August Books

Can you believe that reading wasn't my jam growing up?! Clif Notes were my best friends in high school - I'd "read enough" to get by, but other than that I did not enjoy the act of reading so never did it... like ever. Maybe I wasn't reading things that held my interest or maybe it was because it was "required" so I didn't find it enjoyable, but whatever the reason, I'm glad I challenged myself to add the goal of reading 17 books in 2017 (which turned into 88 books in 2017, 77 books in 2018, 67 books in 2019, 66 books in 2020, 67 books in 2021, 41 books in 2022 and 98 books in 2023). The majority of my "reading" has been listening to audiobooks since I don't have as much time to sit and read physical books once I started working full time (not to mention I walk to work and walk on my lunch break so have two-ish hours a day I can listen to something). Even still, holding a physical book is the bomb dot com and I hope to get back to adding more reading vs listening. Just like in years past, writing a monthly recap of the books I get through is a great way for me to both record what I'm reading and to stay accountable. So, here are the books I finished in the month of August:

• His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie - This book had been on my "for later" list on my Libby app for a while and it finally became available so I downloaded it and thought I'd give it a listen. I don't remember if I had heard awesome things on this title or if I saw the "Reese's Book Club" little sticker and added it to my list ;) The story centers around a culture not my own (which I always appreciate because I love learning how others live), an arranged marriage in Ghana. I agree with the little blurb on the cover - "Crazy Rich Asians for West Africa (with a good dose of feminism tossed in)". There were parts that made me smile, chuckle, cringe and maybe even one or two that made a little salt water escape my eye. I'll be honest and say when I started I wasn't necessarily expecting it to end the way it did, but I liked the whole storyline. I would give it an 8 out of 10.

• The Tearsmith by Erin Doom - While I was checking my Libby app to see if any of my holds had become available I came across this one and the cover caught my attention. Similarly to the majority of books I read/ listen to - I had no idea what this was about before starting it. Let's just say it had me feeling all the feels (and a few tears may have streamed down my cheek if I'm being completely honest). This is the story of a few kids (it technically focuses on two, but there were others mixed in) who grew up in the same <very abusive> orphanage and the main two were then adopted by the same family. No trigger warnings were included at the beginning of the book, but there is definitely a moody feel and a large amount of violence included. It's a romance FO SHO, but unlike many of the "adult" books in this genre, things weren't explicitly X-rated. I don't want to give the story away persay, but I do want to warn y'all that this is a very spicy book if you know what I mean. Apparently the book has recently been turned into a movie (I saw it pop up when I was Googling a link for the book), so the next time I have access to Netflix I'll probably give it a watch. I would give it a 9 out of 10.

• All That's Left in the World by Erik J. Brown - Once I had logged out of the hubby's Hoopla account and back into my own (THANKS FOR THE EXTRA BOOKS, SAMMY!), this book popped up in my recommended reads. I didn't look at the synopsis, just downloaded it. I am normally not a post-apocalypse type fan, but since I didn't realize it when I checked out I didn't want to 'waste' one of my books for the month, so I continued on. Since I normally don't read this genre (I feel like they end up being zombie reads and those are NOT my jam), I didn't realize what a lack of queer characters there were (which is why this author focused on it) - although if it follows trends of most media, I should've assumed. I enjoyed the relationships and thought overall it was a good book. It kept my attention even though the subject matter isn't my go-to. I would give it an 8 out of 10.

• Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver - This popped up on my Newly Added list in my Hoopla app and it caught my attention. I loved that it was a trilogy - that way I knew what my next read would be (although Hoopla only has Books #1 and 2 and Libby only has Book #2, so I guess that means I’m going to have to wait to finish the series). I’ve gotta say, if this book was ever turned into a movie it might be X-rated. The story includes: violence, extremely dark humor and lots of very detailed sex scenes. I probably would’ve stopped had the rest of the plot not have been so good. The idea is two serial killers meet when they both show up to kill the same serial killer. I know, dark… but it you can look past the blood and spice the relationships in the books are very well developed. Although the idea may be far fetched, this author definitely added enough detail to make it seem plausible. I’ll be honest and say I even shed a few tears while listening. Also, this audiobook was read by two narrators (and the point-of-view swapped back and for) and I always appreciate that! I’m not sure if they recorded their parts together, but it seemed like they had great chemistry which made me totally buy into the friendship turned romance. Now that I know how SPICY it is, I’ll go into the next book with my expectations adjusted and won’t be caught off guard. This is 100% 'bingeable', in my opinion (but maybe just listen to it on headphones rather than on speaker ;)). I would give it a 9 out of 10.

