Today’s post covers the second half of the books I read in August 2025. I shared what I read in the first half of the month here. I shared my five star reads here. 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 Break-In
Author: Katherine Faulkner
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Gallery Books / Scout Press, 8/26/25
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
The Break-In by Katherine Faulkner was a fast paced but predictable thriller about Alice, who kills Ezra when he breaks in to her house and acts erratically. After this, Alice becomes obsessed with discovering who Ezra was and why he targeted her home.
“Alice, a professional mother of one, is hosting a playdate with friends at her upscale London home when a disturbed man breaks in. With her child in the next room, Alice panics and kills him—an act later ruled to have been in self-defense. Everyone tries to encourage Alice to move on with her life—but with strange comments appearing online, a mysterious phone call telling her all is not as it seems, and her husband, nanny, and friends behaving strangely, Alice finds herself drawn to the mystery of who her intruder really was. As she digs deeper, she discovers a trail of dark secrets that spiral closer to home than she ever could have imagined.”
Katherine Faulkner is a go to thriller writer, as I have read all of her books and enjoyed them. I did find this easy to predict, which makes me feel smart, and I still enjoyed reading it.
Title: Nowhere Girl
Author: Cheryl Diamond
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Hachette Audio, 6/15/21
Source: Publisher – Print, Library – Audio
Why I Read It: Backlist
My Rating: 4 Stars
On my backlist bonus list under memoir, I had Nowhere Girl by Cheryl Diamond. The author grew up in the strange home of her father, a criminal who kept the family on the run from country to country, going from Sikhs to cosplaying Jews, with abusive older siblings and a mom who was caught between her husband and her equally controlling father. Even with her upbringing, the author was somehow able to compete in gymnastics, become a model and a writer, and tell a thriller-like story, which some reviewers question as to whether it really happened.
“To the young Cheryl Diamond, life felt like one big adventure, whether she was hurtling down the Himalayas in a rickety car or mingling with underworld fixers. Her family appeared to be an unbreakable gang of five. One day they were in Australia, the next in South Africa, the pattern repeating as they crossed continents, changed identities, and erased their pasts. What Diamond didn’t yet know was that she was born into a family of outlaws fleeing from the highest international law enforcement agencies, a family with secrets that would eventually catch up to all of them. By the time she was in her teens, Diamond had lived dozens of lives and lies, but as she grew older, love and trust turned to fear and violence, and her family—the only people she had in the world—began to unravel. She started to realize that her life itself might be a big con, and the people she loved, the most dangerous of all. With no way out and her identity burned so often that she had no proof she even existed, all that was left was a girl from nowhere.”
This was an interesting read which kept me listening, but was overall just a bit strange. I’m glad I’m finally taking it off of my shelf!
Title: Grin and Beard It
Author: Penny Reid
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca, 6/10/25, originally published 2016
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 3 Stars
I liked, but didn’t love, the first book in the series, and wanted to give it another try. Sadly, I liked this one less than the first one, despite the adorable illustrations in the special editions. This one is about Winston brother Jethro, who rescues Sienna when she gets lost. Sienna is an actress, but Jethro doesn’t recognize her, which is a comfort to her since he doesn’t only like her because she is famous.
“Sienna Diaz is everyone’s favorite ‘fat’ funny lady. The movie studio executives can’t explain it, but her films are out-grossing all the fit and trim headliners and Hollywood’s most beautiful elite. The simple truth is, everyone loves plus-sized Sienna. But she has a problem: she can’t read maps and her sense of direction is almost as bad as her comedic timing is stellar. Therefore, when Sienna’s latest starring role takes her to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, she finds herself continually lost while trying to navigate the back roads of Green Valley, Tennessee. Much to her consternation, Sienna’s most frequent savior is a ridiculously handsome, charming, and cheeky Park Ranger by the name of Jethro Winston. Sienna is accustomed to high levels of man-handsome, so it’s not Jethro’s chiseled features or his perfect physique that make her stutter. It’s his southern charm. And gentlemanly manners. And habit of looking at her too long and too often. Sienna has successfully navigated the labyrinth of Hollywood heart-throbs. But can she traverse the tenuous trails of Tennessee without losing her head? Or worse, her heart?”
Sienna and Jethro fall into insta love and when Jethro admits that he wants to wait for marriage to sleep with her, she is determined to convince him not to wait. I was uncomfortable with that, but I did like Sienna for her body positivity. I think if this was about 100 pages shorter, I may have enjoyed it more.
Title: Girl, Woman, Other
Author: Bernadine Evaristo
Genre: Literary
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing, 5/2/19
Source: Swap – Print, Library – Audio
Why I Read It: Backlist
My Rating: 4 Stars
From my backlist bonus list for literary fiction, I read Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo, opting for the audio version. Therefore, I didn’t know that the text lacks periods until flipping through the book. This multi character book of interconnected stories was somewhat hard to follow, though the individual stories were mostly intriguing. The stories focused on the British, Black, and Queer experience, and many included a good deal of trauma. The main character is Amma, and the book centers around the characters seeing the play she wrote and what lead them there.
