Things I Should Have Said

I want to start by saying that I have supported the Free Britney Movement since the very beginning and chose to read this book to hear about Jamie Lynn's life. I wasn't looking for a Britney "tell all" or to even hear Jamie Lynn's side of that story. I grew up listening to Britney but I also grew up watching Jamie Lynn on some of my favorite shows.

I honestly debated on even posting a review for Things I Should Have Said, because so far all I've seen are nasty comments and I don't want people to think/say hateful things about my decision.

That being said, Jamie Lynn's book really cemented how awful of a person their dad is. It portrayed overall unhealthy relationships throughout their entire family. I say portrayed because Jamie Lynn was obviously trying to control the narrative of her own life.

I felt like the most genuine chapters in this book were the two that focused on her daughter, Maddie. One detailed some of the struggles of becoming a teen mom, while the other detailed the events of Maddie's hospitalization after a four-wheeler accident. I wholeheartedly believe these events shaped a major part of Jamie Lynn's life.

As for the Britney stuff..... it bothers me that Lou Taylor and Jamie Lynn seem to have maintained a fairly tight knit relationship which seems HELLLLLLA SUSPISH. But since we don't have the full story yet, I'm hesitant to delve deeper into this part of the book.

Would I recommend this to my friends? Probably not.

Would I read a memoir written by Britney? Hell yes.

But, I do think it would be incredible to read the books as companions to each other and maybe see the truth somewhere between the two.

Real Easy

A detective novel set in a strip club in 1999?

Yeah, I want that book in my life.

 

Real Easy is loosely based on the author's real life experiences while working as a dancer. I think that's what made this book so believable. Couple that with the fact that the characters are incredibly diverse. When people hear stripper, all the stereotypical personality traits come to mind. But this book broke down those barriers and presented a group of girls with complex backstories which we actually get to read about through each of their POVs.

There were a lot of characters, I mean a whooooooole lot.

There's Samantha (Ruby), Catherine (Violet), Rachel (Morgan), Georgia (GiGi), Kimberly (Jolene/Lady Jade), and that's just naming the girls at the club. Then there's Detectives Holly Meylin and Victor Amador. There's even one off chapters for characters who play a crucial part of the story even though they're minor characters. We even get to hear from the killer himself, aptly titled, "Him."

The central part of this story revolved around Samantha.

She unwittingly decides to take the Lovely Lady's newest dancer, Jolene, under her wing. This doe-eyed child needs all the help she can get. When Jolene accidentally takes GHB during one of her shifts, Ruby is called to deal with it. She agrees to cut her shift short and drive the girl home. Of course, that's when he strikes. He runs their car off the road, ultimately killing Kimberly and capturing Samantha.

Everyone at the club is on edge the next day when Ruby and Lady Jade don't show for this shift. They knew another girl had been killed a week or so before and have been identified by the serial number on her silicone breasts. When detectives start snooping around, they know something terrible has happened.

I think the overall theme of this book is to show these are strong, resilient women. Not just the strippers, but the detective too. They all have lives outside of their careers. They're all just doing what they can to make it through the day.

The Doomsday Mother

H O L Y S H I T.

I followed this case from the very beginning. I could not wrap my head around a mother not actively trying to find her missing children, one of which is special needs. She instead tried to derail the investigation. But that's just who Lori Vallow is.

I've read many things that state none of this would have happened if she never met Chad Daybell, an end times preacher. The same has been said for Chad never meeting Lori. In reality, I think these two were a ticking time bomb. Together, the end times became their reality.

The amount of bodies piling up between these two people is absolutely insane.

Lori's sister? Dead.

Two of Lori's ex-husbands? Dead.

Two of Lori's kids? Dead.

Lori's brother? Dead.

Chad's ex-wife? Dead.

 

 Not to mention the attempted murders, actual murders, and assaults carried out by Alex, Lori's brother who is now dead.

Tylee and JJ went missing in 2019.

Nearly six months had passed before their remains were found buried on Chad's property. I was fully unaware of how gruesome their deaths were. It all happened so fast.... Charles was killed. Lori and the kids moved to Idaho to be closer to Chad. Tammy was killed. The kids were missing, while Lori and Chad flitted off to Hawaii to get married.

