What did you read in August?

[ufcasey]

What did you read during the month of August? Any favorites you would recommend?

[ufcasey]

My reads for the month:

4.5 stars
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson - sci-fi

4 stars
Emerald Blaze (Hidden Legacy, #5) by Ilona Andrews - paranormal romance
Fair as a Star by Mimi Matthews - historical romance

3.5 stars
Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano - contemporary fiction
His & Hers by Alice Feeney - mystery/thriller
To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers - sci-fi
The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne - historical fiction

3 stars
Promise of Darkness by Bec McMaster - fantasy/romance
The Answer Is: Reflections on My Life by Alex Trebek - non-fiction

2 stars
To Wed a Wild Scot by Anna Bradley - historical romance
Midnight Sun (Twilight) by Stephenie Meyer - ya

[meowmaps]

Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce 3*

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas 4*

The Lost Night by Andrea Bartz 3.5*

The Regrets by Amy Bonnaffon 5* This is really quirky so probably not for everybody but I loved it.

Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel 3.5*

The Beauty in Breaking by Michele Harper 4*

The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave 4*

A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh 3*

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls 4*

Know My Name by Chanel Miller 5* So impactful and beautifully written.

Separation Anxiety by Laura Zigman 5* One of my favorites of the year.

[rainbowchip]

I read a wild amount of books in August! The most I've read in a month by far! And I'm already at 60/52 books for the year.

I'm doing a reread on audio of The Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward so I've read Dark Lover, Lover Eternal, Lover Awakened, Lover Revealed, Lover Unbound, Lover Enshrined, and Father Mine.

I also read:
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel - 2* - pretty much everything I don't like in one book.

Good Morning Monster by Catherine Gildiner - 2* - I don't really know who the intended audience for this book was but I felt icky basically sitting in on therapy sessions and the author was kind of annoying too. Like every time she "made a big mistake" in treatment, it ended up leading to a big breakthrough in the patient.

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer - 5* - I know, I know.

Master Class by Christina Dalcher - 3* - great idea but the execution was not quite right.

Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory - 4* - This book redeemed this series after The Royal Holiday mess.

Beach Read by Emily Henry - 4* - I had a (wrong) preconceived notion about this book from some podcasts so I thin it took something away. I still found it to be really good though.

The Lucky Ones by Liz Lawson - 3* - I don't know for sure but I think this probably depicted the pain of surviving a school shooting pretty well. There are criticisms of the "boy saves the girl" troupe that I normally look past but I felt different with this book.

The Answer Is...Reflections on My Life by Alex Trebek - 3* - His life was pretty boring. 😀

[abs]

Grown Ups by Marian Keyes--DNF
American Dirt--3.5*

I've never had such a long stretch of not being able to concentrate on a book. If it doesn't immediately grab me I just can't read it. As such I also continued my re-read of the Baby Sitters Club books with DD.

[wesleycrusher]

ufcasey, rainbowchip Ken Jennings also has a book called Brainiac. It switches by chapter between his Jeopardy story and the history of trivia. I didn't think the trivia history part was interesting, but I really enjoyed the Jeopardy part- reading about how he prepared for Jeopardy, casting and all the other behind the scenes info of how the show is run.

[CrazyLucky]

Homegoing - 5 stars. I love how she connected everything.
White fragility - 2 stars. I know you guys are going to make me turn in my liberal card, but I hated that book. It was so repetitive and the lists were so condescending
In Dublin's Fair City - 2* This was a really bad memory, but it was set in Ireland and allowed me a walk down memory lane of my favorite vacation.
Such a Fun Age - 5* Loved it. I hope the author writes another book.

[rootbeerfloat]

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid - 4*
Party of Two (The Wedding Date #5) by Jasmine Guillory - 3*
Girl Gone Viral (Modern Love #2) by Alisha Rai - 3.5*
The Honey-Don't List by Christina Lauren - 3*
My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren - 3*

[Vespasia]

Most of these were from early August when I was on vacation. Overall I really liked most of the books I read this month. 

Mexican Gothic by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia  - 5*
The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian - 4.5*
Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan - 4*
Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas - 4*
The Hazel Wood (The Hazel Wood, #1) by Melissa Albert- 5*


Hush Collection - a series of short thrillers/mysteries from Amazon Prime. 2-3.5* range, listed roughly best to worst. 
Slow Burner by Laura Lippman
The Gift by Alison Gaylin
Treasure by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Snowflakes by Ruth Ware (super predictable)
Let Her Be by Lisa Unger (hated this one)


I am right at 48/48 for the year according to Goodreads. However, it is really more like 44/48 since they count the Hush books separately and they were very short.

[travella]

4*
Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain
Danny Champion of the World by Roald Dahl

2*
The Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl

It was a very busy month with not much time for reading.

[tacokick]

And Now She's Gone by Rachel Howzell Hall

My Life as a Villainess by Laura Lippman

The Lucky One by Lori Rader-Day

The Comeback by Ella Berman

The Fixed Stars by Molly Wizenberg

You Again by Debra Jo Immergut

The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed

The Missing American by Kwei Quartey

In Bad Company by Viveca Sten

This is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf

The Second Home by Christina Clancy

The Other Mrs by Mary Kubica

Stray by Stephanie Danler

I Got a Monster: The Rise and Fall of America's Most Corrupt Police Squad by Baynard Woods and Brandon Soderberg

The Less Dead by Denise Mina

Happy & You Know It by Laura Hankin

Want by Lynn Steger Strong

Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan


When I Was You by Amber Garza

The Only Black Girls in Town by Brandy Colbert

Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram (excellent)

Honestly not a lot of standouts! Nothing horrible though! And I read about 22 kindle singles.

[minzy]

American Spy - Lauren Wilkinson - 4 stars
The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison - 3 stars
Vera Kelly is not a Mystery - Rosalie Knecht - 4 stars
wow, no thank you. - Samantha Irby - 4 stars
The Feather Thief - Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century - Kirk Wallace Johnson - 4.5 stars
Flight Behavior - Barbara Kingsolver - 4 stars
Once - Enda Walsh - 4 stars
Bandette - Volume One: Presto! - Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover - 4 stars
Relax - you may only have a few minutes left - using the power of humor to overcome stress in your life and work - Loretta LaRoche - 3 stars

I know it’s a classic, but I hated The Bluest Eye for the subject (incest, other sexual abuse of kids). The Feather Thief was probably the standout, and one of the most intriguing books I’ve read all year.

[jwright]

In Five Years - rebecca Serle - 4*
The Reckoning - John Grisham - 3*
All Adults Here - Emma Straub - 2*
Big Summer - Jennifer Weiner - 3*
The Alice Network - Kate Quinn - 3*
The Silent Patient - Alex Michaelides - 4*
Open Book - Jessica Simpson - 3*
Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng - 4*
My Year of Rest and Relaxation - Ottessa Moshfegh - 4*

The Silent Patient was probably my favorite; I didn't see the twist coming at all which is rare.
I was disappointed in Big Summer, for "chick-lit" or beach read I was expecting it to be more fun.
I don't know why I read All Adults Here; wasn't into it.

[mrspez07]

Audio:
Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny 4*
Bad Blood 3*

Read:
The Secret Place by Tana French 4*
The Paris Architect 3*
New Waves 2*
The Dutch House 3*

I continue to read more than I feel like I am.
My favorite was listening to Bury Your Dead.
I was very disappointed in New Waves. Nothing like it seemed like from reading the synopsis, and I kept waiting for something to happen.

[mie]

I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn 5*
The Summer Deal by Jill Shalvis 4*
Beard Necessities by Penny Reid 4*

My favorite was I Love You So Mochi.