Happy Saturday, friends!
It’s the 22nd of the month which means…it’s BOOK CLUB DAY!
BUT…before we get to that, I wanted to let you know two things.
First, yesterday, Andrew (finally!) had his bicep surgery. Woohoo! As much as having surgery is a bummer, we were very very ready for him to get it repaired. So many of you have asked about it, so I wanted you to know. The surgery went well, he’s home recovering, I’m trying to get him to watch Hallmark Christmas movies with me, he’s refusing, but he’s wearing a sling so his ability to wrestle the remote away from me is limited. I am about to have a merry weekend, Andrew is about to learn that all Hallmark movies end the same 😉 .
The second thing I wanted to say is that…
…the winner of last week’s giveaway is BRIANNE COLE!
Congratulations, Brianne! I emailed you this morning. Please email me back ASAP to claim your prize.
I will be hosting more giveaway fun NEXT WEEK, so make sure you come on back every day 🙂 .
Okay, now it’s time for…
…BOOK CLUB!
Just to recap before we begin…
Here are the books we discussed in 2024 along with my own personal “star ratings”…
The Last Love Note by Emma Grey 4 STARS
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon 5 STARS
The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins 3 STARS
The Many Lives of Mama Love by Lara Love Hardin 3 STARS
Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth 4 STARS
The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl 2 STARS
Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand 3 STARS
Husbands & Lovers by Beatriz Williams 3 STARS
By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult 4 STARS
Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker 4 STARS
Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout 2 STARS
And so far in 2025, we’ve discussed:
In January: The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry 5 STARS
In February: Brooke Shields is Not Allowed to Get Old by Brooke Shields 2 STARS
In March: The Crash by Freida McFadden 3 STARS
In April: One Good Thing by Georgia Hunter 5 STARS
In May: All That Life Can Afford by Emily Everett 3 STARS
In June: Maine Characters by Hannah Orenstein 2 STARS
In July: My Friends by Fredrik Backman 5 STARS
In August: The View From Lake Como by Adriana Trigiani 4 STARS
In September: Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall 5 STARS
In October: Buckeye by Patrick Ryan 4 STARS
If you want to check out any of these Book Club posts, they are all HERE!
Before we get to today’s book, let’s revisit the “rules” of Shay’s Book Club:
Here are the details:
1: On the 22nd of each month, I will share a BONUS blog post that is only about the book we read together that month. So, if it falls on a weekend, look for it that day, if it falls on a Tuesday, expect a food post, a normal lifestyle post AND third post just for the book review discussion.
2: I picked the 22nd because I want this post to come out BEFORE our normal monthly BOOK REVIEW POSTS. I will still share my normal monthly book reviews (where I average 4 to 6 books a month) at the end of each month. I will reference said “book of the month”, but I will not be reviewing it on that post, I will be linking back to the BOOK CLUB POST. Why? Because I want all of the content about the one specific book club book in one spot instead of spread out over multiple spots.
3: Each month at the end of the Book Club blog post, I will share what the book will be for the following month. This will give everyone one month to read this one particular book.
4: Let’s be real, I’m going to try to pick new/popular/relevant books every month, but I’m also going to pick books that speak to me. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to share them with me. I’m going to *try* and make the books different genres each month. I would love for us to read a variety of fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, chick lit, thrillers, etc this year. That’s the *goal*.
5: What are the rules of the book club? I know a lot of book clubs have rules and perhaps I’ll add some as we go, but basically, if you want to read along with us, we’d love to have you and on the 22nd we’ll dive a little deeper in the comment section here about that one particular book. Easy as that! That post is the one place where we’ll discuss the book so that all thoughts/opinions/questions/etc can be in one location.
6: In this blog post and in the comment section, WE WILL BE DISCUSSING SPOILERS. If you are interested in reading this book, you might not want to read below this line. In NOVEMBER’S BOOK REVIEW later this month, I will give a quick recap and let you know if I recommend the book or not, so if you haven’t read it, you might want to wait until that official BOOK REVIEW because there will be no spoilers and based on that, you can decide whether or not to read the book. Anything below this though will include spoilers as everyone commenting here has already read the book.
Make sense?
Here we go!
This month’s novel was…
…The Widow by John Grisham.
You guys, this is why, in my opinion, John Grisham will forever be the G.O.A.T for me.
Was it the deepest, most moving, proactive, life changing novel? No. (That’s why I gave it four stars.)
Was it highly entertaining, smart, quick, suspenseful, and filled with good characters? YES! (That’s why I gave it four stars!)
Grisham just knows how to write law books without making them feel like boring law books.