But their trials are obviously not moving nearly as fast.

As of January 2022, Lori has been deemed not fit to stand trial and has been placed in a mental health facility. Chad should be standing trial sometime this year, but considering his first trial date was set for November 2021, I'm not sure when it will happen.

 

Looking for other books by John Glatt?

The Perfect Father

The Family Next Door

Tangled Vines

Will

"Now this is a story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside down.

And I'd like to take a minute, just sit right there.

I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel-Air."

I heard those words every single morning as I was getting ready for school. Well, every morning when I was running late, at least. Regardless, I was raised on the The Fresh Prince. It's still one of my comfort shows to this day.

So when Will Smith announced that he was writing a memoir, I immediately pre-ordered it. The Smith Family has been in my life since I was a child. I know that sounds weird but I remember obsessing over Jaden and Justin Beiber in "Never Say Never," which was on the soundtrack for The Karate Kid (which I saw in theaters like 3 times). I remember being too old to whip my hair with Willow, but have found comfort in her rock album. And Jada, well Jada is just one of those people who know and love.

 

In his book, Will takes us from bagging ice in Philly, to jumping out of a helicopter over the Grand Canyon. He takes us with him through his rap career with DJ Jazzy Jeff, to auditioning at a birthday party for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, to becoming the biggest movie star ever.

He tells us about his childhood, his teen years, even becoming a dad to his first born, Trey. We hear about his relationships and finding himself through therapy and guided ayahuasca retreats. We learn his fears and doubts but we also see him grow and understand.

 

Honestly, this is a fantastic celebrity memoir.

Looking for other books by Mark Manson?

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

Everything is #@%!ed

Perks of Being a Wallflower

I wanna start by saying I've never re-read a book before in my life. But for some reason for the last few days, I've felt Charlie vying for my attention.

I first read Perks of Being a Wallflower a decade ago.

I think reading Perks at 16 and again at 26 was an absolutely amazing experience. I was in the thick of my teenage years reading about this kid who needed a friend. At 26, I'm the kid in need of a friend. I've watched the movie a few dozen times, but revisiting the letters felt more personal.

I couldn't bring myself to read my original copy because I've written and highlighted all throughout it. So, I snagged a copy of the 20th anniversary edition which features a new letter from Charlie. A letter that literally brought tears to my eyes.

 

We made it.

 

Wanna read my cringe-worthy original review?

Perks of Being a Wallflower

 

Looking for other books by Stephen Chbosky?

Imaginary Friend

A Little Princess

Oh man, I love how colorful this book box reveal is!

I subscribed to the Literary Classic Book Box in October because I desperately wanted their Dracula box. After opening that one and loving everything in it, I decided to keep getting them.

December's classic book was A Little Princess. I had never read this one before, so I looked up a few reviews of it and then dove straight into it. It definitely wasn't a book I ever would have picked for myself but pairing it with these gifts throughout made it more enjoyable.

This is a kind of reverse rags to riches.

It's more like riches to rags to riches again.

It's an odd little story about a little girl who gets sent to seminary school. Sara is one of the most spoiled children Miss Minchin has ever hosted. She is to get anything she could ever possibly want. Her father, Captain Crewe, insists that Sara be housed in a regular room with an addition room for her sitting area. He leaves her there with some of the finest frocks, furs, and a doll named Emily. Miss Minchin finds all these things frivolous but is will to play along. She quickly decides Sara will be her star pupil. But when Captain Crewe suddenly dies, leaving poor Sara in the car of the school, Miss Minchin quickly reassesses how important Sara truly is.

The day after learning of her father's death, Sara is sent to live in the attic with the other young maid, Becky. She's expected to stop learning with the other students, and instead become a glorified errand girl for the school. She knows she looks like a beggar, but there's nothing she can do. With the help of her imagination, Sara can dream up any world better than the one she's currently stuck in. After a few years, an Indian man moves in next to the school and becomes fascinated with the young girl in the attic. They're unlikely friendship brings riches back into Sara's life.

Like I said, it's an odd little story.

But it was a fairly quick read.

The Federal Siege at Ruby Ridge

I'm willing to bet you know about what happened in Waco, Texas in April 1993.

But do you know what happened in Ruby Ridge, Idaho in August 1992?

