Five BOTM Reviews

Earlier this summer, I received a massive shipment from Book of the Month when I put my account on a temporary hold. I had about five credits stored up and wanted to cash it out before my hiatus. I posted about the five books I said I was pumped to read. Well, a few months later, I’ve read all five, and dying to share my thoughts on each of them! I’m going to list them in order from LOVED to Meh…. my GR rating, and whether or not I’d recommend it to you.

THE BOOK OF ESSIE BY MEGHAN MACLEAN WEIR

I enjoyed The Book of Essie the most, out of all five BOTM I received this summer. It was an easy, well written story and was totally binge-worthy. I finished it in less than 4 days. It was a nice break from a phycological thriller, yet was just as engrossing. The ending is a bit rushed and predictable, but it didn’t really bother me.

Verdict: 4 stars, would recommend

CIRCE BY MADELINE MILLER

Circe was excellent! I feel like Circe (the Greek Goddess, not the book) gets a bad rap as being some mean ole’ witch who turns men into pigs and lives alone because she’s so unlikeable. It was fun reading a book from her point of view and seeing that she’s actually sweet and lovable. This book was definitely a fun feminist spin and it was very entertaining to read. Especially if you enjoy Greek Mythology (who doesn’t?).

Verdict: 4 stars, would recommend

THE LAST TIME I LIED BY RILEY SAGE

I took this book with me on vacation, and have to say, it was the perfect vacation book. It’s well written, creepy, and easy to fly through. It has some flaws, a few things that don’t quite add up, but overall, it’s a decent thriller. But know that it’s simply nothing more than that.

Verdict: 4 stars, would recommend knowing it’s a popcorn thriller

BEASTS OF EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCE BY RUTH EMMIE LANG

I was actually quite disappointed with this book. The writing was very captivating, but the story and the actual plot of the book wasn’t my taste. At all. I’m a bit surprised this book made it to the Top 5 BOTM 2017 finalists… and I’m even more surprised I disliked it as much, because the other 4 were great. Oh well.

Verdict: 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4), would not recommend

THE ORACLE YEAR BY CHARLES SOULE

No. Just no. This book had a million things going for it and then it lost all steam about 1/3 in. It got worse and worse, and then the ending was just horrendous. I gave it 3 stars because the book did keep me engaged, but I hate-read my way through it.