Cassie DeNisco

Reading Essentials for the Book Lover

February 26, 2024

I don’t have a book review for this month so I thought I would instead share my reading essentials! These are perfect for a book lover who wants the connivence to read in any situation! Essentials like these have transformed my reading habits and made it so much easier for me to read wherever!

This post contains affiliate links so I make a small commission if you choose to purchase through them! These have seriously made me reach my reading goals and just elevate my reading time!

Kindle

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The Kindle paper-white has truly changed the reading game for me. I swear it’s more convenient to read with this than a regular book because you can really get comfy and cozy anywhere with this. I love that it tells you the percentage left in the book and you can really tailor it to your preferences. You can make smaller fonts so you can have more words on a page or you can make it brighter or yellower so it’s easier for you to read.

Pop Socket for Kindle

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If you have a Kindle, you NEED a pop socket for it! It truly makes holding the kindle so much better. I had mine for about 2 years before I added the pop socket to it and I’m not even kidding that it made it so much better for me. It elevates your reading experience and makes it comfy to read whenever you want.

Reading Light

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If you are still into the regular old book, I highly suggest a reading light. I love reading at night before bed but hate when I have to have such bright lights on. This particular light is so amazing because you can really toggle the color and lighting to whatever is best for you. I also love that this attaches so easily to your book with the clip so it doesn’t fall off if you try to get comfy.

Good Reads

https://www.goodreads.com

This is such an amazing concept that I can have a to be read list and then an actually read list all in one spot. I know there a few other apps like this out there but I love this one because easily links to your Kindle. It will record reading progress and even mark when you finish books so you don’t have an extra step!

I hope you love this post dedicated to my reading essentials! I love a good book and all of these have seriously helped to make my reading experience so much better! You can check out January’s book review here: january book review!

American Royals Reign Book Review!

January 29, 2024

A new year means new reading goals for me! I kicked off the year by finally reading American Royals Reign which is the last book in this series! I really loved this series as it gave a look into what America would look like with a royal family.

It had all the drama of the British royals set in an American landscape! This review contains an affiliate link so I make a small commission if you choose to purchase the book through my link!!

American Royals Reign by Katharine McGee

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This final book of the American Royal Series follows the siblings after Queen Beatrice’s accident. She’s in a coma for the beginning of the book and then seeks to regain her lost memory while navigating a tough political climate.

I will say I was a little underwhelmed with her story line. I had really hoped that her and her bodyguard from the previous books would rekindle or just have more of a moment than they did. There was a lot of buildup from the other books that it just left me hanging.

As for the other siblings though, I feel like I really enjoyed their story lines and the wrap up to their characters. Nina, the family friend and Prince Jefferson finally have their moment in the end of the book and sister Samantha is able to figure out what she really wants in life.

I loved this series because it’s just such a fun thought about what the American royals would be like if we had any! This fictional series is just a light read that keeps you turning the pages!

You can check out my to other review of this series here! I hope you’ll give this American Royals Reign book a read! I am so excited for another year of reading and hope you’ll follow along with me!

Let me know in the comments below your must reads for this year!

Top Books for 2024!

December 18, 2023

I am so excited to be sharing my top books for 2024 with you! This post is dedicated to all the books I’ve read this past year and the ones that really stood out to me! Posts like this really help to grow my to be read list and I hope it gives you some inspo for this new year!

I love this recap because it really forces me to go through my Good Reads and see what books I truly enjoyed this year. Everything is linked below through an affiliate link so I make a small commission if you choose to purchase! I hope you love this post as much as I do!!

The Rules of Magic

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I always love the Reese’s Book Club picks but this one was just extra good. I love the movie practical magic but to explore and dive into the story lines before the movie was just so fascinating to me. This was so well written and I just loved it.

Daisy Jones and the Six

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I snuck this book in as quick as I could before the series came out and boy am I glad I did. This love story is epic and I still think about it to this day. I loved the uniqueness of how the book was written and I seriously couldn’t put it down.

The Woman in Red

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This historical fiction read was a game changer for me. It gave me all the girl boss vibes with little hints of romance and adventure. I’ve never heard of the main character from this book but I’ve actually done a lot of research on her since because this read was fascinating.

