Mini Book Reviews: September 2025

Disclaimer: I received copies of Don't Call It a Comeback, The Man in the Stone Cottage, A Killer Wedding, and Heart the Lover from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links. 

The pressure was on this month because not only did I have 5 NetGalley books to read and review, but all 4 of my library holds came in on the same day. Ha! It always seems to happen that way, doesn't it? I'm not complaining--it's a great problem to have. I had to do some mental gymnastics to sort out which ones I should choose to get as many read as possible. I ended up putting one NetGalley book on my TBR until October. One of the library holds will go back because I want to save it for Nonfiction November. Yes, that's coming up too!

Quick Recap: 

Loved: What Kind of Paradise, Heart the Lover, Far Away, The Man in the Stone Cottage, and A Marriage At Sea
Liked: Don't Call it a Comeback, The Bright Years

Meh: A Killer Wedding

Another Year Around the Sun

As I posted on my IG last Sunday, I woke up and I was older. Those birthdays just keep coming. There's not much I can do about that, but I'm always grateful for what this body lets me do! Here's to another strong, healthy year!

Recovery

Much like the week after a marathon, I needed some time to recover from my son's big wedding. It really was like a marathon. I was exhausted both physically and emotionally. 

Friday was the rehearsal dinner, and then Saturday, the big day, which started at 8 for hair and makeup, followed by bringing lunch to the hotel to feed the groomsmen, and then helping my son get ready and take pictures. I went to the venue after that, but they didn't need me for about an hour, so I found a place to sit and read. When the bridal party went outside to the golf course for photos, I followed, taking many of the photos I shared in last week's post. The hubs arrived for photos, and once those were done, we walked to the clubhouse to grab something cold to drink. It wasn't long after that that the guests started arriving for the ceremony. 

I only cried once during the ceremony--when I hugged my son after we walked him down the aisle. He let me hug him so tight--something out of the norm for him--and when I sat down, the tears just flowed.

Time really flew after the ceremony! We were busy greeting the guests; then we made our big entrance! We sat down for dinner, but I was called to the floor to give my speech. I thought I'd be nervous, but I had practiced what I wanted to say, and it went well. My speech was followed by the father of the bride, the best man (my youngest son), and then the maid of honor (the bride's sister). The cake was cut and the party started! 

I danced with my son to Landslide and the bride danced with her father to My Girl. The bride and groom surprised me by dancing to one of my favorite songs, Tennessee Whiskey by Chris Stapleton. My son and I had gone to see him about 5 years ago!

The night flew by. By 10 o'clock, I told my hubs I was ready to go home. The party was going strong, but almost all our family and friends were gone by then. The next morning, I saw a lot of photos of what we missed, and it looked like things got wild! My youngest son did a back flip on the dance floor; the groomsmen carried my oldest son around overhead, and another video showed my youngest doing the worm through Tom's legs! I think I can say that a good time was had by all.

I've spent a lot of time this week going through photos and videos. What a wonderful wedding! And for all the boy moms out there, this was such an emotional experience for me, seeing my son so in love with his bride. He looked so happy!

BIG WEEKEND!

It was hard to believe that the time had gone so fast since my son and his girlfriend had announced their engagement 15 months ago. But here we are--wedding weekend! This week was all about last minute preparations and wrapping up all the details we've been planning for the past year! The runs and the workouts continued uninterrupted, though. I would never have gotten through this weekend without them!

The Calm Before...

...THE WEDDING.

EEEK! It's here!

Next week is my oldest son's wedding. All the planning is done and the big--very big--event takes place next weekend. This week will be all about preparing for the big day. I am excited and also anxious! I've been asked to give a speech at the wedding, and I have it written. I'm only working one day this week. My future DIL and I have plans on Wednesday for a mani-pedi, which will be relaxing and a chance for us to decompress. And yes, the workouts and runs will continue, right up to the big day. 

It feels like a marathon, with all the pre-race jitters! 

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Labor Day weekend is the unofficial end of summer, but there's still plenty of summer-like weather left! We had some amazing weather this week--finally! I enjoyed some really nice runs that made me feel like a runner again. While I worked up a sweat, it was nice not to be drenched when I finished. 

It's my favorite time of year, and I plan to make the most of it!

Mini Book Reviews: August 2025

Disclaimer: I received ARCs of Greenwich, Beautiful Nights, In Berlin, L.A. Women, and Joy Moody is Out of Time in exchange for my honest reviews. This post contains affiliate links.

What a prolific month of reading! With our relentless heatwave that plagued us most of August, I spent most of my time off inside, in the air conditioning. Similar to winter, in a sense. With all that downtime, I hunkered down, finished all my NetGalley reads for July and August (yay!), and read some library holds. The two Oprah book club selections were completely by chance--the books sounded good and they were available, so I read them. 

I'd be hard-pressed to pick a favorite book for the month. They were all 5 and 4 star reads. I leaned heavily on literary fiction this month--I do love a good story. There's one memoir. I hope you find something that interests you!