The middle of the month means it’s time for a new Quick Lit post! Every month around the 15th one of my favorite book blogs, Modern Mrs Darcy, hosts a link up for fellow book lovers and bloggers to share what they’ve been reading lately.
Not only am I having a great reading month, but it’s shaping up to be an awesome reading year! I’m only 5 books away from meeting my goal of reading 100 books this year! This is the earliest that I’ve ever seen the final stretch for meeting my reading challenge.
Of course that doesn’t mean I’ll stop reading at 100 books, but it is nice to have a buffer with the life changes coming our way this fall. My reading life always seems to slow down anyway toward the end of the year and I have no idea how a new baby will affect my reading time. I’m excited to see how many books I can enjoy this year!
My August Quick Lit has a little bit of everything. There are mystery thrillers, a little bit of romance, some family dramas, comedy, and even a middle grade graphic novel. I read two more books off my summer TBR list and got back into my romance reading challenge with a hilarious friends-to-lovers story.
August Quick Lit:
Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney
Rating: 3.5 stars
Amber Reynolds wakes up in a hospital. She can hear everything going on around her, but she cannot open her eyes let alone move or speak. She doesn’t remember how she ended up in the hospital, but both she and the police suspect her husband was involved.
Sometimes I Lie alternates between three timelines – Amber’s thoughts in her coma, the week before she wound up in the hospital, and her diaries as a child. In this psychological thriller, Feeney weaves together the events of Amber’s life and those closest to her in a series of twists and shocking revelations to solve the mystery of what happened to her.
I believe I heard this thriller recommended by Gretchen Rubin on her Happier podcast a couple of years ago. It was published in 2017. I’ve been in the mood for a good thriller so when the audiobook popped up as available on Libby I had to check it out.
Sometimes I Lie started out strong and I was totally engrossed in the unraveling of Amber’s memories. I needed to find out what happened to her and how everything related! Then it took a darker turn than I was expecting with the cumulation of one particularly horrifying scene but I stayed with it, already invested.
The ending became a bit convoluted but I thought I understood the big twist. Until I began reading comments from other readers explaining their interpretation of the ending. Everyone’s was a little bit different and I could see how different views were plausible. I thought that was actually pretty cool. That so many people came away with a different view of the end events. I’m curious to check out more from Alice Feeney.
Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Rating: 5 stars
When Meddelin Chan accidentally kills her date, she has to turn to her meddlesome mother and aunties for help. Even more troublesome, this event takes place during the most important weekend yet for their family wedding business. Top that off with the past love of Meddy’s life showing up unexpectedly.
Dial A for Aunties was on my Summer Reading 2021 list as one of the new books I was hoping to check out so I’m happy to get to include it on my August Quick Lit. I heard about it on Sarah’s Bookshelves. She also has a wonderful podcast interview with author Jesse Q. Sutanto that’s definitely worth checking out!
This book has a little bit of everything – murder, romance, mystery and a whole lot of family comedy! I went into it tentative thinking that it might be too over the top. In some ways it is, but the drama and extravagance is balanced so well with humor, sweet moments, and insights into Indonesian-Chinese wedding traditions.
I adored Dial A for Aunties and loved the author’s note in the beginning sharing about Sutanto’s own experiences growing up in Indonesia and then going to school in Singapore and the U.K. Although this book concludes as a stand alone, there’s a sequel expected to publish in 2022 and a Netflix adaptation on the way!
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
Rating: 4 stars
Gifty grew up in Huntsville, Alabama with immigrant parents from Ghana. Now a scientist, she studies reward seeking behavior in mice at Stanford School of Medicine. She started her work in an attempt to understand her own family’s loss, trying to solve the neurological mystery of addiction and depression.
Her father left the family when she was young to return to Ghana. Her older brother, Nana, was a promising high school athlete until an injury left him hooked on OxyContin. He died from an overdose as a young adult. The loss left her mother at times suicidal, dealing with bouts of depression. Gifty is determined to use her intelligence to discover the science behind all this suffering.
I read Yaa Gyasi’s debut novel, Homegoing, a few years ago and really enjoyed the family saga and format even though the subject matter was heavy. I heard amazing things about her follow up novel, Transcendent Kingdom, since it published last year. It’s been nominated for several literary awards.
Transcendent Kingdom explores many different themes from family relationships to religion to substance abuse to higher education. I found myself fascinated with Gifty’s upbringing, how she adapted to hardships, and how her beliefs transformed over the years. This book contains the same raw emotions and layered themes that makes Gyasi’s writing and characters stand out.
I went into the story knowing the substance abuse element could be a trigger for me. I have a family history of it too. The understanding and patience that Gifty was able to give her brother was fascinating. I wondered if some of her feelings had to do with the fact that he lost his battle with his addiction tragically at a young age. Perhaps she may have felt differently if the battle had continued on throughout their lives.
Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren
Rating: 4.5 stars
Hazel Bradford has a big personality with a lot of energy and exactly zero filter. She knows she’s a lot to take and has found most men think her brand of crazy is wonderful – for a few weeks. Lately though she’s been looking for a guy who’s truly up for the challenge of being her partner.
At a party celebrating a work transfer, she’s amazed to run into Josh Im. She hasn’t seen him since college where she threw up on his shoes upon meeting him, dated his roommate, and once sent him an embarrassing email when he was her TA. It turns out Josh is the brother of her new best friend and in need of some cheering up as he deals with the struggles of a long distance relationship.
Hazel has always thought they’d be great friends and is eager to win Josh over. Throw in a flooded apartment, a cheating girlfriend, and multiple hilarious blind double dates and they might realize there’s more between them than friendship after all.
I’m getting back on track with the She Reads Romance Books Reading Challenge. This friends-to-lovers romance fits this month’s theme making it a great addition to my August Quick Lit.
I thoroughly enjoyed this romantic comedy and fell hard for Josh and Hazel! Since first reading Christina Lauren earlier this year, I’ve uncovered quite a few solid romances from the author duo. Although Hazel is indeed a little over the top, the humor in this one might elevate it to my favorite discovery so far. It is definitely on par with The Unhoneymooners.
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
Rating: 4.5 stars
After a year of marriage, Owen disappears without warning. He was able to get a note to his wife, Hannah, that only says: Protect her. Hannah knows the note refers to Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey, who wants nothing to do with her new stepmother. When Hannah finds herself in the middle of an FBI investigation she realizes her husband isn’t who he claimed to be. She needs Bailey’s help to put together the puzzle of his true identity and why he vanished.
After seeing this book pop up on multiple summer reading guides, I added it to my list of summer books I hoped to check out. It’s also a Reese Witherspoon Book Club selection, which I tend to have good luck with. Although recently there have been a couple doozies for my reading tastes – looking at you, The Paper Palace.
As soon as The Last Thing He Told Me came up available on my Libby holds, I dove in. I was not disappointed! The premise and main character, Hannah, drew me in immediately. I thought the pacing was perfect for keeping the reader engaged. While the story went in a direction I totally wasn’t expecting, it worked for me. Hannah’s relationships with Bailey, Owen, and her grandfather were touching. As a side note I was also very intrigued with her art career as a wood turner.
Stepping Stones by Lucy Knisley
Rating: 4 stars
Stepping Stones is a middle grade graphic novel inspired by Lucy Knisley’s own experiences growing up. Jen is having a rough time adjusting to a move to the country, farm chores, her mom’s new boyfriend, and even worse his two daughters who come to visit every weekend.
Andy is around the same age as Jen and perfect in all the areas Jen struggles with. As the kids are thrown together to help on the farm and run the family market stand, Jen has to deal with her insecurities and find her place in their new blended family.
I have loved everything I’ve read by Lucy Knisley especially her graphic memoirs, Relish and Kid Gloves! Those made it on my best books read in 2019 list. She was recently a guest on Anne Bogel’s podcast, What Should I Read Next, Episode 270. The episode is full of great discussion and tons of book recommendations.
Stepping Stones was a delightful escape into a country farm and a reminder of struggles in childhood. Apparently it’s the first book in a series with the second one, Apple Crush, expected to publish next year. I can’t wait!
The Night Swim by Megan Goldin
Rating: 5 stars
True crime podcaster Rachel Krall finds herself traveling to the small town of Neapolis to cover a rape trial for the third season of her popular show. As Rachel is drawn into the devastating case, she also receives notes from someone named Hannah, asking for help uncovering what really happened to her sister 25 years ago in the same small town.
Thrown into investigating both cases, Rachel finds the past and present overlap with startling and potentially dangerous connections.
The Night Swim lives up to the hype surrounding it! I listened to this crime thriller on audio and it was an amazing experience. Episodes of Rachel’s podcast coverage of the trial are interwoven between chapters of her ongoing investigation and letters from Hannah revealing past events involving her sister. I thought it was a really cool use of mixed media that really works in the audio format.
By a quarter of the way through, I was completely engrossed in the mystery of these cases and had a hard time taking my earbuds out. While the subject matter is stomach turning and incredibly heavy, the insights that the main character, Rachel, points out through her podcast are so important. The book explores the inconsistencies in how society views rape, the prevalence of sexual assaults, the further trauma of evidence collection, and the tendency to victim blame.
What books are on your August Quick Lit?
4 responses to “What I’ve Been Reading Lately: August 2021 Quick Lit”
I loved the Last Thing He Told Me as well. Not my typical read, but I was sucked in right away and read it in 2 days!
It was so hard to put down! I’m glad you enjoyed something a little different. Thanks for reading!
So glad to read your 5-star review of The Night Swim. It’s an unread BOTM selection that’s been lingering. Will have to move it up on my TBR list. Thanks for the nudge!
That’s awesome. I hope it is equally good in print! Thanks for stopping by.