“Bernardine Evaristo is the winner of the 2019 Booker Prize and the first black woman to receive this highest literary honor in the English language. Girl, Woman, Other is a magnificent portrayal of the intersections of identity and a moving and hopeful story of an interconnected group of Black British women that paints a vivid portrait of the state of contemporary Britain and looks back to the legacy of Britain’s colonial history in Africa and the Caribbean. The twelve central characters of this multi-voiced novel lead vastly different lives: Amma is a newly acclaimed playwright whose work often explores her Black lesbian identity; her old friend Shirley is a teacher, jaded after decades of work in London’s funding-deprived schools; Carole, one of Shirley’s former students, is a successful investment banker; Carole’s mother Bummi works as a cleaner and worries about her daughter’s lack of rootedness despite her obvious achievements. From a nonbinary social media influencer to a 93-year-old woman living on a farm in Northern England, these unforgettable characters also intersect in shared aspects of their identities, from age to race to sexuality to class.”
I did have to look at a summary to see what I missed, but I did not miss the twist towards the end which connected characters even further. The exploration of intersectionality in feminism was appreciated as well.
Title: The Library of Unruly Treasures
Author: Jeanne Birdsall
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary / Fantasy
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 8/5/25
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
This magical middle grade contemporary fantasy is about Gwen, who has awful parents, but finds a loving home for the summer with her great uncle Matthew. There she discovers the world of Landukan, magical creatures who interact with the children of the town, both at home and at the library. Even though Gwen is too old to see the creatures, it turns out that she can see them too. She becomes a leader and a helper, both for the Landukan and the kids, plus she gets to interact with a great dog named Pumpkin!
“Gwen MacKinnon’s parents are dreadful. Truly, deeply, almost impressively dreadful. So Gwen’s not upset at all when she’s foisted onto her never-before-seen Uncle Matthew for two weeks. Especially when it turns out he has a very opinionated dog named Pumpkin. Things take a turn for the weird when Gwen makes a discovery in the local library. A discovery that involves tiny creatures with wings. And no, they’re not birds. They’re called Lahdukan. But why can only Gwen and the youngest children, gathered for storytime, see them? The Lahdukan insist that Gwen is destined to help them find a new home. But how can a girl as unwanted, uncourageous, and generally unheroic as Gwen possibly come to the rescue? Pumpkin has a few ideas…”
This was a little long for middle grade, and had a bit of fantasy world building with prophecies and such, but I enjoyed the story overall! I especially liked how Uncle Matthew became a parental figure for Gwen!
Title: The Grove
Author: Brooks Whitney Phillips
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Teen Viking Books for Young Readers, 6/17/25
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
This YA historical novel sends you straight to the orange groves of Florida in 1960, where sisters Pip and Sissy are awaiting the annual visit from the circus. Everything changes after Sissy falls for sword swallower Raffy. In the months following the circus, Sissy withdraws from Pip, Pip finds solace with farm worker Silas, and family life remains difficult for everyone.
“Fifteen-year-old Pip and seventeen-year-old Sissy aren’t just sisters, they’re best friends. Every year, they wait eagerly for the traveling carnival to put its stakes down in their tiny Florida town. It’s the only time when the girls can abandon their endless chores on the family’s orange grove and give in to pure joy. And the only time Pip and Sissy can forget their many troubles . . . living on the brink of poverty, Mama’s despair, and Daddy’s perpetual anger. With the arrival of the carnival, the girls’ slow, small lives suddenly feels bigger and brighter. But this year, something is different. Once the carnival leaves, with the charming young sword-swallower with it, Sissy grows increasingly distant from Pip and is soon no more than a stranger in their house. Pip grows closer to her friend Silas as a result, but when Sissy’s shocking secret is revealed, the three unwittingly find themselves in a desperate situation that will change them all forever. In the land of the sweetest fruits, Pip must find her way through the soured hopes and bitter regrets of her family to finally break free of the grove. Set against the class and economic tensions of early 1960s America, this stark yet hopeful novel tells a compelling story about the inescapable bonds of sisterhood and the lies we tell ourselves to survive.”
This book looks at classism, racism, poverty, education, alcoholism, and more. Pip seemed younger than 15, although she did grow throughout the story. This is not a setting I’d read about previously and it made me want some oranges!
Title: It’s Not Hysteria
Author: Karen Tang
Genre: Non Fiction
Publisher: Flatiron, 5/7/24
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
It’s Not Hysteria is like an encyclopedia of information on reproductive healthcare, including everything from fibroids, endometriosis, sexual health issues, PMS, menopause, infertility, gender diversity, and cancer, explaining treatments, etc.
