August reading started with the conclusion of one of the most infuriating books I’ve read in a long time. Thankfully the remaining books I chose for the month were all pretty enjoyable, even though I did miss a few nights of reading here and there.
Monthly summary stats
Whoops, yet again it looks like I didn’t choose the correct format (and spoiler: I think I’ve done the same thing for the book I’m reading in September too, whoops). They were all Kindle books again.
Book Reviews
Yesteryear: Caro Claire Burke
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Link: amazon.com
Format: Kindle
It’s been a long, long time since I’ve been so angry at a book.
The main character, Natalie, is a social media influencer and trad-wife, i.e. “traditional wife”. She stays at home with the kids, cooks, cleans, all that jazz. Except that behind the scenes she actually has people doing all of that for her.
Here’s what pissed me off. I am all for women being trad wives if that’s what they want. You want to stay at home with the kids, and have dinner waiting on the table for your husband when he gets home from work? Have at it. You do you. If you want to go and have a career and share the load with your husband instead? Have at it. Or if you have a husband who wants to be at home with the kids while you work? You guessed it – have at it.
I fully support women having choices.
What I don’t support is people looking down on others and judging them for their choices. No one is better than anyone else. But that’s exactly what this main character was doing. She’s truly horrid.
A friend asked why I didn’t DNF the book if I was so angry. My problem is that when people rave about something, I need to find out why. I want to judge it for myself (hence why I read 50 Shades of Grey, and spoiler: wasn’t a fan, JUST SAY THE WORD VAGINA). So I kept reading.
There’s a twist in this book, one that wasn’t in my guesses of 10 options, but in hindsight was blindingly obvious. The problem with this book is that it’s well written, and it’s designed to push buttons. So when I finished it and wanted to throw it across the room, I begrudgingly gave the author my respect. Apparently I was still harsh on Storygraph and only rated it 3.5 stars, but on my blog I’ve upped it to 4.
Did I hate the main character? Yes. Was I entertained the whole time? Also yes.
The Privilege: A. R. Hollowell
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Link: amazon.com
Format: Kindle
I changed gears and jumped straight into a psychological thriller.
I read this based on a recommendation from a blog I follow. I’m annoyed because I didn’t keep track of which one, so if you recently read and reviewed this, then it was probably you. Thanks for the suggestion!
This was a good read. It’s the start of a series, where a therapist is treating not only someone who committed a crime, but the family member of the victim.
As a reader, you’re caught in the middle as well, rooting for the therapist but also feeling frustrated by the choices she makes.
I enjoyed this, but I wanted bigger twists. It was good, but not enough to make me want to race out and grab the next one in the series. I’ll read it at some point, I’m sure, but I just haven’t gone out of my way to keep going.
The Correspondent: Virginia Evans
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (and a half)
Link: amazon.com
Format: Kindle
This was my pick for the month, and I’ve already recommended it to another friend.
The format is very different. Instead of reading a story, you’re reading letters written to and from the main character over a series of years.
You get to follow her story, and uncover pieces of her history.
It was timely, given I’ve just ticked off my 52-in-52 goal to write a letter to someone. And we’re keeping it going as pen pals, which has been a fun little bonus.
The ending is emotional, and I won’t spoil it, other than to say that I had to take a deep breath after the last page.
Well worth a read.
The only other book for this month, 1000 Naked Strangers: A Paramedic’s Wild Ride to the Edge and Back, will be reviewed in September. What I can tell you is that September did not start by being pissed at the main character of a book. Phew!
What have you been reading lately? Have you ever been angry at a book but had to keep going?
