Saved by a Song by Mary Gauthier
Stacey Irving • February 14, 2025
Non-Fiction book that will touch your soul
I just finished Saved by a Song by Mary Gauthier and here are my thoughts.
The art and healing power healing power of songwriting… what an amazing book. This book isn’t just a memoir, it’s a little bit of artistic philosophy and some insight into writing songs! I love it!! I can appreciate what it took to write.
The writing was amazing! I feel like I went on a beautiful journey with a trusted friend and it was a true delight.
What I really loved about the book is Mary proves that just because you have gone down a dark path of addiction, doesn’t mean there isn’t a path forward. I felt connected, I felt the passion rolling off the page. It was a wonderful book.
4 stars
One of the best memoirs I’ve read in ages.. I wish the book had been bigger.
Thank you @stmartinspress for my gifted copy.
#marygauthier #savedbyasong #memoir #songwriting #bookreview #smpinfluencer #booklover #magicinmusic #bookalorian #bookinfluencer #booksbooksbooks #readersofig #bookloversunite #readercommunity
I just finished Ties that Bind Us by Nicole Knight. Thank you to @wbywattpadbooks and @authornicoleknight for the opportunity to read and review. I have a very very high level of standards for mafia romances. I gave up on them years ago because they just aren’t up to my standards but when I read the synopsis for this one… I had to. So Ava Moretti, is a stubborn and defiant mafia princess, and a chance meeting with Nick Caponelli… leaves them both hot under the collar but he is the heir to a rival crime dynasty…. Their families want them to marry… I WAS HOOKED!! I loved the chemistry between Ava and Nick and they had my pulse just racing. Read if you like: Mafia romance Enemies to lovers Arranged marriage…. The writing was really good for a debut. It was really steamy… Really solid banter. It was a solid plot, lots of drama and suspense along with the romance… 4 stars #tiesthatbind #nicoleknight #wattpad #wattpadbooks #wattpadinfluencer #mafiaromance #steamyromance #smuttyread #debutnovel #bookreview #bookishblog #bookblogger
I just finished Undeniable - How to reach the top and stay there by Cameron Hanes and here are my musings. @cameronrhanes It’s all about your mindset… This book will show you how to pursue your dreams and be successful at it. I like the way Cam writes. I really enjoyed Endure and this was a great follow up. The book has some really cool personal stories and I felt invigorated reading all about them. No one stumbles into being successful. You have to be uncomfortable to keep enduring to reach greatness but it does not come easily and if it does, you won’t sustain it. I run a business and I really felt pumped reading it. I have ideas and the hamsters on the wheel in my head went bonkers… I love self help books that push me to be a better version of myself and this one is amazing! 4 stars Thank you to @stmartinspress for my gifted copy! #cameronhanes #undeniable #bookreview #bookishreview #booklover #bookalorian #reading #readersgonnaread #nonfiction #selfhelp #readingislife #bookworm #booksbooksbooks #bookstagramcommunity #bookreel #bookishreels
I just finished The Ghost Woods by C J Cooke and here are my thoughts. Lichen house is not an ordinary house in the woods… The rumors of ghosts, witches and a child who isn’t really a child is just the tip of the iceberg… something has been unleashed. Pearl has arrived at Lichen hall to give birth but she soon realizes that the proprietors are hiding something and she wants to uncover the dark secrets within the walls. Firstly the book is told for 2 POV from 2 different time periods. 1959 and 1965. The women are sent there when they are pregnant and unwed… They figure out pretty quickly that the dark rumors swirling around the house are actually true… and worse. It’s menacing and suspenseful… There is a lot to unpack with the murder, cruelty and betrayal oozing from the pages. My biggest problem was the pacing in the first part of the book. It was too slow and not creepy enough to ignore the pace. The end was a tad rushed but honestly, I felt like I needed the race to the end. It was a wild ride. I love the writing style. It was really well done and I was thoroughly entertained. I loved the use of folklore to bring an extra special creep session to an already enjoyable book. 4.5 stars Thank you to @netgalley and @berkleypub for my gifted copy. #theghostwoods #cjcooke #horror #horrorread #berkleypublishing #bookinfluencer #literaryinfluencer #historcalfiction #gothicread #gothicbook #gothicreader #bookreview #bookclub #bookishbanter #booklover
I just finished The Cornish Witch by Elena Collins and here are my musings. Megan goes to St Mawgen Cove for a vacation… and to get to the bottom of a family secret that has been haunting her father for decades… Things go awry from the moment she arrives. The inn is haunted… The legends are many and the stories of witchcraft if toe curling… There is a dark history in the cove… Can Megan bring peace to the past so it stops destroying the future? It took me a while to get into the past timeline. It wasn’t interesting to begin with and honestly, I was more intrigued with what Megan was up to and why she was at the cove. The past did get really exciting about half way through though and actually was more entertaining than Megan haha The writing style was really solid. I got sucked right into the story and I was so invested in it, I stayed up past my bedtime and I hate doing that haha! It was all really well done and worked well together. Like I said, my only gripe was how mundane the past was but it’s necessary for you to know the story. Now the pace was a bit slow, I needed a faster trot but honestly, it worked for me anyway. Definitely one of the best reads of the month. 4.5 stars Thank you @netgalley and @theboldbookclub for it gifted copy #historcalfiction #gothicread #gothicbook #gothicreader #bookreview #bookclub #bookishbanter #booklover #ghoststory #thecornishwitch #boldwoodbooks #elenacollins #bookalorian #netgalley