• Leather & Lark by Brynne Weaver - Well, like I said, I appreciated having a series so I didn't have to look for my next book ;) I would say that I could just copy and paste my review for Butcher & Blackbird, but instead of the stranger to friend to best friend to lover to husband progression this one was a little more of stranger to husband to lover to best friend. Yep, definitely out of the norm in the way these two serial killers (although Lachlan considers himself a 'contract killer' and Lark considers herself a 'multiple deleter') move along in their relationship, so it kept things new and interesting. I'd say I went into this book knowing how 'spicy' the previous book in the trilogy was so that's what I was expecting in this one. With that being said, since the couple were enemies at first, it took longer into the story for the saucy sections to come out. All-in-all I would say I liked this one, but I think I liked the first more because in this one the novelty of serial killers finding friends/ spouses had worn off and wasn't as out of left field as reading the first in the series. I would give it an 8 out of 10.

• The Reason I Married Him by Meghan Quinn - This was on the 'featured' list on my Hoopla app so I grabbed it (#RealTalk - I liked the colors on the cover, that's really all I was going on ;)). Apparently since I had checked out a few 'steamy' books recently this was just continuing the trend... The idea of this one is a "marriage of convenience". We've got two characters that both want something - Aubree wanted the deed to a farm [which she owned half of] and Wyatt wanted a family cabin [but it went to the first grandchild to get marrier]. They came up with a plan to get married for one year so that Wyatt could take possession of the cabin and after the one year they would divorce and Aubree would get the other 50% ownership of the farm and they could go their separate ways (he said it was 'her hand for his land ;)). I found it entertaining and maybe it's because I don't read much contemporary romance, but this was a newfangled plot idea to me. I had two small irks with the book. First, I'm a bit of a prude and when there were sex scenes they were a little outside of my comfort zone. Second, when I ended I was like "what the heck?! It's done already?!" Because I was listening to the audiobook, I didn't realize I was getting to the end of the book (unlike if I was holding the physical book and could see I had few pages left). I guess, if we aren't going to get more of their story, at least I found a new author to read more of (looks like she has many-a-titles to her name). I would give it an 8 out of 10.

• Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus - I had seen a lot of friends posting about how they were or had read this book, so I had added it to my "for later" list on my Libby app. Occasionally I'd scroll through the list and when this one was finally available I snagged it. Other than seeing the mention on social, I didn't know anything about it (but was hoping they all couldn't be wrong ;)). I'm happy to report I really enjoyed this one as well. It is set in the 1960's whe. women were really only seen as mothers and housewives. In this culture, Elizabeth Zott (the main character) stands out in that she is a chemist (and dare I say feminist) who believes women are just as smart and capable as men. There are many ups and downs (deaths, losses of jobs, sexual assault, new careers, births, etc) and I loved to see how Elizabeth would react in each said experience. I also really enjoyed the character development in all of the cast, as well as the relationships that formed and blossomed as the book progressed. It's cute, believable, witty, well researched, inspiring and all the other positive attributes I can think of ;) I don't know that I'll add it to my personal library, but I'd definitely recommend it to folks (when grabbing the link for the book I noticed it was turned into an AppleTV+ mini series, so if the hubby and I ever have access to that streaming service I'd totally watch it). I would give it a 9 out of 10.

• The Inexplicable Logic of my Life by Benjamin Alire Saenz - Scrolling through the "librarians' recommendations" on my Libby app and I saw this one. The front grabbed my attention because it looked like another I had read (SURPRISE, it ended up being from the author of that very book and I didn't notice until blowing up the picture for this post). It also makes sense that I would love this book, seeing as I gave "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" two thumbs up (although only 8 out of 10 because I thought it ended abruptly and not the way I wanted ;))! It's a YA book about growing up, grief and so much more. It is heartwarming and beautifully written, but still easy to read (the reading age was 12+). I love that there is love in this book, but it isn't a romantic type love - it's a I-will-die-for-you type love. I would give it a 9 out of 10.

