YOU GUYS! This summer has been totally bonkers. Intense, extreme, manic, overexerted… all great descriptions for what the past three months have been like over here. I definitely needed the blogging break, but I’m glad to be back. I really missed blogging about the books I’ve read. And I’ve read so many great books this summer that I’ve been dying to share… so here goes!
WHAT I READ IN AUGUST
Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari
I love Aziz and I love all things having to do with dating in our modern culture. I listened to this on Overdrive, and really glad I consumed the book through that medium. Aziz (yeah, we’re on a first name basis) was the narrator, and made it so much more fun to listen to. Which is more than I can say for Drew Barrymore, who narrated her own book as well…I digress.
I really enjoyed this book, I thought it was very insightful, and dead accurate. I though Aziz did a great job talking about the struggles our society currently faces when it comes to dating. I can personally attest to so much of what was in the book when I was actively dating. Verdict: Read it!
All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda
As the title implies, it’s a story about missing girls in a small town. The story is told backwards over the span of fifteen days. The author gives us a bit of background beforehand, and then each chapter is laid out day by day — in reverse. I liked the idea of it, since it hasn’t really been done before.
To be honest, midway through, I was getting quite annoyed with it. But I carried on because I was very curious how the author would pull something like this off. And I have to say, I’m glad I stuck through it, but not enough to give it more than 3 stars on GR. Verdict: Read — only because it’s a unique concept to write a book backwards.
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Ohhhhh my god. This was an incredible story that deserves it’s own blog post. So I’ll save all of my praises for that. All I can say is READ IT!!! You will be so glad you did. And it’ll also make you want to trace your family back many, many generations. Verdict: READ IT (like now, read it ASAP)!
The Girl Before by Rena Olsen
Hmm. This was interesting. It popped up in the ‘If You Enjoyed That, You’ll Enjoy This ‘ section on Audible. It had hundreds of 4 & 5 star reviews, so I bought it without reading the description. That was a mistake.
It was a pretty dark story about human trafficking. The main character was a woman who was abducted at a young age, was totally brainwashed, and ended up taking over as the ‘matriarch’ in the same trafficking circle years later. It was weird, and disturbing, and quite uncomfortable. It was also slightly grating, and I hated all of the characters — though, maybe that was the point? I don’t know. Verdict: I won’t recommend it.
Everything You Want Me to Be by Mindy Mejia
Hattie Hoffman, a high school senior with a bright future ahead, is found dead just weeks before graduation. As detectives begin digging through her world to piece together who murdered her — and why — they start unraveling quite a mess, between her jock boyfriend and her married English teacher…
The book was paced really nicely and kept me guessing up until the very end. It was tough to put down. Verdict: Read!
Memory Man by David Baldacci
This was my first David Baldacci novel. I still have mixed feelings about this book, and I think it mainly has to do with how terrible the narrators were. Which brings me to a larger point I want to discuss later.
The plot felt all over the place, and seemed overly complicated with way too much going on. Though I will give the author credit for wrapping everything up nicely. The ending definitely saved the book. I wanted to like the book, and maybe I would have liked it more had I actually read it vs. listened to it. I’m going to give Baldacci another try, but with a physical book rather than audiobook. But sadly, because of how shitty the narration was on this particular book, I’m going to have to give it a solid 3 stars…Verdict: Meh, take it or leave it.
Cold Cold Heart by Tami Hoag
I love Tami Hoag novels. She writes a great mystery that keeps you guessing until the very end. I like her writing, her pacing, her tone, all of it. I’ve read so many of her books, and would honestly recommend them all (like this one). Though, I will say, this is somewhat of a continuation of her last novel, The 9th Girl. While Cold Cold Heart can be read as a standalone, I would highly advise you read The 9th Girl before you read this. Verdict: Yes, please! But again, start with The 9th Girl
And that concludes everything I read in August! Can’t wait to hear how your summer reading is going!