Here are my thoughts:
1: I loved the twist in the middle of the book when the widow dies. When I first started reading this novel, I thought the book was going to be “about the widow”, but it really wasn’t about her. This book was about Simon. That was unexpected, and I loved it!
2: This novel had a whole host of classic, quirky, lovable Grisham characters. From Raymond to Zander, the bookie and his bar gang, there were so many “quintessential” characters that reminded me of all my favorite John Grisham books.
3: Okay, I could have used more backstory/details about Matilda and Jerry’s relationship. I’m not sure I “bought” that story line as much. It needed to be filled out more. For instance, why would she go along with Jerry calling in an anonymous tip? She had known Simon for 12 years. Did she really really think he was capable of murder?
4: I was glad Paula and Simon remained amicable. With so much tension and conflict in the story, it was nice that at least there was peace with his ex-wife and kids.
5: I loved Landy and thought her relationship with Simon was a nice extra layer to the story.
6: I was very surprised when he was convicted, but I liked the plot line of him having a short amount of time to personally track down the real person who poisoned the widow before his sentencing.
Overall, I flew through this one. Was it super realistic? Probably not. Was it a little far-fetched and ended a little abruptly? Yes. I could have had at least one more chapter at the end.
All of that to say, this novel was fun and easy to read, and it reminded me why I first fell in love with John Grisham novels.
Okay, per usual, this next month, we are NOT going to meet for Book Club. We will be taking December off and meeting again on January 22, 2026. I will share our next book with you when we wrap up our books for 2025 later in December. In the meantime, I cannot wait to read your feedback on this one. Please make sure you comment and share!
Don’t forget, if you want to stay current on all of the books I’m reading in 2025, THIS PAGE HERE is where I keep the books, authors and reviews each month.
I hope you all have THE BEST SATURDAY! I will see you back here on Monday! xx
Amy Heinl says
So glad Andrew got his surgery done. The Buffalo Bills Love Story is the Hallmark Feature film tonight…he might go for that…lol. lifting him in healing prayers as he continues to heal from his surgery.
Diane Moore says
I recently bought this book for my husband because he always reads nonfiction. I thought he needed to read without learning 😉
Glad to hear it’s a good one!
Elspeth Mizner says
Thanks for the recommendation! Do you have to read other books before this one? Or can to be read as a stand alone?
http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com
Mix and Match Mama says
This is a stand alone book!
Jeanne Cobianchi says
So happy to hear Andrew finally got his surgery. Perhaps he’ll learn to love Hallmark movies…my guess is not! Bahahaha!
SS says
Glad surgery is behind you. There have been a few cute hallmark movies this year. Luckily, there have been some new movies out, too. Have you watched Man on the inside series on Netflix is good. We haven’t watched season 2 yet, we also will be watching Family Plan 2 with Marky Mark (he will forever be Marky Mark to me..Mark Walberg), we watched Jonas Bros Christmas movie yes cheesy but cute. Lol. But it’s Disney and Jo Bros… So you know nostalgia kicks in. How many Camp Rocks did we have to sit through(when we had Covid kiddo.had me watch their show on Disney too) …and secretly know all the words to their songs? 😆
Have a good weekend!!!
Mix and Match Mama says
I have not watched that series. I’ll put it on my list. Thank YOU!
Susanne says
We love that series too! Almost done with season 2!
Leslie Wilcox says
Praying for a quick recovery for Andrew! Make him some cocoa and cookies for the movies, maybe he will enjoy them more, lol. Happy Weekend!!
Court says
Ok my main complaint about The Widow is how likely is it that the court would release him AFTER he was convicted of first degree murder until his sentencing?!? Please tell me that doesn’t really happen! I think it would have been better if he had somehow gotten away and been on the run and solved the murder. And the whole Tilly and Jerry relationship bothered me. Both stepsons were introduced as terrible men, and then his secretary wound up with one of them, but then they ended up having nothing to do with the murder?!
Not my favorite John Grisham, but I have to read all his books bc you’re right, he’s the GOAT!
P.s. I listened to this book on audible! Perfect narration!
CLM says
Happy that surgery went well.
Jennifer Maynard says
I thought the book was okay but listening to it on audio was awful so i think that swayed my rating. The southern accents were soooo bad and “the widow” just came across as this whiny old lady. Ha!
Mix and Match Mama says
Who narrated it for audible?
Bren says
Same, Jennifer. So much so that I, for the first time, returned my Audible purchase. (Something I just recently learned I could do.) I had no issue with the male voices, it was definitely the women’s voices that did it, or shall I say, did not do it for me. I was only a couple chapters in when I decided I’ll purchase the book and read it vs. listening to it. The more and more books I listen to on Audible, the more I am finding the narration voice plays such a huge role in my thoughts on the book.