The Nightingale

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The story of The Nightingale itself is amazing but this book really opened me up to Kristin Hannah and her writing. She really helped me fall back in love with historical fiction this year. Her attention to detail with the time periods she sets her stories in is epic and the stories themselves are so amazing and heartwarming.

Books of the Month 2023:

January– Confess

February– The Luckiest Girl Alive

March– The Hollywood Spy

April- The Woman in Red & The Housemaid

May- The Cuban Heiress & The

June– Meet Me at the Lake

July- The Senators Wife & The Rules of Magic

August– Did you hear about Kitty Karr?

September– Summer of ’69

October– The Great Alone

November– The Four Winds

I hope this top books for 2024 gives you some great ideas for next reads! This has become my favorite post to write for the year because I love looking back at great books! You can check out last year’s recap here Books to Read in 2023!!

The Four Winds Review by Kristin Hannah

November 13, 2023

My November book pick is dedicated to another great book by Krisitin Hannah, The Four Winds review! I instantly fell in love with her book The Great Alone and this one I love too! Kristin Hannah’s ability to write historical fiction is so mesmerizing and she really does great research on the time period.

This post contains an affiliate link to purchase the book but there’s no pressure to purchase! If you’re still needing something for your 2023 reading challenge, I highly suggest checking this one out!

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

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Before we hop into the review, I want to mention that even though Kristin Hannah’s books always seem daunting due to page length they are always compelling and quick reads!

The Four Winds initially takes place in Texas specifically the Great Plains during the Great Depression. We follow the life of Elsa who is originally from a wealthy family but finds herself pregnant by an Italian farmer. Her family obviously kicks her out and she’s then sent to the farm with his family.

Life on the farm only gets harder as the weather just gets harsher. The depression makes it even more complicated with little money for food when the land is no longer able to provide. Her husband ends up leaving her and she’s left to deal with his parents and their kids on a failing farm.

One unique aspect of Kristin Hannah’s books is that they usually go back and forth between 2 timelines. In this case, we fast forward to Elsa and the kids moving to California in search of more work. I can’t begin to tell you how resilient Elsa is through all she’s been through.

The book takes a twist at the end once Elsa finds steady work but is thrown into a labor union dispute. I won’t ruin the ending but Elsa is a character that you just hope to be. You can feel her love for her kids and her hope that everything will work out.

I hope you liked The Four Winds review! Be sure to check back next month when I do my full book recap for the year!!

The Great Alone Book Review!

October 2, 2023

I can hardly believe this is my first October post for the month! I have finally surpassed 50 books this year goal and I am so excited to share one of my favorite reads of the summer with you! The Great Alone book review by Kristin Hannah was such a great read and one that I often find myself thinking about, even today!

This is a historical fiction read, which we all know is one of my favorite reads. I devour books like this, even with a page count of 549 because of how interesting the read is. This post has an affiliate link to shop for the book but as always, there’s no pressure to purchase!

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

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This book follows the Allbright family as they navigate very big life changes. Leni, their daughter is forced to move with the family to an extremely remote part of Alaska. Mom Cora will do anything for her husband Ernt, even though he’s working through PTSD and is extremely abusive towards her.

Once they move to Alaska things only get harder as they realize life up there is rough. It’s essentially a full time job just prepping for Winter in order to stay alive. The community around them welcomes them with open arms but Ernt still struggles with his mental health.

I found myself captivated by what life would be like up in a remote part of Alaska. They had no running water in the house so they’d have to collect and boil water for cooking. It’s such a different way of living that I’m not sure I would survive.

We read as Leni starts to grow up and move into her teen years. Navigating being a girl is hard enough but with a toxic home life and just the harshness of Alaska, you find yourself routing for her to make it through.

With really tough topics, like domestic abuse, this book does need a trigger warning. If you are able to get passed that, the themes of community and resilience are popping off the pages. We read as Leni falls in love for the first time and has to battle her father who is very much against it.

