Ep. 142 - Recent Reads: 12 Historical & Regency Romance Books | 6 Five-Star Novels Perfect for Spring or Summer

At the beginning of the year, I was craving some historical fiction stories, especially once spring rolled around. Come find out all of the historical and Regency romance books I read in the first quarter of 2026…and which six books have my whole heart, and I gave five stars. 

You can find the companion blog here.

Books I Review in This Episode:

• A Lady's Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin
• Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers
• To Con A Gentleman by Sarah Adams
• The Rules of Courtship by Kasey Stockton
• Hidden Places by Lynn Austin
• The Irish Boarding House by Sandy Taylor
• The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau by Kristin Harmel
• To Love a Lady by Gabrielle Meyer
• The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vols. 1 & 2 by Beth Brower
• Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
• Heidi by Johanna Spyri

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Transcript

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At the beginning of the year, I was craving some historical fiction stories, especially once spring rolled around. Come find out all of the historical and Region C romance books I read in the first quarter of 2026, and which six books have my whole heart and I gave five stars. Hey storylov, it's time to unwind, relax, and get comfy cozy. You're listening to the Bookmarks and Blankets podcast. I'm your host, Kelly Matsudira. Each week I discuss my favorite forms of art, which are books, movies, and TV series. I also love talking about cozy living, cozy hobbies, and self-care tips. If you like reviews, recommendations, discussions, and a whole lot more, then you're in the right place. Join me with your favorite blanket, beverage, and snack, and let's get cozy together. Welcome or welcome back, my book friends. I hope everybody is doing well. Oh my gosh, you guys. I apologize so much that I am super behind in letting you know about the books that I've been reading this year. At the time of this recording, it is the very beginning of May. We are right around the corner from summer, and I need to talk about the books I read this past winter and spring. So I have been in kind of a bit of a head funk. If you haven't listened to the May TBR book list, I gave a little bit of a personal update in that episode. But if you haven't listened to it, basically I've kind of been in a headspace this year. I've kind of been in a creative funk, and I haven't been creating as much content as I would like to do. There's just some personal things going on in my life. My husband and I had some goals and we had some setbacks, and that kind of spiraled my mood into a bit of a depression. And then that affected my reading. That affected me creating content. If you look on the podcast, I only had one episode that I published in April, and that was the TBR list. I promise you, I will always have a TBR list every single month. But what happens in between the months is really all up in the air of what I'm able to get to and just how my mood is, where my mindset is. But I am happy to say that I think I am coming out of my funk. I'm starting to feel a little bit rejuvenated and recharged. And maybe I just needed to rest in April and just give my body some grace, give my mind some grace about just things that have been going on with me and my personal life. I do feel myself coming out of it. And I do have a lot of things that I do want to plan for this summer. And I have some real-time reaction episodes planned. I have a ton of pages to popcorn episodes planned. That's where I read the book and watch the movie because there are so many movies that are coming out that I want to read the book first and then watch the movie. So keep your eye out for those episodes because I'm already planning those. I've already started recording those. And then I also did a try-a chapter back in March. I tried some Regency romance books. I really enjoyed doing that kind of episode. I want to try to do another one of those this month. And then I have some other ideas for some kind of new episodes for me that I haven't done before. I've seen them done on YouTube, but I haven't done them on my show yet. So I do have a lot of ambitious goals and plans of how I want to tackle some content this summer. But hopefully the planets, the moons, and the stars will all align and I'll be able to get a lot of this done. But we shall see what happens. But this is just a hobby for me. This is not my full-time job. I just get into slumps sometimes and I just have to take it easy and just allow myself to bounce back. And again, I am feeling myself bouncing back. So here we are. So in this episode, I want to talk about the historical and regency romance books that I've read in the first quarter because oh my gosh, you guys, I have read some amazing books already this year. I have six five-star books that I want to talk about. And these are books that are perfect to read in the spring or the summertime. And I am just really excited to talk about these. So let's just keep the intro short. Let me hop to the logistics for those that are new. So I'm gonna let you know the books that I read. I'm gonna just read you a short summary about what the story is, and then I'm gonna give you my brief review of what I thought about the book. If you want to read my full-length written reviews, you can head over to my website at bookmarksthetternblankets.com. I have all of my written reviews over there. I'm also on Goodreads. So if you prefer to read on that platform, I do post my written reviews on there as well. And speaking of my website, as I do with every podcast episode, there is a companion blog. So if you miss anything in the episode, if you want to learn more about these books, again, read my written reviews, look at the cover art. You can head over to the website to get more information. And then also on my website, I have a blog I post on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So you can come back every week. I have reading tips and tricks, book discussions, lots of book lists. It's very seasonal. I'm getting ready to post all of my summer content and I have content from last summer. So there's lots of different ways you can look up different types of posts. I have drop-down menus, and if you're looking for something specific, hopefully you can find it over there. But there is a lot of good stuff if you are into book-related blogs. So check back every week. I've got lots more stuff coming these next few months. Also, if you want to know what I'm reading in real time, as I just mentioned, I'm on Goodreads, so you can give me a follow over there. I'm in there every single day, you guys. I am constantly reading. So even though I was in a creative funk, I was not in a reading slump. So I was still reading. So I read in multiple genres, in multiple formats, audiobooks, digital books, and tons of different genres, all the way from adult to YA to middle grade to even graphic novels. I've been getting more into graphic novels recently. So if you want to know what I'm reading, definitely give me a follow over there. And then finally, I'd love to know what you thought of any of these books if you've read them, or you can just let me know what you've been reading this year. What was your standout book in the first quarter? I'm always looking to add to my never-ending TBR list. So I invite you to head over to social media. You can give me a follow or you can give me a comment in the posts that I make for this type of episode. And you can pretty much find me everywhere X or Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. I would love to engage with you over there. All right, without further ado, let's talk about these books because I am so excited. I found some new favorites that I just want to gush over. And I'm very excited I found some new authors that I want to follow, and I want to read more of them. So I'm ready to talk about these novels. So let's get comfy, let's get cozy, and let's dive in. So because I am coming in so late to talk about all of these books from earlier this year, I have 12 to talk about. So I'm gonna break down this list. I'm gonna talk about my least favorite to my most favorite for the adult books. And then I've got a couple novellas to talk about, and then I also have some middle grade classics that I want to talk about. So that's how we're going to do this. Let's talk about the least favorite, womp womp, because we have to. I'm gonna let you know what I read and what I think about it because I am, if not anything, very honest. So I would say the worst book of this bunch, the worst historical that I read in the first quarter was A Lady's Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin. I did listen to the audiobook. The narrator was Imogen Church. I love her. She is so good. She actually made me stick to listening to this book because if I was reading this, I probably would have DNF'd it because I was just not having a good time. But Imogen Church is so amazing at performing the books that she narrates that it made me want to stick with it. I'm glad that I did just for the fact of listening to another Imogen Church book. But unfortunately, this I had to give two stars. This is a Regency romance, and I'm very sad that I had to rate this so low because Sophie Irwin was an author that I thought I wanted to read more from. That's why I picked this up because I had read her very popular A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting a couple of years ago. It was one of my very first Regency romance books, and I gave it five stars. So based on that, I wanted to read more from her. And this was available through my library. I just wanted to pick it up and see what it was like. And then I was so disappointed that this turned out nothing to be like what I thought it