Oh my. Indeed! This month I was all over the place with the kinds of books I read. And the results were definitely mixed, which saddens me but is the life of a reader. Some books simply don’t live up to expectations. It was also a strange month because it felt like I had read very little; but when I put this post together, there were more books to include than I expected. My mental calculation was likely off due to a few disappointing books. They make me lose interest in reading. Does that happen to you? The books were not an outright loathe, but not as good as I had expected either and sometimes that is worse. Oh well. There are always more books to be devoured. And loved. And loathed.
The Books I Loved, Liked and Loathed
There are books in every category this month. I’m not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. 🙂
Books I Loved
The book that made me do a happy dance.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by JK Rowling
My Review: I love to read but not all books are created equal. There are some books that are special. They make you come alive and feel the magic. Life is better because these special books exist. For me, that special book is Harry Potter. And you likely have some book(s) or series that you feel the same way about too. Thus, you understand why I had to take a moment after I read the dedication to just breathe. To revel in the fact that I was about to dive into another Harry Potter adventure when I never imagined opening a new Harry Potter book again.
I did very much love this book, even though I wished it was a traditional book versus a play. I love the theatre but plays work best onstage. Still … there was plenty of Harry Potter magic to be found. Little Scorpius Malfoy was a delight (and apparently has loads of his Mom in him). Snape still made me ugly cry. And while the same themes of friendship, loyalty and love still existed, they were also tested, especially parental love. The sacrifice Harry’s parents made is well-known and without trying to minimize their actions, it’s also one most parents would make in a heartbeat. But what about those times when it’s not so easy to love our kids? When we don’t understand them? Or they’re getting on our last nerve? I love that Rowling explored this. I hope to some day see this onstage, but realistically, I’ll probably see it on a movie screen first. Not that I’m complaining either way.
To Read or Not To Read: Absolutely, if you’ve read all the books. Otherwise start at the beginning.
Books I Liked
These are the books I enjoyed overall, ranked from most liked to liked.
Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart
Book Description: Constance and her sisters endure threats, bullets and bullies over a dispute with a powerful factory owner in 1914.
Book Review: I love Constance. Plain and simple. She is a kickass lady. She’d be considered a pretty ballsy lady today and I can’t even imagine what they would have thought of her back in 1914. Virtually all women (and most men) would have backed down, but she didn’t. She was scared but didn’t quit. She was resourceful and smart. It’s no wonder she become one of the nation’s first deputy sheriffs – IRL. This is a fictionalized story about her and real events. And the beginning of a series that I’m excited to continue reading.
To Read or Not To Read: Read it, if you enjoy strong female characters. Be prepared to grimace at some of the sexism Constance and her sisters face, then grimace even harder when you realize it is 100 years later and some things haven’t changed either.
Security by Gina Wohlsdorf
Book Description: Killers stalk the workers at Manderley Resort and pick them off, one-by-one.
Book Review: This was a strange book that kept me at the edge of my seat. The book is in first person, but we don’t really meet the “I” is until mid-way or more through the book. He or she, in fact, is barely mentioned for a long time. This makes it hard initially because the sentences are short, even a bit terse, and it is hard to connect to the characters. But you do gain insight and start to root for and worry over them. Wohlsdorf also does something rather unusual where she writes split screens of scenes, meaning there are columns describing simultaneous scenes. Eventually, I kind of liked it, although it could still be frustrating if the scenes were long. This is Wohlsdorf’s first book and I’ll be interested in seeing what she writes next.
To Read or Not To Read: Yes. The style is different, which I overall liked. Be aware that if this book was a movie, it would be a slasher movie and the book does depict multiple, violent scenes in graphic detail. I also think the columns may be harder to read in e-book format, so you may want to read this in hardback.
The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J. Maarten Troost
Book Description: Troost moves with his girlfriend to a remote South Pacific Island, full of bizarre characters and misadventures.
Book Review: Generally, I’m not a big non-fiction reader beyond self-help. But with a title like that, it caught my attention. I can’t say that I’m better informed about the sex lives of cannibals, unless it’s referring to dogs, but that is probably okay too. I like Troost’s writing style and sense of humor. And humor is so subjective, so you may find him immature, which he is. But so am I. His stories about life in Tarawa made me laugh, mostly. And decide to never visit there. Ever.
To Read or Not To Read: Sure. It’s a quick, fun read.
The Trap by Melanie Raabe
Book Description: Reclusive author Linda Conrads spies her sister’s murderer on TV and sets a trap for him with her new book detailing his crime.
Book Review: I picked this book because the description reminded a bit of the movie, Copycat, with Sigourney Weaver. They are really not similar though, the book is slow-paced and I expected much more tension. We spend a lot of time in Linda’s head and she is understandably messed up. But she also starts to annoy and bore me, which then made me feel bad for getting cranky with someone I should have more empathy towards. I then had to remind myself she doesn’t exist. 🙂 Still I wanted to tell her to be smarter and put on her big girl pants. The good news is she eventually does.