• I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez - I had seen this on a couple "must read" lists and since I didn't have any of my other books read, I gave it a try. Although I was not raised in the Mexican culture, I do know what it feels like to be a perfection (or at least try to appear as one) and how much pressure that can put on someone. There are many nuggets to take away from this book, but the first that comes to mind is 'things may be very different than you see'. Julia, the main character, has a sister who was killed (Olga) and the family is trying to keep everything together after this tragedy occurred. From the parents' perspective Olga was the perfect daughter and Julia is anything but similar. I'm not going to spill the beans, but let's just say what Olga was portraying to those around her before the fatal accident wasn't exactly "true". This story is about everything from grief to stereotypes, from acceptance to expectations (and everything in between). I can see why it ended up on so many lists. A well-written, engaging novel all-around! I would give it an 8 out of 10.

• All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban - This came up on my “thriller” list in the YA section of my Libby app. I remembered that it had popped up on the past so I took the nudge and downloaded it. Once the story started it sort of reminded me of a murderous Breakfast Club - a group of students were summoned to a dinner (under the guise of winning a scholarship) and when they arrived they get trapped in the room. They are offered two options (from what appears to be an evil outsider) - use a syringe with poison to kill one person in the room or a bomb will blow in an hour if they don’t kill someone (kill someone or everyone dies). I won’t give anything away, but I did enjoy how the story stitched from the present to different times in the past to explain how they got to where they were. Although I would have preferred an epilogue {One Year Later…} I did appreciate how the ending wrapped everything up {I was a bit shocked and taken aback, but I guess that means the author did a good job}. I appreciate [synonym] the mental health resources at the end of the book, but also think there could have been a trigger warning at the beginning [at least mentioning suicide]. I would give it an 8 out of 10.

• The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune - I saw this on a friend's Instagram Stories and my jaw dropped. Wait a gosh darn second! I hadn't seen this book before (and I LOVE this author). The hunt for it in audiobook form was on. Thankfully I didn't have to look too hard, since it popped up right away on my Hoopla app. Crisis averted, I downloaded it right away and started listening. As to be expected, I loved it. As with the majority of his books, which are a little out of left field (teenagers with superpowers, talking gnomes, a sort of backwards Pinocchio story, etc), this one was in the same vein. A journalist who was fired and just inherited his family's cabin heads there to sulk and plan his next steps, but when he arrives he realizes he is not the only one there. I won't ruin the rest, but let me tell you that there are some extraterrestrials involved. It's a thriller, mystery, love story and so much more wrapped up in one fast-paced book! There were smiles, laughs, tears, #AllTheFeels! This author's books all may not be in my Top 10, but I sure do love all his books! I would give it a 10 out of 10.  

• The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas - I found this in the "thriller" section of the Young Adult genre on my Libby app. If you know me, you know I don't do scary (and even some thrillers can be a bit too much for me). Well, before I get into the recap, I should probably tell you I was listening to this before going to bed for a few minutes and woke up at 3:30am thinking someone might be sneaking in through our window. OH GOLLY! {Note: I also could not watch Unsolved Mysteries if this tells you more about me} I need to only listen to happy things around bedtime ;) Anywho, this is a story about a small town that is seemed in murder, lies, domestic abuse, etc. The secrets just kept on coming to light. I would say I did not see the ending coming. It definitely kept me engaged, but maybe a little too much ;) I was thinking after I finished this about how there are so many thriller/ mystery books where apparently everyone is smarter than the police because the main character tends to crack the case wide open... I guess that's why it's considered fiction. I would give it an 8 out of 10.

• You Have a Match by Emma Lord - After a 'thrilling' thriller, I thought it was time for a book that would make me smile. A summer camp book in the young adult section, sure, why not?! As suspected, it was a cute, quick listen. Lifelong friends go to a summer camp, their real feelings are revealed and a couple is formed ;) Okay, okay, there may be a few more details in there than I mentioned (like a DNA test that disclosed a surprise sister, best friends turned enemies turned friends again, etc), but for the most part it follows the standard formula. Nothing too special, but a sweet summertime book nonetheless. I would give it a 7 out of 10.