I just finished The Thrashers by Julie Soto and here are my thoughts. Emily Mills wanted to be a thrasher so bad and it killed her….. Jodi, Julian, Paige, Lucy and Zack… Zack Thrasher…They are the elite friend group… Everyone wants to be in their orbit but when Emily’s journal surfaces.. The friend group comes under scrutiny and Jodi has to decide whether she is saving her friends… The people she isn’t the same as.. Or herself… But even as the police close in…. The weird occurrences are more frightening.. Firstly I got the ALC and ARC versions of this book. The narration was amazing! I switched back and forth between the two and they were both outstanding. It was hard to really connect with the characters until closer to the end because you got the version of the characters they wanted you to see until you the real characters began to shine through and that for me, showed a real talent in the writing. I really enjoyed the supernatural elements in the book. I would have loved more of that but I think it was done really well regardless. The focal point was the friend group and I loved the contrast of how the friends saw each other and then how outsiders saw them individually and as a collective. It was really clever and skillfully done. It was well paced and all the mystery elements were executed really well. I enjoyed the heck out of it. I thought it was going to be a whiny teenage drama and it wasn’t that at all. The epilogue though.. OMFG! That just about slayed me. Brilliant book! 4.5 stars Thank you to @macmillanaudio, @netgalley and @wednesdaybooks for my gifted ALC and ARC. #thethrashers #yanovel #wednesdaybooks #juliesoto #bookreview #bookishreview #bookishblog #readerblog #newrelease #bookreel #bookstoread #reelstagram #bookreviewblog #bookoftheday #mysterybookreader #readersofig
I just finished A Proposal to Die for By Molly Harper and here are my thoughts. Jess has a successful business.. Marriage proposal planning… But with rising rent she takes on the proposal of her snobby highschool classmate…. At the bridal retreat, things go from bad to worse… People are turning up dead and if Jess doesn’t unravel the mysteries … she might not make it out alive… Who doesn’t love a multi-genre mashup!!! The plot was the right mix of humor, and suspense with a pinch of romance. The characters are all really quirky and mildly annoying. No one was particularly likeable but it didn’t detract from the enjoyment. The start was a bit rocky…. But it was well paced and I got sucked in, especially when they got to the retreat. I did figure out what was going on but I am the master of that haha! I really enjoyed the writing style and I gave it a solid 4 stars or bookalorian thumbs up Thank you @berkleypub and @netgalley for my gifted copy!!! #aproposaltodiefor #mollyharper #berkley #bookreview #cozymystery #mysteryreader #bookblogger #bookishblog #literaryinfluencer #bookinfluencer #readingallday #bookalorian #booksbooksbooks #readreadread #romancereader
I just finished Such a Good Mom by Julia Spiro and here are my musings. Brynn is struggling with motherhood and being a wife. Her husband has been withdrawn and she can’t manage to do her job around the baby… When a waitress at their country club is found murdered, then tragedy hits her home… Her husband has been arrested for the crime.. It looks like he did it but Brynn isn’t so sure and she will stop at nothing to find the truth. This one was really well done. I loved the narration. It really brought me into the story and held my attention. I felt the postpartum aspects of the story were handled with care and accuracy so that was a big plus too. It was loaded with family drama and the thriller side of it felt like the secondary story which was a bit of a bummer. Brynn was the star of the show. Her whole character was what kept me going through the whole story. The pace was a bit slow for a thriller but Brynn kept me engaged. It was a really clever story. I didn’t figure out what happened so the ending hit me hard. I was like what the SHEET!!!! I love it when I am kept guessing…. This is definitely a different type of thriller to my norm but I enjoyed the heck out of it!! The writing was great, the other characters were a bit flat but all in all… I great book, well narrated and I was entertained. 4 stars Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillanaudio and @minotaur_books for my ALC and ARC! #suchagoodmom #juliaspiro #netgalley #bookreviewer #bookishblogger #bookvlogger #bookishcommunity #thrillerreader #readingallday #bookalorian #bookreadersofig #igreader #bookloversofig
