Welcome to Litsy!

This was a tough read 1930 Lilly a young girl is locked in the attic by her mother and father for not being “ normal” this has a lot of trigger warnings , but I thought it was well written I enjoyed the duel story lines and the mystery behind it kept me intrigued

I loved everything I've read by Ellen Marie Wiseman, so far. I have a few more of hers to read, and they all look good. My favorite is the tagged book.
#SundayFunday @ozma.of.oz

3 out of 5

Hoping all the #Florida Littens are safe!

Greeted by a blanket of fog…perfect reason to sleep in and read.

Book 110

I listened to Ellen Marie Wiseman's The Life She Was Given, an engaging story about a girl with a skin condition whose mother sells to a circus. Initially the twist seems apparent, but it's more complex than expected. The characters are strong, but their internal dialogues are repetitive and overly simple. 3.5 🌟s

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I had so many emotions while reading this book. I was fascinated, distressed, shocked... I loved it. That said, I had to knock off a star because it was brutal. Trigger warning for abuse.
#AudioJune @Allylu

Book of my year goes to The Life She was Given. It was not my normal type of read, but I loved it. It‘s honestly a heart breaking read, but I loved it very much in a twisted, sad way.

Other 5 star reads - Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs

The few others pictured are some close to 5s, my honorable mentions. I guess I‘m a tough rater 🤷🏻‍♀️

4.5 stars
Such a great book. Its a really heartbreaking story and sadly there is so much truth behind it. I love this authors writing. I can‘t wait to pick up another one of her books.

Starting book #67
The Life She Was Given
By Ellen Marie Wiseman

35 pages in and I‘m intrigued.

Here are some choices for #lmpbc. I'll tag the other 3 in the comments. Let me know if any particularly stand out, have been read, or sounds horrible. The Tagged book is 341 pgs.
@thebluestocking @Pogue @Chili

Ok i Loved this book!!! For all the circus reasons. But my gosh was it so heartbreaking 😪 It definitely left me very emotional

This book was such an easy read for me. Two women, one in 1930s and one in the 1950s deal with family and life. Involves a circus and a horse farm and discovering yourself.

Such a good book but some parts were so hard to read. Lillie and Julia connected in so many ways. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book told a powerful story. It alternated between two main characters who lived in two separate eras. Both of their stories were gripping, and very sad at times. There was one very disturbing event that occurred that I‘m not sure I‘ll ever be able to erase my mental image of. I‘d be interested to hear if others felt the inclusion of this event was mandatory to the story. All in all, I enjoyed this book.

Loving it I knew I would being "circus themed" but it seems elephants are going to be playing a part in the story and I'm so stoked ?????

A little Nature Reading and Chill 😛
#CurrentlyReading 50 pages in so far I'm liking it. But I'm inclined to like any book that centers around a circus 🎪 even if it's started of a bit sadly.

Good but sad, very sad.

Definitely a gripping story. I wanted to read faster and faster to find out what happened. The Julia parts could have been better, more dramatic - I wish she had found out more information earlier and investigated it, but the real story was the story of Lily, which had me hooked from the beginning.

Loving my current adventure that the fantastic @Soubhiville gifted me with 💛

#booksnacksleep #womenfriendship #litsylove #booklover #readanadventure #sniffabook

What a fantastic surprise to come home to after work this morning!!! Thank you so much @Soubhiville 💖 I love the card and I‘ve totally wanted to read this book 📖 You made my weekend ☀️😃

Fascinated by the Lily chapters, not so much by the Julia chapters. I loved the behind the scenes look at the circus life... one of my reading wheel houses. The beer was very good.

This was probably somewhere between a pick and a so-so for me. I really enjoyed parts of it and that‘s why I leaned towards pick for my overall rating 🤷🏼‍♀️

Up next! I‘ve been really into audiobooks lately (being the mom of a 2 year old and very pregnant with my second this is just so much easier than finding time to read 😬).

So frustrating. The story itself is interesting and has promise, but I HATED the writing. Almost juvenile, there is too much repetition, cliches, and telling. One more “on one hand, this. On the other hand, that” and I would‘ve thrown my kindle. Only finished it because it‘s for book club. #LitsyAtoZ:W

Really really well written and interesting and entertaining. But saaaaaaaaaaaaaadd and frustrating:(

This was a decent read. I didn‘t love it as much as some of the reviews I read, but it was an interesting story. It‘s very sad and depicts a lot of violence and cruelty (to both humans and animals), but leaves you with an optimistic ending. But it seemed to be reaching too hard in the chapters leading up to the ending and I found myself just wanting to finish the book.