was going to be. So in this story, we meet Eliza, and she got married to a man who was 20 years older than her. And he was the match of the season, and they got married, but now it's 10 years later, and he has passed away. So now she is a widow and she's only 28 years old. And now that he has passed away, she suddenly has a title. She's very rich because she inherited from her husband. And for the first time in her life, she's in utter control of her own future. So instead of mourning quietly, she wants to head to bath with her cousin Margaret and just kind of live it up now because she has full agency over her life. So she heads to Bath, and there is a new guy in town that everybody is talking about. And then also there is the old love that comes back around. So the guy that she used to be in love with, it was his uncle that she actually ended up marrying. So he's a bit jaded, but he comes back around. And so now it's a little bit of a love triangle because we have the old boyfriend or the old love interest, which is kind of a second chance romance. But then we have this new guy who's kind of the ick guy in town. He's an artist, all the girls are fawning all over him, and she gets caught up in this social circle. Of course, it's the elites. There's balls and dances and dinners, everything that you think of with Regency romance during the spring season. And then things begin to unravel and unfold. So there is no language and there is no spice. I'm happy to report that. But oh my gosh, I just feel like, where did this go wrong? I'm honestly shocked by how much this one missed the mark compared to the first book that I read by this author. I think the biggest thing off the bat was it is a long book for a Regency romance. I think this was a 13 or 14-hour audiobook, and it got to the point where I think I sped it up to 1.75 speed just to get through it because it was just so long. The pacing felt slow, it felt overly drawn out. There were too many scenes that just seemed tedious and unnecessary. Like I don't need to know all of these details. It didn't feel like the plot ever really gained momentum. I feel like nothing actually really happened. And it was just so boring for most of it. The other problem I had with it was the characters. I really struggled to connect to any of them. I felt like they were just very shallow and self-absorbed. They were very unaware of their own behavior, and a lot of the decisions that they made just felt stupid and contrived, and it just felt so dumb, honestly. And like I said, this book features a love triangle, which usually that's something I enjoy. But I feel like that completely fell flat here. Both of these male love interests were unappealing in different ways. There was no chemistry between Eliza and either one of the men. So there wasn't really one that clearly stood out that you wanted her to end up with. And the romance itself just really felt secondary to everything else that was going on in the story. But you guys know, being a conservative and with all of the woke nonsense out there, I have to call it out. The biggest issue for me, however, was how overtly woke this book was, which really caught me off guard because I did not get any of this in the first book that I read by this author. So for a woke agenda to be pushed in the second book, I was just floored. I was not expecting it. I didn't know going into it that it was supposed to be like this. But the themes and the messages just did not feel organic to the time period. Again, it's one of those, they're trying to include modern social topics and issues into historical settings. And that does not work. It doesn't work. You could obviously tell that they're speaking modern ways that we speak today, they're thinking the way we think today. It is not set in that time period, and it's so obvious. It's so obvious, and it drives me crazy that these authors think that it's okay to put today's 21st century thinking and speaking into something that's set back in historical times. And this time it was in the 1800s, and I just was pulled out of the story so many times. It just became preachy and it talks about nearly every modern topic. There was race issues, there's LGBT relationships, there's feminist messages, it talks about toxic masculinity and just so many things that were just absurd to put in this type of a book. And then one of the side characters, we find out she's a lesbian, and then all of a sudden there's a lesbian relationship at the very end of the book, and it kind of felt like came out of nowhere. It was like, where did this even come from? This whole story, we're talking about Eliza and her love triangle, and then all of a sudden you throw in a lesbian relationship at the end. Like it just felt so forced, felt like it was checking so many boxes, and it just completely pulled me out of this story. It was just so disappointing because I know that this author can do better because I've read better from her. So I don't know. I could not stand this book. Like I said, the only reason why I kept listening to it is because I love Imogen Church and she really did a fantastic job with the narration. But I don't know if this is an author I want to continue reading from. She does have another book that's available on Kindle Unlimited, but again, that's not audio. It's a digital book. And I just don't know if I want to pick up anything else from her. I think there's supposed to be gay relationships in that one as well. If people are into gay relationships during these historical settings, not saying that they never happened, but they're definitely not focused upon in the time period. Like we're trying to be realistic. These were not main focus type of relationships. So for me, I just don't know if this is going to be an author that I'm going to read. I think I may just be one and done with her and just come back to her first book that I really enjoyed and maybe not pick up anything else from her. But unfortunately, this was a huge miss and I do not recommend it. All right, the next book that was a huge disappointment, and I'm just so surprised by how much I really did not like this book. But I read Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers. This is a historical romance that is also a Christian fiction. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was Kate Forbes, and I really did not like her at all. But because, again, this was a very, very long audiobook, this was about an 18-hour audiobook, you guys. And I just kept listening because I knew that if I tried to just read the digital ebook, that I would probably DNF it and not get through it. So just to get through this very, very long book, I listened to the audiobook, but I did not like the narrator at all. Overall, this was an okay. I didn't absolutely hate it, but I definitely did not really like it. So I gave this three stars on Goodreads, and I was really excited to read another Francine Rivers books. I have only read Redeeming Love. That's the only book I've read by her. And that was a standout book. That was my book of the year in 2023. I loved that book. It was so good. And I follow a lot of Christian booktubers, and everybody is always talking about Francine Rivers. She's been around forever. She's one of the OG Christian historical fiction and contemporary fiction writers. And everybody talks about her books and how they're so powerful and impactful and meaningful. And they just absolutely love them. So I just figured, oh, I love Redeeming Love so much that anything I pick up, I'll probably love. Now, would it be five stars? I'm not sure about that. But I figured I would like every book I pick up by her. But this one was unfortunately amiss. So in this book, this is set in the 1950s in Hollywood, and we're following Lena Scott. She's this hottest rising star that's come out since Marilyn Monroe. But her real name is Abra, and she had quite the upbringing. So there was a pastor that found Abra when she was a baby. She was left under a bridge, and he found her. She stole his heart. He picked up this abandoned baby on the outskirts of town, which is called Haven, and he took her in and raised her as his daughter. His name is Zeke, the pastor, and he has a son, Joshua. And Joshua and Abra became very, very close friends. So they grew up together. But then Abra met this bad boy. He proclaimed to love her, and then they decided to run off together to Hollywood. And then you watch as she gets into Hollywood and then how she breaks into the movie business and all of the things that she has to go through. She's a very ambitious girl, but of course, fame comes with a price and she kind of burns every bridge to get what she wants, but then she has to realize, is this actually what I want? Basically, she's trying to find herself and trying to figure out who is she, what does she really want in life? So the storyline sounded interesting. And one of the booktubers that I follow, she is doing a Francine Rivers reading book challenge this year, where she chose 12 of this author's books, one for each month. So you read that, and then she has these live discussions on YouTube. So in January is when I picked up this book that was part of this challenge. So that's why I picked it up. And I just had heard so many people talking about how good this was. And Oshina, she's the facilitator, the booktuber that was doing this challenge. She had read it before. And there are some other gals that had read it before as well. And they were all just going on and on about it. But as I was reading this, as I was listening to this, I just couldn't connect to the characters. I thought it was very slow and boring. It just felt way too long. I mean, 18 hours to tell the story of this woman. It just could not capture me the way that I wanted it to. It wasn't at all as immersive and vivid and detailed as redeeming love for me. And so I just really struggled through this. I did appreciate that there's no language and