• Tweet Cute by Emma Lord - I noticed that the author of the previous book had a few more on the Libby app, so I downloaded another for when I was maxing and relaxing in the sun. I actually think I liked this one more than the first. The two main characters are teenagers who go to the same school, both of their parents' own restaurants and they end up having a little war on the corporate twitter accounts. As I'm sure you could have guessed, the two teens end up having feelings for one another and start dating. There were some fun pop culture references that made me smile (i.e. Gossip Girl, snarky Wendy's tweets, Mean Girls memes, etc). This is a great book to snag for a vacation or while you're hanging out at the pool. I would give it an 8 out of 10.

• The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston - I had seen this book on so many people's must read books that I got in line on my Libby app. After about six or seven weeks a copy finally became available. The premise of the story is that there is an apartment that will sometimes take you from the present to seven years ago (it doesn't happen every time you walk through the door, it doesn't do it on command, etc). Going back in time can be difficult because if you fall in love you know it won't last (seeing as you aren't with that person in the present). Since it's not a good idea, of course the characters tempt fate and end up falling in love. It was heartwarming, exciting, swoonworthy, but it wasn't "oh my gosh this book is amazing." I figured out where the story was going pretty early on, so wasn't super surprised with anything. Again, a cute and inventive plot (great character development, well written, etc), but I don't think it lived up to the 'promised' hype. I would give it an 8 out of 10. 

• When You Get the Chance by Emma Lord - Might as well keep that Emma Lord (Young Adult high school romance/ coming-of-age story) train rollin', right?! Well, I had checked out a more 'serious' book, but I wasn't in the mood to focus, so snagged this one and used it more as background while I was doing housework, errands, etc. I'm not sure how many of my readers have watched Gossip Girl, but I feel like this book was very similar to an episode I had seen (Dan and Blair both get an internship at a magazine and the two start to have feelings for each other while trying to out-do and one-up each other). Not a super novel or inventive idea, but I did like the side plot of the main character trying to find her mom (who is a mysterious woman who showed up on her dad's porch and dropped off the baby since she didn't want to be a mom). I'll be honest and say as background 'noise' it was fine, but definitely not one that stands out as amazing. I would give it a 7 out of 10.

• Begin Again by Emma Lord - Okay, so this is the last novel of her's on either my Libby or Hoopla app, so I can cross her off my list ;) As to be expected, it was a cute listen, but nothing too earth shattering. In this story, the main character gets into her dream college and tried to follow in her parents' footsteps. It's a coming-of-age story with some Young Adult romance thrown in there for good measure (the main character is dating her best friend from home but may start crushing on her Resident Advisor [RA] in the dorms). I was actually impressed with the author that I didn't expect the twist/ reveal towards the end. I loved all the different relationships Andie made. Although the plot wasn't too fresh, I still smiled throughout the entirety of it. I would give it an 8 out of 10.

• If Only I Had Told Her by Laura Nowlin - Seeing as I was done with all of the Emma Lord books on my apps, I clicked into the "recently added YA" titles and came across this one. The slight blurb I saw mentioned Jenny Han (the author who wrote the "To All The Boys I've Loved Before" and "The Summer I Turned Pretty" series) so I was hoping that meant something along the lines of 'if you like her books {which I do} then you'll enjoy this one'. Thankfully that's what the blurb was going for and I did enjoy this one. I would say that I might not have loved it as much as Jenny's books, but I also went in with high expectations. This is the story of three main characters (each of the parts written from their point of view) who are finding their way through friendships, relationships, grief, uncertainty, breakups, hookups, and tons in between. I was thankful for the trigger warnings at the beginning of the book, but also felt as though I was expecting some of the tragedy that was coming since it was forewarned of before the story started. I definitely wished that there was more to the book, but, hey, maybe that means a follow up is in the works... fingers crossed. I would give it an 8 out of 10. 

• Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean - I was scrolling through the 'romance' section of the Young Adult genre on my Libby app (which tends to mostly be about high school crushes or first love - not the 'spiciness' of adult romance ;)) and I came across this book. I noticed there was a "Reese's YA Book Club" sticker on it, so figured I'd give it a go. I tried to go into this one without expectations (since the previous book was sort of a 'let down' because I was assuming it was going to be 'amazeballs' and it was 'good') and I was extremely rewarded because I ended up really enjoying it! I had a best friend who was Japanese and the hubby loves Japan, so when it brought up lots of happy memories. Of course I was rooting for the romance between two of the main characters, but I was surprised to also be extremely invested in the other relationships (the foursome of best friends, the "work" relationships turned friendship, the building of a bond between Izumi and her father, the love story Izumi was conceived out of, etc). Oh, doggy, and when I just went to grab a link for this one I see it is book ONE and there is a follow up! WHOOO HOOO! Hold please while I log into my audiobook apps and see if the second book is available. Okay, stand down, my Hoopla app had the sequel (and the hubby's account still had downloads available - shhhh don't tell ;)). Alrighty, back to this book. I would give it a 9 out of 10.

• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig - So this was another book that I had seen a bunch of people talking about, so when I got the Libby app I added my name to the 'hold' list (sort of like getting in line to check it out) and it finally became available. I was sort of thrown off by the first few words of the audiobook, when it started with "XX hours before Nora decides to die". I mean, I know I said in an earlier book I read that the trigger warnings sort of gave you insight into what would happen, but since I knew nothing about the story a little heads up about suicide would have been appreciated. Anyway, getting past the fact that the story is about a woman who is situationally depressed and is planning her own death, it was an interesting premise. The thought was there's a place between alive and dead where some people get 'caught' and they are able to live different lives they would have lived had they made different choices. I'd never really thought of alternate realities or parallel universes, so it was definitely a topic I had never delved into. The overarching theme was to live the life you are living, have no regrets and don't compare yourself to others. The plot is thought-provoking, interesting and inspiring (but the topic of suicide can be hard for me to read about/ listen to). I would give it an 8 out of 10.

• Where the Rhythm Takes You by Sara Dass - It seems like all of my books on my Libby app that I want to read have super long wait times, so I decided to just go into the YA section and see what popped up when I did the random shuffle of titles. I saw this one, saw that it said YA romance and figured I'd try it. I'm so glad I did stumble across this one. I absolutely loved it! The idea of the plot was someone left the area, made it big, goes back and then looks at past relationships. It's young love (first loves) and growing up. Nothing stood out as specifically amazing (and I won't be adding it to my personal library), but overall I definitely felt all the feels. Smiles, tears, laughs and scoffs. I did really love that it was set on Tobago (we need more diversity in characters and in locations [in my opinion]). I appreciated there was an epilogue (one year later), but I wouldn't be upset if a sequel came out (and that the couple was still as cute as pie ;)). I would give it a 9 out of 10.

• Ophelia After All by Racquel Maire - I grabbed this book as the same time as the previous one (so that it'd give me a little more time before I needed to go on the hunt again ;)). I didn't love this one as much as the other, but it still had its nuggets. I am grateful that while the book discusses coming-of-age it also addressed figuring out one's sexuality. I'd say a lot of the books that have characters who belong to the LGBTQIA+ community seem to have their lives together (or it's assumed that sexuality can't change over time or that everyone has to be comfortable with coming out, labeling oneself, etc). I really appreciated the diversity of characters and where they were along their journey of figuring out who they were and how they related to the world around them. The storyline didn't have anything unique (a friend group getting ready for graduation, going to prom, etc), but it was good. Books like this NEED to exist, this specific novel just wasn't my fave. I would give it a 7 out of 10.

• Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid - This is another one of those books that I've heard 'everyone loves' but had no idea what it was about. It had about an eight week wait on my Libby app so I put it on my 'hold shelf' and forgot about it until it FINALLY became available. (I had read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by the same author and enjoyed it, so figured it'd be a safe bet.) I am happy to report that this one lived up to the hype for me. The story jumps back and forth through history (it's about a famous family, so sometimes it's in the timeframe of where the parents met and other times it jumps forward to where the now adult kids are in the present [and that portion of the storyline is only a 24-hour span of time]) which I really enjoy because it doesn't give me enough time to try and think about what will happen next. Also, on a personal note, this novel is based in Malibu, CA and the four main characters are all surfers... Well, most of the surf breaks and town locations I have been to so can see it clearly in my mind, not to mention the hubby is a surfer so I speak the same lingo. I thought the character development and relationships with the family were all very believable and well done. As with the first book of this author's I read, I definitely would recommend it to friends! I would give it a 9 out of 10.

With that, August is done-zo. If you have suggestions, let me know! I'm always looking to add to my "must read" list! 

What's the best book you've read lately?