To Read or Not to Read: There is a book within the book and her agent tells her that she tricked him. That her new book is not a thriller but a romance disguised as a thriller. A part of me feels that is true about this book, even though the romantic element is not overt. As Steph would say, it passed the time just fine.
The Ice Twins by S.K. Tremayne
Book Description: A year after the death of her identical twin sister, Lydia, the surviving twin, Kirstie, now claims to be Lydia.
Book Review: I initially struggled to get into this book and actually put it aside for a bit, which I rarely do. It tried too hard to be like Gone Girl with unreliable narrators and twists without a lot of nuance. The puppet master’s strings were visible at times, if that makes sense. With that being said, it wasn’t a bad book, nor a great book but a decent thriller. I expected it to be more atmospheric and creepy, which it really wasn’t. But the ending was quite good. 🙂
To Read or Not to Read: Sure. It’s not a bad way to spend a few hours. The twins aren’t creepy, a la The Shining, which did strangely disappoint me. But my dreams are probably grateful to be redrum free.
Books I Wanted to Like But …
I didn’t dislike them enough to find the energy to loathe them either.
You by Caroline Kepnes
Book Review: I honestly never thought I would type this sentence: I did not like You and found Joe annoying. You and Joe seemed like a story and character that I would love. But I did not. I did not find Joe charming or funny. In fact, I sincerely question his taste in women because Beck is horribly annoying. After a few chapters, I was ready for him to kill her and put me out of my misery. I kept reading because this is a book that seems to be universally liked and I kept expecting it to get better, which it never did, for me.
To Read or Not to Read: Here’s the thing — I think it’s still worth a chance. You’ll know in the first few chapters if you’re in or not. And if you’re not, DNF that book like you’ve got a serial killer stalking you because it won’t improve.
Betrayals by Kelley Armstrong
Book Review: I didn’t necessarily dislike this book but feel rather meh about it. The initial premise of the series — a department store heir discovers that she was adopted and her biological parents are serial killers — is an intriguing set-up. I knew there were supernatural elements at play, which I like and the first books in the series were good. But then it goes from a supernatural thriller to a romance because the 3 main characters now have a love triangle. But not even a organic one, but one dictated from their past lives that has been played over and over for centuries and glerg, bleech, snog, glack. Love triangles are one of my least favorite tropes and not what I signed up for when I started the series. Plus, I hate it even more when it is “fate”, so they have no choice but to play this stupid thing out. Ricky, Gabriel and Olivia are hamsters, stuck spinning in their wheel and their love triangle makes me groan more than moan with anticipation.
To Read or Not To Read: If the idea of the love triangle/romance excites you, along with the supernatural or serial killer element, then you will probably enjoy this. Otherwise, if you don’t like love triangles, skip the whole darn series. Yup, still irritated.
Book I Did Not Finish
Could stop. Did Stop.
The Crooked House by Christobel Kent
Book Review: This book wasn’t bad but did commit the ultimate sin: it bored me. When I realized I was only a third through this boring thriller (two words that don’t belong together), I skipped to the last couple of chapters and patted myself on the back for being so super smart to skip all the blah, blah, blah in the middle.
To Read or Not To Read: The idea behind the book was good (sole survivor of a home invasion goes back to where it all began) but the execution was boring. Skip it.
TL;DR – My Recommendations for You
Okay, for those who went a little pale when you saw how long this post was, here are my quick recommendations: The Cursed Child is a must read for Harry Potter fans, although they already knew that. 🙂 Girl Waits with Gun and Security are also highly recommended by me. Please note again that Security is essentially a slasher book, which is not the kind of genre that appeals to everyone. If you do enjoy slasher books/films, then Security is right up your alley. Otherwise, I would probably avoid it. I would also avoid The Crooked House but suggest you try You, even though it didn’t rock my world. But dump it fast if you’re not hooked right away. 🙂
To More Great Books
I’ve already read two great books in September. YAY! I also have a small stack of books by my bed, although a couple I don’t really remember putting on hold. Sigh. Hopefully once I dive into them, I’ll remember why I put a hold on them. 🙂 As always, I’m joining the Show Us Your Books Link-Up, hosted by Jana from Jana Says and Steph from Life According to Steph. Be sure to check it out and see what everyone is reading!
Tanya
I’m quite excited to give Security a read, it’s not my usual book, but I fancy something different and it could be fun 🙂 Here’s hoping, anyway!
~ K
I hope you enjoy it! It took me a minute or two to adjust to the style of the book but I overall really enjoyed it.
i also couldn’t get through You….tried but nope, just couldn’t and then went back and tried again wondering “why is everyone loving this book?”. and since my theory is “life is too short for crappy books”, i returned it as DNF.
