(Mostly) Bestsellers I Read in August 2023 – A Book Review
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Okay, August was a busy one. I read ten, count ’em TEN books this past month and I’m about to review them for you. I’ll tell you how I did it. It was a mixture between traditional books you can hold in your hand and audiobooks. And can I just say, audiobooks are just amazing! You can listen, i.e. read, them when you’re doing laundry, dishes, cooking, driving, whatever. It’s just awesome. Thank you to all the voice actors who read me my favorite novels. You are a godsend!
Now for the reviews!
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Maybe Now by Colleen Hoover
I listened to this audiobook on Chirp and here’s my review. It wrapped up all the various stories with a bow – Ridge and Sydney, Maggie and Jake and even Warren and Bridgette. I liked reading it from Maggie’s POV. In the first book, Maggie was kinda held up on this pedestal. But in this one, we see that she isn’t so perfect and I liked seeing her flaws out in the open. Sydney and Ridge were perfect for each other, and sometimes their always happy feelings would get on my nerves. I felt it was super sappy at times. Personally I enjoyed Maybe Someday better. But it was still enjoyable. I just wish there was more conflict in this one.
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The Deal by Elle Kennedy
My sister recommended this book to me. This is one that I read the old-fashioned way. The sex scenes in this one reminded me of 50 Shades a little, meaning it was vulgar at times and not necessarily romantic like I’m used to with Colleen Hoover books. Which is not to say that that’s a bad thing, it was just different. I definitely felt for Garrett and Hannah and their past traumas. You really root for them to be together. It was overall a cute story, with a little humor thrown in. It kept me engaged the whole time. I finished it in a weekend.
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The Ninth Metal by Benjamin Percy
My husband recommended this audiobook to me. This is totally not a genre I typically read, which is post-apocalyptic science fiction. The book talked about how a new metal, omnimetal, could corrupt a society with greed. Some people became metal heads and tried to get high by ingesting it. People would sell it for a pretty penny. And some people got powers from it and ended up locked up and studied. It focused on what happens to a society when something brand new comes along and brings out the worst in humankind. The hero, Johnny’s, sister in this was just bonkers. This is by far not a happy story and I’m not sure I liked it. But… it might make a good sci-fi movie.
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Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I listened to this one too. I enjoy this author’s writing, ever since I read her masterpiece The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. BT-dubs, check out my review of that book here. This one got pretty wild with the party. I really felt for Nina and the mom, June. June just kept taking Mick back. Mick was so terrible for his kids. He reminded me of Frank Gallagher from Shameless. Only he was worse because he was never around. The drama between the two brothers was soapy. It was well told though and sad, because all that suffering could have been avoided if Mick and June tried harder. They were the epitome of imperfection. All the party goers were pointless and I didn’t care about them at all. It was really about the core family for me. Everyone got what they deserved in the end. Those party guests were just awful. I’d never throw a party for them again. This was overall a good read.
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Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
I listened to this one through my library’s audiobook system. Such a tragic story. A terrible thing happened to people who didn’t deserve it all due to the perpetrator’s selfishness and negligence. This was a realistic portrayal of a kidnapping. It even keeps you guessing ’til the end. And at the end, I really felt something, which is why it’s my favorite book I’ve read this month.
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I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
This is my first time reviewing a non-fiction title. Yay! I started reading it but didn’t finish it a while back. So I got the audio from the library and listened to it in its entirety this past month. I am not necessarily a fan of this actress. If I ever saw an episode of the show she’s famous for, it was in passing while flipping through channels. What I liked about it was that she was naked honest about everything. Her true thoughts and feelings were just put out there for all to see. Her entire upbringing was a shame. She didn’t realize that her mother physically and emotionally abused her until she went to therapy as an adult. Her life was never her own. She lived in constant fear of her mother and wanting to please her so her mother didn’t go crazy on her. Her mother was just the worst. And she did all that to a child; put all that pressure on her. Jennette did whine a little about her privilege, but owned that she was whining which I respected. The mother showering her and her brother until well into their teen years, throwing stuff at her head unpredictably, wanting to control everything in her daughter’s life, only caring about the money obviously. A shame.
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The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Listened to this one through the library. A slow burn of a read. You think it’s one thing but it’s something else entirely. I did not see the twist coming. I can’t really say much about it without giving anything away. I enjoyed this I think because of the twist. And is that really a good thing? I’m not so sure. It would make a good movie and I think it’s already in development.
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The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
I read the actual hard copy book version of this. First off – pretty awesome title for a book. But… not much happens. I love a good love triangle which is what this is, but man, nothing happens! Belly stuck her tongue out too much like a baby. She seemed to always be in a bad mood when she got playfully teased. The girl just could not take a joke. I liked both brothers, Jeremiah and Conrad. It was interesting the dynamic between her and her mom, how telling her mom things was like an afterthought. They all felt like real characters. I was glad that Cam called her out on her not being over Conrad. I wouldn’t recommend reading this book though. Watch the Amazon Prime show instead, which is buckets better than this novel. It’s like the book was thrown together in maybe a weekend, but the show was fleshed out way more and they took their time with it. The show is very different from the book and that’s a good thing.
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Fumbled Hearts by Meagan Brandy
Well that’s two sports romances I’ve read this month, so I guess maybe I’m into that now? This was a book tok recommendation. I didn’t really like the voice actors on the audio and I felt it took away from the story. And speaking of story, it was a little too simple and predictable for me. Way too much sex. And the drama was kiddie stuff. Maybe I’m not the target audience. I just didn’t get why people liked this. Nate was such a he-man, alpha male to the max type and I didn’t get why Lolli was into that, considering she seemed like such a strong independent woman. Also, these characters didn’t act or talk like they were in high school. Seemed more on the college level to me. You can skip this one.
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Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
This is my second favorite book I’ve read this past month. It is also my first LGBTQ+ book I’ve read I think ever, which is sad, because I’m an ally. And now that I’ve read one, I definitely want to read more. These stories are so important and this one in particular was extremely well written. Kudos to the author. After you read it, it makes you feel hopeful and happy for a future we could all have collectively if we’d just learn to accept one another as we are. Because in the end, all there is is love. That’s it. I loved the two leads together. The author created very distinct, full blown, breathing characters. My favorite part was when they confessed their love for each other. It had some funny moments too. I watched the new film and it stayed pretty close to the novel. It was a cute rom com. My only criticism of the book is that it was a little long for me.
Happy Reading!
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