July 2021 – You want to read this…

Title: The Heart Principle

Author: Helen Hoang

Page Count: 320

Series: The Kiss Quotient, Book 3

Publishing Date/Publisher: August 31, 2021 by Berkley

Format: eBook

Review: Hoang captured my heart with The Kiss Quotient, and though I didn’t enjoy The Bride Test nearly as much, I was still eager to read The Heart Principle when I saw it offered on NetGalley. The Heart Principle is written in a different style than it’s predecessors, and the result is a deeply felt and raw portrayal of love, loss, and learning self-acceptance. The main character, Anna, struggles with hiding her social difficulties and exerts great effort to mold herself into the person her family and boyfriend expects. At the end of each interaction she is left mentally and emotionally drained, hardly able to take care of herself. She is completely blindsided when her boyfriend proposes an “open” relationship, and as she grapples with this new reality, she meets Quan, the “bad boy” with a heart of gold. Both Anna and Quan are wearing masks to hide their inner struggles, but once together, they find a safe space to be authentic within their burgeoning relationship.

This really was a beautiful story, though much sadder in tone than the other two books in the series. The author’s note at the end is worth reading and explains why she chose to make this book different.

Reader: Bekah

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Title: The Midnight Library

Author: Matt Haig

Performer: Carey Mulligan

Length: 8 hr, 50 min

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: September 29, 2020 by Penguin Audio

Format: eAudiobook

Review: This book had good pacing and although predictable, had a great message. Life is full of choices, and it is easy to get bogged down with regrets. Perhaps we could have had a “better” life if we made different choices, but ultimately this may have resulted in unexpected outcomes. Outcomes that would not necessarily be good. Keeping this in mind, I think this book gives the reader a healthy dose of perspective. We all occasionally have “what if” thoughts, and sometimes we need to reframe our way of thinking to see things in a more positive light. In some respects, this almost felt like a self-help book and it serves as a gentle reminder that we can all be kinder to ourselves.

Reader: Bekah

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