Best Books of August
As I say every month, I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Jessica Lahey. She has a recurring monthly date where she reviews all the books she reads that month. Book reviews are important for authors, and I want to get better at doing this.
So. I’m going to review them here and also online, but I’m going to do it a little differently. I’m only going to review the stuff I really liked. I don’t see a reason to spend my time writing about something I didn’t love; it’s just using up more of my energy. So only positive reviews.
These are the books I liked (or mostly liked) from August.
Strange Sally Diamond (Liz Nugent): I wrote on Goodreads that “this is a complicated review. It is a five-star book. The writing is incredible. I’ll admit that I didn’t know a lot about the book, and I read it because Anthony Horowitz mentioned how much he liked it at a reading for his book. But it was deeply deeply disturbing, and I felt uncomfortable and upset reading it. So beautiful writing, but go into it knowing it is a very upsetting story.” I still have regrets about reading this book despite it being great writing.
Death at the Chateau (Ian Moore): The third cozy mystery in the series. They’re funny and cute and you won’t tax your brain reading it. It was exactly what I needed in August.
The Skeleton Key (Erin Kelly): I was blown away by this story. If you love the idea of Masquerade by Kit Williams, you need to read this book about a family that unravels as the world chews through its obsession with the treasure hunt. So so so so so good.
Just Another Missing Person (Gillian McAllister): It was a good thriller, though I fulfilled the prediction I made on Goodreads: “I don’t know if I’ll remember a lot about this a few weeks from now, but it was super engaging while I was reading it.” I don’t remember most of it, but I remember enjoying it while the book was in my hands. Sometimes that’s enough.
What did you read last month?
2 comments
Ooh, these all sound good!
I finished 5 books in August, all reviewed on Goodreads & StoryGraph as well as my blog:
* “The Secret Book of Flora Lea” by Patti Callahan Henry. Two sisters get sent to the countryside at the start of WW2, and the older sister comforts the younger with tales of an imaginary world. The sister then disappears, presumed drowned. Years later, the older sister finds a children’s book that essentially tells the same story, with details only she & her sister would have known about. I mostly enjoyed this book a lot — right up until the horribly disappointing final few chapters. I imagine others might view it differently, but from my perspective, it fell back on something close to a hoary old trope, and frankly, I was hoping for much better. 🙁 3.5 stars (and I feel like I’m being generous…!)
* Two D.E. Stevenson books: “Sarah’s Cottage,” a re-read with my DES online group, and “The House on the Cliff,” the one we’re now starting to discuss together. Both typical Stevenson fare — fairly light, a little old-fashioned, but memorable characters and lovely descriptions of nature. 3 stars each, possible 3.5 for “House on the Cliff.”
* “The Enchanted April” by Elizabeth von Arnim. Now 100+ years old, and the language is a little dense, but I enjoyed it a lot. If you’ve ever dreamed of escaping life to spend a month in a castle in Portofino (servants included!), this is the book for you! 4 stars.
* “The Brutal Telling” by Louise Penny (Three Pines/Inspector Gamache mystery #5). Louise Penny is ALWAYS a great read 🙂 (and I think you will agree, Mel! 😉 ). This one left me feeling just a little dissatisfied at the end — there were a few plot points left unresolved, or at least resolved but not in a very satisfactory way. But I understand the next book in the series continues where this one left off, so… 😉 It was still a great read with the usual superb writing and characterization, and wise insights into the human condition. Extra points for all the references to Canadian culture and history! 😉 4 .5 stars.
I haven’t been into the tense books for a while, but several of these sound good…