Louisa Smith - www.epicbooksociety.com

The collection is divided into four sections, with each section telling a different story about Kaur’s life, taking the reader on a journey through her life's most bitter moments, from suffering abuse and violence to the sweet moments of overcoming them, falling in love and embracing her femininity. 

I truly adored reading this collection because of Kaur’s outlook on life that is evident throughout her poetry. You can see that though she suffered bad times, she tries to look at the silver lining.

Rupi Kaur is one of the most inspiring and iconic poets of the 21st Century. Milk and Honey sold over 3 million copies worldwide and featured on the New York Times Bestseller list for 165 weeks.

Leslie Conzatti www.upstreamwriter.blogspot.com

There is one book in particular that happens to fit this criteria, though, and it’s Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. It tells the story of a middle-aged woman in a crisis who visits an elderly woman in a nursing home, and hears the tale of Ruth and Idgie, two childhood best friends who weave in and out of each other’s lives, brave through small-town scandals (and even a murder or two!) and end up running the eponymous Whistlestop Cafe together. It’s a delightful framing tale, and readers will have plenty of characters to relate themselves to, and entertaining situations, between Ruth and Idgie’s high-jinks in the early 1900’s, to the things Mrs. Threadgoode’s attitude inspires the younger Evelyn to do–not the least of which is the “awakening” of Towanda–not to be missed! I wasn’t altogether craving fried green tomatoes by the end of it, but it did give me a good laugh or several!

Becki - A Book Lover’s Adventures abookloversadventures.com

The Chocolatier by Jan Moran

A young widow. A husband she thought she knew. On the picturesque Italian coast of Amalfi lies a chocolatier's destiny...

San Francisco, 1953: Heartbroken over the mysterious death of her husband, Celina Savoia, a second-generation chocolatière, resolves to take their young son to Italy's shimmering Amalfi coast to introduce him to his father's family. Just as she embarks on a magical, romantic life of making chocolate by the sea surrounded by a loving family, she begins to suspect that her husband had a dark secret--forged in the final days of WWII--that could destroy the relationships she's come to cherish.

While a second chance at love is tempting, the mystery of her husband's true identity thwarts her efforts. Challenged to pursue the truth or lose the life and those she's come to love, Celina and her late husband's brother, Lauro, must trace the past to a remote, Peruvian cocoa region to face the deceit that threatens to shatter their lives.

This book had all the feels and lots of chocolate throughout the story! So be forewarned, you will be buying chocolate before you’re done reading it.

Valerie - Cats Luv Coffee www.catsluvcoffee.com

Here’s the blurb: 

Everyone has questions about death. In Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?, best-selling author and mortician Caitlin Doughty answers the most intriguing questions she’s ever received about what happens to our bodies when we die. In a brisk, informative, and morbidly funny style, Doughty explores everything from ancient Egyptian death rituals and the science of skeletons to flesh-eating insects and the proper depth at which to bury your pet if you want Fluffy to become a mummy. Now featuring an interview with a clinical expert on discussing these issues with young people—the source of some of our most revealing questions about death—Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? confronts our common fear of dying with candid, honest, and hilarious facts about what awaits the body we leave behind. 

Kriti @ Armed with A Book

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Leslie Conzatti– www.upstreamwriter.blogspot.com

The book (or series, rather) I chose for this theme is the Therian Way series by Kimberly A. Rogers.

It’s an alternate universe where Elves and shifters (the titular Therians) live alongside humans. The Elves remain aloof from it all, but the Therians have investigator/protective/Federal type jobs, like their own brand of the FBI, tasked with protecting government officials and pursuing threats to national security.

The main characters are Therians, so their animal forms are often pictured on the covers. It’s an absolutely stunning series, and I love Rogers’ style! She alternates between telling the story from the perspective of Baran, a gruff, uptight, no-nonsense Tiger-shifter, and Raina, a half-Elven, Half-Leopard shifter, who is reckless, laid-back, and very much intent on pushing Baran’s buttons! Their relationship is tumultuous, but they work well together, and they do make a lovely couple! I love the unique premise of this series, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves shifters and urban fantasy!

Kaili- www.owlbookworld.com

One book that I have read sometime over the past couple of years is A Dog’s Purpose. I think it’s one of my favorites but it is so sad! The story follows a dog who lives multiple lives with multiple owners. Some owners he likes more than others while others kind of mistreat him. With the multiple lives that he lives he tries to figure out exactly what his purpose is. Is there more to his life than living as a different dog over and over again?

Like I said I absolutely loved this book even though it really made me cry. I have always been a sucker for animals and I never like to see them suffer.

Becki - https://www.abookloversadventures.com/

Two of my favorite reads from last year include a character who started a new job. The first is Eighty Days to Elsewhere by KC Dyer. This is a fun romantic adventure that is kind of a remake of Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne. In it, the main character takes a job at Ex Libris, a company that plans literary based trips. She has to recreate Phileas Fogg’s epic journey without using modern day transportation. It is a fun jaunt around the world with a few surprises along the way. The other book with a character who starts a new job is The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin. This was voted the favorite book we read last year in my book club. It is set in WW2 London, and the main character gets a job in a bookshop. Initially, she doesn’t really connect with books. But, as time goes by, books become such an important part of her life and her story. It’s a really wonderful story.

Leslie Conzatti– www.upstreamwriter.blogspot.com

When I saw the theme for this day, the first book that immediately came to mind was Jackaby by William Ritter. 

Set in Victorian-era London, it follows young Abigail Rook who has run away from the prim-and-proper restraints of her life to find adventure in some sort of employment, such as an investigative journalist, or a detective’s assistant. Who she finds is R. F. Jackaby, an eccentric occultist who often “consults” on crimes because he can actually see paranormal creatures that are invisible to the untrained eye. 

This series is amazing because of how it weaves magic into the mundane. There are vampires, ghosts, ghouls, werewolves, and all manner of supernatural creatures, but Jackaby takes them all in stride, and Abigail even grows to accept them as much as her employer does. It’s full of quirks and strange peril–but it’s awesome!

Vidya Tiru - https://www.ladyinreadwrites.com

Here are a few titles that came to mind when I saw this theme. To Sir With Love by E. R. Braithwaite is definitely one of my all-time-favorite reads. I cried (and still do) each time I read the book, and this book instilled a love of teaching in me for sure.

Two other books are more recent reads. The first one (completely coincidentally) is again where the character starts a job as a teacher in The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate. The last one I want to mention is The Paris Library. It was one of my favorite reads of last year.

Excerpts of the book descriptions for each of these books:

To Sir With Love: The modern classic about a dedicated teacher in a tough London school who slowly and painfully breaks down the barriers of racial prejudice, this is the story of a man's integrity winning through against the odds.

The Book of Lost Friends: From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours comes a new novel inspired by historical events: a dramatic story of three young women on a journey in search of family amidst the destruction of the post-Civil War South, and of a modern-day teacher who rediscovers their story and its vital connection to her own students’ lives.

The Paris Library: Based on the true World War II story of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris, this is an unforgettable story of romance, friendship, family, and the power of literature to bring us together, perfect for fans of The Lilac Girls and The Paris Wife.