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Stephanie B

@queenb.steph_reads

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🩵 Boy mom to 2🩵
❤️ Married to 1 “in the real world” married to many “in the book world”.
💟 English Major and Book Lover
💟 @sunnybabepr Influencer

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🚀👨🏽‍🚀🌎 Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Genre: Historical Fiction / Romance
Length: 352 pages
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This was the 9th book of this year's #sisterhoodofthetravelingb🍩🍩ks traveling book club recommended by @bookwormdanii. It was SO good!

Summary:
This is the story of Joan Goodwin, who's intelligence, poise, creativity, and talent have earned her a spot in the NASA space shuttle program. She has always felt a bit different to other women of her time, but in her position she meets a team of men and women who become her found family. Vanessa Ford, an aeronautical engineer on her team, has also found camaraderie in Joan, and their friendship blossoms making their bond inseparable. When their astronaut team finally launches into space, Joan, working at Mission Control, is in charge of guiding them, even when things go devastatingly awry. The crew is in danger and Joan must dig deep into all her training and expertise to get them home, including her beloved Vanessa.

Review:
I now know that I could never have been an astronaut. What an amazing job these men and women have and the insane amount of knowledge and calmness they have to possess is unreal. I have so much respect for this field and this book made me want to learn more about women in the space program going back to the 1980s. I felt so many emotions on Joan's physical and emotional journey, and I loved how her friendship-turned-relationship with Vanessa helped her grow in her confidence and journey in finding herself. My favorite part of this book was Joan's relationship with her niece, Frances, and how fiercely she loved and protected her. And to that end, I wanted to punch Barbara (Joan's sister) in the face. What an abhorrent person- ugh- one of my most hated characters in all books. This was my second TJR book (Daisy Jones was my first), and it has made me want to read more of her backlist. Such a powerful and inspirational read!

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Historical Fiction that brings to life the horrific history into a beautifully written emotional story.

If you haven’t picked up any of @ellenmariewiseman books and are a historical fiction reader, heck even if you don’t love historical fiction, you need to read one of her books…or all.

Her characters will have you rooting for them, crying for them and cheering them on.

September traveling book club pick comes from my friend @bookstagram_sam_ . When I saw what book she chose I was excited because like I said I love this author.

In this story you follow Lena from war torn Germany to Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia. Hoping life in America will be better only to experience hardships and heartache. I felt so much during this read. And fully recommend you read.

The Lies They Told: Facing impossible choices in hopes of reuniting with her daughter—and protecting the people, and the land, she has grown to love.

The lost girls of Willowbrook:Behind the walls of Willowbrook were girls whose stories deserved to be heard.

The life she was given: A life chosen for her… and a girl determined to take it back.

What she left behind: Sometimes the past you run from is the one you can never escape.

QOTD: which book are you picking up first?

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🌳👻🖤 Don't Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews
Genre: YA Horror/Fantasy
Length: 336 pages
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This was my September book for our traveling book club (#sisterhoodofthetravelingb🍩🍩ks)! I had never heard of this one before and it was my first YA horror/fantasy book - it is always nice to branch out. *pun intended haha*

Summary:
This is the coming-of-age story of Australian teenage boy, Andrew, who goes to an American boarding school with his twin sister, Dove. Andrew just wants to be left alone to write his horror fairytales, hiding from the tumults of typical high school drama, except for the one person he longs to be with, his only friend and roommate, Thomas. Thomas, with his outgoing rebellious spirit, is inspired by drawing pictures that illustrate Andrew's horrorific tales. As his affections for Thomas grow, so does something sinister in the deep woods next to their boarding school. Monsters that resemble those of Andrew's writings begin to torment and torture students and others in the night, and only Andrew has the power to stop them... but how? And will Thomas be able to help him?

Review:
I did spend some of this book a little confused to be honest. It had very vivid imagery, and the horrors of the forest were definitely what brought this book into that genre. But really, this book is about a teenage boy who is trying to have the courage to voice his feelings of affection and love, while he battles feelings of insecurity, self-deprecation, and fear of rejection. It is quite haunting, not just because of the monsters, but also because of how Andrew's insecurities are literally trying to kill him. There is a definite twist toward the end of the book that really shocked me and the end itself was also a little ambiguous, which I think was on purpose. This was a good book to read as we come into spooky season but be warned that it touches on some fairly serious topics aside from creepy forest monsters.

❓️If you were describing the scariest monster you could imagine, what would it look like?

#sisterhoodofthetravelingb🍩🍩ks #dontlettheforestin #cgdrews #travelingbookclub

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It’s been a little over two weeks since I had a cervical spinal fusion and discectomy (acdf c3/c7). I have had so many wonderful friends and family help me along the way to recovery!!! I need to thank y’all for all the love you’ve sent through all the things (I sadly didn’t get pictures of everything and not sure I tagged everyone I’m sorry)

And today I plugged in the headphones and listened to our book club book “the Paris Apartment” by @kellybowen09 (great historical fiction with a bit of mystery and romance) and colored a few pages.

QOTD: what are you currently reading?

