This is the first spiritual book I have ever picked up or read in my life, which is ironic considering the amount of books I have read in my short amount of time on Earth.

For some context, I used to read a book and a half every day of spring break all throughout  elementary and middle school. I read fantasy, historical, autobiographies and more, but never a novel on spirituality.

Growing up if you asked me if I believed in God, I replied I was atheist.  I saw religion in black and white. What I saw were people who said they loved God, but did not actually practice the equality or love for all. If he existed, I didn't understand how his followers could be so hateful and closed off. It confused me!  Because of this, I did not want to be a part of religion. At that point, like most people, I thought being religious was synonymous with being spiritual. Now, I know that is not the case! To be in adulthood and say I am profoundly spiritual (not religious) and have a close relationship with God is something I would not have foreseen when I was younger. To me, it is beautiful how life can reflect a novel in the sense that its arc can change you in the most profound ways. 

Ultimately, reading this book helped me step into my first real structured approach towards reading about spirituality. Prior to this, I just googled information and articles like a madman with no end. Link turned to link into link. On the other hand, this book helped me really slow down and take in all of the downloads I was getting in a more grounded and slowed down way. It was also amazing because as I began reading this book, I started to see a lot of parallels and "synchronicities" between the information I was reading, articles and videos I had found on the internet and my own personal thoughts and experiences! In someway I think my guides showed me to this message so that I could really slow down and receive the messages I was getting. Overall, Gary Zukav has a kind and thoughtful approach to spirituality and his novel itself is an amazing comprehensive read into the core of the human experience- the soul.

Hilarious, light hearted and motivating, Stephanie Evanovich's Big Girl Panties is incredibly easy and fun to read! I am so glad I was drawn in by the cute cover and picked this up!

What I loved about this book is that the protagonist is not your stereotypical female. She's not positive all of the time. She's human. She struggles. She tries. She cries. She struggles with binge eating and finding peace and balance within her body (which is something most females struggle with in a multitude of different ways.) Both emotionally and physically, she has times of darkness much like the rest of us, and through it all finds the light within herself.

I'm someone who does enjoy a good romance novel and the love interest Logan really shows how love can not only open up one's heart but also one's mind. Together, both characters grow to become individuals who support and compliment one another despite any biases they may have held towards one another and especially in spite of what society thinks. 

Lastly, the other characters in the book are really easy to love. The relationship of Amanda and Chase is amazing to read and I love that Stephanie provided another equally unique but amazing relationship. Stephanie, the author, has since written a book on their story as well (aka if you really enjoy reading about the characters of Amanda and Chase, there's more for you to enjoy in her novel The Sweet Spot). So if that is something that interests you after reading this book, you know what to read next! Overall, this is a fun, flirty read & I highly recommend you picking this up if you want something to brighten up and spice up your days + nights! P.S. the sex scenes are great hehe + give 50 Shades a run for its money!