there's no spice, but it is an incredibly hard-hitting story. Definitely check triggers if you're a sensitive reader, because this book tackles almost everything. It tackles suicide, abortion, sexual abuse, mental and emotional abuse. I mean, there's so much to this alcohol, drugs, you name it, it's in there, and there's a lot going on. I happened to also read this in January when I picked up another really emotionally intense book, which I'm going to talk about in just a second. But I guess just the weight of both of these books really felt heavy to me. And I was kind of checking out pretty quickly into this book. I was intrigued at first, but then it just kept going on and on and on. And I was like, is this story ever going to end? But I did like the ending. I will say the last quarter was a lot better for me than the first 75% of the book. I did like that this is a story about redemption and forgiveness and self worth and love. I did appreciate just the heart of the story and what it was trying to say. At its core, it's about brokenness and forgiveness and redemption. I did value the spiritual journey that Oprah went on, and she's slowly seeking God and his love to guide her back. Toward healing and the people who care about her. So I thought the elements were very meaningful, and I really liked how the story ended. And I liked the faith messages that were woven in. So I could see how it could be really powerful and impactful for some readers, but unfortunately, it just didn't really connect and resonate with me. So I don't personally recommend this, but I always say if you read the premise and it sounds interesting, definitely give it a shot. I'm just one person with my opinion and you can take it with a grain of salt. But for me, this one just didn't quite land as I had hoped that it would. So I gave it a middle of the road rating because this really did feel like a middle of the road book. And I do want to still give this author a chance. I'm not completely shutting her out just because the second book didn't work for me. It's just I might be a little pickier about what I choose next to read from her, but I am still curious to see what else she has out there that maybe would work better for me. All right, the next book on my list is Tacana Gentleman by Sarah Adams. I did listen to the audiobook, and the digital book is also available on Kindle Unlimited. So I was able to do a little bit of a read along and listen. And the narrator is Rachel Bresford. I apologize if I said that name wrong. And she did a great job. This is a Regency romance. I really enjoyed this. I gave it four stars. If you listen to my try-a-chapter Regency Romance episode, spoiler alert, this is the book that I ended up choosing to read in real time and give my reactions. So you may have already heard me talk about this book if you've listened to that episode. But this was such a really fun book. Sarah Adams, I think, is really known more for her contemporary romance books. Unfortunately, she has moved into spicier content. She used to be really well known for closed-door, no spice romance stories. But in her last couple books, she has written some open door scenes. Now, the nice thing about her is that she tells you what chapter that those open door scenes are in. So if you want to skip it, then you can. But way before she got into her spicy content and before she really got into her contemporary romance writing, she did write a Regency romance duology. So this is the first book. I have not picked up the second book yet. I really want to, because it follows a couple characters that we meet in this first book. So it's kind of a companion, but I haven't picked it up yet. Maybe I will sometime soon. But I really enjoyed this book. This was so much fun. So we're following Rose, and she is a con woman. And she thinks she's going to scam this guy out of some money, but she actually ends up going to the wrong house. So it's not the guy that she thought she was gonna scam. And in the midst of her talking to the guy, he's packing up and trying to head out to his family's estate. And he's like, Well, get in the carriage and you can talk to me about whatever it is you need to talk to me. And before she knows it, she's on the road with this guy and ends up at his family estate. And so now they have to fake being engaged, and so she has to act like his fiance and put up a good show for his family, and she has to just make it through this week with his family. It was so much fun, it was so wholesome. There are some very tender, warm, cute romance. It was swoony, it gave my heart a huge hug. It was one of the coziest Regency romances that I read. And I don't know if I always think of cozy when I think of Regency romance, but this felt really cozy. And I loved meeting Carver's family. We get to meet his parents and he has some sisters, and his older sister is married, so we meet her husband. She's pregnant, but she's been having some issues with her pregnancy. So there is a little bit of some heavier topics going on because there was some infertility problems and now she's got some pregnancy issues. So it's not a complete light and fluffy Regency romance. There are some other deeper issues, but I like that because it gave it some more emotional depth. But I loved watching Rose and Carver fall for each other, and she's still keeping her identity a secret that she's this con woman, but Carver figures out that she's a con woman pretty early on, and there's this whole ruse between the two of them. And it was just so much fun. They're both incredibly likable. I liked watching their relationship unfold, and they each have their own emotional barriers, and you slowly see them put down their defenses and they grow toward each other and then they grow as people. So you do see some personal development going on, and it's just a really fun romantic comedy. It had me laughing at some points. It really touched my heart and some others. It really felt like a warm hug to my heart and just felt really cozy. It was just such a delight to read this story. I didn't think I would like it as much as I did, but the only thing that kept me from giving this five stars, because I was really close to giving it five stars, that it slowed down a little bit in the middle, and I found my attention was just drifting a little bit as I was reading it. But it came really, really close. And I do want to follow some of the characters in another romance story in the sequel. So I do want to pick it up, and I absolutely recommend this book a hundred percent. So if you are in a mood for cozy Regency romance this late spring or in early summer, definitely check out this book. All right, the next book is another Regency romance, and that is The Rules of Courtship by Casey Stockton. I loved this book so much. This was a 4.5 for me, but I ended up rounding down to four stars on Goodreads. This is the third book in a Regency romance series called The Hearts of Harewood. Now, I think you can read these as standalones, but I highly recommend not doing that. Because if you read them in order, you're gonna get to know all of the characters, and especially with this third one. I noticed more so with this third one than in the second. There's a lot more characters from book one that make an appearance and have a bit of a subplot in this story. And I wouldn't say that you would be completely lost if you read this as a standalone and didn't read book one, but I really think it would help and it would make the experience more enriching if you read book one and two to come to book three and understand fully what's going on. So I'm working my way slowly through the series. I think there's four books out right now, so I just have one more to go. I'm not sure if the fourth book is the last book or if there's gonna be any more in this series, but I really have enjoyed the series. Casey Stockton is an author who is clean, completely closed door, so no language, no spice. I think almost all of her books are available on Kindle Unlimited. So that's how I read this book. And this book was such delight. So we are following Ruth, and she is the best friend of Eliza, who we meet in book one. So we're watching her love story unfold. And this is a friends to more romance trope. So Oliver is a really good friend of hers, and we watch them fall in love. But she goes to this house party with Oliver, and there's a bunch of other guys and some other women, and it's a group of young people, and she's basically trying to find the perfect spouse. So when she's at this house party, she's trying to figure out which of these guys that she's attracted to and could potentially be a husband, but she's having a hard time coming up with a promising prospect. So her good friend Oliver jumps in and they decide they want to help each other and find the perfect spouse for each other. Oliver, he's always followed society's roles until now. Ruth is this really free-spirited, whimsical girl that doesn't act like higher society women should. And that's the one thing that he really likes about her. The more time that they spend together, the more complicated things become. Because suddenly finding a spouse doesn't seem so simple when they're starting to wonder about their feelings for each other. So it has a little bit of a slow start. That's why I had to give a 4.5 stars and not a full five stars, because it was quite slow to begin with. And it took me quite a bit of time to really get invested in the story. But the descriptions are rich, the settings and the fashion and the social activities, it is very historical to this time period. And so it's very immersive. It really transports you to this time period, and you're at this house party with all these people, and you're just seeing what life would be like during this time period. So I love how immersive and vivid that this story is. And Ruth, I love Ruth. She was such a delight. I loved her so much in the first book. She was the