It's interesting because merely 8 months before the Waco Siege, the Weaver Family experienced A LOT of the same tactics that were used on the Branch Davidians. 

 

Oh, and several of the same ATF agents were at both sieges.

And both sieges started with the shooting deaths of dogs.

So yeah, lets get into this.

 

Randy Weaver and his family lived in a mountainside cabin where they homeschooled the kids and lived off the land. Their family friend, Kevin, lived with them on and off for nearly a decade. He was visiting the Weavers that fateful day in August. Randy, Kevin, and 14 year old Sammy, wandered down a trail to find whatever or whoever their dog was barking at. They heard a gunshot....suddenly the barking stopped. Randy yelled to the boys to come home. Sammy was running home when he was shot in the back.

The Weavers had no idea what was happening or why their dog and 14 year old son were both dead. They huddled in the house, waiting to see what would happen next. The next day, Randy went to check on his son's body in the shed. When suddenly, he was shot in the back. He started yelling for everyone to get back inside....his wife, Vicki was holding the door open with their toddler in her arms. A gunshot soared through the door, striking Vicki in the head, killing her instantly. That same bullet then hit Kevin and broke several of his ribs before lodging near his heart.

Randy kept his family inside the cabin for 10 days.

They waited to see who would be killed next.

During those 10 days, ATF and FBI agents mentally tortured the Weavers. They brought out bullhorns and floodlights. They shouted to Randy to just surrender. They pleaded with a dead Vicki to come out with the kids. There were helicopters and snipers surrounding the property. The Weavers learned what was going on outside their home by listening to the news reporters slander their names.

Randy has acknowledged that his actions put him in the line of fire. He was coerced to make two sawed-off shotguns to sell to an acquaintance named Gus. Little did he know, Gus was a federal informant. After Randy was arrested for this gun sale, he was propositioned to become an informant too. After adamant refusal, the ATF then began watching the Weaver's cabin was a year and a half.

This should have never happened.

But it did, twice.

 

I am just astonished by all of the events leading up to the siege and everything that happened during those 10 days. Three people senselessly lost their lives. Vicki, Sammy, and a U.S. Marshall who was killed after Sammy hit the ground.

The Federal Siege at Ruby Ridge was written by Randy Weaver and his oldest daughter, Sara. It details everything they experienced before, during, and after the siege. It even includes court documents from Randy and Kevin's trials and any subsequent investigations into the Ruby Ridge Siege.

Looking for other books the mention Ruby Ridge?

Stalling For Time

Waco

Kingdom of the Cursed

I imagine while writing Kingdom of the Cursed, Kerri Maniscalco said, "Why just write about demon princes? Why not add a little bit of spice?"

And that's exactly what she did.

But damn, a lot of this book was just sexual tension between Emilia and Wrath.

Now, we all remember why Emilia's in Hell. She's there to infiltrate the Seven Circles of Hell and avenge her twin sister's murder. Which means she's thrown into a world filled with demon prince debauchery. She believed she was set to marry the Devil himself, but all that comes crumbling down once she realizes she magically promised herself to Wrath.

There's not really a lot happening in this book as far as avenging Vittoria's death. It's more of an exploration of sin. Emilia must travel through The Sin Corridor, attend the Feast of the Wolf, soak in the Cresent Shallows, and even find her way to the Cursed Tree. But that's not nearly enough to fill 400+ pages.....annnnnnd that's where all the not so subtle teasing from Wrath comes in.

I wish there would have been more interaction from the other Princes of Hell. I loved reading about the elegance of House Envy, the indulgence of House Gluttony, I even loved the little peek of the grounds outside House Pride. I just wanted more. While I love the relationship between Wrath and Emilia, I would love to see friendships too. There's a glimpse of friendship with Fauna and a promising banter with Anir, I just wish they both played a bigger role in the story.

Looking for the rest of the series?

Kingdom of the Wicked (KOTW #1)

Kingdom of the Feared (KOTW #3)

 

Looking for other books by Kerri Maniscalco?

Stalking Jack the Ripper (SJTR #1)

Hunting Prince Dracula (SJTR #2)

Escaping from Houdini (SJTR #3)

Becoming the Dark Prince (SJTR #3.5)

Capturing the Devil (SJTR #4)