human strength for the battles we’re facing right now. In Becoming MomStrong, Heidi has a powerful message just for you—the mom in the midst of it all. Through encouragement, practical prayer points, and authentic “me-too” moments, Heidi equips you for a job that only you can do: to train your children to hear God’s voice and to walk in truth no matter where our culture is heading. God wants to use this generation of mothers to do something extraordinary:- To be strong in the Lord
- To know who you are in Christ, and
- To impart that strength to your kids.
My Review: A great encouraging and empowering book for mom is all stages of life. I loved the practical suggestions and prayers that Heidi included in her book. I read this book as an ebook, now I want the physical book to highlight and refer back to.
Title: The Love Everybody Wants
Author: Madison Prewett Troutt
Genre: Christian Self Help
How I Read It: libby ebook
My Rating: 4 out of 5
Amazon Description: Is there something wrong with me? How many more wrong ones until the right one? Am I hard to love?
Madison Prewett Troutt knows what it’s like to ask these questions in the middle of the night—to doubt and worry about never finding the love so desperately hoped for. But Madi has discovered a deeper truth now, that the love we’re searching for is already ours.
In The Love Everybody Wants, Madi sets aside the shallow messages our culture shouts every day to help us hear God’s beautiful whisper: I have loved you with an everlasting love. And nothing will ever change that.
Drawing from Scripture and stories from her own life, Madi invites us to embrace God’s unconditional love so we can love ourselves well—and never settle for less. The Love Everybody Wants empowers you to
• view relationships in whole, holy, and healthy ways
• rely on biblical strategies for healing when your heart is hurting
• overcome lies such as “I have to follow my heart and feelings above all else”
• understand that a life partner is meant to complement you, not complete you
• look to your future with joy—because you were made to love
This isn’t a manual for how to get a boyfriend or a manifesto for getting married. It’s a book about the abundant love already at your fingertips—the love God has for you. The love that lasts forever, the love that changes everything. The love everybody wants.
My Review: This book would be great for a teenager, a young adult, someone single and looking to love themselves more. Some of what she shares is common sense to many people, but it is always better to hear it again from someone else.
Title: Someone Like You
Author: Kait Nolan
Genre: romance
How I Read It: kindle
My Rating: 4 out of 5
Amazon Description: A grumpy lumberjack
Former Army Ranger Harrison Wilkes isn’t actually a lumberjack, but he's doing his best impression while hiding out in the mountains of East Tennessee. He needs to rest, recharge, and stay the hell away from people, while he wrestles with ghosts from his past and figures out his future. Neither includes a snowbound rescue of his favorite author.
A runaway writer
Ivy Blake is on a deadline. Her hero is MIA, and she's desperate to find some peace, quiet, and inspiration to get her book—and her life—back on track. She doesn’t plan on driving off a mountain. Or the mysterious stranger who shows up to save her.
Who’s rescuing who?
When Winter Stormageddon traps them together, Ivy finds the inspiration she didn’t know she needed in her real-life hero. As more than the fireplace heats up his one-man cabin, they both find far more than they bargained for. This intuitive author just might have the answers Harrison's looking for, but will their newfound connection survive past the storm?
My Review: A sweet story set during a snow storm. I loved the chemistry and banter between Ivy and Harrison. Perfect quick ready for a cozy day inside.
Title: Intermittent Fasting
Author: Cynthia Thurlow
Genre: Nutrition
How I Read It: audiobook
My Rating: 2 out of 5
Amazon Description: Designed specifically for women, this individualized six-week intermittent fasting program is the sustainable solution to help you feel and look your absolute best. Based on the scientifically proven 16:8 fasting model, what makes this program unique is that it is geared toward your hormonal needs at every stage in life–whether you are cycling or in perimenopause, menopause, or beyond. Intermittent Fasting Transformation will help you:
• lose weight steadily and burn fat without hunger, cravings, or plateaus–and keep it off
• balance your hormones for better metabolic health and wellness, while easing symptoms associated with perimenopause and menopause
• experience a huge boost in physical and mental energy all day long
• learn what foods best support weight loss, detoxification, and overall health
• lift brain fog and help you sleep better
• put aging in reverse . . . and so much more.
