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!

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 Summer of ’69 Book Review!

September 18, 2023

It might not be summer anymore but I’ll always love a good beach read! I recently discovered Elin Hilderbrand over the summer and I’ve been reading through her books. I’m excited to jump into my Summer of ’69 book review because this was my first read by her!

As always this post contains an affiliate link so if you purchase the book through me I make a small commission but no pressure to purchase!

Summer of ’69 by Elin Hilderbrand

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The iconic title of this book really just takes you back to a nostalgic era. I was craving a book about summer with depth and this was just that. The writing is so good as we follow along the summer of 1969 with a mother and her 3 very different daughters.

I loved that each of these women were in very different phases of their lives. Each had such a unique story to read about due to what they were going through. I’ve personally never been to Nantucket but Elin’s writing is so descriptive you really get a feel for what it’s like.

The story is set against the back drop of the war in Vietnam and the eldest son is sent off to war. It leaves the mother with anxiety and grief. As the story unfolds we begin to see the lengths that she goes to to protect him even though he’s so far away.

What I enjoyed most about this book was how it was surprisingly geared towards historical fiction. Elin was able to really touch on the social issues that were going on at the time but it wasn’t in a heavy way. The book was fascinating and I really found myself not being able to put it down.

Because this was the first book that really opened the door to this author for me. I have since added a few more to my to be read list! I hope you liked this review of the Summer of ’69! You can read more book reviews here!

I’m almost at my Good Reads goal for the year! Feel free to leave book suggestions in the comments below!

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!

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 Cuban Heiress Book Review!

May 10, 2023

I love Chanel Cleeton and was so excited to read her latest book The Cuban Heiress! Cleeton always takes you back in time to tell the story of a heroic woman in the face of changing political times. This book was especially fascinating as you read and the story unfolds.

Her characters always have dimension and some serious girl power that makes you root for them in any situation! This review is not sponsored as I purchased the book on my own however you can shop for this book with my affiliate link where I make a small commission if you purchase!

The Cuban Heiress by Chanel Cleeton

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In the Cuban Heiress, we follow the stories of Elena and Catherine. Both enjoying a cruise on the Morro Castle cruise ship, the woman have very different experiences. Catherine sets sail with her soon to be husband and his daughter and her nanny. We soon realize this engagement was a quick one and there’s something deeper going on.

Elena’s story is even more mysterious as she meets a crew member who helps to smuggle people and weapons to and from Havana. As the story unfolds, we realize Elena is there to get revenge on someone who wronged her, but the pieces don’t start to come together until the very end.

I loved the twists in this book as we don’t realize Elena and Catharine know each other, and are working together, until the very end. It helps to keep this book interesting as each chapter alternates the women’s points of view. Cleeton’s books always embody strong female characters and this one really doesn’t miss.

Elena and Catharine’s friendship and the lengths they go too is so admirable. Even though we don’t get a lot of time with them together in the book, the bond they have is striking and adds such dimension to the book.

I always appreciate the end of Cleeton’s books where you learn the real history of what she’s talking about in the book. The Morro Castle was actually a real ship that had a real tragedy happen to it, similar to that in the book. She stays so true to the actual events but weaves in this amazing element of fiction that makes these books so hard to put down.

If you liked this book review, I have a few other by Cleeton here! You can read my last month’s book club pick here!

Best Books to Read for 2023!!

December 12, 2022

I LOVE writing this post every year! I take a look back at my Good Reads for the year and share some of my favorite books I’ve read!! These best books to read for 2023 are truly the books I fell in love with this year!

Some of my best performing posts for the year were my book reviews and it was such a fun year to share what I read with you! We’ve read everything from mysteries to romance and some Colleen Hoovers in between. I even met my Good Reads goal of 50 books in 2022 so I’ve definitely read my fair share of books this year! Here are some of my favorites!!

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

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Talk about a transformative book! This love story is epic and will absolutely set the tone for your summer if you read it in June! The writing was fantastic and I just really appreciated the cozy small town vibes. It’s based around these summer houses and kids who fall in love when they’re young but reconnect as they get older. You cannot go through Summer 2023 without reading this book!

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

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Luckily I was able to read all 3 of these books before the Prime series came out! I fell in love with these books and the show only added to that. Another summer read but honestly I feel like these characters and what they go through is relatable. This leans more on the young adult side so it was a quick read for me but I really recommend it if you love the show!

It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover

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This is the sequel to It Ends With Us by Co Ho so definitely read that first. This book really gives more layers to the characters and continues the story laid out in the first book. I love this series for so many reason but this book solidified for me this story. Essentially at the heart it’s a love story that two people get reconnected in. It’s so good and this book really did it for me after reading the first one!

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

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I originally read the Guest List by Lucy Foley and really loved the thriller vibes so I knew this would be the same. The books aren’t connected but this author just has a way of writing that instantly grabs you and makes you read. I got through this in one sitting because it was a true page turner that kept you on your toes!!

The Confidence of Wildflowers by Micalea Smeltzer

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This had been on my good reads for quite sometime! I finally got around to reading it this year and I really loved it. I’m starting to see a theme that I like books about neighbors but oh well lol!! This book deals with loss and grief but also just has this amazing story to it that I really appreciate. The writing was so good and I’m just mad I didn’t pick this up sooner!

Here are my other book reviews from this year!

January– It Happened One Summer

February– The Light We Lost

March– Death by Disseration

April– Reminders of Him

May– The Most Beautiful Girl In Cuba

June– The Christie Affair

July– The Northern Spy

August– Reputation

September– American Royals

October– Ugly Love

November– The Last Thing He Told Me

I hope this book wrap up really helped you find some good books to read for 2023 !! I am looking so forward to continuing these posts so be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a post!!

The Most Beautiful Girl In Cuba- Book Review!

May 11, 2022

This month I’m sharing with you my book review of The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba by Chanel Cleeton! I have fallen in love with Chanel’s books based around historical fiction. As a child, this was my favorite genre and to be honest, finding her books has opened my eyes to it again.

If you read my book review for 2021, I shared my thoughts on Next Year in Havana and When We left Cuba both by Cleeton. These books are connected and are such great reads. I decided to pick this book up at my local book store because I seriously just love her writing.

I was definitely not disappointed by this book and am excited to share my thoughts with you! Historical fiction has seriously become some of my favorite books to read so this was perfect for me.

The Most Beautiful Girl In Cuba- Shop Here

The themes of this book are that of girl power, bravery, and love. This book takes place during the Spanish invasion of Cuba in the late 1800s. This backdrop of war really shows how tough it was for women.

We follow the stories of 3 women: a writer in the US, a rich woman turned war prisoner, and a woman who has to live in an encampment. I love that each chapter discusses how different each’s life is. This book is actually based around a true story about a woman who American media deemed “The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba”.

As the story progresses we learn more about the conflict and see how American media is trying to influence the war after the American government does nothing. I couldn’t help but be in awe of the bravery of these women.

The writer is trying to make a name for herself in a male dominated industry. One woman is acting as a spy and smuggling notes into the war prisons. The beautiful woman in prison eventually gets aid from the writer and the spy to break out of being wrongfully imprisoned.

I loved this story because it kept me on my feet and really made me think. Chanel Cleeton does a great job of weaving a great story into actual historical events. If you are interested in history, this book is seriously for you!

Wrap Up

Let me know in the comments below if you like these posts! If I’m being honest, they’re some of my favorites to write. Be sure to subscribe here to my mailing list so you never miss a post from me! Stay tuned for next month’s book, it’s a good one!