Today’s post covers the second half of the books I read in August 2024. I shared what I read in the first half of the month here. I shared my five star reads here. I actually do have another 5 star read to share here as well! The Amazon links to the books I’ve read are affiliate links and if you use them and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. If you’ve read any of these books or are interested in them, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Title: Mysterious Ways
Author: Wendy Wunder
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publisher: Wednesday Books, 8/27/24
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
This was about Maya, a girl who either can or thinks she can read other people’s minds. The book starts with Maya in a psychiatric hospital after having isolated herself in order to avoid hearing other people’s thoughts. She is released and starts attending a new school, where she meets friends and a boy she likes. She finds a purpose in starting a club to help save the bobcats, which local people want to hunt. She can’t seem to help herself though, and she still hears everyone’s thoughts.
“Seventeen-year-old Maya knows everything. When she looks at someone, she instantly knows their history, their private thoughts, their secret desires, their most tragic failures. Combine these private miseries with the general state of the world, and it’s easy to see why Maya’s power starts to get her down…Which is why she was sent to the Whispering Pines Psychiatric Facility, and also why starting at a new school is going to be such a challenge. Now, faced with Tyler, a cute guy she actually wants to know everything about, Maya realizes that maybe her power isn’t so horrible after all. Maybe she can use it for good. Maybe she can even get the guy. Or maybe there really is such a thing as knowing too much.”
I found this book interesting, and it seemed to be a look into a teenager’s mind, with meanderings and scattered thoughts, making parts confusing. I liked Maya though, and wanted the best for her!
Title: Miranda in Retrograde
Author: Lauren Layne
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Gallery Books, 8/13/24
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 3.5 Stars, Rounded up to 4
This was a cute rom com palette cleanser for me which I read over a busy weekend. This book is about Miranda, who is an astronomer and does not receive tenure at her university. She takes a sabbatical and vows to live by the stars – by following the advice of her daily horoscope. She is staying at her aunt’s townhouse and she meets her grumpy neighbor and they eventually become friends. Meanwhile, she dates another man whose star chart matches hers perfectly.
“As the youngest physics professor at her university, practical-minded Miranda Reed plans her life with minute precision. But that’s before she’s denied tenure and the promotion she thought was guaranteed. Suddenly, her tidy life is anything but constant. Overdue for a sabbatical, Miranda takes some time to look towards the stars—only this time, she’s not looking for black holes. With her faith in science shaken, Miranda turns to a practice she’s long dismissed as preposterous: astrology. Determined to figure out why her life has suddenly gone sideways, Miranda commits to a year of letting her horoscope guide her. Soon she’s taking on new home improvement projects, adopting a new pet, and studying what the stars have to say about her ideal love match. The intriguingly aloof artist living next door? Never. His Aries energy is all wrong. On the other hand, the charming father of her new tutoring pupil is Sagittarian perfection. Made for her…right?As Miranda navigates life with new a perspective, she slowly discovers neither science nor the stars have all the answers. And that, when it comes to love, you sometimes just have to trust your heart.”
I am not the biggest fan of the love triangle or dating the wrong man trope! I did enjoy Miranda learning to follow her heart over what science or the stars are telling her. And this book made me want to check my horoscope!
Title: The Hunger
Author: Alma Katsu
Genre: Historical Fiction / Horror
Publisher: GP Putnam’s Sons, 3/6/18
Source: Giveaway
Why I Read It: Backlist Books Challenge
My Rating: 3 Stars
I checked another book off of my 24 in’24 list – The Hunger by Alma Katsu. I was really looking forward to this one because the Oregon Trail is intriguing and this is a retelling of the Donner Party – even more intriguing. Unfortunately, the literary style and slow pace of the book made it hard for me to get through.
“Evil is invisible, and it is everywhere. That is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the wagon train known as the Donner Party. Depleted rations, bitter quarrels, and the mysterious death of a little boy have driven the isolated travelers to the brink of madness. Though they dream of what awaits them in the West, long-buried secrets begin to emerge, and dissent among them escalates to the point of murder and chaos. They cannot seem to escape tragedy…or the feelings that someone–or something–is stalking them. Whether it’s a curse from the beautiful Tamsen Donner (who some think might be a witch), their ill-advised choice of route through uncharted terrain, or just plain bad luck, the ninety men, women, and children of the Donner Party are heading into one of one of the deadliest and most disastrous Western adventures in American history. As members of the group begin to disappear, the survivors start to wonder if there really is something disturbing, and hungry, waiting for them in the mountains…and whether the evil that has unfolded around them may have in fact been growing within them all along.”
