It’s time for my first half of August 2026 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. 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 Amateur
Author: Chris Bohjalian
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publisher: Doubleday, 8/4/26
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 3 Stars
I have been reading Chris Bohjalian’s books for a while and I like his thrillers the best. This was more of a literary style that reminded me of John Irving. It is written as a memoir by Mira 50 years after she hit a golf ball which struck and killed Kenny (oh my god, they killed Kenny!). It was an accident, but the case goes to trial to determine fault.
“1978: It is the first Thursday in August and temperatures are flirting with ninety when Mira Winston, eighteen years old, drives a golf ball from her tee toward the practice net near the clubhouse and caddy shack. The golf ball, weighing 1.6 ounces, tears through the net, traveling 150 miles per hour, and slams, with sickening force, into the temple of a high school junior named Kenny Foster, rupturing an artery and unleashing a torrent of blood. Kenny brings his hand to the side of his head, then topples onto his side. He’s dead before the ambulance even arrives. In the wake of this terrible accident—and everyone, at first, agrees it was an accident—Mira looks for comfort in all the wrong places: In her lover, Theo Catton, a married man three decades her senior. In her mother, a well-kept woman with secrets of her own. In the dead caddy’s little sisters, girls bewildered by grief. But when the investigators look more closely at the torn net, when a detective recalls Mira’s history of recklessness, and when Kenny’s father spies Mira with her married lover, the affluent and mannered community turns on this once-promising young woman.”
I didn’t find this book to be quite as “propulsive” as many reviews have claimed, although some of the sections about the trial were a bit more interesting. I found some of the descriptions crass and cringed at Mira’s tendency to date older men, even as a teenager. It also included a graphic depiction of a suicide attempt, which was hard to read. I thought it was interesting that when Mira referred to books she has written, they were actually Bohalian’s books! This book has high ratings from many who loved it.
Title: Casting April
Author: Wendy Lu
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Knopf Books For Young Readers, 6/16/26
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
Casting April by Wendy Lu is about April, who wants to star in her school play but is assigned a stage crew role, which she then learns is due to the fact that she has a trach tube. April decides she will show everyone that she is in fact able to star in the play and can be better than her friend who was assigned the role.
“Sixth grader April Xue lives and breathes all things Broadway. When she builds up the courage to audition for the lead role in the school play, she thinks she’s knocked it out of the park — until she finds out that she’s been assigned to the stage crew. April is devastated—it seems like the curtain is closing on her dream of being an actor. A day later, April overhears that the theater director, Ms. Rooney, decided not to cast her because she’s disabled. With the help of her best friend, a sneaky student reporter, and her spirited castmates, April learns to confront her own insecurities as a performer and proves to everyone (including Ms. Rooney) that she deserves a fair shot — all in time for opening night.”
I enjoyed this look at a young girl with a disability who faces discrimination because of it and because she is Chinese. There are friendships and bullies, compromises and other middle school issues included in this book. I liked that April learned how to stand up for herself while still being a team player and not harming others with her choices.
Title: I Choose Me
Author: Jennie Garth
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Park Row, 4/14/26
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 3.5 Stars, rounded up to 4 Stars
If you watched 90210, you will probably remember when Kelly Taylor chose herself over making a choice between Dylan and Brandon. I know I do! Jennie Garth uses this line to lean into choosing herself. This is a memoir that leans more towards self-help based on her experiences with anxiety, depression, body image issues, and more.
“Jennie Garth is best known for playing the iconic role of Kelly Taylor in the hit television series ‘Beverly Hills, 90210.’ Now in her 50s, she invites readers into the real story of growing up on screen, facing Hollywood’s impossible beauty standards, and losing—and finding—herself through heartbreak, loss, and the challenge of motherhood. She shares the raw truths of the moments that broke her open and shows the resilience it takes to walk through grief and begin again. Jennie writes with warmth and candor about learning to quiet the voice that says ‘not enough,’ rediscovering her strength after loss, and daring to take up space, speak her truth, and want more. She opens up about the unglamorous, deeply human moments and finally letting go of the need for perfection and other people’s approval.”
I of course enjoyed the parts of this book that refer to her time on 90210. I appreciated that there are sections about motherhood and aging. There are also included exercises so the reader can self assess and work on themselves. I was expecting more of a memoir and less of a self-help book, which is why I overall didn’t love this one.
Title: That Weekend
Author: Kara Thomas
Genre: YA Thriller
Publisher: Listening Library, 6/29/21
Source: Publisher – Print, Library – Audio
Why I Read It: Backlist
My Rating: 3 Stars
From my 26 in ’26 list, I listened to That Weekend by Kara Thomas. This YA Thriller is about Claire and her best friends Kat and Jesse. They go away for the weekend and Claire is found unconscious and with no memory of what happened or why Kat and Jesse are now missing.
“It was supposed to be the perfect prom weekend getaway. But it’s clear something terrible happened when Claire wakes up alone and bloodied on a hiking trail with no memory of the past forty-eight hours. Now everyone wants answers–most of all, Claire. She remembers Friday night, but after that . . . nothing. And now Kat and Jesse–her best friends–are missing. What happened on the mountain? And where are Kat and Jesse? Claire knows the answers are buried somewhere in her memory. But as she’s learning, everyone has secrets–even her best friends. And she’s pretty sure she’s not going to like what she remembers.”
