For August, I only read 9 books, because the first week I had Covid… so missed out on a few reads then, but still a respectable count 😊 And I got in a few top summer books right before it turned to September!
I put Kevin Kwan’s Lies and Weddings on hold at the library, and realized I never read the Crazy Rich Asians series! Fortunately, they were all ready to borrow on Libby, so I got the audiobooks and started in.
As usual, I’ll just give my thoughts on each book because you can look up a synopsis on Amazon (and honestly, I go into these books completely blind most of the time, so I’m giving you that opportunity ha).
Links are Amazon affiliate link, so I get a commission if you click at no additional cost to you. Because why not. Thanks for your support 💕
Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
This one was a Book of the Month pick, and my goal was to catch up on some of those this month!
I was reading this one and it reminded me of The Stationery Shop, which happens to be by the same author.
Overall, I loved the friendship depicted here. While the main character can be a bit annoying and superficial, in the end, she grows up and does right. I was worried early on when her old friend comes to the new school that it would be about how mean she was to the old friend, but their sweet friendship continues.
In general, this time period in Iran is interesting, because it shows how quickly power used for you can be turned against you.
First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston
Finally got this one off the Libby hold list and listened to the audiobook.
I knew about half of the twist, and then I was like… whatttt. So good. So fun.
Loved this because it’s suspenseful and the stakes are high without being too gory or scary. Aaaand they just accept that they’re shady people. Something about that was refreshing: didn’t need to cast off their entire personalities to become law abiding citizens.
Satisfying ending while managing to give great twists throughout.
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
Book of the Month pick from … 2021… that I finally came back to. I believe I lent it to multiple people in the time that I’ve had it without reading it.
Wow. I knew this was going to be good, but I was nearly crying during most of it. But I was sitting next to Henry (my 3yo), so I couldn’t just be crying all day. The Dust Bowl isn’t really talked about, and as an east coast-er, I didn’t think about all the CA farms and that side of the country during the depression. Fascinating look at history, and just an extraordinary story that MAKES YOU FEEL THINGS.
Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez
Book of the Month from last year 😊
Another favorite for a reason – read this in one sitting. Loved everything about it so much. Although, with every romcom, I always skim the miscommunication part, because that is the least likely scenario for me. If I overheard something in the hallway, I would assume I missed part of the conversation. Truly, my least favorite component of these stories.
But they get it straight fairly quickly, and ends perfectly. Love them. I haven’t read Part of Your World yet, so maybe I’ll try that one sometime.
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
Libby audiobook through my library!
Omg I loved this book. Better than a romance. Depth of the characters that makes more than chick lit 💙💙
Now that I read all three of the series, this one is my favorite. The other two don’t have the emotional complexity that Nick and Rachel have in this one.
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Book of the Month that I couldn’t wait to dig into!
This one had a lot of hype, and I did read it in practically one sitting, but I think I expected more crime/drama. But great twists and turns with every theory.
This seems like it would be nearly impossible to listen to as an audiobook. She included a timeline at the top of every chapter to tell you where you were in the book, and it jumped around A LOT. It works. But it was jumpy, and would probably be difficult without the visual element. As it is with any book I listen to, multiple timelines makes me wish I had a physical copy to flip back and check the years of the chapters.
All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
Another Book of the Month that was the book of the summer… and I’ll read anything Jenna recommends!
This book was huge, but somehow not a word was wasted on the 600+ pages. I didn’t want to skip a paragraph (I read fast and tend to skim sometimes). Beautiful and twisty in ways you wouldn’t expect. I read it in 2 days!! How?? The middle dragged a tiny bit as they lived real life, but then that’s also where some of the twists came.
Literally the biggest twist isn’t even related to the crime!
Loved it. Dark and so thoughtful.
China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan
Libby audiobook!
Obsessed with this series, but this was not as great as the first one. The stories are all so interesting, but maybe this time around there was too much rich people stuff and not enough feelings. I felt like I couldn’t get that into any one characters story, and I wanted more emotions. Maybe I was most invested in Kitty Pong’s storyline? I didn’t even feel like I got enough of Rachel’s emotions about meeting her family members. But I still loved it. On to the next one.
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
Picked this up at BJs because I needed to read it before the summer ended!!
I LOVED this one. While you have to deal with the silly romance trope of “we’re just going on 4 dates and then we’ll break up but oops we fell in love,” the rest of the book was not that. These characters were so good. And it didn’t have the obnoxious overhearing part of the conversation.
Read it in a few hours 😊