I‘m between a pan and so-so on this. While I think the concept is good, and the plot is ok, the execution of it was almost juvenile. The characters were stock at best and comically naive at worst. I found myself eye rolling a lot, which is never a good sign. I did end up finishing the book, however, I won‘t be recommending to friends.

I enjoyed this book. Even though at times it made me angry or very sad. But all in all I really enjoyed it

📖😐 #BookClubPick #Historical #LibrarianLife

Warning: Major TW for animal abuse & child abuse/ neglect

I read this for book club so that's why I finished it. And while yes, I certainly wanted to know how Lilly's life would unfold, I was NOT fan of the following:

- The simplistic writing
- The animal abuse
- The excessive child neglect/abuse
- Lilly's ending made me furious at the author! Those that read it know what I mean..I'm still mad!😡

I did DNF this book. I had a hard time with the first girl being locked in her room her whole life, and then sold to the circus amd still treated like sh*t. I got into it about 130 pages. Im sure the story isnt bad. And its emotionally heavy, but its not something i can read right now.

Happy reading

🌙📖❤🍧🏡🌘 #BookClubPick #TGIF #Historical #BooksInBed #EveningReading

Tgif❣
My weekend has officially begun after a very long & exhausting work week.

😋- Time to dig into this delicious bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream (and Oreos!) as well as start my book club's latest pick- a historical novel involving a young girl, a hidden secret attic, family secrets, & the circus🤔..... I'm intrigued.

Happy #EveningReading Littens!🤓

I read this book while I was waiting for a friend in Costa Rica (she missed her plane which is why I was there alone, but that's another story!) I was glad to have this book to help me fill the time. The character development is amazing (you really care what happens to them; the ones you love and the ones you hate). The ending is brutal though, really completely heartbreaking. Definitely recommend this is you don't mind a cry with your books!

I am about 30 pages in and I am hooked.

💖💖💖💖💖💖 Totally fangirling.

There‘s just something about old time circus stories that draws me in. I really enjoyed this even though I figured out the twist pretty early on.

How I envision Lilly. It's not my favorite story ever, but it's ok. I'm thinking it'll be a so-so for me. The parts about Lilly are my favorites.

I really enjoyed this book,I was really involved with the characters. A page turning heart-felt felt story really got me back in to reading!

Hoping to knock out these two books this weekend!

I wasn't ready for another circus book. This book was just so amazing and kept me glued to my seat trying to guess the ending. I loved it so much i read Ms. Wisemans other three books.

I'm in such a reading slump. I've been watching so much tv, I never watch tv. I think all the subbing and now the holiday has just been so busy. I've started this one, hopefully I can finish it soon. Had to get a pic with my ringmaster and carousel ornaments.

#humpdaypost all ready
1. A gift from my two boys
2. My hubby and I will be being our two boys to the airport and then we will celebrate just the two of us.
3. Everything that I have eaten this holiday season!!
4. I don't really collect but I like buying fun mugs!!
5. "We're talking away,I don't know what,
I'm to say I'll say it anyway, today's another day to find you, shying away, I'll be coming for your love,okay?"

So sad

OMG @Jas16 You are amazing! I don't know what to say, except THANK YOU!! Have a Merry Christmas!! #surpisemail #litsyfriends

Well this is certainly off to a disturbing start..

A story about a young girl, locked away in a room for looking different than everyone else. Her life takes many twists and turns as the years pass by. The author does a great job keeping you guessing throughout the book. When one question gets answered, you have two more you are trying to figure out.
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As always, #EllenMarieWiseman never ceases to amaze me with her flawless writing and #poignant yet #heartwarming story. This moving tale is told from two point of view alternating between Lilly Blackwood in the #1930s and Julia Blackwood in the #1950s.
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My full review at: https://www.goodreads.com/thereadingowlvina
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#historicalfiction #circus #sideshow #yycreads #bookworm #booknerd #alwaysbereading #readforlife

@MonikaS thank you so much for my #totebagswap loot! I love it all! I‘m so excited to read the books and color and write. I‘ve never heard of maple tea so I‘m looking forward to trying that as well! Also, that wrapping paper is perfect. The bag is fabulous! I‘m going to use it tomorrow on my shopping trip with my family! Thanks also to @cobwebmoth for coordinating!