August was a weird reading month for me. I’m back to driving the kids to and from school, which means my audiobook usage has ticked WAY back up. But it also means I’m not getting as many pages read, which means less bonus wheel spins. In fact, I only spun the wheel ONCE in August. SORRY!
Anway, buckle up, here’s the backlist bonus reads for August.
Statistics
Age Category: 1 MG, 1 YA, 4 A
Special thanks for the bookwheel for forcing me back into middle grade! It was fun.
Genres: 1 Historical Fiction, 1 Contemporary, 3 Mystery/Thriller, 1 Romance
Not a bad mix, if I do say so myself. You may notice a lack of fantasy (something I normally read) here. Just a reminder, this is only the BONUS reads. I had 4 books on my official TBR. Those included a fantasy read.
Indie Authors: 6 N
Really, that’s a big reason these are bonus reads.
Total Pages Read: 2083
Average Pages per Book: 347
Not bad. As a reminder (to you AND to myself) I consider anything over 300 to be a decent average.
Ratings: 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5
That’s a good group of books if I do say so myself.
Notes and Details
Every Note Played
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36082326-every-note-played
This was an audiobook I borrowed from the library.
This is essentially a book about ALS and the toll it takes on patients and caretakers.
The Verdict: I went 3 stars for this one. It does a good job of raising awareness of ALS and the research was well done. If you’re curious about the disease, you can’t go wrong with this story.
The Lies We Told
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37905907-the-lies-we-told
This was an audiobook I borrowed from the library.
This is a psychological thriller in the same vein as Girl on the Train.
The Verdict: 4 Stars for this one. If you like psychological thrillers, this is a good one. I didn’t have it all figured out and the twists were satisfying.
What If It’s Us
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36341204-what-if-it-s-us
This was an audiobook I borrowed from the library (clearly, I do that a lot).
You probably already know this about me, but I’ll point it out anyway. I don’t particularly like romance books. I do generally like YA romance though. There’s something wholesome and amazing involved with reading about first love and happy-for-now endings. This one was ALL that AND LGBTQ. I love that this is bringing a gay love story to teenagers.
The Verdict: 5 Stars. This is one that you’ll love if you like YA Romance, if you like YA Contemporary, or if you like LGBTQ stories. Either way, there’s a lot going right in this one.
Someone Knows
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41439562-someone-knows
This was another audiobook I borrowed from the library.
There are so many mystery/thriller books on my TBR and I do like Scottoline’s work. I haven’t, however, read a lot of Scottoline that dip into the YA voice (even for chapters). This one wasn’t my favorite. I think that YA voice felt unnatural and forced, which made those chapters not really work for me.
The Verdict: 3 Stars. The story itself isn’t bad but the voice needed tightening.
The Turn of the Key
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42080142-the-turn-of-the-key
This was another audiobook borrowed from my library (have I mentioned lately how much I love my library?)
I’m a fan of Ruth Ware. Her books often involve twists I didn’t see coming and narrators who feel REALISTIC in that they’re neither 100% reliable or 100% unreliable. They’re just normal people who often make mistakes. I LOVE that.
Anyway this story combined a lot of great haunted house elements with a smart home and a mystery. I ADORED it. I think it will appeal to a lot of readers from mystery/thrillers fans to haunted house fans to unreliable narrator fans. I loved it!
Actually, if you’re an audiobook listener, I recommend it that way. Imogen Church does a FANTASTIC job of bringing the anticipation of the story to life with her voice.
The Verdict: 5 Stars. Recommended if you like that anticipation of reading a slow burn mystery/thriller or a haunted house style story.
A Little Princess
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3008.A_Little_Princess
This was the one and only bonuswheel spin in August. The wheel landed on Historical Fiction, Middle Grade (age categories were my newest edition in August). I only had 2 of those on my TBR so I let a random number generator pick which one I would go with.
I actually OWN this book. I have owned this cute little collector’s copy since 1990 (according to the dedication at the front). Yet I hadn’t read it. Not sure why.
The messages and themes of this one hold up. But be ready to wade through a cloying perfect main character and a few troublesome adults who never get what’s coming to them to get to those messages.
The Verdict: 3 stars. While the themes are great some of the smaller details aren’t the best.
Alright, that’s my bonus reads for August. How’d I do?
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