On this Donner Party trek, the members not only have to deal with hunger and cold, but they encounter something that is even more scary – some sort of zombie / vampire / werewolf that could have used more description to actually be scary to read about. The story is told by multiple characters and I just wish it was told in a way that held my interest more.
Title: The Wife Who Knew Too Much
Author: Michele Campbell
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Macmillan Audio, 7/28/20
Source: Print from PR person, Audio from Library
Why I Read It: Backlist Books Challenge
My Rating: 3.5 Stars (Rounded up to 4)
The Wife Who Knew Too Much by Michele Campbell was another of my 24 in ’24 backlist picks and another that I didn’t love. While it kept me listening, I was left confused! This is about Tabitha, who is reunited with Connor, who she loved when she was younger. Now, Connor has married a wealthy woman named Nina – who then dies, seemingly by suicide. When Tabitha moves into their mansion, she begins to wonder about Connor and what happened to Nina. Then, Tabitha becomes a suspect in Nina’s death.
“Meet the first Mrs. Ford. Beautiful. Accomplished. Wealthy beyond imagination. Married to a much younger man. And now, she’s dead. Meet the second Mrs. Ford. Waitress. Small-town girl. Married to a man she never forgot, From a summer romance ten years before. And now, she’s wealthy beyond imagination. Who is Connor Ford? Two women loved him. And knew him as only wives can know. Set amongst the glittering mansions of the Hamptons, The Wife Who Knew Too Much is a decadent summer thriller about the lives of those who will do anything for love and money. Who is the victim? Who is the villain? And who will be next to die?”
It might be because I listened to the book rather than read it in print, but I was left questioning what actually happened and who even was the wife who knew too much!
Title: Last Couple Standing
Author: Matthew Norman
Genre: Contemporary
Publisher: Ballantine Books, 3/17/20
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Backlist Books Challenge
My Rating: 4 Stars
Last Couple Standing was another book off of my 24 in ’24 backlist book list and another that I received in 2020 from the publisher. It is about a group of 4 couples, 3 of whom get divorced one after the other. This leaves Jessica and Mitch to ponder whether they are truly happy in their marriage. Jessica suggests they try to mix things up a bit with an open marriage.
“The Core Four have been friends since college: four men, four women, four couples. They got married around the same time, had kids around the same time, and now, fifteen years later, they’ve started getting divorced around the same time, too. With three of the Core Four unions crumbling to dust around them, Jessica and Mitch Butler take a long, hard look at their own marriage. Can it be saved? Or is divorce, like some fortysomething zombie virus, simply inescapable? To maximize their chance at immunity, Jessica and Mitch try something radical. Their friends’ divorces mostly had to do with sex—having it, not having it, wanting to have it with other people—so they decide to relax a few things. Terms are discussed, conditions are made, and together the Butlers embark on the great experiment of taking their otherwise happy, functional marriage and breaking some very serious rules. Jessica and Mitch are convinced they’ve hit upon the next evolution of marriage. But as lines are crossed and hot bartenders pursued, they each start to wonder if they’ve made a huge mistake. What follows is sexy, fun, painful, messy, and completely surprising to them both. Because sometimes doing something bad is the only way to get to the heart of what’s really good.”
A group of interconnected characters makes up this story and I was laughing out loud when they all collided towards the end.
Title: Jackpot Summer
Author: Elyssa Friedland
Genre: Contemporary
Publisher: Berkley, 6/11/24
Source: Book of the Month
Why I Read It: I enjoy her books
My Rating: 4 Stars
I chose Jackpot Summer by Eyssa Friedland as a Book of the Month add on – sometimes I skip months, some months I order two books, it all evens out! I really enjoyed this family story about 3 siblings who win the lottery, their 4th sibling who didn’t join in, and their aging father. All four siblings are going through something – on top of the fact they are mourning the death of their mother. Laura is dealing with becoming an empty nester and whether or not she and her husband are happy. Sophie is struggling as an artist. Noah is just kind of aimless. And Matthew hates his job. When his siblings go in on the Powerball, Matthew sits out. But he feels excluded when they win!