It sounds like a good setup, but…The first half of the book are about Claire not remembering and she makes basically no progress towards figuring out what happened. Then it switches to Kat’s viewpoint from the past. The actual story seemed to come from out of nowhere to me, but maybe I missed something in the audio. What I didn’t miss was the twist that involved Jesse, which made me say “what did I just read?!” when I finished the book.
Title: Ancient History Between Us
Author: Kaitlyn Hill
Genre: YA Rom Com
Publisher: Delacorte Romance, 6/23/26
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
Ancient History Between Us by Kaitlyn Hill is a second chance romance is about Cammie and West who grew up together but when things went towards attraction when they were 16, they stopped talking. Now they are 19 and back together on their respective parents’ archaeological dig site in Italy. Cammie is also hoping to discover which of her mother’s past boyfriends is actually her father.
“Childhood best friends Cammie Lovett and West Jacobs haven’t spoken since their first kiss ended in disaster. Now, after getting rejected from her dream field school, Cammie is joining her renowned archaeologist mom in Italy for the summer—while secretly planning to find her biological father. Meanwhile, West is avoiding a major life decision by—what else?—crashing his dad’s work trip abroad. When the two find themselves at the same Italian villa, their plan to avoid each other crumbles like a Roman ruin. Armed with her mom’s old journal, Cammie is determined to stay focused—until West discovers her mission and insists on tagging along. As their second-chance adventure takes them down the Southern Italian coast and through the messy details of their past, Cammie and West begin to realize that maybe—just maybe—their own history isn’t quite as ancient as they thought.”
This setting is fun and I liked how Cammie and West became friends again while looking for Cammie’s father. While I was reading, I suddenly realized that this book is a nod to Mamma Mia! I don’t love second chance romance in general and being that Cammie and West are still quite young when they reunite, I’m not sure I believe in their love story, but this was a fun read anyway!
Title: Star-Crossed Summer
Author: Devon Daniels
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Berkley, 7/7/26
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
Star-Crossed Summer by Devon Daniels is about Scarlett. Ten years ago, she started in a movie with Ryder. They fell in love in real life and things ended badly. Now, they return to the SC town where they filmed the movie and he wants to fix things with her.
“It’s been ten years since the fateful summer Scarlett Everhart filmed The Lost Letter, the tearjerking romantic drama that catapulted her to worldwide fame and set her on a collision course with Ryder Perry, the movie’s intense, irresistible leading man. The pair’s fiery onscreen chemistry captured audiences’ hearts—while their whirlwind affair offscreen shattered Scarlett’s into a million pieces. Determined to move on, she made a vow: to focus on her career, leave Ryder in her past, and never, ever look back. A decade later, Scarlett’s kept that promise. She’s become one of Hollywood’s most bankable leading ladies and is on the cusp of the biggest role of her career. And if she’s been unlucky in love, at least she’s managed to put her ill-fated relationship with her former costar—and the public’s obsession with the pair’s star-crossed romance—behind her. That is, until a sudden twist of fate thrusts her and Ryder back together in the seaside South Carolina town where they first fell in love, then fell dramatically apart. As old sparks reignite, Scarlett is swept back into the love story that once defined her life, forcing her to reckon with the choice that tore them apart…and the devastating secret she’s been keeping since their breakup all those years ago.”
I should have loved this celebrity romance and I did, besides for a few things. Scarlett’s secret reason for leaving Ryder in the past was easy for me to guess. And this was surprisingly not spicy, maybe causing me to feel less chemistry between the characters. I liked the setting and was reminded of The Notebook – which it turns out was the author’s inspiration for the story. I liked the now and then timelines, but the pace seemed to slow towards the end.
Title: Lies Like Wildfire
Author: Jennifer Lynn Alvarez
Genre: YA Thriller
Publisher: Listening Library, 9/7/21
Source: Publisher – Print, Library – Audio
Why I Read It: Backlist
My Rating: 4 Stars
From my 26 in ’26 list, I listened to Lies Like Wildfire by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez. This is about Hannah and her friend group who accidentally start a fire in CA. Because even accidentally starting a fire is illegal, they risk losing everything, so they decide to keep their role a secret.
“In Gap Mountain, California, everyone knows about fire season. And no one is more vigilant than 18-year-old Hannah Warner, the sheriff’s daughter and aspiring FBI agent. That is until this summer. When Hannah and her best friends accidentally spark an enormous and deadly wildfire, their instinct is to lie to the police and the fire investigators. But as the blaze roars through their rural town and towards Yosemite National Park, Hannah’s friends begin to crack and she finds herself going to extreme lengths to protect their secret. Because sometimes good people do bad things. And if there’s one thing people hate, it’s liars.”
These kids were actually not good kids, doing all kinds of things that they should have been punished for, up to and beyond starting the fire! At the beginning of the book, we find out that one of the friends, Violet, is missing. Hannah doesn’t remember what happened the night Violet disappears, so part of the book is trying to find out what happened to her. This was a fast paced story, especially the parts about the group fleeing the fire.
This post includes seven of the books I read this month. Five were print books and two were audio. Three were adult books and three were YA, and one was Middle Grade. Genres included literary, contemporary, thriller, memoir, and rom com.
Have you read any of these books or do you want to? What have you been reading lately?
