Monday Mini-Reviews: A Couple of Winners

My reading slowed down in August as I spent time working on school stuff as well as thinking about school stuff.  The books I read were ones that kept my attention (a hard feat at this time of year), and kept me wanting to turn pages. 

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue is a fun office story.  Jolene isn't in love with her job and feels doesn't really have any friends in the office.  She entertains herself by constructing inappropriate email responses that she types at the bottom of the emails she sends co-workers, after first hiding the text by changing the text white.  When she forgets to change the text color, she is called out and begins a class with the HR director.  But somehow her computer settings have been changed and now Jolene has access to everyone's emails. By reading what her co-workers are writing she realizes there are lots of things going on behind the scenes.  While some of this is humorous, there is also some seriousness to this story as well.  I liked the premise and really liked Jolene as she struggled with workplace relationships and figuring out her future.

Ethan Joella's The Same Bright Stars has been on my radar for months.  I read one of his novels a while ago, and remember enjoying it a lot, and this one was also fantastic. 

Jack is tired of running his restaurant, which he inherited from his dad.  He's thinking of retirement, yet doesn't have anything he's particularly looking forward to about being retired.  We see glimpses of his past - a relationship with a girl in his late teens that failed, and his mother's mental health struggles - that always seem to leave Jack feeling alone.  His restaurant staff feel more like his family, although his friend Deacon is there for him as well.  This novel feels quiet, yet there are still plenty of things going on: a co-workers' son's struggles that Jack gets involved with, a former fiancee revealing a secret to him that changes everything he thought he knew, and an offer to buy his restaurant are what keep things moving along.  I had a hard time putting this one down.  

I'm glad I found time for these two gems in a short amount of time.  I'll miss being able to read a book in one sitting during the school year, although these books would be great in any time or place.