what i read: march edition

Well it's time to link up with Steph and Jana and share the books we've been reading!  I'm back in my reading groove and have six books to share this month.  I've been sharing my books as I read them over on Instagram too!

First up is Rose Harbor in Bloom by Debbie Macomber.  This won't win the Nobel Prize, but give me a story about a woman who runs an inn in a town called Cedar Cove, a couple of quirky friends, a few romantic dilemmas and I'm a happy camper.  It was a quick, easy read.  You can't go wrong with Debbie Macomber.

Next I read All The Summer Girls by Meg Donohue.  I chose this because it's about a girl from Philadelphia who takes a trip to the Jersey shore with some old friends, and I live in Philadelphia and grew up going to the Jersey shore. I love books that are set in places I am familiar with.  I'll be honest, that's about all this book had going for it.  It was your typical book about three friends who meet up at the beach after several years apart and they have turned into different people and secrets are uncovered but their bond of friendship is strengthened.  But it was nice to read about summer at the beach in the middle of yet another snowstorm.

Several weeks ago my mom suggested Need to Know, and it was finally my turn on the waiting list at the library.  I read the whole book in two days.  It's going to be a series and a movie, and I could not be more thrilled.  I highly recommend it.  Here's a summary: The last thing that CIA analyst Vivian Miller expects to see when she finally accesses the files of a suspected Russian sleeper cell is the face of someone close to her. Someone she thought she could trust with her four children. Someone whose exposure as a Russian spy will destroy her hard-fought career. Miller panics and deletes the file. She knows she's only delayed the inevitable exposure…unless she can use her skills to extract herself and her family.  

After that I read My Story by Elizabeth Smart.  I cannot say enough about this book. It was very difficult to read because it details the circumstances of the kidnapping and everything Elizabeth Smart endured for the next several months, but the strength that she had to survive that torture, and the perspective that she had then and now is really unbelievable.  She is incredible.

One of Us is Lying was up next.  It's pretty popular right now, but in case you haven't heard about it:

Pay close attention and you might solve this.

On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.
    Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule. 
    Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess. 
    Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
    Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
    And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.
 
Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose? 
 
Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.

The chapters are short it sucked me in immediately, and I kept telling myself "Just one more quick chapter" and before I knew it, I had been reading for another hour.  I was a little bit bummed with the ending when I read it, but the more I think about it, the more I think it's not because the ending was bad, but because I was mad I didn't solve it.  I was CONVINCED I had the whole thing figured out and it turned out I was totally off base!  I won't be quitting my job to become a detective.

The last book I read was Unplanned, which is the story of a woman who was a director of a Planned Parenthood clinic and became pro-life.  I know there are many different opinions on this topic, but in the beginning, Abby writes about how it's important to read about people who believe in things you believe in, and people who believe differently.  It was really interesting to me to learn how she got involved with Planned Parenthood in college, and how her beliefs changed slightly overtime until she ultimately quit after moving pretty high up in the company and spending a large chunk of her career there.  It was a compelling read.

So that's it for this month.  Right now I'm reading Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham, and have several I'm excited about lined up after that.  I read most of the books this month under a blanket in front of the fire, but I'm optimistic that next month, most of my books will be read in the hammock!

Did you read anything great this month?