August Wrap-Up!
Hi friends!
Alas.. summer is finally coming to an end and the best season ever (fall) is about to begin! Yes, September 1st to me means fall even if fall doesn't "officially" start until later in the month. I am already packing away my summer clothes and getting out my sweaters and fall decorations!
August overall was an okay reading month. I did have a large majority of 5-star reads, but I found myself not wanting to read as much as usual this month. I am going on month six of working from home, and I think it is starting to really hit me and make me almost.. bored of reading (dare I say). I also had a lot of personal stuff going on in August, which I think also contributed to my slower pace this past month.
Overall I read a total of 16 books (3 E-books and 13 physical books)
STATS:
Pages: 4.741
3-star reads: 5
4-start reads: 2
5-star reads: 5
Favorites: 4
Shortest book: Avengers Assembly: Orientation (176 pages)
Longest book: Midnight Sun (658 pages)
GENRE BREAKDOWN:
1 Middle-Grade
3 Poetry
3 YA
1 Chick-Lit
2 Fantasy
2 Thriller
3 Contemporary
1 YA Romance
3-STAR READS:
1. Avengers Assembly #1: Orientation by Preeti Chhibber (Middle-grade, 174 pages)
I never wrote a full review for this one, even on Goodreads so that's awkward.
I read this book at the beginning of August and it was cute to follow the next generation of Marvel characters, with Captain Marvel as the president of their Avengers School. Overall, it was an okay read to me. It didn't stand out much but was a cute story.
2. Undaunted by Rachel Dowdell (Contemporary, 363 pages)
Where to begin with this review...
This book was sent to me by a good friend from college, asking that I take the time to review it, so of course I was willing. This book is right down my alley as it deals with a child who is being abused and ends up in foster care, and I work with foster care kids, so I was excited to dive right in.
I struggled to get through this book for a few reasons. First off, it is all dialogue (literally). There is no description of things, and each chapter is a different conversation so at times, it was hard for me to follow some things that was going on. I would have liked to see some more depth and less conversation/dialogue I think.
Second, I felt like it somewhat dragged on with the events of the story. The plot was intricate, and relatable for a lot of kids in foster care, who go under the radar, but I felt as though some things were dragged out.
Thirdly, I did NOT like how the social workers were portrayed in this book. It was written as though all social workers ignore the allegations, and only go to the home once every 3 months and look the other way. As a social worker myself, this was offensive because I work in the direct job of social services, and I can assure you that there is much more to that then what is being written and it left a bad taste in my mouth.
The dialect of these individuals, who are all minorities, made them sound uneducated at times and that also frustrated me. Yes, individuals of all races use slang, but the way it was written made it seem as if these characters were not intelligent, when they were.
Overall, this was an okay read. It wasn't the best but it also wasn't the worst. I do think that there should have been more depth to it.
3. Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson (YA, 384 pages)
This was our book club pick for the month of August.
** spoiler alert ** Aw man, I really wanted to love this one but it just didn’t do it for me.
I adored Jackson’a Mondays Not Coming and quickly fell in love with her writing, which is definitely beautiful in this, but this story fell flat for me.
First off, the social workers in this book were so awful I couldn’t handle the scenes with them. As a social worker myself, I was annoyed, and I know there are some bad workers out there but come on... we aren’t all bad!
Secondly, Mary’s momma was horrible. I couldn’t stand her and she was a very unlike able. Now that I think about it, I didn’t find any of the characters likeable - not even Mary. Her dialogue was repetitive, to the point where I was saying “okay we get it.. move on”, like how many times do you need to say “Allegedly?”
This book is slow. It picks up a little in the middle but other than that, it’s very slow paced.
The ending was so disappointing! In the end Mary admits that she did in fact kill the baby. I was so mad because she had spun such a good story to the courts in attempts to be acquitted. It just made me mad. This whole time you’re building it up so we can be compassionate of Mary and BAM. It was lackluster for me and an annoying reveal.