comic relief, and I was hoping that we would get her love story. So she is a really fun character. She's very warm, she's strong, she's a bit quirky, but she's so easy to root for. And she has these self-made rules. So she has all these rules of what she has to abide by in order to find her match. She goes on this personal journey. It's so relatable. There were so many moments that I could genuinely resonate with her and connect with her. And just seeing her evolve from the beginning to the end, it was so satisfying. I love that there are some added layers to the story. It's not just about the house party and trying to find a match. It goes deeper than that. There's some family drama that comes up, there's some long-buried secrets that surface. There's unexpected reveals that brought kind of a touch of mystery. So the first half was a bit of a slog to get through, but the second half, it was so hard to put down in the second half because the pacing picked up, the stakes felt like it was much more engaging. And I loved where the story took me. I love these characters. I loved the growth, the romance. It was swoony. It was funny. It was heartfelt. I just loved so much about it. It was so close to being five stars. And I definitely recommend this series. Again, start from book one, but the third book has definitely been the standout book of the series so far. But I am curious to see what happens in book four as we follow another one of the characters. So definitely recommend this. It's perfect for spring or summer. And the covers are beautiful. So go check those out. But if you like wholesome, clean Regency romance that are very sweet and charming, a little bit of drama, you get your happily ever after. Definitely recommend checking out this series. All right, you guys, we are down to my five-star books. So these next few that I'm going to talk about are all five stars. These were standouts for me. This is what I had in mind when I was in the mood for historical fiction. For some reason, when I started the year, I was just craving historical fiction books. I think because I had watched some booktubers and one booktuber in particular, she reads a lot of historical fiction, and I was watching a lot of her videos. So I think I was just getting really inspired and wanting to pick up some more historical because I felt like last year I didn't pick up as much historical as I would have liked. So I really wanted to focus more on this genre of books this year, and so I did. So the first five star that I want to talk about is Hidden Places by Lynn Austin. This is a historical drama, it has a little bit of romance in it, and this is considered Christian fiction. I gave this five stars because I loved this story. So I'm actually part of a Patreon book club. So Oshina, I've already talked about her. She's doing the Francine River book challenge. She also has a Patreon book club and she reads a lot of Christian fiction books. Part of the membership on Patreon is she gives us a list of two to three or four books that is in a poll that we can all vote on, and we vote every month for a buddy read. This was January's Buddy Read. And I have never read anything from Lynn Austin. I've heard so much about her. She's a very, very popular historical Christian fiction author. I've heard about her for so long. I just had not gotten around to anything by her. This is quite an older book. This is from 2001. So yeah, this is a very, very old book. But this is what was chosen for our book club. And just because I wanted to read the author, I thought now's a great time to pick this up. This was actually my first five-star book of the year. And I honestly went in pretty blind because if you go on Goodreads, there's hardly a summary. It's like a sentence. So I really had no idea what this book was about. So I went in pretty blind and I had a really good time with it. Now, this is historical drama. So this does have some very heavy topics that it focuses on. So again, if you are a sensitive reader, definitely look at the trigger warnings for this because there is domestic and child abuse, there's child abandonment, so there are some harder, heavy hitting topics. I read this book first, and then I read the Francine Rivers book. And maybe reading those two heavy books back to back was not the best idea, but I felt really weighed down after reading those two books in the same month. But this one was one of the best books that I've read so far this year. So in this story, we are following Eliza, and she lives on this orchard for 10 years. So she got married and she had a family with her husband. She has three children, two boys and a girl. But then her husband died. So she ended up moving in with her father-in-law, who owns this orchard. Now he was quite an abusive man. He wasn't very friendly, but then he died. And so now she is widowed with three children. She's facing mountains of debt from the orchard. And it's either she has to figure out how to come out from under this and get things back to running order, or she's gonna have to sell the orchard and the family farm. So she's trying to figure out what to do. She's all alone, she has no idea what she's doing, she doesn't know how to run this orchard. And all of a sudden, there's a stranger that appears on her doorstep and he's injured. He has a wound on his leg and she has no idea who this guy is. So she brings him into her house and she starts to help him. There's a moment where she thinks he's gonna die, but he recovers and he starts to heal. And as he heals, he feels like he wants to repay her. So he starts doing some work around the house and he starts doing work around the farm, and the kids start to get attached to him. But there's something really familiar about Gabe. That's the guy. And there's a lot of unanswered questions about his identity and who he is. There's this mystery about him. And then we also have an aunt. She's an older lady. They call her Aunt Batty because she's kind of not all there in the head. But she's this really, really sweet lady, and she lives in this cottage that's not too far from the house on the orchard. She comes and helps out with the children, and she is someone that Eliza can talk to. They both help to heal Gabe when he was sick, and she has a strong faith in God. So she comes with a lot of the spiritual messages, and she's very wise. And she also has her own backstory. So this is past-present timeline, and we're learning about Eliza and her past and then the present that she's in, but we also are learning about Aunt Batty and her past love story and what she went through and then leading up to today. So this story really kept me engaged. Again, there's no language, no spice, but it does have the heavier themes to it. And the story is darker and more emotionally intense than I expected it to be. But those elements really added powerful depth and a lot of meaning for the story. So I would say this is a more character-driven novel than plot. So on the plot side, it is pretty slow. And the heart of the story really is just watching this family navigate life and love and these complicated relationships. And this is set during the depression era. So it offers a glimpse into this time period, which I have not really read. I don't know if I've read anything in the depression era yet. There is a Kristen Hanna book that I want to read that I know is set during this time period, but I think this might be the first depression era that I've read. So it's really interesting to read this time period. And you're watching this story unfold through multiple POVs. And like I said, it shifts back and forth between past and present, but it's pretty easy to follow. It wasn't something that I had a hard time with. But we're getting to know Eliza, and I really liked getting to know her. Then we have this mystery around Gabe and trying to figure out who is this guy and what does he want? What is his motivation? What is his story? And then we're introduced to Aunt Baddie, and she's so sweet. I love her backstory. She just added another layer to this novel. She has this unwavering faith and wisdom, and she's funny, and she's just a really memorable character. She's really warm and loving. And the characters really make this book shine. And you get to see how resilient Eliza is. She's deeply human. She's easy to relate to and connect with. I just think that there's some beautiful messages woven in the story that offer messages of hope and perseverance and grace without feeling super overwhelming. I just really love how tender and emotional and deeply moving the story is. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it gave me some swoony moments. There is a little bit of romance towards the end. It's very subtle, but it's this multi-generational aspect that just give it so much richness and then all of the themes that are woven in. I just think it's very universal with the messages, and I absolutely recommend this. This was such a powerful story. All right, the next five-star book that I'm so excited to talk about is The Irish Boarding House by Sandy Taylor. And I did listen to the audiobook, and this is narrated by Aphui McMahon. And I apologize if I totally butchered that name. I believe she's Irish because this book is Irish. But I gave this five stars. This is a book that I read in March because March has St. Patrick's Day, right? So we always think of Irish books in March. And I always want to read an Irish book, but I never do. So this year I made sure that I read a couple Irish books. And one of them was this historical fiction book that I absolutely loved and highly recommend the audiobook because the narrator does have the Irish accents and she does do the different dialect with the Irish accents, but it really immerses you. You really feel like you're in Ireland with these characters. I really loved the narrator. I thought she did a fantastic job. So this is the first book of a duology. Both of the books in this duology are actually available on Kindle Unlimited. I did not read along, I just listened to this audiobook from my library. But unfortunately, my library does not have the second book. I could just read it through Kindle Unlimited, but I think it's the same narrator. And I really want to have those Irish accents because it really immerses me into the story. So I'm gonna have to try to find the audiobook for the second book somewhere else. So this book is set in Dublin in the 1950s, and we meet Mary Kate, and she receives a surprise inheritance from her mom. And her mom abandoned her as a tiny baby. So she's really stunned that she's getting this inheritance from a woman who just disappeared from her life. She was devastated, and now all of a sudden, her mom knew exactly where she was, and now she has this inheritance. So she's about to refuse the money, but then she sees this beautiful deserted house for sale. And something sparks on her, and she decides I want to open a boarding house for single women. And she wants to provide shelter for these lost souls. So she opens up this boarding house, and we meet the women that come through, and we see the love that Mary Kate has for these women. She really wants to help them. Everyone has their own story, and they range from a little girl who barely speaks all the way up to an older woman. So it's all age ranges. We have kids, teenagers, young adults, older women, and we learn about their stories and we see them develop friendships with Mary Kate as well as with each other. I thought this story was absolutely beautiful. It is so sweet. It is so heartwarming. It's huge on found family, forgiveness, and belonging. I thought the themes were wonderful. They're very universal. I love listening to the audiobook. And like I said, it just really transported me to Ireland. And one of the things I just love the most was this cast of characters. So again, this is another character-driven story more than plot. You're just really learning about each of the women that come through this boarding house and about their own story. And then they each have to deal with certain things in their lives. So you are watching character development, personal development, and then they form these close friendships and they help each other. And we have loyalty and support. It felt so genuine and uplifting. And it was just so beautiful to see how their lives intertwined with each other and they helped each other through difficult moments. And of course, Mary Kate, she's our main character. She truly stands out. She has such a kind and generous soul. She really wants the best for these women. And that's why she opened this safe place for them. She wants nothing in return. It's just all about generosity and compassion that really shines through the story. It's all about acts of kindness. And then we also get a touch of romance. And so we do see a romance blossoming and we meet all of these different characters. And I did see that there are some critics that say this is very reminiscent of a Hallmark movie, and it was just too soft and light, but I have to disagree because this story does explore some difficult subjects such as bullying, unplanned pregnancy out of wedlock, suicide, physical and emotional abuse, alcohol struggles, and the loss of a loved one. So there are some harder themes that I felt like were handled with very gentle care, and they made the story more meaningful and it didn't feel like some light and fluffy, feel-good story. I mean, you do get that in some points, but there is some emotional weight to this. But I also feel like not every historical fiction book has to be some hard-hitting Kristen Hanna book either. So I really had a great time with this. The pacing was excellent. I was super engaged from the very beginning to the very end. The story flowed very easily. It gave that comforting, cozy feeling at time, especially the found family feeling with all of the women. And it did make me tear up a little bit. So I laughed, I cried, I swooned a little bit because there is a touch of romance. And I absolutely recommend this. I am so glad that I gave this one a chance and that I picked this one up. It gave me the same feelings of call the midwife, if you've ever watched that TV show. It just focuses on the warmth and compassion and community with these women during this 1950s time period. So I love this story. And if you are all about lovable characters with an uplifting and hopeful message, if you like found family, historical fiction with a bit of romance, highly, highly recommend picking this one up. All right, then my second favorite five-star book that I read in the first quarter was The Stolen Life of Colette Marcu by Kristen Harmel. I did listen to the audiobook and it was narrated by Madeline Maby. This is a World War II historical drama. And again, this was five stars for me. This was my very first Kristen Harmel book. I know she's up there with Kristen Hanna, so we got the Kristans in historical fiction, and it really did read like a Kristen Hanna book. It was very vivid, very descriptive. So in this story, it is a past and present timeline. So in the past, we were following Colette, and she has been stealing jewels for as long as she can remember. She learned how to do this from her mother, and they only take from the cruel and the unkind, and then they give those to those in need. So it kind of has this Robin Hood feel to it. So they have this family tradition of stealing jewels, and Colette's been doing this for more than seven decades. And during World War II, Colette and her mother Annabelle, they worked side by side in Paris to fund the French resistance. But then one night in 1942, it all went wrong, and her mom was arrested by the Germans. And Colette's four-year-old sister, Lillian, she disappeared in the midst of all this chaos. Her mom had sewn some diamond bracelets into the hem of the nightgown for safekeeping. So unfortunately, her mom is executed, and then they find her little sister's body floating in the river, but the bracelet is nowhere to be found. So that all happened in the past. So then you fast forward 70 years, and now Colette, she's in her 80s or 90s, and she's still stealing, but she's redistributing $30 million worth of jewelry over the decades to fund different organizations. She's ready to put all of that past behind her, but the long-missing bracelet that was supposed to be in her sister's hem of her nightgown suddenly turns up in a museum exhibit in Boston. So now Cola is trying to discover where this bracelet came from and who owns it now. Because she really wants to learn the truth about what happened to her sister that night, because she has been feeling guilty her whole life that when her mom was getting arrested and all of that chaos was going on, she was supposed to look after her little sister and she didn't. And then her sister ended up dying. But as she goes down this rabbit hole about trying to figure out where this bracelet came from, she's confronted with the ghosts of her past and she has to kind of relive everything again. And the story unravels from there, you guys. This was so good. There's no language, no spice. I love the narrator. She has these different accents and definitely have the tissues nearby because this is definitely a tearjerker. I was crying by the end of this book. But this was my first time reading from this author. I absolutely want to pick up more from her. This was just so vivid, and she was skillful and how she wove in real historical details and facts into this made-up fictional story. So I felt like I learned a lot about certain things of World War II that I didn't know before. And then you also have this narrative that just made it feel a lot richer and more meaningful because of the real facts that were woven in. And it really helped to immerse me deeper into the story. I usually don't gravitate towards stories about theft or thievery or elaborate heist schemes. Heist stories or movies are not really my jam, but this novel completely won me over. The premise of a jewelry thief was really surprising. I actually kind of went in not knowing much about this book. I requested this off of NetGalley and I did get the ARC, but I went ahead and did a read-along with my ARC to the audiobook because the audiobook became available through my library app and I couldn't remember what the story was about. So when I saw that it was available and I remembered that I needed to listen to this or read it to write a review, I just went ahead and got it, but I didn't go back and reread what the story was about. So I found that really surprising and compelling that this was about a jewel thief. And then you blend that with all of the historical moments, and there's elements of mystery, and we have a little bit of romance. And it was just really heartfelt. It was exciting, it explores family relations, it has beautiful found family elements to it. It's very emotional. Like I said, it goes back and forth between World War II set in the 1940s and then present day when you have Colette and she's nearing 90 years old, and just watching this woman's story unravel and then getting to know some of the characters that are in her life, and then we're trying to figure out this mystery. It really felt like Colette was a modern-day Robin Hood. And I love how throughout her entire life she was taking jewels from these corrupt individuals, and then she redirected it towards more meaningful and helpful causes. So I really like that. And it doesn't shy away from the devastating impact of the Holocaust. So it does touch on that and showing how families were torn apart during one of the darkest periods of history. But it also highlights the courage of these resistance groups who they risk everything to help others. So I really liked the back and forth. I was invested in the past timeline as much as the present timeline. I thought both timelines were so engaging. As much as I