August brought some good reads! I didn’t have a book under 3.5 stars which to me is a successful reading month. While I enjoyed these last few months of summer reading, I am really looking forward to the “ber” months and some spooky reads. Being a mood reader I wait all year for these months to pull out some highly anticipated books!
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson 4 / 5 stars
The murder of Andie Bell is a case the people of Fairview know well- a beautiful young girl who was murdered by her boyfriend Sal. Five years later, Pip has always had doubts surrounding what exactly happened to Andie that night. She decides to further examine the case for her senior class project to shed light on all the unanswered questions surrounding the case. She discovers more about Andie’s life, clues that could potentially prove Sal’s innocence, and receives threats from someone who doesn’t want her to keep digging.. This is a book I’ve had on my TBR for ages and it felt great to finally get around to reading it. So many different times I thought I had this story figured out, but I was proven wrong at every twist and turn. I rooted for Pip throughout the pages and admired her determination to solve the case, even if that meant putting herself in danger. Fast paced, thrilling, with a shocking ending I didn’t see coming. I was able to squeeze this read in right as the show premiered on Netflix and am currently watching and enjoying it now. I definitely will be continuing with this series!
The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life’s Final Moments by Hadley Vlahos 4 / 5 stars
Having had a few family members that have gone through hospice, I was so eager to hear and learn about the experiences from someone who works directly with those patients. Hadley shares twelve different stories from twelve different patients of hers that left a lasting impression. There were a few stories that made my eyes water as they were so endearing and moving. It’s easy to see the passion Hadley has for her patients. I listened to this on Audible and I’m so glad I did- it made the experience feel all the more personal to hear the stories directly from Hadley. The biggest take away for me from this book is hearing all the commonalities these patients had during their hospice experience, yet they all have very different stories and situations. These commonalities also lined up with my own family member’s experiences during hospice, which felt surreal. I highly recommend reading this or giving it a listen, especially for those who have had personal experience with hospice.
The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren 4.5 / 5 stars
Oh, how I LOVED this book. Christina Lauren is one duo that never fails to make me laugh out loud or smile giddily at a book. It took me a bit longer to finish this one because I truly didn’t want this story to end. Anna Green and Liam Weston come to an agreement: to get married to access to subsidized family housing while attending UCLA. Three years after graduation, and signing what she thought were divorce papers, Liam shows up at Anna’s door with some shocking news: Liam is an heir to Weston Foods conglomerate. The only problem is, he has to be married for 5 years in order to secure his 100 million dollar inheritance… Anna must now fake being his wife during a tropical wedding week for his sister’s wedding and be convincing enough to secure the inheritance as his wife of 5 years. I really enjoyed both of our main characters in this book. Anna’s wittiness and hot-mess lifestyle (and her pink hair) made a great contrasting character to Liam’s type-A, introverted personality. I really enjoyed the real world problems each of them faced- family dynamics, sickness, and the effects of money (in both excess and lack of). Christina Lauren took the fake dating trope, turned it into a fake marriage trope and they hit it out of the park.
Natural Selection by Elin Hilderbrand 3.5 / 5 stars
This was an enjoyable quick read from Elin Hilderbrand. We follow our main character Sophia as her and her boyfriend JP plan to take a vacation to the Galapagos Islands. However, as they are about to get on the boat, JP gets a phone call from his ex-wife with a family emergency that causes him to take off in a hurry, leaving Sophia to go on the trip by herself. During the eight day trip Sophia learns a lot about herself, what she wants in life, and if her boyfriend truly is who he says to be. This short story was exactly what I needed to finish off the summer season: a quick read in a pretty place with interesting characters. If there’s one aspect of Hilderbrand’s writing that I love, it’s all the different characters we meet in her books. A great pallet cleanser between books! I think this short story will wrap up my summer reading!
