Tag: Family

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

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Book Genre Tag "Fantasy" with image of fantasy world of mountains and water

Rating: 5 out of 5.

This was a beautifully written story that sweeps the reader away to a world of magic, love, family and honor. I loved the characters, the world, the magic, and the overall story! This story is inspired by the legend of Chang’e, the Chinese moon goddess. While I didn’t know anything about this legend, I loved that it was inspired by it!

Xingyin lives with her mother hidden away from the Celestial Emperor who doesn’t know she exists. When Xingyin’s magic releases accidentally, she must escape the only home she’s ever known. She lands herself in the palace of the Celestial Emperor and must keep her true identity hidden.

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The Wedding Season by Katy Birchall

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White library with lots of stairs and "Contemporary" text
Book Genre Tag "Romance": A couple kissing

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This was a lovely story of self-love and growth, forgiveness, and moving on. I really enjoyed the characters and the story!

Freya has just been left, not quite at the altar, but in the broom closet. Regardless of the location, she’s got an entire wedding to unravel now. After taking some time to recover from the heartbreak, it’s closing in on the wedding season, and Freya’s friends have her back. They give her a challenge to complete at each wedding. The challenges are to help her get through the wedding and get over Matthew.

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More Than a Mom by Kari Kampakis

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"Non Fiction" words carved into wood

Rating: 5 out of 5.

This book…every mom needs to consider this one. So many times we prioritize our family first, and there’s a lot of needs there. When do we move ourselves to the top of the list? I think it’s not often enough sometimes, but this book gives so many reasons and ways to start doing that!

In this book, Kari Kampakis writes about ten things that mom’s should help themselves with. Things like stopping the negative talk, realizing your own self worth, coming to a peaceful understanding with your body, and so many others…well 10 to be exact. But those were three that were really important for me.

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The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon

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Person peeking through hole titled "Thriller"

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Wow, I really enjoyed this one. What a fantastic story! This was creepy, and confusing, and had a surprise ending. I loved it!

This is told through two timelines, and both are compelling stories, which I really appreciated. Sometimes one timeline is more interesting than the other, but in this story, I loved them both! We have the 1978 story where we follow three children living with their grandmother. But grandma has some secrets…

The second timeline is present day, where we follow Lizzie. She’s a monster hunter, but right now, she’s hunting a different kind of monster…her sister.

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Everything Must Go by Camille Pagán

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White library with lots of stairs and "Contemporary" text

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Camille Pagan writes such real stories. The characters are real, the situations are real. I just really recommend reading her works!

This was an emotional and moving story told through the voices of a mother and daughter. I really enjoyed these two perspectives as we learn the secrets that are separating the two.

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The Unknown Beloved by Amy Harmon

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"Historical Fiction" genre card with glasses and book photo
"Mystery" Genre card with dark woods and light in the distance

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I am thoroughly convinced that Amy Harmon can write anything. She is an author that can jump from genre to genre with such ease and agility, and I am HERE for it every time!

In The Unknown Beloved, we are taken to the 1930’s for a murder mystery. I didn’t realize this until over halfway through the book, but the serial killer, and many of the characters were real people, and that made me love this book even more! Dani is a fictional character, but she is a fantastic MC, and as Harmon hinted at in the author’s note, I agree…more stories of her and Mike would be awesome!

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Scarlet Carnation by Laila Ibrahim

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"Historical Fiction" genre card with glasses and book photo

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This book is a continuation of a family saga series that I just absolutely love! It starts with Yellow Crocus, set in the 1800s and follows the life of two women, Lisbeth, a white plantation daughter, and Mattie, a slave and wet nurse. Each book after that one continues to follow those women and their descendants. I would absolutely recommend that you start at the beginning of this series, but I think you could read this as a stand-alone if you really wanted to.

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Guapo’s Giant Heart by Janet Zappala

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"Childrens" Genre Block - 4 kids laying on stomachs looking at book
Book Genre Block - "Animals" with image of toy animals lined up

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This was an adorable children’s story about a lovable calf and his friends. Guapo is adopted by a family, and he is so happy to have a place to sleep and humans to feed him. As he grows, he finds that his size is intimidating to some.

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The Buy-In by Emma St. Clair

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Book Genre Block - "Rom Com" couple on bench

Rating: 5 out of 5.

This is my first book by Emma St. Clair, and I just loved her writing! She makes the characters feel authentic with situations that really could happen. I fell in love with not only the people in this one, but also the little town of Sheet Cake.

When Pat’s dad, Tank Graham, buys a town, Pat is initially against it, but quickly gets on board when he discovers the girl that got away lives in the town. I loved the premise of a bunch of ex-pro football guys moving in on this small Texas town. The characters that we meet in town are hilarious and unique. I couldn’t get enough of the interactions between them. The town’s people don’t immediately accept the Graham family, and they get into some pretty tricky situations that had me laughing over and over!

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Antoinette’s Sister by Diana Giovinazzo

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"Historical Fiction" genre card with glasses and book photo

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Wow, this was a fantastic view of a strong, powerful woman and her love of family and country! I didn’t know anything about Marie Antoinette’s family and getting to know the family through this view was wonderful! This isn’t a story of Marie Antoinette, it’s a story of her sister Charlotte. We follow Charlotte through her life through her view as well as through letters between herself and her family. It was a fantastic way to get to know Charlotte as a person, a sister, a mother, and a queen!

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Starr’s Wonderful Discovery by Trey Jefferies

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"Childrens" Genre Block - 4 kids laying on stomachs looking at book

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This is an adorable children’s book with a great main character! Starr is a wonderfully unique panda, and she knows it! She is proud of herself and her talents, and she loves to share them with everyone! When she meets a new friend, Shine, who is not a comfortable in his own skin, Starr helps him to see how wonderful he is!

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Am I Allergic to Men? by Kristen Bailey

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

What a fun, moving, and heartfelt story this was! I wasn’t sure where this story was going to go, and when Lucy is hit by a bus, this went from silly and lighthearted to quite serious very quickly! Lucy is such an interesting, vibrant, hilarious person, and when she loses years of memory from the accident, her family rises up in droves to help her in any way they can. All the sisters move back into their parents’ house together to help break the memories free.

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