Read:
MIDNIGHT SUN by Jo Nesbø
EMMA IN THE NIGHT by Wendy Walker
CHEW, VOL.1: TASTER’S CHOICE by John Layman
THE SCARLET LETTER by Nathaniel Hawthorne
BEST DAY EVER by Kaira Rouda
YOU’LL NEVER KNOW, DEAR by Hallie Ephron
GIRL IN SNOW by Danya Kukafka
FIERCE KINGDOM by Gin Phillips
August was a busy month for me with a lot of wedding shenanigans taking away precious reading time. I’m quite happy that I was able to squeeze in seven books and one graphic novel this month. I thank my flights to and from New Orleans for the ability to get any reading done over my bachelorette weekend. I hate that my reading will take a hit in September, but you’re only going to have one picture perfect wedding and honeymoon! I’ll of course be posting on my Instagram account, but things on the blog might slow down dramatically during the second half of the month. Enough about what’s coming, back to August!
This month I only picked up one graphic novel, which was a re-read for me. I absolutely love the entire CHEW series! A few years ago I had gotten up to volume 5 before I got so wrapped up in life that I put the books down for too long (in my opinion) to be able to pick them up and not do a re-read. If you love cop stories, crime fiction, and funky plot lines, this is definitely a must read for you!
I hit my NetGalley stack hard this month, reading three books from my pile. I had requested BEST DAY EVER a few months ago based off of the unique use of a male narrator in a thriller (and let’s be honest here, I was cover judging hardcore!). I struggled a bit with this book in the beginning, but once I got in the author’s mindset I loved every second! When I saw EMMA IN THE NIGHT become available as a read now, I didn’t hesitate to snatch it up. I adored this book! I was captivated from the start with the dual narrators and just couldn’t put it down until I found out the truth about what happened to Cass and Emma. This book is currently available as a September Book of the Month selection…do yourself a favor and go pick it up! My last NetGalley read was GIRL IN SNOW. I had seen this book floating around a lot on Instagram with a lot of solid reviews. Unfortunately this one didn’t really work for me. It was advertised as a thriller and was much more of a character study. The overall Young Adult feel from two of the three narrators also didn’t work for my taste.
MIDNIGHT SUN brought me back to Jo Nesbø and solidified by growing love for Nordic Noir. I love Nesbø’s writing style and cannot wait to dig in to the Harry Hole series next! I’m ultimately going to have to start in the middle with THE SNOWMAN because I can’t go see the movie without reading the book first, but then I plan to start from the beginning and work my way through in order. Any Nordic Noir suggestions?? I’m always up for adding more to my TBR! FIERCE KINGDOM was another fantastic read for me this month. I was lucky enough to win a giveaway on Instagram for a free three month membership to Book of the Month and I was not disappointed! For my September box I may have gone a bit overboard and gotten three titles…oops!
Unfortunately I had two other picks this month that hit middle of the road for me. THE SCARLET LETTER was my August pick for my classics challenge. I struggled with this one and its writing style and overall story line. I can see why the book is a classic for the time it was published in, but it won’t be making my re-read pile any time soon. YOU’LL NEVER KNOW, DEAR was a book I won from LibraryThings. I was drawn to it from its unique plot surrounding a missing girl and a doll that could bring the truth. I was hoping to be a bit more spooked by some of the events. Maybe I let the cover art get the best of me and that may have gotten me thinking it would be a creepier read than it was.
Overall I was really pleased with the titles I read this month, even those that hit middle of the road for me. September has me hitting my NetGalley pile once again…someone please tell the secret to not requesting everything!! Happy reading!
What Jess Reads 