was getting into one, then it would switch to the other, but then I would get into that one. And it wasn't annoying to go back and forth, but there were times I got a little frustrated because I was getting so into one story and then had to shift. But both stories were just so compelling. It was fast-paced and it had some twists and turns. I was bawling by the end of this book, you guys. It touched my heart so much. If you like The Nightingale by Kristen Hanna, you may really like the story. I got some of the same feels because it is about sisters and some of that emotional experience was there. This was just very powerful, very memorable, and incredibly moving. I highly, highly recommend this story and I can't wait to read more from this author. Okay, so I'm not done with all my five stars, but as far as this first list goes, this was my absolute favorite that I read in the first quarter. I'm not surprised because this is an all-time favorite author of mine, but I read her brand new book that just came out in January. I was ready for it. The day it came out, I downloaded it off of Kindle Unlimited, and that is To Love a Lady by Gabrielle Meyer. This starts a brand new series from this author. She is the author of the Timeless series. That is what she's most known for. But she has other series that are really, really good too. I started the Ladies of Wilderness series. I read the first book. There are three out right now of those. And now this new series called the Dollar Princess series. These are all historical romance books that are based off of popular musicals. So this first book is based off of My Fair Lady. So again, all of these are going to be available when they come out on Kindle Unlimited. The second one comes out in June, and I already have the date marked on my calendar. I'm going to download it as soon as it's available, and I'm going to jump right in because I loved, loved, loved this story, you guys. So this is historical romance set in the late 1880s, and it is also Christian fiction, but don't let that scare you off because there's not a lot of faith elements. It's very mild, it's woven in very seamlessly, and it really adds some depth to the story, but it's not a ton. So don't let that scare you off if you're not a Christian fiction reader. But this story, I loved this story so much. If you could take My Fair Lady and mix it with Dalton Abbey and the Gilded Age, mix all that up, that's what this story is. I loved this book so much. My Fair Lady, I watched the movie with Audrey Hepburn like one time and I really don't remember it. I've never seen the regular Broadway play. So that story is like, eh, it's okay. But Dalton Abbey and the Gilded Age are two of my all-time favorite TV series. And I really got that from reading this book. So this is set in New York City in 1883. And we meet Kira, and she is from the other side of the tracks, if you want to say. She is on hard times. She's not doing very well. She's more of the poor side of society. And she is outside the opera house trying to sell roses. And she comes across this wealthy widow. Her name is Maud Hill. And after Maud meets her, she gets a really great first impression. And she asks her nephew, Alexander, to go offer Kira a proposition. So the proposition is to be adopted by Maud and to be polished and presented as a lady of society in hopes of being a bride for an English lord or some kind of high status elite. And that would keep Maud's social standings on the up and up because she doesn't have a daughter of her own. So Kira sees this as an opportunity. She just can't pass up. So it is a rags to riches story. And then we see Alexander coming in, and he's kind of the voice of reason to Maud, and he is not afraid to step up to her and to kind of stop her. Like, you're taking this a little too far. Do we really need to do this? Like, is this fair to Kira? And he really has Kira's interest and heart in the front of his mind, and he really wants the best for her. He doesn't want this to be some kind of scandal. He doesn't want her to lose herself in this transformation. And so he does come in as the voice of reason and he questions things, but he's also tasked of teaching her the art of charm and flirtation. And of course, soon he finds himself captivated by her. But she's being prepped and prepped for high society in England. So we do travel from New York society over to England, and she does catch the eye of a duke. And so everything is set up for her to win. There's lavish balls, but then we have long buried secrets that surface and things start to unravel. And of course, we have Alexander and Kira and what is going to happen between the two of these because they have grown close together during her preparation time. So I loved the story so much. It was so engaging. Gabrielle Meyer is one of my all-time favorite authors. She really can do no wrong in my eyes. And she just brings these characters to life. Everything is so vivid and immersive. I really felt like I was there with them. And I loved watching Kira go from the rags to riches. She's a very compelling heroine because even though she grew up on the poor side of town, she never loses who she is during this whole process. It would be easy for her to completely abandon her morals and values and to become somebody she's not, but she doesn't. She stays really grounded and she knows who she is. So she is a very lovable character. She's easy to root for. She's easy to love and to want to support and hoping that things work out for her. I love that she's still true to who she is and she never loses her authenticity. And I loved watching her grow. So we do see her grow during this journey. And then, of course, we've got the gowns and the dresses and the balls, and we travel to England. So we've got all the glitz and glamour of the gilded age, and all of that is there, and that was really fun. I just love watching the story unfold. There are some mystery elements. Like I said, there's some drama going on. We've got some secrets that surface. So it wasn't all just a My Fair Lady retelling. It was more than that. There was kind of this upstairs, downstairs, like in Downton Abbey. We've got the glitz and glamour of the Gilded Age. And it was just so much fun to watch these characters and to watch the romance bloom and develop. It was a slow burn and it is predictable, but it was still very enjoyable. It's tender, it's heartfelt. There's some swoony moments. It'll make you smile. It's just a really warm hug to your heart. Like I said, there are some subtle faith elements woven in, but they're done so well that it's not preachy or anything. It feels natural and uplifting. And I was just completely taken away by this story. I love this so much and I am so excited to continue the series. Like I said, the next book comes out in June. I think the third book comes out in October. So they're going to be released a few months from each other. And I am ready to download and read all of these this year because these stories were so much fun. So I can't wait to see what happens in the next story. I think you can read these as a standalone, but I did read the summary of the second book, and it follows one of the guys that we meet in this book. So I don't think you have to read this one, but it probably would be a better experience if you read this first book to just get comfortable and familiar with the character, that we're gonna follow his love story in the second book. So I'm very excited to see what that one's about. And I think the second book is based off the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I think that's what that one is. And then another book is based off the sound of music. And I can't remember what the fourth book is based off of, but I'm just excited that we're gonna get more of these stories. And I tell you what, when I was reading this, I was so immersed in this story that I wanted more. When it was over, it wasn't enough for me. I wanted more. So what I did is because this felt so much like Dalton Abbey, I started Dalton Abbey over again. I have watched that series like three or four times already, but I started it over again because the entire series is on Amazon Prime. So I ended up watching and binging the entire series again for like the fifth time. And then I watched the first two movies because I had only watched the movies like once or twice, and I didn't really remember them too much. But Netflix has all three movies. So I watched the first two. Now, the very last movie, and I think this is the last last, like we're not getting any more Dalton Abbey after this last movie. I haven't watched the last movie yet. And I'm kind of afraid to because it's gonna be completely over once I do. And I know it's gonna be so emotional for me because I was crying throughout the series, even though I knew what happened. I was still bawling my eyes out, and I was crying in the movies, and this is the final, final movie, and it's all gonna be over after this. And I don't want it to end, so I've been putting off watching, I think it's called The Final Act. I haven't watched it yet, and I'm afraid to because it's gonna be over, but I do want to watch it at some point, and I need to watch it before it goes away. So, again, all of the movies are on Netflix, and I just need to finally watch it. But I know I'm gonna be very emotional, so I have to pick and choose when I feel like I want to have an afternoon of tears because I know it's gonna make me cry so much. But anyway, this really inspired me to re-watch Delton Abbey after reading this book. I also might go back and re-watch The Gilded Age next because as much as I don't like that show as much, I still love it. It's still really, really good, but I don't love it as much as Delton Abbey. But I've already watched all three seasons that are out. That's on HBO Max. I might go back and re-watch those as well at some point, but I can't recommend this book enough, and I'm gonna