Books – August 2024

Book reviews for August coming in hot. I am going to be honest, there were several in here that weren’t quite what I wanted them to be. There are 4 months of reading for the year. I set a goal of 60 books and I am at 55, yay! Goodreads says I am 15 ahead of schedule. I like to set attainable goals with reading since it is just for fun. I honestly consume many of these books on audio book in the car if anyone is wondering how I have the time.

Caribbean Crush by RS Grey

What a delightful summer read! This is the quintessential vacation read with so many amazing tropical scenes. This was such a fun enemies to lovers/second chance romance/forced proximity read. I loved Casey and Phillip. Their banter was super fun, a key ingredient to RS Grey’s perfect romcom recipe. I loved Casey’s grit and they way that she handled herself to stand up and fight for what she wanted when it came to her career. And her friendship with Sienna??? Oh my goodness! Mega friendship goals! Would love a book where Sienna gets her happy ending! Tyson definitely deserves a good friend award as well.

Bottom Line: Read it!

**I received a copy of Caribbean Crush and am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.**

The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave

Releases September 17, 20204

This one hooked me in right away, as Laura Dave tends to do! And the story had my attention for sure, but I believe this is marked as a thriller. It certainly is not. It read more like a family drama. So in that sense, my expectations were high, and it fell a little flat for me. I did really enjoy Nora’s character and the way that she got on with her brother while they tried to figure out what happened to their dad. I am not sure that all the flashbacks of Cory and Liam were absolutely necessary. There was a major plot twist that I was a little annoyed by, but I wont say anything because I don’t want to give away the whole book. Overall I enjoyed this one while reading it, but looking at it as a whole, it wasn’t as strong as I wanted it to be.

Bottom Line: Read it, but lower expectations. This is not a thriller type read.

**I received a copy of The Night We Lost Him from Netgalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.**

Happily Never After by Lynn Painter

Another great book from Lynn Painter! I absolutely loved this one! An interesting premise for sure, interrupting marriages to save someone from making a mistake. Sophie and Max have some much chemistry and depth. I flew right through this one!

Bottom Line: Read it!

The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey

I am torn on how I want to review this. I typically loved Tessa Bailey books. They are always entertaining and usually good on the spice. But I am feeling the same way about this one as I did about Fangirl Down, in that the spice is more cringe than anything. Also, while the book started out strong for me….I quickly started to get annoyed by the pure lust between Burgess and Tallulah. I felt like there wasn’t much to them besides their attraction to each other, which makes me sad, because there was so much potential there from their encounter in the last book and the beginning of this one. And the nanny can be so cliche, and it started out not being that way…but then also became that. But the amount of times I cringed during the sexy talk and just the overall horniness of these characters was really racking up.

Bottom Line: I am hoping that TB goes back to her past style of writing, and not so cringe as this book in the last. Or her books may no longer be for me.

Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan

Annabel Monaghan has become another must read for me. I really enjoyed this one. Ali is dealing with the grief of the passing of her mother, and then her husband leaves her. Her dog picks out a guy for her at the dog park, gush!!! Reading through Ali coming back into herself and finding her place as a single mom and navigating the dating world was fun. This is the perfect beach read this summer that goes a little deeper than a typical romcom. There were many times I LOL’d with the Banter and Ethan’s clothes. I just really liked both characters and loved to hate Ali’s ex-husband. He was such a tool.

Bottom Line: Read it!

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

I may be in the minority here, but this book is boring me to tears. I am 33% in and I think I am calling it. The writing style is lovely, but the story is just so boring. I can’t seem to make myself care about Laura’s past with Duke. I find it weird that her husband Joe is totally fine about hearing over and over again about her ex when they are supposed to be picking cherries. I find all three daughters a little obnoxious/annoying. And it takes place during Covid lockdowns, woof.

Bottom Line: Pass

A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston

I usually love Ashley Poston, but this one wasn’t my favorite from her. Don’t get me wrong, it was a beautifully written story, with quite the interesting plot line. But for me, it was pretty boring and it was missing that magic that her other novels hold. It passed the time alright, but it isn’t one I will recommend over and over like her others.

Bottom Line: Beautifully written, but not my favorite from her. I would say if you are a fan of hers, lower your expectations.