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A little late but much love and thanks to my gifting sisterhood besties! You’ve added some great reads to my tbr this birthh h day month!!! 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

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🦊🐕🐀🐻 Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett
Genre(s): Literary Fiction mixed with a dash of Magical Realism, Tragicomedy, and Mystery!
Length: 368 pages
My Rating: 🦊🦊🦊🦊🦊

Thank you to @megan_reads14 for putting this book into our #sisterhoodofthetravelingb🍩🍩ks book club this year!

Summary:
Katie returns home, not to pursuing her dream of medical school. She was born with an unusual gift of being able to heal people's small ailments by only her touch, but she has somehow lost this ability. Katie desperately tried to escape her small hometown of Everton, New Hampshire and all the drama of her family. Her father is dying of a strange brain disease, her mother is reaching wit's end with his crazy obsession with the disappearance of Katie's childhood best friend, Crystal, and Katie's brother Auggie is going nowhere as usual after his struggle with addiction.

Living at home again, Katie must reevaluate her life and place within her family. She takes on a long-term substitute job at the local elementary school, thrown into a world of nine precocious and endearing 11 year-olds. All the while, things get worse at home with her father's condition... and with the new/sudden addition of a few pets, it is all Katie can do to keep her family (and herself) from imploding.

Review:
Writing that summary was so difficult because this is one of the most layered books I have read in a long time. There are so many themes to unpack here- forgiveness, acceptance, starting over, believing in yourself, and never giving up. I don't really even know how to explain how I felt about this book, but I can tell you that its description as a 'tragicomedy' really hits just right. There were many funny parts, and as an elementary teacher, I laughed out loud at Katie's attempts to manage her 5th graders with zero teaching experience. My favorite aspects of this novel were the incorporation of the animals that both inspired and loved all of the Starling family and in many ways, brought them closer on a path to healing.

Thanks to my friend, Megan, for putting this book on my radar this year. I feel so happy to have read it and now I want a pet fox. 🤣

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✨️🧚‍♀️🩸 Darling Girl by Liz Michalski
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 352 pages
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This was my 6th book of our traveling book club reads for 2026, recommended by @queenb.steph_reads and it was a great one!

Summary:
This is a Peter Pan retelling, but two generations after Wendy Darling. Wendy's granddaughter, Holly, is a scientist who is desperately trying to find a cure to help bring her own daughter, Eden, out of an 11-year coma. Holly has suffered great losses in her life, losing her husband and one son in a car accident, and then Eden...

All she has left is her teenage son, Jack, and a family history linked to Peter Pan that she both despises, but also needs in order to heal her daughter...

Review:
It's no secret I love a fairytale retelling, and this one really hit the mark! I loved how it took place in modern London, and many years after the original story. Holly was such a determined, and somewhat tragic FMC and I loved how she would stop at nothing to save her children. The aspect of her being a scientist/skin-care business owner was also a great addition to how Peter was interested in and entwined with Holly's past, present, and future. The added normalcy of teenage kids/parent dynamic and the aspects of spouse and child loss grief were also such gripping themes that really gave Holly depth and made me want to root for her. Excellent story and if you love fantasy, a modern fairytale twist, and a strong main character, this is definitely one to pick up!

❓️What was your favorite fairytale or child's story when you were a kid?

#sisterhoodofthetravelingb🍩🍩ks #fantasyreads

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🧠💀🚧 Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson
Genre: Thriller
Length: 380 pages
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This is my fifth book of the year for our #sisterhoodofthetravelingb🍩🍩ks traveling book club, recommended by @trishyy.reads - boy was it an exciting one!!

Summary:
27 year-old Jet Mason has just got home from helping out with her parents' Halloween fundraiser and is bludgeoned three times in the head... It's just that, she's not quite dead yet.

Jet wakes up in the hospital with a doctor's news that a bit of skull is lodged in her brain and she will die of a certain aneurysm in one week. With this terminal and horrible news, Jet is determined to solve her own murder with the little time she has left. But as her times runs out, things become more hazy and she can only depend on her childhood friend, Billy, to help her follow the trail.

Review:
I loved how the friendship between Jet and Billy rekindled after fizzling post-childhood. It was such a unique book in that we know at the very start that the main character (Jet) is going to die before the end, but will she solve her own murder before then? I did find her outlook on life (and death) a bit frustrating at times, but I totally understand how the author needed to mold her personality for all the pieces to fit together. This was also one of those murder thrillers where we see how crazy family drama and secrets ruin like, EVERYONE'S life around them. Don't miss this one- it was really interesting (medically) and very fast-paced with Jet as a ticking time bomb!

❓️If you had to solve your own (eventual) murder, who would you choose to be your sidekick?

#sisterhoodofthetravelingb🍩🍩ks #travelingbookclub #thrillerreads

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🚁🌊 The Love Haters by @katherinecenter 🐾❤️
Genre: Rom Com
Length: 10 hrs 33 min / 320 pages
Spice Level: 🫑/🚫
My Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️!

This book was recommended by and added to our traveling book club for 2026 by @books.with.bacon and was an absolute DELIGHT to read!!

