First Lines Friday

First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.

• Grab your current read(s).
• Share the first line(s).
• Include the title and author.

"As a little girl I walked for hours alone in the silent woods behind my house in Louisiana, singing songs. Being outside gave me a sense of aliveness and danger."

~ The Woman in Me by Britney Spears 

A Bookheart Thanksgiving

Make it a Bookheart Thanksgiving! Give the gift of a Kindle device, eBook or Unlimited subscription!

My Side of the River

"Maybe that's why everything in Mexico tasted sweeter and familiar—we were together. Being there gave us a freedom we didn't have in the United States." ~ pg. 90

In this candid age-progressing memoir, Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez shares her experience as a U.S. born daughter of immigrants. She lived south of the Rillito River in Tucson, Arizona. Crossing into Mexico used to be seamless. Then her parents' visa expired and they were forced to return to Mexico. Elizabeth was left responsible for her younger brother and education.

Imagine living in fear. Imagine having to stay in Mexico when your life is in the United States. Imagine separating from your children and deciding to leave them a world away for a chance at better education. Imagine having to fade into crowds. Imagine working a job you hate in a system that doesn't see your family as humans. On a lighter note, imagine the smell of fresh tamales and watching Disney as a form of escape. 

Elizabeth so honestly shares her experience from early childhood to adulthood with the hopes that readers will understand. She did a fine job translating her Brown girl story to print. 

"For so long college was the end goal, but the goalposts kept moving..." ~ pg. 171

My Side of the River explores themes of immigration, broken families, separation trauma and sacrifices. There are sad moments but through it all, I admire Elizabeth's determination to succeed despite adversities and constantly fighting currents. Usually I recommend nonfiction releases to Bookhearts that like memoirs but My Side of the River needs to be read by politicians to absorb the effects of their views made into laws. 

Happy Early Pub Day, Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez! My Side of the River will be available Tuesday, February 13, 2024.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie

Title: My Side of the River
Author: Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez
Published: February 2024
Pages: 224
Edition: Galley
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

Hold My Girl

"But something I learned, that we both learned, is love doesn't split when you share it. It grows." ~ 51%

After seven difficult years of trying to conceive, Katherine gives birth to Rose, her IVF miracle child. But it's more than noticeable that Rose's skin is white, her hair is straight and almost blond. It doesn't match Katherine's light-skinned complexion as a Black woman. Bluish-green eyed Tess also underwent IVF at the same clinic but her daughter was stillborn. Now nearly one year later, Tess is consumed by grief, divorced and broke. Just before Rose's first birthday, the fertility clinic calls both women with life-changing news: their eggs were switched.

Motherhood has been Katherine's and Tess's dream. Now neither woman wants to share that claim over Rose. Hence a tense custody battle with racial identity overtones. So very quickly the story turns emotional and left me questioning the definition of motherhood and what makes a mother? Who is to blame and who is deserving? How much is too much to share?

"Was she a good enough daughter, mother, wife, friend? Was she enough?" ~ 74%

I have marinated on this review for months. No exaggeration—I read it back in the summer. I stalked it until it was available for United States book reviewers. The publisher's summary was that intriguing! So when it finally arrived on my Kindle, I was beyond excited to read and review it. I cleared plans and read half of the book in one day. I forced myself to put it down and took my time reading over the next two days. And here I sit, nearly five months later, still thinking of the deeply moving story, the emotional themes, the moral lesson and its memorable characters.

Charlene Carr is officially on my watch list. I will read whatever she releases next and have signed up for author updates. Hold My Girl is so well written that I recommend it to every Bookheart that enjoys grown chick lit. You will view love differently and see why Hold My Girl is the best book I've read in 2023. And to the decision-makers and screenwriters, please adapt this book into a movie! 

Two women. Two eggs. One life-changing switch. Hold My Girl is now available.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie

Title: Hold My Girl
Author: Charlene Carr
Published: October 2023
Pages: 432
Edition: Galley
Genre: Family Drama, Grown Chick Lit
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

Made Whole: The Practical Guide to Reaching Your Financial Goals

"Here's the truth: Whatever your net worth is, it's OK. All you have now is a number that gives you something to work with, a point of focus around which you can build your future financial actions." ~ 79%

The Budgetnista is back with a workbook to get our finances in order! In new release, Made Whole: The Practical Guide to Reaching Your Financial Goals, Tiffany Aliche provides hands-on tools to help with budgeting, investing, saving for retirement and even fun money. With rising interest rates and a rocky economy, we all need to live within our means, spend and save wisely. 

Made Whole helps us set realistic financial goals with an easy-to-follow action plan. There are budget sheets, worksheets, checklists and to-do items. Topics include debt, credit, income, retirement, insurance, estate planning and financial planning. She shares hacks for increasing your credit score, picking the right money team and breaks down financial jargon in a down-to-earth style that I appreciate. This workbook is a masterclass that costs less than lunch!

I have taken so many notes and highlights and already implemented ways to improve my own budget so I can stay on track with short- and long-term financial goals. I highly recommend you do the same and get good with money! 

Happy Pub Day to The Budgetnista! Made Whole is now available.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie

Title: Made Whole: The Practical Guide to Reaching Your Financial Goals
Author: Tiffany Aliche "The Budgetnista"
Published: November 2023
Pages: 247
Edition: Galley
Genre: Finance Self-Help
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

Series Sunday: The Edge

(The 6:20 Man #2) 

Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.

• Read an installment of a series.
• Share your review/recommendation below.
• Include the title, author and series name.

My Series Sunday pick is The Edge, the second book in The 6:20 Man series by David Baldacci. Travis Devine is back! He is tasked by handlers to solve the murder of a CIA agent who knew America's dirty secrets. Government officials have immediate concerns over national security. Travis Devine heads to a small coastal town in Maine where the locals have trusted each other their whole lives and strongly distrust any outsider.

"The mind could screw with you in ways you could hardly imagine. In trying to save you, its stressor signals could actually kill you with a heart attack or render you incapable of saving yourself." ~ pg. 15

I love a mystery with lots of suspects and a main character I can root for. Travis Devine has no idea who to trust but tries his best to blend in. His tactics are sharp and calculating showcasing his army ranger background. Baldacci does a good job of keeping the mystery close to the vest until the ending pages in this series. I just wish with each chapter that the suspense built to match Travis Devine's characteristics.

The Edge was nowhere near as fast-paced as the first book of series. The 6:20 Man was a realistic deep dive into dark finance at its finest. I have waited for this follow-up novel for over a year and it's finally arrived on my Kindle. I hurriedly finished other books so I could begin reading this. My hopes were up so I am a bit let down; however, I still recommend it. The Edge is good read but missed that edge, pun all the way intended. 

Happy Pub Week, David Baldacci! The Edge is available now.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie

Title: The Edge

Author: David Baldacci

Published: November 2023

Pages: 387

Edition: Galley

Genre: Mystery

Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤

First Lines Friday

First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.

• Grab your current read(s).
• Share the first line(s).
• Include the title and author.

"Passenger train travel was not known to be particularly dangerous, especially in Europe where the machines soared like the wind on rigorously sculpted rails that translated to silky smooth rides."

~ The Edge by David Baldacci