It’s time for my first half of August 2025 book review post! I am sharing what I read in August so far, although I am skipping my 5 star reads to share later in the month. This doesn’t leave many to share today, so this will be a shorter wrap up than usual! 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: The Exiles
Author: Christina Baker Kline
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: HarperAudio, 8/25/20
Source: Publisher – print, Library – audio
Why I Read It: Backlist
My Rating: 4 Stars
From my 25 in ’25 list, I listened to The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline. Book 24 of 25! This was an interesting historical story of women considered convicts who sails from the UK to Australia in the 1840s. Evangeline, who is pregnant, meets Hazel, a midwife, on the ship. Later, their stories intersect with Mathinna, an indigenous girl who is taken by the governor of the island where the ship lands.
“Seduced by her employer’s son, Evangeline, a naïve young governess in early nineteenth-century London, is discharged when her pregnancy is discovered and sent to the notorious Newgate Prison. After months in the fetid, overcrowded jail, she learns she is sentenced to ‘the land beyond the seas,’ Van Diemen’s Land, a penal colony in Australia. Though uncertain of what awaits, Evangeline knows one thing: the child she carries will be born on the months-long voyage to this distant land. During the journey on a repurposed slave ship, the Medea, Evangeline strikes up a friendship with Hazel, a girl little older than her former pupils who was sentenced to seven years transport for stealing a silver spoon. Canny where Evangeline is guileless, Hazel—a skilled midwife and herbalist—is soon offering home remedies to both prisoners and sailors in return for a variety of favors. Though Australia has been home to Aboriginal people for more than 50,000 years, the British government in the 1840s considers its fledgling colony uninhabited and unsettled, and views the natives as an unpleasant nuisance. By the time the Medea arrives, many of them have been forcibly relocated, their land seized by white colonists. One of these relocated people is Mathinna, the orphaned daughter of the Chief of the Lowreenne tribe, who has been adopted by the new governor of Van Diemen’s Land.”
Both interesting and frustrating, this audio kept me listening and curious throughout.
Title: Radical Sisters
Author: Judith L. Pearson
Genre: Non Fiction
Publisher: Mayo Clinic Press, 9/16/25
Source: Author
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
Radical Sisters profiles Shirley Temple Black, Rose Kushner, and Evelyn Lauder as they raised awareness of breast cancer. These three women each contributed to the way breast cancer is treated today, as surgeons used to always act in the same way towards any woman and now they have a choice in how their cancer is treated.
“There was a time when women’s health was marginalized. There was a time when breast cancer wasn’t discussed. There was a time when October wasn’t pink. But three women—Shirley Temple Black, Rose Kushner, and Evelyn Lauder—refused to be silenced. Their courage ignited a movement that forever changed the way society addresses breast cancer. When these ‘radical sisters’ were diagnosed, they faced a medical world rife with myths, outdated protocols, and a shocking lack of research. Breast cancer awareness was non-existent, and treatment options were limited. Yet, Shirley, Rose, and Evelyn—empowered by their own diagnoses—became trailblazing advocates for breast cancer research, early detection, and women’s health. Their efforts broke open the conversation and set the stage for a new era of breast cancer advocacy.”
This was a very interesting book and I appreciated learning how breast cancer became more known, through the pink ribbon campaign and breast cancer awareness month being established. It was interesting to learn more about these three women, as well.
Title: Paws and Prejudice
Author: Alanna Martin
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Penguin Audio, 6/9/21
Source: Publisher – Print, Library – Audio
Why I Read It: Backlist
My Rating: 4 Stars
Paws and Prejudice was my 25th book on my 25 in ’25 list! I listened to it and it surprised me in a few ways – I didn’t realize this was the 2nd in the series, I was surprised it had Jewish representation (although I knew the author was Jewish, I didn’t know the characters would be), and the cute dog inspired cover didn’t lead me to expect such spicy scenes! This is about Kelsey, who has 3 huskies, and Ian, who is opening a brewery. Kelsey’s father asks her to help Ian with the brewery website, and Ian is scared of her dogs. They begin spending time together and their relationship interferes with a town wide feud between two families.
“Glaciers have nothing on Kelsey Porter when she decides to freeze someone out. After getting burned once, she’s not about to let it happen again. And right now all that icy contempt is focused on one annoyingly attractive and entitled interloper: Ian Roth. Not only is he looking to take advantage of her quaint, coastal community, tainting the small-town charm of Helen, Alaska, but he has committed the one crime she can never forgive–he doesn’t like her dogs. Unlike what Kelsey believes, Ian loves Helen’s charms as much as she does. That’s partly why he’s determined to open a brewery there, and he’s not about to let anything or anyone stop his dream from coming true. But he didn’t count on the beautiful, prickly woman getting under his skin. Or having to be within hand-biting proximity of her three huge huskies. When Kelsey’s family conscripts her into helping Ian get his brewery off the ground, she finds herself caught between a rock and a hard . . . muscular . . . man who has a fear of dogs. But the longer they work together, the more she can feel herself begin to thaw. Now she’ll have to choose: let sleeping dogs lie to protect her heart, or mush head-on toward love.”
I liked this book and I have another one in the series to read still. Next time I’ll be more prepared for spice! The Alaska setting and the dogs are a bonus fun part of this book.
Title: The Rebel Girls of Rome
Author: Jordyn Taylor
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Publisher: Harper Collins, 7/8/25
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
I sometimes receive middle grade books that aren’t always requested by me, so I set them aside. This one was with those books, but it looked interesting, and it turns out it wasn’t middle grade, it is actually YA. It is about Lilah, who goes with her grandfather to Rome to uncover the story of his sister, Bruna, after Tommaso connects a locket found in his grandmother’s things to Lilah and her family.
“Now: Grieving the loss of her mother, college student Lilah is hoping to reconnect with a grandfather who refuses to talk about his past. Then she receives a mysterious letter from a fellow student, Tommaso, claiming he’s found a lost family heirloom, and her world is upended. Soon Lilah finds herself in Rome, trying to unlock her grandfather’s history as a Holocaust survivor once and for all. But as she and Tommaso get closer to the truth—and their relationship begins to deepen into something sweeter—Lilah realizes that some secrets may be too painful to unbury…
Then: It’s 1943, and nineteen-year-old Bruna and her family are doing their best to survive in Rome’s Jewish quarter under Nazi occupation. Until the dreaded knock comes early one morning, and Bruna is irrevocably separated from the rest of her family. Overcome with guilt at escaping her family’s fate in the camps, she joins the underground rebellion. When her missions bring her back to her childhood crush, Elsa, Bruna must decide how much she’s willing to risk—when fully embracing herself is her greatest act of resistance.”
This was a very interesting story and it reminded me a bit of Kristin Harmel for a younger reader. I didn’t necessarily think the book needed the love story and it included, as the historical story and present connection was enough to keep me entertained. I liked that this book included both a Jewish story and a Queer story, as both groups have been persecuted, and I liked that both Lilah and Tommaso were able to uncover their family stories.
This post includes 4 of the books I read this month. Two were print books and two were on audio. Three of these were adult books and 1 was YA. Genres included historical, non fiction, and rom com.
Have you read any of these books or do you want to? What have you been reading lately?