I love Jackson’s writing, and I think she does an amazing job at showing the injustices that many black teenagers face in the court and social services world, but this story was not for me.
I adored Jackson’a Mondays Not Coming and quickly fell in love with her writing, which is definitely beautiful in this, but this story fell flat for me.
4. Midnight Sun by Stephanie Meyer (Fantasy, 658 pages)
I am most certainly not the only Twilight fan who grew up with the series when the books were released, and then the movies, gushing over how gorgeous the Cullen family was. So when I heard about a new Twilight book coming out, the middle-schooler in me was ECSTATIC. I simply could not wait to get my hands on it... until I realized that it was over 600 pages.
If you're looking for a new installment of the series, do not read this book. This is essentially the retelling of the first story, but from Edward's perspective. I was going to re-read the books prior to this release, but then realized that I would have been wasting my time because this book is literally identical to the first and the first move, except again, with the change of us following Edward and not Bella.
Guys.. I really wanted to love this book. I adored Twilight growing up (the books are better than the movies). I had such HIGH expectations for this book. My nostalgic heart was ready and disappointed. This book dragged. It took me a long time to make my way through it because there was so much nonsense that didn't need to be there and felt completely irrelevant. Was it nice to learn the Cullens' back stories? Yes.. but maybe in less detail? I mean this is a story about Edward and Bella, not Edward, Bella, and the other Cullens.
Since this book is HUGE, I was expecting it to go through more than just the first Twilight book. I mean the original is what, 400 pages? But nope.. this is just going over the first book.
Also - did anyone else feel like Edward is a dick? Or is that just me? I mean, when I watched and read this as a teen, I loved Edward and thought that his relationship with Bella was one to be desired. But re-reading this now, as a 25-year-old, man there is some issues going on with that relationship.
I would give this a solid 3.5 stars I think. I don't think it was memorable and I probably will never read it again, but will keep it to collect dust on my shelves so I can display all my Twilight books, right in between The Hunger Games and Harry Potter. It has encouraged me to re-watch the movies and eventually, re-read the next three in the series (I will not re-read Twilight, since again, this was pretty much it).
If you're a lover of vampires and nostalgia - then I would definitely recommend picking this one up.
5. The Wife by Shalini Boland (Thriller, E-book)
I swear, there has got to be so many thrillers with the word wife in the title. That seems to be a popular trope among mystery and thriller writers.
This book was... predictable. We start off with our main character, Zoe's, wedding day to her husband Toby when she faints and loses her memory of what happened leading up to her "accident." We jump between then and now (10 years later) as Zoe struggles to remember her special day and desperately continues to search for her missing sister Dina. However, things are not always what they seem.
I was intrigued by this book (it's only 292 pages) and quickly entranced. As the story went on though, the twists became pretty predictable and the ending was not that surprising. I expected something of that sort to have occurred so the element of surprise was not there. The plot was still pretty effed up but I wish it had been less predictable.
4-STAR READS:
1. Save Steve by Jenni Hendricks & Ted Caplan (YA, E-book)
This book was SO fun and full of antics, making me love every second of it!
First off, I loved how Steve loved Cardi B and she was in so many scenes in this book because I love her and she's my Queen.
Secondly, I loved reading about the pranks that Steve would make Cam do to raise money and how Cam did it, no matter how embarrassing, and from that, we see Steve and Cam's friendship grow and the two really began to open up to one another. There were so many scenes of banter between Cam and Steve that had me laughing to myself like a lunatic. Steve had such a crazy, free-spirit whereas Cam was more reserved and politically correct. Despite their differences, I felt like Steve and Cam really learned a lot from one another.
It was a nice change to have a male character narrate the story as opposed to the typical female. Steve was really unlikable at first and kind of an ass, but I felt like he was really opening up to Cam and redeeming himself towards the end of the book. Kaia felt kind of like a useless character to me, and she didn't really add much to the story besides being a big plot point.