Cynthia Thurlow, a nurse practitioner and an internationally known women’s health expert whose viral TEDx Talk has received more than 10 million views, developed this breakthrough plan after entering perimenopause in her forties. Intermittent fasting didn’t just help her lose weight; she had more energy, fewer cravings, and lower blood glucose levels. Thurlow has now worked with thousands of women in her private practice to make her unique program of intermittent fasting work for them, too.
With meal plans and 50 recipes, along with advice for supercharging your fast, this plan will transform your life, slow down the aging process, and help you reclaim your health and well-being.
My Review: The book is very why driver with science dense explanation of why you should dp intermediate fasting. It was overwhelming and hard to comprehend at times while listening to the audiobook. I wish there was more of how to info instead of just promoting her expensive program to purchase that is only available at specific times.
Title: Master of Sin
Author: Sienna Snow
Genre: dark romance
How I Read It: Book Funnel Audiobook
My Rating: 3 out of 5
Amazon Description: It was always him. The one I shouldn't want, shouldn't crave, the one who could destroy my carefully built life.
Hagen Lykaios was the essence of sin, indulgence, and danger - everything I knew to avoid.
All it took was one unexpected touch, and he consumed me, left me begging, needy, and hungry for more.
He said if I entered his world he would corrupt me, own me, and change all that I had ever known...and you know what? I went anyway.
My Review: I loved the story line. The banter between Hagen and penny. The book fet like it hit a wall at the end. It went from going to stop. Didn't tie up lose ends but didn't leave you with a huge cliff hanger. It is 1 of 6 in a series.
Title: Arise and Shine
Author: Allyson Golden
Genre: Christian
How I Read It: audiobook on libby
My Rating: 4 out of 5
Amazon Description: When the darkness of the world feels overwhelming, we wonder, Where can I find light?
And even more, How can I be the light?
Pediatric nurse Allyson Golden faces the hardest realities of life—and death—every day. She longed to be a light for Christ in every patient’s room, but she didn’t know what that looked like when she could hardly find that light herself.
As Allyson immersed herself in Scripture, she began to understand the transformative truth that we have no power to shine on our own, but the Light of the World shines through us—and no darkness can overcome it.
In Arise and Shine, Allyson explores our deepest questions:
• Can Jesus shine through me even when I doubt His presence?
• Does shining God’s light mean being cheerful all the time?
• How can I hold on to God’s light—and is that even a thing?
• Why is it so hard to give my burdens to God?
• Is the darkness ever going to go away?
With practical action steps at the end of every chapter, Arise and Shine helps you renew your mind, recharge your spirit, and take a positive step forward, because nothing can dim the light inside of you.
My Review: Such an uplifting relatable book that gives you practical steps to help you find the steps.
Title: Mai Tia Marriage
Author: Chris Keniston
Genre: romance
How I Read It: kindle
My Rating: 4 out of 5
Amazon Description: First you need one sailor in dress whites. Couple him with a beautiful, feisty shop manager. Don't forget the runaway bride. Add a little orange liqueur, a splash of coconut rum and a pineapple spear just for fun. Stir in one accidental marriage. Mix in some crazy friends and one meddling mother And you have the perfectly concocted Mai Tai Marriage.
My Review: An accidental wedding with lots of some twists. Such a fun story line with likeable characters that kept you wanting to know what happens next.
Title: The Heiress
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Genre: mystery thriller
How I Read It: physical book
My Rating: 5 out of 5
Amazon Description: When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
But in the aftermath of her death, her adopted son, Camden, wants little to do with the house or the money―and even less to do with the surviving McTavishes. Instead, he rejects his inheritance, settling into a normal life as an English teacher in Colorado and marrying Jules, a woman just as eager to escape her own messy past.
Ten years later, his uncle’s death pulls Cam and Jules back into the family fold at Ashby House. Its views are just as stunning as ever, its rooms just as elegant, but the legacy of Ruby is inescapable.
And as Ashby House tightens its grip on Jules and Camden, questions about the infamous heiress come to light. Was there any truth to the persistent rumors following her disappearance as a girl? What really happened to those four husbands, who all died under mysterious circumstances? And why did she adopt Cam in the first place? Soon, Jules and Cam realize that an inheritance can entail far more than what’s written in a will––and that the bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave.
My Review: The book started off slow but then sucked me in. The secrets, the scheming, the lies, the twists and turns. I loved every minute of it.
Currently Reading
Midnight Salvation by Penelope Black, this is book 3 in a series that you must read the first two to understand.
What are you reading this month?
No comments
Thanks for leaving some comment love.