Summary (from Amazon):
Katie Vaughn has been burned by love in the past―now she may be lighting her career on fire. She has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or, at her coworker Cole’s request, take a career-making gig profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West. The catch? Katie’s not exactly qualified. She can’t swim―but pretends that she can.

Plus, Cole and Hutch are brothers. And they don’t get along. Next stop: paradise! But paradise is messier than it seems. As Katie gets entangled with Hutch (the most scientifically good-looking man she has ever seen . . . but maybe a bit of a love hater), along with his colorful aunt Rue and his rescue Great Dane, she gets trapped in a lie. Or two.

Swim lessons, helicopter flights, conga lines, drinking contests, hurricanes, and stolen kisses ensue―along with chances to tell the truth, to face old fears, and to be truly brave at last.

My Review:
I was ever so grateful for this book as I listened to it in its entirety on a long road trip on the way back from Florida! It completely grabbed and kept my attention the whole time and I found myself fully invested in Hutch and Katie's will they/won't they relationship journey. This is a rom com that had so much substance and great life lessons that would be relatable for many. Katie's path to loving herself was just as important as the one toward Hutch. The theme of body positivity was paramount to the story, as well as aspects of found family and forgiveness. Perhaps my favorite part of the story was Hutch's furry sidekick, George Bailey. I love an animal side character, especially when they are integral to the main couple's journey toward each other. This was such a great book and this will definitely not be the last book I read by this author! 😍

❓️Have you ever been in or very near a natural disaster (hurricane, tornado, flood, etc.)?

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🤼‍♀️📚Sisterhood of the Traveling Books🤼‍♀️📚

March pick recommended by @queenb.steph_reads
Darling Girl by @lizmichalskiauthor
⭐️⭐️⭐️

I liked the Peter Pan retelling aspect of this story. I also liked the mystery surrounding the Darling family and what is going on with the daughter who went missing. I found it a little difficult at times to relate to the characters especially Holly Darling, but overall the story was fun and different from what I normally read and I enjoyed it regardless.
If you like the story of Peter Pan, and curses, and family dynamics, this would be a good book for you!

#sisterhoodofthetravelingbooks #bookfriends #bookclub #fairytale #fairytaleretelling

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🌠👨‍👧🎨 ❤️ What I Should've Said by @authormaxmonroe
Book 1 of 3: Red Bridge series
Genre: Romance
Length: 318 pages
Spice Level: 🌶🌶
🚨TW: child illness/death
Tropes:
🔸️small town
🔸️enemies-to-lovers
🔸️single dad
🔸️runaway bride

This book was my third of 2026 in my traveling book club (#sisterhoodofthetravelingb🍩🍩ks) recommended to me by @starlight_reader_

This book was an absolute emotional rollercoaster. I actually can't think of an emotion I didn't experience in this one: anger, joy, laughter, sadness, shock, you name it. The love story of Norah and Bennett was an enemies-to-lovers, small town romance that basically followed two emotionally broken people as they realized that they could each find love again. The added plot of Bennett's young daughter with a serious illness (Summer), made this book even more touching and emotional. I loved the supporting characters, such as Norah's sister, Josie, Bennett's bestie, Clay, and even all of the other sweet people from the town of Red Bridge. Be prepared to truly despise certain characters as well, but worry not- they get what they deserve.

Don't miss out on Norah's second chance at love with talented artist, Bennett, and how they navigate some of life's truly heart-wrenching moments. I have already bought Book 2, which features Norah's sister, Josie, and Clay.

❓️What is your favorite of all romance tropes?

#sisterhoodofthetravelingb🍩🍩ks #maxmonroe #whatishouldvesaid #romancereads

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🍴The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom🍴
Genre: Historical Fiction
Length: 384 pages
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This was my second book of our traveling book club line-up, recommended by @rinny_s_reads
I did an immersive read for this book and I would highly recommend the two excellent narrators!

Summary (from Amazon):
Orphaned during her passage from Ireland, young, white Lavinia arrives on the steps of the kitchen house and is placed, as an indentured servant, under the care of Belle, the master’s illegitimate slave daughter. Lavinia learns to cook, clean, and serve food, while guided by the quiet strength and love of her new family.

In time, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, caring for the master’s opium-addicted wife and befriending his dangerous yet protective son. She attempts to straddle the worlds of the kitchen and big house, but her skin color will forever set her apart from Belle and the other slaves.

Through the unique eyes of Lavinia and Belle, Grissom’s debut novel unfolds in a heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful story of class, race, dignity, deep-buried secrets, and familial bonds.

Review:
This felt like one of those books that EVERYONE needs to read. The dual POVs of Lavinia and Belle were equal parts heart-wrenching, honest, and even occasionally joyful to read. Though we can read about American history in the years that will eventually turn into the Civil War history, giving these stories a voice is why historical fiction is such an important genre. This was the first book I have read that takes place at the turn of the 19th century in America, and it really brought home the fact that bonds between found family can be just as powerful as blood. This is probably going to be one of my favorite books of February, if not for the whole year.

❓️Name the last book you read that took place in the past.

#stephbookreads #sisterhoodofthetravelingb🍩🍩ks #historicalfiction #thekitchenhouse #fivestarread

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