I loved this book because you route for Leni and her mom on every page. Kristin Hannah really gives you insight into toxic relationships but finishes off the story with an ending that makes you feel warm and fuzzy and so incredibly proud and happy for Leni.

Final Thoughts

I’ve reviewed another book by Kristin Hannah, The Nightingale which I absolutely loved! It’s safe to say for me Kristin Hannah has really become one of my top author’s! She writes so beautifully that you really become transported back to the time period the book is in.

I also recently read Four Winds and if you’d like a book review on that let me know! I’d give The Great Alone Book Review a 4.25/5 and would consider it a must read! Be sure to check out my other book reviews here!

Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? Book Review

August 14, 2023

Sharing another book review for my summer of reading and today’s post is all about, Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? book review! This was on Reese’s Book Club so I of course had to read it!

A lot of the books I read from her book club I just read. I don’t really research what they’re about so this one was definitely very interesting. As always this post has an affiliate link where I make a small commission if you purchase the book through me!

Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? by Crystal Paul Smith

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This book bounces between the past and the current present in the book. I was honestly pleasantly surprised about the depth this book actually went to. At first glance it seems like just another book about Hollywood but you realize it’s so much deeper.

One thing I really appreciated was how well this was written. The twists and turns of the book are so well hidden in the writing you don’t really know what will come next. I really ended up loving this book because of how Crystal Smith Paul writes.

This book discusses race in both the lens of the past and present, and without giving too much away, it shows that life isn’t always as it seems. This book is shocking in a good way and once you start, you won’t put it down until it’s done.

It touches on Hollywood like your average book would however it just makes you critically think about how the world we live in is and how we might not have come as far as we thought!

This Did you hear about Kitty Karr? book review is one of my favorites because I really just was pleasantly surprised with this book. I hope you give it a read and let me know what you think! I have other book reviews that you can read here!

Magic Lessons Book Review!

July 24, 2023

My summer of reading is still going strong! I’ve been working my way through the Practical Magic series and I have been loving it! This Magic Lessons Book Review by Alice Hoffman is the prequel to the book based on the movie.

I was looking to break up my currently to be read list with a little more fantasy. This series is great for just that and I really loved these books! As always, this post has an affiliate link where I make a small commission if you purchase but no pressure!

Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman

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This book sets the stage for the movie version and was written after the fact to kind of give it some context. You can definitely read them out of order but highly suggest reading it this way.

We follow the stories of three kids who just find out they have magical capabilities. What’s great about this story is we get to know each of them as they grow up and have different life experiences. I love that this book flows so easily and isn’t choppy. It has a lot going on but it’s easily digestible.

I’m trying to not give spoilers because if you haven’t seen the movie, this series is even more magical. The twist at the end really gets you and you see just how much love the three siblings have for each other even when they are miles apart.

One other part of this book and series that I love is how it gives a little bit of historical fiction vibes. This book takes place before present time so it gives you a glimpse into things surrounding magic like the witch trials and then just life after.

I highly suggest this series as a whole. Like I said I really needed to break up my reading from just rom coms to something more in the fantasy realm. I was definitely not disappointed!

This book is a Reese’s Book Club pick so I always know going in I’m going to love it. This Magic Lessons book review is all about family and getting through whatever life throws at you so it’s really relatable. Even though magic is a central theme! If you liked this book review, read my latest one about The Senator’s Wife here!

The Senator’s Wife Book Review!!

July 10, 2023

I am so excited to be reviewing the latest book by Liv Constantine! Other books by this author like The Last Mrs. Parrish were amazing. I’m excited to share my thoughts on this one!

I purchased this book on my own so all of these thoughts are my own! I do have an affiliate link for you if you’re interested in getting a copy!

The Senator’s Wife by Liv Constantine

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Before I get too deep in this review, I want you to know I at least think you should read it. I might be a little harsh but I still really love the author, the story is just a bit confusing.

The book opens with two couples vacationing together. The husband of one couple and the wife of the other are actually cousins and then men are on capital hill. As you can see, it’s already getting twisted and that’s only the first few pages.

The cousins end up dying and the other two are left to pick up the pieces. (I’m summarizing so I don’t give out spoilers) The book then follows Sloane and Senator Whit as they navigate politics, marriage and Sloane’s chronic illness.