stop talking about it because I still have a couple more to talk about. So I did start a novella series, so I want to shift over to that. I did start the unselected journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower. This series has gotten so much love lately. I see everybody talking about this series. It is Victorian time period, so it's not Regency, but it is Victorian, and it is perfect for the spring and the summertime. And so many people have been talking about the series. They're all available on Kindle Unlimited. So there are eight books out right now, and the ninth is supposed to come out later this year. However, I just watched a booktuber who is in love with the series, and she said the author has like 20 or 25 volumes planned for this series. And so this series is not even close to being over. But I wanted to jump on the train with everybody else and see what the fuss was all about. I ended up getting the audiobook from my library app because I'd rather listen. And I really like the narrator. The narrator is Genevieve Gaunt, and she does a great Job with the different voices. She has the English accent. And I thought she really brought the story to life. So I highly recommend listening to these books. There were times I was doing a listening and reading along, but for the most part, I just listened to this story. But this is a story about Emma M. Lyon, and this basically chronicalizes her life. There's not really much a plot to the story right now. It really is more of kind of like diary entries. And it's set in 1883, and you follow Emma. She's returned to London to the neighborhood of St. Crispian's, and she has to live with her cousin Archibald. He's this grumpy, curmudgedy old guy that is very annoying. And she has her aunt Eugenia, and she's a bit of an old crotchy lady. She has a cousin and some friends. So we meet these different cast of characters in Emma's life, and we're just watching her experience life, really. Like I said, there's not much of a plot. So I listened to this first volume, and I was having a really hard time with it because it is slow. It is very much a slice of life story, and I know that that is not for everybody. And I'm fine with slow pacing, but I really struggled the first 70% with this because not much was happening. I was just kind of bored and I didn't understand what the hype was about. There's not a traditional plot. I was just kind of not caring what was going on. But I will say the main character, Emma, she is sassy. She is hilarious. She is sharp and witty, and the sense of humor that comes across, it will have you laughing out loud. It's very entertaining to read, but I just never really connected with her or any of the characters. And we don't really see much happening in the first volume. So I was actually really disappointed after I listened to the first one because I just didn't understand why it was being so hyped up and I didn't get it. I'm glad that this is novella. They're not full-length novels. The audio was around three hours long, so you could get this done in a single setting or in a day. And I wish that the story had more momentum to it because, like I said, it was just very slow and not much was happening. So I didn't understand the hype. And there were some other reviewers and some booktubers that I followed that kind of felt the same way. But I was reading the comments of some people who really loved the series, and they said, don't give up. It gets a lot better. So just keep going. So I ended up picking up the second volume, and I ended up giving that one four stars. So I gave the first one three stars, and then I gave the second one four stars because things do start to pick up in this second installment, and I was having a lot more fun with the second volume. We see more shenanigans that Emma gets herself into. It was hilarious. It was funnier than the first book. I was laughing out loud, and we just get a deeper look into Emma's life and more of the supporting characters. So we got characters we are introduced to in the first, they come back in in the second, and there's a little bit more of a plot beginning to shape in the second one. We also have kind of a semi-love triangle. So that really caught my attention because now we're starting to get some romance. There was zero romance in the first volume, but in the second one, we're starting to see things shift a little bit between her and a couple guys that she meets. And I'm very interested in that. Again, Emma's back with her sharp sass and wit and the banter. I was laughing more. This felt very entertaining. I was enjoying myself more with this second round. And this is wholesome and lighthearted and humorous. There's no language, there's no spice, at least not with these first two volumes. And we just see herself get into these misadventures and situations that she has to get out of. They're so endearing and grounding, and they're hilarious. So I really had a great time with the second volume. I am going to continue with the series and keep reading. I heard they just get better and better, and they do get longer and longer. So I think maybe by the sixth or seventh volume, they're kind of starting to turn into full-length novels. So I am very curious to keep going. I'm starting to like Emma a lot more. And yeah, if you have read the first one and you're like, eh, and you put it aside, maybe give the second one a chance and see if that will be a little bit better for you because it was a lot better for me. So I definitely recommend the series, giving it a try, at least the first two volumes. I haven't explored more than that, but I do want to continue. I would like to get caught up by the end of this year and read all eight. And then when the ninth comes out, have the ninth read. So I would like to get caught up because they are really short. The audio is around three or four hours. So they're very quick to get caught up with, and it's very enjoyable. So I do see the hype of what people are saying and I agree with them. All right. I know this is getting to be a really long episode, but I have just a couple more books that I want to talk about. So I want to talk about a couple classic middle grade books that I read this spring. So I am not one who grew up reading or knowing much at all about Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery. When I was growing up, Anna Green Gables seemed really boring to me. I kind of felt like it was like a little house on the prairie, which that never interested me. I never really heard many people talk about this book. It's not something I read in school. It's not something my friends were reading. So I had never read Anna Green Gables, but I finally did this year. And I can't believe it's taken me 46 years of my life, but here we are. I finally read this classic. Now, how did we get here? Well, I was scrolling through my library app and I actually saw that there was a graphic novel. So I picked up the graphic novel first by Mariah Marston and Brennan Thummler. And I loved it. I loved it so much. The art style wasn't quite my style that I like in graphic novels, but I loved the story. The art was still very beautiful. It was very colorful. It was perfect for spring. Now I know the story goes between all four seasons, but I think a lot of people think about spring and summer when they think of Anne of Greengables. I loved the graphic novel so much. I gave it five stars, and I wasn't expecting that. I wasn't expecting that at all. I thought it would just kind of be a ho-hum story about this little girl kind of coming of age story. But I love the graphic novel so much that I decided to pick up the middle grade classic. Now, I listened to this through my Audible Plus membership, and this was narrated by Rachel McAdams. So, yes, the famous actress who's in a ton of movies that I love: The Notebook, Mean Girls, Wedding Crashers. I mean, so many good movies. At first, when she started reading this, I was kind of like, I'm not sure if voice narrating is maybe the right avenue for this actress. But once we got going, she did a fantastic job. I thought she did a really, really great job of being Anne, and I loved listening to this audiobook. So highly recommend the Rachel McAdams version if you're able to listen to this story. But I loved this story so much, and just getting a more in-depth look that I didn't get from the graphic novel, it goes a lot more in depth in the novel, and it's just a sweet, wholesome, pure coming-of-age story about this little girl. I loved Anne so much. I love how imaginative she was. She was so optimistic and almost kind of like a Pollyanna with her attitude, but then she was sassy and she talked back and she had some attitude at times. She was just so endearing and precious. I just loved getting to know Anne so much. I really did not think I would love this story as much as I did. I gave this five stars. I thought it was so precious and sweet. Anne is so dramatic, but it's so cute and endearing. It wasn't annoying. I was so entertained. I was constantly grinning and laughing. And I just loved how hopeful she was and how whimsical and imaginative. And she was just very inspiring. And I know this isn't considered a Christian fiction book, but there are a lot of Christian faith elements that were woven within the story. And I really, really like that. And like I said, even though this story takes place throughout the year, I felt like it was perfect for spring. It had very much cottage core vibes and all of the nature descriptions and the fields that she goes out in and the farm that she lives on with Matthew and Marilla. I thought that was a little weird that the couple that take her in and adopt her are not a husband and wife. It's an aging brother and sister. I thought that was a little odd because they act like a married couple. But looking past that, there were definitely traits that I appreciated from both of them. Matthew was the sweetheart of the