The writing is so laid-back and easy to follow. It flows and it feels natural. There is sarcasm in the writing that gives the story a lot of depth and makes the experience that much more enjoyable. The writing made you want to not put the book down and know what would happen next. There were a lot of themes present in this book as well, which I always enjoy when a book has multi-layers and is able to pull it off well.
2. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevdeo (Poetry, 357 pages)
This book really shows how important and powerful words can be in expressing ourselves and our emotions.
This book deals with racism and sexism in a way that is executed perfectly through Acevedo’s poetry. I absolutely loved this story and how determined Xiomara was. It was frustrating about how her mother acted for the majority of the book, but I recognize that there are cultural and religious aspects that I do not understand, that were present in this story.
An excellent read!
5-STAR READS:
1. Troubles In Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand (Chick-Lit, E-book)
Elin Hilderbrand does it AGAIN. I literally adore all of her books. Her writing is so good, her stories are so sweet, and her characters are seriously the most relatable and the best.
Let me start off by saying that I LOVED at the end how Elin connected one of her Winter Street series characters to a main character in this trilogy.
This is the third and final installment in the Paradise trilogy.
These characters are so compelling and relatable, that you can't help but love them. The Steele family will always be close to my heart, and I am sad to see that their story has ended but happy that they all are happy. I would love to see some sort of spin-off with these characters in the future because I am curious of what is to come for our beloved characters.
The story itself picks up right where the second installment left off. The second book was not my favorite, but this one quickly warmed it's way into my heart and really impressed me as a finale. It was action-packed, while also having Elin's enchanting scenary, impressive romance, and a little bit of mystery. It was nice to see how the mystery itself was wrapped up. Usually Elin focuses heavily on the romance, so it was nice to see her weave that into a bit of a mystery.
This book is simply magical and transports you to a summery setting. I found myself missing the beach a lot while reading this and making a mental note to myself that not only do I need to check out Nantucket, but St. John as well. Elin's writing is so descriptive that I could picture many different places of the setting that she has woven together based on reality and fiction.
Overall, this was an impressive wrap up and really brought closure to the story line and it's characters. I don't think that it could have been written any other way.
2. The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes by Elissa R. Sloan (Contemporary, 419 pages) *2020 FAVORITE*
HOLY. SHIT.
This book was GOOD.
When I heard about The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes on Book of the Month (BOTM), it was advertised towards fans of Daisy Jones and the Six and targeted around the early 2000's. The first line on the back of the book description was:
"She is "Sassy Gloss", the fourth member of the hottest pop group America has ever seen. Hotter than Britney dancing with a snake, hotter than Christina getting dirrty"
and that got me hooked.
The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes follows the story of early 2000's all-girl band (very similar to the Spice Girls), called Gloss. There are four members of this group: Rose, Merry (Meredith), Yumi, and Cassidy. All four girls literally have names that remind of of the Spice Girls names (Cherry, Tasty, Sassy, and Rosy). The book starts off with the suicide of former Gloss member Cassidy in 2017 and then alternates between Cassidy's POV in the 2000's and then present day POV of the other members.
I was engrossed in this story from the very first page. I do love me some early 2000's nostalgia, but I also enjoyed the author's writings of the Hollywood scene, and all the secrets and lies that truly build up our celebrity network.
This book deals with a lot of intense topics, and is handled in a delicate yet realistic of the times way. There are trigger warnings for abuse, sexual abuse, substance use, depression, and suicide.
The girls of Gloss had a pretty bad break up (don't all girl bands?) and they all lost touch, so when the news of Cassidy's suicide hit, they were all surprised and taken back stating; "no, not Cassidy!" Little did they know of the pain and secrets that Cassidy was hiding since her Gloss days.
As we go through the story, we are given a first-hand look into Cassidy's rise to Stardom. We see her change in many different ways, not always good, to fit Hollywood's image, and we see her success climb. Every single character in this book was addicting, even the less than likable ones.