“The four Jacobson children were raised to respect the value of a dollar. Their mother reused tea bags and refused to pay retail; their father taught them to budget before he taught them to ride a bike. And yet, now that they’re adults, their financial lives are in disarray. The siblings reunite when their newly widowed father puts their Jersey Shore beach house on the market. Packing up childhood memories isn’t easy, especially when there’s other drama brewing. Matthew is miserable at his corporate law job and wishes he had more time with his son; Laura’s marriage is imploding in spectacular fashion; Sophie’s art career is stalled while her boyfriend’s is on the rise; and Noah’s total failure to launch has him doing tech repair for pennies. When Noah sees an ad for a Powerball drawing, he and his sisters go in on tickets while their brother Matthew passes. All hell breaks loose when one of the tickets is a winner and three of the four Jacobsons become overnight millionaires. Without their mother’s guidance, and with their father busy playing pickleball in a Florida retirement village, the once close-knit siblings search for comfort in shiny new toys instead of each other. It’s not long before the Jacobsons start to realize that they’ll never feel rich unless they can pull their family back together.”
This book shows how money doesn’t fix everything and I loved seeing this family grow and find happiness despite their new circumstances. I also loved the Jewish representation in this one!
Title: Next Stop
Author: Benjamin Resnick
Genre: Dystopian
Publisher: Simon Audio, 9/10/24
Source: Publisher Audio
Why I Read It: Sounded good
My Rating: 4 Stars
This dystopian story takes place somewhere in the U.S., in a city where antisemitism continues after an anomaly in which a black hole consumes Israel. Jewish people are drawn to this anomaly and others that appear, and are pulled underground. The Jews are blamed and shunned, forced to live in an area in the city called the Pale. Ella and Ethan meet and form a relationship, trying to live as a family with Ella’s father and son, even during these difficult times.
“When a black hole suddenly consumes Israel and as similar anomalies spread across the globe, a conspiracy takes hold: will the holes swallow the Jews, or will they swallow the earth? Against a backdrop of antisemitic paranoia, restrictions on Jewish life, and spasms of violence, Ethan and Ella, Jewish citizens of a nameless American city, meet and fall in love. Ella, a photojournalist, documents the changes in daily life, particularly among the city’s Jewish residents. Some Jews, feeling inexplicably drawn to the unusual events, go underground to an abandoned subway system that seems to connect the entire world. Others leave for the south, forming militias and stockpiling weapons. But most, like Ethan, Ella, and her young son Michael, stay and try to make their way amid the hostility and small joys of the ever-changing landscape. But then thousands of commercial planes are sucked from the sky. Air travel stops. Borders close. Refugees pour into the capital. Eventually all Jews in the city are forced to relocate to the Pale, an area sandwiched between a park and a river. There, under the watchful eye of border guards, drones, and robotic dogs, they form a fragile new society.”
The tone of the book reminded me a bit of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, although the stories are not alike. I do not feel that I have intelligence one needs for a book like this, but the Jewish themes made it meaningful and relatable.
Title: The God of the Woods
Author: Liz Moore
Genre: Mystery, Historical
Publisher: Riverhead Books, 7/2/24
Source: Book of the Month
Why I Read It: Sounded good
My Rating: 5 Stars
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore was my July Book of the Month pick. I wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy it because it has been called literary, but I was able to follow the story and did not get confused even with the multiple characters and timelines. The God of the Woods is a tragic story about a family whose son Bear went missing in the past, and now their daughter Barbara has also disappeared. Told by multiple characters, you get to know the family as well as the people who surround them over time.
“Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found. As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.”
I loved how the timelines wove together and how the mysteries were revealed. This book does contain many difficult topics including child loss, neglect, infidelity, and domestic violence. As far as the writing and the story, this was probably my favorite book of the summer.
There you have it, the rest of my August reading! This post included 8 of the books I read in August. 6 of these books were in print and 2 were audio. Genres included contemporary, rom com, historical, thriller, dystopian, and mystery. 7 were adult reads and 1 was YA.
Have you read any of these books or do you want to? What have you been reading lately?