story. I loved him so much. He loved Anne. He just fell in love with her. And the way he saw her as his daughter, I just love their dynamic. And then, of course, Marilla is the harder woman that is more difficult to crack and to open her heart up. But her heart does finally melt for Anne and she starts to really love and nurture her and she sees her as her daughter. I just love seeing the dynamic between Anne and Matthew and Marilla. And then all the hijinks and different things that come up throughout the year that they have to deal with. It is sad. There are some sad moments and it does get a little emotional. And we do see Anne grow up to be a teenager. I think she's what, 10 or 11 when we first meet her. And then by the end of the book, she's around 16. I didn't love the part when she was getting older as much as when she was a younger child. I think I liked the first part of the book better than the second part. But overall, I still loved the entire story. I just loved watching Anne come to herself. And like I said, this is a coming of age story and just learning more about herself. She makes new friendships. We have first crushes. She has these foster parents, and it's just such a wholesome, sweet, charming story that I absolutely fell in love with. This was one of the biggest surprises of the first quarter. I really did not think I would like this, and I loved it. So the graphic novel sold me on it. And then listening to the audiobook made me completely fall in love with Anne and the story. So then I went down a little bit of an Anne of Green Gables rabbit hole, and I knew that they had made many adaptations from movies to TV series based off this series of books. And I wanted to experience something. I didn't want to have to pay for anything. So I was just trying to see what my streaming platforms offered. And on Amazon Prime, they have a two-part mini-series. It's the 2016 version of Anne of Green Gables. And this one has Martin Sheen as Matthew. I love Martin Sheen as an actor. So I watched that two-part series and I really, really enjoyed that. And then I knew that Netflix had put out Anne with an E. So I have started that. I'm still in season one. I haven't finished that series. I was kind of starting to get burned out a little bit on Anne of Greengables because I was consuming so much of it in so many different formats. But I have started the series on Netflix. I'm liking that one. I'm not liking it as much as the mini-series that I watched, but I am liking the series on Netflix. It is a little bit different. I feel like Hollywood took it a little bit different than the book. It's not completely based off the book. But I guess if you're going to have an eight or 10 episode series, you have to think up other things that happen. So it's not completely adapted from the book in that series. But I am enjoying it. I think there's three seasons out. So I am going to continue watching that. Someone told me that the 1980s movie is the best version, but unfortunately, I'm not able to stream that on any of my platforms. I would have to pay full price to rent that, and I don't feel like doing that right now. But I would like to watch that movie at some point. And then on Audible Plus, which I do have access to with my membership, there is a dramatization of Anne of Green Gables with some big Hollywood actors. So we have Victor Garber, I believe he plays Matthew, and then Catherine O'Hara. I think she might be Marilla, Sandra O. And then Ann Shirley is played by Michaela Lucy, which I'm not sure who that actress is. But I know that Audible likes to put out these dramatization audiobooks. So I wanted to listen to this one because it's not very long. It's about five and a half hours. And if I speed it up, it's going to be shorter. But again, I think I was getting myself burned out from consuming so much of this story that I'm going to have to either listen to it later this summer or I'm just going to have to come back to it next spring. But I do want to check that out now that I've listened to the original and see what that one is like. But Anne of Green Gables, absolutely love. I know there's a lot more books in that series. I do want to get to the rest of them. I don't know when that will be, but absolutely recommend if you've never read it, if you're like me, if you've gone your whole life and you're an adult and you've never picked it up, absolutely pick it up. It was such a pleasant surprise, and I just absolutely loved it. Then from there, and I'm just gonna quickly mention this one. I read another middle grade classic that I've grown up with. So I read Heidi by Johanna Spyri, and I read the graphic novel because the graphic novel is kind of this trilogy. It was Anne of Green Gables, Heidi, and the Secret Garden. I had already read The Secret Garden a couple years ago, and then I read Anne of Green Gables, and then the last one was Heidi, and I believe all of them are available on Kindle Unlimited, but I got them through my library app. But I think you can get the graphic novels on Kindle Unlimited. So I did get Heidi, and I loved that story so much. I grew up with that story. I read the book, I've watched the movies, the Shirley Temple movies, the other adaptations. There's also an 80s cartoon that I remember watching. So I knew of Heidi. That's something I grew up with, but I just wanted to revisit as an adult. And it is very much perfect for spring. You got that cottage core vibes, especially when she's living with her grandfather in the Swiss Alps. There's so much description and it really immerses you in that Swiss rural living life. But then when she goes to town and we meet Clara, she's the little girl that is in a wheelchair, and Heidi is supposed to be a companion to Clara, but then she gets really, really homesick. And it's just such a sweet story. So I read the graphic novel and then I grabbed the audiobook from my library app and then I listened to that. It was only about five hours or so. It was very short. So it's just another middle grade classic. I gave both the graphic novel and the audiobook five stars. So all of these middle grade classics were five stars for me. I was in such a spring mindset this past spring that I just wanted to read everything spring-like, everything cottage core, and I had a really great time. I thought this was a wonderful way to spend my spring of revisiting this classic with Heidi and then finding the new classic of Anna Green Gables, and then the historical fiction that I read and the Regency romance. So it was a really, really good reading season for me. I think I'm off to a great start with my reading year. These were some really, really good stories that I read, really good authors that I can't wait to explore more from. And again, if you missed anything, if you want to read my written reviews, everything is on my website. The link to the companion blog is in the description. So I have everything over there on my website if you want to learn more. Again, please follow me on Goodreads and social media if you want to know what's going on with me. And again, I have lots of projects in the works. I'm so excited for the warmer months that are here. And I've got some fun summer plans for you guys and some different types of episodes that I want to do. But I am going to try to get through some more recent read episodes and let you know what I read. So this is the first round with the historical books. I'm going to do another episode with fantasy, another episode with mystery thrillers, and then another one with contemporary romance. So be on the lookout for some more recent read episodes. I'm going to talk about all the other different genres that I read in in the first quarter and let you know what those books were like. I'm just so glad that I've started off the year on a really good note. I have had some misses. I will talk about those in some other episodes. And I had a couple misses in this episode, but for the most part, the books have been really good this year, you guys. I'm really excited and hopefully I'll pick up some more really great reads, and I'm happy with how things are going so far. All right, my voice is starting to wear out. This is getting to be a really long episode. But if you're still here to the very end, thank you so much for hanging out with me today. I hope I inspired you to pick up some of these books. And again, if you do, please hop on Goodreads or social media and let me know what you thought. I would love to see what other people think about these books. But I'm just so excited that I have found some really good reads that I can recommend to you guys. And again, if you want more of my recommendations, on my website, I have a page called My BookRux. Those are all the four and five-star books that I recommend. And I pretty much have all of my written reviews up there. There might be a few stragglers that I still need to write reviews for, but for the most part, all my reviews are written and you can see my thoughts about those books. Okay, so that's all I have for this episode. Again, stick around for some more recent reads and some more fun episodes in the near future. Until next time, my sweet friends, happy reading. Well, that's all I have for this episode. If you missed anything, you can find the companion blog on my website at bookmarksandblankets.com. That's bookmarksthelternblankets.com. If you enjoyed today's discussion, please consider subscribing to the podcast so you don't miss any episodes. Also, if you feel called to do so, please share this podcast with others who you think may be interested in this type of show. Or if you have a few minutes, I'd love for you to write a quick review. This helps me reach more people, and I would greatly appreciate it. If you would like to support the show even more, you can join my Patreon community at patreon.comslash bookmarks and blankets. Until next time, my friends, please remember to take care of yourself and always stay cozy.