Hi friends! It is officially summer in the Beucler house! Woohoo! The boys and I are headed out on our first summer adventure tomorrow, and we are SO excited! Make sure to check out my Lunchbox Babies Instagram page to check out the fun!

Also . . . have you entered to win the Lunchbox Babies/Nordstrom SUMMER GIVEAWAY?!?!?! Check out Friday’s post here, and read how to enter to win the giveaway! The winner is announced on Friday! Good luck!

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So, today’s post was going to be something completely different. I had a great post lined up, but then I picked up Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah and COULD.NOT.PUT.IT.DOWN. So, I am going to throw in this random book review here and we can get back to business later this week!

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

Last October, a sweet friend recommended The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. It did not fall into my two favorite categories (chick lit and suspense), so I initially hesitated. I am so glad that hesitation was short-lived because I LOVED THIS BOOK! This was one of my favorite books from 2018! You can click here to read my review of The Great Alone.

This spring, after MONTHS of my best friend telling me that I needed to read The Nightingale, I finally picked it up. Again, I LOVED THIS BOOK! This book is definitely in the running for my favorite book of the year . . . maybe ever! You can click here to read my review of The Nightingale!

I LOVE the way Kristin Hannah writes! Some of you may know that a dream of mine is to write a book one day. So, when a writer inspires me like this, I tend to start researching them. I’m not a stalker, just slightly obsessed! HA!

After reading The Nightingale, I found an interview with her where she discusses her favorite characters that she has ever created. She named four separate characters in four different books, and after reading a synopsis of each, I chose to read about Anya Whitson in Winter Garden.

I grabbed Winter Garden to take on our first summer adventure, but I picked it up last week during carpool and became obsessed. Can’t stop, won’t stop people! Yet again, a Kristin Hannah book is AMAZING!

Winter Garden begins by following two sisters: Meredith and Nina. They love their father, and he loves them fiercely. They are obsessed with their Russian-born mother, Anya, but her indifference and coldness towards them only makes them more desperate to earn her love. The only glimpses into her heart are through a fairy tale that she will recite on special occasions.

Just before their father dies, he makes them both promise that they will take care of their mother and fight to get to know her better. Easier said than done, as she is a difficult nut to crack! Even after decades of trying!

While mourning the loss of their father and experiencing their own lives crumbling around them, they work to discover who their mother truly is and was before they were born. They discover that Anya Whitson has more depth, strength, and character than they ever could have imagined, and they find a way to understand her and themselves in a new and inspiring way.

Oh friends. This book!

Y’all know that I love to read. I can very easily picture the story in my head as I am reading, and love to experience the story along with the characters. Kristin’s books are just different. She writes the type of books that you feel in your bones. The kind of books that, long after you finish, you are still holding onto the characters and story.

Kristin spans decades with her stories so that the reader has closure . . . you know I love closure in my books! And, she always sheds light on places or situations that I never think twice about.

Please read this book. This is not your typical beach or summer book that you might enjoy on your vacation. This is a book that you will not want to put down, you will be telling your friends to read, and you will be wanting to talk to anyone and everyone about it! Please read this book! And then tell me what you think.

Can’t stop, won’t stop friends! I am sure that I will have another Kristin Hannah to review by the end of the summer! I still have three of her favorite characters to experience!

Click here to grab a copy of Winter Garden from my Amazon store!

Happy Summer and happy reading! XO