I just finished The Beauty Molecule by Nicholas Perricone. M.D and here are my musings. I love books like this… I am really big on natural ways to unlock your health. You don’t need weight loss shots or botox to naturally bring your beauty back!! I firmly believe this and this book proves me right. So this book is all about fortifying your health on a cellular level in such a way anyone can do it. You don’t need to be rich!! It basically promotes food as medicine. One of the things I loved the most was the part about hydrogen water!! PRAISE BE!! We drink it here. It’s a game changer. I have RA so keeping inflammation down is top priority and you can do it too! This book will help. 21 days… What do you have to lose.? Dr. Perricone’s latest work reveals: - How to slow mitochondrial aging with powerful amino acids like glycine and N-acetyl cysteine. - The secret connection between the vagus nerve and acetylcholine—the ultimate mind-beauty link. - Hydrogen water: the magic bullet for reversing cellular degeneration, restoring muscle tone, improving memory, and unlocking external radiance. - Antioxidant 3.0, a next-level approach to combating inflammation and promoting cellular renewal. It’s easy, it’s smart and it will keep you healthy at any age! I knew all this stuff already and the author lays it all out in a simple and easy to follow way! 4.5 stars!! Thank you @stmartinspress for my gifted copy #thebeautymolecule #nicholasperriconemd #nonfiction #medicine #healthbook #21daystoanewyou #bookreview #bookishreview #bookblogger #bookblog #readervlog #vlogger #bookalorian
I just finished I Would Die for You by Sandie Jones and here are my thoughts. Nicole is living a small town life in Coronado with her small family but her past comes crashing to her doorstep when a young woman comes asking questions about her past and then her daughter goes missing… She has worked hard to forget about her life back in london… Her sister's obsession with a band leads to lives being destroyed and Nicole isn’t willing to relive it but now her child is in danger… She may not have a choice. This book was awesome right up to the end. I found the ending a bit weird to be honest. It didn’t seem well thought out and it was twist over twist crashing over a twist and it didn’t need it. I particularly enjoyed the narration and the past. The current day… It didn’t work for me. The husband acted like a total freak. I get why she fled.. I get all that but there were so many things that felt disjointed. The girl showed up at the door and the reason she was there she didn’t explain at the door, we find out later but the reason she didn't tell her in the first place… STUPID. Nicole pretending that she didn’t have a sister when the school said that’s who picked her up. It was all mental. I dunno I think the magic was in the past and the lead up to the big event. The writing was really good but there were just some elements that didn’t sit well with me. I really thought the story had some really excellent elements. I loved the build up. I wish the ending wasn’t so outlandish. Having said that, I did enjoy the book and I think I am in the minority with the ending but I think an opportunity was missed. 3.75 stars Thank you to @macmillanaudio @netgalley and @minotaur_books for my gifted ALC and ARC. #iwoulddieforyou #sandiejones #thriller #mystery #bookreview #bookishreview #bookblogger #bookalorian #booktok #bookrecommendations #bookrecs #amreading #readerofbooks #readerofinsta
I just finished Another Fine Mess by Lindy Ryan @lindyryanwrites Book 2 of Bless your heart series and here are my thoughts. Evan's women have an important job… Making sure the dead stay buried and after the loss of 2 of their family members… It’s up to Luna and Lenore to keep the fight going. Trouble is… Something is out there tearing people to shreds.. It’s not something they have seen before but the trouble is coming right to their door and they are the only ones who can fight whatever monster it is and keep the town safe. I liked the first book. I went into it blind and had no idea it was a southern vampire horror with cozy vibes.. But I enjoyed it. So this time round I got the audio and the kindle… When I read a book, I have a tone and voices in my head… Moving into audio upset my balance haha. Once I got past the change the audio was soooooo much better than I could have hoped for. I really love Luna in this installment. She didn’t sit well with me in the first book but I really started to warm to her and now I love her! It’s a lot to bury family and she managed to stay on point. Lenore was great the whole time and I absolutely adore Ducey. She is cranky and a bad ass! It’s hard to blend genres and keep a balance but there was some really emotional moments, some chuckle worthy moments and some carnage! It’s a win win win. Yes it’s a cozy horror. I know that seems oxymoronic but it was so good. I don’t even know if it’s a real genre but it’s coined now haha. I love the southern charm, the generational family magic and the fact we were introduced to what appears to be some kind of werewolf!! HOWLLLLLLL….. It was great. I cannot wait for book 3! Honestly if you love southern vampire reads.. Give this a go. 4 stars Thank you to @netgalley @minotaur_books and #macmillanaudio for my gifted arc and alc! #anotherfinemess #lindyryan #blesssyourheart #anotherfinemess #vampirebook #paranormalread #horror #cozyhorror #bookreview #bookishreviewer #bookblogger #readingallday #readreadread #justonemorechapter