Okay, I feel better hearing a few struggled with You too. I so wanted to love that book but couldn’t. I didn’t DNF it, although I sort of wish I had. I kept thinking it would get better. 🙁
<3 <3 <3 Harry Potter 🙂 Dying to see the play someday!!
You and me both. I can’t wait to see the play. I’m sure it will come stateside eventually, although it will be like getting tickets to Hamilton!
Girl Waits with Gun sounds really interesting! I seem to be getting more in the mood for some historical fiction lately. HP and the Cursed Child was just ok for me. It almost feels like a betrayal to say that, but not everyone enjoys the same things so I won’t waste time feeling bad about it. I do actually own the book now, because my sister got it for her birthday and passed it on to me on our recent trip, with instructions to keep passing it along, so that’s kind of a fun mission. Must find all the local HP fans!
I enjoyed Girl Waits with Gun. Constance and her sisters are great and I think you would enjoy them. No reason to feel bad for not loving Cursed Child. It was very different from the HP books. I do love that your sister gave you the book with instructions to pass it on!
I’m loving “could stop. did stop.” haha! I’m on board with stopping if you’re not feeling it! great roundup this month!
LOL! Thanks! I honestly struggle with DNFing a book. I’m such an optimist, but some books make it much easier for me to give-up!
The premise of Security sounds interesting, but I don’t think I could hang with the layout of the book.
It definitely confused me at first. I was like “am I supposed to pick one column to follow or what?” Sort of like those kids books where you decide what choice they make and follow that story.
Glad to see another person who loved the HP book like me. People are picking it part in so many places
Yes! While I won’t deny there are times that I definitely pick apart a book, it can really annoying too. I’m like – just go with it and accept it!
i always love your post titles hahaha Sexy Cannibals!
sometimes disappointing reads make me want to keep reading until i find a good one to make me forget the bad one, and sometimes it makes me give up because obviously all books suck now. hahaha. i always just try and go with my gut though, nothing worse than forcing yourself to read a book!
girl waits with gun is on my list, so i am glad you liked it!
as for You…. i had conflicting feelings. i didn’t like Joe, I didn’t think he was charming at all! Beck was a nutjob too. but I couldn’t put it down, and i was like, rooting for Joe? kind of? or i was thinking oh Beck stop being an idiot! which is crazy because Joe is a psycho! it’s one of those books that i didn’t ‘like’ but it was captivating and not my normal jam, so i probably rated it higher than i would have if it were more my kind of book (and somehow i don’t see Joe in a regency romance or YA dystopia type setting haha)
I typically have two reactions to a bad book: I stop reading because I don’t want to be betrayed (so dramatic!) or I reread favorite books that I already know are great. 🙂 I expected to love Joe but didn’t, which kept me from rooting for him to, well, get away with murder.
I’ve been curious about Girl Waits with Gun-glad to hear you liked it! 🙂 I think I have The Trap on my NetGalley shelf ready to read.
I definitely enjoyed Girl Waits with Gun and encourage you to give it a try. The trap was good, not great, but certainly passed the time just fine.
Girl Waits with Gun and YOU were two of my favorite books from last year. But, everyone likes different stuff. For instance, HP is a hard pass for me. I have less than zero interest in it.
Security seems interesting.
I added Girl Waits with Gun to my TBR based on your recommendation and I’m really glad I read it. I really wanted to like You but didn’t have that connection to Joe, which is critical I think. And yup, everybody likes different stuff, which is what makes it fun. I laugh because there was a time when HP was a hard pass for me too. Oh, how times have changed. LOL!
Books that I don’t care for can really put me off reading sometimes, too. I need good books to keep me going, although I can’t avoid one that doesn’t work for me every now and then. I couldn’t agree more with your feelings on You. I really thought I would like it and was expecting a thriller, but I didn’t like Joe or Beck or care what they did. And the end was… what I expected to happen and at the same time felt pointless?
Yay! Another person who didn’t the hype over You and Joe. And I sincerely wanted to but nope. And yes! The ending was exactly what I expected, which isn’t bad, but felt so flat too. I think that was another reason I didn’t like it.
I agree that Beck is definitely a pretty awful person…that being said, overall I thought You was great!
She sincerely made me question what was wrong with Joe. Not all the killing he was doing, mind you, but what the heck he saw in her! LOL! I’m glad you enjoyed You though. I wish I had. 🙁
Haha yes, thriller and boring do not go hand in hand! That’s too bad it was a dud. You is still on my TBR list and I think I will give it a chance…one day, haha. The Sex Lives of Cannibals sounds quite interesting! Especially since it’s non-fiction?! Crazy!
I still encourage people to try You, but like I said, you’ll know fairly quickly whether you like it or not. If you don’t, DNF it. But I do hope you enjoy it. Yup, Sex Lives of Cannibals is non-fiction. It’s pretty funny overall, although there were probably a couple spots that skimmed. I still really enjoyed it.