Just like when I read Daisy Jones and the Six, I had to physically remind myself several times that Gloss is not a real band. That is how realistic the writing and description of the events and scenes were. Hollywood is dirty now, and was dirty back then. Women were sexualized, still are, and we see how Cassidy tries to learn how to handle that, despite wanting to be more than just a pretty face. This book also raises conversation around the #MeToo movement, and even though it has gained popularity now, it was still occurring even back in the early 2000's. (I sometimes think we forget that because we are so fixated on the nostalgia of things, we bat an eye at the negative).
3. Today, Tonight, Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon (YA Romance, 362 pages) *2020 FAVORITE*
Wow. This book was absolutely adorable and I am so sad it’s over!
This follows our two high school seniors, Neil and Rowan, who have been competing against each other since freshmen year to be the best of their class. This book takes place over a 24-hour period on the last day/night of their senior year and it was everything.
This was so much more than a cheesy romance. It had a lot of depth to it and dealt with Anti-Semitism in a really raw way that taught me a lot and also made me rethink some of the comments I’ve made in the past, trying to be funny, but really being offensive. I absolutely love learning about other religions in books, and I felt like I learned a lot about the Jewish faith in this story.
I loved both characters ambitions and their flaws and how they embraced them and worked through them. I loved how they challenged one another and really began to open up to one another, despite knowing of one another for four years.
The romance was absolutely adorable and I was gushing the entire time. I would love to see a sequel and see what happens to these adorable and highly lovable characters in the future.
4. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (Fantasy, 485 pages)
I am VERY late to the Cassandra Clare train but I have finally boarded.
I now understand why so many people love her writing. She is an amazing story-teller with vivid descriptions and excellent world building. With all the creatures in this book, she does a great job explaining each and their relation to others.
I simply loved this story. I’m not a fantasy fan, but this one really impressed me. I loved learning about Clary and piecing together the puzzles of her past. Her story is intricate. I also loved the plot twists that took place throughout and all of the action that kept me on the edge of my seat, waiting for more.
Jace, with his sarcasm, made this book humorous. I loved his character. I liked Simon too but felt like, Clary, he was pretty whiny throughout. At first, I really didn’t like Clary because of her “I’m better than you” attitude, but she grew on me as the story progressed and she learned more about herself, her past, her mother, and the Shadowhunters world.
I cannot wait to dive into the next installment!
5. What Kind of Girl by Alyssa B. Sheinmel (Contemporary, 360 pages) *2020 FAVORITE*
This book was fantastic!
Trigger warnings for domestic abuse, eating disorders, mental health, and self-harming.
This book made me sad, angry, and empowered all in one. It made me sad and angry because the author did an exceptional job at putting this story together and showing how realistic these events are for many young women, who are afraid to come forward because of fear of what will happen. I was also empowered by these characters as they stood up for themselves and what they believed in, which is always easier said than done.
The first half of the book was wild. It had me shook. The second part follows another character and then the third part follows our two main characters. This book takes place over a week span and so much happens, and so much growth. We see Junie and Maya really grow together through their own issues, which are parallel. They both harm themselves, but in different ways.
This book was absolutely stunning and heart breaking and I loved every single page.
If you or someone you love is harming themselves or in a violent relationship, please don’t be afraid to ask for help. I am here for you. I support you. I love you.
“That’s good love. The kind of love that’s there even when you’re a mess, even when you’re so disappointed in yourself that you can’t imagine you’re worth loving.”
6. The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta (Poetry, 416 pages)
| This book was FANTASTIC and more people need to talk about it. Written in verse, Dean Atta’s poetry is powerful in more ways than one. This follows our main character who is a mixed-race Gay male in London who faces a lot of racism and sexism as he tries to discover who he is. We follow his journey from the age of 5 to the college years where he really begins to find himself and embraces the Drag society, where he doesn’t have to pretend to be someone he isn’t or fit in anyone else’s standards. This book is amazing, simple as that 7. The Night Swim by Megan Goldin (Thriller, 341 pages)
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