We lost Mom while walking from the train to our Airbnb, so we headed to the nearest Hermès store to wait for her, coz we know where she at.
The Radius of Us by Marie Marquardt
– I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. –
Published by St. Martin’s Press on 17 Jan 2017
Goodreads | Amazon
What happens when you fall in love with someone everyone seems determined to fear?
Ninety seconds can change a life — not just daily routine, but who you are as a person. Gretchen Asher knows this, because that’s how long a stranger held her body to the ground. When a car sped toward them and Gretchen’s attacker told her to run, she recognized a surprising terror in his eyes. And now she doesn’t even recognize herself.
Ninety seconds can change a life — not just the place you live, but the person others think you are. Phoenix Flores-Flores knows this, because months after setting off toward the U.S. / Mexico border in search of safety for his brother, he finally walked out of detention. But Phoenix didn’t just trade a perilous barrio in El Salvador for a leafy suburb in Atlanta. He became that person — the one his new neighbors crossed the street to avoid.
Ninety seconds can change a life — so how will the ninety seconds of Gretchen and Phoenix’s first encounter change theirs?
Told in alternating first person points of view, The Radius of Us is a story of love, sacrifice, and the journey from victim to survivor. It offers an intimate glimpse into the causes and devastating impact of Latino gang violence, both in the U.S. and in Central America, and explores the risks that victims take when they try to start over. Most importantly, Marie Marquardt’s The Radius of Us shows how people struggling to overcome trauma can find healing in love.
My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella
– I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. –
To be published by Penguin Random House on 07 Feb 2017
Goodreads | Amazon
Katie Brenner has the perfect life: a flat in London, a glamorous job, and a super-cool Instagram feed.
Ok, so the real truth is that she rents a tiny room with no space for a wardrobe, has a hideous commute to a lowly admin job, and the life she shares on Instagram isn’t really hers.
But one day her dreams are bound to come true, aren’t they?
Until her not-so perfect life comes crashing down when her mega-successful boss Demeter gives her the sack. All Katie’s hopes are shattered. She has to move home to Somerset, where she helps her dad with his new glamping business.
Then Demeter and her family book in for a holiday, and Katie sees her chance. But should she get revenge on the woman who ruined her dreams? Or try to get her job back? Does Demeter – the woman with everything – have such an idyllic life herself? Maybe they have more in common than it seems.
And what’s wrong with not-so-perfect, anyway?
January
This was my first month of not writing weekly Happy Lists and it felt weird! A happy moment would occur, I’d make a note to make a note of it, but then I’d remember that I was no longer writing weekly Happy Lists. (This year I’m doing monthly reviews instead, if you recall me mentioning. This post is the first of them.) I think I’m going to start noting down my happy moments again and share them in my monthly reviews, starting with next month! I’d start this month, but I’m writing this post at the end of the month and I can’t remember the little joys and triumphs that happened in between.
Interview @ Missing Wanderer
Catch me over at Missing Wanderer! Thank you for including me in your creative space Arden!
Brooklyn (outtakes)
These are the photos that didn’t make the cut, not necessarily because they weren’t good enough, but because they didn’t follow the theme I had envisioned for the photoshoot. (Okay maybe it was just that the colours gave off different vibes, which made it seem less like of a cohesive collection.) But also because some of them weren’t good enough. If you missed my Brooklyn photoshoot, you can check it out here!