August 2022 reads

Another month gone. They fly.

Here's what I read in August:

Engrossing Reads

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin - This kept me up at night, in a good way! I devoured this. Good story and pacing Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review

Local Girl Missing (Josie Quinn #15) by Lisa Regan - Continual series excellence, I devoured this in a few hours. Pre-ordered kindle copy, own

The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead - This is very heavy and psychologically dark. There is a trigger warning that precedes it for a lot of shit and if any of it applies to you, you should heed and not read. I could not put it down. OCNJ hard cover

All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers - When I turned this back in at the library, I said to the librarian, "people are going to be big mad about the ending," and she replied, "no spoilers." What do you think, I'm new? My statement stands. I liked the book though. People are going hard for it in reviews, and I think that's because it was written by what I understand is a fairly well known podcaster? I didn't know anything about her or the podcast when I got it, people on Instagram shared that with me. I saw it in an article back in April and put a hold on it. If this was a standard debut by an unknown author, they would not nearly be as critical or cutting, nor would they be donning their Literary Prof hats for a mystery/thriller. Just a small reminder that books can be what they are which is standardly not Pulitzer-worthy and you can enjoy them in their imperfect state and make no excuses or justifications for the books you enjoy. Ciao. OCNJ hard cover

Every Last Secret by A.R. Torre - It appears I've  had this on my Kindle for a few years and I wonder if it was an Amazon First Reads book? I have no idea. This caused me to raise my eyebrows a lot but it was a quick read that kept my attention quite nicely. Kindle e-book, own

Passed the Time Just Fine

The Family Remains (The Family Upstairs #2) by Lisa Jewell - Maybe I should have re-read The Family Upstairs before reading this, because this was a mess for me to wade through without good recall of that book. So if you do not have good recall of The Family Upstairs, maybe re-read that. If you have not read that, good to read them in quick succession. Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review

The Last Karankawas by Kimberly Garza - I requested this based on the title alone. For some reason it made me think of people at summer camp and this was absolutely, positively not that and about 508 pounds heavier in spirit. I loved the writing. The book felt a little stilted, and so I put it down. Then I picked it back up and started reading it almost like short stories which I had seen someone on IG say they did (was it you? let me know!) and I zipped through the rest. Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Beach Party by Amy Sheppard - Not bad for a debut novel and definitely held some surprises for me. Passed the time just fine, which is what a book read on the beach in the summer should do. Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Numbers Killer (An Agent Victoria Heslin Thriller #1) by Jenifer Ruff - Sometimes I get a book from Netgalley that is a series book which prompts me to go back and read from the beginning because only psychopaths knowingly start a series many books in. I rarely love the first in a series because I think the author is still feeling it out and the characters are stretching out. If I like it enough to read more, I do. That is the case here. Paperback, own

Not For Me/Did Not Finish

The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda - NFM. Absolutely nothing happens the first half of this book. It's not bad, it's just....nothing. The action is all at the end. If I was star rating, about a 2.5. Standardly I am a Megan Miranda fan.  OCNJ hard cover

Haven by Emma Donoghue - DNF, Absolutely excruciating Free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review 

The Couple at Causeway Cottage by Diane Jeffrey - NFM This felt like phoning it in and was super casual around rape not once but twice. I said several times in my head did someone really pass this through editing? Cheap "thriller" that was not Free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review 

The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay - DNF, due to writing style OCNJ library hard cover

What have you been reading?