Happy Friday friends! We're taking a break from chatting all the holiday things to chat about all the Book Club things. How is it already December?!? Our 2018 Book Club is almost wrapped up and next month we'll share our favorite books of the year. It will be 2019! That blows our minds! But before we chat about next year, we have one more month out of this year to add some great reads to the list, and this month definitely has some contenders! WHAT WE READ... CARRIE BETH My Audible game is still going strong and I got through five books this month. All of them were pretty heavy though and I didn't do that intentionally. Lots of thought provoking stories and I cried lots of tears. These books really moved me though...like a good book should! First up was Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult. This author writes about very controversial topics and this one is about race relations in our country. See...I told you it was heavy. The story is about an African American Labor and Delivery nurse who ends up caring for a white supremacist's baby. A tragedy occurs and the aftermath turns the main character's life upside down. I loved listening to this book because it was narrated by several different people and it really gives you great feel for their personalities and helps pull you into the story that much more! I always know that Colleen Hoover books are going to hook me from the beginning and keep me reading/listening until I find out how they end. Confess was no different. It's about an artist who paints anonymous confessions that people submit to him and a girl who happens to stumble upon his gallery. Although, as chance as their meeting seems, it seems that fate is actually what drew them together. The love story that develops between the two main characters has some unexpected hurdles to overcome and learning their connection to one another at the very end of the book is something I never would have guessed! The total shocker for me this month was Ryan's Bed by Tijan. I don't know what I was expecting from this book, but oh my goodness. It shook me. I cried so much while listening to this and literally felt spent after. I wore my headphones while cooking dinner, while putting away laundry and stayed up WAY too late one night to finish it because it was just that riveting. Like Jen mentions below, it is more of a Young Adult genre, but involves the heavy subject of suicide. This book had my heart aching. It's about a 18 year old girl who is a senior in high school and has to deal with an incredible amount of grief and pain. I can't say too much without giving the story away, but she finds someone who becomes her rock and helps her though the darkest of days. The ending has a MAJOR twist that I didn't see coming. I wanted way more. I think the author ends the story in that way for you to process and make your own assumptions about it though. I have my own idea and if you listen to this, please email me about it! I want to talk to someone about how it ended and what you think happened. After all that heaviness in I was hoping for something kind of light and a little more thrilling. A few friends had told me about The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. It's a little along the lines of books like The Last Mrs. Parish and The Girl On the Train. If you like those kind of books then you will like this! A husband that seems too good to be true usually is and when his true colors are revealed it's too late for this wife. However, she comes up with a plan to make sure he doesn't hurt anyone else and the connections between the characters comes full circle. The last book of this month was another Colleen Hoover book, All Your Perfects. I expected a typical love story like most of her other books, but this one was really different. It was about a couple struggling with infertility and really hit a nerve. Before my three beautiful children I dealt with this topic and this story brought back lots of many memories and feelings. I could certainly relate to the characters and was rooting for them the entire time. The end of this book had be sobbing in my car one day. Like I legit had to keep wiping my tears away so I could see to drive. The husband's love and devotion to his wife was so incredibly touching and I wanted nothing more for them to both be happy. This book was SO emotionally driven, but really, really good! JEN Okay Carrie Beth and I have had a role reversal the last few months. This back half of the year has been super crazy, and trying to balance all my roles has left me with little extra time. Carrie Beth has gotten me so hooked on Audible though. If I hadn't been introduced to audio books, I would have a big fat nothing to share. She also was the one who suggested the only two books I managed to "read". First up was All We Ever Wanted by Emily Griffin. Carrie Beth read this book during last month's Book Club and had nothing but great things to say about it. A friend also shared this suggestion on our Instagram feed, so I went with it. Y'all! The more I read this book the more nervous I became for ever having teenagers. It touched on so many topics that I feel are relevant and relatable as a parent. In case you missed it last month, the book follows two families after a incident at a high school house party. Some of the characters frustrated me, and there are some twists and turns in the story that have you rethinking your judgments on the situation. I loved the mother and her perspective, and love love love how it ended. Such a great book and highly recommend. And if you chose to listen to the audio version, I have to say out of all the books I've heard so far this one has been my favorite. I loved that the voices were from different narrators instead of just one narrator. It made it more realistic for me if that makes sense. The second book I listened to was Ryan's Bed. Carrie Beth was almost done with this one and told me to put it on my list next. This book was so good too. I think it is geared more toward a young adult genre, but the story is tragic and engrossing it keeps your attention. I am not sure if it was the way the narrator read the book or if it was just the main character herself, but sometimes I found myself annoyed by her. I can't put my finger on it. The main character Ryan though...everyone needs a Ryan. The very last part of the book has a major twist too, and I needed like one more chapter because it left me with so many questions. I immediately texted Carrie Beth and asked if there was more I was missing. It's a book that makes you think, feel, and stays with you long after you are done. Put it on your list! WHAT'S UP NEXT... CARRIE BETH I feel like I just need a good old fashioned heart-warming story. After all of the dark and deep and depressing stories I read last month, I need something happy. Hoping I will find it in this Christmas story. Trading Christmas by Debbie Macomber is also a Hallmark Channel movie so that hast to be a good sign, right? JEN Okay, the latest Nicholas Sparks book was at the top of my list last month and I only got through the very first chapter before life moved to warp speed. This month though... This month I will finish it! Surely I will have time somewhere between all the sports, school activities, holiday parties, holiday shopping, wrapping...right?! Now share with us! What have you been reading lately? This is the month made for warm fires, cozy blankets, and feel good books. We plan to soak it all in and need some great suggestions! BOOK CLUB 2018 | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | Follow along with us on Goodreads! HAPPY READING! Come spend the day with us on: | Instagram | Pinterest | Facebook | Twitter |

... especially since being Catholic is so very unpopular right now, what with the same-sex "marriage" stuff going on in SCOTUS. Eh. I've never been that