They introduce so many characters that it’s a bit difficult to get into. When I thrillers, I think of them as a build up and since something so crazy happened at the beginning it was hard to imagine where the book could go from there.

There were also a few “fluff” characters as I like to call them. These characters had story lines but didn’t play into the final piece. I did like the twist at the end but getting there was rough.

Overall this book wasn’t bad, it was just a bit more tricky to navigate than other books by this author. I just didn’t love it like I loved the others so I’m giving this a 3.5/5! Still read-worthy, just not one of my favorites!

If you liked this review of The Senator’s Wife, you can read more book reviews here!

Meet Me at the Lake Book Review!

June 14, 2023

The second this book dropped I knew I would have to review it! Carley Fortune became one of my favorite authors last summer after reading, Every Summer After. I absolutely adored that book and knew I would probably love this one too!

Let me know if a review of Every Summer After is something you will read! I’m actually surprised I didn’t write one last summer! I was not paid for this review however I have used an affiliate link if you’d like to purchase the book through me I make a small commission!

Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune

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First off, I have to shout out this STUNNING cover. It really draws you in and gives you that summer sunset we all love.

I will preface this by saying I feel like I might’ve went into this book with expectations of it being like her previous. I absolutely loved that book so I had really high hopes of what this book would be.

The story actually follows a mother and daughter who own a resort on a lake in Canada. Long story short, the mom dies and the daughter is has to decide to take over or not. Fern, the daughter, originally left the small town to go to a bigger town in Canada where she had dreams of opening her own coffee shop.

In the big town, she meets someone named Will and they spend the whole day together. Which leaves an impression on both of them. Fast forward to after her mom passed, Will is actually someone who her mom hired to help rebrand and market the plummeting resort.

The story then follows Will and Fern picking up the pieces of where they left off while Fern decided what to do with the resort. I feel like their love story just wasn’t the epic summer love I was searching for. This is not to say the book isn’t great on it’s own.

Wrap Up

I love how Carley writes and am so impressed that this is only her second book. I just think Every Summer After is a one and a million books that can’t be replicated! Meet Me at the Lake is great in it’s own way too!

As I’m writing this I feel like I should probably review it so that you guys all see why I’m obsessed! Let me know if you have any other books you’d like me to review this summer too! Check out more reviews here!

The Nightingale Book Review

May 24, 2023

I’m slowly making it through my master to be read list and this book I’ve had on it for awhile! I’ve heard great things about The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah so I was excited to read it. I’ve been on top of my reading game this year which is why you’ve been getting so many reviews like the nightingale book review!

As always, I have an affiliate link for you to purchase the book! I make a small commission if you use that link but there’s no pressure to purchase! This review is my own and I purchased this book on my own!

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

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Based in France during World War II, we follow the stories of two sisters leading two really different lives. One is a mother and doing all she can to keep it together as her is sent off to war. Her younger sister is taken in by the war effort and swept away by the idea of freedom and making the country better.

This story had so much heart and courage that I couldn’t help but be in awe. Although this is not based on a specific true story, I know that the women during this time were doing these exact things. Putting myself in their shoes I just couldn’t help but be in awe of their strength through such uncertain times.

This story intertwines with the present when we find out that one of the sisters survived. She’s heads back to France for the first time since the war with her son that she didn’t tell anything too. There’s such a slight twist at the end of the book but you just can’t help the tears. I’m not usually one to cry over a book but this one will be with me for awhile.

Books like this and historical fiction in general transports you back in time to a specific time period or event. When done well, you’re able to feel the feelings of the character and in turn the people who lived through that event. This book does just that and I know you’ll love this after reading it.

It’s definitely a longer read but I think it’s so crucial to educate yourself on the Holocaust. It was such a heartbreaking and traumatic event that everyone needs to learn how to do better. This book is heartbreaking but at the same time filled with hope and courage.

If you loved the nightingale book review, be sure to subscribe to the blog for more! Read my latest review on the HouseMaid here! Let me know if you guys like this kind of content, I’m in a weird phase where I just want to write book reviews!