“Did you know that up to 90% of women experience menstrual abnormalities or pelvic issues in their lifetime? Yet these conditions are overwhelmingly misunderstood, misdiagnosed, or dismissed. The root causes for these issues, such as PCOS, endometriosis, fibroids, ovarian cysts, PMDD, or pelvic floor dysfunction, don’t receive the stream of funding for research and new treatments that other conditions do, despite affecting up to half the population. Dr. Karen Tang is on a mission to transform how we engage with our bodies and our healthcare. It’s Not Hysteria is a comprehensive guide to common conditions and potential treatment options, with practical tools such as symptom prompts and sample questions for your provider, to equip readers to take control of their gynecologic health. Reproductive healthcare, from abortion to gender-affirming care, is under siege. The onus continues to fall on patients to find and advocate for the care they need. In the face of uncertainty and misinformation, It’s Not Hysteria is destined to become a new classic that educates and empowers women and those assigned female at birth.”
I felt like I knew a lot of the information or that some was not applicable, but this is a great reference guide for when it is needed.
Title: Happy Wife
Author: Meredith Lavender & Kendall Shores
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Bantam, 6/24/25
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
Happy Wife is about Nora, whose new husband Will goes missing. The story is made up of flashbacks to their relationship, and the days following the disappearance.
“Nora Davies doesn’t exactly fit in to Winter Park, Florida, where old-guard Floridians mix with the tax-fleeing coastal elite. Twenty-eight and barely making ends meet working at a country club, Nora feels like she’s going nowhere fast. Enter Will Somerset: a prominent forty-six-year-old lawyer, father to a teenage daughter, and recently divorced. The two set Winter Park’s social scene agog when they fall in love and marry after a whirlwind Cinderella-style courtship. But Winter Park is fully upended when Will disappears the morning after a birthday bash Nora throws for him. Going back and forth between Nora and Will’s romance and the search in the wake of Will’s mysterious disappearance, Nora must answer the question from all angles: Where. Is. Will?”
This felt like a Real Housewives type setting, with lots of money and glam and parties. It was interesting and kept me reading! I was able to predict who was suspect, but not exactly what happened.
Title: The Hitchhikers
Author: Chevy Stevens
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Macmillan Audio, 10/7/25
Source: Audio Publisher
Why I Read It: Like her books
My Rating: 4 Stars
I did not realize that this doesn’t come out until October when I started listening to it! This is my 7th book that I’ve read by Chevy Stevens, who is a go to thriller author for me. This one is about married couple Alice and Tom who are on an RV trip after dealing with a loss. They meant another couple and offer to give them a ride, only to find out that they are actually Jenny and Simon, a couple on the run for killing Jenny’s mom and stepdad. And now Alice and Tom are caught in Jenny and Simon’s violence.
“It’s the summer of 1976 and Alice and Tom set out on the remote Canadian highways in their new RV, hoping to heal their broken hearts after a devastating tragedy. They’ve planned the trip perfectly, taken care of every detail. Then they meet two young hitchhikers down on their luck and offer them a ride. But Simon and Jenny aren’t what they seem. They’ve left a trail of blood, destruction, and madness behind them. Now Alice and Tom are trapped, prisoners in a deadly game, with nowhere to turn. As the tension builds, the lines blur, and the question becomes, In whose heart does evil truly lie? What secrets are Jenny and Simon hiding? And who will live another day?”
This book is violent. It reminded me a bit of the book No Exit. Twists are revealed and the audio was entertaining. I think this one will remind us all not to pick up hitchhikers!
Title: Difficult Girls
Author: Veronica Bane
Genre: YA Thriller
Publisher: Delacorte, 7/8/25
Source: PR for Author
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
Greta needs a fresh start after an “incident” at her school, so she begins working at a theme park, where a murder occurred 20 years ago. Now, her new friend Mercy disappears, and Greta finds herself looking into both Mercy’s disappearance and the murder in the past.
“After the incident last year, Greta Riley Green is looking for reinvention—a fresh start—and a job at Hyper Kid Magic Land, the local amusement park, seems like the perfect way to forge a new path . . . no matter what it takes. So when fate pulls Greta into Mercy Goodwin’s orbit, it feels like things are looking up. Beautiful and confident, Mercy dazzles audiences daily. And at the first party of the summer, she picks Greta to confide in. Mercy has a secret to share, if Greta will just meet her the next day. It’s a sign that Greta’s truly fitting in. Only, when the time comes, Mercy is a no-show—as she is everyday after that—and Greta knows something’s wrong. She can’t help thinking back to the night of the party. Did Mercy seem upset? Terrified, even? Could she be in trouble? It wouldn’t be the first time a talented young performer came to a sinister end at Hyper Kid. . . .Of course, Greta has her own issues with the past, and the more she uncovers Hyper Kid’s secrets, the more her own threaten to surface. This job was meant to be a reboot, a summer without trouble. But trouble, it seems, finds Greta, and her past—and the bloody past of Hyper Kid—is about to catch up with her.”
This has a similar feel to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, with it’s look at a past crime and its effects on those who look into it in the present. It was interesting to learn about Greta’s past as well. I enjoyed this YA Thriller!
There you have it, the rest of my August reading! This post included 10 of the books I read in August. Seven of these books were in print and three were audio. Genres included thriller, memoir, rom com, literary, contemporary, historical fiction, and non fiction. Seven were adult reads, two were YA, and one was Middle Grade.
Have you read any of these books or do you want to? What have you been reading lately?