I loved Girl Waits with Gun and can’t wait to read the new one (but I also have a bunch to read before that – book nerd problems). I liked You, but understand why some wouldn’t like it and I really LOLed at “And if you’re not, DNF that book like you’ve got a serial killer stalking you because it won’t improve.” Hilarious!
Book nerd problems are the best. I just finished Lady Cop Makes Trouble. It’s really good too. It seems like with You that it’s a yay or nay, not much in-between. I wish I could go back and take my advice. Oh well. 🙂
Ahhh I have a love/hate relationship with the Harry Potter book! I think if you take it on it’s own, it’s alright, but it’s SO HARD not to compare with the others. – Dorrie @ Rt 1 US 1
It definitely doesn’t compare with the other HP books but I tried to take it for what is was. And mostly did. Once I started getting into the story more, it got easier too.
I’m more of an Audiobook person, so my fingers are crossed that Harry Potter Cursed Child becomes an audiobook soon. I think it would be awesome to listen to it with it being in the play format.
I wasn’t a huge fan of You either. I actually did find Joe weirdly charming and HILARIOUS, but Beck sucked.
Actually, I think Cursed Child probably “reads” much better as an audiobook because it would more similar to a play. I assumed that I would find Joe hilarious and charming too but didn’t. He made me laugh a couple of times, but Beck so annoyed me that her suckage rubbed off on him too.
I feel like you and I have discussed You and Joe already…haven’t we? I agree with you. 100%.
Girl Waits with Gun is on my tbr already and I added Sex Lives of Cannibals. I like a humorous memoir.
We did talk about You. It was one of my books for your challenge. It made me feel better when you said you didn’t love it either because I had read pretty much universal positive reviews for it. Girl Waits with Gun is great and one, I think, you’ll really enjoy. Sex Lives with Cannibals was funny too, but like I said, I have an immature sense of humor. 🙂
Glad to hear you liked HP and Girl with Gun! Both are on my TBR but I haven’t made it around to either… Bummer about You. I’ve heard good things. XO – Alexandra
Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things
You gets a lot of praise. I think it’s definitely worth a try. You’ll know pretty quickly whether you like it or not. 🙂
Loving the variety in your books! HP & the Cursed Child is the only one on my TBR list, so I definitely want to check out a few of the other books. Girl Waits With Gun sounds really good!
Thanks, Carly! Girl Waits with Gun is a really good book. I hope you like it!
I do want to read the Harry Potter book because I too, love the series 🙂 My library won’t have it for ages though, so I will have to wait. I don’t want to purchase it because of how it is written and if I end up not enjoying it, then I know I definitely wouldn’t read it again. Hence, the waiting for the library copy 🙂
August was such a blur that I honestly couldn’t remember what I read to participate this month. I do know that many of them were “meh” which is probably why their titles didn’t register enough for me to write them down. Ha!
Somehow I managed to get a hold of the library copy of Cursed Child right away. I’m not quite sure how I got so lucky but I won’t complain. I own all the other HP books and will likely buy a copy at some point. It’s not as good as the other HP books but I feel like I should have the full collection. 🙂 I hate a month of meh books. It just really brings me down. Hopefully September is treating you better!
Girl Waits with Gun probably needs to be bumped up my TBR list since it’s getting so many good reviews.
You was not a winner for me either. In fact, Joe was annoying, Beck was vapid, and the sequel? Hard pass.
I saw Hidden Bodies at the library and I was tempted but ultimately decided against getting it. I figured life is way too short and my TBR is way too long to waste time on a character I didn’t really like. Girl Waits with Gun is so good, definitely give it a try. Constance is no Beck. LOL!
I think I might be in the minority by liking Harry Potter a bit but not loads in particular? Like, I’m sure I’d enjoy the book if I read it but I’m happy to wait for someone I know to get it and borrow it from them, or wait for it to come up at the library.
I am however a fan of non-fiction, and although sexy cannibals sounds a bit out there I’ve always wanted to go to a pacific island so maybe this will save me a lot of money by putting me off completely!
Oh, I think there are plenty of people who aren’t big HP fans but those who are – we’re just loudly obnoxious about it! Well, the Sex Lives of Cannibals were likely put you off from living in Tarawa, because it is crazy primitive!
I also was not a fan of You. I didn’t love it at first, but kept going in hopes of seeing what everyone else seemed to. But I agree: I hated Beck so much.
Me too, Kristin. I kept going because I thought it had to get better. It really didn’t. Beck was so awful.
I’m reading HP now. I loathe that it’s in play format but I’m going to stick with it. I think it passes quickly enough.
I had a hard time getting into the format too but after awhile it stopped bothering me so much. I’m generally not a big audiobook fan but this is one book where I can see it actually working well.