Wednesday, September 7, 2022

Book Club: August 2022

 

Wow, it's already September!  It's still really warm here in the south, but we have hopes that the cooler fall temperatures are near and that has us dreaming of curling up in a blanket, book in hand, and reading by a fire!  Doesn't that just sound lovely. Actually we will probably still be listening to Audible while running our kids from one practice to the other, but we can dream, right?! 

We've got lots of fun books to share this month so settle in and get ready to add some of these to your must-read lists! 



WHAT WE READ...

CARRIE BETH


I flew through some books this month and loved almost all of them!  


Up first for me this month was The Royal's Next Door by Karina Halle. I usually love anything having to do with royalty so couldn't wait to give this book a try.  Just as the title implies, a royal couple moves in and the girl-next-door is left to manage the media and security circus that follows them.  After a few run-ins with their personal protection officer a little romance starts to grow and before they know it they are sneaking around to spend more time with each other.  It was a cute story. 


Next up for me was Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez.  I have never ready anything by this author and it was just sort of a random pick when I was scrolling options on Audible.  Oh my goodness!!!  I am SO happy that I decided to download it because it was SO good. I really loved this story and it was one of my favorites that I have read in a while. A big city, big time doctor who comes from a very influential medical family happens to be passing through a small town and has a chance meeting with a local bed & breakfast manager.  Not only is he much younger than her, his small town lifestyle is completely opposite of what she is used to.  A one night stand turns in to a secret relationship until their worlds get crossed and the bigger question of would you give up everything for true love must be answered.  The emotions I felt when listening to this book were amazing.  I laughed, cried and it all felt so believable.  Overall it was a feel-good book, but it did touch on some heavier topics like abuse. If you love a good love story I highly recommend this one!  


Because I loved my first book by Abby Jimenez so much I looked to see what else she had written and was pleasantly surprised to find a 3 part series.  The Friend Zone, The Happily Ever After Playlist, and Life's Too Short. Naturally I dove into these right away. I wasn't holding my breath that I would enjoy them as much, but you know what, I did!  She kept the same formula with all of them, but it works for her and I say don't fix something that isn't broken. The point of view switches back and forth between the female and male characters which I really enjoyed. They all grabbed my attention right from the beginning, had the same feel-good, heartwarming love stories, and they all wove in different serious topics such as infertility, grief, depression, and chronic illness.  Each book refers to characters you got to know in the previous stories which I also really loved.  Again, if you are a love story fan I would start with Part of Your World and then move to these!  



JEN



The It Girl is my third book from Ruth Ware and each time she gets me with the slow twisty turn-y way she tells a novel. I listened to the audible of this one, and she has a fantastic reader. Although I enjoyed the plot of this one, it wasn't my favorite of her books. 

The story follows a group of college students both during the events leading up the murder of their friend and what happens ten years later. Their friend was every bit the "it girl", and the world seems fixated on the true crime story once again when the murderer dies in jail. The whole world thinks the case is officially closed...except for the one who put him in jail. 

Parts of this one seemed to be repetitive and drag on to me. Like I just wanted to speed it up and figure out what really happened. Otherwise it was an interesting take on a college suspense thriller.



Next up, Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan. This was a fun and light rom-com made for all the Hallmark movie lovers out there. Nora is a single mom who's house is over taken by a movie studio for a screenplay that she wrote about her marriage - or at least the crash landing of it. She meets mega star Leo who plays the lead in the film. He's grumpy, drunk, and high maintenance. But once things wrap up, he doesn't want to leave. Not really knowing what to say, Nora agrees to letting the actor stay. But is there more to him than meets the eye? Or is he just a really good actor? 

I loved the characters of this one! The unique twist on some of the rom-coms I've been reading lately has been fun, and the fact that this one actually featured older grown-ups and a mom was a bonus. It was a little more PG, and a little more predictable at times, but the ending surprised me a bit and made me up it to a solid four star read.



The Love of My Life has been sitting on my nightstand for months now. I've been in a thriller mood, so I decided to finally dig into it. And I'm so glad I did! It's a slow burn kind of thriller that follows a very in love couple. Emma is a semi-famous marine biologist, and Leo is an Obituary writer for a big publication. They have have everything they've dreamed of until one day they wake up and Leo realizes he is married to a complete stranger.

 Bit and pieces of the Emma's secrets get released over the course of the story, and all build up to a heartbreaking twist. It was one I did not see coming, and I was shocked at how much I thought the story would turn a different way. I enjoyed this one more than Ghosted, and it's definitely one I would put on my "recommend" list to read ASAP if you like thrillers on the lighter side with a romantic twist.



WHAT'S UP NEXT...

CARRIE BETH 



I'm always a fan of Taylor Jenkins Reid and have been waiting for her newest release, Carrie Soto is Back.  Can't wait to get started on this one!  


JEN

Same! I am going with Carrie Beth on this one and Carrie Soto is Back is already queued up in my Audible. I love TJR books and early reviews say this one is just as good as her previous novels! So if you need me over the next few days - don't. I'm busy with all the things so I can listen to it! ;)




WHAT DID YOU READ LAST MONTH? ANYTHING YOU LOVED THAT WE SHOULD PUT ON OUR READING LISTS? SHARE WITH US!

BOOK CLUB 2022

January | February | March | April  | May | June | July |


BEST BOOKS OF SUMMER 2022

BEST BOOKS OF 2021



Follow along with us on Goodreads!

HAPPY READING! 


Come spend the day with us on:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...