The first Wednesday of each month, Carolyn Astfalk hosts #OpenBook, where bloggers link posts about books they’ve read recently. Here’s a taste of what I’ve been reading:

Fiction

Hometown Girl by Courtney Walsh. Beth had always dreamed of life in the big city, but she felt bound to a family business after her own business decision left it endangered. She blames herself for her father’s death and won’t forgive herself for her mistake, or tell anyone about it. When her sister Molly buys a local farm with a tragic secret, Beth finds herself caught up in turning the farm back into a tourist destination, with the help of Drew, a young man who has a link to the farm’s decades-old tragedy. He can’t tell anyone about his past either. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and stayed up too late reading it.

Just Maybe by Crystal Walton. What hooked me on this story right off the bat? Quinn is a magazine editor who just can’t help herself: she corrects people’s grammar under her breath or feels the need to run away when a conversation gets too grammatically off-track. Too funny. Quinn is on assignment to get the dirt on self-made millionaire Cooper Anderson. She wants to succeed with this story, because her job is on the line and she fears her boss, whom she’s nicknamed “Cruella.” But when she shows up at Cooper’s house, she finds him packing to leave the country, putting his home on the market and trying to find a permanent home for the toddler who was just delivered to him after the death of Cooper’s ex: a child he never even knew he had. But Quinn has secrets too: she grew up in that neighborhood and ran away from it several years ago, putting her family’s country ways — and her father’s serious health problems — behind her. A fun story, a clean romance, and characters you can easily enjoy. Well done.

A Tidbit of Trust by Elizabeth Maddrey. A fun, light read. A contractor and youth pastor runs into a woman from his own parish while on a mission trip to Jamaica. She’s at a local resort, and he knows her reputation — but he’s attracted anyway. Meanwhile, she’s trying to shake off that old reputation and turn her life around, but too many people from church won’t let her make a clean break with her past. (Note: people on the cover are not at all as I pictured them, which is perhaps a good reason to read books on Kindle, where you don’t see cover art.)

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. Lo Blacklock is a journalist trying to prove herself. On a press junket aboard a newly-launched semprivate boutique cruise ship, she sees and hears something she shouldn’t: a scream — and then a woman goes overboard. Suspense builds as Lo receives anonymous warnings to stop digging for information about what happened; things go missing from her cabin; and she winds up in mortal danger. I’m not entirely sure I bought the ending (then again, I don’t generally read thrillers — this book was a gift) but the book definitely kept me reading.

The Three Godfathers by Peter B. Kyne. I loved this little book. Written a century ago, its style would be perfect for a read-aloud (not for young children, but for grownups — I could picture the adults in a family settling down to enjoy it together after the small children were asleep. The prose was lyrical and carried the reader through the story of The Three Bad Men who, on the run in the southwestern-US desert after the fourth in their number was killed in a bank robbery gone wrong, encounter a young widow in labor — but no water. The dying widow entreats them to be the godfathers of her newborn, and they take this responsibility very seriously. The Three Bad Men are changed spiritually by agreeing to be godfathers for the baby in a wonderful story of sacrifice (and maybe even redemption).

One Pink Line by Dina Silver. At its heart, I found this book to center on selfishness. Even as the reader has to applaud the young college student for keeping her baby when she finds herself unexpectedly pregnant, it’s hard to get past the selfish decisions she made that got her there in the first place (cheating on her longtime boyfriend). It’s even harder to get past the fact that she keeps her daughter’s parentage a secret (though there’s a rich grandmother in the picture who only sends gifts to that child, not the younger ones in the family … ). The can of worms opens up when her daughter is at school and learns about conception in biology class — and figures out that her family might not be what she’s always assumed it is.

Sweet Tea Tuesdays by Ashley Farley. Good friends are hard to find. This novel takes on the crises several friends are experiencing, some of which could cost them their treasured friendship. It seems like a lot for 3 people to go through all at once, and the secrets they keep from each other threaten to tear these friends and neighbors apart. Bring tissues.

Nonfiction

Forgiving Mother by Marge Fenelon. This book speaks to the heart of those who carry the burden of wounds from the past. Marge’s honesty and courage in sharing the harrowing details of the abuse she suffered from her mother as well as the redeeming power of the relationship she developed with Mary, Mother of God and Mother to us all, will encourage any reader who needs to find healing, forgiveness and hope in a difficult relationship. Read my full review. (ARC received from publisher)

The Franciscan Saints by Robert Ellsburg. The saints in this book come from all walks of life: missionaries, princesses (yes, a princess!), poets, widows, martyrs, reformers, Secular Franciscans, prophets, mystics, stigmatists, and popes. Teens preparing for Confirmation would do well to check out this book; the biographies of each saint are brief (averaging 2 pages) and include a quote (usually a quote from the saint). Read my full review. I enjoyed this peek into the “who’s who of the Franciscan family” and flagged several saints for further study. (ARC received from publisher)

… And with that, I have reached my Goodreads goal of 99 books read in 2017, 2 months ahead of schedule.

Links to books in this post are Amazon affiliate links. Your purchases made through these links support Franciscanmom.com. Thank you!

Follow my Goodreads reviews for the full list of what I’ve read recently (even the duds … and this month, there were some duds!)

Visit today’s #OpenBook post to join the linkup or just get some great ideas about what to read! You’ll find it at Carolyn Astfalk’s A Scribbler’s Heart and at CatholicMom.com!

Copyright 2017 Barb Szyszkiewicz