Kristin says
I’m glad Andrew had his surgery, and hope his recovery goes well. I haven’t read a Grisham book in years! Thanks for the reminder.
Heather says
I had rotator cuff and bicep tendon surgery in February and am 100% back at it in the gym. I went to Dr Worrel at the Carroll Clinic and also used them for my PT and they did great pushing me through PT to get me back lifting. Hope his recovery goes that well too!
Mix and Match Mama says
That’s who did Andrew’s surgery yesterday!! I am so happy to read about your smooth recovery. THANK YOU!
Kay says
Hi Shay!
I just wanted to thank you again for leading this book club. I absolutely love it. I have read every book so far! and have read books I loved that I never would have picked up on my own (i.e. ‘Broken Country’ and ‘Buckeye’). And I think ‘Broken Country’ is going to be my favorite of the year.
I did not love this month’s book. I felt like it was just too long, I guess? And I felt like there was a lot of repetition. But, I’m always glad to read something new and out of my “norm.”
Can’t wait for the next book and have a lovely weekend!
Heather D. Henderson says
I usually agree with your reviews. However, I did not like this book. I described it as gray. I didn’t care about the characters and just wanted it to end. I figured out the killer when his first and last name were mentioned when Eleanor was in the hospital coming back from x-ray. I haven’t read a Grisham book in a while and won’t be again any time soon.
Cindi says
Glad Andrew is on the other side of surgery and on the road to recovery! I loved the book, but agree with you: we needed more info on Matilda and Jerry, and it indeed ended way too abruptly! Would have loved a chapter about Simon and his kids and maybe even a reunion with him and Paula??? I like a movie all tied up in a pretty bow! 😉❤️
Debra Lowe says
Wishing Andrew all the best in his recovery and you all the best as you take care of him.
Karen in VA says
Hi Shay! Prayers for Andrew and I hope things continue to go well. The two of you might like to watch THE BEAST in ME on Hulu. It is so darn good! Trust me, you will wind up binge-watching it. It’s a mystery/thriller with excellent acting. It’s not a feel-good Hallmark movie. But I think Andrew would really enjoy it while he’s relaxing. Let me know what you think. And thanks again for always being there on the internet for all of us! Happy holidays!
Cheriese says
I haven’t read a John Grisham novel in ages. This one was just okay. I thought it was far-fetched that a jury would find Simon guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt” especially with a good defense lawyer and a very fair judge. Another chapter tying up loose ends was definitely needed.
Linda says
Hoping Andrew has a quick painless recovery. According to my hubby he does not watch Hallmark movies. Quess where he has been all day since it is cold and rainy today, sitting right beside me watching the Hallmark channel. If I have to leave the room, I will as ask “what did I miss while I was gone”? Then he fills me in. Ya he does not watch Hallmark movies.
Mix and Match Mama says
Bahahaha! Now that is funny!
Sherry says
I just finished the book last night! I had started reading it and put it down 3/4 of the way through. I just wasn’t sure if I was going to get through but I finished it! This was my first John Grisham book. I’ve heard about him for years. I thought his book was good. It did seem a little drawn out in the way that Simon was gathering his information about the widow. That’s when I put the book down for a short period. And then he gets convicted on the crime when he is the only one near to her. I knew he didn’t do it. I’m glad they found the person who did it. The storyline wrapped up nicely. I would definitely pick up another book from Grisham.
Paula Hobbs says
Adding The Widow to my list. So glad Andrew is recovering well.
Keisha Dawson says
I’m so glad Andrews surgery went well, and I pray that he heals quickly. This book is still on my library holds, but I still wanted to come an see the first part of the review before you really dug in.
Jessica says
So glad Andrew is on the up and up!
I didn’t love The Widow for the first 1/3 of the book. I just didn’t find Simon to be a likeable character at first. But I’m so glad he grew on me! Loved the twisty ending, I didn’t figure out the killer until he was revealed. So good!
Paula N says
Hi Shay – so happy to hear Andrew is doing well after surgery! I really liked The Widow, but I’m a huge Grisham fan. I use to own every single one of his hard backs, but then he kept releasing a new one every October, and my book shelf couldn’t handle it!! Ha! I thought this one was one of his better recent books. I kept thinking that it would make a good movie…it gave me vibes of his original The Firm and The Pelican Brief moments. Thanks for picking the book! Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!!
YOLANDA MCLEAN says
Prayers for Andrew as he recovers!
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. I listened on Audible and the female voices were a lot but I haven’t been able to read with my eyes in a long time. I just fall asleep when I attempt to read with my eyes, but I do burn through some books with my ears.
I have so enjoyed book club – I’d never choose many of these titles and there have been some great ones. Thank you for hosting!!